I’m going to tell you all a little secret: I planned my entire Redemption weekend in Montreal not around the pay-per-view itself, but around Mystery Wrestling 27. Why might you ask? Because, in my opinion, Evil Uno and the rest of the Mystery Wrestling crew have come together to secretly build one of the top independent promotions internationally in their own wacky and wonderful way. I mean where else would a wrestling ring in a renovated swimming pool instantly make sense?
I started keeping up with Mystery Wrestling back in March after their trip over to Japan to host joint shows with Baka Gaijin and ChocoPro, which are both excellent promotions in their own right. I soon found out that their home base of Gatineau, QC was only a couple hours north from where I grew up in New York. Growing up so close to the border, I’ve always had close ties to Canada, so to see a proudly Canadian, specifically Quebecois promotion, absolutely killing it warmed my heart. Overall, their Montreal debut felt like a culmination of all the work Mystery Wrestling had done for the past few years to make it to the point where they’re selling out practically every show whenever they venture outside of Gatineau. The overall love the crowd had for this promotion is the type of community that any promotion of any size would kill to have.
For the uninitiated, part of the allure of Mystery Wrestling is that none of the matches on the show are announced beforehand. This means that the crowd and everyone at home finds out the participants and stipulations in real time, leading to some fantastic moments, but also a plethora of surprises.
Typically, Mystery loves to open the show with a fatal four-way match where participants are revealed one at a time. This show was no exception, with Cool Ref, James Stone, Surfer Mitch, and The Visible Man kicking off the show with special guest referee “Definitely Alive” Jason Exile. This match was a fun way to get the crowd ready for the show ahead and introduce people who are new to Mystery Wrestling to the fun, goofy style Mystery is known for.
Match two saw independent staple Joey Janela take on Mystery Wrestling regular Cecil Nyx in a 12 Minute Iron Man Falls Count Anyone match. The rules are simple: if Janela/Nyx pin anyone, they get a point, but if either man gets pinned by anyone, they lose a point. With a stipulation like this, there are bound to be some shenanigans. I’m not going to spoil who specifically cameos in this match, but some familiar faces from both sides of the border appear throughout the twelve minute match. Ultimately, the match ends with a reference to the famous Montreal Screwjob, even though the spot had little bearing on the final score of the match. I loved seeing the nod to the infamous event, but wished it would’ve had a bit more of an impact on the result of the match.
Match three featured our first bout featuring an AEW wrestler with a returning Orange Cassidy taking on Montreal native Beef Wellington. Now, I was prepared for some surprises on the show, but when I saw Orange Cassidy enter from across the venue, I turned into a complete fangirl. Like so many other new-ish wrestling fans, Orange Cassidy was one of my gateway wrestlers into this world. Needless to say, seeing him wrestle from about five feet away was an insane moment for me. Despite being completely pro-Orange, I found myself won over by Beef Wellington as well. For a guy who ‘doesn’t do this so much anymore,’ Beef Wellington held his own during his second attempt at Orange Cassidy. Who knows, maybe his unretirement will stick this time because I would definitely be interested in seeing some more of his work.
Le Tabarnak De Trio, the trio sporting the best faction name in wrestling, who have the best faction name in wrestling, squashed the team with the most apt name in wrestling, The Jobbers, in match four on the card. Afterwards, the three men called out the locker room to send out three people crazy enough to face them in a Street Fight. Out walks Dreya Mitchell, Kristara, and Layla Wilde to kick off what was my personal favorite match of the night. An intergender match like this, in my opinion, can be extremely difficult to pull off for obvious reasons. However, both teams put together stellar performances, trading violent blow after blow until the very end. It’s the type of match that I can see myself watching again and again and again because of how much I enjoyed it.
Although I have become fans of Kristara and Layla Wilde through my past few months of watching Mystery Wrestling, I specifically want to highlight TDT as stand-outs of the night. These three Quebec natives are the epitome of men you do not want to find yourselves across from in a bar fight. Their chemistry and charisma as a group instantly drew me in despite not knowing anything about them beforehand. They absolutely crushed it in both matches they had and I would 100% make the trip up north to watch any of these three men wrestle again because they were just that good.
After the break, the show returned with a match between Interim MLP Heavyweight Champion Stu Grayson and a newly robotized Jason Exile. Even though Jason Exile was the one person announced for the show, the surprise of this new, fully restored version immediately won over the crowd in one of the largest pops of the night. Sadly, Stu Grayson was hellbent on committing muder that night. After Grayson becomes increasingly frustrated in his attempts to get one-up on the cyborg, he resorts to throwing Exile off of a balcony, electrocuting him, and ripping out his circuitry. I think after all of that, it’s safe to say Jason Exile might be definitely dead, or at minimum, have found himself in exile.
The penultimate match featured Fresh Air taking on the Death Riders Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta, both of whom were on specific instruction from Jon Moxley to NOT get their cheeks clapped by Junior Benito. Spoiler alert: they failed at Mox’s mission but were able to pick up the win regardless. This was a great match that proved just how good Macrae Martin and Junior Benito are as a duo, going toe to toe against the established team of Garcia and Yuta. However, Fresh Air could be heading into a rough patch soon after some post-match tensions between Martin and Benito. Hopefully, the two can put this loss behind them because they have a bright future together as a tag team.
Our main event of the night was for the Mystery Wrestling Championship AND all the marbles. On one side, the champion London Lightning with his brother Storm Ryder. The other, the challenger Johnny Mystery, of course referring to the former Johnny Nitro who has altered his name to fit the promotion for as long as anybody can remember.. This title match was back and forth throughout and had me on the edge of my seat seeing who would win. Ultimately, a disagreement between the two brothers surrounding Lightning’s injured knee gave Johnny Mystery enough of a window to get the upperhand. Not soon after, Johnny Mystery captures the win, becoming the new Mystery Wrestling Champion. Despite his loss, seeing London Lightning confirmed to me that this guy is someone to keep an eye on. He’s someone that fundamentally understands so much of pro-wrestling at such a young age. I wouldn’t be shocked if a larger company picks London Lightning up in the next couple of years. I seriously believe he has the potential to be a top Canadian star of the next generation of wrestlers.
Overall, I think Mystery Wrestling put forward a fantastic show. The unique environment of the Bain Mathieu made the show feel so close, intimate, and unlike anything I had experienced before. Now, did I have some gripes with the show? A little. It would’ve been nice if there was a bit more seating and I did unfortunately get stuck behind someone blocking my view by filming for part of the night, but by no means did this significantly impact the amazing time I had that night. I even got to brush up on some of my French too (spoiler: I’ve forgotten most of it).
If you’re a fan of independent wrestling and Mystery Wrestling somehow isn’t in your rotation, I highly recommend changing that. Every show I’ve watched streaming and now live has been nothing but a great wrestling show. The dedication that every person in-ring and behind the scenes put into this show was palpable in the venue. In general, I feel like not enough promotions are scared to dip their toes into the goofy wrestling niche. Mystery Wrestling does the opposite, fully embracing all styles of wrestling, but particularly wrestling comedy. It’s the type of show you can take anyone to, regardless of their wrestling knowledge, and everyone will have a fantastic time.
After Mystery Wrestling 27, I could see the company returning to Montreal in the future, if not frequently. In the meantime, I know I’ll be planning a trip to Gatineau to catch Mystery Wrestling again sometime soon.
If you want to learn more about Mystery Wrestling, visit their website or support their shows through their Patreon.
Amanda Woods is an independent filmmaker and writer residing in the Green Mountain State of Vermont. She loves any medium that is able to tell a good story. Recently, she’s fallen in love with international pro-wrestling, having watched matches in three different countries and hopes to travel for more shows soon! Amanda really should have a website to view all of her work, but for now, her Instagram page will do.