EDITOR'S NOTE: Are you a wrestling fan? If so, you are going to love our new column devoted to the squared circle. Village Media is happy to introduce 21-year-old Tyler Evans as our new wrestling columnist. Evans became a life-long fan of professional wrestling after watching Wrestlemania 22 in 2006. Since then the passion has only continued to grow stronger for the Orillia native, who has proudly amassed a massive WWE action figure collection and hosts a professional wrestling radio show at Durham College.
WWE’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view this Sunday could be a career-defining show for Canada’s biggest pro wrestling superstars.
Syrian-Canadian and former NXT champion Sami Zayn, from Laval, Quebec, will be taking on former United States Champion Bobby Lashley this Sunday, and it’s a chance for Zayn to get out of a major slump.
Since arriving on WWE’s Raw brand of television programing this past April, Zayn is a terrible 0-5. Zayn carried elite status just a short time ago when he was apart of WWE’s developmental brand, NXT, where he was once the reigning champion.
A win this Sunday against a main event talent like Lashley would certainty be what Zayn needs to get out of his slump and build towards having the credibility to challenge for a title match in the future.
Indian-Canadian and former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, who is billed from Punjab India but was actually born and raised in Calgary, will take on WWE’s top star, Roman Reigns this Sunday.
Before coming to Raw, Mahal was enjoying a dominant stretch on WWE’s Smackdown Live. Mahal would have a 170-day reign as WWE champion and would later become United States champion.
Mahal got off to a slow start when he was moved over to the flagship show Raw; however he is now the winner of three of four of his previous matches. A win this Sunday for Mahal would immediately put him in the conversation for a Universal title match with Brock Lesnar.
Calgary’s Natalya Neidhart, the daughter of legendary Hart Foundation member, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, will participate in an eight women Money in the Bank ladder match this Sunday. Climbing the ladder and retrieving the briefcase guarantees you the right to challenge for the major championship of the superstar’s respective brand, at any place, any time. Previous winners of the Money in the Bank ladder match, combine for a 84 per cent success rate when they cash in their title opportunity. It’s an obvious career elevator for Natalya who is already a two-time women’s champion in WWE. However, she is going to have to overcome a fear of heights and a knee injury suffered two weeks ago in her match with Raw women’s champion, Nia Jax.
Kevin Owens from Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu Quebec and Bobby Roode from Scarborough, do battle with six other superstars in the Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match. Owens has a long list of accolades in his short time in WWE; he is a NXT champion, Universal champion, two-time Intercontinental champion and a three-time United States champion. Mr. Money in the Bank would just be yet another accolade to add to an already impressive resume. A win for Bobby Rood, however, would be career defining for a superstar who hasn’t yet held a major championship on the main roster. Roode is a former NXT champion and United States champion, but pulling down the brief case this Sunday and earning the right to challenge for the Universal championship would be, in the words of Roode himself, glorious!
