Post by CWA Admin on Sept 7, 2021 0:59:54 GMT -5
As the harsh realities of COVID-19 and it’s impact on our business continue to show themselves on a daily basis, one has to wonder when our sense of normalcy will return. Our sport has ben ravaged as of late, as fans are encouraged to stay away from venues, while promoters have ceased operations for the time being. Gus Arnold has had a strange-hold on the Canadian wrestling scene for the better part of the last decade, and he has decided to air on the side of caution. I received word that Gus was taking the orders of the local government very seriously. In Nova Scotia, gatherings above 5 people are no longer permitted anywhere in the province. Any citizen who has travelled outside of the provincial boundary must isolate themselves for fourteen days – until further notice.
I have been in constant contact with Gus over the past three weeks, since the last Northern Pro Wrestling show went live, and felt compelled to share what I was able to discover. Gus was adamant that he wouldn’t be hosting any events until the virus was under control, and until the health minister had given him the green light to continue. In the interim, Gus informed me that there were some moving parts to his business that had not yet been made public. The first, was that Liam Beesley of Liverpool, UK had been retained as Gus’ head trainer. Beesley had spent the first thirteen years of his professional career in Europe, developing the reputation as a very tough and stubborn individual with the skills to match. In late 2018, Liam ventured over to North America with Willard Manchester to test themselves against the NAWC’s best. With Midwestern Pro Wrestling ceasing their operations – Gus got into contact with Beesley and made him a strong offer to become the focal point of NPW’s training team.
The second piece of information that I was able to uncover, is that Gus has re-opened his warehouse and made it available to a few of his athletes. Gus has been referring to the warehouse group as his own personal boot camp. With the new law in place to restrict gatherings of more than 5 people – Gus had to be very particular with whom he invited. Liam Beesley was an obvious choice, as the warehouse would serve as both a training facility, as well as a place for the athletes to live in seclusion. Gus reminded me that there were four bedrooms, two kitchens, a weight room, two wrestling rings and all of the fresh seafood from the ocean they could get their hands on.
Gus mentioned that Kenneth Marshall was about 80% recovered from the knee injury that has kept him out of action for nearly four months. Gus maintained that he has had multiple conversation with ‘KM’ about embracing his decision to include Beesley as part of the training staff. For those who might not know, Marshall and Beesley had a run of matches in Midwestern Pro Wrestling as part of FIGHT:UK’s mission to win the tag team championships away from Technical Authority. The latest on that front is that Kenneth Marshall and Liam Beesley are going to put their differences aside, and do their best to bring their respective skills and knowledge together for the betterment of the group. Marshall is still going ‘light’ on the mats, but Beesley has been imploring him to work on his striking game. Beesley has been preaching that Marshall’s fitness, and ability to stay light on his feet would be the next level of skill he should look to achieve.
Having a grappling specialist like Marshall, and a striking and cardio freak like Beesley in tow – between the two of them, those who choose to immerse themselves will undoubtedly come out the back end much better for it. The two men who are reaping the rewards might come as a surprise to some. The first is Callum Ross – originally out of Glasgow Scotland. Ross made it abundantly clear to Gus that he didn’t plan on leaving Canada during the COVID-19 lockdown, as he had nowhere else to go. Callum told Gus that the ‘gym’ was his home – and that inspired Gus to reopen the warehouse to allow Callum to take full advantage of it. As I pressed for more details about the Scottish grappler – Gus told me that Callum needed this more than anyone else on the NPW roster. Without this type of focus/guidance, his life would spiral back to the ways of yesteryear where he was butting heads with the law on a regular basis. Coupled with the fact that Callum now considered Nova Scotia his home – it was an easy decision to ensure he had a place to stay while the rest of the ‘International Talent’ found solace in their homelands.
Finally, Gus was mum on the final member of his personal boot camp – and curiosity killed the cat. I decided to venture out to Dartmouth, NS to take a look for myself. I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to walk inside of the facility, but I thought I might recognize the voices inside – or better yet, be able to catch a glimpse of the fifth man through a window. After I parked my car, I made my way to the front of the facility, and through a tiny window, I did my best to capture the atmosphere. Kenneth Marshall was running in the tread mill, as Beesley worked the pads with Ross. Gus was over-seeing the session from a distance. As I studied Gus’ body language, it was clear that this was the type of situation that reinvigorated him. As Gus shouted a couple of comments towards Ross – a man walked into the scene. He had his back to me at first, but based on the body frame, I had ventured a guess that he would be 1 of three men. The fact that he had a black hooded sweater concealing the side view wasn’t making this guessing game any easier. As I waited, hoping to get a better look, the man slowly turned, revealing his identity. I thought to myself – no way, really? Based on what I thought I knew about him, I didn’t envision him taking part in something like this. But yet, there he was – all 6’6” 265lbs of him. The Canadian Grizzly had decided to immerse himself in this boot camp. To me, that meant that once all of the health restrictions on our nation was lifted – and Northern Pro Wrestling resumed operations that the man known as KUMA might return with a sharpened set of skills.
As I let his presence soak in my mind for a few moments, and as I took one last roll call of the men who were working towards their various goals – I thought to myself – that Northern Pro Wrestling’s landscape was about to change. What if I thought… What if?
I have been in constant contact with Gus over the past three weeks, since the last Northern Pro Wrestling show went live, and felt compelled to share what I was able to discover. Gus was adamant that he wouldn’t be hosting any events until the virus was under control, and until the health minister had given him the green light to continue. In the interim, Gus informed me that there were some moving parts to his business that had not yet been made public. The first, was that Liam Beesley of Liverpool, UK had been retained as Gus’ head trainer. Beesley had spent the first thirteen years of his professional career in Europe, developing the reputation as a very tough and stubborn individual with the skills to match. In late 2018, Liam ventured over to North America with Willard Manchester to test themselves against the NAWC’s best. With Midwestern Pro Wrestling ceasing their operations – Gus got into contact with Beesley and made him a strong offer to become the focal point of NPW’s training team.
The second piece of information that I was able to uncover, is that Gus has re-opened his warehouse and made it available to a few of his athletes. Gus has been referring to the warehouse group as his own personal boot camp. With the new law in place to restrict gatherings of more than 5 people – Gus had to be very particular with whom he invited. Liam Beesley was an obvious choice, as the warehouse would serve as both a training facility, as well as a place for the athletes to live in seclusion. Gus reminded me that there were four bedrooms, two kitchens, a weight room, two wrestling rings and all of the fresh seafood from the ocean they could get their hands on.
Gus mentioned that Kenneth Marshall was about 80% recovered from the knee injury that has kept him out of action for nearly four months. Gus maintained that he has had multiple conversation with ‘KM’ about embracing his decision to include Beesley as part of the training staff. For those who might not know, Marshall and Beesley had a run of matches in Midwestern Pro Wrestling as part of FIGHT:UK’s mission to win the tag team championships away from Technical Authority. The latest on that front is that Kenneth Marshall and Liam Beesley are going to put their differences aside, and do their best to bring their respective skills and knowledge together for the betterment of the group. Marshall is still going ‘light’ on the mats, but Beesley has been imploring him to work on his striking game. Beesley has been preaching that Marshall’s fitness, and ability to stay light on his feet would be the next level of skill he should look to achieve.
Having a grappling specialist like Marshall, and a striking and cardio freak like Beesley in tow – between the two of them, those who choose to immerse themselves will undoubtedly come out the back end much better for it. The two men who are reaping the rewards might come as a surprise to some. The first is Callum Ross – originally out of Glasgow Scotland. Ross made it abundantly clear to Gus that he didn’t plan on leaving Canada during the COVID-19 lockdown, as he had nowhere else to go. Callum told Gus that the ‘gym’ was his home – and that inspired Gus to reopen the warehouse to allow Callum to take full advantage of it. As I pressed for more details about the Scottish grappler – Gus told me that Callum needed this more than anyone else on the NPW roster. Without this type of focus/guidance, his life would spiral back to the ways of yesteryear where he was butting heads with the law on a regular basis. Coupled with the fact that Callum now considered Nova Scotia his home – it was an easy decision to ensure he had a place to stay while the rest of the ‘International Talent’ found solace in their homelands.
Finally, Gus was mum on the final member of his personal boot camp – and curiosity killed the cat. I decided to venture out to Dartmouth, NS to take a look for myself. I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to walk inside of the facility, but I thought I might recognize the voices inside – or better yet, be able to catch a glimpse of the fifth man through a window. After I parked my car, I made my way to the front of the facility, and through a tiny window, I did my best to capture the atmosphere. Kenneth Marshall was running in the tread mill, as Beesley worked the pads with Ross. Gus was over-seeing the session from a distance. As I studied Gus’ body language, it was clear that this was the type of situation that reinvigorated him. As Gus shouted a couple of comments towards Ross – a man walked into the scene. He had his back to me at first, but based on the body frame, I had ventured a guess that he would be 1 of three men. The fact that he had a black hooded sweater concealing the side view wasn’t making this guessing game any easier. As I waited, hoping to get a better look, the man slowly turned, revealing his identity. I thought to myself – no way, really? Based on what I thought I knew about him, I didn’t envision him taking part in something like this. But yet, there he was – all 6’6” 265lbs of him. The Canadian Grizzly had decided to immerse himself in this boot camp. To me, that meant that once all of the health restrictions on our nation was lifted – and Northern Pro Wrestling resumed operations that the man known as KUMA might return with a sharpened set of skills.
As I let his presence soak in my mind for a few moments, and as I took one last roll call of the men who were working towards their various goals – I thought to myself – that Northern Pro Wrestling’s landscape was about to change. What if I thought… What if?
