With all the buzz about Bret Hart’s return to WWE and what it might mean for Wrestlemania 26, another Canadian is mounting a comeback of his own and sealed it with a Royal Rumble victory on Sunday night.

While Canadians Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Michael J. Fox and Michael Buble were taking home Grammys, Edge was putting the finishing touches on a victory in which he outlasted Shawn Michaels, John Cena and Batista for the Royal Rumble title.

This might begin to pave the way for Elimination Chamber and Wrestlemania 26 storylines. See what our friends at InsidePulse.com have to say about it here.

By Gordon Holmes
Special to Canadian of the Week

From Alberta’s Hart Family to Quebec’s Rougeau Brothers to Ontario’s Edge and Christian, the tradition of Canadian wrestling is full of larger-than-life personalities and unforgettable matches. Join us every week as we count down to Wrestlemania XXVI by taking a look at the Great White North’s finest contributions to the squared circle.

Editor’s Note: The “Modern Era” is defined as the period of wrestling that exists from
SummerSlam 1988 to the present day. Why 1988? Because that’s when I started watching wrestling. I know, I’m lame.

Previous pick: 10. Andrew “Test” Martin

9: John “Earthquake” Tenta
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 462 lbs.
Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia
Greatest Match: Earthquake vs. Hulk Hogan – SummerSlam 90

Wrestling was better when it was real.

Editor’s Note: Yes, I’m aware wrestling hasn’t been an actual competition since the days when Frank Gotch would hold a kangaroo in a headlock for 12 hours.

But to me, there was a time when wrestling was an actual contest. There was a time when Hulk Hogan overcame amazing odds because he fed off the power of his Hulkamaniacs and stayed true to his three demandments. And there was a time when the diabolical Earthquake had killed Hulk Hogan dead on “The Brother Love Show.”

Now I know wrestling is two fine athletes working together to put on a complex show…like figure skating.

Now I know Hulk Hogan always won because he sold tickets.

And now I know that John “Earthquake” Tenta was just one in a long line of super huge wrestlers brought along so Hulk Hogan would have someone impressive to body slam.

But man, there was a time when the Earthquake (originally billed as “Canadian Earthquake) scared the crap out of me.

In his very first appearance he squashed the Ultimate Warrior like a bug. Later that summer he blindsided Hulk Hogan and delivered Earthquake Splashes so devastating that the only way to bring the Hulkster back to life was by brandishing a “Get Well, Hulkster” bracelet.

Don’t judge me.

And then, in the lead up to the big Hogan vs. Earthquake grudge match at SummerSlam 90, he splashed the Tugboat (no pun intended) into oblivion.

But I wasn’t worried. We’d seen it a hundred times before. Hogan is attacked by a guy twice his size, Hogan kicks out of the villain’s biggest move, Hogan emerges victorious. Lather, rinse, repeat.

So, you could image the look on this young mark’s face when Hogan wasn’t able to get the job done. Sure, Hogan had his hand raised that night in the Philadelphia Spectrum, but it was only by countout.

In hindsight, I doubt I’d like Earthquake very much if he came on the scene today. Don’t get me wrong, he was very mobile for a big guy, but you watch wrestling with different eyes once you’ve seen behind the curtain. The fear for the well being of the good guy is impossible to capture once you know they’re both headed out to Cracker Barrel after the show.

But when I was a kid? The Earthquake was awesome.

Gordon Holmes is the wrestling correspondent for Comcast.net’s SlamCast wrestling coverage and the “Survivor” correspondent for Fancast.com. He was also trained to take a beating by WWE Hall of Famer Afa “The Wild Samoan” Anoa’i. You can follow Gordon on Twitter at twitter.com/gordonholmes.

By Gordon Holmes
Special to Canadian of the Week

From Alberta’s Hart Family to Quebec’s Rougeau Brothers to Ontario’s Edge and Christian, the tradition of Canadian wrestling is full of larger-than-life personalities and unforgettable matches. Join us every week for the next 10 weeks as we count down to Wrestlemania XXVI by taking a look at the Great White North’s finest contributions to the squared circle.

Editor’s Note: The “Modern Era” is defined as the period of wrestling that exists from SummerSlam 1988 to the present day. Why 1988? Because that’s when I started watching wrestling. My list, my rules…

10: Andrew “Test” Martin

Height: 6’6”
Weight: 280 lbs.
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
Greatest Match: Test vs. Shane McMahon – SummerSlam 99 – Love Her or Leave Her Match

When I was approached about doing a Top 10 Canadian wrestlers piece, my first instinct was, “Only 10?” But then when I dug deeper into the topic, I realized that there are really two tiers. The top seven or eight are extremely talented and influential. After that, there isn’t a ton to differentiate between them.

So, what makes Test stand out in this tier over notable Canadians like Sean “Val Venis” Morley and Jacques “The Mountie” Rougeau? All three held the WWE Intercontinental Championship, considered at the time to be the second-most prestigious title in the organization. All three enjoyed extended runs as mid-level talent on WWE programming. But only Test seemed poised to take a place in the higher echelon of WWE performers.

Why didn’t he? Like many things that happen in the guarded world of wrestling, there isn’t really a definitive answer. But let’s take a look at what might have been…

Test debuted as a member of Vince McMahon’s evil Corporation during the winter of 1998. As a part of this stable, Test was able to rub elbows with top names like The Rock, Triple H, Mick “Mankind” Foley, and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin right off the bat.

After his run with the Corporation came to an end, Test became the on-screen boyfriend of Vince’s daughter Stephanie McMahon. The storyline picked up steam when Test was forced to earn the approval of Stephanie’s brother Shane. The two faced off in the shockingly good “Love Her or Leave Her” match at SummerSlam 99. Shortly afterward, Test and Stephanie were engaged to be married (again, just in the storyline … this gets confusing).

However, during Stephanie’s bachelorette party in Las Vegas, Stephanie was drugged by the WWE’s top villain, Triple H. Triple H smuggled her away to a quickie marriage chapel and married her as she sat slumped in the car.

This didn’t sit well with Test.

Now, from there the storyline could have continued with a furious Test tearing through Triple H’s DeGeneration X cronies to get at his former bride-to-be’s new husband (told you this was confusing).

However, they went a different way. Stephanie turned on her father, Triple H went on to feud with Mick Foley, and Test was shuffled down the card into the tag team “T&A” which was basically a juvenile way to draw attention to Trish Stratus Holmes’ considerable assets.

Test was never as hot as he was during the winter of 1999. So, maybe it’s his potential that puts him over performers like Morley and Rougeau.

That, and he dated both Stacy Keibler and Kelly Kelly. Maybe not at the same time, but that’s still impressive.

Gordon Holmes is the wrestling correspondent for Comcast.net’s SlamCast wrestling coverage and the “Survivor” correspondent for Fancast.com. He was also trained to take a beating by WWE Hall of Famer Afa “The Wild Samoan” Anoa’i. You can follow Gordon on Twitter at twitter.com/gordonholmes.

Conservatives in the fight against U.S. health care reform got a new public ally Wednesday in the form of UFC heavyweight champion and former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar, who compared Canada’s health care system to that of a Third World country after he fell ill there.

Lesnar, a self-identified “conservative Republican,” went on a rant that was published in the National Post about what he called poor treatment in a Canadian medical facility somewhere in the Alberta wilderness.

Lesnar said he and his wife took off, driving back across the border to Bismarck, N.D., where a “doctor there saved my career and saved my life.”

“That’s when I made a phone call to (UFC president Dana White), cussing him out and told him to send a jet for me,” Lesnar added.

The jet flew him to the Mayo Clinic, where he got the treatment he needed.

See, simple as that: He hopped a private jet to the Mayo Clinic. You know, the way any of us here in the States would.

Lesnar admitted he was sharing his story purely because we’re in the midst of a heated debate over health-care reform in the U.S., and he has a strong position on the matter.

“The only reason I’m mentioning this, I’m mentioning it to the United States of America because President Obama is looking for health-care reform and I don’t want it … I’m speaking on behalf of millions of Americans, the doctors of the United States don’t want this to happen and neither do I.”

Lesnar suffered from diverticulitis, a condition that causes the colon to become inflamed. Lesnar’s intestine became perforated, which meant his body was being slowly poisoned from within. He said the condition was the result of an all-protein diet.

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/most-popular/story.html

The Calgary Herald is reporting that Bret “The Hitman” Hart might be mounting a comeback to the WWE after a decade out of the ring, and more than 12 years after being betrayed by WWE chief Vince McMahon.

Rumors are swirling that the Calgary native has signed a short-term contract that will see him return to the WWE in January, culminating in his March 28 appearance at WrestleMania XXVI, the newspaper reports.

“He’s coming back,” Dave Meltzer, editor of Wrestling Observer, tells the Herald. “My understanding is that it’s a done deal.”

Hart, who released a popular autobiography a year ago, says he’s forgiven McMahon for going back on his word what’s now known as “The Montreal Screwjob.”

What role Hart could play and how much action he’d be involved in remains to be seen. He suffered a stroke in 2002 as the result of a motorcycle accident, but is now believed to be in good health.

Sad news surfaced over the weekend as another professional wrestler, this time Whitby, Ontario, native Andrew “Test” Martin, was found dead too young.