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The show began with Bob Leonard hosting a legends ceremony that included The Cuban Assassin (looks exactly the same, only his hair and beard have gone white), Gerry Morrow, Gama Singh, Leo Burke, Lance Storm and Jim Neidhart, as well as Ed Whalen's widow Naomi.
Next was the obligatory rambling Teddy Hart promo. Teddy was accompanied by his wife Fay, their backflipping Persian cat Mr. Money (who sat dutifully on the top turnbuckle the entire time) and his "bodyguard" Vic Viper. Teddy asked the crowd to say a prayer for the safety of all the wrestlers in the back, then introduced Konnan with a dubious anecdote about Stu predicting Konnan would be a bigger star than either Bret Hart or Hulk Hogan. Konnan got a nice reaction and did a short promo talking about working for the original Stampede Wrestling in its final days and plans for a Hart Legacy Wrestling/AAA talent exchange. The crowd was growing restless after 45 minutes of talking to start the show.
1. El Generico & Samuray del Sol won a four-way elimination tag overTrent Barreta & Brian Cage, Pete Wilson & Cam!kaze, and Andrew Hawkes & Ryan Rollins. Barretta accused Generico of stealing his WWE job. Tons of great spots, including a somersault plancha by Wilson and shooting star press to the floor by Rollins. Wilson is a local worker who got his start in Matrats twelve years ago. Rollins is a Lance Storm trainee from Australia and looked great here.
2. Jim Neidhart & Cat Von Heez won a three-way mixed tag over Johnny Devine & Miss Danyah and Ryan Rollins (pulling double-duty) & Nikita Naridian. Good match when Devine and Rollins were in. Neidhart, not so much. He must be pushing 350 pounds and wrestled in a T-shirt. His offense consisted mostly of tapping his shoulder and waiting for Devine and Rollins to bump off it. Rollins missed a perfect corkscrew 630 splash ala Jack Evans. Neidhart and Von Heez won after a botched attempt at a Hart Attack. Not good.
The Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) came out for a promo with their IWGP tag titles. Harry was over huge. Chris Masters and Bobby Lashley interrupted, setting up the semi-main event.
3. Heavy Metal (RCW Edmonton worker, not the '90s luchador) won a 12-man Royal Rumble-style battle royal featuring "Dynamite" Dan Myers (fiance of Dynamite Kid's daughter Bronwyne Billington), Brady Malibu, Bobby Sharpe, Scott Lee Crue, Big Jess Youngblood, Raam Dante, Slammer, Omen (tall guy doing a Zodiac-type gimmick), "Principal" Richard Pound, Wavell Starr and Jason the Terrible. Pound and Starr were regulars for Bruce and Ross Hart's early 2000s incarnation of Stampede Wrestling. Jason was the original version, Karl Moffatt, who must be in his fifties. It came down to Heavy Metal and Starr, who eliminated himself, leading to an angle where the two of them, along with Johnny Devine, joined the latest version of Gama Singh and Abu Wizal's Karachi Vice heel stable. Starr literally traded in his headdress for a turban.
4. Next up was The Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) vs. Bobby Lashley & Chris Masters. Lots of brawling in the crowd to start. Match was barely underway when Johnny Devine ran in and attacked Davey Jr., causing a DQ. He was run off by Lance Storm, who had been at ringside doing guest commentary for the iPPV broadcast, and suddenly we had a trios match. Storm wrestled in jeans and a tank top, but moved with remarkable alacrity, as Lord Alfred Hayes would have put it. He had some nice exchanges with Devine and even busted out a pescado. A bit sluggish when the other guys were in, but not bad. Davey Jr. tapped Masters with the Sharpshooter.
5. "Team Teddy" (Teddy Hart & Flip Kendrick & Pete Wilson & Cam!kaze & Brian Cage) defeated "Team Konnan" (Jack Evans & Generico & Samuray del Sol & Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Trent Barreta) in an unreal spotfest. It was a homecoming for Evans, who was a regular for Matrats and Stampede Wrestling a decade ago. Wilson had to leave the match early on after injuring his shoulder taking a suplex from Davey Jr. Some brawling in the crowd with chairshots, then a big dive sequence with a Generico somersault plancha, Cam!kaze top rope somersault, Samuray's gorgeous spinning Brillo Dorada variation, capped off by an insane Flip Kendrick tornillo. Later in the match Teddy added a huge moonsault off the railing of the balcony above the entranceway, appearing to injure his leg. More great spots down the stretch, including Generico using the top rope brainbuster on Kendrick. Teddy managed to climb the ropes and hit a diving Canadian Destroyer on Generico for the win. Konnan got on the mic and put the match over big. Generico got a nice send-off.
The building was nearly full, though there are always plenty of comps when the Harts are involved. Capacity at the Pavilion used to be 1,800, probably a bit less now after renovations to conform to stricter fire codes. The show airs on iPPV tonight at hartlegacywrestling.com. Next Calgary show is Feb. 22 (followed by shows in Medicine Hat and Edmonton) with Kevin Nash and John Morrison, plus New Japan's Jushin Liger, Jado and Gedo. Veteran referee Tiger Hattori and NJPW president Yukusu Taniguchi will also be making the trip.
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