Every since 2013, Toronto’s Smash Wrestling has held an annual battle called the CANUSA Classic, pairing two competing teams of women’s wrestlers, one representing Canada and the other the USA. Over the years, some of the top indie stars in women’s wrestling have competed, including WWE Superstars like Ruby Riott (Heidi Lovelace) and Candice LeRae, as well as other stars like Rosemary, Allysin Kay (Sienna), Kimber Lee, Jessicka Havok, Nicole Matthews, Mercedes Martinez and many more, representing their countries in this great event. This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday October 27, 2018 in London, Ontario, where it will be a featured event at the London Comic Con. This year’s CANUSA features two stacked all-star squads for each country, with IMPACT’s Allie and “Death Machine” Jessicka Havok rounding out the squads as the final entries.
Here’s a run down of the squads entered this year for CANUSA Classic 2018:
CANADA
The former Cherry Bomb has been a Smash regular since 2014, long before she became Allie with IMPACT Wrestling. While she’s dominated IMPACT’s Knockouts Division, the 2x Knockouts Champion hasn’t forgotten her roots and returns to Smash regularly. She returns to lead Team Canada to victory in the 2018 CANUSA Classic.
LuFisto
Adding muscle and toughness to a well rounded Canadian squad, Montreal’s LuFisto is a 20-year veteran who has wrestled as many men as she has women. A former hardcore legend, LuFisto is still as tough as they come and will bring a veteran leadership to the team.
Nicole Matthews
Nicole Matthews just won her first round match in the WWE Mae Young Classic last week, so she’ll be heading to the CANUSA Classic determined to keep that momentum going in another tournament. She recently got banned from working the US due to work visa issues, but she’ll continue to be a presence on the Canadian indie scene and at Smash she’ll be depended on to be another strong anchor for the Canadian team at CANUSA.
KC Spinelli
Another IMPACT Knockout on Team Canada, KC Spinelli is also a veteran of SHIMMER and Women’s Superstars Uncensored (WSU), as well as other Canadian indies like Alpha-1, Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW) and Capital City Championship Combat (C4). A good soldier to have in your corner.
Cat Power
Cat Power is a veteran of SHIMMER, ECCW and toured Japan with REINA as well. She returned to the West Coast last year, working primarily with Vancouver’s ECCW (where she teams with Nicole Matthews) as well as Washington’s DEFY Wrestling and 3-2-1 BATTLE!. A 2x ECCW Women’s Champion, Cat Power may be the underrated underdog of the Canadian squad.
Xandra Bale
A 9-year indie veteran, Xandra Bale has worked for SHIMMER and Shine since 2013, as well as making her Smash debut the same year. A vet who carved out her career with Pure Wrestling Alliance (PWA) and Squared Circle Wrestling (SCW) in her early days, the hard hitting technical grappler is a good weapon to have in your arsenal.
Jody Threat
The rookie of the team, Jody Threat is an emerging star on the Ontario indies, working with Smash, Crossfire Wrestling, PWA and more. Her punk rock attitude and youthful gung ho will be an asset, with lots of veterans to help guide her.
USA
Tessa Blanchard
Team USA starts off with arguably the top women’s wrestler in the world right now (and quite possible the hottest indie star in general) in Tessa Blanchard. The 3rd generation wrestler currently holds seven championships: IMPACT Knockouts Championship, WSU World Championship, The Crash Lucha Femenil Championship, PCW ULTRA Women’s Championship, Phoenix of RISE Championship, WrestleCircus Lady of the Ring Championship, and Zelo Pro Women’s Championship. Tessa has fought all the top women’s competitors – and a handful of the top men as well. Fearless, limitless, and undeniably dominant, Tessa Blanchard will be hard to stop.
13-year indie veteran Jessicka Havok makes her return to Smash for the first time since 2015, where she was defeated at that year’s CANUSA by a pre-Rosemary Courtney Rush. The former IMPACT Knockouts, 2x WSU World Champion, All American Wrestling (AAW) Women’s Champion and Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW) Women’s Champion is a battle hardened soldier who’s hardcore past will stack up nicely against LuFisto.
Veda Scott
A long time regular with SHIMMER, Veda Scott is also remembered for a four year stint with Ring of Honor (2012-2016). A global indie star, Scott has worked with Pro Wrestling EVE, Stardom, Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw), DDT Pro, RevPro and more, as well as top US indies like Beyond Wrestling, AIW, WSU, and many more. She’s been working Europe more the past few years, but returns to Smash as part of Team USA to help her team to victory.
Su Yung
Team USA is stacked, bringing in another former IMPACT Knockouts Champion in “The Undead Bride” Su Yung. Su Yung is currently locked in a battle against Team Canada’s Allie on IMPACT, so it will be interesting if these two meet up at some point and the tensions boil over.
Jordynne Grace
Jordynne Grace is currently out with an ankle injury, but “Thick Mama Pump” will be chomping at the bit to get back in the ring by the time CANUSA rolls around. Grace has become of the breakout indie stars of 2018 – men or women – and this will be another test for the reigning Black Label Pro Champion. She’s a huge piece of firepower for an already stacked American team.
Allysin Kay
The fourth IMPACT Knockouts Champion on Team USA’s roster, Allysin Kay (formerly Sienna) is taking the indie scene by storm since departing IMPACT this summer. She competed in the WWE Mae Young Classic and just recently won her first Shine Championship. Another solid veteran warrior for the US squad.
NAVEAH
Due to circumstances beyond her control, Shotzi Blackheart had to pull out of the CANUSA this year, but her replacement is another indie veteran on the US roster. A longtime veteran of SHIMMER, QOC and many other indies, Neveah‘s also a member of Ohio Is For Killers (OI4K) alongside her husband Jake Crist as well as Sami Callihan, Dave Crist, and others, as well as the Killer Death Machines alongside Jessicka Havok. The former Rockstar Pro Champion and current CLASH Women’s Champion in Michigan, Neveah is a wild card in every sense of the word “wild”.
