What does it mean to be a Canadian professional wrestling fan? It means that when you're in the second grade they teach you how to apply the Sharpshooter in gym class. Okay so that's not true, but believe me when I tell you that Canadians love professional wrestling as much as any part of the world. Canada is not a huge country in terms of population. In terms of area it's the second biggest to Russia, but it's so damn cold in the north that not a lot of people live up there. The population is estimated to be around 35 million people, which is less than the reported population of the state of California (said to be about 38 million people). I point that out because it's not like we're a major player in world affairs. Canadians are happy to do our thing in our corner of the world and we don't bother anybody while we do it. The fact that we're really nice about everything is just an added bonus about living here. The health care isn't that bad either! When it comes to pro wrestling, it's hard to explain our passion for the business except to say that there's something in the water here. While we can't really put our finger on it, the best way to explain it is by saying that the people here just get it. It's just a part of the lifestyle here. Most wrestling fans will immediately think about Calgary, Alberta as a wrestling hotbed because of Stu Hart and the legendary Hart family. Not only did Stu have the wildly successful Stampede Wrestling promotion, but he also helped train a lot of wrestlers that made it all the way to do in the part of his home known as The Dungeon. If you survived The Dungeon you could survive anything in the wrestling business. For this list, I'm going for WWE (or WCW/ECW) performers of the last 30 years aka the WrestleMania years. There were a lot of Canadians before that, but it's hard to compare them considering I wasn't alive back then and because the business has changed so much. Before we get to the list of 10, here are some brief honorable mentions.
Val Venis - Nearly made it. Had a good run in WWE as a midcard wrestler. I don't think his WWE run lasted long enough to earn him a spot.
Dino Bravo - Solid midcard performer in WWE in the 1980s. Didn't do anything that special, but had a decent run there.
Tyson Kidd - Currently in WWE and a former tag champ. Still active. Could earn his way into this list in a few years if he gets the screen time he deserves.
Natalya - Former Divas Champion who has been one of the most consistent divas in WWE for many years. Still has more great years ahead of her. Just give her a chance. There are countless others, but I wanted to acknowledge them before getting to the list. Let's get to it.