Everything Greektown Wrestling is here: the wrestlers, the events, and more. But to know how far the promotion has come, it’s essential to know where it was.
Greektown Wrestling –
The Future is Extreme in Ontario
Everything starts with a vision. That’s exactly what Channing Decker and Trent Gibson (The tag team known as The Fraternity) had in 2015, with that vision it has grown into one of the most overlooked and best promotions in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) Greektown Wrestling.
This hard-hitting promotion is highly interactive with the cult-following fan base. It is well known for being supportive within the community and exposing talent all across North America.
The Beginning 2015-2016
In 2015, Channing Decker and Trent Gibson, two former trainees of Rob Fuego from Squared Circle Gym in Toronto, took their passion and love for professional wrestling and decided to run their own promotion.
Their goal is to work within the community, help build talent, and show the best wrestling North America offers.
A Danforth local, Chris Antaras, Owner of Detroit Eatery, supported the East Torontonians’ idea, even offering his Detroit Eatery as the headquarters for ticket sales, meet-and-greets, and after-parties so fans can meet their Greektown heroes.
2017: A Year of Growth
Wrestling is a tough business. The competition and quality of talent makes it hard for small-time promotions to reach the next level. The Fraternity (Channing Decker and Trent Gibson) grew in popularity with small crowds of 150 or 200 people.
They did this by using social media and putting a lot of hard work and dedication into their newly found love, newly found passion, and their promotion of Greektown Wrestling.
The Greektown team showed that the saying “hard work pays off” when on February 26, 2017, Revenge in Greektown show, got some press from Inside Toronto News.
Growing sponsors with Golden Pizza, East York’s Wrestling Podcast, and Cameron’s Brewing and keeping up with community work, this charity show for the John Howard Society of Toronto saw TNA/IMPACT Rosemary return and also start the year with continuing the success from the previous year.
With a growing fan base, the Danforth promotion saw themselves switching venues to the Solvenski Dom.
Along with the Greektown originals, John Atlas, Jock Samson, Bill Collier, Space Monkey, Sonny Kiss; promoters Channing Decker and Trent Gibson kept pushing to bringing in exclusive talent for their audience.
With names like Joey Janela, MJF, Aiden Prince, Joey Ryan, and Colt Cabana, as well as exposing some of Canada’s best, RJ City, Alexia Nicole, TDT, Josh Alexander, and Ethan Pag.
Even bringing in Aftermath host Nug Nahrang showed that they truly are one promotion in the GTA that you need to experience.
2018: An Extreme Year
Greektown fans are like no other. They’re loud, mouthy, and truly attempt to let the wrestlers know their real feelings.
Some have been die-hard fans since day one, others travel from across the GTA to see these events, everyone’s friendly in a safe environment just looking for some great wrestling.
The cult following stuck with Greektown promoters Decker and Gibson throughout the start-up years, so in return, On March 18, 2018, they presented their biggest show to date, Foley In Greektown!
Bringing in Mick Foley was by far the biggest name to ever come to Greektown, and it showed when they packed the new venue, the basement of a church, with 400-plus people! They even used Mick as the special enforcer in the main event.
Riding the wave of momentum, the promoters ran into the summer, presenting Greektown X: The Dragon on June 16, 2018.
WWE Hall Of Famer Ricky Steamboat came to Greektown, helping sell out yet another show for the East York promotion.
Former WWE superstar MVP faced off against Trent Gibson, while Steamboat was the special guest referee for the main event match of the Greektown Cup, Channing Decker vs. John Atlas.
The grungy feel of the church basement became home for Greektown Wrestling fans. Gathering together every couple month they watch great wrestling in a friendly, safe environment where the promotion accepts everyone for who they are.
Promoters keep bringing in stars of the past, present, and future to help boost ticket sales and compete with all other promotions along the Greater Toronto Area.
With the shows only happening every couple of months, the anticipation grew, and when promoters dropped the event’s name, they just couldn’t wait.
GETTING EXTREME
On September 23, 2018, for Greektown XI: Dreamers, fans watched the slow transition of this wrestling promotion into what fans now know as the hardcore promotion it is today.
With Tommy Dreamer and Hacksaw Jim Duggan as guests, fans watched Hacksaw beat Greektown original Jock Samson, while Tommy Dreamer, RJ City, and Channing Decker faced off in a triple threat match for the Greektown Cup!
After a long, extreme battle, fans gave one of the biggest pops in Greektown history when the Innovator of Violence, Tommy Dreamer, won the Greektown Cup.
Greektown Wrestling held there final year event of 2018 on December 16th with Greektown XII Extreme.
A huge event with a pure ECW theme, bringing back Greektown Cup Champion Tommy Dreamer, Mikey Whipwreck, and Jazz.
However, this show was significant because it was about ECW legend and former WWE superstar Tajiri, who had made his first Canadian appearance in nearly 15 years!
With shades of ECW, the show showed some great Canadian wrestling with tag teams The North (Josh Alexander and Ethan Page) taking on a Quebec tag team TDT and Alexia Nicole battling Jazz in a war all over the arena for the NWA Women’s Championship.
Headlining the show, Dreamer defended his Greektown Cup against Tajiri, Channing Decker, and RJ City in an extreme rules match.
The fans that night welcomed a fatal four-way brawl that went all over the arena! Dreamer was green misted by Tajiri, Decker went through a table, and City won the Greektown Cup!
2019 – Present
Heartbreak in Greektown Wrestling
Greektown Unholy
Although the Greektown team was still feeling low because of the Detroit Eatery, on March 24, 2018, Greektown Unholy brought back Tajiri, Mikey Whipwreck, and Jazz. Sticking to the ECW theme again, promoters brought in Little Guido to add more of a nostalgic feel.
Together, fans cheered on as they watched Alexia Nicole take on Jazz in a best two out of three falls match for the NWA World Women’s Championship.
Little Guido went up against Greektown’s most hated man Jock Samson in a Sicilian street fight. It was one of the most vicious matches in the history of Greektown.
It was only fitting to have the Fraternity (Channing Decker and Trent Gibson) headline the show against ECW legendary tag team the Unholy Alliance, Tajiri, and Mikey Whipwreck.
After the fire, Decker and Gibson felt like it was their duty within the community to get the morale up. Teaming together only brought the Danforth community together as one, it was an emotional night in Greektown.
With fans now adapted to the ECW themed shows, promoters truly had to step it up big time as the fans now expect a hardcore wrestling show and look forward to ECW legends making appearances.
Still bringing in great North American talent, promoters used shades of ECW to balance their shows and not become a stereotypical deathmatch promotion.
On June 23, 2019, promoters put on Greektown 2300, bringing in the first-ever ECW Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas, Blue Meanie, and the suicidal, homicidal, genocidal, death-defying maniac, SABU!
The hardcore Greektown fans jam-packed the basement of the church as they watched Shane Douglas embarrass Jock Samson and Blue Meanie entertain the classic ECW fans with a comedic match with Allysin Kay, Pretty Ricky Wildly, and PUF.
