Adam Copeland Returns Home to Maple Leaf Gardens for Historic Northern Rising Show

Clear Facts

• Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling hosts Northern Rising on Saturday night at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
• Adam Copeland will wrestle Steve Maclin in what is described as a special homecoming match.
• Rohan Raja will face Andrade El Idolo for the AEW National Championship on the same card.

Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling prepares for one of its largest shows of the year this weekend. Northern Rising takes place at the historic Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Adam Copeland headlines the event against Steve Maclin in what is expected to be a memorable homecoming.

Copeland grew up watching wrestling at Maple Leaf Gardens and has long considered it a bucket-list venue. He will now step into the ring where he first saw the sport live as a child. The occasion carries extra weight for a performer whose early memories of the building helped shape his career.

“I think what’s cool is (Copeland), I think it was maybe about a month ago, he posted notes on his list of stadiums he wanted to wrestle in, his bucket list, and it’s cool that two of the stadiums on there that I’ve wrestled in before, including Maple Leaf Gardens,” he said.

Rohan Raja, who faces Andrade El Idolo for the AEW National Championship, says Copeland’s presence has elevated the entire show. He believes the veteran wrestler will bring emotion and respect to the building.

“And just for someone of that caliber to say, this is one of my lifetime goals I’ve wanted to do since I’ve started wrestling and everything, and I think we already have this historic buzz going around because this really feels like a really, really big deal and it’s obviously our biggest show, but having someone like him and him being backstage and just seeing the vibe that he’s going to bring and his emotion and everything, so like someone of a Hall of Fame career is going to get emotional coming into this venue, It’s more of like a reminder for me, like, oh damn, this is a big deal. And him and Maclin are going to kill it.”

Copeland himself has spoken about what returning to Maple Leaf Gardens means to him. He recalls the arena as the place that first made wrestling feel real and provided an escape during difficult times in his youth.

“Maple Leaf Gardens was the very first time I saw wrestling live, and to see it live and for it to be this tangible thing and wait, these guys and women, they’re real,” he told OutKick in a recent interview. “I can go see them and actually smack hands with them and that kind of thing? But just the feeling that it gave me as a release and as a place where I didn’t have to worry about things as a kid and I didn’t have to think about, you know, the stuff that goes on in life. We lost my uncle when I was very young and I was very close to him and I feel like that was a big hole that wrestling helped try and fill, it doesn’t fill it, but you know what I mean.”

“Man, the first time I saw it, I just went, I got to do this. But I’m 9, 10 saying that, right? But it was Maple Leaf Gardens and the fact that it was in that venue added more importance to it for me because all I ever did was watch stuff from Maple Leaf Gardens whether it was Maple Leaf wrestling or the Toronto Maple Leafs. My world kind of revolved around that arena and I never got down for a Leafs game, but we could afford wrestling tickets and so to get down there, experience so many shows over there over the years and just experience what it felt like because, I’ve said before, I feel at a certain point, if the arena’s been around long enough and had enough shows and experiences there, they almost start to soak in some of those experiences and some of that energy and some of those emotions so that when you walk in them, you feel like, oh, stuff has happened here.”

Additional championship matches are scheduled throughout the card. Priscilla Kelly defends the MLP Women’s Championship against Nikki Storm. Josh Alexander and Stu Grayson compete for the Undisputed MLP Canadian Championship. Three tag teams will battle for the MLP Canadian Tag Team Championship.

Raja says the entire roster is prepared to deliver strong performances across the board.

“I’m very confident in my match, but I’m confident that every match on the card is going to succeed expectations. Like the card is stacked right now and it’s going to be a great pay-per-view.”

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