Canadian Death Tour
{{short description|Professional wrestling tour}}
{{redirect|Death Tour|the tour performed by Brazilian football club Santa Cruz Futebol Clube|Suicidal Tour}}
The Canadian Death Tour or Northern Hell Tour, and sometimes just known as the "Death Tour", is a professional wrestling tour of the northern territories of Canada promoted by Tony Condello annually for over 30 years during the winters. The tour takes wrestlers from all over North America and drives them around the Inuit communities which are rarely exposed to wrestling. The tour derives its name from the fact that many wrestlers who participate in it found it to be a near-death experience due to how harsh and difficult it was to complete.{{cite web |access-date=2019-01-03 |url= http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2007/02/25/3665258.html|archive-url= https://archive.today/20190103171036/http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2007/02/25/3665258.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= January 3, 2019|title= Wrestling's toughest tour - northern Manitoba|date=February 25, 2007 |author=Hollyday, Bob |publisher=Winnipeg Sun}} To complete a death tour is considered a badge of honour and evidence of a wrestlers toughness, similar to having been trained in "the Dungeon".{{cite web |access-date=2019-01-03 |url=https://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/wwe-network-stone-cold-podcast-recap-feat-edge-christian-coverage-160076 |title=WWE NETWORK: STONE COLD PODCAST RECAP FEAT. EDGE & CHRISTIAN COVERAGE |date=September 8, 2015 |author=F4W Staff |publisher=Figure Four Online|work=Wrestling Observer Newsletter }}{{cite web |access-date=2019-01-03 |url=https://prowrestlingstories.com/pro-wrestling-stories/best-pro-wrestling-road-stories/ |title=Best Pro Wrestling Road Stories: The Good, the Bad and the Bizarre! |date= |author=|publisher= ProWrestlingStories}}
History
Each tour is three weeks long and is held from January to February.{{cite web |access-date=2019-01-03 |url=https://www.thewesternstar.com/living/corner-brooks-t-bone-sizzling-on-the-independent-wrestling-scene-140528/ |title= Corner Brook's "T-Bone" sizzling on the independent wrestling scene|date= July 2, 2010|author=Staff |publisher=|work=The Western Star }} As there are no hotels in the areas which the tour appears in wrestlers are required to bring their own sleeping bags with them on this trips and sleep on gym mats in the school gymnasiums where they had performed hours earlier or find a place to room in on their own. Wrestlers are also required to buy their own food. Many of the younger people who have participated in the tours have elected to change profession after returning home. It is widely regarded as an honor to be offered a spot on the tour, and completing it grants the wrestler a high status for their tenacity.{{cite web |access-date=2019-01-03 |url=https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/sports/barrys-ready-to-let-the-goode-times-roll/ |title=Barry's ready to let the Goode times roll |date=January 24, 2013 |author=Couper, Earle |publisher=|work=Comox Valley Record }} Condello himself has expressed that "this tour is not just a tour; it is an exercise in mind and body". Wrestler and historian Vance Nevada has stated that he had always wanted to do the tour because it was such an important piece of Canadian wrestling lore; with its alumni reading like a "who's who" of the business greats.
Wrestler Tony Kozina has expressed that touring in Canada in general is painful and that the experience of it does not have to come from a Death Tour for you to be tough.{{cite web |access-date=2019-01-03 |url=http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2017/08/21/22747023.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20181231164602/http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2017/08/21/22747023.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 31, 2018 |title=Kozina's Road Diaries: Finally, the end of the road |date=August 21, 2017 |author=Kozina, Tony |publisher=SLAM! Wrestling}}
The tours are the main subject of the documentary film The Promoter.{{cite web |access-date=2019-01-03 |url=https://winnipegsun.com/2014/02/22/condello-wrestling-doc-a-winner/wcm/27ec42a6-84f5-418e-b1ca-46ae5b6e076c |title= Condello wrestling doc a winner|date=February 22, 2014 |author=Penton, Kirk |publisher=Winnipeg Sun}}
Wrestlers to complete a death tour
=Canadians=
=Foreigners=
| class="wikitable" | |||||
| Name | Number of tours | Birth year | Year(s) participated | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Norton
| 1 | 1961 | 1989 | Went into shock when the bus he and the other wrestlers were traveling got stuck in snow. | |||||
| Rhyno
| 1 | 1975 | | Was in a van which almost fell through the ice. | |||||
| Johnny Swinger
| 1 | 1975 | | | {{cite web |access-date=2018-02-03 |url=https://www.thesportster.com/wrestling/top-15-star-wrestlers-who-survived-the-canadian-death-tour/ |title=Top 15 Star Wrestlers Who Survived the Canadian "Death Tour" |date=September 9, 2016|author=May, Vern |publisher=The Sportster}} | |||||
| Baron von Raschke
| 3 | 1940 | | |
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite book|last=Copeland|first=Adam|title=Adam Copeland on Edge|publisher=WWE Books|date=November 2004|isbn=0-7434-8347-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dNVPy11PJnMC|via=Google Books}}
- {{citation|access-date=2019-01-03 |url=https://www.ringsidenews.com/2017/03/06/talk-jericho-recap-w-tony-condello-promoting-northern-death-tours-origins-roddy-piper-character-helping-vince-mcmahon/3/ |title=Talk Is Jericho Recap w/ Tony Condello – Promoting 'Northern Death Tours', Origins of The 'Roddy Piper' Character, Helping Vince Mcmahon, More! |page=3 |date= March 6, 2017|author=Tuck, Brad|publisher=Ringside News}}
External links
- [http://www.stormwrestling.com/deathcom.html Stories on the Death Tour], archive of stories concerning the tour on StormWrestling.com
- [http://www.stormwrestling.com/death.html Images of the Death Tour], archive of images of the tour on StormWrestling.com