Grand Prix taking shape for 2000
By GREG OLIVER -- SLAM! Wrestling
It's early February, but already
Emile Dupre has an idea what he wants to do
on this year's Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling tour.
Last year's tour was dubbed the "Legends Tour" and it proved to be true on
more than one level. Maritime legends like
The Beast, Cuban Assassin, No
Class Bobby Bass, and
Leo Burke all appeared at one point or another during
the summer. But it was another legend,
Joe E. Legend, that made headlines
after the summer, signing with the WWF.
Dupre's been looking at tapes, and has a bunch of wrestlers in mind. Talent
from right across Canada, Vancouver to the Maritimes, men and women.
But it could all get complicated if a deal with television station ATV comes
through. Because the station only has one mobile unit, the Grand Prix
promotion could be forced to tape a bunch of shows at once.
"We might have to tape three shows in Halifax, then during the same week,
I'll have to tape another three shows right here in Moncton," explained
Dupre recently. If that comes to pass, he'll try to have about 20 wrestlers
in on the tour that week, and then they'll come and go as the season passes.
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Cuban Assassin will be returning to the Maritimes this summer. - photo courtesy Stampede Wrestling
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It's a little early for some of the talent to commit. Cuban Assassin is
definitely coming in, Bobby Bass will work a couple of weeks, and Dupre's
working on convincing the Great Malumba to make a return, even if his
arch-enemy
Killer Karl Krupp has passed away. Plus some of the wrestlers he
has used in the past, like Todd McPhee and Gary Williams (aka Wild Man
Austin), have a WCW tryout at the Winnipeg show on February 26th.
And then there's Randy 'Macho Man' Savage. Believe it or not, Dupre has had
talks with Savage on making his return to the Maritimes, the location where
he got his first big break, and first started using a female valet.
"There's another thing in the fire. I was going to mention that. I was
holding that off," said Dupre. "You see the thing is he really doesn't want
to commit himself right away but he told me to hang in there for another
five or six weeks."
Just as Dupre doesn't get worked up about the possibility of a big name like
Savage returning to the tour, nor is he worried about the recent competition
from Real Action Wrestling. He followed the tour from afar, and got reports
each night. It almost sounds like he was in each town. "In this territory
here, I know my onions," he said cryptically.
But first, Dupre is going on vacation, getting away from the snow and
flooding his hometown of Shediac, New Brunswick. First stop is Cuba for a couple of weeks, then
Florida. But upon his return, he knows that he has his work cut out for him.
"Then I'm going to get down to work and try and put this thing together.
