A few weeks deep into a promising set of new friendships, one of my pals makes a passing reference to the bloody, eccentric fights the group has shared. I laugh. They don’t. I’ve just found out I’m in the esteemed presence of Alberta Arts Professional Wrestling Foundation’s founding fighters.
AAPWF’s first iteration was born in the fall of 2023 as an extension of Anna Fuchshuber’s sculpture performance project at Alberta University of the Arts. Three years later, the beloved federation has hosted repeat events at venues like Whiskey Rose, AUArts, and ContainR Sunnyside, drawing up to 200 attendees per show.
Early versions of AAPWF’s wrestling rings were built from gym mats used for life-drawing models, wobbly stanchions, and non-functional ropes. Even in these early stages, the AUArts’s auditorium filled to the brim with enthused spectators, stuffed in the bleachers and pressed tightly against walls to catch a glimpse of the show. As interest in AAPWF grew, the federation moved into venues across Calgary.
With its roots in the arts, part of AAPWF’s draw is the plethora of inventive characters, gimmicks, and lore surrounding the fights. Each match is a semi-improvised mini-drama of good versus evil, set in a looming dystopia where class systems are based on wrestling abilities.
In the ring, Bailey Glover — who is also an organizer for AAPWF — is known as “The Mailman,” an all-knowing character constantly being written and rewritten, and who recently incorporated surveillance-state and digital privacy metaphors. Another organizer, Luke Pigeon, draws inspiration for his character from an inexplicable childhood premonition that he would one day lose his arm and have it replaced with a robotic prosthetic. The result is “Wet Arm Willy,” a wide-eyed sailor with an all-powerful red lobster claw arm.
Whether you’re deep into the lore or a casual spectator, the matches are entertaining either way since they follow a tried-and-true dynamic. “What’s so great about wrestling is that it’s a very simple, clear-cut between good and evil,” Glover said.
None of the organizers has prior wrestling experience. “It’s amazing to come into wrestling and start to really appreciate it, and then realize you’re in one of the most important historical cities for wrestling in the world,” said Glover.
Pointing to Stampede Wrestling’s legacy, AAPWF’s organizers marvel at the impact of the Hart family’s promotion on pro wrestling history. Some of the most influential pro-wrestlers in the world were trained in the Hart family’s basement (also known as “The Dungeon”) in Northwest Calgary. Today, the Hart House is recognized as a heritage site by the City of Calgary and the WWE.
“I have a ring set up in my garage, and I get to have people come and train. It feels like I’m the dinky, artistic Stu Hart,” said Fuchshuber. Having founded the federation from scratch, Fuchshuber now also wrestles for a dozen independent promotions in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Australia.
Beyond delivering the wincing thrill of a convincing fight scene, the federation has grown into the opaque center of a creative Venn diagram, the overlapping circles representing young Calgarian visual artists, musicians, illustrators, film photographers, and more.
Many of the wrestlers come from fine arts backgrounds. “As an artist, wrestling is a huge outlet for a mix of all these different artistic approaches,” said Luke Pigeon, organizer and wrestler. Pigeon taught himself graphic design to create his own shirts and has designed posters for AAPWF that incorporate textures from his liquid-light glasswork practice at AUArts.
As the federation grows, AAPWF prioritizes the community feeling found in the city’s scrappy, tight-knit alternative scenes and hopes to make the events even more multidisciplinary.
“In Calgary, there’s a huge punk and metal scene, and we want to affiliate ourselves and start doing shows where we can work together with bands,” said Glover.
From top to bottom, AAPWF is community-based. Working at Caffe Beano on 17th Avenue, Pigeon reports that customers ask about the wrestling federation and upcoming shows nearly every day.
“Our whole goal is to involve the community and build the community. Most of the wrestlers in the ring are people who first attended an AAPWF show,” said Glover.
“There’s a smaller gap — or no gap at all — between the audience members and the people performing,” said Fuchshuber.
AAPWF is growing by the minute, seducing punk rockers, artists, legit pro wrestlers and average Joes all in the same breath. The wrestlers are crawling all over the city. They’re your baristas, new friends and long-term relationships. Maybe, they could even be you.
Catch AAPWF’s next show on April 2 at Whiskey Rose, and see @albertaartsprowrestling on Instagram for more.
