If there was a Mount Rushmore of Minnesota Professional Wrestling, Arik Cannon would be on it. Ushering in the Wrestlepalooza Era, “The Anarchist” has been promoter, champion, coach, regular importer of talent from outside the state, and ambassador to the rest of the country and World. All that, plus he was made an honorary member of the nWo. In a year that saw F1rst reach new heights and numbers of shows run, Cannon was everywhere. In addition to his time teaching at The Academy, his expansion of the F1rst Wrestling brand facilitated some of the best and brightest of our scene tangling with the same from across the professional wrestling landscape. He wrestled for almost every major belt in Minnesota and although he didn’t hold a lot of gold, he gave a veteran presence to any show and left fans on the edge of their seats. In an era where many of the youngest and fastest rising talent didn’t have a lot of Minnesota names to point to, you can easily point to Arik Cannon as one of the biggest reasons the next generation will be able to speak about the Land of 10,000 Lakes as a hotbed of wrestling once again.
WRESTLING 