Duke MacIsaac
Encyclopedia
Gary Jessome is a Canadian professional wrestler and trainer, best known by his ringname "The Canadian Widowmaker" Duke MacIsaac, who has competed primarily in the Maritimes-based All Canadian Wrestling, East Coast Pro Wrestling, Grand Prix Wrestling
Grand prix wrestling
Grand Prix Wrestling is a wrestling promotion run and owned by Emile Duprée. Grand Prix Wrestling has currently stopped touring due to heavy traveling costs...

 and Real Action Wrestling, but has also toured Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

A former student of "Kowboy" Mike Hughes, he was one of several Kardinal Sinner Wrestling School graduates to be featured in the Canadian
Television in Canada
Television in Canada officially began with the opening of the nation's first television stations in Montreal and Toronto in 1952. As with most media in Canada, the television industry, and the television programming available in that country, are strongly influenced by the American media, perhaps...

 television documentary series
Television documentary
Documentary television is a genre of television programming that broadcasts documentaries.* Documentary television series, a television series which is made up of documentary episodes....

 Wrestling Reality
Wrestling Reality
Wrestling Reality is a documentary television series airing on The Fight Network that follows the lives of a group of independent pro wrestlers in the Maritime provinces of Canada. The series consists of a half-hour documentary portion, as well as an hour of televised matches and shoot interviews...

. The series not only covered his time on the road but also his performance as the 3rd annual Maritime Cup tournament where he wrestled in the main event to crown the first Wrestling Reality heavyweight champion. Jessome has also been an instructor in "boot camps" for the Kardinal Sinner wrestling school.

Real Action Wrestling (2001-2002)

Gary Jessome was born in North Sydney, Nova Scotia
North Sydney, Nova Scotia
North Sydney is a community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality.Located on the north side of Sydney Harbour, along the eastern coast of Cape Breton Island, North Sydney is an important port in Atlantic Canada as it is the western terminus of the Marine Atlantic ferry service...

 on November 7, 1978. He was working in Moncton, New Brunswick
Moncton, New Brunswick
Moncton is a Canadian city, located in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. The city is situated in southeastern New Brunswick, within the Petitcodiac River Valley, and lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces...

 when he met Kingman
Peter Smith
- Arts and entertainment :*Peter Smith *Peter Smith , contemporary British painter*Peter C. Smith , author of aeronautical, naval and military history books*Peter James Smith , American actor...

 and was invited to train at his Kardinal Sinners Wrestling School with himself and co-owner "Kowboy" Mike Hughes. Having a lifelong interest in weightlifting and bodybuilding, Jessome accepted and they soon began traveling to the Johnstons River area
Hillsborough River (Prince Edward Island)
The Hillsborough River, also known as the East River, is a Canadian river in northeastern Queens County, Prince Edward Island.-Battle at Port-la-Joye :...

 in Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

 where he and Kingman worked out in a barn while Mike Hughes taught him ring psychology and technical ability. He suffered numerous injuries during his time at the Kardinal Sinners "boot camp" including a concussion, whiplash
Whiplash (medicine)
Whiplash is a non-medical term describing a range of injuries to the neck caused by or related to a sudden distortion of the neck associated with extension. The term "whiplash" is a colloquialism...

, bruise
Bruise
A bruise, also called a contusion, is a type of relatively minor hematoma of tissue in which capillaries and sometimes venules are damaged by trauma, allowing blood to seep into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Bruises can involve capillaries at the level of skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle,...

d kidneys, heels and tail bone. By the time of his graduation in 2001, Jessome was considered one of their top students and was later brought back to the school as a part-time trainer. Jessome has claimed that Kingman heavily influenced his career and wrestling style.

He made his debut match in Hughes' Real Action Wrestling against fellow student and training partner Downtown Ray Brown in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on February 27, 2001. In April, Jessome joined one of the promotion's earliest Maritime tours which included Kingman, Mike Hughes, Larry Destiny, Bill Skullion, Notorious T.I.D., Rogue, Buddy Lane, Bobby Rude and Kurrgan
Robert Maillet
Robert Maillet is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. He is known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation, as a member of the Truth Commission and the Oddities, wrestling under the name Kurrgan....

. Joe E. Legend, Chi Chi Cruz and Wildman Austin also joined later on. He would also have a series of matches against Buddy Lane in the next three months, most of which he lost, before scoring his fist major victory against Corporal Chaos in Irishtown, New Brunswick on May 2. That same month, he faced Bill Skullion twice in two "hardcore matches" as well as losing another match to the Acadian Giant
Robert Maillet
Robert Maillet is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. He is known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation, as a member of the Truth Commission and the Oddities, wrestling under the name Kurrgan....

. He feuded with Massive Damage during the summer, also facing him in hardcore matches, as well as teaming with Eddie Watts to defeat Flesh Gordon & Custom Made Man in a tag team match in his hometown of North Sydney on August 12. Jessome would face both Custom Made Man and Watts in a singles matches during the next few weeks. On August 20 in Cocagne, New Brunswick
Cocagne, New Brunswick
Cocagne is a Canadian community in Kent County, New Brunswick.It is located at the mouth of the Cocagne River on the Northumberland Strait....

, MacIsaac fought and lost two matches in one night losing to Custom Made Man and Massive Damage. He would also lose to Chi Chi Cruz and Custom Made Man in singles matches several times over the next few weeks.

Returning to Cocagne on September 3, Jessome again teamed with Eddie Watts but lost to Flesh Gordon & Massive Damage. Two weeks later, he joined his rival Custom Made Man in a tag team match to defeat his former trainers Mike Hughes & Kingman in Sydney, Nova Scotia on September 16. A month later, a match between him and Flesh Gordon turned into a tag team match between him and Otto Bahn against Gordon & Buddy Lane. On October 20, he faced Custom Made Man in a "Scottish Pub match" in Halifax. He also wrestled Stephen Pettipas in Halifax on November 24, 2001, losing to him via disqualification.

Jessome became close friends with several wrestlers while touring with RAW among these being Lincoln Steen
Lincoln Steen
Ryan Mader is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Lincoln Steen, who has competed in Canadian independent promotions since October 27, 2000...

 who claimed he was a practical joke
Practical joke
A practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or...

r. He once joked during an interview about learning "a great deal of invaluable lessons while on the road with them, things like don't trust Duke MacIsaac with a sharpie
Sharpie (marker)
Sharpie is a manufacturer of writing instruments whose products are sold in over 20 countries. Originally a name designating a single permanent marker, the Sharpie brand has been widely expanded and can now be found on a variety of previously unrelated permanent and non-permanent pens and markers...

 if you pass out in Mike Hughes’ van."
In late-2001, Jessome injured his knee and remained out of action for several months. When RAW resumed operations early the following year, Jessome was one of the main stars to rejoin the promotion.

Real Action Wrestling and the independents (2002-2003)

He made his return match defeating Cinder in Halifax on May 4, 2002. A week later in North Sydney, he and Chi Chi Cruz lost to Gary Williams & Eddie Watts. Jessome won a number of single matches against Scott Savage, Aaron Idol and Johnny Wiseguy throughout the summer. One of these was a handicap match against Scott Savage & Trash Kanyon in Kentville, Nova Scotia
Kentville, Nova Scotia
Kentville is a town in Kings County, Nova Scotia. It is one of the main towns in the Annapolis Valley, and it is the county seat of Kings County. As of 2006, the town of Kentville had a population of 5,815 people....

 held on June 5. He lost to Gary Williams in a "street fight" match in Louisdale
Louisdale, Nova Scotia
Louisdale is a Canadian rural community in Richmond County, Nova Scotia. The community is located on Cape Breton Island at the centre of a French-Acadian region. Founded mainly by families from nearby Petit-de-Grat, its early settlers were primarily of Acadian and, from the early 19th century,...

 three days later, and on several other occasions as well, but did score impressive victories over Mike Hughes; one of these occurred on the promotion's first television taping in Halifax on June 17. Later on, he rescued valet Rachel Bulman from the abusive Johnny Wise Guy. Although he lost to Hughes in a rematch the following night in O'Leary, Prince Edward Island
O'Leary, Prince Edward Island
-References:*...

, Jessome also won a battle royal at the same event. He would also defeat Hughes in subsequent rematches during the next two days as well as picking up wins against Remington Steen and Vance Nevada before losing to Bobby Rude in a table match in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on July 23.

He would also feud with Johnny Wise Guy over Rachel defeating him in both singles and mixed tag team matches against Johnny Wise Guy & "Sweet" Sarah Stock including one at a Halifax television taping on July 29. Shortly after this last appearance, the promotion closed down permanently. He made an appearance for Bobby Bass' All Canadian Wrestling defeating Flesh Gordon in Charlo, New Brunswick
Charlo, New Brunswick
Charlo is a Canadian village in Restigouche County, New Brunswick.Situated on the south shore of Chaleur Bay, the community was first settled by Acadians in 1799 and incorporated in 1966....

 on August 23, 2002, and remained in the Maritimes finding work in Grand Prix Wrestling
Grand prix wrestling
Grand Prix Wrestling is a wrestling promotion run and owned by Emile Duprée. Grand Prix Wrestling has currently stopped touring due to heavy traveling costs...

 and later East Coast Pro Wrestling. A contender for the ECPW Heavyweight Championship in 2003, he failed to become its first champion, but eventually won the title from Kingman two years later.

The Maritime Cup and Wrestling With Reality (2003-2006)

On October 12, 2003, Jessome took part in the 1st annual Maritime Cup tournament at the Halifax Forum
Halifax Forum
The Halifax Forum is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is the former home of the Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the American Hockey League. Other former tenants include the Halifax Junior Canadians, Halifax Wolverines , and the Maritime Major Hockey League's Halifax St. Mary's. The Voyageurs moved...

 losing to Mike Hughes in the opening rounds. The event, which featured Bobby Roode, Lincoln Steen
Lincoln Steen
Ryan Mader is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Lincoln Steen, who has competed in Canadian independent promotions since October 27, 2000...

, Scott Savage, Gary Williams, Sonny Roselli and "The Future" Tony Armstrong, was a huge success and later released on VHS/DVD. In 2004, Jessome was one of the instructors at the Kardinal Sinners "boot camp". He was later critical of the typical wrestling student which he characterized "as a mix [of] "It's cool to act tough guys" to "I'm great because my Mom tells me so". He later helped promote Gary Williams' newly opened wrestling school in Halifax and said in one interview "If there is anything I could say about this school is that anyone who is seriously wanting to be trained should take action and reap the rewards of learning from a great Maritime legend".

By the time of the 2nd annual Maritime Cup in Kentville, Nova Scotia
Kentville, Nova Scotia
Kentville is a town in Kings County, Nova Scotia. It is one of the main towns in the Annapolis Valley, and it is the county seat of Kings County. As of 2006, the town of Kentville had a population of 5,815 people....

, Jessome was considered the tournament favorite. There was a slight alteration to this version as it would be closed to wrestlers outside the Maritime provinces so as to showcase top talent in the region. Although the tournament's concept was created by Kingman and Trash Canyon, but Jessome and Gary Williams were also credited for helping with its development. Earlier that year, they had met Sarah Dunsworth, star of the TV comedy Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy mockumentary television series created and directed by Mike Clattenburg that focuses on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The...

, at her Barrington Street store Junk and Foibles which was a popular spot for local wrestler to purchase costumes and similar items. They initially were interested in using Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys to make a guest appearance at their wrestling show in Moncton but eventually involved her as director in a new television documentary series entitled "Wrestling With Reality
Wrestling Reality
Wrestling Reality is a documentary television series airing on The Fight Network that follows the lives of a group of independent pro wrestlers in the Maritime provinces of Canada. The series consists of a half-hour documentary portion, as well as an hour of televised matches and shoot interviews...

". The series would follow themselves around the Canadian independent circuit and the planned Maritime Cup. Dunsworth would also help finance and promote the show.

Jessome defeated Vinny Glyde, Trash Canyon and Gary Williams advancing to the finals where he lost to Kingman. Sarah Dunsworth appeared in the corner of Trash Canyon during the tournament, but after he lost to Jessome in the second round, Canyon shoved her to the ground blaming Dunsworth for the loss. She was rescued by Jessome, who attacked Canyon, and remained with him for the rest of the tournament. His final match against Kingman was marred by the "heel turn" of Bobby Roode, then acting special guest referee, who hit Jessome with a steel chair then allowed Kingman to score the pinfall. The Maritime Cup was awarded to winner, as was the ECPW Heavyweight title, but Kingman instead smashed the cup on the round and walked off with his Kardinal Sinners stablemates.

Jessome avenged his loss days later winning a battle royal to gain a match against Kingman and defeating him via disqualification. The next night in North Sydney, he defeated Kingman to win the ECPW Heavyweight Championship. He also took part in a three-day tour of Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada is generally considered to be the region of Canada east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces:* New Brunswick* Newfoundland and Labrador* Nova Scotia* Ontario* Prince Edward Island* Quebec...

 with Grand Prix Wrestling
Grand prix wrestling
Grand Prix Wrestling is a wrestling promotion run and owned by Emile Duprée. Grand Prix Wrestling has currently stopped touring due to heavy traveling costs...

 visiting Petit Rocher, New Brunswick, New Carlisle, Quebec
New Carlisle, Quebec
New Carlisle, Quebec is a small town in the Gaspé region of Quebec, best known as the boyhood home of René Lévesque; although he was born at Campbellton, New Brunswick. The population is approximately 1430, half English-speaking and half French-speaking...

 and Borden, Prince Edward Island. Also featured were The Cuban Assassin
Cuban Assassin
Ángel Acevedo is a professional wrestler known by his ring name The Cuban Assassin and for his famous appearances with Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling, Central States Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling....

, Gary Williams, Spiderman, Ryan Storm and Jeff Dupre. On November 26, 2005 in Canning, Nova Scotia
Canning, Nova Scotia
Canning, Nova Scotia is a village in northeastern Kings County located at the crossroads of Route 221 and Route 358.-History:The area was originally settled by Acadians who were expelled in 1755 during the Acadian Expulsion...

, Jessome appeared in the main event in a best 2 out of 3 falls match with Lincoln Steen against Brody Steele and Gary Williams. Buddy Lane was the special guest referee.

The series finale took place at the 3rd annual Maritime Cup tournament at the Halifax Forum
Halifax Forum
The Halifax Forum is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is the former home of the Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the American Hockey League. Other former tenants include the Halifax Junior Canadians, Halifax Wolverines , and the Maritime Major Hockey League's Halifax St. Mary's. The Voyageurs moved...

 on June 2, 2006. Although not featured in the tournament itself, Jessome took part in the semi-main event pitting he and Trash Canyon in a tag team elimination match against Gary Williams & Bobby Roode. Williams would go on to beat Roode to become the first "Wrestling With Reality" Heavyweight Champion. The special referee was Buddy Lane.

On August 18, 2006, the "Wrestling With Reality" tour returned to the Halifax Forum where Jessome wrestled Tony Armstrong to determine the number one contender to the heavyweight title. Following a television taping during the tour, Jessome appeared with Kingman, Trash Canyon and others at an afterparty celebration at the Dresden Row nightclub, The Speakeasy, which also featured rock bands Dogbite and Pink Velvet Burlesque.

Recent years (2006-2007)

In late-2006, Jessome joined Brody Steele, Chad Collyer
Chad Collyer
Chad Collyer is an American professional wrestler. A Heartland Wrestling Association mainstay, Collyer is perhaps best known for his appearances with Ring of Honor and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.-Career:...

 and Gangrel
Gangrel
Gangrel may refer to:*Gangrel , a fictional clan of vampires in the role-playing game Vampire: the Masquerade*David Heath , an American professional wrestler better known as "Gangrel" in World Wrestling Entertainment...

 and other Canadian wrestlers for a three-month tour of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 with All Star Wrestling
All Star Wrestling
All Star Wrestling is a British Professional wrestling promotion also known as All Star Promotions, Superslam Wrestling and Big Time Wrestling and originally known as Wrestling Enterprises , run by Brian Dixon and based in Liverpool, England...

. He was unable to rejoin the "Wrestling with Reality" tour when it resumed early the next year and, shortly after returning to Canada, relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia.

On May 26, 2007, he and Johnny Obsession lost to Mauler and Barry Goode at the Wrestling’s Hero’s and Villains supercard in Cloverdale, British Columbia
Cloverdale, British Columbia
Cloverdale is an historic town and designated town centre of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, located near Langley, which is east of Vancouver. The town was founded initially as a small farm community in 1870 for its fertile land and temperate climate, and has since become enveloped by suburban...

. Afterwards, he and several other wrestlers, including Monster Pro Wrestling's Heavy Metal, spent several hours at the Citrus bar. On September 15, 2007, Jessome participated in a special fundraiser for the Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....

 in Comox, British Columbia
Comox, British Columbia
Comox is a town of 12,000 people located on a small peninsula in the Georgia Strait on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The warm dry summers, mild winters, fertile soil and abundant sea life attracted First Nations thousands of years ago, who called the area kw’umuxws...

. At the event, he lost to Disco Fury but later went on to win the main event, a 15-man battle royal
Battle royal
Battle royal traditionally refers to a fight involving three or more combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing. In recent times the term has been used in a more general sense to refer to any fight involving large numbers of people that are not organized into factions...

, to be awarded the Taco Del Mar
Taco del Mar
Taco del Mar is a Seattle, Washington-based Fresh Mex fast food restaurant chain that specializes in San Francisco burritos. Since opening in Seattle on June 8, 1992 by brothers James and John Schmidt, it has expanded into over 260 locations in the U.S. and Canada...

-sponsored "Carlos Cup". On September 25, he defended the ECPW Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat match against Bobby Roode and "Kowboy" Mike Hughes. Former World Wrestling Federation veteran Tito Santana
Tito Santana
Merced Solis better known by his ring name Tito Santana, is an American professional wrestler whose heyday spanned from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, though he continues to appear on the independent circuit. He is best known from his time in the World Wrestling Federation...

 also made an appearance at the event. Both Santana and himself were quoted by the Cape Breton Post
Cape Breton Post
The Cape Breton Post is the only daily newspaper published on Cape Breton Island. Based in Sydney, Nova Scotia, it specializes in local coverage of news, events, and sports from communities in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and the counties of Inverness, Richmond and Victoria.The paper is...

voicing their criticism towards steroid abuse in professional wrestling. Jessome said "I've got size and technical abilities, plus I love to entertain a crowd, so I think that's enough for me. To put your health at risk just to do something like that, that's not acceptable." After a two-year reign, he finally lost the ECPW Heavyweight Championship to Mike Hughes in North Sydney on September 30, 2007.

Championships and accomplishments

  • East Coast Pro Wrestling
    • ECPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

  • Pro Wrestling United
    • PWU Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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