Can a mild-mannered entrepreneur turn Port Moody into a professional wrestling Mecca?
Mike Arboit is about to find out.
The co-founder of The Fountainhead Network co-working space that recently relocated from Port Coquitlam to Site B in Port Moody is transforming the former industrial-warehouse-turned-event-facility into a suburban version of the Thunderdome for the city’s first pro wrestling show, Brewery Brawl, on May 5.
But Arboit is more than just a wanna-be Vince McMahon.
He’s not only the executive vice-president of fledgling Canadian Apex Wrestling (CAW), he also climbs into the ring as Dance Daddy DeNero, a flamboyant, “over-the-top” fighter who can deliver his toeholds with a twist of tango.
Arboit said his love for pro wrestling and its legions of colourful characters developed when he was a kid. Soon, he and some buddies started staging their own little “shows” in their backyards. When they were in high school, they paid to book a ring in Surrey and, at 19, he was being paid to be part of cards on the local wrestling circuit in small venues around Metro Vancouver.
In 2023, Arboit was asked by an old friend, Kevin Cox, if he wanted to become involved with the CAW that he'd started as a bit of throwback to old-school wrestling from the 1980s and early 90s with larger-than-life characters and tongues firmly planted in cheeks.
“We’re just having fun with it,” Arboit said, adding the big personalities and classic vibe appeal to adults reconnecting with the sport they loved growing up and their kids drawn to the spectacle.
The show and its characters like Moondog Manson, Air Adonis and tag team champions C.A.T. — they’re half-man, half-cat — have found a home at the Hastings Track in Vancouver, first on the infield putting on matches between the horse races and now in an all-ages portion of the casino.
Arboit said bringing the show to Port Moody is a natural fit, especially along the city’s renowned Brewers Row of craft breweries.
“It’s such a happening area,” he said. “Beer and fun go hand-in-hand.”
Already the city is responding. Arboit said advance tickets sales are stronger than the shows at Hastings and if they continue to go well, he may bring temporary bleachers into the venue.
As the event is on Cinco de Mayo, the Port Moody show will have a Lucha Libre flavour, with some of the combatants wearing the masks favoured by pro wrestlers in Mexico.
“It’s part of the culture there,” Arboit said of the freestyle, acrobatic style of wrestling practised by the luchadores. “It’s like a religion.”
Adding to the Latin American theme will be a taco truck and co-sponsor Brave Brewing is preparing a special CAW-branded beer for the event.
“It will be like a fiesta in here,” Arboit said.
And if it’s a hit, he added, the party could continue for subsequent shows at the venue.
“It would be nice to create a fan base,” Arboit said. “We need more stuff out here.”
You can find out more about Brewery Brawl and book tickets at Tixonline.
