The Canadian Destroyer’s Origin & Legacy
Petey Williams invented the move 15 years ago this month.
The coolest move of the millennium debuted 15 years ago this month in Highland, Indiana, when Petey Williams hit Matt Sydal with the Canadian Destroyer.
“I said ‘hey, I have this move I want to try,’” Williams recalled during this week’s Impact Wrestling teleconference. “I never really practiced it. I just explained how best I thought I could explain it, and he said okay. The rest is history and people loved it.”
How fitting that Williams may be delivering that iconic finisher to Sydal in the near future if he aims to win the X-Division Title. A two-time X-Division Champion, Williams has had his sights set on reclaiming the gold since coming out of retirement in August. Worried about risking long-term damage due to his highly physical style and thus, not being able to provide for his young family, the Windsor, Ontario native stepped away from the ring in 2014.
It was a phone call from trainer, former manager and current boss Scott D’Amore that lured Williams back into the business. The co-executive vice president of Impact Wrestling asked his protégé whether his children may be interested in seeing what their daddy used to do.
“It’s been good, really good, even with a change in management,” Williams said of his comeback. “Part of it is tough because even going back to August, there were guys that left the company to pursue other things. It’s kind of a bittersweet thing because they’re going on to do other things, but I always hate to see people leave. I remember when I first left Impact, I hated that I had to leave my wrestling family. But I understand that’s how the business evolves.”
On the plus side, there are plenty of new faces and fresh matchups for the veteran to sink his teeth into. “Younger guys come up to me and say they used to watch me on Impact when they were in high school,” Williams said. “I remember I was like that to Jerry Lynn and guys like that and it’s kind of weird being in that spot now. But I really like being in that spot as well because I’ll do whatever I can to help them in their career and their character get over.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_2Omt1dKr8
A pioneer of the breathtaking X-Division style, Williams has been often imitated in recent years as up and comers love performing his signature move. At a House of Hardcore show, Sami Callihan opened Williams’ eyes to the legacy of the Canadian Destroyer, claiming that he was the first person to take a video game move and make it a reality. “I didn’t really think of that,” Williams said. “Usually when a move comes to fruition 15 years ago, it’s pretty much dead in the water by now.”
However, what separates Williams’ move from the other versions is how he builds his matches around it. A student of the game, he makes sure that by the time he actually hits his finisher, the anticipation is seeping and the crowd explodes.
“It’s all about psychology, not just about doing moves,” he says. “There are a lot of great athletes out there doing moves – I just wish they’d take a step back and make their moves mean something. That’s what I’ve tried to do with the Canadian Destroyer.”
Now that he is back full time, he has seen fewer wrestlers on the indie scene performing his creation. After all, it’s a sign of respect in the business to avoid copying your peers’ finishing moves.
“Other wrestlers come up to me and they say, ‘Hey Petey, thanks for coming back to wrestling.’ I’m thinking like that’s pretty cool they miss me. Then they follow up that sentence with ‘Now everybody is not doing the Canadian Destroyer anymore.’
Back in 2003, Williams says he’d have to talk people into taking the move because they were so afraid. Nowadays, promoters expect it and opponents line up to take it, valuing the bump as an honor. Of course, that’s just the evolution of the business.
“It’s amazing because 50 years from now when I’m watching TV with my grandkids, there is probably going to be some kid who isn’t even born yet doing the move,” Williams says. “I’ll be like, oh, that’s what I contributed to professional wrestling.
Not too many people can say they contributed something that will last forever in pro wrestling.”
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