WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.439 Welcome to the deep dive. Imagine for a moment 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:06.990 that you are a kid. OK. Sitting in the bleachers 00:00:06.990 --> 00:00:08.929 of your local arena, you're surrounded by the 00:00:08.929 --> 00:00:12.050 smell of stale popcorn, a spilled beer, and you 00:00:12.050 --> 00:00:14.910 are just cheering at the absolute top of your 00:00:14.910 --> 00:00:17.710 lungs for these larger than life heroes stepping 00:00:17.710 --> 00:00:20.170 through the ropes. It's an intoxicating environment, 00:00:20.449 --> 00:00:22.449 especially when you're young. Exactly. You are 00:00:22.449 --> 00:00:25.070 completely hooked. Now, I want you to imagine 00:00:25.070 --> 00:00:27.769 growing up to actually cross that barricade, 00:00:27.769 --> 00:00:30.050 stepping inside the ring yourself and eventually 00:00:30.050 --> 00:00:34.500 becoming one of the most dominant. iconic villains 00:00:34.500 --> 00:00:37.240 in the entire canadian independent wrestling 00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:39.920 scene yeah that is quite the pivot it really 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:42.240 is and that is exactly the journey we are taking 00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:44.579 you on today we are exploring the fascinating 00:00:44.579 --> 00:00:47.979 life the grueling career and the undeniable legacy 00:00:47.979 --> 00:00:50.500 of john cosman and if you follow the squared 00:00:50.500 --> 00:00:52.679 circle particularly up in the canadian prairies 00:00:52.679 --> 00:00:54.939 you definitely know him oh absolutely you know 00:00:54.939 --> 00:00:57.340 him by the name that drew massive heat for over 00:00:57.340 --> 00:01:00.380 a decade principal richard pound It really is 00:01:00.380 --> 00:01:03.799 a remarkable story of just pure perseverance 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:07.819 and reinvention. And to guide us today, the source 00:01:07.819 --> 00:01:10.859 material we are working with is a very comprehensive 00:01:10.859 --> 00:01:15.260 Wikipedia article. It details his life, his championships, 00:01:15.640 --> 00:01:18.420 his decades -long career. It paints a highly 00:01:18.420 --> 00:01:20.599 vivid picture. And, you know, when we think of 00:01:20.599 --> 00:01:22.780 professional wrestling's history, the tendency 00:01:22.780 --> 00:01:25.760 is to immediately focus on the global megastars. 00:01:25.900 --> 00:01:28.180 The guys headlining the massive pay -per -views, 00:01:28.180 --> 00:01:31.170 sure. Exactly. But if you truly want to understand 00:01:31.170 --> 00:01:33.689 the lifeblood of this industry, you really have 00:01:33.689 --> 00:01:37.129 to look at the regional mainstays. The true backbone 00:01:37.129 --> 00:01:39.209 of the business is built on the shoulders of 00:01:39.209 --> 00:01:41.549 workers like John Cosman. The guys carrying the 00:01:41.549 --> 00:01:43.569 territory night after night. Right. These are 00:01:43.569 --> 00:01:45.469 the guys who mentor the green talent and they 00:01:45.469 --> 00:01:48.370 keep that grassroots passion for the sport alive 00:01:48.370 --> 00:01:50.769 when the national cameras aren't rolling. Okay, 00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:52.670 let's unpack this because to understand the principle, 00:01:52.790 --> 00:01:54.530 we really have to start with the fan. Makes sense. 00:01:54.709 --> 00:01:56.989 So John Cosman was born in Regina, Saskatchewan 00:01:56.989 --> 00:02:00.909 on August 28th, 1964. And his origin story starts 00:02:00.909 --> 00:02:03.150 right there in the audience. Just a kid in the 00:02:03.150 --> 00:02:05.909 crowd. Yeah. He grew up going to local house 00:02:05.909 --> 00:02:08.789 shows with his father, just taking in the incredible 00:02:08.789 --> 00:02:11.169 spectacle of it all. And if you have ever sat 00:02:11.169 --> 00:02:12.870 in the crowd and thought to yourself, you know, 00:02:12.930 --> 00:02:15.810 I want to do that. Oh, yeah. You know exactly 00:02:15.810 --> 00:02:17.930 the kind of obsession that starts to take root. 00:02:18.069 --> 00:02:21.050 And that proximity to the local scene. It led 00:02:21.050 --> 00:02:24.009 to a really crucial connection for him. Cosman 00:02:24.009 --> 00:02:26.169 didn't just, you know, buy a ticket and go home. 00:02:26.250 --> 00:02:29.069 Right, he hung around. He embedded himself in 00:02:29.069 --> 00:02:31.389 the local wrestling community. And he eventually 00:02:31.389 --> 00:02:33.689 struck up a very close friendship with Bob Leonard. 00:02:33.949 --> 00:02:36.830 That is a huge name in that era. Absolutely. 00:02:37.110 --> 00:02:40.069 A highly respected wrestling photographer. And 00:02:40.069 --> 00:02:42.969 in the territory days, the boys didn't just let 00:02:42.969 --> 00:02:45.310 anyone into the inner circle. It was a very protected 00:02:45.310 --> 00:02:47.530 business back then. Highly protected. Who you 00:02:47.530 --> 00:02:49.370 knew was really the only way to get a foot in 00:02:49.370 --> 00:02:53.509 the door. And in 1984, Bob Leonard opened that 00:02:53.509 --> 00:02:57.030 door for him. He introduced Cosman to an absolute 00:02:57.030 --> 00:03:01.650 legend, Archie Gouldy. Archie Gouldy, the Mongolian 00:03:01.650 --> 00:03:04.729 stomper himself. Yep. That is, I mean, that is 00:03:04.729 --> 00:03:06.569 not a light introduction. You don't just walk 00:03:06.569 --> 00:03:08.629 into a gym with a guy like that and ask to play 00:03:08.629 --> 00:03:11.270 wrestler. No, you definitely do not. But Cosman, 00:03:11.289 --> 00:03:14.159 he was a big guy. He was six foot zero. build 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:17.439 at 240 pounds and he was ready to bump he began 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:20.319 training under gouldy shortly after that introduction 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:24.180 which had to be intense oh incredibly they worked 00:03:24.180 --> 00:03:28.099 together for six ruling months before cosman 00:03:28.099 --> 00:03:30.680 finally made his professional debut in stampede 00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:33.460 wrestling in that six months of training under 00:03:33.460 --> 00:03:36.500 someone as notoriously tough as gouldy that would 00:03:36.500 --> 00:03:40.750 have been a total trial by fire Our sources note 00:03:40.750 --> 00:03:44.610 his debut in Stampede was in early 1985. Though 00:03:44.610 --> 00:03:46.569 I think some records say it might have been slightly 00:03:46.569 --> 00:03:49.110 earlier. Yeah, some historical records suggest 00:03:49.110 --> 00:03:50.770 he might have actually started taking bookings 00:03:50.770 --> 00:03:54.349 as early as October 1983. But regardless of the 00:03:54.349 --> 00:03:56.689 exact date, once he crossed the ropes, he hit 00:03:56.689 --> 00:03:58.830 the traditional unforgiving wrestling circuit. 00:03:58.949 --> 00:04:01.889 The grind. The real grind. We're talking about 00:04:01.889 --> 00:04:04.330 packing into a car and doing the Maritimes loop 00:04:04.330 --> 00:04:07.229 during the summer with Emile Dupre's Grand Prix 00:04:07.229 --> 00:04:09.270 wrestling. And he wasn't Cosman then, right? 00:04:09.349 --> 00:04:11.409 He was working under the ring named Danny Young. 00:04:11.610 --> 00:04:14.530 Exactly. Danny Young. I just find it so fascinating 00:04:14.530 --> 00:04:17.759 to picture him. paying his dues on those long 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:20.199 tours, like seven days a week, setting up the 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:22.779 ring, working a match, tearing it down and driving 00:04:22.779 --> 00:04:25.279 hundreds of miles to the next town. It weeds 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:27.319 out the people who don't truly love it very quickly. 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:30.759 Yeah. And he didn't limit himself to just Canada. 00:04:31.310 --> 00:04:33.750 He followed his mentors, Archie Goldie and Leo 00:04:33.750 --> 00:04:36.250 Burke, all the way down to Texas. Right, worked 00:04:36.250 --> 00:04:38.829 for Joe Blanchard. Yeah. So he was getting this 00:04:38.829 --> 00:04:42.889 incredibly diverse, hands -on education, learning 00:04:42.889 --> 00:04:45.629 how to work entirely different crowds in completely 00:04:45.629 --> 00:04:47.930 different territories. Because that is how you 00:04:47.930 --> 00:04:50.290 learn the craft before there were these centralized 00:04:50.290 --> 00:04:52.750 developmental systems we see today. You had to 00:04:52.750 --> 00:04:54.569 work different regions to understand psychology. 00:04:55.050 --> 00:04:57.490 Learn what makes people tick in Texas versus 00:04:57.490 --> 00:05:01.170 Nova Scotia. Precisely. But eventually, he found 00:05:01.170 --> 00:05:05.449 his primary home. For the next five years, Cosman 00:05:05.449 --> 00:05:08.029 worked almost exclusively for Stampede Wrestling 00:05:08.029 --> 00:05:10.389 out of Western Canada. Becoming a real trusted 00:05:10.389 --> 00:05:13.509 mainstay for them. Very trusted. He had a notable, 00:05:13.629 --> 00:05:16.430 very fierce, gritty feud with Kerry Brown during 00:05:16.430 --> 00:05:19.490 that time. And he stayed dedicated to Stampede 00:05:19.490 --> 00:05:22.029 right up until the promotion had to close its 00:05:22.029 --> 00:05:25.290 doors in 1990. And that brings us to a massive, 00:05:25.470 --> 00:05:29.009 really sobering shift in his story. Stampede 00:05:29.009 --> 00:05:32.509 closes in 1990. The bottom falls out. It's devastating 00:05:32.509 --> 00:05:34.949 for the local guys. If you've ever had to pivot 00:05:34.949 --> 00:05:38.250 your career in your late 20s or early 30s, you 00:05:38.250 --> 00:05:40.769 can imagine the weight of this moment. You dedicate 00:05:40.769 --> 00:05:43.470 your entire life to a highly specific physical 00:05:43.470 --> 00:05:46.569 skill, and suddenly the market for it in your 00:05:46.569 --> 00:05:49.149 area just vanishes. And to understand why that 00:05:49.149 --> 00:05:51.670 happened, you really have to look at the macroeconomics 00:05:51.670 --> 00:05:54.870 of wrestling at the time. By 1990, Vince McMahon's 00:05:54.870 --> 00:05:57.569 national expansion had essentially crushed the 00:05:57.569 --> 00:05:59.329 traditional territory system. Yeah, it just couldn't 00:05:59.329 --> 00:06:01.730 compete with the cable TV money. Local promotions 00:06:01.730 --> 00:06:03.610 couldn't compete with the production value of 00:06:03.610 --> 00:06:06.209 national television, period. So when Stampede 00:06:06.209 --> 00:06:08.670 closed, it wasn't just a business shuttering. 00:06:08.689 --> 00:06:11.329 It was an entire regional ecosystem collapsing. 00:06:11.629 --> 00:06:13.790 So what does he do? Cosman retired from the ring. 00:06:13.910 --> 00:06:16.410 He transitioned into civilian life, working as 00:06:16.410 --> 00:06:18.050 a security guard for the next several years. 00:06:18.370 --> 00:06:22.029 Wow. You go from drawing heat in front of packed 00:06:22.029 --> 00:06:24.930 arenas to walking a quiet beat in a uniform. 00:06:25.230 --> 00:06:29.110 The contrast is incredibly stark. It really highlights 00:06:29.110 --> 00:06:31.350 the precarious nature of the independent wrestling 00:06:31.350 --> 00:06:34.250 business. There was absolutely no safety net. 00:06:34.430 --> 00:06:37.209 You have to wonder how much that just ate at 00:06:37.209 --> 00:06:39.670 him on those quiet shifts. Oh, I'm sure it did. 00:06:40.009 --> 00:06:41.970 Because he did try to dip his toes back into 00:06:41.970 --> 00:06:45.269 the business on the training side in 1995. He 00:06:45.269 --> 00:06:47.949 and another worker named Venom spent three months 00:06:47.949 --> 00:06:50.269 training a new crop of talent for the Prairie 00:06:50.269 --> 00:06:52.370 Wrestling Alliance. But that didn't pan out, 00:06:52.430 --> 00:06:55.009 did it? No. The promoter ultimately pulled the 00:06:55.009 --> 00:06:57.550 plug, and the project was scrapped before it 00:06:57.550 --> 00:06:59.709 even got off the ground. It's the constant stop 00:06:59.709 --> 00:07:02.610 -and -start reality of the indie scene. But Cosman 00:07:02.610 --> 00:07:06.790 clearly couldn't shake the bug. By 1997, he starts 00:07:06.790 --> 00:07:09.149 getting involved with Wild West Wrestling when 00:07:09.149 --> 00:07:11.529 they began running towns in Saskatchewan. Shaking 00:07:11.529 --> 00:07:13.949 off the ring rust. Exactly. Here's where it gets 00:07:13.949 --> 00:07:16.509 really interesting because the true turning point 00:07:16.509 --> 00:07:18.870 of his career doesn't happen in a ring at all. 00:07:18.990 --> 00:07:21.980 No, it happens backstage. Right. Backstage at 00:07:21.980 --> 00:07:24.420 a World Wrestling Federation house show in Regina, 00:07:24.740 --> 00:07:27.019 Cosman is hanging out with his old friend Bob 00:07:27.019 --> 00:07:29.800 Leonard, and they're joined behind the curtain 00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:33.199 by actual wrestling royalty Bruce and Owen Hart. 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:35.420 It's just a fascinating scenario to picture. 00:07:35.579 --> 00:07:39.300 You have this massive corporate WWF machine running 00:07:39.300 --> 00:07:42.220 a show, and off in the corner, these Canadian 00:07:42.220 --> 00:07:44.240 prairie legends are just putting their heads 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:47.100 together. Brainstorming. Right. They were brainstorming 00:07:47.100 --> 00:07:50.879 a brand new in -ring persona. for Cosman. Something 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:53.160 distinct that could potentially secure him a 00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:56.500 tryout with the WWF office. They understood that 00:07:56.500 --> 00:07:58.819 being a good hand wasn't enough anymore. You 00:07:58.819 --> 00:08:01.060 needed a gimmick that popped. And what they came 00:08:01.060 --> 00:08:03.319 up with was brilliant. The character of Principal 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:06.000 Richard Pound. It's so good. But hold on. If 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:07.939 he had the hearts helping him and he even had 00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:10.420 conversations with Jim Cornette about this concept 00:08:10.420 --> 00:08:13.399 for the WWF, why didn't he just hold out for 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:15.399 a spot in New York? Why bring the character back 00:08:15.399 --> 00:08:17.220 to the Indies? Because the machine doesn't just 00:08:17.220 --> 00:08:20.019 hand you a spot based on a backstage pitch. A 00:08:20.019 --> 00:08:22.060 tryout is just an opportunity to get looked at. 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:25.319 Right. You have to prove it works. Exactly. Cosman 00:08:25.319 --> 00:08:28.240 needed a place to actually hone the principal 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:31.139 character in front of a live crowd. He needed 00:08:31.139 --> 00:08:33.500 reps to figure out the mannerisms, the cadence 00:08:33.500 --> 00:08:35.899 of the promos, how the crowd would react. You 00:08:35.899 --> 00:08:38.080 can't workshop that on national television. That 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:42.139 makes perfect sense. So in 1999, Bruce Hart reopens 00:08:42.139 --> 00:08:44.340 Stampede Wrestling and Cosman makes his grand 00:08:44.340 --> 00:08:47.340 debut as Principal Richard Pound. And he doesn't 00:08:47.340 --> 00:08:49.879 just debut. No, he dominates. He immediately 00:08:49.879 --> 00:08:52.120 becomes one of the top heels in the territory. 00:08:53.129 --> 00:08:55.230 forms a faction with the absolute perfect name, 00:08:55.409 --> 00:08:57.970 the Honor Roll. It's brilliant. If you think 00:08:57.970 --> 00:09:00.190 about the psychology of an authority figure heel. 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:03.980 It is incredibly effective. The strict, condescending 00:09:03.980 --> 00:09:07.000 principal figure draws immediate visceral heat 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:09.419 because it's universally relatable. We all have 00:09:09.419 --> 00:09:11.279 that teacher. Everyone in that crowd has had 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:13.519 a run -in with a disciplinarian. Cosman wasn't 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:15.419 just relying on his physical size anymore. He 00:09:15.419 --> 00:09:17.799 was utilizing elite -level psychology. He would 00:09:17.799 --> 00:09:19.779 talk down to the audience, grade his opponents, 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:22.759 and just use that innate human resentment of 00:09:22.759 --> 00:09:25.320 authority to control the room. It's a masterclass 00:09:25.320 --> 00:09:27.600 in character work, and the promoters recognized 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:30.320 it because the gold quickly followed the gimmick. 00:09:30.340 --> 00:09:33.000 Oh, absolutely. Let's look at the timeline, because 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:35.139 the turn of the millennium was an absolute peak 00:09:35.139 --> 00:09:39.279 for him. On November 5th, 1999, he's in a three 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:42.399 -way dance in Calgary against Tigrecon and Greg 00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:46.320 Pollock. Cosman wins, capturing the Stampede 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:48.740 British Commonwealth Mid -Heavyweight Championship. 00:09:49.240 --> 00:09:51.440 Which was a big deal. A huge deal. He was the 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:53.879 first person to hold that title since the original 00:09:53.879 --> 00:09:57.019 promotion closed 10 years prior. Putting a revived 00:09:57.019 --> 00:09:59.559 championship on a new character is a massive 00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:01.899 sign of trust from the booking committee. They 00:10:01.899 --> 00:10:04.519 trusted him to legitimize that belt and carry 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:06.659 the legacy of the promotion. And he proved them 00:10:06.659 --> 00:10:09.039 right. A few months later, in April of 2000, 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:11.909 he reaches the top of the mountain. He defeats 00:10:11.909 --> 00:10:14.789 Tatanka to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight 00:10:14.789 --> 00:10:16.909 Championship. What's fascinating here is the 00:10:16.909 --> 00:10:19.970 strategy behind that specific booking. Tatanka 00:10:19.970 --> 00:10:23.350 was a globally recognized television star with 00:10:23.350 --> 00:10:26.350 significant WWF exposure. Everyone knew him. 00:10:26.529 --> 00:10:29.149 Right. So for a regional indie territory like 00:10:29.149 --> 00:10:31.769 Stampede, bringing in a name like Tatanka and 00:10:31.769 --> 00:10:33.789 having your homegrown heel, Principal Pound, 00:10:33.909 --> 00:10:36.929 defeat him, it does something crucial. It elevates 00:10:36.929 --> 00:10:39.580 the local guy. It tells the local audience that 00:10:39.580 --> 00:10:42.460 your champion is on the exact same level as the 00:10:42.460 --> 00:10:45.679 guys they see on cable TV. It legitimizes the 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:48.639 entire territory. It's the ultimate rub. And 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:50.679 it kept Cosman hovering right on the edge of 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:53.899 the global stage. In May of 2001, when the WWF 00:10:53.899 --> 00:10:56.360 was touring Alberta, Cosman was invited backstage 00:10:56.360 --> 00:10:58.799 at Monday Night Raw alongside other Canadian 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:01.580 indie standouts like Wildman Gary Williams. Exactly. 00:11:01.700 --> 00:11:04.340 Being invited backstage at Raw isn't just a courtesy, 00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:07.840 it's an evaluation. They're sizing you up. Yes. 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:11.019 And that presence led directly to the WWF bringing 00:11:11.019 --> 00:11:13.879 him down for a formal tryout match in the Washington 00:11:13.879 --> 00:11:16.539 area, Tacoma or Seattle the very next month. 00:11:16.620 --> 00:11:19.440 Wow. Furthermore, his reputation as a standard 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:22.139 bearer for Stampede was so solid that he was 00:11:22.139 --> 00:11:23.980 chosen to represent the promotion at the fourth 00:11:23.980 --> 00:11:26.720 annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show in Cincinnati, 00:11:26.899 --> 00:11:30.730 Ohio in August of 2001. And that Pillman Memorial 00:11:30.730 --> 00:11:33.850 show, that was a highly respected interpromotional 00:11:33.850 --> 00:11:36.289 event. It brought together workers from all the 00:11:36.289 --> 00:11:38.389 major companies and the top indies. It was a 00:11:38.389 --> 00:11:40.990 big stage. Cosmin wrestled East Coast Wrestling 00:11:40.990 --> 00:11:44.110 Association veteran J .R. Ryder on that card. 00:11:44.330 --> 00:11:46.610 It just proves that even if he wasn't the guy 00:11:46.610 --> 00:11:49.450 on your TV screen every week, he was deeply respected 00:11:49.450 --> 00:11:52.169 by his peers across the entire industry. But 00:11:52.169 --> 00:11:54.669 wrestling is always a cycle. The title picture 00:11:54.669 --> 00:11:57.250 shifted, as it always does. Yeah. He dropped 00:11:57.250 --> 00:11:59.250 the mid -heavyweight title to Tiger Mahatma Khan 00:11:59.250 --> 00:12:02.509 in June of 2000 in a match where the winner actually 00:12:02.509 --> 00:12:05.649 earned the right to face Sabu. Oh, wow. And he 00:12:05.649 --> 00:12:07.529 eventually dropped the North American title to 00:12:07.529 --> 00:12:10.690 his collaborator, Bruce Hart, in April 2001 after 00:12:10.690 --> 00:12:12.929 a nearly year -long reign. Which transitions 00:12:12.929 --> 00:12:15.549 us into the twilight years of his career. But 00:12:15.549 --> 00:12:17.409 we aren't talking about a guy quietly fading 00:12:17.409 --> 00:12:20.250 away here. Not at all. In 2002, he was negotiating 00:12:20.250 --> 00:12:22.629 with Sonny Onu to do a tour of Great Britain 00:12:22.629 --> 00:12:26.330 with Wrestle Express. In 2003, he is back in 00:12:26.330 --> 00:12:28.570 the ring with Bruce Hart, working the undercard 00:12:28.570 --> 00:12:31.289 of the monumental Stampede Wrestling 50th anniversary 00:12:31.289 --> 00:12:34.769 show in Calgary. He was still grinding. a true 00:12:34.769 --> 00:12:37.190 testament to his longevity and his love for the 00:12:37.190 --> 00:12:40.169 business. In late 2004, he was battling guys 00:12:40.169 --> 00:12:42.929 like Wavell Starr and Zack Mercury in Renegade 00:12:42.929 --> 00:12:45.929 Wrestling. Keep him busy. Very. He officially 00:12:45.929 --> 00:12:49.610 left Stampede in 2005, but he just kept touring 00:12:49.610 --> 00:12:51.950 Western Canada, bringing the principal persona 00:12:51.950 --> 00:12:54.700 to various independent promotions. And one of 00:12:54.700 --> 00:12:56.940 the most prominent homes for him in this later 00:12:56.940 --> 00:12:59.980 era was High Impact Wrestling Canada, or HIW, 00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:02.179 operating right out of his hometown of Regina. 00:13:02.419 --> 00:13:04.679 This is where the storytelling gets so deeply 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:07.159 personal and dramatic. Yeah, I want to slow down 00:13:07.159 --> 00:13:09.840 and look at... March of 2006 for a second. Yes, 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:12.200 the Honky Tonk Man angle. Yeah. This is local 00:13:12.200 --> 00:13:15.000 booking at its absolute finest. It really is. 00:13:15.340 --> 00:13:18.259 So Cosman's working for HIW, and he's in a tag 00:13:18.259 --> 00:13:20.500 match. He teams with tailor -made Todd Myers 00:13:20.500 --> 00:13:22.820 against Big Daddy Cash and the Honky Tonk Man. 00:13:23.240 --> 00:13:25.799 Cosman's team takes the loss. But the very next 00:13:25.799 --> 00:13:28.860 night, they book Cosman in a singles match against 00:13:28.860 --> 00:13:30.860 Honky Tonk Man. And this is where the psychology 00:13:30.860 --> 00:13:33.639 of real -life history is weaponized for an angle. 00:13:33.929 --> 00:13:37.350 Exactly. Cosmin loses the singles match, but 00:13:37.350 --> 00:13:39.879 not clean. He loses thanks to outside interference. 00:13:40.519 --> 00:13:43.039 And the person who interferes and costs him the 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:45.840 match. Bob Leonard. Bob Leonard, his lifelong 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:48.620 friend. The photographer who introduced him to 00:13:48.620 --> 00:13:51.679 Archie Gouldy decades ago. The man who sat backstage 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:53.799 with him in the hearts to create the principal 00:13:53.799 --> 00:13:56.700 persona in the first place. Bob Leonard turns 00:13:56.700 --> 00:13:59.159 on him. When you think about the emotional investment 00:13:59.159 --> 00:14:02.679 of a hometown crowd, that is the ultimate betrayal. 00:14:03.059 --> 00:14:05.299 They knew the history. The Regina audience knew 00:14:05.299 --> 00:14:07.679 the real life history between Cosman and Leonard. 00:14:08.009 --> 00:14:10.549 When you weave that authentic, decades -long 00:14:10.549 --> 00:14:13.289 friendship into the narrative of a match, it 00:14:13.289 --> 00:14:16.190 creates a visceral reaction that you simply cannot 00:14:16.190 --> 00:14:19.610 manufacture with a fake storyline. It's so good. 00:14:19.889 --> 00:14:22.289 It shows how deeply embedded Cosman and his circle 00:14:22.289 --> 00:14:25.289 were in crafting compelling local drama. It makes 00:14:25.289 --> 00:14:27.470 the local shows feel just as important as anything 00:14:27.470 --> 00:14:30.450 happening in a massive stadium. But outside the 00:14:30.450 --> 00:14:32.950 ring, thankfully, that brotherhood remained completely 00:14:32.950 --> 00:14:35.389 intact. The wrestling fraternity is a very unique 00:14:35.389 --> 00:14:39.080 bond. It really is. Just a month later, in April 00:14:39.080 --> 00:14:42.600 2006, Cosmin attended a recognition night banquet 00:14:42.600 --> 00:14:45.299 in Memrum Cook, New Brunswick. That was a highly 00:14:45.299 --> 00:14:47.480 unique gathering. It was part of a bluegrass 00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:50.080 music festival and a fundraiser for the local 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:52.259 volunteer fire department. Talk about a local 00:14:52.259 --> 00:14:55.080 vibe. Yeah. They were honoring the legendary 00:14:55.080 --> 00:14:58.580 Cormier brothers, Leo, Yvonne, Rudy K., and Bobby 00:14:58.580 --> 00:15:01.840 K. Cosman was there rubbing shoulders with promoters 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:04.379 like Al Zink and Bov Leonard, alongside legends 00:15:04.379 --> 00:15:07.759 like Emile Dupri, Hubert Gallant, Rick Martel, 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:10.629 and Butcher Vachon. It's just a beautiful portrait 00:15:10.629 --> 00:15:13.450 of the community behind the curtain. These men 00:15:13.450 --> 00:15:15.429 spent their lives battering each other in the 00:15:15.429 --> 00:15:17.970 ring, drawing blood and sweat. And here they 00:15:17.970 --> 00:15:20.309 are coming together for a fire department fundraiser 00:15:20.309 --> 00:15:22.769 and a bluegrass festival. It really humanizes 00:15:22.769 --> 00:15:24.929 the grueling reality of the business. It absolutely 00:15:24.929 --> 00:15:27.210 does. But the physical toll of that business, 00:15:27.470 --> 00:15:29.830 it's inescapable. You can only take so many bumps. 00:15:30.029 --> 00:15:32.289 Your body keeps the score. After a two -year 00:15:32.289 --> 00:15:35.570 absence from HAW, Cosman returned in July 2009 00:15:35.570 --> 00:15:39.450 for the Pilo Bones Rumble X8. And in true veteran 00:15:39.450 --> 00:15:42.409 fashion, he didn't just return. He won the entire 00:15:42.409 --> 00:15:45.029 30 -man rumble. An incredible high note. But 00:15:45.029 --> 00:15:47.429 time is the one opponent nobody goes over on. 00:15:48.169 --> 00:15:51.809 We march forward to October 2013, back in Regina. 00:15:52.570 --> 00:15:55.210 Cosman wrestles his final match against his longtime 00:15:55.210 --> 00:15:59.080 rival, King Cash. An end of an era. Just a couple 00:15:59.080 --> 00:16:01.700 of weeks after that bout, he was forced to officially 00:16:01.700 --> 00:16:05.240 retire due to illness. The final bell had rung 00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:09.639 on a nearly three -decade career. Wow. 30 years. 00:16:09.779 --> 00:16:11.860 So what does this all mean? When we look back 00:16:11.860 --> 00:16:14.240 at the entirety of John Cosman's life, what is 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:17.379 the final ledger of his legacy? The accolades 00:16:17.379 --> 00:16:19.950 speak to a deeply respected career. He was a 00:16:19.950 --> 00:16:23.330 four -time HIW Central Canadian Heavyweight Champion. 00:16:23.529 --> 00:16:25.970 He held the GDW Championship. Tons of hardware. 00:16:26.309 --> 00:16:29.110 And in 2014, he was recognized by his peers on 00:16:29.110 --> 00:16:31.330 a massive scale when he received the Men's Wrestling 00:16:31.330 --> 00:16:33.990 Award from the Cauliflower Alley Club, which 00:16:33.990 --> 00:16:35.889 is a highly prestigious fraternal organization 00:16:35.889 --> 00:16:38.590 for professional wrestlers. That's a huge honor. 00:16:38.929 --> 00:16:40.509 It's an acknowledgement from the boys that you 00:16:40.509 --> 00:16:42.429 put in the work and respected the business. And 00:16:42.429 --> 00:16:44.169 the emotional climax of his journey happened 00:16:44.169 --> 00:16:48.220 in October 2015. At HIW's Monster Brawl event 00:16:48.220 --> 00:16:50.980 in Regina, John Cosman was officially inducted 00:16:50.980 --> 00:16:54.379 into the HIW Hall of Fame, and the man who inducted 00:16:54.379 --> 00:16:57.600 him, his longtime friend, his occasional on -screen 00:16:57.600 --> 00:17:00.200 rival, and the man who helped start it all back 00:17:00.200 --> 00:17:03.860 in the 80s, Bob Leonard. An incredibly poignant 00:17:03.860 --> 00:17:07.359 bookend to their story. Sadly, just over a year 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:11.519 later, on November 28, 2016, John Cosman passed 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:15.269 away at the age of 52. Yeah. If we connect this 00:17:15.269 --> 00:17:18.430 to the bigger picture, Cosman's story transcends 00:17:18.430 --> 00:17:20.369 the mechanical details of a wrestling career. 00:17:20.809 --> 00:17:22.910 This is a narrative about a man who dedicated 00:17:22.910 --> 00:17:26.150 his entire life to a highly demanding art form. 00:17:26.250 --> 00:17:28.250 Through all the ups and downs. He experienced 00:17:28.250 --> 00:17:30.369 the gritty realities of touring the continent 00:17:30.369 --> 00:17:33.210 and the harsh economic lows of pivoting to a 00:17:33.210 --> 00:17:35.650 security guard when the territory system collapsed. 00:17:36.250 --> 00:17:39.329 Yet he persevered. He literally reinvented himself 00:17:39.329 --> 00:17:41.269 into the principal. And in doing so, he left 00:17:41.269 --> 00:17:42.990 an indelible mark on the Canadian independent 00:17:42.990 --> 00:17:45.710 sports scene. You really did. This raises an 00:17:45.710 --> 00:17:47.529 important question for all of us about how we 00:17:47.529 --> 00:17:49.750 define and view success within our own fields. 00:17:50.190 --> 00:17:52.210 John Cosman didn't become a wealthy fixture on 00:17:52.210 --> 00:17:54.710 global cable television. He wasn't on stadium 00:17:54.710 --> 00:17:57.829 billboards. But he became a legitimate, feared, 00:17:57.950 --> 00:18:01.130 and respected legend in his own territory. He 00:18:01.130 --> 00:18:03.170 achieved exactly what that kid sitting in the 00:18:03.170 --> 00:18:06.069 stands with his dad dreamed of doing. He commanded 00:18:06.069 --> 00:18:09.250 the ring and made the crowd feel something unforgettable. 00:18:09.609 --> 00:18:12.849 That is beautifully stated. And as we wrap up 00:18:12.849 --> 00:18:14.670 today, I want to leave you with a thought to 00:18:14.670 --> 00:18:16.930 mull over that stems from Cosman's localized 00:18:16.930 --> 00:18:19.930 legacy. We just talked about a man who built 00:18:19.930 --> 00:18:22.109 an absolute dynasty of character work in the 00:18:22.109 --> 00:18:24.849 prairies, largely outside the view of the global 00:18:24.849 --> 00:18:27.430 Internet machine. Right. With the way modern 00:18:27.430 --> 00:18:30.130 technology and social media have completely globalized 00:18:30.130 --> 00:18:32.529 everything from sports to music, you have to 00:18:32.529 --> 00:18:35.069 wonder, will we ever see another true territory 00:18:35.069 --> 00:18:39.069 legend like Cosmin? Or is the era of the deeply 00:18:39.069 --> 00:18:42.130 rooted hometown hero, the person who can be a 00:18:42.130 --> 00:18:44.450 massive star in one province and walk down the 00:18:44.450 --> 00:18:46.549 street unnoticed in another, is that gone forever? 00:18:47.410 --> 00:18:49.950 As our world gets smaller, are we losing the 00:18:49.950 --> 00:18:52.329 magic of the local legend? That's a great question. 00:18:52.509 --> 00:18:54.430 Thank you so much for joining us on this deep 00:18:54.430 --> 00:18:56.910 dive into the life and career of Principal Richard 00:18:56.910 --> 00:18:59.390 Pound. It's been a privilege to analyze his journey 00:18:59.390 --> 00:19:01.309 with you. Take care and keep exploring.