Wrestler Bobby Roode comes home to Peterborough
Wrestler makes his hometown debut 20 years into his career
It will be a “Glorious” moment when Bobby Roode makes his hometown debut 20 years into his professional wrestling career.
Now in his second year with WWE, Roode, who normally wrestles under the WWE Raw brand, will join the Smackdown Live lineup for a special appearance Monday at the Memorial Centre.
The 41-year-old Peterborough native, who still calls the city home, has plied his trade for 20 years but he’s never wrestled in Peterborough.
“It’s exciting, for sure,” said Roode. “This is the first time I’ll get to wrestle and perform here in Peterborough in a place, an arena, that I used to go to watch the matches as a kid.
“It’s pretty cool but, at the end of the day, this is my job. It’s kind of like another day at the office but getting to perform at the Peterborough Memorial Centre is pretty special.”
When asked what kind of reception he expects when he makes his entrance, Roode said, “Hopefully, Peterborough can show me some love … Hopefully, I’ll see a lot of familiar faces in the crowd.”
There are two faces he knows he’ll see for sure.
“My parents are going to be In the crowd which is an unusual thing,” he said. “They’ll get an opportunity to see what I do outside of watching me on their couch on television.”
There is another special element to the evening.
“Sleeping in my own bed and being 10 minutes away from the building,” he said, with a laugh. “That’s a huge plus for me.”
He’s scheduled to face his current rival Mojo Rawley.
“Hopefully I can shut his mouth for good on Monday night and move on to other things,” said Roode.
Roode paid his dues for 18 years and was most notable for being the multiple and longest-reigning world champion at Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling.
“The ultimate goal was always to be a part of the WWE,” said Roode. “My experience at NXT was one of the greatest experiences of my entire career. Moving up to the main roster and spending the last two years of my life in the WWE I’ve managed to perform in all three major brands – NXT, Smackdown and Raw. I couldn’t ask for much more.”
The highlight of his career was performing at WrestleMania.
“In my childhood days as a wrestling fan I remember back to the very first WrestleMania,” he said.
“Finally being able to walk down the aisle and be in front of 80,000 people this past April, and be a part of WrestleMania, was probably the standout moment for me, so far.”
There are still good tickets available for the show which also features a world heavyweight championship match between A.J. Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, the newly crowned tag team champions The New Day and women’s champion Charlotte Flair, the daughter of legendary grappler Ric (Nature Boy) Flair.
Tickets range from $27 to $80 and are available at the PMC box office, by phone on Monday at 705-743-3561 or online at www.memorialcentre.ca. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.