The Canadian wrestling scene is in mourning following the loss of B.C. performer, promoter and trainer Eddie Osbourne.
Osbourne, who spent a quarter-century in the industry, passed away earlier this week at the age of 43. The cause of death isn’t known at the moment.
Born Mike Becherer on April 28, 1983, Osbourne began a professional wrestling career in his late teens. He would amass a career of over 1,000 in-ring appearances over the next 25 years, becoming a recurring name in promotions like Pure Wrestling Association, Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling, and 365 Wrestling, a promotion he founded in 2007.
A 2023 CBC profile on Osbourne highlighted how his promotion, 365, had revitalized a former nightclub space in Vancouver Island and turned it into a thriving professional wrestling venue.
While mainly working in his home province of B.C., Osbourne would also frequent the Ontario wrestling circuit as well. Osbourne’s last match occurred on Saturday, as part of a 365 Wrestling event in Victoria, British Columbia.
Tributes have poured out for Osbourne over the past few days. WWE’s Ethan Page credited Osbourne for helping him in the early stages of his career.
“The seed of “Ethan Page” was planted by me, but Eddie was one of the first promoters to water it & watch it grow. Opportunity is all we look for in wrestling. Eddie provided it to so many wrestlers & most of the time, it was the wrestlers nobody wanted to give a chance. An extremely unorthodox talent with a very old school point of view. Eddie truly loved professional wrestling & gave everything he had to put on events for fans across all of Canada.”
TNA’s Cody Deaner wrote a lengthy obit on Facebook, mentioning that Osbourne was a selfless name.
“He gave people a chance that others would never give,” Deaner wrote about Osbourne. “There are people right now on this earth who always dreamt of being a professional wrestler. They live in the middle of nowhere and were told their entire life that their dream was impossible. Eddie gave those people hope. And a place to belong. And a chance to live out their dream and build confidence in their daily lives when others wanted to tear them down and say their dreams were stupid.”
Adrian Butler, a current WWE referee, talked about how they have been friends since he was 17.
“Knowing you were working with “Besh,” as we called him (short for Mike Becherer), meant you were going to get to try whatever ideas you had, get some great ideas from him, have fun, see what happens, and get better.”
