This Sunday marks the return of the Oil Rumble to the Edmonton Oil Kings for its third incarnation, presented by Love Pro Wrestling (LPW). This collaborative event between LPW and the Oil Kings brings wrestling into Rogers Place during the pre-game and each intermission of the hockey game. The LPW ring is set up near the Zamboni entrance, where the stage experiences are typically presented during the same time periods. I’m here as both a hockey and a wrestling fan to provide some insight into the wrestling side for the hockey fans who maybe aren’t familiar with what to expect at the Oil Rumble.
What is Love Pro Wrestling?
LPW is a locally operated, independent, professional wrestling company run by promoter Spencer Love. Their events run monthly from The Rec Room in South Edmonton Common, presenting larger than life personalities in live wrestling action that routinely fills their venue with hundreds of enthusiastic fans. LPW has brought their Oil Rumble event into The Kingdom each of the last two seasons, and presented an entertaining event both times.
LPW has been producing events in Edmonton since October 2021 at their “Change the Game” event, and have become recognizable for their creative event themes and posters. Their 44th show happened on Friday, and was stacked full with all 4 championships defended on the show.
LPW currently recognizes four championships that are regularly defended at their events. The LPW Tag Team Championships are fairly self-explanatory, as they are contested by teams of two in traditional 2-versus-2 matches. The remaining three championships are singles titles, each with its own unique identity and rules.
The LPW Scramble Championship is always defended in multi-person matches, most commonly five-person or six-person bouts where all competitors battle simultaneously for individual supremacy. Scramble matches can have any number of competitors, and can become very chaotic for the champion trying to retain their title. The LPW Challenge Championship is defended exclusively through open challenges, with the champion offering an open opportunity to the locker room and any wrestler free to step up and accept the challenge on any given night.
At the top of the mountain sits the LPW Grand Championship, the company’s premier title and the championship held by LPW’s number one wrestler. Think of this in the same sense as a World Championship in a WWE or AEW context. Wrestlers must earn their opportunity to challenge for the Grand Championship by establishing themselves as the number one contender, typically through victories in designated matches against other top competitors in the promotion.
Then there is the Oil Kings Cup, a specially designed trophy created exclusively for the Oil Rumble event, serving as a yearly showcase match and a rare singles prize that can only be won on this stage inside Rogers Place.
The Matches:
Para Lira vs The Mad Lads
The LPW Tag Team Champions Para Lira are made up of Berat Gorani and Sheik Akbar Shabaz, a duo that has been together for nearly four years and has grown into the measuring stick of the entire tag team division. This is their second reign as LPW Tag Team Champions, having reclaimed the titles in March 2025, and they are now closing in on a full year of defending their spot at the top. Across their two reigns, Para Lira has held the championships for a combined 486 days, a level of consistency and dominance that few teams can even begin to match. At this point, it’s fair to say that Para Lira isn’t just holding the division together, they are defining it.
At Oil Rumble, however, they may be facing one of their most dangerous challenges yet. The Mad Lads, consisting of “Nasty” Nate Nixon and “White Shirt” William Taylor, officially came together as a team at the very same March 2025 event where Para Lira captured the championships. Since then, their paths have felt destined to cross. These two teams have only once faced one another in a standard 2v2 match, back in May 2025, when the Mad Lads were still finding their footing and learning what kind of team they could be.
Now, seven months deeper into their partnership, The Mad Lads look like a completely different animal. Their chemistry has sharpened, their confidence has grown, and their chaotic edge has become a weapon rather than a liability. Oil Rumble represents the biggest opportunity of their young run together, a chance to prove that they are no longer just loud, unpredictable contenders, but a legitimate threat to end Para Lira’s reign and shake the foundation of the LPW tag team division.
Zoe Sager vs Taryn From Accounting
“The Intangible” Zoe Sager and Taryn From Accounting are absolutely no strangers to one another, as these two first stepped into the ring together all the way back in January 2020. Since then, their rivalry has followed them across Alberta, with each encounter adding another chapter to a long and personal history. Now, for the second consecutive year, they will collide once again at Oil Rumble, a stage that has proven to bring out the very best and very worst in both competitors.
When Taryn From Accounting enters the ring, she does so with a singular focus: to balance the books. She is exactly what you would expect from a hard-nosed accountant, someone who would rather have her nose buried in the numbers than spend a second trying to be likable. In her world, there are only three certainties: death, taxes, and TFA putting her competition flat on their backs. Though she has been out of action since September, Taryn has made it clear that her return is centered on reigniting old hostilities with Zoe Sager. As a former LPW Challenge Champion and former LPW Tag Team Champion, Taryn has proven time and again that when the lights are brightest and the pressure is highest, she knows how to deliver.
Zoe Sager, meanwhile, stands as the complete opposite of her opponent. She enters the ring with a smile, an infectious energy, and a never-say-die attitude that has made her a favorite with younger fans. Signed to the WWE ID program in 2024, Zoe has continued to push herself, refining her craft with the goal of one day stepping onto a WWE stage. Her LPW resume speaks for itself, with reigns as LPW Challenge Champion, LPW Tag Team Champion, and two separate runs as LPW Grand Champion. At LPW 43 in November, Zoe turned a new corner by aligning herself with The Mad Lads, forming a new power trio within LPW. Friday night at LPW 44, Zoe explained her new business partnership with The Mad Lads, and proceeded to immediately benefit from that business deal by walking away with the LPW Scramble Championship. With The Mad Lads also in the building for Oil Rumble, this new alliance could prove to be a deciding factor in Zoe’s favor yet again. Zoe picked up the victory over Taryn at last year’s Oil Rumble, and as these two prepare to meet again, she will be looking to prove that lightning can strike twice.
Steven Crowe & Michael Richard Blais vs TY Jackson & Larry Woods
You may not guess it at first glance, but “The Rhinestone Cowboy” Steven Crowe and “God’s Gift to Wrestling” Michael Richard Blais are, in fact, brothers. Alongside Taryn From Accounting, they form the notorious Clandestine Society, a group that always seems to have its fingerprints on everything happening in LPW. Steven currently sits atop the company as the LPW Grand Champion, while Michael holds the LPW Challenge Championship, making this one of the most powerful combinations in the promotion today. While blood may be thicker than water, there have been clear signs of tension between these two in recent months. Michael has repeatedly found himself in situations where he’s had to choose between advancing his own interests or protecting those of his brother, and those decisions haven’t always come easily. The question heading into this match is whether they can stay unified, or if the cracks in their foundation will finally begin to show.
Across the ring stands a reunion of a different kind. TY Jackson and “Lumberjack” Larry Woods spent the better part of the last five years as part of the prominent RADz faction. While the group ultimately fell apart last summer, TY and Larry were never at odds during its collapse, each going their separate ways without burning bridges. Now, with time apart behind them, they come back together looking to rediscover the chemistry that once made them such a dangerous pairing. This match presents a massive opportunity to upset two reigning champions and some of LPW’s most influential personalities. The question is whether time apart has sharpened their bond, or if the lingering fallout from the RADz will create friction when it matters most.
The Vörös Twins w/ Kevin Karius vs Rich King, Dean Richtor, w/ Thaddeus Archer III
The Vörös Twins, Chris and Patrick, are perhaps better known to a wider audience for their online identities as the Da Vinki Twins. Hailing from Vancouver, the duo took both the internet and the Canadian wrestling scene by storm in 2020 when a trivia video went viral thanks to their now-infamous pronunciation of Da Vinci as “Da Vinki.” That same sense of timing and commitment to the absurd has translated seamlessly into their in-ring work. Their comedic instincts are sharp, and they fully lean into the goofy and unpredictable elements of their personalities, using humor as both entertainment and misdirection whether they’re picking up wins or absorbing losses.
Rich King aligned himself with Thaddeus Archer III back at LPW 36 in April 2025, a moment that sent shockwaves through LPW when King betrayed his former RADz teammates by abandoning “Lumberjack” Larry Woods mid-match and costing him the victory, effectively ending the faction and embracing a new identity. At LPW 39, Dean Richtor surprised everyone by joining forces with King and Archer, launching a mid-match attack on TY Jackson that aided King in securing the win and solidified a pairing rooted less in friendship and more in mutual opportunity. While both men joined the alliance for individual advancement, the long-term success of the faction will depend on whether King and Richtor can develop true tag team chemistry and operate as a cohesive unit rather than two singles competitors sharing a corner. With Lumberjack Larry confirmed to be in the building at Rogers Place, keep an eye on this match, as unresolved history has a way of resurfacing when tensions are already running high.
What was initially announced as a straightforward tag team match between The Vörös Twins and King & Richtor has now escalated significantly. The long-running war of words between Thaddeus Archer III and Sports 1440 radio host Kevin Karius has finally boiled over into LPW territory. Archer, the mastermind behind the pairing of Rich King and Dean Richtor, has long considered his sharp tongue to be his greatest weapon. Now, he’ll be backing it up in person, standing in his team’s corner as their manager. After years of verbal sparring during Archer’s frequent appearances on Sports 1440, Karius has had enough, challenging Archer to put action behind his words. At Oil Rumble, Karius will be in the corner of The Vörös Twins, officially inserting himself into the chaos.
The question now isn’t just which team will walk away with the victory, but whether Archer and Karius can keep their rivalry confined to ringside strategy. Or, after years of talk, will this personal feud finally spill over into something far more physical at Oil Rumble?
Oil Kings Cup: Reid Matthews vs Marz the Specialist
The 2025 Oil Rumble introduced the Oil Kings Cup, with Marz the Specialist facing off against Michael Richard Blais to determine the inaugural champion. Marz emerged victorious in the headline match during the second intermission, capturing the Cup and etching his name into Oil Rumble history. Now, one year later, he returns to defend that championship against someone who knows him better than almost anyone else, his close friend and longtime tag team partner, “The Thickness” Reid Matthews. After Marz issued an open challenge for the Oil Kings Cup, it was his fellow “Short King” who wasted no time stepping forward, setting the stage for a rare clash between partners.
Marz debuted on the Edmonton wrestling scene in 2021 and quickly established himself as a technical wizard, capable of out-wrestling anyone willing to step into the ring with him. While he may not be the biggest competitor physically, there are few, if any, who can match his fight, resilience, and determination. His rise in Love Pro Wrestling began at LPW 3 in April 2022, and by 2024 he had climbed to the very top of the company, holding the LPW Grand Championship for over 240 days and proving that skill and heart can outweigh size.
The Short Kings have been teaming together since LPW 9, with Reid and Marz consistently having each other’s backs whenever the situation called for it. That partnership, however, has never limited Reid’s ambition. Alongside Zoe Sager, he formed the team known as Intangible Violence, capturing the LPW Tag Team Championships last January and further cementing his place as one of the most versatile competitors on the roster. Now, the Short King known as “The Thickness” has his sights set on his first major singles championship in LPW. Matthews has been a fixture of the Edmonton wrestling scene since 2015, but his only other title win came back in 2019 with a now-defunct local promotion, a reign that ended not with defeat, but with the company’s closure due to health restrictions in 2020.
This match isn’t built on drama, rivalry, or bad blood. Instead, it’s driven by mutual respect, competitive pride, and the desire to test strengths and claim bragging rights between two close brothers. Two of the most beloved figures in the Edmonton wrestling scene will step into the ring looking to crown the true King with the Oil Kings Cup. Can Marz successfully defend the championship in his first title defense, or will his partner walk away with the trophy this time? And with a championship on the line, can The Short Kings settle this battle without leaving any cracks in their friendship, or will this moment change the dynamic of their partnership moving forward?
For hockey fans experiencing the Oil Rumble for the first (or maybe third) time, the beauty of the event is that you don’t need years of context to enjoy it. Each match is designed to tell a story quickly, clearly, and loudly, fitting perfectly into the rhythm of a live Oil Kings game. Whether you come away with a new favorite wrestler or simply a memorable intermission, Oil Rumble continues to prove that wrestling has a place in The Kingdom.