Canadian wrestling legend Sweet Daddy Siki has died

Slam Wrestling’s Greg Oliver shared earlier today (Jan. 1) that Sweet Daddy Siki died yesterday at the age of 91. Siki had Alzheimer’s disease and spent his last moments at a Toronto hospital. Oliver, who wrote a 2017 CBC documentary on Siki, received the news in an email from Siki’s son. “He lived a long life, did what he wanted to do, and made a successful career out of entertainment,” Reg James wrote to Oliver about his dad. After moving to Toronto in 1961, Siki wrestled atop the card for promotions like Maple Leaf Wrestling, Grand Prix Wrestling, and Stampede Wrestling through the 60s and 70s. He would later train wrestlers out of Sully’s Gym in the city, including WWE Hall of Famer Adam “Edge” Copeland and former NWA & WWE World Heavyweight champion Christian Cage, both now with AEW. Siki was also a singer. He wrote and sang the theme song he used in the latter part of his career, and ran a karaoke night at a Toronto bar until the pandemic. Most believed Siki was born in 1940 under the name Reginald Siki, but Oliver says he kept his real backstory quiet and “he was born Elkin James,...