‘Mad Max’ meets McMahon in Edmonton pro wrestling persona “Massive Damage”
Jonah Kondro “Massive Damage the Tattooed Terminator” entered the ring looking like a post-apocalyptic king of Thunderdome. The Hannibal-esque half-mask, shoulder pads, and pro wrestling singlet are all part of Sean Dunster’s gimmick or ring persona.
Dunster began his athletic career bodybuilding and playing football. He made it to division two football in North Dakota, but poor knees hindered his chances at a pro career. Dunster’s love of pro wrestling, however, took him down another path. He wrestles as “Massive Damage the Tattooed Terminator” in Monster Pro Wrestling (MPW) events in Edmonton. MPW recently held an event at the Alberta Avenue Community Centre on January 7, and diehard wrestling fans stood against the walls when no more seats were available. The house was packed when “Damage” entered the ring brandishing his championship belt, igniting the fans with his ring presence. After 20-some odd years of wrestling, Dunster is still coming off the ropes strong and trains others in the business of pro wrestling.
“I’ve jumped off balconies, I jumped off trucks, I’ve gone through tables on fire, I’ve blown fire, I did all the crazy hardcore stuff,” Dunster says. He never made a glamorous living or owned a mansion as a pro wrestler, but Dunster says he’s made enough to eat, go to the gym, wrestle, and live his dream.
The show was over, chairs were stacked, and personas put away when I asked Dunster why it’s important indie wrestling shows are still occurring in Edmonton.
“I don’t have an answer,” he says. “But why I do this is because I love this business.”
Dunster first encountered the love of wrestling and showmanship when he attended Thom Collegiate High School in Regina. Dunster and his buddies assembled a makeshift ring in the high school’s auditorium using tables and ropes, which drew an audience of their peers.
“I had this buddy in high school, who was really athletic. We had one of those (spring boards), so we threw him out of the ring, he came running back, hit the board, did a flip, and landed on his feet in the ring. The crowd went crazy,” he says.
Dunster broke into the business of pro wrestling in the mid-90s and developed a humble career wrestling on the road in eastern Canada. His career got a boost when Canadian pro wrestler Leo Burke saw something in Dunster and brought him to Alberta.
“I got invited by Leo Burke to (come to) Calgary to train at Brett (“The Hitman”) Hart’s house in a WWE developmental camp. Huge,” he says. Unfortunately, the training and the attention from the pro wrestling stars wasn’t enough to get “Massive Damage” into a top tier wrestling career.
Dunster never quit wrestling and moved to Edmonton in 2001. Currently, he has two rings set up at Gold’s Gym in Westmount where he trains other pro wrestlers. “That’s my passion,” he says, “I want to give back what Leo (Burke) gave to me. I want to be able to train the next stars and half of these guys (at the January 7 MPW show) are my guys.”
