The air inside Budweiser Gardens usually smells of stale ice and overpriced popcorn, but this Saturday, Apr. 30, it carries the electric hum of a promotion trying to prove it still owns the conversation. All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is finally making its debut in London, Ontario. It is a moment of expansion that feels less like a corporate mandate and more like a homecoming for a specific brand of high-octane, technical violence.
At the centre of this storm is Daniel Garcia. The Buffalo native is not just another body on a bloated roster; he is the barometer for whether AEW can actually build its own icons. Garcia is a technical savant who carries himself with a chip on his shoulder the size of the Peace Bridge. He looks at this London date as a marker of the promotion’s survival and its aggressive evolution.
"I think there's a new era of AEW right now," Garcia says, leaning into the reality of a locker room that has recently become the most expensive real estate in the industry. "We have a lot of new free agents, some of the hottest free agents in the world. People like Will Ospreay, Mercedes Mone, Kazuchika Okada. We have some of the hottest professional wrestlers in the world who chose to come to AEW. And I think if that's not a sign of growth in the company, I don't know what is. People want to come here and I think that's a great sign."
But the influx of global titans like Okada creates a crowded ceiling. For a guy like Garcia, the challenge is not just staying relevant; it is staying essential. London provides the perfect backdrop for that struggle. While the casual fan might see London as just another stop on a Canadian tour, Garcia sees a city that watched him bleed before he had a dental plan.
"London has seen me since I was 18 years old when I was just a kid, and now I get to come back as a full-grown man, wrestling for the hottest wrestling company in the world, it's really a blessing," he says. It is a rare moment of sentimentality from a guy who usually looks like he wants to snap your ligaments.
The Canadian wrestling scene is a notoriously difficult crowd to please. They value work rate over theatrics, and they have a long memory. Garcia knows he is walking into a theatre that demands a high level of technical proficiency, a standard set by the mentors he has spent the last three years absorbing like a sponge.
"Obviously, it's well documented that Chris Jericho is one of my biggest mentors and one of the biggest people who have helped me throughout my career. And now people like Adam Copeland have been helping me a lot. Right from Toronto, there’s Christian Cage. I had a match with him at Revolution, one of the best matches in my career," Garcia notes. "Canadians are some of the best wrestlers of all time. You guys have a true rich history of professional wrestling and it's great to be able to come to London to add to that."
And that match against Christian Cage at Revolution was a polarizing bit of business. It was a masterclass in heel psychology from Cage, but for Garcia, it was a frustrating reminder of the glass ceiling that veterans often place over the heads of the "next big things." He had the crowd. He had the momentum. But he did not have the win.
"I was pretty impressed with my performance. Obviously, I wish I could have walked away with the win, but when you're fighting not just one person, when you're fighting three other people on the outside, people like Nick Wayne, Mother Wayne and Killswitch. When you're fighting such great athletes at the same time, the numbers game just kind of gets to you and sometimes it just catches up," Garcia admits.
But let’s talk about the jacket. At Revolution, Garcia walked out in a piece of gear that sent the internet into a speculative frenzy. Most assumed it was a direct nod to Sting’s retirement, a scorpion-emblazoned tribute to the Icon. It was, but the truth is steeped in Buffalo street culture and the intersection of hip hop and the squared circle.
I've learned so much from him, not just as a wrestler, but as a man. He's a great person... and he's just taught me so many life lessons. Just by watching how he treats people teaches me so much about how I should treat people and how I should act and be kind towards human beings.
"It's that jacket. It wasn't just a tribute to Sting, it was Westside Gunn. He's a rapper from Buffalo. He's a huge artist. That's his logo, the Scorpion," Garcia reveals, bridging the gap between his hometown’s gritty rap scene and the bright lights of a pay-per-view.
"About two days before the pay per view, I hit him up to see if he had any left that I could use because I thought scorpions were appropriate for Sting's last match in the pay per view, and it matched my gear. The colours were perfect. He actually didn't have any more for sale, but he was coming to the pay per view because he comes to all of them and sits front row, so he brought his own jacket for me to wear."
It is that kind of authenticity that keeps Garcia grounded. In an industry where everyone is trying to play a character, Garcia is just a kid from Buffalo who happened to become one of the best technical wrestlers on the planet. And he did not do it alone. The presence of "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard has been a weird, wonderful constant in his AEW tenure.
"He's just somebody who's been by my side at AEW since literally my first day there. We walked in together and were people who got paired together by our boss, Tony Khan. He paired us together. There was just something about us that he thought would be a cool dynamic, and I think he saw it before anybody else did," Garcia says. "Now we're at a point where it's literally just the two of us. Nobody else is involved in that group or our dynamic. It's just us."
The pairing seemed odd at first—the silent, stoic killer and the loud-mouthed, wild-eyed veteran. But the chemistry is undeniable. Menard provides the emotional ballast for Garcia’s stoicism. In a sport where a single loss can derail a year of booking, having a veteran in your ear is the only way to stay sane.
"He always just lets me know that a loss is not the end of the world. Things will get better and that even though you lost this one, it doesn't mean you're going to lose the next one. Don't give up because tomorrow could be the day that you win. Tomorrow could be the day that you do win the big one," Garcia shares. "So having somebody like him to tell you it's not the end of the world to comfort you and console you throughout those struggles, I can't thank him enough for his unconditional support."
Garcia’s path was never guaranteed. He did not come from a wrestling dynasty. He came from the bingo halls and the firehouses of New York, where the pay is usually a hot dog and a handshake if you are lucky.
"I was just always a fan as a kid," Garcia says. "I would go to shows and watch it on tv with my family, with my mom, and then we would start going to local shows in Buffalo, like independent shows at the Firehouse and bingo halls. And I started seeing these people and thinking, man, if they can do it, maybe I can do it, too."
That "maybe" turned into a "definitely" with terrifying speed. One minute he was the king of the indies, and the next, he was standing across the ring from legends. The transition was a blur of travel schedules and high-stakes television segments.
"Then all of a sudden, you're thrust into a position where people see you all the time. It kind of comes out of nowhere in a lot of ways, but it's amazing," Garcia says.
The education of Daniel Garcia has been overseen by the best in the business. Chris Jericho, a man who has reinvented himself more times than a witness protection program participant, gave Garcia the psychological tools to survive the AEW machine.
"Chris really helped me in a lot of ways. He's somebody who I feel like giving me a lot of confidence. He gave me the vision and the confidence to not fail," Garcia explains. "I would see him try new things, and it inspired me to try new things. He would step out of his comfort zone, and it makes me want to step out of his comfort zone and take it even further."
And then there is Bryan Danielson. If Jericho taught Garcia how to be a star, Danielson taught him how to be a professional. The American Dragon’s influence on Garcia’s in-ring style is obvious, but the influence on his character is what Garcia values most.
"Brian? I feel like I've learned so much from him, not just as a wrestler, but as a man. He's a great person. He's a great human being, and he's just taught me so many life lessons," Garcia says. "Just by watching how he treats people teaches me so much about how I should treat people and how I should act and be kind towards human beings."
As the London show approaches, Garcia is looking past the mid-card. He is looking at the posters and the promotional videos, and he is seeing the gaps where his face should be. He is tired of being the "rising star." He wants to be the sun.
"I just want to prove that I can be somebody that can be built around and invested in. I want to be somebody that the company is willing to invest in and put stock in, and somebody that can be on every poster or in every promotional video," he says.
"I feel like I can be the player on the court that you run your offense through. I can be the person carrying the ball. I can be the person to take that last shot when the shot clock is ticking down. I can be all those things."
Whether or not Tony Khan agrees remains to be seen. But in London, at Budweiser Gardens, Garcia will have the chance to prove he is the franchise player he claims to be. Tickets are moving fast, and the box office is open for those who want to see if the kid from Buffalo can finally take that last shot and sink it.
