Wrestling legend Sweet Daddy Siki remembered across Canada for his greatness

As the clock struck 12 on a new year, the wrestling world lost one of its most colourful characters from the past.

Sweet Daddy Siki was a legend from coast to coast in Canada back in the days when World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was not the sole dominating force in professional wrestling.

Siki, who was born Elkin James, died on New Year’s Eve after battling dementia for many years, according to Greg Oliver, the producer of Slamwrestling.net. He was 91.

Oliver, who has written 10 books on wrestling, was involved in producing a documentary on the life of ‘Mr. Irresistible.’ That was another of the monikers for Siki, whose final days few decades were spent living in Toronto near Exhibition Place, far from where his life began.

“The story of Sweet Daddy Siki starts out in Texas and he’s the son of a sharecropper,” Oliver said.

He said Siki landed in Los Angeles after his mother’s death and that was where he picked up a passion for boxing and wrestling.

After serving in the U.S. military during the Korean War, Siki returned home and that was when he began to thrive inside the squared circle.

“He quickly became a decent hand in pro wrestling, as we call it, learning the sport and starting to get his name out there,” Oliver said. “He was an early face that was on the Dumont network, which was a national network. And so his name started to get known nationally.”

But it was not until Siki switched to his trademark bleached-blond hair that his stature grew.

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“He learns how to do the strut from Buddy Rogers. He just becomes a much bigger star,” Oliver said. “And he’s headlined many places around North America.”

After spending some time in New York, working for the World Wrestling Federation, Siki’s star sputtered and he moved to Toronto with his wife.

“At that point, his career sort of peters out in the U.S. and he becomes mainly known across Canada,” Oliver said.

Siki worked the Toronto circuit, also spending time in Atlantic Canada working for Grand Prix and in the Prairies as well for the Hart family.

“Sweet Daddy ‘broke in’ around Toronto in 1961 & wrestled for my grandfather in 1964, 1966 & 1970. He worked as a heel & drew amazing crowds for Stampede Wrestling,” Natalya Neidhart wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A former WWE champion, Neidhart comes from a wrestling family as her grandfather was Stu Hart, the founder of Stampede Wrestling, while her uncle is Bret Hart and father is Jim (the Anvil) Neidhart.

“Stu respected him greatly. Rest peacefully, Sweet Daddy. Thank you for all you gave,” she said.

Siki worked the circuits in the west in the winters, and summered in the Maritimes.

“So in the summer, a great place to be was out in the Maritimes because it was only a summer territory,” Oliver said.

“The rest of the year, maybe he’d be out in Vancouver or he’d be out in Calgary Stampede Wrestling.”

Oliver said he would also often work the “Toronto corridor.” which spanned from Montreal to Detroit.

“Now those are really where he got really well known,” Oliver said. “He just never really did much in the United States after he was let go by the WWF.”

In the late 1970s, Siki started a wrestling school in Hamilton, alongside Johnny Powers.

“But at some point, Johnny Power stepped back and they brought in Ron Hutchison as a partner,” Oliver said.

The two ran an essay contest in a local newspaper seeking to drum up interest in the wrestling school and the winner ended up being an 18-year-old from Orangeville named Adam Copeland.

“He ended up being WWE superstar Edge, currently in AEW (All Elite Wrestling) known as Cope,” Oliver said. “They trained another guy, Christian Cage, who is another WWE and AEW star.”

All Elite Wrestling issued a statement mourning Siki’s death on X.

“AEW and the wrestling world mourn the passing of Sweet Daddy Siki. After his in ring career came to a close, he became a trainer to many pro wrestling hopefuls including Adam Copeland and Christian Cage,” it read.

The WWE also offered condolences.

“WWE is saddened to learn that Elkin James, known to wrestling fans as Sweet Daddy Siki, passed away on December 31, 2024, at age 91,” the organization wrote.

A number of other wrestling stars also chimed in to mourn the passing of the adopted Canadian legend, including Mark Henry and Michael Hayes.

“Today The Pro Wrestling world lost one of the greatest wrestlers of all time Sweet Daddy Siki,” Henry wrote. “You always be remembered.”

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