PWP Nation’s Matt Burgess talks about the resurgence of Australian wrestling all over the world, especially in WWE.
When people think of Australia, it is safe to say most think of golden beaches, kangaroos and throwing shrimp on the barbie. However, what many people fail to appreciate is Australia’s world class professional wrestling, which kick started in the 1960’s.
In early 1964 US promoters Jim Barnett and Johnny Doyle visited Sydney to assess the viability of bringing professional wrestling to Australia, with the pair presenting the first card of World Championship Wrestling on October 23, 1964. Capitalizing on the advent of television in Australia, and an influx of post-war immigrants, Barnett and Doyle used a flurry of ethnic stars, larger than life characters and violent matches to make WCW a household name in Australia by the 1970’s.
With WCW putting on up to 12 shows a week, throughout major cities and regional centres across the country, as well as a weekly television broadcast on the Nine Network, the fan base for professional wrestling in Australia was at an all time high.
Shows would attract between 2,000 and 9,000 people and could boast legends such as “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, Bruno Sammartino and Killer Kowalski, as well as local stars Ron Miller and Larry O’Dea.
However, after the introduction of World Series Cricket on the Nine Network, WCW was left without a television deal and was forced to close down in 1978 (The “World Championship Wrestling” name was resurrected by Barnett and Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1982), which sent the Australian market into freefall. Without a major Australian promotion, professional wrestling in the land down under has since been overlooked, despite the fact it has never been better.
With Emma, Buddy Murphy, Peyton Royce and KC Cassidy all performing regularly on NXT, more Australian wrestlers than ever before are being introduced to a mainstream market. Someone who has played a huge role in this influx of Australian talent in the WWE is former WWE, WCW and ECW superstar, and owner of Storm Wrestling Academy, Lance Storm.
Arguably the greatest trainer in professional wrestling, Storm can see as many as 12 Australians a year go through his Calgary, Canada based academy; including Peyton Royce and Emma.
“More Australians come to me, more Australians succeed with me, which leads to more Australians,” he said. “The same may be true with WWE. I’ve had four Australian students get a shot in WWE developmental; two are still there, and there are two others in developmental that didn’t come through me. The more those four succeed I would imagine the more Australians will attempt to follow in their footsteps.”
Long term success in WWE is something that Storm envisions for both Royce and Emma, and believes they will give hope to other aspiring Australians.
“Emma has already been a huge success on many levels. She is travelling the world on WWE Live Events, wrestling in front of 10,000 & 20,000 fans a night. When you see that she made it, it gives others hope. They can see the path that she took, and can then attempt to reach that same goal. I have no doubt the same will happen for Peyton. Hard work pays off, and talent always rises.”
However, the reason Australian wrestling is better than it has ever been before is so much more than four Australians on NXT. Australia is home to some of the most talented wrestlers on the planet.
Promotions such as Melbourne City Wrestling and Adelaide’s Rampage Wrestling boast rosters featuring pioneers of Australian wrestling such as Jonah Rock, Robbie Eagles, and Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s 380th and 355th respectively ranked wrestlers Hartley Jackson and AJ Istria; who are world class in every sense of the word. But it does not stop there, joining these stalwarts, and making an impact across the globe, are performers such as Toni Storm, Ryan Rollins (Australian Suicide) and Shimmer’s Shazza McKenzie, to name just a few.
This resurgence in Australian wrestling is down to the hours upon hours of hard work and dedication that these athletes, and countless others, demonstrate on a daily basis.
So next time you think of Australia do not just envision its golden beaches, and exotic wildlife; think of its world class professional wrestling.