Chompin At The Bit With Australian Wolf – QLD Wrestling
Written By: Mason “Australian Wolf” Childs (facebook.com/australianwolf)
Hello one and all, welcome to my first ever column!
I was approached by PWdownunder.com to write this article about the current state of Queensland Wrestling.
I’ll be honest straight up, I don’t have too much to do with Brisbane/South East Queensland Wrestling anymore, but I do see a lot of positive stuff and negative stuff that the needs to change before we can take things up another level.
Alright, let’s start with the positives:
“The Look” Firstly, many of the wrestlers are constantly working on their “look” and “appearance” which is showing across the board. When I first started, going to the gym regularly wasn’t part and parcel with being a wrestler. The costumes and attire are also getting to a world class level, which is also a huge plus. We are also seeing proper wrestling boots being worn by wrestlers, which when I started was not common place at all.
“Training Levels” Secondly, wrestlers are heading interstate and overseas to learn their craft. Whether it’s Lance Storm’s Storm Wrestling Academy, Seth Rollins’ Black and Brave Academy, Fale Dojo or numerous dojos in the UK and Japan, or seminars hosted by top international trainers and stars, the level of moves and execution is becoming world class. This means the wrestlers are much much safer.
“Production” The venues and arenas where the shows are being run are a huge improvement on the smaller halls with little to no production on the entrances, plus house lights are being used even less than ever.
Now, for some of the less positive aspects, and please note, these are just my opinions and I do hope people accept them as constructive feedback.
“Who’s the Boss?” Many times for many different companies, myself and others have arrived at a venue and asked when a show meeting was, what was the match order, how long do we have in our match ect and been met with confused looks and “….. I dunno?” Clear leadership will bring about a clear vision and a disciplined show. It also allows the product to flow to the ideas of the booker/s and owner/s.
“Who is the show for?” One big thing I have noticed in my recent trips to SEQ for wrestling is that the crowds seem to be there to amuse themselves moreso than immerse themselves in the product. I’m not entirely sure where this has come from, but I do believe it comes from wrestlers becoming friends with fans, which is fine to an extent, but not when a match is being over run with rude comments and remarks. We do perform for the fans, not the other way around.
“Doing what’s asked of you” As a worker/wrestler/performer there’s always a few standard questions you should ask. “How long have we got in our match?” “Is there any particular story you want us to tell?” “What match number are we?” “Is there anything we should avoid so we don’t clash with the main event?”
The biggest way Australian wrestling grows is word of mouth. If a family hears you swearing and carrying on, or sees you do something unsafe that could put the well being of a crowd member in danger, they will tell their friends and family.
So to round this all out, all in all things are on the right path to improving. Many stragglers who refused to train and be team players seem to be fading out.
Let’s make 2023 our best year to date! If you have any suggestions for topics you’d like me to cover, please ask! Topics to editor@pwdownunder.com
