Australian Wrestling Retrospective: The Road From Regression To Revival

By Michael Lee

We have passed the halfway point of 2024 & Australian Wrestling feels like it has never been stronger! A bold statement to be sure but one that takes into consideration the way the wrestling landscape was making noise just five years prior.    

For those not aware of the national wrestling climate during 2018 & 2019 things were looking quite positive for all involved. Wrestling fans the world over had seen ’Super Show-down’ emanate from the Melbourne Cricket Grounds that housed over 70,000 strong where Buddy Murphy won the Cruiserweight Championship leading many to start surveying what else was happening here. Many different independent heavyweight promotions such as PROGRESS, House of Hardcore & New Japan Pro Wrestling (featuring the independent minds that would later form All Elite Wrestling) experimented with large Australian circuits giving several of our wrestlers a chance to add theses large brands to their resumes. 

Eastern state powerhouses such as PWA & MCW had never been stronger with MCW in the middle of ‘Loverboy’ Lochy Hendriks’ ‘Uncle Paul National Tour’ & PWA creating the historic Colosseum Tournaments bestowing swords to battle-tested victors like Mick Moretti receiving Black Metal in 2018 then one year later Matty Wahlberg (now of Survivors:Australia acclaim) receiving Green Thunder. Momentum from these historic moments was continually being capitalised on with our athletes increasing their online presence with hashtags & all signs pointing to 2020 being just as monumental. 

Well it was…just not in the way we would’ve liked.

As much as many of us may want to repress or forget all that transpired during this period I feel that there are many lessons that the wrestling community as a whole learnt during this time of recovery that we have absorbed & now utilise to its fullest making present day an exciting new era for fans & wrestlers alike. Based on my experiences & opinions as a surveyor of the national wrestling landscape, here are three lessons I believe the Pandemic Years taught us as well as three reasons why Australian Wrestling specifically in 2024 is on the rise once more!

Picturesque to Pandemic! Why Lockdowns made us stronger!

1. 1) The importance of developing home grown talent

Several promotions across the country would utilise interstate names in marquee matches with a smaller handful also mixing in fighters from across the globe. However by the time March 2020 rolled around those common practices were now unavailable to all and for us here in WA wouldn’t return until mid 2022 upon opening our borders. Between 2020-2021 with the daily updates of cases in our areas, social distancing & restrictions becoming increasingly commonplace, even the thought (at least initially) to have freelancers work wherever they could or interpromotional shows seemed downright dangerous. Each show became a risk of hotspots arising with nobody wanting to be known as the business that brought back or kept people in the bad times.

But creativity often thrives out of times of necessity and this meant that the time for local names to ascend up the ranks in our contained environments was now! Though several names would pause or leave the industry during this time, the ones that endured emerged more seasoned & idolised in the eyes of their audience. Each accomplishment from winning a championship to ending a rivalry had more importance. Every alliance fracturing or despicable tactic used in the ring became more tragic. This also meant that each show without spikes in cases was considered a victory as even the best laid plans could be postponed at any moment!

1. 2) The ways to improve in lieu of actual training 

As many people within the industry will attest, the only true form of training to be a professional wrestler is in the ring with no other forms of exercises or combat being able to accurately recreate what happens during a match. But with training schools closed under the same guidelines as gyms/sporting clubs, what can you do when you can’t train…STUDY! Not only were wrestlers passions for the business tested like never before during this time but also their discipline. Wrestlers would network the world over to study tape as well as seek continued guidance from trainers via zoom classes. Maintaining ones physical fitness at home or attending public workout classes in large open spaces was crucial else people would take a step back in their development. Now with schools wide open for business once again, students & wrestlers alike can showcase if for whatever they cannot attend sessions they’re still learning/training at home or online until such time they’re back to in-ring condition. 

1. 3) The importance of self-promotion and social media adeptness

Wrestlers walk a fine line with their audience. You want to continually be at the forefront of an audiences mind but depending on your experience level, connection with your audience the amount of available promotions in your state/territory, if you’re overexposed & not providing new elements to your personas then that relationship can quickly deteriorate (how can we miss you if you haven’t left yet)! As weeks turned into months online interactions were the only vestige of professional wrestling still beating. Wrestlers & Promotions could share updates in the same vein as recovering from an in-ring injury & build up their returns keeping people honed in for show announcements. In the midst of lockdowns crowds knew that any continuation of shows had to be special. This meant although there would be fewer in attendance with social distancing & people less willing to attend public gatherings of any kind, the ones that took that chance were more inclined to be as loud as possible! Those that may have become complacent with the amount of wrestling on offer now craved to be lost in the spectacle once again to forget about ‘the new normal’. Whilst the scene is back in full force, with companies like WWE now doing International PLE’s showcasing how an audience reacts when they haven’t received live wrestling in years (or even decades), it serves as a constant reminder for those that support the independent scene that wrestling is best enjoyed when fans are vocal & craving that escapism.

#YouWillNoticeUs to #NowWeConquer. Why Australia no longer needs hashtags! 

1. 1) More Promotions forming all across the country 

The wrestling landscape will always go through ebbs and flows. While the pandemic years saw many promotions rebrand, merge or close their doors. However there was just as many promotions that were either created or found a resurgence that cropped up to take their places. From the fall of Pro Wrestling Darwin came Top End Wrestling. From the fall of the ‘’Australian Wrestling League’ came the evolution of Wide Bay Pro Wrestling. In the place of ‘Western Pro Wrestling’ and the ‘Southern Hemisphere Wrestling Alliance’ came Southern Territory Wrestling & ‘Dude, Where’s My Ring’. New promotions such as SLAM in Canberra, Renegades of Wrestling & MXW in Melbourne & Elite Wrestling Australia in Sydney have provided a new energy to their respective terrains and there are more promotions still to come with the likes of the ‘Pacifica Wrestling Federation’ and Aus Pro Wrestling beginning operations very soon!

Not only are there more state specific promotions meaning there is wrestling quite literally all across the country, there are more national brands that are beginning to make waves. Now joining the likes of World Series Wrestling who returned to doing more full tours of the continent are New Japan Tamashii that test their Dojo’s Young Lions against the Australian elite in the eastern states as well as the revelation that has been Oceania Pro Wrestling providing international calibre events in more rural settings like Wagga Wagga & Ballarat! With all these elements in place it is a wonderful time to sample many different options & show your support across the scene.

1. 2) International Brands taking advantage of our Wrestling Territories

Throughout the mid to late 2010’s the belief amongst many in the industry was if wrestlers didn’t make the leap overseas that the only way for Australia to become recognised international would be as an NXT initiative which seemed like the most direct way for our athletes to reach that elevated platform. However due to the wealth of athletes performing at such a high level in our respective states, that outlook has changed with more international brands taking a chance on the wrestling here. In 2023 alone we would see the formation of New Japan Tamashii, the National Wrestling Alliance perform a near nation wide tour as part of Billy Corgan’s work with The Smashing Pumpkins as well as IMPACT (now returning to their TNA Moniker) doing their own Down-Under tour in conjunction with OPW. Now in 2024 after WWE brought ‘Elimination Chamber’ to Perth which was main-everted by Rhea Ripley defending her Womens World Championship against Sydney Born (Yes really) Nia Jax & the rumour of more PLE’s being considered in Australia due to the record-setting business made…the future is definitely looking bright!

1. 3) More Australian Fighters reaching international recognition

As the wrestling landscape continues to expand, besides the aforementioned international brands taking more chances on Australian Wrestling as a territory, now more then ever we’re seeing our athletes find their way to onto these global rosters. Before the pandemic begun we had breakout stars Rhea Ripley, Buddy Murphy/Matthews, Bronson Reed, Toni Storm & Indi Hartwell to name a few get their foots in the door & have exploded ever since. During those covid years we would see stars like Grayson Waller & Steph De Lander make the move with Waller now becoming a former WWE Tag-Team Champion & Steph becoming a mainstay in TNA when she’s not touring the globe being a heater alongside ‘The Indy God’ Matt Cardona! The Iconic would become The Inspiration & send shockwaves in WWE & TNA womens tag-team divisions. Now in 2024 joining the mix we have the likes of Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher), Harley Cameron and TMDK making regular appearances in AEW/ROH plus with the news of Australia’s latest prospect DELTA recently completing her final dates as a national performer, there are more opportunities then ever for Australian stars to set themselves apart whichever direction they go!