Aussies Abroad: betrayal, heartbreak and success in Japan

Welcome to another week’s installment of Aussies Abroad, where we take a dive into all the hottest news from Australian wrestlers kicking ass overseas.

SummerSlam saw some ground-breaking surprises this year, but nothing bigger than the heart-breaking betrayal of Adelaide’s Rhea Ripley. What was (personally) the most anticipated match kicked things off but ended in tears for Ripley and her fans. Rhea was the first to make an appearance with her ‘Dirty’ Dom by her side for her return to the ring, followed by the current Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan. The two put on one hell of a match, showcasing impressive strength and perfectly executed moves. Things started slow with both women trying to catch one another in the ring before the tension that has been building for years between the two finally snapped. Rhea got the upper hand with a couple of hard clotheslines and hits ringside followed by a comeback from Liv sending Ripley shoulder-first into the turnbuckle. Ripley then, with a further injured shoulder, continued to bring the brutality to Morgan until a steel chair was ripped from her grasp by Mysterio, claiming this “isn’t how you should win the belt”. Morgan landed a hard oblivion to Ripley which she somehow kicked out of. What followed next sent shockwaves throughout the crowd as Mysterio slid the chair to Morgan and distracted the ref, leading Morgan to hit an oblivion and knock Ripley out for the three count. Mysterio and Morgan then shared a heated kiss in celebration, leaving Ripley broken and in tears. It’s back to the dog house for you Dom (and this time, stay there).

On the red brand, Aussie Bronson Reed recently picked up a huge win over the Celtic Warrior Sheamus. The Aussie beast proved that hard work pays off following a feud between the two resulting in a satisfying three-count win for Reed. After some intense back and forth between the men, Sheamus was able to get the upper hand after kicking out from a massive death valley driver from Reed. Sheamus was then able to get reed up on his shoulders and hit a white noise from the second rope, which Reed miraculously kicked out of at 2. It was an interruption from rival Pete Dunne that gave Reed the opportunity to land a huge tsunami and knock Sheaumus out for the three count.

In AEW, the tension between honourary Aussie Toni Storm and her once-prodigy Mariah May is heating up in the lead-up to the two’s battle at All In later this month. Collision saw another run-in between the two, with Storm interrupting May’s chat with the announce table. Instead of heading to the ring for her match with Rache Chanel, Storm pounced on May before receiving a nasty hit with a shoe from May. The two unleashed on each other, bringing their feud across the arena despite the efforts of multiple staff members. Despite the beating, Storm was still able to hit a storm zero to take Chanel out for the three count.

AEW also saw a massive win for Kyle Fletcher, defeating the beast that is Brian Cage at Collision. The match started strong for Cage, taking down Fletcher with a big back elbow. But Fletcher was able to fire back with a big knee strike followed by some impressive back and forth between the two men. Fletcher was really able to showcase his talents in this match, hitting a range of impressive moves like a powerful brain buster, a blue thunder bomb, and a springboard elbow drop. Fletcher finished the powerhouse off with a tombstone piledriver. Fletcher took to the mic after the match to call out MJF, challenging him to put the American Championship on the line.

AEW Rampage saw former Women’s World Champion Nylar Rose return for the first time this year to battle Australia’s Harley Cameron. This was a massive opportunity for Cameron, to show the world what Aussies can bring to the ring. Cameron really showed her skills off with multiple hard hitters to Rose. Unfortunately, it was a beast bomb that saw Cameron out for the three count.

TNA saw massive drama with Australia’s Steph De Landre and her newly found love PCO. This week’s Impact saw a beautiful celebration of love between the two when the wedding was rudely interrupted by the return of Matt Cardona. The Frankenstein-esque wedding saw an abrupt stop before Lander could accept a ring right off PCO’s dead Grandmother’s finger (you read that right) with an objection from Cardona in the style of a brick to the face of PCO. Lander ultimately chose her own happiness instead of going with Cardona, screaming how it was meant to be “my day, this is my wedding, it’s not about you.” Amen, sister.

Elsewhere, the Princess Aussie Simone Williams recently picked up a match at the SBW LA Rumble with Delilah Doom. Williams shone early in the match, going after Doom with a chair before being stopped by Barbie Boy. Later in the match, Williams hit a huge superplex against Doom in the middle of a door set-up in the ring, sending shards of cracked wood flying. Unfortunately the ‘I Quit’ match ended with Doom defeating Williams by using a cobra clutch submission hold.

Australians have been thriving over in Japan for another week with Ryukyu-Dog Dingo teaming up with Shuri Joe for a defeat against Churaumi Saver and Ultra Soki at RDPW Fighting Square 2024 in Yonabaru. Chris Vice also picked up a win in Tokyo at the ZERO 1 24th Midsummer Festival. Xena also got a chance to show her skills at Stardom Sapporo World Rendezvous against a huge lineup of local talent. NJPW G1 Climax 34 saw a win for Henare against Yuya Eumura. The match earned him 2 points in the B block and featured some hard-hitting action between the two men.
Till next week folks!

Imogen Evans

News Writer + Aussies Abroad. Based in Adelaide and winner of the 2023 CPA Young Journo of the year, has been a news and arts journalist for a number of years working across radio and print, but has decided to take her wrestling addiction to PWDU. You can find her at any local wrestling night across the state with a beer in-hand and a front-row ticket to the action.