Aussies Abroad: Ripley’s ambush and sister team takes over Japan
The past week saw Aussies bringing the heat to the world of international Pro-Wrestling
Let’s start this week’s coverage off with the latest from the feud between Adelaide’s Rhea Ripley and her former tag team partner Liv Morgan. Bad Blood earlier this month saw the return of Raquel Rodriguez interfering in Ripley’s chances of winning back her championship belt from Morgan. Last weekend’s Smackdown saw a brief run-in between the two when Ripley interrupted a moment between Morgan, Rodriguez, Dominick Mysterio, and Nia Jax. Ripley ambushed Rodriquez sending her into the barricade before running after and taking out both Jax and Morgan in-ring. This week’s RAW will be an interesting one as we will hopefully see some one-on-one interaction between the two following Bad Blood.
Over in NXT, Aussie Grayson Waller, along with his tag team partner Austin Theory, were stripped of their chances of holding gold again when Axiom and Nathan Frazer picked up a win during their match. The match came after Waller hosted a special episode of the Waller Effect on NXT which ended in a bit of a scuffle and a challenge for the belts. Although the pair of A-Town Down Under dominated moments of the match, it was eventually Frazer’s quick skills followed by a phoenix splash that sent Waller down for the three count.
Meanwhile, in AEW, Aussie Harley Cameron has unfortunately continued her streak of bad luck, picking up another loss during WrestleDream’s zero hour with Anna Jay. The incredibly talented upcoming Aussie dominated the start of the match, taunting Jay after a number of impressive hits. After some back and forth, Cameron was able to regain dominance by sending Jay’s back into the ring apron and landing some hard blows against the ring post before hitting a nice-looking Russian leg sweep. Despite Jay’s clear experience advantage over Cameron in this match, the Aussie was able to bring the heat and impress international audiences. Jay was, however, able to get the upper hand on Cameron to send her down for the three-count.
New Zealand favourite Jay White returned to AEW in what was an epic interruption during Dynamite last week. Since then, White has set his sights on Cody Chhun, picking up a quick and dominant defeat before moving his attention to Adam Page in a match at WrestleDream. The Switchblade focused his attacks on Page’s injured knee which allowed White to his a bladerunner for the victory.
Over in Japan, the team of TMDK with Aussie Shane Haste also saw a stroke of bad luck when they were defeated by the team of Bullet Club, featuring another Aussie talent Caveman Ugg at NJPW Road to King of Pro Wrestling. Xena also saw some bad luck in Stardom, losing a match to the team of HATE. Meanwhile Aussie Chris Vice picked up a win at GLEAT in Tokyo against the team of Yan’s family.
Also in Japan, Adelaide’s Kira Summer has continued to bring the weekly heat to TJPW, this time with her sister and RCW superstar Miki Fortune. Although the two saw a defeat against the team of Arisu Endo and Rika Tatsumi, the rising stars continue to make sure the Aussie name is known overseas. The match will be streamed on Wrestle Universe next weekend.
Till next week!
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.
