Aussies Abroad: Ripley loses Mania spot and Fletcher picks up grueling win

Welcome back to another week’s Aussies Abroad, where we take a look at the Australian wrestlers making waves in the overseas world of pro wrestling.

Let’s start this week’s coverage off again with Adelaide’s very own Rhea Ripley, who has been working her butt off to get back her championship belt in time for Mania. Ripley has been in a bad mood since Iyo Sky took the belt from her and stopped her plans to defend the championship at Mania. The two ran the match back on today’s RAW with special referee Bianca Belair.  Things started strong for Ripley who quickly dominated the match before Sky finally got her hands on the challenger. These two have an interesting history, and it is clear how well they work together in ring, with both women matching each other’s skills perfectly. Despite some small awkward moments in the match, the two were quick on their feet to bring the audience right back to the edge of their seats. Things got serious when Sky landed a massive dropkick followed by a wicked suicide dive into a cross-body on Ripley outside the ring.  Things picked up a bit more for Ripley when she countered a cross-body with an intense headbutt followed by a successful razor’s edge. Somehow, Sky kicked out again at a very close 2.5 count and continued to test Ripley’s stamina. It was a simple mistake by Ripley, a kick to the face of special guest Belair, that was enough to see her lose her Mania opportunity. After hitting the riptide, Belair was out cold and no longer able to count her win. Things only got worse when Sky also accidentally drop-kicked Belair, which ended in a double disqualification. Obviously we’re all hoping Ripley will get her Mania moment one way or another, and it will be interesting to see how WWE plays the storyline from here. 

Over on AEW, Aussie favourite Toni Storm recently teamed up with Thunda Rosa to take on Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford in an epic main event tag match. The match comes just a matter of days before Storm’s match with Bayne at Dynasty for the belt, but unfortunately, this match didn’t give Storm much of an upper hand for the upcoming rivalry. Despite Storm’s quick thinking and expectedly hard-hitting moves, she was often overpowered by Bayne and struggled to gain control of the situation. It was eventually a bow down from Bayne that saw Storm down for the three count.

Things went a little better for fellow AEW Aussie favourite Kyle Fletcher who picked up a massive win against Brody King on Dynamite. Despite the absolute carnage expected from Hounds of Hell, Fletcher slowly worked King down to land some crazy hits. The two big guys went head to head for an almost 18-minute match with non-stop blows between them. Kyle’s moves like splashes, dropkicks and elbows were incredibly smooth, and it is clear the AEW locker room and the wider wrestling audience is waking up to this young Aussie. It was eventually a quick save followed by a brainbuster on the turnbuckle that finally put an end to King. 

Fletcher was then quickly met in the ring by the recently returned Mark Davis and Powerhouse Hobbs, where the interesting history between all three was quickly put on display. Once Fletcher separated himself from the situation, Davis was finally able to get his hands one-on-one with Hobbs. Despite the fun and exciting matchup, things didn’t go too well for Davis and was quickly dominated by Hobbs despite trying his best to get the upper hand. 

Meanwhile, for AEW’s Harley Cameron, things have continued to go incredibly well with her winning streak following GrandSlam. Cameron added another win to her ever-growing collection last week against Amina Belmont, where she quickly moved the match in her direction. It is great to see the upcomer making her way up the ladder to reach an impressive spot in the AEW locker room. 

Fellow Aussie superstar Shazza Mckenzie has also been back in the US, this week to work with the Saint Louis Anarchy team for a matchup with Anakin Murphy, Kari J.Wright, Luke Langley, Tommy Becker and Tommy Davis. Although McKenzie wasn’t able to pick up the win, it’s great to see local talent continue to make a name for themselves in the states. 

Over in Japan, Robbie Eagles competed with his TMDK teammates against the Bullet Club War Dogs team with NJPW. The match followed on from their previous match with the team in Tag 1 of the NJPW Road to Sakura Genesis. Fellow Aussie Chris Vice has also been busy in Japan with ZERO1, with recent matches against Shane Mercer, Masato Tanaka, Shane Mercer and Kentaro Hachisu.  Adelaide favourite Kira Summer has also been continuing her work in Japan with TJPW, with a recent match against the Kyoraku Kyomei team. 

Over in South Korea, ASWA’s Keegan Brettle had an impressive matchup with Jin Gae Sung for the PWS Korean Title. Although Brettle wasn’t able to pick up the win, it is great to see more Australian talent bring the Aussie heat to rings across the world. 

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.