PWDU Interview (Part 1/2): Emman Azman - “Vikingo is not Emman Azman!”

“What I’ve been doing my whole life and career is telling people that I come from Malaysia… My mission is always been telling people there’s wrestling in south-east Asia. We saw the rise in Australian wrestling, but I’m still patiently waiting for the boom of SE Asian wrestling.”
Emman Azman

“The Golden Tiger” Emman Azman has become the hardest working wrestler in Melbourne over the past couple of years. Working with promotions such as NWA, New Japan TAMASHII, Melbourne’s biggest promotions in MCW, Renegades of Wrestling and BCW; working opponents like Mick Moretti, Adam Brooks, Lince Dorado, Samuray del Sol (formerly Kalisto) and Kerry Morton – one might expect Emman’s story to be one of busting his balls to become a genuine superstar of Melbourne wrestling.

It’s refreshing to hear from a young, mature wrestler who harbors bigger goals than that.

When talking about his MCW Intercommonwealth Title win in November 2022, beating champ Mick Moretti and Adam Brooks, Emman’s win wasn’t just for himself, but for people like him. “You wouldn’t see a lot of Asian representation in wrestling to win the big thing, and having myself win that, it just felt like it wasn’t for me, it was for everyone who supported me that felt like ‘I can’t become a wrestler because I’m this race or this background.’”

Emman’s goals go beyond his own success as evidence of a thriving south-east Asian wrestling scene. He hopes to be able to foster even more diversity in the local scene.

“Supporting diversity is always my goal, because a lot of people from south-east Asia – it’s a small pond, and the closest country that’s having a wrestling boom is Australia. I’ve always had the idea, the mission of making that bridge for south-east Asian talent with Australian talent.”

Emman continues “you can see that a lot in Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, there’s always Australians on those shows, and I’ve seen south-east Asian talent who’ve made their way to Australia in recent years, and that’s important to me.”

The Malaysian influence – and showing his Malaysian influence – is also something that Emman focuses on. “My flag is on my tights, the Australian flag is next to me as well – those 2 countries mean a lot to me. And (now I’m the) Golden Tiger – the national animal of Malaysia is the Tiger.”

That’s not to say that the aforementioned wrestling resume isn’t important to him, and wasn’t the result of a bunch of hard work.

“When I first got to Australia and (was) introduced to the Australian wrestling scene I was really open to anything, from performing in front of 20 people to a couple of 100 people to whatever. I just wanted the exposure, I wanted know the good, the bad, the big shows, the small shows – I had that mission in mind, that mindset, hey I need to try all of this and see if i can actually make it.”

“During COVID something happened – apart from me going bald – something changed in my mindset. I’m not just happy to be performing in front of everyone. I want to succeed, I want to be the best… I need to train harder, something needed to change, maybe my attitude needed to change, and what you see in Renegades.”

Renegades of Wrestling is where Emman is getting an excellent opportunity to show a different side of himself, and to show his star qualities. While his 250 day+ reign as MCW Intercommonwealth Title has been outstanding, and is popular among the MCW crowd, to see Emman as the leader of the heel Ambush faction in Renegades is to see someone completely different, entertaining, obnoxious and fun.

Emman is determined to repay the trust in him being shown by various companies. “It’s crazy to me that a lot of companies put a lot of faith in someone that did not rise up through the Australian wrestling scene, (or) that trained here originally, but was someone who came from another country. They put a lot of trust in someone who is only 22 years old and I don’t want to drop the ball.”

It’s trust that Renegades of Wrestling has again shown in spades ahead of the upcoming GCW vs Renegades of Wrestling tour. With Game Changer Wrestling currently the hottest indie promotion in the US, there were plenty of options – but none bigger than current AAA MegaChampion, #8 in the 2022 PWI 500, and AEW & ROH star el Hijo del Vikingo, who Emman faces at Melbourne Pavillion on Saturday 26 August.

Our Golden Tiger isn’t intimidated in the slightest, saying “Hey, super excited for it… Vikingo is pretty good – pretty good – he can do a lot of cool stuff, but he’s not Emman Azman.”

It’ll be a big weekend for the Ambush, with Renegades of Wrestling Women’s Champion Aysha defending her title against Lena Kross, Indy Goddess Steph de Lander, and “the Cutest in the World” Maki Itoh in headline matches.

Emman is excited to represent the locals, and to represent the Ambush against GCW.

“Come to the Renegades vs GCW show – it’s going to be a great one, limited tickets left. Support the Ambush crew – Aysha’s going to retain her championship, I’m going to dance over Maki Itoh, I’m going to beat Vikingo, and I’m going to dance on his grave and spit in his face.”

“(GCW puts) more eyes on us, more eyes on the talent. We’re the hardest working bunch of wrestlers, we are at the bottom of the world, we gotta work twice, three times, four times as hard as those guys and girls that have opportunities in the states.”

They’re coming to us, there’s a lot of eyes that are going to see us at the GCW vs Renegades show, and we’d better not mess it up.

Stay tuned to PWDownunder for part 2 of our Emman Azman interview later this week – Emman has some strong words for el Hijo del Vikingo, Maki Itoh, and longtime rival Robbie Eagles!

The full interview is available below: