Aussies Abroad: Ripley’s RAW turmoil and Aussie domination in Japan
This week Aussies saw success overseas in a number of brands, from WWE to AEW and NJPW
Welcome to another week’s installment of Aussies Abroad: where we shine a spotlight on the Aussies kicking ass in the world of overseas pro-wrestling.
Let’s start this week’s coverage off with the hottest news out the WWE right now: Rhea Ripley’s ongoing feud with the current Women’s World Champion, Liv Morgan. The two have been at each other’s necks after Morgan and “dirty” Dominik Mysterio revealed their true love for one another with the betrayal of the century at SummerSlam. Ripley and Damian Priest have since split from The Judgement Day, but are still running into issues from the new baddies on the block. Last week’s RAW saw yet another run-in between Ripley, Mysterio, and Morgan, which ended in more than a few nasty bumps to The “Budget” Day’s ego. The newly formed Terror Twins are set to go up against Mysterio and Morgan at Berlin Bash next month, which will surely go down as a contender for match of the year.
The red brand also saw the return of the Aussie giant Bronson Reed, who once again dominated both the locker room and social media after hitting five massive tsunamis on R-Truth. Big Meat Bronson once again showed off his hard-hitting talent in a match against The Miz, before delivering a post-match storm to ringmate R-Truth. The domination comes after an impressive show of strength last week, where Reed sent Seth Rollins gasping for air in the ring. Although it was sad to see the WWE veteran become Reed’s next victim, it’s about time the world woke up to the beast that is Australia’s Bronson Reed.
Over on the Blue brand, this weekend’s SmackDown saw another disappointing week for the A-Town Down Under team featuring the Aussie legend Grayson Waller. Waller scored himself a match with Kevin Owens but was unfortunately knocked out for the three count by a massive stunner followed by a powerbomb from the veteran. The beating didn’t stop there though, with Owens taking the fight outside the ring with a nasty beating. Just as Waller and Austin Theory were about to get their revenge, the American nightmare Cody Rhodes appeared out of thin air to help Owens show the crowd who’s boss. After the match, the pair said they felt disrespected by the locker room. “We’re getting tired of people being disrespectful and talking about wins or loses like we’re in the minor leagues,” Waller said. “We’re on SmackDown, this is the WWE, the best in the world are here and week after week they need Grayson Waller and Austin Theory up against them… This is just the beginning lad.“
Over in AEW, things are still heating up between Toni Storm and Mariah May ahead of All In later this month, where they’ll go head-to-head for the Women’s World Championship. Storm, however, moved her attention briefly to Saraya last week, addressing her former ally during a promo about her birthday celebration. “I will never forget everything that we’ve been through together and how you turned into the pastiest pile of t*tties I have ever seen,” Storm said. “You want this title? Do you want to be on All In? Well, next week on Dynamite, you beat me then you can have it all.” It’s a risky decision by Storm, but our bets are still on her walking out of both showdowns with the belt safely in her hands.
Also in AEW, Rampage saw Aussie’s Kyle Fletcher teaming up with Rush to take on KM and Rhett Titus, who were making their AEW tag team debut. The match started strong for Fletcher, with the crowd chanting “Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi” before he landed some massive hits followed by a Michinoku driver. Some more impressive hard hitters led to Rush tagging in to easily grab a three-count win.
Things however were not so lucky for Aussie Harley Cameron, when she was defeated in a match by Dr Britt Baker DMD at Collision. Despite being able to show off some impressive moves throughout the match and show the crowd what the Aussies can do, it was a nasty stomp by Baker that saw her down for the three count.
Over in NJPW, the Aussies have been dominating the show with a huge lineup of local talent making waves in Japan. HENARE, along with Francesco Akira and Great-O-Khan were able to pick up a win at the NJPW G1 Climax 34. Also at the show, TMDK’s Robbie Eagles and Mikey Nicholls defeated Shoma Kato and YOSHI-HASHI in an epic showdown. Andre Villalobos also showed his stuff in a match against Pretty Richie at the NJPW TAMASHII Oceania Cup.
Eagles also showed his skills last week with a clash against Atlantis Jr for the Ring of Honour Championship, which saw impressive hits from both men. It was however a sumbmission from Eagles that saw Atlantis Jr take the win.
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.
