Aussies Abroad: Fletcher takes gold opportunity and Aussie spirit spreads through Japan.
This week in Pro-Wrestling saw Aussies picking up gold opportunities across the world
Welcome to another week’s installment of Aussies Abroad, where we take a look at the Australians kicking ass overseas in the world of Pro-Wrestling.
Let’s start this week’s coverage off with the latest news out of AEW from the Aussies icon Kyle Fletcher. Fletcher, along with his partner Will Ospreay, outlasted FTR, The Outrunners, The Righteous, Top Flight, The Undisputed Kingdom, The Acclaimed, MxM Collection and Grizzled Young Veterans in a gauntlet to become the new top contenders for the AEW Tag Team Championship. The match was a huge display of AEW’s finest competitors, with Fletcher holding strong until the end where he picked up the win. Things were looking scary for Fletcher’s chances after he landed an insane-looking brain buster, but was held up for a moment in a reversal move by Dante. It was however a nasty hit from Ospreay that let Fletcher pin Dante for the three count. The pair are now set to challenge the Young Bucks for the tag team belts at Grand Slam.
Things were also lucky for Harley Cameron at Rampage when she picked up a win with her newly found partner Saraya against Allysin Kay and Marti Belle. Cameron was able to get some impressive hits in, and the two were certainly not overpowered during the match. It was however a tag to the heavy hitter Kay that saw the start of some miscommunications between the pair. It was eventually a nightcap by Saraya that got them the win, but things were looking rocky between the two of them. The newly returned Jamie Hayter also made an appearance at the end of the match, sending the pair running out of the ring for safety.
Over in WWE, things were not so lucky for the newly formed Terror Twins of Adelaide’s Rhea Ripley and former Heavyweight Champion Damien Priest. During a promo between Priest and Balor, where they announced their one one-on-one match for Bad Blood, The Judgment Day 2.0 (attempted to) ambush Priest. He was able to hold his own until the numbers against him simply sent him down and out, but not before Ripley came to save the day. This week saw another beating of Liv Morgan with her crutch after a similar run-in saw her leg injured last week. Ripley was also able to get some very satisfying hits against Dominick Mysterio before unfortunately being taken down on her injured leg by Morgan. The twins had to take some brutal bashing in-ring before the legend Jey Uso (YEET) came to scare the scums away. As Jey is aligning himself more and more with the new biggest faces on the block, will we see an official long-term pairing between the three? Only time can tell.
The bad luck continued to the blue brand for the Aussies, with Grayson Waller and his recent partner Austin Theory also taking a harsh beating by Randy Orton and Kevin Owens on Smackdown. The Aussie Icon still showed what great teamwork can create when the two landed some impressive moves on the WWE legends, but it was eventually a double vintage Orton, stunner, and KO that sent both the men down and out. Waller still showcased his impressive strength and stamina throughout the match though, despite the international crowds not quite getting behind the A-Town Down Under name just yet.
In NXT, Aussies saw yet another bout of bad luck, with Adelaide’s Duke Hudson getting annihilated by Ridge Holland. Despite being the crowd’s clear favourite, Hudson from Chase University couldn’t quite step up to the challenge against the monster that is Holland. Although Hudson was able to get some hits in early on in the match including some hits to the outside ring steps and a German suplex, things quickly turned against him with a nasty spine-first hit to the side of the ring. This gave Holland the chance to unleash hell on Hudson, which only added more fuel to the heartbreak of him turning on his university family.
A glimmer of hope for the Aussies was found though later in the night on RAW, when the recently announced as medically unable to compete Bronson Reed made a surprise appearance to cost Braun Strowman his title opportunity. The surprise attack comes after weeks of conflict between the two meaty giants, but it looks like not even a possible injury can keep the Aussie legend away from showing who’s boss.
Over in Japan, the Aussies continue to show up and kick ass, including Xena, who successfully defeated Rian in the pre-show singles match of the STARDOM Namba Grand Fight 2024. The event, held in Osaka Japan, also saw AEW’s Toni Storm make a surprise appearance to challenge Mayu Iwatani to an IWGP Women’s Championship match, which will be held on October 5. Chris Vice also picked up a win at ZERO 1 against Satsuki Nagao last week, along with Henare who picked up a win at NJPW’s Road to Destruction.
Also in Japan, PWA’s Charli Evans made her ChocoPro debut in Ichigaya with a match against Mei Suruga. On social media, Evans shared her excitement over wrestling with the team, saying that she first met Mei at her first show in Japan in 2019 and has been friends ever since. “Friends that have seen each other all over the world and tonight we finally wrestle, not just anywhere, but in Ichigaya Chocolate Square!”
Till next week folks!
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.
