ROBBO’S 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS #3: Wide Bay Pro Wrestling
Guess who’s back… back again.
Alright! We’re well into the swing of things here, Christmas is just around the corner, and I’m busy writing articles about pro wrestling, because, well, I’m a school teacher and I’ve got a big chunk of time off coming up, and for some reason, my brain has decided I need something to do. That’s right, this whole series was MY idea.
So, my name’s Robbo and this is 12 Days of Christmas. Every day, I’m putting a spotlight on a different Aussie promotion, talking about their talent, their history, and including a nice little YouTube video, either of a full show or a full match, for your viewing pleasure.
Let’s do this!
Day 3: Wide Bay Pro Wrestling (QLD)
We go north of my NSW border over into enemy territory. Queensland.
In seriousness, the Queensland pro wrestling scene has kinda been slept on when talking about Australian wrestling as a whole. PWA gets a lot of love for producing people like The IIconics, Shazza McKenzie and Grayson Waller. MCW gave the world Buddy Matthews. RCW in Adelaide launched Rhea Ripley and Delta/Zaria’s careers. We talked about the influence of people like Damian Slater and Davis Storm in yesterday’s EPW entry. But Queensland… “Why no Queensland?” is a frequent joke that goes around, due to QLD often getting snubbed as a stop on tours.
It’s possible/probable that more eyes will be on the Queensland wrestling scene in February. Of course, AEW are having their debut Aussie event, Grand Slam Australia. Front and centre in the promotional material is Toni Storm, who cut her teeth on the QLD scene as a teenager, while Mark Davis, formerly one half of Aussie Open, is Queensland born and bred, terrorising the Aussie indies before stomping in the UK and Europe with Kyle Fletcher. And while poor ticket sales forced AEW out of Suncorp Stadium, I do believe the current ticket count is somewhere between 10-12,000, so considerable numbers still, putting it in perspective to what the average Australian wrestling show draws. Pro Wrestling League are co-promoting with Renegades of Wrestling to put on a Supershow the night before Grand Slam, not unlike what EPW did in February right before WWE Elimination Chamber.
But in amongst QLD’s struggles to be noticed, to indeed conquer… Wide Bay Pro Wrestling has been steadily plugging away, building a passionate and loyal fanbase. WBPW have also displayed a recent awareness of the power of YouTube and getting content online, as their channel is a content goldmine. Over the past 3 years, they’ve uploaded many full shows in their entirety. So, with that in mind, here is the latest full event on offer, stacked with QLD talent… it’s WBPW Revenge 2024!
I went with this choice based on the main event. I could have chosen any number of shows from this year on the channel, and while the most recent one does seem like a no-brainer, Bobby Bishop and Yeet Stevens are both names that are at the forefront of the conversation on QLD wrestling. Especially Bishop, who has worked tirelessly, along with his now-retired wife Lucille Brawl (Jessie Davo), to make QLD wrestling and Aussie wrestling as a whole a better place. I’ve seen Brawl & Bishop wave the QLD flag (so to speak) in appearances in Sydney & Melbourne multiple times. So, it warms my heart to see Bobby in the featured spot on this show, knowing how much he’s dedicated himself to the business.
After watching the full show, the thing that stands out the most here about Wide Bay is the highly engaged crowd. I don’t believe the crowd was large- hard to be fully certain given the lack of lighting and crowd shots- but they were LOUD, which elevated every dastardly heel action and every valiant babyface comeback. Early in the opening match- a spirited triple threat between Certified Papi, Blair Seeker and Jesse Daniels- I identified that it was a crowd and an atmosphere that I would love to be a part of.
As a promotion that’s been active since 2016, WBPW has had time to establish its core fanbase, and hopefully with more eyes on what is undoubtedly a highly energetic product, with men and women giving it their all from opening match to main event, it can reap the benefits of more eyes on the state in the months to come. Certainly talents like Bishop, Stevens, James Jaeger, Mitch Ryder, EC Diamond, Kulture, Xtina Jade and Billie Mac, to name a handful, deserve to have a bigger spotlight cast on them.
Current Champions:
WBPW Champion: Bobby Bishop
WBPW Brute Force Champion: Zoltan
WBPW Interstate Champion: James Jaeger
WBPW Tag Team Champions: Kulture (Moko Kai & Toa)
Keep an eye on Wide Bay Pro Wrestling socials and their YouTube page for more great wrestling content and information about upcoming shows!
With that, there’s still plenty more to come in our 12 Days of Christmas look at the Aussie wrestling scene! So far, we’ve had stops in Canberra, Perth and we’ve just gone up to Queensland… think it’s about time we pay a visit to the vibrant Victoria scene!
Until next time, take care.
A man who loves his wrestling, MMA, and has been known to dabble in karaoke. Previously wrote for Snap Mayors Media and ran The Arena Media for several years. As many wrestling fans do, I often envisioned myself becoming a pro wrestling superstar, but having Cerebral Palsy makes that dream a tough one to attain. Did do a brief referee spot for Rock N Roll Wrestling and I’d love to do more non-wrestler roles if laying the Smackdown is out of my reach, but until then, I’ll be hitting you with some refreshing writing like an F5!
