“This Month in Aussie Wrestling” is a new monthly series by LWOPW’s Lance Larson, who covers the Australian and New Zealand wrestling scene on the site. It features all the monthly news you need to know to stay in the loop, plus interviews and other exclusive content.
Melbourne City Wrestling Set Historic MCW 100
On Saturday, August 18th, at the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre, Melbourne City Wrestling (MCW) is set to do the largest independent wrestling show on the continent in decades. MCW 100, an apt name for the company’s one hundredth show, is just the largest show in a series of record setting developments in that part of the world. In April of this year, PROGRESS Wrestling from England ran a joint show in Sydney with Pro Wrestling Australia (PWA), where over 1,000 fans pack the Star Casino, marking the first time the four digit attendance mark was surpassed by an Australian company since the 1970’s. Then, two weeks ago in Invercargill, NZ, Southern Pro Wrestling (SPW NZ) jammed over 1,200 into the ILT Stadium for the Southern Rumble, setting the largest attendance record for an indie show in New Zealand in 27 years. Now, MCW is set to top both of those, with an 1,800 seat arena for their biggest show ever. This year indicates all the places that the Australian and New Zealander wrestling scenes are going. In addition to all of these record setting indie figures, international companies are also taking notice. The aforementioned PROGRESS joint show in Sydney was merely one stop on an Aussie tour in April. WWE is hoping to do 100,000 in attendance at their Super Show-Down on October 6th at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. And New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW did their own tour of the country in February, running four shows, and is looking to return in the fall. Both domestic and foreign companies recognize the opportunities for wrestling there.
While MCW 100 is a significant moment, one should expect that this is merely one step on the way to greater fame for the wrestling scene in this part of the world. Presently, 1,800 is quite the achievement, and in order to draw that many, the brass at MCW have booked the headliner as “The King of Monsters” Jonah Rock to go one on one with the Tranquilo one himself, Tetsuya Naito. This is Naito’s first appearance for the company, and marks Rock’s return after his eight month hiatus. Naito obviously is best known for his high quality work in NJPW as the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon, and Rock, in addition to making his mark on the Aussie indie scene, has spread out to other promotions world wide, including Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) and PROGRESS. The semi-main event is Will Ospreay challenging for the Intercommonwealth title against “The Business” Slex. Ospreay had a fantastic run with the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship earlier this year in NJPW, and has made his commitment to improving Australian wrestling very clear. Slex, a much less known name, is technically sound in the ring, and works very hard to make his matches all they can be. He deserves much more recognition than he’s getting. Just officially announced, Dowie James challenges Gino “Mr. Juicy” Gambino for the MCW Heavyweight Championship by invoking his rematch clause, after Juicy turned heel to take the title from James in June.
Around the Continent
PWA: Their next event on August 11th, Call to Arms, features the heavily anticipated Will Ospreay versus Robbie Eagles rematch, as well as a cage match between Jonah Rock and Caveman Ugg for the PWA Heavyweight Championship. Not to mention Shazza McKenzie versus Madison Eagles, and Bea Priestley versus Ricky South.
Newcastle Pro Wrestling (Newy Pro): The fourth annual Newy Pro Rumble is taking place on August 18th. With six names announced so far, including Jack Bonza and Mick Moretti from World Series Wrestling (WSW) fame, expect new announcements most every day.
Explosive Pro Wrestling (EPW): At Vendetta on August 25th, “The Don” Michael Morleone defends the EPW Heavyweight Title in a rematch against EPW 2017 Wrestler of the Year Gavin McGavin in a cage match. Look for McGavin, a vastly underrated performer, to take the title in this one.
Riot City Wrestling (RCW): Former RCW Champion, Aussie native Adam Brooks, whose been on an excursion in Europe (and PWG), announced via pre-recorded video that he’ll be returning at RCW 200 on September 1st.
SPW New Zealand: After the craziness that was the Southern Rumble, where we saw Kane Khan finally overcome his arch nemesis JK Moody in a TLC match for the SPW NZ Heavyweight title, only to lose the belt immediately afterwards to Will Power when he cashed in his Fight for Gold Briefcase (think Money in the Bank), only to earn another title shot later in the evening when he won the Southern Rumble Match, it was announced that Khan will get his title shot at Halloween Haunting in October. It was also announced that the aforementioned Adam Brooks will make his New Zealand debut at Halloween Haunting.
Featured Wrestler of the Month: “Impressive” Indi Hartwell
The “Impressive” Indi Hartwell, the current Newy Pro Women’s Champion, Riot City Wrestling Women’s Champion, and Battle Championship Wrestling (BCW) Women’s Champion, is on the rise in the Aussie scene. In addition to holding the above-listed championships, she also works regularly for MCW, and recently rumbled with Tenille Dashwood (Emma in WWE) at MCW 99: The Homecoming. Part of her gimmick is claiming to have trained and mentored virtually every successful wrestler out there, and has even sold t-shirts to that affect. Last Word on Sports was able to interview the thrice-crowned champion:
How did you break in? Who trained you? How long have you been wrestling?
It was towards the end of 2015 and I had just completed my first year of university. I was extremely unhappy and really needed to do something to make me happy again, so I signed up for wrestling school and was trained by the PCW Academy. Wrestling was something I always wanted to do, but I needed that boost of motivation to get started.
How did it feel to win the Newy Pro Women’s Championship, your first title?
Winning the Newy Pro women’s championship was an extremely satisfying moment, not only because it’s my first title, but because I am the first ever woman to win that title. I’m proud to hold that title and represent a great company.
Is there a fourth title in particular you have your eye on?
I would really love for Melbourne City Wrestling to create a women’s title because we have a great women’s wrestling scene in Melbourne, and MCW is a very prestigious promotion. I think an MCW title would look great in my collection of championships.
How did your “I trained and mentored them” gimmick start?
It’s not a gimmick.
Who has been your favorite wrestler to work with? What has been your favorite match?
My favourite opponent has been KellyAnne, as she’s the one who I wrestled in my first ever match and we’ve had some great matches over the last two years. My favourite match so far has been my match against her at this year’s MCW Ballroom Brawl which is available to watch on MCW Encore. The whole atmosphere was something special.
Who would be your dream opponent?
I have a few. My top 3 would be Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Io Shirai, but if I could choose someone from the past, I’d have to go with Trish Stratus.
What are some short term goals for your career? Long term?
Short term goals would just be to continue making an impact in Australia. I’d love to win a few more titles here; maybe one in each state. I’d love to wrestle for more promotions Australia-wide, so hopefully that can happen soon. My ultimate long term goal is to make it to WWE.
How did the “Impressive” nickname start?
When I wrestled Tessa Blanchard last year for World Series Wrestling in Melbourne, I whipped out a springboard dropkick that I had never done before. It surprised a lot of people, and when I posted a gif of it on Twitter, a lot of people were impressed. Everyone kept calling it/me “impressive”, so the nickname stuck.
How do you feel the women’s wrestling scene in Australia is doing?
The women’s wrestling scene in Australia continues to go from strength to strength. We have many amazing Aussie women, many of whom constantly go overseas to represent our country like Shazza McKenzie and Madison Eagles, who are pioneers for women’s wrestling down under. With the quality of women we have here, I know the scene is in good hands.
Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I’d like to thank anyone who has followed my journey so far. Please continue to support the Australian wrestling scene. This year has been huge for professional wrestling in Australia and it’s only going to continue to rise. Follow my social media to keep up to date with all of my upcoming shows.
