Indie Watch is our regular series that looks at amazing talents working the independent circuits around the world. Some are veterans revitalising their careers. Some are indie prospects hitting their peaks. Others are names to be on the watch for! This edition looks at two of the fastest tag team competitors coming out of Australia, The Velocities.
Individually, Jude ‘The Dude’ London and ‘Spartan Spirit’ Paris De Silva may not have the stereotypical physical appearance of professional wrestlers. However, they joined forces after training at the Pro Wrestling Academy in Sydney under Robbie Eagles and Madison Eagles. From there, they formed the speediest tag team attraction in Australian wrestling.
When London and De Silva first discovered professional wrestling on television, the sport was dominated by big, bodybuilder types. Being smaller in stature themselves, they naturally gravitated to alternative role models. These included Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero and Daniel Bryan.
“Eddie is the man,” proclaimed De Silva before adding, “I don’t know if I really appreciated what he did when he was around because I was so young. Especially looking back know at this point in our careers where we pay a lot of attention to detail Eddie was an absolute master.”
Obviously being on the smaller end of the spectrum, London and De Silva had some hesitations before beginning their training.
“I never saw [wrestling] as an attainable thing that I could do because I had no idea that there was even wrestling in Australia… but also because there are obviously a lot of people that are a lot larger than us,” said London.
This changed once The Velocities began their training. De Silva said they quickly realized that “heights and weights are just numbers.” De Silva believes their smaller size has benefitted them in some ways.
“Compared to other juniors and cruiserweights Jude and I are smaller than them, but at the same time that’s another interesting factor which makes us different. It’s worked out pretty well for us and contributes to our style, so I try not to worry too much about how we look. Instead, we just go out there, do what we do and do it well.”
Whilst initially the two men had their sights set on individual goals they’ve quickly seen incredible success since becoming a team.
In just three short years together, The Velocities have already had a series of incredible Pro Wrestling Australia (PWA) Tag Team Championship matches. These were against The Nations (Mick Moretti and Jack J. Bonza) and The Natural Classics (Stevie Filip and Tome Filip). They also have also been able to tick off dream tag team opponents in Bandido and Flamita. Although the match against Bandido and Flamita was a dream opportunity it was also an “eye-opener.” According to London, it was an incredible learning opportunity.
“We’re known for wrestling a really quick style but then being in the ring with those guys was a whole other level. We learned that we’ve got to step up our game even more.”
Since early 2019, the team began to branch out internationally. London and De Silva have had appearances in Chikara’s King Of Trios, alongside their trios partner Mat Diamond. They also had appearances at Rev Pro and ATTACK! Pro Wrestling, in the UK. Most recently, they appeared Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) before their upcoming PWG tag team debut against Aramis and Rey Horus.
With their fusion of the lucha libre and rapid Dragon Gate style, these two young men are a combination unlike any other on the scene today.
Look for The Velocities to make a lasting impression in the months and years to come. Especially if De Silva hits his Shooting Star DDT or London takes another death defy dive from a balcony.
Check out our full list of previous Indie Watches, showcasing emerging talent from around the world!
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world.
