Professional wrestling in Australia
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Professional wrestling |
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History
Professional wrestling in Australia first gained distinction in the early 1900s, however there were very few shows promoted. Nonetheless, stars such as Clarence Weber, Jack Carkeek, Clarence Whistler and George Hackenschmidt toured the country. As time went on, the sport's popularity began to grow, particularly in the 1930s as people sought to find relief from The Great Depression.
Throughout the 1940s professional wrestling suffered due to World War II but in the 1950s it reached new highs as many stars from overseas were imported and created larger crowds and, in turn, a larger market. Established names such as Lou Thesz, Dr. Jerry Graham and Gorgeous George toured the country during the decade.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Australia established its only major
Australia has depended on the North American product since 1985. Hosting tours in 1985 and 1986 kept a solid viewing in the sport through programmes such as Superstars of Wrestling and Saturday Night's Main Event. Small local promotions have tried to take advantage of the popularity of professional wrestling in more recent times, but there has been nothing of note since the demise of World Championship Wrestling in 1978.
However the local scene has been the subject of controversy.
In September 2002, a promotion called Professional Championship Wrestling presented a show at the Rowville Community Centre in which two wrestlers faced off in a contest that used thumbs tacks in a ring surrounded by barbed wire. Melbourne talk back radio received phone calls claiming that the audience was "showered with blood". Despite claims by a promotion spokesman that the event was theatrical, the Professional Boxing and Contact Sports Board investigated on the grounds that such a claim was not enough. Police also investigated and the Knox City Council reviewed the promotion's use of the venue after being led to believe the event was a "family event".[1]
Australian wrestlers overseas
Individual wrestlers originating in Australia struggled for a long time to obtain any international recognition. Perhaps the two biggest names when one mentioned Australia were
Australian wrestler
In more recent times Nathan Jones made two WWE appearances in 2003 at WrestleMania XIX[7] and at Survivor Series[8] later that same year even though he only actually wrestled at the latter event, making him the first Australian wrestler to ever perform on a WWE pay-per-view event. Jones also performed on two World Wrestling All-Stars pay-per-views, losing to Jeff Jarrett at WWA: The Inception and to Scott Steiner at WWA: The Eruption.[9]
It would be in late 2011 that things started to change.
In early 2013, WWE signed another Australian wrestler
In April 2015, WWE signed both
In 2017,
In 2018, Toni Storm signed a WWE NXT UK contract[26] and subsequently won the NXT UK Women's Championship.[27] On 23 July 2021, Toni Storm made her WWE SmackDown debut defeating Zelina Vega.[28][29]
In 2019, WWE signed
On 25 June 2021,
Only two other Australian wrestlers have appeared on a worldwide pay-per-view event to date at all. They are Chuck E. Chaos at WWA: The Eruption[9] who lost to Jerry Lynn, and Mark Mercedes at WWA: The Reckoning[34] who lost to Rick Steiner.
Foreign tours
Shows from North American promotions have been held in Australia as early as 1985 when the WWF toured three cities, they did a second tour in 1986 across five cities. That was the last Australia saw of a live North American product until WCW did a Nitro and Thunder taping in Melbourne,[35] a Nitro taping in Brisbane and a Thunder taping and a house show in Sydney in 2000.
In 2000, I-Generation Superstars of Wrestling held a pay-per-view in Sydney headlined "Rodman Down Under" where Dennis Rodman would lose to Curt Hennig with the i-Generation Championship being contested. Australia also hosted shows presented by World Wrestling All-Stars, including two pay per views events, The Inception in 2001 from Sydney and The Eruption in 2002 from Melbourne.
After a 16-year hiatus, WWE (previously known at the WWF) returned to Australia for the 2002
2009 saw the first international tour other than WWE since 2002 when Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff held the Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin tour throughout Australia in Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, and Sydney.[40] Wrestlers included Hulk Hogan (wrestling in Australia for the first time), Ric Flair (who came out of retirement), Spartan-3000, Heidenreich, Eugene, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake and Orlando Jordan. Despite having ONE HD television cameras present, this event has never been released on DVD.[41]
In 2016,
On 9 January 2018,
On 26 January 2018 Progress Wrestling announced an Australian tour for April 2018, which would see them partner up with local promotion.[citation needed]
Various Australian wrestling shows like World Series Wrestling have featured overseas talent not signed to a major North American promotion.
In late 2022, NJPW announced NJPW Tamashii, a series of events that would be held in Australia and New Zealand.[47] The Tamashii brand was officially launched in September, with the first Australian show taking place on 13 November in Sydney.[48]
Events list
WWE Raw-branded event | WWE SmackDown-branded event | WWE NXT-branded event |
Year | Promotion | Tour | Location(s) | Event type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1985 | WWF | WWF Australian Tour | Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth | House shows |
1986 | WWF | WWF Australian Tour | Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide | House shows |
2000 | WCW | WCW Australian Tour (Nitro & Thunder TV Tapings) | Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne | Taped events (WWE Network) |
2000 | i-Gen. | Superstars of Wrestling: Rodman Down Under | Sydney | Taped event |
2001 | WWA | WWA The Inception | Sydney | Pay-Per-View event (Main Event) |
2002 | WWA | WWA The Eruption | Melbourne | Pay-Per-View event (Main Event) |
2002 | WWE | WWE Global Warning Tour: Melbourne | Melbourne | Taped event (WWE Network) |
2003 | WWE | WWE Raw Ruthless Aggression | Sydney, Melbourne | House shows |
2003 | WWE | WWE Passport to SmackDown | Perth | House show |
2004 | WWE | WWE SmackDown Superstars Return of the Deadman Tour | Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne | House shows |
2005 | WWE | WWE Raw WrestleMania Revenge Tour | Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney | House shows |
2005 | WWE | WWE SmackDown WrestleMania Revenge Tour | Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide | House shows |
2005 | WWE | WWE Raw Survivor Series Tour | Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne | House shows |
2006 | WWE | WWE Smackdown Road to Wrestlemania 22 Tour | Sydney, Brisbane | House shows |
2006 | WWE | WWE Raw SummerSlam Tour | Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney, Brisbane | House shows |
2007 | WWE | WWE Raw Survivor Series Tour | Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane | House shows |
2008 | WWE | WWE Smackdown ECW Tour | Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Adelaide, Brisbane | House shows |
2009 | WWE | WWE Raw Live Tour | Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane | House shows |
2009 | - | Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin | Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane | Taped events (Never Released) |
2010 | WWE | WWE Smackdown Live 2010 | Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane | House shows |
2011 | WWE | WWE World Tour | Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane | House shows |
2012 | WWE | WWE Raw World Tour | Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane | House shows |
2013 | WWE | WWE Raw World Tour | Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane | House shows |
2014 | WWE | WWE Live | Melbourne, Sydney, Perth | House shows |
2015 | WWE | WWE Live | Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney | House shows |
2016 | HOH | House of Hardcore 15 | Melbourne | Taped event (HOH on Twitch) |
2016 | WWE | WWE Live: Australia | Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney | House shows |
2016 | WWE | WWE NXT Live (NXT TV Taping) | Melbourne | Taped event (WWE Network) |
2016 | WWE | WWE NXT Live | Perth, Canberra, Newcastle, Gold Coast, Sydney | House shows |
2017 | HOH | House of Hardcore Australia Tour 2017 | Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane | Taped events (HOH on Twitch) |
2017 | WWE | WWE Live: Australia | Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane | House shows |
2018 | NJPW | Fallout Down Under Tour | Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth | Taped events ( NJPW World )
|
2018 | PW | Progress x Australia Tour |
Perth, Melbourne, Sydney | Taped events (Demand Progress) |
2018 | HOH | House of Hardcore Australian Tour 2018 | Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Sunshine Coast | Taped events (HOH on Twitch) |
2018 | WWE | WWE Super Show-Down | Melbourne | Pay-Per-View event (WWE Network) |
2019 | NJPW | Southern Showdown | Melbourne, Sydney | Pay-Per-View event ( NJPW World )
|
2019 | WWE | WWE Live: Australia | Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane | House shows |
2022 | NJPW | NJPW Tamashii | Sydney | Taped events ( NJPW World )
|
2023 | NWA | The World is a Vampire: NWA vs. WAOA | ||
2023 | Impact Wrestling
|
Impact Down Under Tour | Wagga Wagga | |
2023 | NJPW | NJPW Tamashii | Sydney | Taped events ( NJPW World)[49]
|
2024 | WWE | Elimination Chamber: Perth | Perth | Pay-Per-View event (WWE Network) |
Television programming
History
Throughout the 1990s, both WCW Monday Nitro and WWE Raw were broadcast pay television networks with WCW Monday Nitro on TNT and WWE Raw on Fox Sports.
In September 2002 negotiations between
In February 2005,
Free to air wrestling programming has been scarce on Australian television in recent times. However, with the conversion to Digital Television, several wrestling programs were purchased. In June 2008,
A cut down, one-hour version of WWE Raw and SmackDown Live aired from 2017 until 2020 on
Pay-per-view
At the beginning of 2003 WWE pay-per-views were also lost to Main Event in the same deal that cost Australian fans SmackDown. Village Cinemas showed them for a few months until August 2003 when they returned to Main Event, starting with SummerSlam. A special NWA-TNA package replaced it in early 2003 but only lasted a year. NWA-TNA pay-per-views were shown once a month throughout 2003 during a time when they were being presented weekly in the United States.
After just over 3 years, NWA-TNA made its return—now just TNA. Beginning with TNA Sacrifice 2006 on 27 May 2006 on tape delay, this continued for 12 months before events started being broadcast live in May 2007. This ceased after the transmission of Slammiversary on 29 June 2015.[51]
Three World Wrestling All-Stars pay per views also aired live in Australia—WWA The Inception, WWA The Eruption and WWA The Reckoning.
References
- ^ "'Scary' wrestling could be illegal". The Age. Melbourne. 12 September 2002. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame". www.pwi-online.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2007.
- ISBN 978-1-55022-762-8.
- ISBN 1-55022-584-7.
- ^ "WWF Superstars of Wrestling". WWF Television. Tampa, Florida. 7 February 1987. Syndicated.
- ^ Jones was originally meant to team with The Undertaker but was (kayfabe) beaten down by their opponents before the match. Jones appeared later in the match.
- ^ "Home".
- ^ a b "WWA The Eruption results". Archived from the original on 26 September 2007.
- ^ "WWE NXT: May 15, 2014".
- ^ "NXT News: Next live special announced, full spoiler results from Thursday's NXT TV tapings". PWTorch.com. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ^ "Mustafa Ali def. Buddy Murphy".
- ^ "Buddy Murphy lays claim to the WWE Cruiserweight Championship".
- ^ "Buddy Matthews Makes AEW Debut On 2/23 AEW Dynamite | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "WWE Performance Center welcomes new class of recruits".
- ^ "The Iconic Duo hit the campaign trail in search of NXT Year-End Award votes".
- ^ "NXT's Billie Kay and Peyton Royce make their debut by attacking SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair".
- ^ "The IIconics battle Asuka & Naomi in homecoming clash".
- ^ "The IIconics def. Bayley & Sasha Banks, Nia Jax & Tamina and Natalya & Beth Phoenix to win WWE Women's Tag Team Championship".
- ^ "The IInspiration sign with Impact Wrestling, set for Bound for Glory". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ "The IInspiration Is Coming to Bound For Glory – IMPACT Wrestling". Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ "Meet Australia's next WWE star".
- ^ "WWE crowns first NXT UK Women's Champion at TV tapings". 26 August 2018.
- ^ "How NXT UK's Rhea Ripley fulfilled dream by appearing in women's Royal Rumble". 29 January 2019.
- ^ John Clapp (11 April 2021). "Rhea Ripley def. Asuka to capture the Raw Women's Championship". WWE. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ "Report: Toni Storm Signs WWE United Kingdom Contract | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "NXT UK results: The best of 2019 highlights show". Wrestling Observer. 26 December 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "Toni Storm to make her in-ring SmackDown debut". WWE. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "SmackDown results: July 23, 2021". WWE. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "WWE signs Australian pair Jonah Rock and Elliot Sexton, who will report to Performance Centre this month". Fox Sports. 10 February 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ^ "Q&A: Australia's Bronson Reed Fulfills His Dream of WWE Success | Sports Illustrated". www.si.com. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ^ "WWE Raw 3/23/20 Results | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ^ "NJPW WRESTLE GRAND SLAM IN TOKYO DOME LIVE RESULTS: IWGP TITLE MATCH". Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ "WWA The Reckoning results". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
- ^ ""TV Nitro to hit town"". Archived from the original on 13 September 2003.
- ^ "THURS. UPDATE: More from NXT Takeover, Samoa Joe deal notes, What TNA talent has been told, White predicts 2 million buys for Rousey vs. Cyborg, Lawler, Angle". 6 July 2015. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "WWE Global Warning tour from Melbourne, Australia". Archived from the original on 5 November 2002.
- ^ "WWE Fanatic Series Season 1 Episode 26".
- ^ "WWE Super Show-Down".
- ^ "PWTorch.com - 11/21 Hulkamania Tour in Melbourne: Very detailed report on Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair's first matches back, Hogan and Flair bleed heavily, Undercard matches re-create Attitude Era". pwtorch.com. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "'Hulkamania Tour' Company Bankrupt". Wrestling Inc. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
- ^ https://njpwworld.com/pg/s_archive_74_01 NJPW Adelaide 2018
- ^ https://njpwworld.com/pg/s_archive_74_02 NJPW Melbourne 2018
- ^ https://njpwworld.com/pg/s_archive_74_03 NJPW Sydney 2018
- ^ "非対応端末エラー:Uliza".
- ^ Max Laughton (4 June 2019). "New Japan Pro Wrestling: Australian tour Southern Showdown to include live broadcast from Festival Hall on June 29". Fox Sports. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ NJPW. "NJPW launches new TAMASHII brand with the best of Japan, Australasia | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". NJPW. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ NJPW. "2022.11.13 NEW JAPAN TAMASHII night 2 | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". NJPW. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ NJPW. "'Ichiban Sweet Boys' take Sydney win at TAMASHII | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". NJPW. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
- ^ "WWE Raw goes Live on FOX8". tvtonight.com.au. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ^ a b "TNA final episode airs on MAIN EVENT - 27 June 2015 - MAIN EVENT". Archived from the original on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ^ "WWE, Nine Network reach broadcast agreement".
- ^ Chris Stead (7 January 2020). "Kayo Sports adds WWE SmackDown, RAW and NXT". Finder. Retrieved 29 July 2021.