This might be a little ambitious, but if you don’t dream big, you’ll never achieve anything.
And despite the wonderful sentiment of that saying, I am starting small, anyway. Even though footy season is coming to an end, I don’t have a heap of time, and Mrs Mongrel has big plans for the couple of months I have with a lighter workload before the preseason ramps up. We have a house to fix/decorate, and I am the fixer in that equation.
And so, given that intro, which gives away very little, I should clue you in as to what I’m thinking.
It was a long while ago now, but I used to head to a fair few Aussie wrestling shows. I was not a die hard, and I will not profess to being at hundreds of shows, but I used to go to the PWA at Dragonfly at Tullamarine pretty religiously. I headed out to see PCW in Melbourne’s west a few times, and I made a point of seeing some Melbourne City Wrestling shows along the way, as well. On one trip to Adelaide, I even stopped by to have a look at Riot City Wrestling. That was interesting, as Rhea Ripley was on that show, and for the life of me, I cannot remember her, at all!
So, get ready for that type of attention to detail!
Anyway, during that time, I used to write a few little reviews of the shows for a message board I ran. It was called The Asylum, and it contained a great little group of wrestling fans, most of who have managed to drag themselves away from wrestling and into the real world for too long to give a shit about it, anymore. The more I saw, the more I started fancying myself as having a pretty good eye for talent.
Not that others didn’t, as they were two of the best going around, but I noted at the time that Elliot Sexton and Jonah Rock were something special and were going to go on to bigger and better things – it was in writing long before they headed overseas. And then there was Matt Silva, who looked head and shoulders above most, as well. Someone told me that he was a bit of an asshole at one stage, but I remember looking at him and thinking he was so much better than anyone else on one of the shows I saw him at, that I couldn’t blame him. It was like he was a purebred thrown into a dog show with a bunch of mutts.
All three have gone onto work for the big boys, and I am rapt I got to see them perform live when they were refining their craft. Hell, they were pretty damn good at it back then, as it was.
There were others I thought were fantastic, who didn’t go onto a major promotion, but that was possibly for reasons unrelated to their talent – I don’t really know all the stories, and I find the industry here in Australia to be a little too incestuous for my liking, so I don’t really have the in-depth relationships some others do.
Funny – I was actually approached once to “invest” in a local promotion. I laughed for a few seconds before realising the approach was serious. I would have got a better return from flushing money down the toilet.
Alas, I still like wrestling, and I do think that there are plenty of talented workers in Australia, so what I am endeavouring to do over the next little while is get my hands on some events from some of the bigger promotions, and see what I can see.
I’m not really going to take advice on which shows to watch – I am just going to jump in and pick shows at random from 2024, and hopefully, I am entertained, and maybe even impressed.
That said, I have been known to watch a three-hour episode of Raw in 35 minutes, so if someone isn’t that good, they probably won’t get too much of a mention.
So, randomly, I am starting with PWA’s Black Label Masters Presents – Shoots and Ladders, which occurred in August 2024.
Pretty frigging long title, for starters.
I should note, I am noting things as I watch, so you’re getting gut reactions. Of course, there’ll be an edit, but as someone coming in blind to these products, I thought it best to get “in the moment” responses.
A virtual Welcome to Country opens the show – ugh. I get enough of this shit at work – makes me wonder what I’m in for…
Following that crap, a nice video to kick things off – impressive editing.
OPENING SEGMENT
Jessica Troy comes out for an interview to kick the show off. The Arm Collector is the name she’s going by – pretty cool. She accepts Charli Evans’ challenge for the next show – Colosseum, and almost like it was planned, Evans’ music hits.
They have their confrontation, shake hands, and look set to part ways, but here comes a dude!
It’s Ben Braxton, and he interrupts proceedings and challenges Jessica Troy to a match right here, right now. Hang on… is she the heavyweight champ, or the women’s champ?
“Get me a fucking ref,” says Troy.
Ohhhhh, PWA still does chicks versus dudes. That’s interesting. Is this a one-off, or something a little more regular.
Oh, Troy IS the “heavyweight champion” and not the women’s champion, maybe this is something completely different than I’m used to.
She hits a flying head scissors before running into a superkick and taking a twisting vertical suplex for a two count. She fights back with a neckbreaker on Braxton across the top rope – good spot, and tries a suicide dive, but Braxton catches her. She slips him as he tries to run her into the post and then hits a double knee drop off the apron.
She starts working his arm – she is The Arm Collector, remember? Decent little match, thus far. Braxton really selling the arm well.
Back and forth continues until Troy hits a reverse huracanrana, and after all these years, I realise I still can’t spell it. It lands Braxton right on his melon as he topples over, backwards. Crowd chants “holy shit”, and in fairness, it was a pretty impressive landing.
Wow, running shooting star press from Braxton. He is still selling the arm well, with most of his offence now kicks.
Troy hits a massive DDT off some chain wrestling for a near fall.
Ref bump… Braxton hits his finisher, but the ref is out. A replacement arrives on the scene, but Troy kicks out just in time.
Troy reverses an attempted sidewalk slam (or something) into a spinning Fujiwara armbar/leg lock, and Braxton submits to a woman… like a bitch.
So yeah, we have a woman as the heavyweight champ? Holy shit… I really wasn’t expecting that, but here we are. Not sure about how this came about, but it’s either one of those “progressive” angles, or maybe this is just what PWA does. I guess I’ll soon find out.
Decent match for what it was, but I found it hard to suspend disbelief, as Braxton looked like he could have eaten Troy and spat out pieces he didn’t like.
Okay, I don’t know what the hell is going on in the next bit.
The Third Eye, a heel group, has stolen a teddy bear, and then they give it back to The Backslide Girls? The girls are going to do some performance, but the Third Eye jumps them.
It’s a match, is it? Okay…
Chicks versus dudes, again? And there is like four dudes.
Messy. Very messy match.
Coming in cold to this match, I had no real idea what was going on. The manager of the girls somehow tags in, realises he has to fight and tags out, leaving a four-on-one against his charges, and a double chokeslam sees Third Eye win. That was a nice spot, but this match is five minutes I won’t get back.
Two matches – two intergender matches. Not a fan.
MK PLUS ULTRA versus AARON JAKE AND BEL PIERCE
WTF… another intergender match? So, it is becoming apparent that PWA treats women and men as equals… which kind of makes wrestling even less believable than it already is.
Massive botch on a springboard, with Michael Spencer taking a header. Clint Eastwood time – a man’s got to know his limitations.
Aaron Jake is an interesting cat. Engages the crowd to join him in a chant, then tells them to shut the fuck up. Haha – I like it.
Nice bump from Jake over the top rope on a clothesline – sold it beautifully.
Pretty sweet buckshot-like clothesline by Spencer out of the corner – good to see him not shying away from high-risk stuff after falling before. The bozo on commentary says he is always so clean with everything he does – short memory.
Aaron Jake then intentionally slaps the female ref in the face to earn a DQ and save his and Bel Pierce’s tag titles.
I like Aaron Jake. He’s an asshole. Easily the most compelling character to this point of the show, and kind of required after the shitshow that was the match before this.
RICKY ‘THE EXAMPLE’ SOUTH versus CHARLI EVANS
Another man v woman match. Ricky South is the leader of… I missed what they called the faction. (Edit – The Regime, it’s called)
Nice muffin-top from South. Looks like mine.
I reckon Charli Evans would have a better one, but her tights and shirt hold it in better than South’s trunks do. She looks like one of the mums from my daughter’s school. Less aggressive, though.
I’m really having trouble buying that these chicks can keep up with the dudes who are supposed to be the best the organisation has to offer. As such, I have started to dip out in terms of attention.
Some solid action in this one – nothing spectacular.
An altercation with a crowd member from Ricky South is obscured because the lighting is shit. Actually, this has been a detraction from the show – on any action that spills outside the ring, it’s just dark and tough to see anything.
Clean win to Evans with a lariat. Nice ‘example’ from South.
JACK J BONZA versus BIG FUDGE
Oh wow…two dudes finally get to wrestle, but it looks like Fudge is going to be a comedy character, as he is not big, and he is not brown. He is more like the Milky Bar Kid.
Nice touch to say he weighs 179 kilograms.
Fudge is built like a 12-year-old boy, and not a healthy one. Bonza, at least, looks the part.
“Bonza’s a shit cunt” chant
Nice chain wrestling from these blokes – decent chemistry.
Fudge tries to use the “butt punch” – LOL. Bonza actually leapfrogs the punch and turns it into a german suplex – nice!
Fudge is unmasked. Apparently this has happened before and he goes nuts, but this time Bonza drops him with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall.
Fudge hits his chokeslam for a near fall and whacks his mask back on for another chokeslam.
Nice match. Apparently Big Fudge is “everything PWA represents.” And as a reward for his work, Big Fudge gains entry to The Colosseum in October.
JIMMY TOWNSEND v SCOTT GREEN v WILL KIEDIS v FRANKIE B v MICK MORETTI v BACKMAN – TLC “Key to the Card” match, which is basically like a Money in the Bank match
Backman is an interesting name. Heads up, ladies…
I might go price a few tables at Bunnings, as I am always interested in the profit margins of these shows. Probably don’t wanna destroy too many in any given match.
The tag dynamic between Townsend and Moretti is worked early and sees them come to blows early, before Kiedis’ partner (Osbourne?) heads into the ring – “North Shore Wankers” is chanted, which I kind of like. Guessing they’re like people from Brunswick in Melbourne.
Then Frankie B’s partner comes out and gets involved, and we’re seeing the regular “everyone gets their moment” time in the ring, which I find always works pretty well.
Tuckman hits the ring (partner of Green) and tries to tag in? He has a mullet to rival Eddie Guererro’s from his WCW days. As in absolutely terrible.
First table gets destroyed thanks to Frankie B with a powerbomb off the apron on Backman.
Back to the Moretti v Townsend clash, before Moretti climbs the ring scaffolding. Tuckman is still out there, and he follows Moretti, only to be kicked off and through a table. Nice!
Townsend brings out the man-size ladder but Backman overcomes his fear of heights to climb it. Green follows him up an disposes of him. Frankie B does the same, but Moretti cracks her with a chair and then drops her across a chair. Youch…
Cherry Stevens comes out to stop Kiedis winning – apparently there is some history there I’m not privy to, and then Jimmy Townsend runs in, climbs the ladder and grabs the weird key thing to win it.
Overall, these bouts are messy by nature. This was no exception, but it wasn’t poor by any means. Good for what it was.
PARIS DE SILVA versus JUDE LONDON
Commentators are putting this over as a dream match. Jude London’s intro has his moniker as “undrownable”. I’ll have to take his word for it, as this match is not taking place underwater, or even on a boat.
Oh, okay, they were a tag team, and a pretty good one, apparently.
I just googled “why is Jude London called undrownable?” and I didn’t get an answer. Get something online, PWA. If anyone can help, I’d appreciate it. He kind of looks a bit like Derek Zoolander…
Keeping it all above board and technical early on. Really nice, fast-paced sequence where both guys anticipate the other’s moves concludes with both letting the other know just how well he knows him – the old tap-to-the-head “I’m pretty smart” sign language.
London seems to be working a little more as the heel, and hits some repeat kicks to the chest as De Silva is against the ropes, and follows up with a punt and a standing shooting star press. I’m always impressed by that, as I am not too scared to do a backflip on a trampoline and other than being a wuss, I don’t really know why. I used to be able to do it.
Crowd is pretty quiet for this one at the moment. I get the feeling these two will work them into it, but they’re on serapax after five or six minutes.
Action is slowing, as both guys sell some damage, and the crowd is slowly warming up.
A big double-stomp from London as De Silva lays on the apron.
London gets the knees up as De Silva tries a shooting star press – great spot. Then London hits his finish, but De Silva manages to grab the rope for the break.
De Silva’s strength is impressive. A couple of his german suplexes have come after deadlifting London off the mat.
Massive shooting star press from De Silva hits this time for a near fall, and London almost taps to a submission before he gets to the ropes.
Both guys find the energy to exchange 30 seconds of ripping, fast-paced action that sees both on the mat with the ref counting them out – crowd liked that. About time you appreciated this, clowns.
London drops De Silva on the back of his head and pushes the ref away as she tries to check on him. She pushes him back, but London hits a big axe kick and a frog splash on his former partner. Great near fall – De Silva looked done.
Three big DDTs from De Silva interspersed with some trading blows, before De Silva heads to the top – looks like he is attempting a shooting star on the standing London, but lands on his feet instead, hits another DDT and finally gets the three count.
Excellent match that deserved a much hotter crowd, given the talent in the ring and the standard of action.
Post-match, De Silva looks to see if London is okay. He goes to leave but London grabs him – the two embrace…
… and kiss.
Just kidding.
Hahaha, the crowd chant “kiss kiss kiss” so they do, and have a laugh about it.
Fun end to the show.
SHOW MVP – Hey, hey… you’re a strange man, Aaron Jake, but you have the best look of any performer on the show, aside from maybe Mick Moretti, and your character was interesting. A heel busy heeling it up is my cup of tea, so he gets my nod.
I reckon the North Shore Drop-outs could be a good watch/listen if they had some mic time. Plenty to work with there, but this was the wrong setting for them.
MATCH OF THE NIGHT – It’s not even close. Nothing gets anywhere near the London v De Silva clash. As I am not familiar with their work as a team (ignorance, I know), I didn’t get what it meant, but it wasn’t difficult to pick up on.
Good emotion, good story-telling, and pretty damn good near falls throughout.
Again, the crowd was a little too flat for my liking. Are these guys over as a team? Might be worth checking out some of their stuff on other shows.
OVERALL RATING – I don’t like star ratings. Look, I watched this on Youtube, so in terms of value for money, I obviously got it. I feel as though the last match dug the show out of a hole in terms of actual, high-end wrestling. The angles were okay – nothing special and nothing that grabbed my attention, and really, the show could have done without the Third Eye v Backslide Girls interaction – that was crap.
WOULD I GO TO AN EVENT LIKE THIS?
So, I guess it all comes down to this, right? As much as this isn’t a business… because it’s really not, it is still called ‘the wrestling business’ – would I pay to watch one of these shows?
Nope. I don’t think so. If this show was repeated a block from my house, and DIDN’T have the main event as part of it, I would not attend. If I did attend, I’d rock in for the last 45 minutes.
I really didn’t like the intergender stuff, at all. I’m sure you guessed that before now. It seems funny to be put off by the fact men and women are being portrayed as equals in an industry that is completely predetermined, and yet, I cannot help it.
I must be a misogynist, right? I’m sure some of you are thinking it.
Well, how about this? How about I like what I like, you like what you like, and PWA do whatever it is that they like, and we all just go about our lives?
I think that’s a fair way of going about it. But yeah, I suspend belief in wrestling far enough. I bend it to the point it can bend no further. That a woman is out there beating the shit out of blokes… I kind of feel like it was insulting my intelligence. I’m not buying it – not interested in what you’re selling. Next fed, please.
Next up, I’m going to head to Melbourne, and whilst I can’t see a hell of a lot in the way of MCW available from 2024, I’ve grabbed a couple of their 2023 shows. In the meantime, I am going to have a gander at Renegades of Wrestling’s most recent show – We Choose Violence.
Yes… yes, we do.