Magazine Archive: The Wrestlers’ Tribune: Shazza McKenzie (WAIT, WTF?!?)

Editor's Note: This is bullshit!

By Shazza McKenzie, issue 5 FightfulMag.com

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​When Seanapproached me to write an article for Fightful, at first, I thought this would be a really great time to get myself over… but if you follow me on social media, you already know I talk about myself way too much. Instead, I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about something very near and dear to my heart —Australian wrestling —and why you should be paying attention to it.

In the past couple of years, you may have noticed the influx of Australian talent to major wrestling companies: from Rhea Ripley, Toni Storm and countless others in WWE to Robbie Eaglesin NJPW and Slexin ROH, Australian wrestlers are taking over the wrestling world. It wasn’t always this way —on my first trip to the United States in 2012, I distinctly remember an American independent wrestler being shocked to learn there was even wrestling in our fair country.

Since then, we have come a long way in being noticed, and it all really started with Tenille Dashwood (FKAEmma) getting signed to WWE. Yes, prior to this there had been another Australian in WWE in Nathan Jones, but Tenille was the first one to come through the ranks of Australian independent wrestling and truly “make it.” Back in 2011, I was lucky enough to be Tenille’s final opponent before she moved to the United States for her developmental deal; an honour I will always be grateful for a short three years into my career. I remember how massive it felt that one of us was making it to the big time, but it also felt as though there was no way any more of us would follow suit. At the time Tenille got signed, she had been living in Canada for two years after training at Lance Storm’s Storm Wrestling Academy, so it still didn’t really seem like there were any eyes on us back home.

While we were working our hardest, consistently training, and producing the best shows we possibly could, it felt like no one knew we existed. There were Australians that had a degree of success, but it was reliant on living in another country for an extended period of time — something that is a lot easier said than done (for many reasons; from financial to legal to just plain logistical). In 2011, after living in America for most of the year,Madison Eaglesbecame the first independent wrestler to be ranked as #1 in the PWI Female 50 (to date, she is still the only woman to win this award without having wrestled for WWE or TNA). Whilst my trainer and friend Madison is far beyond the talent level of literally any other Australian professional wrestler to ever grace the ring, this ranking was proof of what we all knew. Proof that if people could actually see and keep up with the talent in Australia, we’d surely be getting a lot more attention and your major companies would be filled with us.

Where Australian women were flourishing in the early 2010s thanks to the opportunities provided to us by SHIMMER, there was also a group of men starting to make some noise — The Mighty Don’t Kneel (TMDK). You may be more familiar with them due to their NXT run as TM-61, but long before they signed with WWE, Shane Thorne and Nick Miller(then known as Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls, respectively) were tearing it up in Japan, operating in Pro Wrestling NOAH as TMDK. TMDK set a standard for Australian wrestlers internationally that many would try to live up to, and while they eventually made their way to WWE in 2016, they weren’t the first male Australian wrestlers to get there. The signing of Buddy Murphy to WWE in 2013 was another milestone when it came to Australians gaining international glory. He was the first male signing to come through our independent scene, a scene in which many had been advised was too small to ever make it to the big time. I recall how exciting this was for all of us that there were now two Australians with major contracts, but underneath it all there was still a feeling that we would never get much more.

In 2014, WWE held their first big tryout in Australia. Before this point, whenever they toured here, there would be very few people that would get to have a match in front of the agents before the live shows, however, on this occasion, they organized their first and only three-day tryout that featured a whopping 40 men and women from all around the country. This is what we had been struggling for years for - a chance to finally be seen; a possibility for someone to recognize our hard work. I was not part of this tryout so I cannot comment too much on what happened during, but this was the tryout that led to WWE signing Jessie McKayand Cassie Lee (FKA as The IIconics). I believe that this was a pivotal moment, as going into this tryout, many were under the impression that there was no chance that they would sign both women as they were “too similar.” They managed to prove everyone wrong and did exactly what they said they would do ​​—made their dreams come true together.

Slowly but surely, the influx of Australians in WWE was starting to pick up some momentum:  another member of TMDK, Damian Slater, wrestled in the 2016 Cruiserweight Classic, and even I made an appearance against my old foe Tenille on NXT in 2015. Another significant tryout in Australia was held two years after the first — this would be the tryout that led to the signing of Rhea Ripley and was also attended by future signingsIndi Hartwell, JONAH (FKA Bronson Reed) andDuke Hudson(FKA too many names to list). I was fortunate enough to attend this tryout and it became obvious that they were very clearly scouting for a specific event ​—the Mae Young Classic.

The inaugural Mae Young Classic featured Rhea Ripley and Toni Storm as the representatives for Australia. By this time, Toni had been living in the United Kingdom, proving herself a standout, and capitalising on the rise and boom of the British scene, as well as regularly touring Japan with Stardom. It was only a matter of time before she was on a bigger stage, and in 2018, she would go on to win the second Mae Young Classic. Doors were now being kicked open left, right and centre.

Back home, there was a paradigm shift for the Australian wrestling scene. Many will tell you this shift was Will Ospreayvs. Robbie Eagles at PWA’s 2017 Call 2 Arms event, but I personally believe that the shift happened a few weeks earlier. In June 2017, Tommy Dreamerbrought House of Hardcore to Australia for the first time with a string of five shows ​—the biggest being the Sydney show, which I was lucky to be a part of. This show featured Colt Cabana, Billy Gunn, MVP, and most importantly in retrospect, The Young Bucks. By this time, wrestling in Australia was going okay, we managed to be wrestling most weekends and travelling as much as humanly possible, but a good crowd would be considered as roughly 250-300 people. House of Hardcore drew 1,200! It was mind-boggling to think that there were even 1,200 independent wrestling fans in our local city, and my home company Pro Wrestling Australia was blessed enough to be able to advertise our upcoming show to these rabid wrestling fans. I do believe that had we not had the opportunity to target this many fans in one spot, we likely would not have had such a successful show a few weeks later. Incidentally, this House of Hardcore show is also very special to me because I had my favourite match of my entire career. I was lucky enough to wrestle Madison Eagles in front of this large crowd who had no idea who either of us were, but to this day I still have so many fans tell me that they discovered me from this match. Plus, we got some incredible feedback from the veterans that were backstage watching the match and it got us booked on the next House of Hardcore tour in 2018.

Don’t get me wrong, Call 2 Arms 2017 WAS incredibly important to the growth of Australian wrestling. After the main event between Robbie Eagles and Will Ospreay (which is an incredible match and you can watch it on YouTube), Ospreay spoke about how much he had enjoyed the match and how impressed he was by the talent in the locker room. Simply, he had a new goal ​​—he wanted to help grow the Australian scene. With his words and the ability to share them across social media, we were able to increase our international fanbase and the amount of eyes on our product.

This coincided with the rise of video-on-demand services. After many years of attempting to sell physical media of our events to little success, Australian wrestling was now easier to consume worldwide. This was helped by PWA becoming one of the first companies in Australia to secure a deal to livestream shows. After years of proclaiming #YoureGonnaNoticeUs, a hashtag campaign spearheaded by Mick Moretti, it was time for #NowWeConquer without delay. We were now accessible live to everyone everywhere, and through social media, were able to build quite the following. By the time we got to our annual Colosseum tournament in October 2019, we had created something special, a must-see event. That weekend ended up being much more than just two fantastic shows for PWA ​​—it also provided the opportunity for Steph De Lander(now Persia Pirotta) and Matty Wahlberg (now Grayson Waller) to be scouted by the biggest wrestling company in the world.

WWE wasn’t and isn’t the goal for everyone though — by 2020, Ring of Honor had inked deals with the likes of Slex, Kellyanneand Adam Brooks. Across the pond, those who have taken a leap of faith and moved to the UK ​—such as Charli Evansand Aussie Open’s Kyle FletcherandMark Davis​​—have been making a name for themselves. With the rise in popularity of the Bullet Club, the “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada, and many other Japanese talents, New Japan Pro-Wrestling hit new heights and toured Australia for the first time in February 2018. They held multiple tryouts in the lead-up to the tour to scout Australian talent, which led to the NJPW debut of one Robbie Eagles. He would go on to make his Super Jr. Tag Tournament debut in October 2018, and as I write this, is the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Robbie has been a great leader by example and worked hard to achieve his dreams. His triumphs have come at no surprise to anyone who has followed our little scene for the past decade.

Another wrestling promotion staked its claim as legitimate competition to the biggest wrestling company in the world when All Elite Wrestling was born. The only chance at success for Australians in America long felt limited to WWE and with another company coming to challenge their position at the top, it finally seemed like there were options. I have made it clear from day one that I’m team AEW ​​—an alternative is something I’ve dreamt of my whole career as I knew I’d never fit in whatever box WWE tried to put me in. I am lucky to be able to say that I am the first Australian to wrestle for AEW, making my debut in the Women’s Casino Battle Royale at 2019’s All Out event, and later appearing on the sixth episode of AEW Dark. This was something I had hoped and dreamt of for years and an opportunity I will be forever grateful for.

Then of course the pandemic hit, and it really gutted our wrestling scene. As of this writing, most of us have spent over a year and a half inside more so than outside, and unable to fight for what we want for our futures, with strict border restrictions preventing us from leaving Australia, or even travelling domestically.

The point of this article is to touch on the fact that the prosperity of Australians you’re beginning to see now was by no means an overnight success story, or accidental. For every one of us that “makes it,” there are another ten working hard just to get noticed. Sure, this is the same struggle as most independent wrestlers have, but when you have had your industry shut down and you are unable to get in front of the eyes of the people you need to, it can feel quite defeating. As we leave lockdown and international borders finally begin to open, I know there are some hungry and passionate professional wrestlers looking to make a statement.

Until we are allowed to get out there and show off what we’ve got, there are some future stars you should check out in Jessica Troy, who is made up of sugar, spice and a truly lethal armbar; powerhouse prodigy Tommy Knightwho could easily go toe-to-toe with some of the best the world has to offer and not look out of place; young and athletic hacker girl Edith Nightwho refuses to be limited by gender; the “Airbender” Royce Chambers and his wildly innovative offense; and the well-oiled machine that is The VeloCitiesof Jude London and Paris De Silva, for whom the sky's the limit​​​ ​​—literally. There are plenty more hardworking talents that you should keep an eye out for, regularly featured working for the top companies in Australia: Pro Wrestling Australia, Newcastle Pro Wrestling, Melbourne City Wrestling, Deathmatch Down Under, Wrestle Rampage, Riot City Wrestling and Explosive Pro Wrestling.

And, of course, don’t forget to keep up with my journey as an Australian professional wrestler with big dreams on Twitter and Instagram @Shazza_McKenzie!

Shazza McKenzie is a world-traveled pro wrestler out of Australia, who has competed on screen for NXT, AEW and more. We’re happy to have her make her print writing debut in Fightful Magazine.

Twitter: @Shazza_McKenzie