Professional wrestling in Australia makes up a small part of Australianculture. Unlike theNorth American orJapanese products which have large, globally renowned organisations such asWWE,AEW,Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre orNew Japan Pro-Wrestling with several hundred smallerpromotions,Australia only has approximately 30 smallerindependent circuit promotions which exist in all Australian states and territories. Tours from the North American product are regularly sold out in capital cities such asAdelaide,Brisbane,Melbourne,Perth, andSydney.
Professional wrestling in Australia first gained distinction in the early 1900s, however there were very few shows promoted. Nonetheless, stars such asClarence Weber,Jack Carkeek,Clarence Whistler andGeorge 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 fromThe Great Depression.
Throughout the 1940s professional wrestling suffered due toWorld 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 asLou Thesz,Dr. Jerry Graham andGorgeous George toured the country during the decade.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Australia established its only majorpromotion inWCW Australia. WCW had a television deal with theNine Network, the first in Australia to do so and attracted crowds between 2,000 and 9,000 people on a weekly basis. International stars such asKiller Kowalski,Ray Stevens,Dominic Denucci,Mario Milano,Spiros Arion,Karl Gotch,Bruno Sammartino,Gorilla Monsoon and local starsRon Miller andLarry O'Dea were all involved with the promotion which grew steadily through the 1960s and was a well known product in the 1970s. However, with the introduction ofWorld Series Cricket, WCW was left with no television deal and was forced to close down in 1978. This sent the Australian market into a large decline. With no access to any product anywhere in the world, the Australian market was almost dead until theWorld Wrestling Federation became a prominent figure in professional wrestling in the mid-1980s.
Australia has depended on theNorth American product since 1985. Hosting tours in 1985 and 1986 kept a solid viewing in the sport through programmes such asSuperstars of Wrestling andSaturday 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 theKnox City Council reviewed the promotion's use of the venue after being led to believe the event was a "family event".[1]
Individual wrestlers originating in Australia struggled for a long time to obtain any international recognition. Perhaps the two biggest names when one mentioned Australia wereThe Fabulous Kangaroos—Roy Heffernan andAl Costello. They were the only Australian wrestlers tomake it big in theUnited States at the time and held theFlorida andTexas versions of the NWA World Tag Team titles as well as thenorth east version of the NWA United States tag team titles in the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (later to becomeWWE)[2] on three occasions, as well as being inducted into theWrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.[3]
Australian wrestlerPeter Stilsbury was brought into the WWF in the mid-1980s under the name Outback Jack in response to the mainstream popularity at the time of the Australian filmCrocodile Dundee.[4] He appeared in several vignettes hyping his debut by showing Jack in the wilds of the Australian Outback, drinking beer with cows,[5] and came down to the ring to the theme song byRolf Harris, "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport".[6] Outback Jack started his career touring inCanada with Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling.
Early in the new millenniumNathan Jones made two WWE appearances in 2003 atWrestleMania XIX[7] and atSurvivor 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 WWEpay-per-view event. Jones also performed on twoWorld Wrestling All-Stars pay-per-views, losing toJeff Jarrett atWWA: The Inception and toScott Steiner atWWA: The Eruption.[9]
It would be in late 2011 that things started to change.WWE signed an Australian female wrestlerTenille Dashwood to its development territoryNXT. She was originally fromMelbourne. Dashwood debuted as a clumsy dancer Emma, and in early 2014 was elevated to the main roster. On 6 April 2014 she became only the second Australian wrestler to perform on a WWE pay per view and the first ever woman to do so when she was a part of the Diva's Title match atWrestleMania XXX. She later appeared at the 2014Survivor Series in November. In 2017 she became the first Australian to perform at three WWE pay per view events when she was part of the fatal five way for theRaw Women's Championship atNo Mercy. She made it four atTLC in opposition toAsuka. She was released soon after,[10] and worked forRing of Honor[11] andImpact Wrestling[12] before returning to WWE as the mystery opponent of Ronda Rousey on Smackdown.[13]
In early 2013, WWE signed another Australian wrestlerBuddy Murphy, known in Australia as Matt Silva to NXT. Murphy made his televised debut on NXT 15 May 2014, teaming withElias Samson in a losing effort againstThe Ascension.[14] In August 2014, Murphy began teaming with AmericanWesley Blake and in January 2015,Blake and Murphy scored an upset victory overThe Vaudevillains and the following week defeated theLucha Dragons to win theNXT Tag Team Championship, making Murphy the first Australian to hold a championship within the WWE.[15] In early 2018 Murphy joined the Cruiserweight division and participated in the Cruiserweight title tournament losing toMustafa Ali in the quarter finals.[16] He soon become a top contender to the new championCedric Alexander, and he managed to defeat Alexander atWWE Super Show-Down in his main roster pay-per-view debut in his home townMelbourne to win theWWE Cruiserweight Championship.[17] On the 23 February 2022 episode ofDynamite, he made his debut forAll Elite Wrestling as Buddy Matthews joining the "House of Black" faction withMalakai Black andBrody King.[18]
In April 2015, WWE signed bothBillie Kay andPeyton Royce to NXT.[19] The pair later formed the teamThe IIconics under their original name of The Iconic Duo.[20] They were elevated to the main roster on the SmackDown brand just afterWrestleMania 34[21] and made their main roster pay per view debut atWWE Super Show-Down with a victory over the team ofAsuka andNaomi.[22] After appearances atWWE Evolution, the 2019Royal Rumble andElimination Chamber, the IIconics won theWWE Women's Tag Team Championship atWrestleMania 35.[23] On 9 October 2021, The IIconics now using the name The IInspiration signed a contract withImpact Wrestling and will make their debut atBound for Glory (2021).[24][25]
In 2016,Mikey Nicholls andShane Haste signed with WWE, beginning training at theWWE Performance Center in April, and working for NXT.[26] They debuted as TM-61 (Nick Miller and Shane Thorne) in May.[27] They reached their peak in late 2016 making the final of theDusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic only to be defeated by theAuthors of Pain atNXT TakeOver: Toronto. Nicholls would leave at the end of 2018,[28] while Haste would remain until the end of 2021.[29]
In 2017,Rhea Ripley joined WWE and participated in theMae Young Classic.[30] The Adelaide-based wrestler known locally as Demi Bennett would go on to participate in the second Mae Young Classic in 2018, but at TV tapings inBirmingham, England, Ripley became the first Australian woman to win a WWE controlled title when she defeated fellow AustralianToni Storm in a tournament final to be the inaugural winner of the NXT UK Women's Championship.[31] Ripley consequently made her first pay per view appearance at the2019 Royal Rumble as a participant of the Women's Royal Rumble match.[32] AtWrestlemania 37 Rhea defeatedAsuka to win theRaw Women's Championship[33]
In 2018, Toni Storm signed aWWE NXT UK contract[34] and subsequently won theNXT UK Women's Championship.[35] On 23 July 2021, Toni Storm made herWWE SmackDown debut defeatingZelina Vega.[36][37]
In 2019, WWE signedBronson Reed andBrendan Vink, both reporting toWWE NXT.[38]Bronson Reed won his first championship, theNXT North American Championship in May 2021, defeatingJohnny Gargano.[39] Brendan made his firstWWE Raw appearance in 2020 losing a tag team match against theStreet Profits.[40]
On 25 June 2021,Robbie Eagles who currently competes forNew Japan Pro Wrestling became the first Australian to win a championship in Japan, defeatingEl Desperado for theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship atWrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome.[41]
Only two other Australian wrestlers have appeared on a worldwide pay-per-view event to date at all. They are Chuck E. Chaos atWWA: The Eruption[9] who lost toJerry Lynn, andMark Mercedes atWWA: The Reckoning[42] who lost toRick Steiner.
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 untilWCW did aNitro andThunder taping in Melbourne,[43] aNitro taping in Brisbane and aThunder 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" whereDennis Rodman would lose toCurt Hennig with thei-Generation Championship being contested. Australia also hosted shows presented byWorld Wrestling All-Stars, including two pay per views events,The Inception in 2001 from Sydney andThe Eruption in 2002 from Melbourne.
After a 16-year hiatus, WWE (previously known at the WWF) returned to Australia for the 2002WWE Global Warning Tour taped event fromColonial Stadium in Melbourne.[44][45][46] Since then, WWE has returned to tour Australia at least once a year with House shows events. In 2016 WWE's developmental brandWWE NXT toured Australia for the first time including ataping a NXT TV episode which aired onWWE Network about one month later. In 2018 WWE held their first Australian live pay-per-viewWWE Super Show-Down from theMelbourne Cricket Ground.[47]
2009 saw the first international tour other than WWE since 2002 whenHulk Hogan andEric Bischoff held theHulkamania: Let The Battle Begin tour throughout Australia in Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, and Sydney.[48] 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 andOrlando Jordan. Despite havingONE HD television cameras present, this event has never been released on DVD.[49]
In 2016,House of Hardcore presented House of Hardcore 15 in Melbourne, before returning in 2017 for a tour of Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane. They returned in 2018 for a tour of Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, and Sunshine Coast, the 2018 tour also saw theNWAWorld Heavyweight ChampionNick Aldis made four championship defences against Mark Cometti,Jonah Rock,Robbie Eagles and Jack Bonza.
On 9 January 2018,New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) announced their first Tour of Australia, "New Japan Fallout Down Under" tour in which they would visit Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth. The events took place between "The New Beginning in Osaka" and "Honor Rising: Japan 2018" on the NJPW calendar. Announced for the tour wasKenny Omega,Kazuchika Okada,Minoru Suzuki,Cody,Matt and Nick Jackson,Yuji Nagata,Tomohiro Ishii,Kushida,Evil,Bad Luck Fale,Sanada,Will Ospreay^,Tanga Loa,Juice Robinson,Tama Tonga,Lance Archer,Chase Owens,Rocky Romero, andToa Henare. Will Ospreay only appeared on the Sydney and Perth legs, whileHiroshi Tanahashi missed the tour due to an injury. All the events were taped and were uploaded toNJPW World on delay without any commentary.[50][51][52][53] In June 2019, NJPW returned to Australia for their Southern Showdown tour in Melbourne and Sydney, with the Melbourne show broadcast live onPay Per View throughFite TV.[54]
On 26 January 2018Progress Wrestling announced an Australian tour for April 2018, which would see them partner up with local promotion.[citation needed]
Various Australian wrestling shows likeWorld Series Wrestling have featured overseas talent not signed to a major North American promotion.
In late 2022, NJPW announcedNJPW Tamashii, a series of events that would be held in Australia and New Zealand.[55] The Tamashii brand was officially launched in September, with the first Australian show taking place on 13 November in Sydney.[56]
On 25 August 2024, atAll In,All Elite Wrestling (AEW) announced its debut show in Australia,Grand Slam Australia, taking place on 15 February 2025.[57] Originally scheduled forSuncorp Stadium inBrisbane,Queensland, the event was later moved toBrisbane Entertainment Centre.[58] It was broadcast live as a television special onESPN and taped for later broadcast onTNT andHBO Max.[59] That same night, AEW also tapedGlobal Wars Australia, a co-promoted show with its sister promotionRing of Honor (ROH), which aired ontape delay viaHonor Club on February 17.[60] On 25 August 2025, atForbidden Door, AEW announced its return to Australia with the secondGrand Slam Australia taking place on 14 February 2026 atQudos Bank Arena inSydney, New South Wales.[61] The following day, AEW will return to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre with House Rules: Brisbane, a non-televisedhouse show.[62]
| 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-Generation | 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 | Progress Wrestling | 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)[63] |
| 2024 | WWE | Elimination Chamber | Perth | Pay-per-view event (WWE Network) |
| 2025 | AEW | Grand Slam Australia | Brisbane | Taped event (ESPN,TNT, andHBO Max) |
| 2025 | WWE | Crown Jewel | Perth | Pay-per-view event (Netflix) |
| 2026 | AEW | Grand Slam Sydney | Sydney | Taped event (ESPN,TNT, andHBO Max) |
| 2026 | AEW | AEW House Rules: Brisbane | Brisbane | House show |
From the late 1990s, bothWCW Monday Nitro andWWE Raw were broadcast pay television networks withWCW Monday Nitro on TNT andWWE Raw on Fox Sports.
In September 2002 negotiations betweenFOX8 and WWE fell through andSmackDown! was cancelled. This situation (that also affected WWE pay per views) continued until August 2003 whenSmackDown! returned on Saturday nights.RAW was moved fromFox Sports to FOX8 and was shown on Friday nights. In order to prevent spoiler hunting on the internet, FOX8 moved WWE programming to timeslots closer to their United States air date. Finally it start airing RAW live on 4 February 2014[64]
In February 2005,WWE Heat,WWE Velocity andThe WWE Experience were added to Fox8 and set up a large wrestling program on Saturdays and Sundays. DespiteHeat,Velocity andExperience all being cancelled in theUnited States the shows continued to be shown in Australia to fulfill contractual obligations. WhenSmackDown! was moved to Friday nights in the United States, in Australia it remained on Friday afternoons.ECW on Sci Fi began broadcasting in Australia from 2 September 2006 in the place ofWWE Velocity on Saturdays.
TNA Impact! began airing on 5 April 2008 onFox8. It had been airing on Saturday nights onFuel TV at 8.30pm AEST from June 2011, but this ceased in November 2014 when Fuel was absorbed by Fox Sports. For the remainder of 2014 and into 2015 it was shown on Main Event free of the usual charges, until 27 June 2015.[65]
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,WWE After Burn aired on Channel 9 on Sunday afternoon. However, it later aired at 1am on Tuesday mornings.TNA Xplosion began airing onOne HD in prime time at 8:30pm on Thursday but by late 2010 it had been replaced in effect by the WWE Experience.
A cut down, one-hour version of WWE Raw and SmackDown Live aired from 2017 until 2020 onNine Network's9Go!.[66] From January 2020,Kayo Sports began airingWWE Smackdown, WWE Raw andWWE NXT.[67]
On 6 December, 2022, the exclusive WWE channel began transmission on Foxtel on channel 144.[68] All WWE programming was moved to the new channel. This arrangement ended at the end of 2024 with the move to Netflix.[69]
Pay-per-views in Australia are shown onMain Event, the only provider in Australia. WWE's majorpay-per-viewsRoyal Rumble,WrestleMania,King of the Ring,SummerSlam andSurvivor Series began to be shown on pay-per-view by the late 1990s. Main Event has been broadcasting pay-per-views for bothWWE starting from the late 1990s until the end of 2022 (including the Fanatic Series from October 2006 for a time) andWCW pay-per-views from around the same time until they were bought out in March 2001. WWE premium live events moved to the WWE channel in late 2022, and moved to Netflix from the beginning of 2025.
At the beginning of 2003 WWE pay-per-views were also lost toMain 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 withSummerSlam. A specialNWA-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 theUnited States.
After just over 3 years, NWA-TNA made its return—now just TNA. Beginning withTNA 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 ofSlammiversary on 29 June 2015.[65]
ThreeWorld Wrestling All-Stars pay per views also aired live in Australia—WWA The Inception, WWA The Eruption and WWA The Reckoning.
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