Combining sportsmanship and showmanship, the Slam Pro Wrestling League is offering a wilder kind of sports entertainment in Canberra, bringing some of the best local, interstate and international competitors to Ainslie Football Club this Saturday 5 November.

The League held its debut event in December last year, and in the short time since its inception, has amassed a loyal fan base who regularly attend the bi-monthly fight nights. Providing a central hub between Sydney and Melbourne, Canberra’s League is hoping to be placed on the map as a central wrestling point for the whole country.

 “Basically,[we’re] promoting the best in professional wrestling and sports entertainment in the country. We think there’s a big appetite for it in Canberra, something that it’s been missing for a long time here,” says Daniel Dwyer, a member of the board of directors.

Dwyer says the board keeps its ears to the ground when looking for matchups, bringing the best to Ainslie to battle it out. Their system is based on win-loss results, who might be causing a bit of a buzz, and assessing whether a competitor is deserving of a second chance.

“If people can’t cut it and they suffer too many losses, we will kind of drop them off. Basically, let them go and reprove themselves in the smaller groups and the smaller promotions until we bring them back,” he says.

A crowd favourite, Canberra’s own Luke ‘Hope From The Top Rope’ Watts is set to jump in the ring this weekend, going up against Robbie Eagles. Eagles has many titles under his belt and is signed to one of the biggest wrestling leagues in the world, New Japan. However, being an established athlete himself, Luke is unphased by his opponent and is ready to hit the mat. Not only travelling with his wrestling experience, he has also represented Canberra at a national level in gymnastics and Australia at an international level in Muay Thai Boxing. He says there is something wrestling offers that other sports don’t.

“Showmanship, performance, athleticism, spectacle, and also interactivity that you might be able to get each of those at five separate events, but only pro wrestling is bringing them all together,” Watts says.

Watts grew up watching wrestling and was drawn to the showmanship and athletic expression of the competitors, something he never grew out of. His background in gymnastics and Muay Thai have helped him on his journey and in creating his finishing move – The Shooting Star Press – which is still unbeaten in the Slam League.

“I climb up to the top rope, I do a full 270-degree rotation, come down with 80 kilos, that velocity going down normally lands the 1-2-3,” he says.

Inspired by his childhood favourite, Ric Flair – often cited as the greatest wrestler of all time – both men sport bleached hair and an abundance of enthusiasm for their craft. Watts says it didn’t matter if he was competing in a sold out coliseum or small country club, Flair gave it his all and that is what he does, too.

“I know that when I get in there, I’m giving it my all and doing my best because I want that world heavyweight championship, i want the slam championship. it’s the top of the power rankings.”

With the full body contact and over the top moves competitors use in wrestling, it is a dangerous sport that should never be attempted without appropriate training. Dwyer says someone couldn’t just walk in off the street and do it; anyone interested should find a place that offers proper training as they do at Slam Pro Wrestling Academy.

“I think a lot of it to people when they start is passion. That builds into a level of commitment and training that not many people can achieve,” Dwyer says.

Along with being one of the League’s favourite competitors, Watts is also one of the dedicated coaches at the Academy. He has spent time in both Canada and Japan learning new styling and honing his skills, and says it is a real privilege to be able to pass that knowledge on to the next generation of competitors.

“We can break people in the correct way and show them the right way to protect themselves,” Watts says.

As students learn technical skills in the ring, they are also guided in developing their personas and taught how to interact with a crowd. Both men agree that the louder than life personalities you see in the ring are often just a further expression of the athlete themselves. If someone seems likeable, they are probably someone you would want to grab a beer with, same goes for the less desirable types.

“The slam fans are the smartest fans, so they could smell inauthenticity a mile away. If they think you’re trying to pull a quick one on them, they will revolt against that and let you know exactly what they think,” Luke smiles.

“Some of the personalities and characters we have on the events kind of resonate with those people so much, not always in a positive way. We have had fans try to jump the barriers to try and take a swing at maybe someone they don’t want too much,” Daniel adds.

The League has security and protocols in place to prevent people trying to get into the ring with competitors. Daniel says they would soon regret it if they succeeded, especially if it was with someone like Slam’s current champion, Mikey Broderick.

“He’s 100 kilos of pure muscle. I don’t think anyone in the crowd is going to be able to stand toe to toe if they do want to jump the barricade and try something. I think they’re gonna find out pretty quickly that they don’t belong.”

Undefeated Mickey Broderick is top of the pecking order and competitors are trying to climb the ladder and prove themselves against him. Up next is Caveman Ugg. Their match promises to be quite the spectacle as the unconventional Ugg tries to take down the champ with his destructive moves.

They will also be crowning their first Tag Team Champions on the night with two internationally renowned teams heading to the ring. Both are undefeated: Melbourne’s The Natural Classics have recently returned from a tour of Mexico, while travelling team, The Velocities, have come back from winning a championship in Europe.

Slam Pro loves free speech, and encourages both competitors and audience members to share how they like or don’t like someone on the night. They often even catch the behind the scenes trash talking and altercations. 

Slam Pro Wrestling League heads to Ainslie Football Club on Saturday 5 November 7pm. Tickets via  eventbrite.com.au or find out more at facebook.com/SlamProWrestling

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