Australia



Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere and is seen as a continent although some see it as the largest island in the world. It has a population of over 22 million people, with over half concentrated in five of the country's state capital cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide). Professional wrestling in Australia makes up only a small part of Australian culture. While the North American or Japanese product have large, globally renowned organisations such as World Wrestling Entertainment and New Japan Pro Wrestling with several hundred smaller promotions, Australia only has approximately 40 small active independent circuit promotions which exist in all but one of the states and territories (the Northern Territory). Tours from WWE are regularly sold out in capital cities such as Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane.

History
Until the 1960’s, wrestling in Australia was all over the place. It consisted of mostly single matches on shows that also contained boxing contests. It didn't stop the likes of stars such as Clarence Weber, Jack Carkeek, Clarence Whistler and Georg Hackenschmidt touring the country before World War 2, and Lou Thesz, Dr. Jerry Graham and Gorgeous George during the 1950's.

In 1962 in Melbourne, a promotion called International Wrestling came to the attention of the mainstream media when Australian rules football player Murray Weideman announced that he would be wrestling in the promotion. Crowd numbers jumped, thanks to the support of the fans of the football club Weideman played for - Collingwood. Weideman worked for two months between August and October of 1962 usually as a tag team partner to Salvatore Savoldi - a largely unknown face in wrestling - against Butcher Vachon and either George Bollas or another unknown in Pierre La Chappelle. These matches were held at Festival Hall, and were refereed by infamous heel Dirty Dick Raines.

In 1964, Australia established its only major promotion in World Championship Wrestling. WCW had a television deal with the Nine 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 as Killer Kowalski, Ray Stevens, Dominic DeNucci, Mario Milano, Spiros Arion, Karl Gotch, Bruno Sammartino, Gorilla Monsoon and local stars Ron Miller and Larry O'Dea were all involved with the promotion which grew steadily through it's life. However, with the introduction of World 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 World Wrestling Entertainment became a prominent figure in professional wrestling in the mid-1980s.

Australian professional wrestling now plays only a minor role in mainstream Australian culture, with most Australian professional wrestling fans being fans of the WWE not even knowing a local independent scene even exists, or treat it with contempt - in all States and territories of Australia (except the Northern Territory). As a whole, Australian Professional wrestling and the promotions, wrestlers, and events are considered on par with most other promotions around the world - it is only the distinct lack of promotion and lack of leadership that leaves a big gap open, and lets many talented and experienced wrestlers fly under the radar and go virtually unnoticed of both local, interstate and overseas wrestling fans.

There have been two attempts to restore the role that WCW once played, in 2002 by Andy Raymond with the Australian Wrestling Supershow and in 2004 by James Brock with NWA Australia. Both failed.

Cities
Capital Cities

New South Wales

 * Casula Powerhouse - Hosts PWA Australia shows
 * Penrith Panthers - Hosted the Australian Wrestling Supershow
 * Sydney Super Dome - WWE's Sydney venue when touring

Queensland

 * Brisbane Entertainment Centre - WWE's Brisbane venue when touring
 * William Duncan State School - Impact Pro Wrestling's current Australian venue
 * Greek Community Centre - Host for Queensland Wrestling Alliance shows in Townsville

South Australia

 * Adelaide Entertainment Centre - WWE's Adelaide venue when touring
 * Thebarton Theatre - Venue for NWA Australia and currently Wrestle Rampage

Tasmania

 * Elphin Sports Centre - Home venue of Tasmanian Championship Wrestling

Victoria

 * 1000 Pound Bend, Melbourne CBD - WrestleClash main show venue
 * 29 Colorado Court, Hallam - Professional Championship Wrestling (Australia)'s PCW SLAM (developmental) venue
 * Berwick Secondary College, Berwick - Warzone Wrestling Australia's main show venue
 * Maltese Cultural Centre, Albion - New Age Wrestling's home venue
 * Polish Club, Rowville - Professional Championship Wrestling (Australia)'s main show venue
 * Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne - WWE's Melbourne venue when touring
 * Tullamarine Public Hall, Tullamarine - Melbourne City Wrestling's main show venue
 * Thornbury Theatre, Thornbury - Melbourne City Wrestling's secondary "supercard" venue
 * Sunbury Memorial Hall, Sunbury - one of New Age Wrestling's regional venues

Western Australia

 * Bodyslam Central - Explosive Pro Wrestling's main venue

New South Wales

 * Hordern Pavillion, Sydney - hosted World Championship Wrestling (Australia) shows in the 60's and 70's.

Tasmania

 * Hobart City Hall, Hobart - Hosted two New Age Wrestling shows in 2008.

Victoria

 * Docklands Stadium, Melbourne - Hosted WWE Global Warning in 2002. Unlikely to be used again due to surface issues.
 * Dragonfly Restaurant, Tullamarine - Melbourne City Wrestling's former main show venue, now destined for demolition
 * Festival Hall, Melbourne - hosted World Championship Wrestling (Australia) shows in the 60's and 70's. Iconic venue last used for wrestling in 1999
 * Ken Kay Badminton Centre, Ballarat - former venue for New Age Wrestling and Outback Championship Wrestling, now not used due to local council public entertainment fees
 * Lyric Nightclub, Geelong - former home for Extreme Wrestling Alliance, demolished in the mid 2000's
 * Melton Darts Club, Melton - one of New Age Wrestling's former regional venues
 * Melton Indoor Sports Centre, Melton - venue for Australian Real Pro Wrestling
 * Southern Community Centre, Mulgrave - one of New Age Wrestling's major venues albeit for one show

Australian Capital Territory

 * Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW)

Tasmania

 * Tasmanian Championship Wrestling (TCW)