In October 2010, Melbourne City Wrestling took over the several decade long legacy of Australian Championship Wrestling, holding its first event under the new branding at the Thornbury Theatre. The night would showcase many of Melbourne’s top professional wrestlers, as well as new faces from around the rest of the country, who had not yet been introduced to Victorian audiences. Now, on Saturday November 1st, Melbourne City Wrestling celebrates four years of thrilling live events, as we present our ‘Fourth Anniversary Extravaganza’ at the Essendon Ukrainian Hall.
Wrestlers from all around the nation will be competing in seven massive matches on November 1st, but the accolades that so many members of our roster have had, not just around Australia, but across the globe, have often gone un-noticed or may not even be realised by much of our loyal fanbase. Indeed, the majority of the men and women that compete for Melbourne City Wrestling month in and month out hold a substantial amount of international experience. Lets go down the list…
MCW CHAMPIONSHIP – CARLO CANNON (C) vs. DAVIS STORM
Carlo Cannon and Davis Storm are no strangers to one another.
The main event of the night will see the Melbourne City Wrestling champion, Carlo “Cash Money” Cannon, defending his title against “The Messiah” Davis Storm, who hails from Western Australia. In 2005, Carlo Cannon travelled to Canada, in the hopes of attaining his dream of being a professional wrestler, and became the top graduate in the inaugural class of the Storm Wrestling Academy, run by former WWE, WCW and ECW Superstar, Lance Storm. He has since journeyed to Canada three times, both training with Lance Storm, and assisting his mentor with his successive classes, and in addition, he has competed across Canada, and found himself on national TV as he took part in season one of ‘World of Hurt‘, based on the Storm Wrestling Academy. Upon his return, Cannon competed nationwide, winning championships in several different states, and it was in the years spanning between 2007 and 2011 (when he would make his MCW debut) that he would first cross paths with The Messiah.
On the other hand, Davis Storm is no stranger to honing his craft overseas himself. During his formative years in professional wrestling, he became one of the founders and trainers of the ‘Explosive Pro Wrestling’ promotion in Perth, and would go on to train the likes of Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste, now competing as The Mighty Don’t Kneel for the Pro Wrestling NOAH promotion in Japan. Not content, he would seek further guidance abroad, and that journey brought him to the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in Los Angeles in 2005. Other members of his class include the likes of Karl Anderson (a member of the Bullet Club faction in NJPW), the Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) and Fergal “Prince” Devitt (now competing as Finn Balor in WWE).
Davis Storm’s return to Australia and further development of EPW saw that promotion quickly become one of the most prestigious in the country, and the feud between Western Australia and Victoria has been well documented in the years since. Much of it has been instigated, including a period of time where Carlo Cannon would win (and subsequently disrespect) the EPW Tag Team Championships. Could the same take place at Essendon, with Davis Storm winning the Melbourne City Wrestling Championship? Saturday nights marquee match will no doubt prove to be another exciting chapter in this heated rivalry between the two states.
MCW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS – THE LOOSE & THE WRECKLESS (C) vs. THE NEO SOVEREIGN REVOLUTION
Robbie Eagles has competed across the United States and Japan.
Collectively known as ‘The Loose & The Wreckless’, Dowie James and Adam Brooks are fast approaching a year long anniversary with the Melbourne City Wrestling Tag Team Championships, which they won by defeating The Armstrongs on November 30, 2013. Both men are known for their impressive in ring athleticism, and regardless of whether they are cheered or booed, they are held in high regard by both the fans and their peers. But history dictates that their abilities came together well before they formed a tag team together: at the age of 16 in 2005, Dowie James became the youngest gaijin (or foreigner) wrestler to compete in Japan, where he worked for the legendary Ricky Fuji.
Meanwhile, only a few years after debuting as a professional wrestler, Adam Brooks found himself under the tutelage of former MCW Champion Matt Silva, now competing regularly on WWE’s NXT program as Buddy Murphy. In 2013, Brooks took part in a training camp for Ring of Honor Wrestling, and a few months later, armed with more knowledge and a new attitude, he would become one half of the MCW Tag Team Champions with Dowie James.
Their opponents at the Fourth Anniversary Extravaganza are the brother tandem of Ryan and Robbie Eagles, now going by the name of ‘The Neo Sovereign Revolution’ in their home promotion PWA, based in New South Wales. Both have featured in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500: Robbie Eagles placed 347 in 2013, whilst Ryan Eagles has placed for the last five consecutive years, his highest ranking being 259 in 2012. Both have also trained and competed overseas: Robbie Eagles has trained with the CHIKARA Pro Wrestling Academy in the United States (where he also competed) as well as spending several months with the Zero-One promotion in Japan, where he lived and trained in the dojo there. Ryan Eagles spent several months living in the United States in 2011, where he competed for a litany of promotions, the most notable being Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) and Dragon Gate USA.
With so much international experience, this may be the dark horse to steal the show on November 1st. At the very least, many fans already expect it to be one of the top tag team matches in our four year history so far.
KRACKERJAK vs. JXT
As you can tell from this video package, the feud between KrackerJak and JXT has become personal in a hurry. In August, KrackerJak won the right to face Carlo Cannon for the MCW Championship, but then in perhaps the first instance anywhere in professional wrestling, KrackerJak renounced that title shot, much to the chagrin of JXT.
In previous years, KrackerJak has competed not only around Australia, where he quickly made a name for himself as one of Australia’s most entertaining (and violent) wrestlers, but he also competed in the United Kingdom, and in 2006, he competed in the land of the rising sun, taking part in the Big Japan Pro Wrestling Hardcore Summer Series. KrackerJak also placed 495 in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 in 2013. Though he has made significant strides in his wrestling career in 2014, JXT is still a relative newcomer compared with KrackerJak. A lot of his progress can be attributed to his increased training at the Vicious Pursuit Pro Wrestling & Performance Academy, run by none other than Carlo Cannon.
INTERGENDER TAG TEAM MATCH – TOMMY HELLFIRE & SIREN MONROE vs. THE CREMATOR & VIXSIN
The rivalry between Tommy Hellfire and the Cremator has intensified over the last few months, ever since Hellfire turned on Cremator, following a six month stint as a tag team. Following repeated attacks with a chair, and constant interference from Siren Monroe, Cremator enlisted the help of “the hardcore bitch” Vixsin, which means that we will see a mixed tag team match on November 1st in Essendon. Of the four competitors in this match, two have competed in Japan: Tommy Hellfire and Vixsin. Most notably, like several of her MCW counterparts, Vixsin has competed for Big Japan Pro Wrestling.
In addition, in 2013, Siren Monroe would travel to the United States, training with both former WWE Superstar Orlando Jordan, and following up on that with a stint at the training academy run by the five time WCW Champion, Booker T. Most recently, along with two of the participants in our next match on the list, Siren Monroe had a try-out with World Wrestling Entertainment.
TRIPLE THREAT MATCH – MIAMI vs. TONI STORM vs. KC CASSIDY
KC Cassidy gained a lot of new international fans by competing in the United States over the last month.
In 2014, the women’s division in Melbourne City Wrestling has grown to become one of the prime examples as to why MCW stands out from other promotions nationwide. On Sunday November 23rd, it’ll take center stage, as we will be running a charity event, where all the money raised will go towards Breast Cancer Network Australia. But before then, three of Australia’s best female wrestlers will compete in a Triple Threat Match. In recent months, Miami has been attacking her colleagues left right and center, including her two opponents in this match. Miami was trained predominantly by the South Australian based Riot City Wrestling promotion, before making the move to Victoria in 2013.
Toni Storm made her MCW debut in June 2014, but in the months since, she has already made a big impact on the MCW fanbase. Based in Queensland, Storm has competed up and down the east coast, and earlier this year, she travelled to the United Kingdom to further advance her career, a move that she plans to repeat in the near future. On top of that, she has also competed in Japan. Meanwhile, KC Cassidy made the move to Melbourne in 2011, after spending the first few years of her career with PWA in New South Wales. The Fourth Anniversary Extravaganza marks KC Cassidy’s first appearance in Australia after a recent trip to the United States, where she competed for the SHINE and SHIMMER Women’s Wrestling promotions. Both Storm and Cassidy recently competed in a try-out for World Wrestling Entertainment, and KC has also trained under the watchful eye of the earlier mentioned Lance Storm, where she competed in Canada during that time.
EMANUELLE & COUSIN ALI vs. ELLIOT SEXTON & MR JUICY
Since their debut in April of this year, Emanuelle and his “Cousin” Ali have been on a tear through Melbourne City Wrestling. In his debut match, Emanuelle defeated British wrestling veteran Dan Head in an exciting contest, and was the final man to be eliminated from the Ballroom Brawl Rumble in May (by the winner of that bout, Elliot Sexton). Prior to his debut, in order to seek out the best training possible, Emanuelle’s parents paid for their priveleged son to travel to Canada to be trained by Lance Storm. So impressed was Storm with Emanuelle, that he gave him the chance to compete in several bouts in Canada, before his debut in Melbourne City Wrestling.
On the opposite side of the rich kids from Melbourne’s north east stand the odd couple pairing of “Mr Juicy” Gino Gambino and Elliot Sexton. Mr Juicy has received a lot of praise from fans and his colleagues, ultimately earning himself a place on this years Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 list (at 496), and has found himself booked in more places around the country than nearly every other wrestler in Australia. Elliot Sexton journeyed to the United States twice in 2013, where he continued his training under the watchful eye of former WWE and WCW star Booker T, and after the recommendation of Hall of Famer Gerald Brisco, received a WWE try out.
LUMBERJACK MATCH – MIKE BURR vs. LOCHY HENDRICKS
Mike Burr is one of the most well-heeled veterans in Melbourne: he has been in active competition for almost fifteen years, and in that time, has seen many competitors come and go. Following several championship reigns prior to the formation of MCW, along with Hard Way Inc member Jay Andrews, he was one half of the inaugural Melbourne City Wrestling Tag Team Champions, and the feared duo would experience an eight month long reign with the belts, until they were ultimately dethroned by The Armstrongs. Like several other members of this list, Mike Burr has also travelled to Japan, where he compted for Big Japan Pro Wrestling and DDT Pro Wrestling in 2007.
Burr has made it a point to target several of MCW’s newest roster members, with the main focus of his aggression being Lochy Hendricks. Whilst Lochy only began wrestling earlier this year, he has already made great strides in his career, and has been constantly improving every aspect of his game at the Vicious Pursuit Academy, under the watchful eye of the MCW Champion Carlo Cannon, as well as KC Cassidy. While many fans see Lochy Hendricks as one to watch over the next few years, Mike Burr views him as a thorn in his side, and will be looking to put a stop to Lochy’s momentum once and for all this Saturday night.
MCW Fourth Anniversary Extravaganza
Saturday 1st November 2014
Essendon Ukrainian Hall. 3-11 Russell St.
Doors open at 6.30pm. Belltime at 7.30pm.
Tickets available via this link (until Wednesday) or at the door on the night.
Melbourne City Wrestling 