PWA X MCW - COLOSSEUM NIGHT 1 review
After a few years of COVID cancellations, Sydney-based Pro Wrestling Australia (PWA) is finally bringing back their BOLA-esque ‘Colosseum’ tournament. 2022 sees PWA teaming up with MCW, the other flagship promotion in the AusWres scene, to deliver the tournament in Melbourne for the first time.
PWA and MCW teaming up makes all the sense in the world. There was a period where AusWres could’ve stolen the global spotlight - in 2020 it was one of the only scenes operating and making tape amidst global lockdowns.
However, in true AusWres style, both promotions fumbled the bag - PWA through their ‘jack of many trades, master of none’ style of putting together a show, and a leadership shakeup in MCW that has made the product into PWA-lite. That isn’t a good thing - despite marketing itself as an 18+ show, PWA is firmly an eye-roll-inducing character/comedy-first and workrate-last promotion.
Still, Colosseum is typically the time of year when wrestlers step up and try to put on matches that will steal the spotlight. Let’s see where this year’s tournament lands.
Match #1 – Caveman Ugg vs Tommy Knight (11m 22s) – Colosseum Round 1 Match
On my first viewing, this was my match of the weekend. This is a remarkably fun match between two huge guys who absolutely pelt each other with stiff strikes and spectacular throws. When a motivated Ugg puts on his working boots he is capable of incredible things – but Tommy Knight is the true star here, as he has been in the last year all across the country.
The fact that the JONAH-trained Tommy Knight has his youth and is still this good is almost infuriating. He has proved his mettle both as a monster heel and a reluctant babyface in recent months, and he’s only going to get better. Buy stock in Tommy Knight. At the very least, he’ll be leading this scene for years to come and at the very most he’ll be snapped up internationally in quick fashion.
4 ½ stars – Big blokes slapping meat at its best. Recommended.
Match #2 – Kai Drake vs. Will Kiedis vs. Jimmy Townsend vs. Rhys Angel (6m 47s)
This was throwaway setup for the next night’s tag – establishing Luchi as the manager on the outside in a wheelchair antagonising Jimmy Townsend (despite them being tag partners in other promotions across the country).
Kai Drake continues to be underrated, even amongst Australian fans. Is he a main eventer? Nah. But he’s sure better than heel fall-taker in undercard comedy matches, which appears to be his current lot in life. Kai has an intensity in his presentation which stands out in an Australian scene where everything is presented with a wink and a nod to the audience.
This had some fast-paced sequences that were enjoyable enough. But not much was memorable about this one. This also featured the first of 3 botched finishes by a referee during the night, with ref Edwin Lay forgetting to hit the mat on the 3rd count of the deciding fall. Ugh.
2 ½ stars – Exposition disguised as an exhibition.
Match #3 – Jack Bonza vs Mick Moretti (11m 09s)
I’ll get this out of the way upfront, I’m not a Bonza guy. Even prior to Speaking Out I thought he was pretty sub-par, and got his reputation by proxy from hanging around far more talented wrestlers in Moretti, Eagles, Hoffman, et al.
Him and Moretti are now definitely signifiers of the ‘old guard’ of the current scene. I respect what they’ve done to build it, but they keep taking up the same spots and having the same match for years now. We are only a year or two away from the quality of young talent making their spots on the card impossible to justify.
The match was fine. Moretti runs through his tired old ‘mind-games’ spots, Bonza looks grumpy and hits a few strikes – business as usual from these two. There was a decent throughline of working over Bonza’s hand, and Moretti gave a giffable sell of a Tombstone. However the meat of the match was plodding and dull, and the No Contest finish did nothing to make your time feel earned.
2 ½ stars – Technically fine, but you’ve seen it before.
Match #4 – Tag Team Gauntlet (9m 0s)
This was a palate cleanser to win the crowd back after the shitty finish, ahead of more tournament matches. This is totally skippable cotton candy match – pleasant during consumption but nothing of substance.
Big Dude Energy are crowd favourites, the VeloCities continue to get squandered by another promotion (crowds across the country are turning against them due to poor booking across multiple companies). The Parea win, and are as dull as their Cornette-worship and Rocky Menero affiliation suggest.
This was also the second match with a botched finish by a referee not knowing how to count a pin.
2 ½ stars – ‘We should probably do something with the people we booked for the Night 2 undercard’. Worst of the Night.
Match #5 - PunchDrunk Istria vs. Jessica Troy – (12m 25s) – Colosseum Round 1 Match
This was fantastic. Istria is the most effective heel on the whole card and is finally getting his spotlight outside of Adelaide.
Jess and Istria’s technical styles blend wonderfully in this battle of the armbars. Few are as good as Jessica Troy in playing the fiery babyface fighting from underneath, and Istria was a fantastic foil – toeing the line between uncomfortable physical domination and creating gaps for hope spots at the perfect moments.
I hope this leads to Istria getting more interstate bookings and prominent spots, and hope that more companies continue to push Jess into top spots.
Oh, and a third match where the ref botched the finish. I know the current crop of refs are sentimental favourites of the crowd, but they really need to pull the plug on these guys.
4 stars – Classic babyface vs heel done well. Recommended.
Match #6 – Slex vs Adam Brooks (12m 51s) – Colosseum Round 1 Match
If you’re looking at Australian wrestling as a whole, no one has had a better year than Slex (comma The Business). His year has been Flair-like in its approach – tour every local promotion, come in as the top guy, build heat and put the local Ace over strong before moving onto the next territory. Throw in his MCW work and his starts in NOAH and Slex is one of maybe 2 names I’d consider for Australian wrestler of the year. Given this track record and a freshly heel Brooksy, my hopes were high for a new twist on this storied rivalry.
And it was… alright.
As can be typical for unmotivated Brooksy it was one of those matches that never got out of third gear, like both were keeping something in the tank for the next night. It was still above the standard of many Aussie workers but just didn’t hit anywhere near the peak of either guy’s abilities. Add in yet another finish that was clearly setting up for a Night 2 match and the whole thing felt a bit paint-by-numbers.
3 ¼ stars – Turns out that when two veterans are on cruise control, it’s still pretty good.
Match #7 - Cherry Stephens, Emman Azman & Mitch Waterman vs. SMS (Aaron Jake, Belinda Pierce & Unsocial Jordan) (6m 48s)
Another palate cleanser match that sets up an angle for Night 2 before the main event. SMS are usually a pretty dead act, but against 3 popular white-meat babyfaces, this match overdelivered what is presented on paper. The action was quick, the SMS stalling was kept to a minimum, and Emman was allowed to excel at being the ragdoll seller.
Short, effective, and a breath of fresh air.
3 stars – A surprising showcase.
Match #8 - Robbie Eagles vs. Charli Evans (21m 48s) – Colosseum Round 1 Match
This was match of the weekend. I’m as surprised as you.
Obviously everyone expects Robbie to deliver in a big spot, but Charli Evans is a wildcard. She’s becoming more of a deathmatch worker, and her ‘vanilla’ wrestling is nothing to write home about. Charli had been saying for years that Robbie was a bucket list match for her.
And boy, did it show. What made it so fun was the dynamic between the two, something that I personally haven’t seen much in intergender wrestling.
Robbie was playing the veteran always a step ahead. Charli had the strength and size advantage and managed to translate her violent streak without the use of any weapons. How often in intergender does the female have the physical and violence advantage but still plays the underdog?
This made for a story where Charli’s resilience and violence forced Robbie to escalate the brutality of his strikes and submissions, while Charli kept withstanding more and more of his highspots. Charli was a great base for Robbie’s highflying and legwork, and both of their selling really made this match. Special mention to the commentators who made you believe Charli may have pulled out the win.
This match elevated Charli as a high-level worker in the Australian scene and cemented Robbie’s position as the best Australian worker currently active. INCREDIBLE STUFF.
4 ¾ stars – A match that completely surprised me and has run into my MOTY contendership. Highly Recommended.
AVERAGE RATING: 3.38 of 5 stars (or 6.76 of 10)
SUMMARY: Night 1 is a fun show, with some matches that rank amongst my favourite from the country this year. However, it also shows the AusWres’ flaws in plain sight – sloppy refereeing, botched finishes, and a reliance on the same few faces and matchups.
