Professional wrestling in Australia makes up a small part of Australian culture. Unlike the North American or Japanese products which have large, globally renowned organisations such as WWE, AEW, New Japan Pro-Wrestling or Impact Wrestling with several hundred smaller promotions, Australia only has approximately 30 smaller independent circuit promotions which exist in all Australian states and territories. Tours from the North American product are regularly sold out in capital cities such as Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
History
Professional wrestling in Australia first gained distinction in the early 1900s, however there were very few shows promoted. Nonetheless, stars such as Clarence Weber, Jack Carkeek, Clarence Whistler and George 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 from The Great Depression.
Throughout the 1940s professional wrestling suffered due to World 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 as Lou Thesz, Dr. Jerry Graham and Gorgeous George toured the country during the decade.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Australia established its only major promotion in WCW Australia. 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 the 1960s and was a well known product in the 1970s. 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 the World Wrestling Federation became a prominent figure in professional wrestling in the mid-1980s.
Australia has depended on the North American product since 1985. Hosting tours in 1985 and 1986 kept a solid viewing in the sport through programmes such as Superstars of Wrestling and Saturday 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 the Knox City Council reviewed the promotion's use of the venue after being led to believe the event was a "family event".
Australian wrestlers overseas
Individual wrestlers originating in Australia have struggled for the most part to obtain any international recognition. Perhaps the two biggest names when one mentions Australia are The Fabulous Kangaroos—Roy Heffernan and Al Costello. They are the only Australian wrestlers to make it big in the United States and held the Florida and Texas versions of the NWA World Tag Team titles as well as the north east version of the NWA United States tag team titles in the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (later to become WWE) on three occasions, as well as being inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.
Australian wrestler Peter 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 film Crocodile Dundee. He appeared in several vignettes hyping his debut by showing Jack in the wilds of the Australian Outback, drinking beer with cows, and came down to the ring to the theme song by Rolf Harris, "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport". Outback Jack started his career touring in Canada with Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling.