Women enjoy wrestling smackdown in Melbourne
PRO wrestling isn’t all musclebound men, as more women break the sport’s glass ceiling, thanks in part to the smack-down success of TV’s GLOW.
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THE story so far: Erika has a stalker named Hawko. She rebuffed his advances, but Hawko’s girlfriend Vixen has suddenly appeared out of nowhere with fists of fury. Meanwhile, Kellyanne has been kidnapped by a psycho who’s trying to be “a father figure” while “leading her into the dark”.
This, of course, followed her surprise wedding in the wrestling ring not long ago.
“My family were not happy,” Kellyanne says. “They were like, ‘Why didn’t you tell us?’” She laughs. “Uh, because it’s not real!”
Welcome to the melodrama and muscle of Melbourne City Wrestling, a local fight club with 20 wrestlers on the roster, including lady brawlers Kellyanne, Erika Reid and Avary.
“The theatre side of wrestling, the storytelling is important,” Kellyanne, 24, says. “Of course, the moves and aesthetics are there, but without the theatre and emotion, you’re just doing moves.”
Reid agrees: “Character work and storytelling is my favourite part of wrestling. Telling a story in a match is the most important thing. If you’re not telling a story, then why are you wrestling?”
Indeed, women’s wrestling stories are in vogue again after the Netflix hit GLOW, a high-hair, pastel-era retelling of a 1980s troupe called Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.
But in a plot twist befitting wrestling storylines, the GLOW ensemble comprised actors and models, not qualified fighters.
Alison Brie, who plays actor Ruth Wilder and wrestler Zoya the Destroyer in GLOW, says the popularity of the show and rekindled interest in women’s wrestling speaks to the times.
“It’s an empowering show,” Brie says. “I think women — and men — are responding to the idea of people empowering themselves, and making their voices heard. It’s really a ripe time for this, especially in (the US).
“It’s also entertaining. What I’m hearing from a lot of friends who are watching it, they like how fun, joyful and celebratory it is. All these women lifting each other up, lifting themselves up, it’s got such a positivity to it.”
A world away, in a warehouse space in South Melbourne, Kellyanne, Reid and Avary are taking a break from their wrestling alter egos to glam it up GLOW-style for our cover shoot.
“It’s a great TV show, but it doesn’t represent modern-day wrestling,” Avary says bluntly. “There’s so much that goes into characters, training and work. But you can’t just jump in the ring and expect the best. You have to put in the hard yards.”
Raised on a farm near Victoria’s Surf Coast, Avary, 18, discovered wrestling after watching World Wrestling Entertainment shows five years ago.
“My mum drove me 3½ hours to the nearest wrestling promoter. I was 14. I had one training session and I was absolutely hooked,” she says.
“It was pushing the limits of what I can do. I’d done gymnastics when I was younger, but this was different. It was way out of my comfort zone. I knew I was going to keep coming back, twice a week, every week for two years — 3½ hours up, 3½ hours back. It was crazy.
“I’d come to Melbourne on the train after school, and get back home at two in the morning. Mum would pick me up from the station. I didn’t have a driver’s licence.”
In her latest MCW storyline, Avary has formed an alliance with “two blokey blokes”.
She grins. “We’re doing a footy bogan gimmick. We yell at the crowd, chug beers and coward-punch. We’re dirty.”
Their low-blow tactics were recently rewarded with a tag team title.
“We won in a very undeserving way,” she says. “We cheated.”
When she’s not in the ring, Avary works in a bar.
“Before that, I used to ride track and train racehorses,” she says. “I still love working on the farm when I can. But with all the training, there’s never a spare moment.”
Reid, 20, has worked her indigenous bloodlines into a wrestling character she describes as a “walking story from the Dreamtime”.
“I see wrestling as an art form,” she says.
“It’s my creative outlet. It’s how I become everything I wish I could be. Erika is everything I want to be in life — her attitude, the way she walks and talks, the way she carries herself.
“My indigenous heritage is very important to me. It identifies who I am. I was raised in a strong Aboriginal family.
“The only way I can explain the Dreamtime is, it’s like magic. Magic is a big part of my wrestling. I use black magic. My heritage is who I am, and it’s something I want people to be proud of and get behind.”
Reid, who has a day job as a body piercer, says: “I want to inspire people.” Her signature move is the spell breaker. “It’s basically I kick you in the face,” she says, laughing.
At 24, and after nine years in the ring, Kellyanne is tipped as a real contender for WWE greatness.
“When I was young, I’d go to the video shop to rent all the wrestling DVDs because we couldn’t afford Foxtel,” she says.
She started training at 13 at Professional Championship Wrestling. These days, she usually finishes her opponent with The Kell-bow. “It’s a strong elbow to the jaw,” she says softly.
“Wrestling is not hard to get into, but it’s hard to become good at it,” she says. “You have to be completely dedicated. Anyone can join in, but you usually get weeded out in the first few months.”
Kellyanne has trained in Canada (with former WWE fighter Lance Storm) and in Mexico. She also travels to the US three times a year to stay on the radar of talent scouts.
“Training overseas is different,” she says. “You’re working with people who have been where you want to to be. But you’ve got to stay on point and bring your best every time.”
Kellyanne says her wrestling character “is everything I want to be. She’s out there for her own pleasure, and some of that pleasure involves inflicting pain on others who I feel are beneath me.”
However, to pay the bills, she works at an office job. “It’s completely different to wrestling and that’s a good thing. Outside the ring, I love reading and being by myself.”
PROMOTER Michael Jozis started Melbourne City Wrestling in 2010.
“The mindset for MCW was to take the stigma of local wrestling outside school gyms in the suburbs and bring it closer to the city with higher-capacity crowds, and a good night out, rather than something that’s sneered at,” he says.
With better facilities and production values, Jozis says local fighters will have a better chance to compete at WWE level.
“Kellyanne shouldn’t be limited to just competing in Australia. She should be getting noticed on the world stage,” Jozis says. “I’m thrilled Erika is putting her indigenous side into the character. This should be celebrated and used to her fullest advantage. Avary’s commitment speaks to her dedication to wrestling, and she’s only been in it for a few years.
“She has a bright future.”
But Jozis says a shot at WWE glory only happens for a fortunate few.
“It’s all about the entertainment factor — the character, an ability to speak on the mic, storylines, how you carry yourself, attitude. You have to offer a total, professional wrestling package, which is more than just taking a few bumps in the ring.”
Australian and New Zealand female wrestlers recruited to WWE include Dakota Kai (who fought locally as Evie), Peyton Royce (KC Cassidy), Emma (Tenille Tayla) and Toni Storm.
“I think (US) promoters notice our wrestlers have a genuine will to succeed,” Jozis says.
GLOW star Brie concurs.
“Wrestlers are like actors, dancers, performers on a very grand scale,” she says. “You have to commit to the moves you’re making in order for them to be safe and well-executed, but also to the character you’re playing in the ring. It makes you feel strong, bad-ass and larger than life.”
MCW Ballroom Brawl, Thornbury Theatre, Saturday, August 5, 6.30pm. MCW New Horizons, Arrow on Swanston, August 19.
Tickets: melbournecitywrestling.com.au
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