BCW 68: One Last Time (feat. Rob Van Dam) Review (27/02/2026)

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Let’s do this! 

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This past weekend, I made the trip down to Melbourne for one very important reason. 

Rob. Van. Dam. 

I’ve been watching wrestling for almost 30 years. Started right in the height of the Attitude Era with Austin and Mike Tyson. I was captivated by the stories, the drama and the action. But when it comes to pure athleticism and making my jaw drop with the things they could do in the ring, few could compare to the Whole Fucking Show. The first time I can recall seeing RVD was at WWF Invasion, where he faced another daredevil in Jeff Hardy. That Van Daminator off the stage... well, damn! I got access to weekly WWE TV right around the time he was establishing himself in the IC title picture, and I have fond memories of discovering $5 ECW DVDs in the 2003 summer holidays. Seeing him face Sabu and Jerry Lynn blew my preteen mind! He was also one of my first wrestling action figures- for Christmas I got RVD, Hollywood Hogan, D’Von Dudley and Chris Jericho. What an odd Survivor Series team. 

With all that said, it was safe to say I was excited to learn that Rob Van Dam was coming to Australia. And when I saw it billed as “One Last Time”, I had to get tickets. I know he’d been previously with WWE, I knew he had appeared for BCW before... but ya boi was broke back then. I still am a little- but I consider RVD a “bucket list” wrestler. I’ve been fortunate enough in the past decade or so to gradually see almost all my favourite wrestlers live, but RVD was one of the few missing. So here we go! Thanks BCW. 

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There was a pre-show interview with Rob Van Dam that all ticket holders were invited to. It was meant to start at 5pm, but it was quite delayed. I talked to a couple of fans who were quite frustrated at that. Personally, I was running late after falling asleep in the afternoon, so it suited me just fine, I didn’t miss anything. 

The interview was pretty interesting. I couldn’t hear the interviewer very clearly at all- I would say it’s because I was sitting towards the back, but I could hear the majority of what RVD was saying just fine. Oddly, there was almost no talk of his WWE days- I don’t know if that’s because of his Legends contract or not. I did talk to my friend- and former fellow PWDownunder contributor Simon Price- who told me they did a very long interview the last time Rob was out here for BCW, so maybe they covered the WWE talking points then. 

The highlight of the time was a story from ECW about a conflict between RVD and Taz. Taz was apparently always talking trash about him, and Sabu would egg him on like, “you gotta do something about Taz!” It came to a head one night when Taz busted RVD open- even though he was his partner in the match. RVD had heard that Taz threw a cinder block at the wall and said, “next time I see him, we’re fighting”. RVD rarely got angry, but did on this occasion, disrespecting Taz by calling him his shoot name and punching him in the mouth. Taz said, “brother, what is this” and played dumb. They walked outside and talked it out- Taz had things going on in his personal life at the time. RVD didn’t disclose what they were to the audience. 

We ended on a light-hearted note as the interviewer asked RVD to do HBK’s crooked eye as he did in a shoot interview years ago. RVD obliged, and then wiggled his ears and pecs to laughs and cheers. 

I had considered doing a full write up for the interview, but between not fully being able to hear the interviewer’s questions, and some jackasses up the back deciding to loudly talk through the latter portion of the interview, I did miss a bit. Was a very fun addition to the night though! 

On to the show! 

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A recap video aired for the last BCW show- helpful for us filthy casuals that are just here for the ex-WWE star. 

Match 1: Battle Jumble- Gabriel Wolfe vs. JJ Furno vs. Zhan Wen vs. Carlo Cannon vs. Ryan Rapid vs. Levi Nixon vs. Sean Preston 

It’s tough to have unique gimmick matches in this day and age, but this one was a lot of fun! A 7 wrestler elimination match, where the method of victory changes for each fall. Fast-paced stuff that required paying attention, and it’s definitely an eye-catching way to start the show. 

The way to win the first fall was by moonsault. Carlo Cannon was a riot during this by the way, constantly talking and quipping his way through everything. He’s “thicker than a Snicker” and he was just like, “bro, I can’t do a moonsault!” Ryan Rapid absolutely could, though, and hits the standing version to eliminate JJ Furno. 

Lots of brawling around the place- us VIPs in the front row got our money’s worth by having wrestlers basically thrown at us.

The next fall would be determined by superkick- and again it would be Rapid, nailing Gabriel Wolfe for the elimination. 

The next method of victory would be to get someone over the top rope. This wasn’t one where Rapid would shine, unfortunately. Instead, that honor would go to Zhan Wen, who launched the smaller Rapid out of the ring. 

Up next, a more traditional method- submission! This was time for Levi Nixon to pay for trash talking everyone to open the Battle Jumble, as everyone else in the match applied submissions simultaneously, forcing Nixon to quit or have his limbs torn off. 

Then the way to win became... a simple vertical suplex. The big boys in the ring were feeling confident about this one, but it would be more technique to get the job done, as Preston would reverse and get Cannon over with a vertical suplex. “I’m not even hurt!” Carlo protested, but per the rules, he’s still done. 

We’re down to Wen and Preston, ending with a traditional pinfall. They have a little back and forth, but ultimately it would be more of a flash move, as Preston drops the powerhouse Wen with a headlock driver, spiking him into the mat and getting the 3 count! 

Winner: Sean Preston 

Thoughts: This was a blast! Great way to showcase multiple wrestlers at once, a very engaging format, and I’d love to see more of them. Bonus points to Carlo Cannon for being an incredibly charismatic and entertaining man! 

Up next, it’s the Brotherly Bastard Confrontation. Krackerjack comes out first, followed by Gore. Kracker gets on the mic and says that an apology is owed... and he just can’t believe Gore hasn’t apologised to him yet. An enraged Snuff King grabs his brother by the throat and says, “I should rip your eyes out and fuck your skull!” The Battle Kingdom breaks into a “fuck his skull” chant. 

Cooler heads prevail, as Krackerjack says, “we have no one else! Mum fucking hates us. We both come from the most cursed uterus in wrestling.” He apologises, and after some consideration, Gore accepts the apology. Well, there you go. An intriguing story there. 

Match 2: Johnathon Preston vs. Maddog 

I’ve heard of Maddog over the years, as a pioneer of the hardcore style in Aussie wrestling, but this was my first time seeing him wrestle. Same goes for Preston, described in his ring introduction as “the Patrick Bateman of wrestling”. He’s definitely got an eerie/psycho character vibe. 

The actual action was hard-hitting on both sides. Preston was the smaller man, and negated the size difference by attacking the leg of Maddog. Preston did exhibit some impressive power with a ring-rattling suplex on the Dog. Maddog had some surprising offence of his own, throwing in a Whisper In The Wind and a top rope leg drop which drew some oohs and ahhs from the crowd. Ultimately though, the compromised leg would slow the hardcore veteran down, and a cracking big boot would be the kill shot for this one. 

Winner: Johnathan Preston 

Thoughts: Highly enjoyable match. Not knowing the performers or any backstory/build to the match, they had to just win me over bell to bell, and they absolutely did. Keen to see both again, whether they have another match against each other or different opponents, I’m just keen to see it! 

Match 3: BCW Tag Team Championship Open Challenge- The Super Grouse Bogans (Cletus & Bush Kelly) vs. The Bastard Brothers (Gore & Krackerjack) 

Well, we’re testing the recently repaired bond of the Bastard Brothers quickly! It’s not looking good early on, as they argue and give some aggressive tags that border on knife edge chops. Bush Kelly is hilarious on the apron, selling some fear and trepidation of Gore in particular, but saying, “We’re gonna try our best!” 

Cletus, as the much smaller man of his team, spent a large portion of the match being isolated and beaten down before the hot tag to Kelly. He comes in in spirited fashion, but can’t hold up to the power and dominance of Gore- who while being a killing machine mowing through his opposition, is STILL getting pissed off by his brother. In the end, Gore catches a diving Cletus and plants him. He does the same to Kelly, AND Krackerjack, and pins the three of them to win the match and the titles. 

Winners: The Bastard Brothers 

Thoughts: Hard-hitting but definitely more one-sided than the previous match, with most of the focus/story being on the Bastard Brothers, and the crowd were firmly on their side despite the Bogans being babyfaces- which again, Bush Kelly played into really well with his reactions and mannerisms. Fun and advanced the ongoing story of the Bastard Brothers. How will their reign as champs go? 

Post-match, a weary and despondent Bush Kelly and Cletus were trying to gather themselves when a wild Jamie Tagataese appeared! The Big Man mowed them both down and roared, making an immediate impact in BCW. Great first impression. 

Match 4: BCW Women’s Championship Scramble- Ivelisse (c) vs. Caity Luxe vs. Tarlee vs. Miki Fortune vs. Frankie B 

With only 10 minutes to work with, the women fought at a fast and furious pace, and competitors spilled to ringside as the action could not be contained by the confines of the ring. Frankie B was a highlight of the match. She showed some great character work, trash talking everyone in sight and getting in the face of fans at ringside. Even the referee copped it, after she pulled him out of the ring to break a count. She also bit back at a fan calling her extensions out, telling her to “get in here, bitch!” right after hitting Caity Luxe with a nasty STO. 

Tarlee seemed to be a favourite in the match- I always forget until I see her in person just how damn tall she is compared to the other girls. And even putting her stature aside, she just exudes a star presence. And while she managed to become Interim Champion in the Scramble, as did the reigning champ going in, Ivelisse, it came right down to the final seconds of the time limit. Caity Luxe was poised to strike on Ivelisse, but Miki Fortune came in with the rear naked choke and get the tap, just beating the bell! 

Winner: Miki Fortune 

Thoughts: A fun showcase. All five had moments to shine, both in straight up wrestling action and character moments. Scrambles are fun matches but it can be hard to get everyone some shine, and I feel like they all accomplished it in different ways. Definitely a great example of maximising your minutes. Will always advocate for the highly talented women of Aussie wrestling to get more time and more spots- this could’ve been a 15 or 20 minute Scramble, for starters- but it’s hard to get a more fun 10 minute match than what they gave us here. 

Intermission 

Match 5: BCW Battle Express Championship- Lucky O’Leary (c) vs. Syd Parker vs. Mitch Waterman 

I’ve seen Waterman a bit through MCW, and Syd Parker here and there (amazing look), but wasn’t so familiar with the defending champion, Lucky O’Leary. He’s JACKED. Physical specimen over there. Anyway, this was another match with a 10 minute time limit, so it was balls to the wall from the opening bell. 

Also, credit to Syd Parker, who had surgery for a hernia right after this match. A trooper to perform the way he did- one of his big spots was crashing and burning on a top rope dive, which can’t have been fun. With O’Leary setting up perhaps for some kind of powerbomb on Waterman, Syd produced a fireball! O’Leary flailed wildly, blinded, as Syd dropped Waterman with a spin kick. A disoriented O’Leary tripped and fell onto Waterman- and got the 3 count! Talk about a lucky escape! 

Winner: Lucky O’Leary 

Thoughts: Ooh, fire! Seriously, an eye-catching moment that made the match more memorable. Never a dull moment under triple threat rules, and on a packed card, they again made the most of their time, using around 6 minutes and entertaining the fans well with it. 

Post-match, Pogo the Clown attacks! This is apparently the second time Pogo has appeared in the Battle Kingdom. He clocks Lucky with the title belt, making his intentions known. 

Match 6: Queensbury Rules- Anth Cava (w/ Tim Breakfast) vs. This Guy (w/ Jackson Atlas). Special Ref: Gabriel Wolfe. 

Wolfe promises to call the match right down the middle, which feels disingenuous. Anyway, this version of Queensbury Rules is different to Jericho vs. Regal in 2001- it's basically a worked boxing match. And worked boxing/MMA in pro wrestling is historically bad. 

This wasn’t an exception to that. It was awkward, although the antics of This Guy (Johnny Della Rocco) were worth a slight chuckle, as he played the chickenshit heel role with his head gear- and groin guard. Eventually, Wolfe took exception to This Guy and walloped him, leading to Cava landing a massive uppercut. Score one for the good guys. 

Winner: Anth Cava 

Thoughts: Worked boxing/MMA in pro wrestling isn’t fun. If I want to watch those combat sports, I’ll just watch them. Even though they’re seemingly similar, it just doesn’t translate well in a pro wrestling environment in my opinion. 

Match 7: BCW Heavyweight Championship- Sam Yannis vs. Famous B (c) 

B is seemingly the heel and gets some boos, although not strongly. Yannis gets a nice pop on his entrance and the OPA! Thing works well- wrestling fans love their short chantable words- “what?”, “YEAH!” “YEET”, “OPA!” Same same. 

Not a bad match at all, but I don’t know these guys, and the BCW crowd, who were hot for the rest of the show, kind of took this one off, which hurt the atmosphere a little. Perhaps, being the match before the main event, some fans wanted to save their energy. Solid wrestling though, but it ends in shenanigans to allow Famous B to retain. Yannis had a face mask, which B removed. The champ hits an undetected low blow, followed by a pumphandle backbreaker- ouch- and that’s it! 

Winner: Famous B 

Thoughts: Not a bad match, but hard to fully invest. I just think that this was a bit of a death spot on the card, when everyone knew that RVD was coming next. 

Main Event: Rob Van Dam vs. Mick Moretti 

The crowd absolutely exploded for the WWE Hall of Famer. A healthy amount of respect for the tenured Mick Moretti too, but the Rapscallion was always going to have to be the heel in this environment. 

A slow start with RVD playing some mind games with Moretti, pretending to lock up a few times and faking him out. Van Dam’s done his homework, and you can see Moretti getting frustrated. RVD bails to ringside to play to the fans again and everyone’s loving it. Going nuts without a single bump being taken. 

We eventually got underway, and Moretti kept going for the neck with a full nelson attack, slowing RVD down and preventing some of his signature attacks, including the Rolling Thunder and the split-legged moonsault. A big back suplex plants RVD in the mat- I know he’s flexible, but damn. RVD eventually scores with those educated feet, then hits Rolling Thunder. The Five Star Frog Splash isn’t far behind, and that does it!  

Winner: Rob Van Dam 

Thoughts: Moretti was a great foil, and understood his role perfectly- ultimately we were there to see RVD’s crowd-pleasing big spots, which he cut off and cut off... until he couldn’t, and seeing the WWE legend nail it all one last time- exactly what we came for. RVD still looks and moves great- it's not 2006 anymore, but someone forgot to tell Rob's body that. Awesome stuff. 

Post-show was the meet and greet. Rob Van Dam was just as cool to meet in real life as he comes across on TV, got my photo and stuff signed. Had a signed steel chair too but they wouldn’t let me on the plane with it since I didn’t have a luggage allowance. Sad times. 

Overall Thoughts 

An absolutely brilliant show and a packed house. People turned out in droves to see RVD, of course, but the homegrown Aussie/BCW talent definitely delivered as well. I like BCW’s presentation- it's not firmly 18+, kids are allowed there, but they might hear some swears and it can get quite violent and rugged in and around the ring. I dig it and will definitely go back down to Melbourne for another BCW show. And 12 year old Mick is beside himself that he got to see one of his childhood heroes wrestle. Truly the Whole Fucking Show. 

Overall Score: 8/10 

Until next time, take care, 

Mick