PWA Colosseum 2026 (First Round) (13/02/2026)

It’s been a massive weekend in Australia, pro wrestling and Australian pro wrestling. But before we can get to the big AEW show at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, we need to make another stop in the Sydney CBD, at another iconic venue, the Metro Theatre. 

The Metro Theatre has been a semi regular home for PWA in recent years, notably with their Rumble match, the King of the Metro. It also played host to last year’s Colosseum, won by Jessica Troy and featuring WWE’s Grayson Waller returning home for one night only to face his protege Jimmy Townsend. 

Originally, this year’s Colosseum was set for the Metro Social, a smaller room by the Metro Theatre. Due to ticket demands, it was upgraded to the Metro Theatre the week of the show. I’m unsure why PWA opted for the smaller venue initially. Perhaps PWA were worried about filling the proper Metro without a WWE star like Waller? The 2023 Colosseum at Liberty Hall did not draw great numbers, even with NJPW’s Zack Sabre Jr joining the fray. There was also the logistical issue of Colosseum not occurring as usual in 2025, as the traditional spot of October was taken over by WWE’s tour of Perth, which saw practically the entire Aussie wrestling fanbase head west. 

In any event, we made it to the big time, packing the Metro, for a strong card of PWA action. Pro Wrestling Australia have gone from strength to strength in the last year or two, running an unprecedented amount of shows and going practically anywhere that a ring could be set up- more on that tomorrow. 

Let’s do this! 

---------------------------  

Kris Gale welcomes us to the first round of the Colosseum tournament, as we kick off the broadcast with some flashing lights in the darkness, showing some of the rabid PWA fans who are making some serious noise! He sends it to the “platinum tonsils” of ring announcer Nick Wray. I love Nick, such a nice dude, but also he’s REALLY stepped up his ring announcing game! Stepping into the beloved Diego’s shoes is no easy task. 

We’re introduced to our host for the evening, our GirlyPop Sensation, Shay Kassidy! She comes out dancing and oozing charisma all over the Metro stage. She has some angelic dancers by her side, and sings Heaven Is a Place on Earth. Such great vibes and stage presence. She asks if we’re ready for Colosseum- resounding cheers- and now it’s time for our opening match! 

Match 1: Tag Team Gauntlet 

The first team out is new PWA Champion Big Fudge, and his alleged “best friend” Aaron Jake. Their first opponents are Xander Sullivan and Ty Thayer of Third Eye (accompanied by Jay Sorbet).

Fudge and Aaron quickly take the fight to Third Eye and go for the 10 punches in the corner, but Aaron gets dumped to ringside, and Sullivan & Thayer isolate Fudge. Commentary talk about the unlikely partnership between Fudge and Aaron, coming about after Fudge won the title. Triple J’s Dave Woodhead says that “uneven success” is a strong basis for a good friendship, as Kris quips that’s what all his friendships are based on. I consider Kris a good friend, and- wait, shit, that tracks. 

Third Eye find themselves swiftly eliminated off a reversal by Fudge into a sunset flip! They could be so much greater, but not on this night against the champ, it seems.  

Up next is the team of “First Class” Aysha and “Absolute Excellence” Anth Cava from Melbourne. Together, they are First Class Excellence. Anth military presses Aysha onto both Fudge and Aaron to begin the attack! Aysha follows up strongly with a bulldog and a Shining Wizard on Fudge for a near fall. Reverse headscissors on Fudge, which Dave calls shades of Tajiri with the “Scorpion”. He means “Tarantula” but it’s still highly effective. 

Cava in to continue the attack and he looks like an absolute specimen. Tag back to Aysha and they hit a combination Codebreaker and wheelbarrow suplex. Strong cohesion considering this is apparently their first time teaming! Cava goes for the rack and Fudge escapes and hits the Butt Punch. A school boy follows, and our Melbourne visitors are done! 

Our next team are the Pillars of Majesty, or POMs, if you will- Tony Sin and Hari Singh. They immediately knock Aaron Jake off the apron and go to work on a fatiguing Fudge. Backbreaker/elbow drop combo for a near fall. Fudge creates space by sending Tony into a misguided Hari boot, but they manage to prevent a hot tag to Aaron. All hope seems lost- then Fudge hits Hari out of nowhere with a chokeslam. The POMs are outta here! 

Things are about to get serious with the arrival of the Brotherhood of RANGA- Redheads Against Negative Ginger Abuse. Jack Bonza & EC Brownie are big, scary, soulless individuals. Fudge throws fists at both men but Brownie plants him with a powerslam for yet another near fall. Great fighting spirit from our PWA Champion. 

Fudge manages reversals leading to Butt Punches on Bonza and Brownie, and FINALLY we get the tag to Aaron Jake! He cleans house and impressively hits a vertical suplex on Brownie! Fudge tags back in and looks to chokeslam both RANGAs- but Aaron hits him in the back with the PWA title! That bastard! Assisted powerbomb on Fudge and the team is eliminated- and completely shattered by the looks of things. 

We have an odd couple up next- The Anomaly & David Streamer! Streamer hypes Anomaly up to dive into the ring- right into a RANGA beating. Black Hole Slam by Brownie- thanks for coming, guys. 

Some heavy hitters incoming with MK Plus Ultra- represented by Kai Drake and Cosmo Cooper. They’re here for a good time, not a long time, as Kai attacks with chops and Kawada kicks. He ducks a Bonza discus lariat and hits a superkick. Cosmo flies around hitting springboard stunners like US Title Open Challenge era John Cena. Brownie goes for a Black Hole Slam but Cosmo with a crucifix pin for a great near fall. A huge Brownie spear is a difference maker though, and MK are heading to the showers. 

Our final team is Mana & Manoush! The team of Marley Peleti and El Phoenician has taken PWA by storm over the last year, and the people love them. They start high risk with dives. Phoenician with a rana, Peleti with a frog splash- near fall. Blue Thunder Bomb sees Bonza return fire, another Brownie Spear follows- they stack the newcomers- but we get a kick out! Peleti lands a Samoan Spike, then somehow lifts Brownie in a Samoan Drop. Phoenician in with a dropkick to launch Brownie down- and the rookies have done it again! 

Winners: Mana & Manoush (at 19:49) 

Thoughts: What an excellent dose of action to start the night. The brutality never let up for a moment, they featured a wide array of wrestlers and characters- including a couple of interstate ones that always add that little extra excitement to Colosseum- and finally, PWA know they have something special with Mana & Manoush, as evidenced by this statement win to kick off PWA’s biggest show of the year at the Metro Theatre. 

Nick Wray asks us to welcome tonight’s special guest commentator- it's AEW star- and PWA alumni- the AEW TNT Champion, the Protostar, Kyle Fletcher! Fletcher walks out in a suit with his TNT title in hand to a massive ovation. An awesome surprise here. 

Kyle grabs the mic and says, “PWA... say my full name!” When he talked about “coming home”, he didn’t just mean Australia or Sydney. No... he meant the place he started training at when he was 14, “P- fucking- WA, baby!” He mentions that the Academy used to be in someone’s shed in Campbelltown- “Campbelltown sucks, Northern Beaches forever”, which draws some boos. He’s going to enjoy the show tonight and enjoy defending his title tomorrow at Qudos Bank Arena. He says he’ll always fly the flag for PWA and Australia. He’s brought back the TNT title and promises to one day bring back the world title. 

Match 2: First Round Colosseum Tournament- Lachy McIntyre (w/ Carter Deams) vs. Matt Hayter 

TikTok star McIntyre is introduced as “your mum’s favourite wrestler”, hailing from “the mean streets of Cronulla”. He’s also undefeated, with a stellar record of 1-0. Of course, that win over Scott Green had an asterisk, and that asterisk is accompanying Lachy to ringside- Carter Deams. At least Carter is hilariously transparent about only doing it for the money, constantly doing the “make it rain” sign with his hands. 

The match starts with some “yay”/ “boo” fun. They go to actually wrestle and Lachy bails from the ring and grabs a mic. He offers to pay Hayter handsomely to just lay down. Hayter appears to consider before encouraging the crowd to call McIntyre a wanker. Lachy rolls him up for a near fall, but Hayter pops up and hits an atomic drop. All while the microphone is in play. Hayter strips off his body suit to reveal wrestling tights and then hits him with his dick. I briefly tried to think of a better way to word that, but I feel like being direct is the best course of action here. Lachy gets in control with a poke to the eye. He tries to return the favour by hitting him with his crotch, but Hayter counters with the testicular claw. “Grab his dick and twist it!” yells Kyle Fletcher on commentary. McIntyre grabs a handful as well. I know wrestling can come across a touch homoerotic at times, but come on! 

Lachy bails to the outside again and Hayter looks to dive on him, but Carter makes the save. Back in the ring, Lachy takes control by hanging Hayter on the ropes then laying the boots in. He scores with a massive clothesline (feels like an innuendo after the recent action) for a near fall. Lachy spits in Hayter’s face and takes a chop, followed by a clothesline for a 2 count the other way. Hayter goes up top but Carter distracts him, allowing Lachy to hit a superplex for a near fall! Impressive.  

Hayter superkicks McIntyre out of the ring and hits a flip dive! He then high fives my hand off. Snug. Back in the ring, Hayter hits a moonsault, but Carter drags Ref Rach out! With the ref distracted, Lachy takes Hayter to Dick Kick City... and gets the 3! 

Winner: Lachy McIntyre (at 11:22) 

Thoughts: That was chock-full of shenanigans (and more dick grabbing than most Brazzers videos), but it was definitely entertaining. Lachy McIntyre has zero issue being the most hated heel possible, and seems to revel in it. Hayter seemed to love hamming it up and playing to the crowd. A good time all around. 

Promo airs for PWA In A Cage at Factory Theatre on March 6th. I’ll be there! Jess vs. Chevs in a steel cage and the Colosseum finals. Big time stuff. 

Match 3: First Round Colosseum Tournament- Frankie B vs. Scott Green 

I was Team Frankie all the way for this one, with my friend Brooke getting “Here To See Frankie B” t-shirts made, but I have a lot of love for Scott Green too. Big congrats to both him and his Dropouts partner The Tuckman on their upcoming WWE tryout! 

The Metro Theatre crowd was strongly pro-Frankie too, although Scotty still got cheers. A fun atmosphere to be sure. Frankie’s serious though, and scores a quick roll-up as the opening move for a near fall, looking to surprise the Smokeshow. She slaps the hell out of him and Scott returns in kind! All equal here in PWA. Frankie smiles about it though, and after some quick back-and-forth, dropkicks Scott out of the ring. She fires up the crowd with two suicide dives, but in attempting a third gets met with a nasty rolling Stunner for a near fall. 

After a fun commentary exchange where Kyle calls some holds, we get Frankie attempting a springboard and getting launched into the turnbuckles instead. Frankie avoids a clothesline and delivers a neckbreaker. Scott fires back with a clothesline for a near fall. Slightly awkward looking spot where Scott holds her in a fireman’s carry and then just kinda shoves her off into the corner? Not sure what was supposed to happen there. Frankie rallies and starts laying in the chops, and the people are with her. Frankie turns Scotty inside out with a STO, followed by a Eat Defeat while Scotty was draped in the ropes. Strong 2 count. 

Frankie looks to build momentum but gets stopped in her tracks with a pump kick. She fires back and hits a gutwrench suplex, followed by a running hip attack for another near fall. Frankie looks for the moonsault but Scott cuts her off with Cheeky Nandos, followed by the torture rack bomb for a long 2 count of his own. Attitude Adjustment... and Frankie kicks out again! Scott looks for the Frog Splash but Frankie moves! Exploder by Frankie into the corner, then looks for the Vader Bomb but Scott gets the knees up! Frog splash connects... and that’s it! 

Winner: Scott Green (at 10:35) 

Thoughts: As much as I wanted Frankie to win, my logical brain said it would be Scott. They’re pushing him hard as being an Australian Survivor contestant, plus Lachy McIntyre- his current rival- just got through to the next round in the last match. But this was the biggest match of Frankie B’s career as a solo star... and she absolutely nailed it. A more hard-hitting, competitive match than we could’ve imagined- a sentiment that the commentary team seemed to echo. A genuinely great match that was my favourite on the night. 

We go to Shay Kassidy ringside, who encourages the crowd to dance. Even Kyle Fletcher and Dave Woodhead get into it! 

Match 4: PWA Tag Team Championship- The Velocities (Paris De Silva & Jude “The Dude” London) vs. North Shore Wrestling (Sam Osborne & Jack Osborne) (w/ Charli Evans) 

Kyle delights in calling them “North Shore WANKERSSSSSS!” The crowd gets on Jack’s case with “bald” chants, and later does so creatively to the tune of Basement Jaxx, “where’s your hair at?” 

As far as the match goes, the Velocities fluster North Shore early with their speed. Paris gets aggressive with the chops on Sam. The Prize Bull shows off his technical ability and turns the tables with a Sharpshooter. Paris makes the ropes but gets clotheslined from the apron by Jack. He didn’t see it coming due to being blinded by the shine from Jack’s head. 

Jack tags in and LAUNCHES Paris with a fisherman suplex. Chants of “North Shore Small Cocks”. Kris echoes my thoughts by saying “a lot of willy stuff tonight”. Russian leg sweep/clothesline combo gets a 2 count on Paris. Sharpshooter again but Paris finally escapes and makes the hot tag to Jude! He comes in with a massive cross body. Sam gets taken down with a rana and Jack gets low bridged outta there!  

Springboard stunner gets Jude a razor close near fall. Jack tags in and goes for a spinebuster but is countered into the Koji Clutch. Sam tries to intervene, but Paris gets him in the Throne (backpack abdominal stretch). Sam switches to an exploder and the Velocities collide, with the submissions broken. We get a rapid fire sequence once everyone gets up. Jude turns a Sam powerbomb into a DDT, then eats a spinebuster from Jack. Near fall!  

Rapid fire kicks from the Velocities and they chain high flying moves on Jack as Jude hits a frog splash and Paris hits a shooting star- but Sam puts his leg on the bottom rope. Sam drags Jude out and launches him into the ring post. Double team Cross Rhodes by North Shore on Paris, and those titles are heading back to Mosman! 

Winners: North Shore Wrestling (at 14:54) 

Thoughts: Excellent tag team match. If the Velocities are on a card, that’s practically a given, but North Shore carried their side and drew tons of heat. It’s particularly impressive how good Jack is and how much poise he has given his level of experience. Great stuff. 

Intermission time. Seems like no intermission match on YouTube, just a timer and crowd audio. 

Match 5: First Round Colosseum Tournament- Will Kiedis vs. Ben Braxton 

Kiedis comes out with paper boys handing out newspaper articles that say “Kiedis Wins Colosseum”- lots of people crumple them up and throw them at Kiedis. Braxton has an Eminem “Lose Yourself” entrance- which I love as someone who loves Eminem almost as much as I love pro wrestling. 

As the match is about to start, Mick Moretti comes out to watch. He has offered to help Braxton step up, which Brax refused at the last show. High pace to start and Braxton takes off Kiedis’ head with a dropkick. He lines up for a running shooting star press and Kiedis powders. Brax goes for an Asai moonsault but Kiedis yanks him off the apron and throws him into the ring post. Kiedis then steals Leanne’s “Brax 4 Colosseum” sign and tries to rip it up.  

Kiedis takes over for a spell before getting sent with a Braxton belly to belly. Kiedis gets fancy, returning fire with a springboard tornado DDT! Brax bounces back with a Deep Six, and it’s all high impact here! Final Cut shortly after bounces Kiedis on his dome. Braxton goes for the Lionsault, lands on his feet and hits the standing Shooting Star Press. Brax is just an insane athlete, honestly. Near fall. 

Braxton goes for the Gamechanger, but Kiedis counters into the Crossface! Kiedis switches to an armbar and gets countered with a buckle bomb! Kiedis catches him with a flying knee and goes up top, but gets caught with a Superman Punch! They battle on the ropes and Kiedis hits a scary looking top rope rana for a very close near fall. Ouch.  

Kiedis looks for the Unprettier but Braxton pushes off and hits the Sick Kick. Kiedis goes for a springboard again but is met with a superkick in mid-air. Gamechanger connects, and Braxton advances, to the approval of Moretti! 

Winner: Ben Braxton (at 11:37) 

Thoughts: I enjoyed this a lot more on a second watch the next day. I think I was watching live expecting Moretti to get involved, it was a bit distracting. Knowing that he actually didn’t, I was able to focus more on the match and both guys threw everything at each other. 

Post-match, Braxton has some words for Moretti and Kiedis hits him from behind with the Golden Esky! Rita Stone runs out to check on him. 

Shay Kassidy polls the crowd on who they want to win the main event fatal 4 way. Lots of support for all four honestly. 

Match 6: First Round Colosseum Tournament- Robbie Thorpe vs. Edward Dusk 

The Metro crowd getting on the Brit Robbie Thorpe’s case- chanting “Lizzie’s In A Box” in reference to the deceased Queen Elizabeth. Not very classy, and to hammer the point home follow up with “Where’s your queen at?” in the tune of Basement Jaxx again. Creative, gotta give them that. 

We start traditional with a lock up. Lots of chain wrestling in the opening minutes- knuckle locks, wrist locks, headlocks... all the locks! Robbie gets frustrated and gets in the ref’s face before dropping Dusk with a European uppercut. Penalty kick follows for a near fall. Dusk tries to fight back with chops, but falls to a back elbow from Thorpe.  

Dusk starts to make the match rough, fighting back with punches and clotheslines, punctuated with a kick that gets a 2 count. Release German suplex, followed by a victory roll gets another 2. Implant DDT lands for a CLOSE near fall. Things are looking dire, then Thorpe pokes him in the eye, hits a clothesline, then puts him to sleep with the Crossface Chickenwing! 

Winner: Robbie Thorpe (at 11:04) 

Thoughts: Not a bad match, but I don’t think the audience was super invested, maybe not as familiar with them, not being regular PWA roster members. This win does bring Thorpe back for PWA’s next show at the Factory Theatre though. 

Main Event: The Tuckman vs. Robbie Eagles vs. Jessica Troy vs. Mark Davis 

I don’t know why this match is non-title. Like, obviously the answer is “because PWA didn’t want to make it a title match”, but in kayfabe, why would Tuckman not want to defend the title? Why would Robbie, Jess or Mark not want the title? 

That gripe aside, we’ve got a banger incoming. Kris mentions that Tuckman has a WWE tryout coming up, and AEW’s Kyle Fletcher hilariously pretends like he doesn’t know what WWE is. He’s also vibing to the entrances, Tuckman and Jess’ in particular. 

Davis comes out like an absolute wrecking ball, and drops Robbie and Tuck in the opening seconds of the match. He raises a fist to Jess, who makes him pause by being cute- valid- but then she takes the fight to him with forearms. He then decimates her with a shoulder block. Robbie back in to deliver his hardest chops, and Davis just absorbs it. He gets knocked to the outside when Jess and Tuck get involved again, and we get some rapid fire sequences as Kris and Kyle talk about the history of PWA as it concerns to these four competitors. Old mate Dave is adding a fan's perspective through the show, getting mad at the heels, but not the same kind of insight as Kris and Kyle. 

Jess takes down Tuckman with a rana off the ropes. Seated Meteora follows for just a 1 count. Robbie back in and they take her down with a double team wishbone. Ouch! Robbie and Tuck face to face for a moment- call back to PWA’s Match of the Year 2025- but “Dunkzilla” Mark Davis comes in to ruin the fun! He clears them out, drops Jess, then Tuck comes back with an arm drag into a dropkick! Good lucha things. 

Davis fires back with a scoop slam and a senton- squashing Tuck like a bug! He lands a running punch to the face for a near fall! Brutal. Robbie flies in and immediately gets booted down. Happy birthday Robbie!  

They all fight out of the ring to the Metro stage and Jess plants Davis on the outside with a tornado DDT! Eagles and Tuck trade kicks and everyone’s down. Robbie and Jess eventually get back to the ring. Robbie runs through her with double knees for a 2 count. Tuckman and Davis get back in and we get a Tower of Doom, only Tuckman avoids the bump. Springboard cutter by Tuckman on Davis- and the pin gets broken up!  

Robbie locks Tuck in the Ron Miller Special. Jess re-enters and puts Tuck in the Fujiwara armbar... so Robbie breaks the hold to give Jess a kicking. He goes for the Turbo Backpack, but Jess counters with the poison rana! Brainbuster follows, into the Fujiwara... Davis breaks it up with a senton as Jess rolls away for dear life. Davis in beast mode as he nails clotheslines, followed by a Gonzo Bomb on Eagles for a great near fall. Jess comes in with the La Jesstica into the Fujiwara- but Chevs comes out to interrupt! The distraction allows Robbie to come back with a springboard dropkick. Turbo Backpack for Davis, superkick for a springboarding Tuckman. 450 to Jess’s leg, Ron Miller Special... and Robbie gets it! 

Winner: Robbie Eagles (at 14:03) 

Thoughts: Still annoyed at the lack of stakes, particularly for a night built around stakes- a tournament for a prestigious prize. Even in hyping this, Kris Gale talked about a win solidifying the winner in the pantheon of PWA- while acknowledging that they all had their place in history secured. They battled for some kind of undefined bragging rights, I guess. No personal issues really, unless you count Robbie and Tuck happening to be in the match that was thrown together a few days before the show. 

BUT... action-wise, this was incredible. Four of the best wrestlers Australia has ever produced, going balls to the wall at a frenetic pace. Mark Davis was a terrific, terrifying addition to proceedings, and when you look at the best PWA matches of the last several years, Robbie, Jess and even Tuck in his limited time, are all over it. Brilliant, uber-exciting match. 

Post-match, Robbie has the mic while the crowd chants “Happy Birthday”. Robbie is struggling to get his breath because “Mark Davis is a fucking beast.” Yep! He gives flowers to Jess and Tuck too. He mentions it being a big weekend- “AEW” chant- and he acknowledges his call outs of MJF. We were hoping for a surprise appearance by the man himself, but he wasn’t there. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel”, Afterglow plays, scene. 

Overall Thoughts 

An outstanding show. The venue upgrade was a great call- the Metro was packed and rowdy all night. The AEW influence made it feel special- Fletcher as guest commentator was a huge surprise, and watching it back he added a ton of entertainment and insight. Davis also had his working boots on when he didn’t necessarily HAVE to go that hard. Plus the core PWA roster were fantastic as always, showing that they’re on the level of these signed guys, and proving it with more and more PWA alumni getting signed and getting tryouts in major international promotions. 

Side note- speaking of AEW influence- I found out today that Tony Khan was actually there at Colosseum, watching the show up on the mezzanine alongside Lena Kross. Scouting, maybe?

Bring on March at Factory Theatre! 

Overall Score: 8.5/10 

Until next time, take care.