Renegades of Wrestling Uprising Review (28/02/2026)

By Mick Robson

Patreons got this review first, as well as all the content The Arena puts out. For early access and to support the work we put in here, check out patreon.com/thearenamedia

Note:  To support and read everything early, you need to be at least on the "Nosebleed Section" tier- that's $3 USD (or $5 AUD). Less than a cup of coffee a month to help keep this thing going! Also doing merch- higher tiers can get stickers and mugs, and there's more on the Redbubble page in the Linktree!

-------------------

It’s a quiet weekend for your humble writer. Physical and financial challenges mean I’m parked at home, trying to recover my body and save money. On the note of money- a big thank you to my Patreons who helped cover some groceries this week during a rough time when I wasn’t physically able to work. Quite a shame about missing this weekend’s wrestling- as I mentioned on the Arena Media Instagram story, there’s a number of big shows (WELLLLLL...) this weekend. Looking forward to seeing how HCPW and New Noise Underground went with their debut shows.

So! Today, as you can see from the article title, we are going back a few weeks. I went down to Melbourne at the end of February for BCW- Rob Van Dam’s last Aussie show. The following night was Renegades, and while I would’ve loved to go, funds didn’t extend that far (I had to “Pay In 4” the whole trip anyway). Thankfully, the good people at Renegades have uploaded that show in full, for free, on their YouTube channel! What legends.

Without any further ado... let’s do this!

-----------------

Match 1: Renegades of Wrestling Australian Championship- Jackson Atlas vs. Sam Yannis (c)

It’s my first time seeing Jackson Atlas, while my first look at Sam Yannis was actually at BCW 68 the night before this show. OPA!

High energy start as Yannis sends Atlas to the outside and hits a suicide dive pretty much immediately. Atlas gets an underhanded advantage by using referee Edwin as a shield before kneeing Yannis- who is wearing a protective face mask- right in the skull. He continues to attack the mask before landing a dropkick for a near fall.

Atlas continues the attack ringside while mouthing off to the crowd and grabs a steel chair to whip Yannis into, but Yannis reverses to the delight of the Renegades faithful, sending Atlas sprawling. Back and forth briefly back in the ring before Atlas claws at the mask again to get the advantage. The pace picks up but Yannis hits a tilt-a-whirl into the Rings of Saturn! Atlas escapes by turning it into a roll-up for a near fall.

Back to their feet and Atlas snatches the mask! In the process he bumps referee Edwin out of the way, allowing him to hit Yannis with the mask undetected. Somehow Yannis kicks out! On commentary, Julian James and Lindsay Howarth make the point that now Yannis’ injured face/nose is now unprotected. Atlas goes high risk from the top but Yannis dodges and hits a superkick! The crowd rises and Yannis hits a running knee for the 3!

Winner: Sam Yannis (at 10:24)

Thoughts: Hot opener with an invested crowd. They seemed to love Sam Yannis and hate Jackson Atlas in equal measure. Atlas especially wasn’t afraid to be the bad guy, getting in everyone’s faces and trying any devious trick he could to get the advantage. Fun start.

Match 2: Tyson Reed (w/ Chloe St. James) vs. Orion Mencin

Chloe has a can of white Monster- that reminds me, I’m out and need to get some more, it’s basically the elixir of life these days! Orion is known as the “Surf Psycho”, which is an... interesting moniker. First time seeing him. I know Tyson from his Newy Pro days in CBK.

Another fast-paced start and Orion sends Tyson to ringside with a leaping back elbow. Another big suicide dive follows. Very impressive athleticism after that as he stops himself crashing into the barricade by leaping onto it and hitting a moonsault! Chloe gets involved and grabs Orion’s leg, allowing Tyson to hit a draping DDT on the way back into the ring. Tyson keeps Orion on the back foot with some vicious strikes, including a running kick for a near fall.

Orion manages to speed things up again and hits a flying clothesline! Step up elbow drop to the back gets Orion a near fall. He goes up top but Chloe causes a distraction. This gives Tyson time to get his wits back, dodge a diving Orion, and turn him inside out with a huge clothesline of his own. Orion manages to kick out.

Orion creates space and looks for another moonsault, but Tyson goes for a sleeper. Orion rolls through and hits a shotgun dropkick. Michinoku Driver gets Orion a near fall. Orion goes up top, Chloe gets on the apron and tries to spit Monster in Orion’s face, but he moves. Tyson punches him out of mid-air, then hits a swinging neckbreaker, followed by the Gronk Stomp (what a name) and it’s all over!

Winner: Tyson Reed (at 8:28)

Thoughts: Orion was extremely impressive with his athleticism and agility, but at the end of the day, eshays gonna eshay, and that’s what we got with how Tyson prevailed here, with a major assist by Chloe St James. What a waste of perfectly good white Monster though...

Match 3: Frankie B vs. Caity Luxe

Thought Frankie was going to play to the crowd a little, but nope, she made sure Lindsay Howarth really punched that “FROM SYDNEY” part of her ring introduction in front of the Melbourne crowd. Classic. I’ve seen Caity before, but last I saw she was a heel, whereas here now in Renegades she’s coming out to Starships by Nicki Minaj and slapping hands, so guess she’s like a party girl babyface now? Cool cool.

Frankie stops the party by knocking Caity off the apron before she can even get in the ring. She throws her into the barricade while taunting the crowd some more. Frankie nails the suplex on the floor while commentary ponder over what the B in her name stands for- bully? I’d say the B is for beautiful, but hey, I’m not the one wrestling her. Maybe it stands for Boston, as Frankie locks in the Boston Crab back in the ring. Caity kicks her way out of it and starts a comeback. She misses on a back elbow though, and Frankie hits a modified Tombstone, a bit like Riddle’s Bro Derek move, for lack of a better description? Near fall. Frankie screams at the ref, allowing Caity to roll her up for a 2 count.

Frankie keeps up the pressure, hitting a massive superkick for a near fall. Caity creates separation and scores with a leaping kick, followed by the Bionic Elbow. She’s been going through hard times for sure in this one. Leaping cutter off the ropes- didn't get all of it, but gets a near fall. Caity follows up with a second rope elbow drop for another 2 count. Swinging neckbreaker by Luxe- and that does it!

Winner: Caity Luxe (at 6:22)

Thoughts: All action here. Frankie brought the fight immediately and viciously, and Caity had to rally and really chain offense together to overcome the Designer Doll. Very entertaining stuff.

Promo for We Are Renegades on April 11, featuring the Renegades Rumble. I covered the 2024 version of this show on The Arena Media, it was a blast, so looking forward to this one.

We’ve got a contract signing! Ladder match for the Renegades of Wrestling Championship at the next show. First out, the challenger- Mitch Waterman. Fantastic theme song- Wild Eyes by Parkway Drive. He’s got a championship belt with him- not sure what that’s about- whether he’s claiming to be world champion or if he happens to be another champion at Renegades? Is it a Shawn/Razor thing? Lochy Hendricks is out with his own belt too. By the way, there’s a ladder in the ring as well as the table to sign the contract. I’m sure that’s not important though...

Waterman says their last match was considered the best in this promotion’s history- ooh, might have to do some digging- but this upcoming ladder match will be a FIGHT. Waterman wasn’t surprised it was so great. See, Waterman knows the REAL Hendricks- pre Loverboy, pre Aspirationalist. Lochy was driven, motivated, talented, hungry... but he was insecure. His biggest insecurity was that Mitch Waterman was a better wrestler than him.

They went two different paths- Waterman used it as fuel to work hard and show he was better, while Hendricks hid behind the insecurity as a crutch to take shortcuts. Mitch says that he considered Lochy a brother- but Hendricks cuts him off with a “Shut up!”

Five years ago, Lochy left MCW as a champion. “If you were a brother, you would’ve quit with me!” yells Lochy. Then Mitch came to Renegades and got every opportunity. At the next Renegades, history will not repeat itself, “brother!” Lochy snarls. Mitch fires back that Lochy is wrong, that he needs to look in the mirror. For all his talent, Lochy is “Australian wrestling’s biggest disappointment.”

“Fuck you,” an enraged Lochy growls, “you have everything. You have no idea how hard it is for me. I had the battle of my life fighting alcohol addiction. I got myself out of that hole. How dare you. I’ve been in holes that you or no one else could get out of!” Lochy starts to lose it as he compares Mitch’s “perfect life” to himself. He sinks into the seat as he says softly, “why am I never enough?” He signs the contract. Mitch softens and says, “Hey. On April 11^th, I’m not stepping in the ring with Australian wrestling’s biggest disappointment. I’m stepping into the ring for the Renegades World Championship against one of the greatest wrestlers I’ve ever seen.” He offers his hands, and an emotional Lachy hugs him. Mitch’s music hits. Scene?

Nope, Lochy hits Mitch with the title belt. Waterman comes back bleeding and fights back, but Hector Jones comes in to stomp him. They sandwich his head in the ladder and blast him with a steel chair. Referees come out and this looks like a crime scene.

Thoughts: That was powerful. I don’t know how much reality was contained in that, but it was either the best acting I’ve seen in wrestling in years or a hell of an emotional performance drawing on real life issues. I’m incredibly invested in this title match now, and for someone who’s largely been on the outside of Renegades and Victorian wrestling over the last couple of years, I can only imagine how much it drew in that audience, who were already invested in Waterman and Hendricks as characters and followed their careers closely. Incredible, moving segment.

Match 4: Renegades of Wrestling Tag Team Championship- JX-Team (JXT & The Musketeer) vs. The Bastard Brothers (Gore & Krackerjak) (c)

The Bastard Brothers beat down the Musketeer in the early going. A series of chops in the corner make a great sound. Gore imposes his power and size on the flag bearer on the JX-Team. He even locks in a short-arm scissors, followed by a heel hook. Got that tekkers ability too. Krackerjak back in with a slingshot senton. Musketeer comes back with a discus clothesline and tags in JXT.

The Jaystick lands some punches and stomps before letting Musketeer back in to hit an atomic drop (“ow, my balls”- Krackerjak), followed by a backbreaker. JXT back in to hit a leaping kick for a near fall. Challengers starting to find a groove and some control in this one. Krackerjak fights back with a dick twist on Musketeer (yep), then Gore tags in to launch him with a German suplex! Krackers hits Musketeer with a Spear, looks like it’s close to the end, but no! Krackerjak wants JXT! They bring him in the hard way, Gore hits a pumphandle slam and drags him to his feet for more- but JXT says, “Fuck you, I’m out,” and gets out of the ring. Anth Cava comes out to stop him from leaving. Cava throws JXT back in, the Bastards hit the Doomsday Device, and that’s all she wrote!

Winners: The Bastard Brothers (at 8:54)

Thoughts: The Bastard Brothers are always good value, with Krackerjak bringing the character and the verbal chops, and Gore being a smashing machine. JXT held up his end by being a great antagonist, and the inexperience of the Musketeer made for a nice contrast against the veterans. We’ve apparently furthered a storyline with Anth Cava too, so well done all around. Never a dull moment.

We go backstage with JXT saying “that damn Anth Cava” should be suspended. Cava is there and they start arguing. It gets made official- JXT vs. Anth Cava, April 11^th.

A video on Rapid Fire vs. The Ambush airs.

Match 5: No. 1 Contender’s Match- The Ambush (Murdoch & Jarvis) vs. Rapid Fire (Ryan Rapid & JJ Furno)

The crowd start a “Rapid Fire” chant, and Jarvis responds with “no one asked you!” in the same chanting cadence. Awesome.

They start brawling before the ref can even call for the bell. About a second after the bell rings, suicide dive to the outside. Bit of a theme here... Back in the ring, ultra fast counters between Furno and Jarvis. Was going to describe them as “rapid fire”, but... y’know. Rapid in with a moonsault off Furno’s back onto Jarvis. Early near fall.

Furno looks for a springboard but slips, and Jarvis takes the opportunity to hit him with a double stomp draped over the ropes. Murdoch in to score with the cannonball, and follows up by raining down punches. The Ambush are a tremendous mix of speed and power. Furno finds himself isolated and beaten down in the Ambush corner.

Furno tries to create space with an enziguri on Murdoch, but Jarvis tags back in and cuts him off with an elbow drop. Murdoch tags back in and hits a running boot, but Rapid drags him out of the ring to stop the pin fall. Fists fly. Jarvis comes over but takes a superkick from Rapid. Rapid nails Murdoch with a back suplex on the apron! I’m contractually obliged to tell you that that is the hardest part of the ring. He then drags a limp Furno to his corner so he can legally tag in. He drops Murdoch with a kick and he’s FIRED UP, slapping him while he’s on the ground saying, “you wanna fight?” Murdoch ducks under the next attack and hits an Angle Slam.

Tags to both Jarvis and Furno and Furno immediately nails a springboard Spear! Jarvis returns fire with a handspring Stunner. Furno ducks a spin kick and cracks Jarvis with a knee, but Jarvis comes back with KL Gold. Undeterred, Furno hits a brainbuster! Tag to Rapid and they set up for a double team, but Murdoch knocks Furno out of the way, allowing Jarvis to hit a poison rana on Rapid! Ambush with a stomp/piledriver combo on Rapid, but Furno breaks up the pin. Murdoch tags in but takes a spin kick from Rapid, followed by a ripcord Destroyer by Furno! Stereo 450 Splashes follow... and it’s all over!

Winners: Rapid Fire (at 10:23)

Thoughts: To this point in the show, the clear match of the night. The pre-match video set the stage of being a personal issue, it was high stakes with the number one contendership, and they conveyed all the emotion and importance of it all as soon as they made their entrances. This felt like a big deal because both teams MADE it a big deal. Top tier tag team wrestling.

Post-match, the Bastard Brothers come out to confront Rapid Fire. Krackerjak starts by saying “so you’re the number one contenders-” Gore cuts in with “shut up! You’re skinny, you’re weak, you don’t eat enough steak! You need to do more push-ups, you need to do more squats!” Gore would be a terrifying PT. Krackerjak calms him down and actually shows respect to Rapid Fire for their work all around Victoria. “You boys are a real challenge, finally, someone worth killing in this wretched promotion!” Krackerjak wants to do it properly with weapons and blood, and Rapid Fire seem down with that!

No time wasted as the graphic goes up for April 11- Bastard Brothers vs. Rapid Fire, No Disqualifications!

A video airs with Tarlee talking about overcoming self-doubt in advance of the triple threat main event with Aysha and Indi Hartwell.

Metallica’s “The Memory Remains” hits, and Hector Jones walks out. That music is way too cool for him anyway. It belongs to DCT, who I’m not familiar with, but I’m hoping he turns up to wreck Hector anyway. The crowd serenade him with a “Lochy’s bitch” chant.

Match 6: Hector Jones vs. Matty Romano 

Romano immediately scores with 3 flying headscissors, followed by a 619. Hector uses the ref as a human shield for the follow up, allowing him to get a cheap shot in. Romano comes back with a running cross body anyway! The crowd loves Matty Romano, chanting his name, and there’s no doubting he’s a ball of excitement in that ring. Jones squashes the fun with a huge uranage. Near fall. “Fuck you Hector” chant.

Hector unloads with chops in the corner. Romano takes some shots before coming back with a sunset flip for a near fall. Romano goes up top but gets thrown off with a dragon suplex. He chains them together for maximum neck trauma. Romano tries to fight back but gets planted with an elevated reverse DDT for a near fall.

Jones spits on Romano, who tackles him down and starts raining down punches. The referee tries to get some control and the separation allows Hector to hit a hotshot, followed by a choke, and Romano goes to sleep!

Winner: Hector Jones (at 7:24)

Thoughts: The start of this match gave me Angle vs. Mysterio vibes with how fast Romano was flying around. Incredibly exciting style. Really, the perfect person for Jones to snuff out, continuing to build his presence as a strong heel force after making a statement earlier during the world championship contract signing.

A video airs with the reigning Renegades Women’s Champion, Indi Hartwell. The former WWE and current TNA star talks about getting ready to board a plane for 24 hours to defend the title. She mentions that neither Tarlee or Aysha have ever pinned her, and she doesn’t think they have what it takes to “get shit done”.

Main Event: Renegades Women’s Championship- Aysha vs. Tarlee vs. Indi Hartwell (c)

Tarlee the clear fan favourite here. Indi pulled a Frankie B and prevented cheers coming her way by having herself be announced from “Orlando, Florida”.

Tarlee asserts herself early by blasting the other two with shoulder blocks and kicks. Indi prevents Tarlee pinning Aysha and is bulldozed into the corner with shoulders to the gut. She blasts both Indi and Aysha with hip attacks in the corner. Indi gets out to the apron so Tarlee sends Aysha with a German suplex. Tarlee with a bridging fisherman suplex but Indi breaks it up with an elbow drop.

Indi lands a boot to the head of Tarlee, followed by a clothesline for a near fall. Indi one of the few that can match up height wise with Tarlee. A European uppercut gets the champ another near fall. Aysha comes back in and gets Indi with a Sliced Bread, then a shining wizard on Tarlee. 2 count. Aysha boots Indi out of the ring so she can focus on Tarlee. Tarlee fights out of a submission and gets to her feet, planting Aysha with a powerbomb for a near fall.

At ringside, Indi takes a fan from, well, a fan to cool herself down. The action is hot, and so are the wrestlers, apparently. Aysha drapes herself over the ropes to put Tarlee in a headscissors, but leaves herself open, so Indi re-enters the fight with a dropkick. She then lifts Aysha in a wheelbarrow and swings her head-first into the barricade! Back in the ring, Indi takes the fight to Tarlee again. Indi looks for a top rope elbow but Tarlee rolls out of the way! Tarlee sets Indi up for a draping DDT but Aysha hits her with a Backstabber in the process! 2 for 1 special! 2 near falls only though.

Aysha sends Tarlee into the ring post then focuses on Indi, who still taunts her, saying, “you haven’t pinned me”. They scrap but Tarlee wipes them both out with a top rope dropkick! Tarlee hits running boots on both and nails Indi with the hip attack. Aysha dodges Tarlee on the hip attack and she takes a nasty spill to the floor! Indi plants Aysha with the spinebuster, but Aysha kicks out at 2!

Aysha comes back with the First Class DDT on Indi but Tarlee breaks it up. Tarlee dumps Aysha to the outside. Indi tries a roll-up with her feet on the ropes but Tarlee still escapes. Tarlee hits a wild looking End of Days... and she gets the 3!

Winner: Tarlee (at 10:11)

Thoughts: What a non-stop battle that was! All 3, constantly hitting their biggest and best stuff. Australian wrestling is amazing, and more specifically, the women of Australian wrestling are elite and deserve these headline spots. This was a perfect example of all of it- three homegrown talents- one who’s made it to the promised land of WWE, two others who you have to think it’s just a matter of time. Aysha and Tarlee were on the level the whole way, and gave the fans a stellar main event where there was barely time to take a breath. That was brilliant! Big congratulations to Tarlee on such a milestone victory.

The cheers and clapping completely overpower the awesome Avril Lavigne track as an emotional Tarlee celebrates. Beautiful scene.

There’s an awesome highlights package to wrap the show up. Perks of not doing the show live, I guess!

Overall Thoughts

An excellent outing by the Renegades crew. Not one match was a miss- while I think the no. 1 contenders tag and the main event were the big time in-ring stand outs, I would say everything delivered for its place on the card, and they also did an admirable job building towards the next show. I want to watch it anyway to make the reviews a more consistent thing, but even just as a fan, I’m excited to see more of Renegades after this.

The contract signing- I can’t say enough good things about that. Again, not knowing how much of it was real, that’s kind of the magic, right? I was completely invested in what Waterman and Hendricks were saying, and it feels like such an emotional, high stakes environment. And that’s just with the words, then the attack and blood really heightened things even more. Outstanding across the board.

Overall Score: 8/10

Until next time, take care,

Mick

YouTube Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSAu8uy3ReM