On 23 July the first round of the Australian Wrestling Allstars (AWA) Champions League kicks off with a bang.
The last event, AWA III, tore the house down with the fans in the arena making enough noise to make one think you were at Madison Square Garden. The adult fans were hollering and cheering with all their might, and the kids got so fired up they were throwing their empty chip packets and cans at one of the more villainous grapplers.
Glam Adelaide sat down with “A-Town’s Finest” AWA’s Rocky Menero to discuss the upcoming series.
Australian Wrestling Allstars is organised by promoter Steve Burrows with Menero playing a major role in its creation. Burrows came to him with the idea for the AWA shows.
Rocky Menero
“We had done three AWA shows and he always had this idea; running it over for about a year,” Menero said.
They have developed a unique approach to only having a 3-month season instead of than the standard 12-month run.
With 5 parts to the series, the tournament match will featuring 8 of Australia’s top wrestlers, including Elliot Sexton, John E. Radic, Tyler Daniels and The Maniac Wayne Mattei, who will have storylines that carry over between each event. The Grand Final will be on 15 October 2016 and the winner crowned the new AWA champion.
As for Rocky Menero the character, he is arrogant and annoying, which is a stark contrast to the real Menero who is charismatic and humble. The real Menero compares the character to his drunk self.
“… you get a bit of liquid courage and all of a sudden you’re 10 feet tall, you’re invincible and you think of yourself as the world’s greatest lady’s man- and you’re not!”
These villains, better known as ‘heels’ in the industry, help drive the story as the audience wants to see ‘that guy get his arse kicked, and that’s the whole basis of wrestling.
As for the naysayers who pooh-pooh wrestling for being fake, Menero weights in on this.
“It’s entertainment, it’s a show. When people ask me what I do, I say ‘I do wrestling… like the stuff you see on TV, y’know, the fake stuff’ and they go ‘oh!’… It’s a great entertainment form, it’s a very tough physical art, and people respect that if you don’t take it too seriously. We’re not really fighting, but we’re putting on one hell of a show.”
Menero says to “embrace what it is.” If you take the kids though, be sure to not tell them it’s fake.
Rocky Menero will be appearing in the season from the 6 August show onwards, along with Damian Slater. Slater himself has been competing in the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment – the pinnacle of the industry) where he has a scheduled bout against WWE legend Tajiri. Do yourself a favour a buy a ticket while you can, before the only way to see him is on your TV via WWE.
Tickets to this event are selling fast so be sure to head over to www.australianwrestlingallstars.com.au to grab your tickets now, season passes are available, as are family discounts.
Interview by Adam Gerard, story by Adriana Allman
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