For these girls it’s all wham and glam
BIG DRAMA, BIG HAIR MAKE A HUGE SHOW
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, Kelly Anne 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.
Welcome to the melodrama and muscle of Melbourne City Wrestling, a local fight club with 20 wrestlers on the roster, including Surf Coast-raised lady brawler Avary.
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 home at two in the morning. Mum would pick me up from the station.”
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 cowardpunch. 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.”
Women’s wrestling stories are in vogue again after the Netflix hit GLOW, a high-hair, pastelera 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 the 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. But Avary says bluntly: “It’s a great TV show, but it doesn’t represent modern-day wrestling. 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.”
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.
“Avary’s commitment speaks to her dedication to wrestling, and she’s only been in it for a few years,” he says. “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.” MCW Ballroom Brawl, Thornbury Theatre, today, 6.30pm. MCW New Horizons, Arrow on Swanston, August 19. Tickets: melbournecitywrestling.
com.au