The comeback of pro-wrestling in Malaysia marks the beginning of the future for local scene

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 14 — After a four year hiatus, pro-wrestling in Malaysia returned with two-nights of super slamming fun featuring superstars.

Held last weekend at Spacerubix, Puchong, the Apac Wrestling Rise saw both local and international wrestling fans gathering to catch their wrestling idols in the ring.

Pro-wrestling superstars from the South Pacific region the Japanese Buzzsaw Tajiri, former WWE superstar Steph De Lander from Australia as well as Japanese pro-wrestling idols, Maki Ito and Yuki Kamifuku electrified the 300-strong crowd.

Local pro-wrestlers such as Shaukat The Nusantara Menace, Nor ‘Phoenix’ Diana and Gotham as well as wrestling superstars from Singapore such as Aiden Rex, The Crypto Bro LK and Statement completed the line-up of the showcase of agility and athleticism to entertain the crowd of all ages.

Wrestling fans from all ages including families with children came to see the legendary wrestling icons. — Picture by Hari Anggara.

The two-day event comprised a total of 14 matches including a tag team matchups, a fatal four-way as well as title matches.

The final day was a historic one for fans as they get to see their dream team-up between Shaukat and Tajiri as well Phoenix Diana becoming the first Apac Wrestling Women’s champion after beating Steph De Lander in the main event.

Electrifying receptions

For Malaysian pro-wrestling superstar Shaukat the Nusantara Menace, seeing the faces of the audience kept him going and made him realise they were the reason he did the event in the first place. — Picture by Hari Anggara.

Shaukat, who has been tirelessly working to set up the event and training with his small team at Apac for the past two months, was taken aback by the reception.

The Malaysian superstar admitted that he was on the verge of breaking down especially during the final week leading up to the event.

However, all of it was worth it the moment he heard the roar of the audience.

“When I saw the audience outside and felt their energy, everything was worth it. This is the reason why I'm doing this.

“One of the best aspects of pro-wrestling is that it’s a two-way kind of thing, we are performing with the audience, we’re giving them energy and they respond back with theirs.

“When that happens, it creates such magic, the energy is just crazy and I think that’s the thing about pro-wrestling that no other sport carries. It’s a bouncing of energies,” Shaukat said.

He added that the event was more than he expected, sharing that he was initially scared to do big events with high ticket prices.

Last weekend however has finally made him a believer that the efforts paid off.

Nor 'Phoenix' Diana is the Apac Wrestling Women's champion. — Picture by Hari Anggara.

‘Phoenix’ Diana was overwhelmed by the outcome of the event.

From seeing new faces in the crowd, to getting to be on the main event for the final day and winning the women’s title was surreal to her.

“Fans have supported me so much. Especially after the first day and two years without any major wrestling events in Malaysia.

“I was actually nervous because there were so many new faces, and from all over the world as well.

“I was like ‘this is really cool, they know Apac and they know me and Shaukat and all the other wrestlers and I was like okay, we definitely did something here,” Diana said.

She added that she was grateful and honoured to be in the main event as it’s not easy for a woman to be featured as the main event in pro-wrestling, and getting to go toe-to-toe with De Lander made it all more special to her.

“I’ve been following Steph for a long time and when I had the chance to go against her, it’s the best.

“Because working with someone with that much experience is a whole different stage. You also felt like you yourself are levelling up by just working with them,” she said.

Diana is currently looking forward to a chance to go international as she believes she has what it takes to become an international wrestling superstar.

For the Love of Wrestling and the Fans

Malaysian wrestler Destroyer Dharma (red tights) taking on Azwan Serigala (jeans) in the day two showcase. — Picture by Hari Anggara.

Meanwhile, Tajiri was surprised to see a bigger crowd compared to his 2018 matchup with Shaukat in KL.

According to the pro-wrestling legend, he has garnered a following from wrestling and he feels that he owes it to the sport and which is why he’s doing all he can to support the next generation of pro-wrestling superstars.

Tajiri also shared that he was impressed with the togetherness of Malaysian culture and would very much like to come back again for future events.

Former WWE Cruiserweight champion Tajiri admits that he owes it all to wrestling which has helped him build his fanbase. — Picture by Hari Anggara.

De Lander, who had just recovered from a surgery back in September, shared that the cheers from crowds were motivational and essential for her to keep going in the ring.

She was also impressed with the local fans who had shown support to not just the international pro-wrestlers but to local superstars as well.

“It’s cool we got Tajiri, me, Maki and Yuki and other international acts but the crowd also goes lively for the homegrown talent like Diana and Shaukat.

“When the crowd cares so much about their homegrown talent, that’s when it's really special,” De Lander said.

Former WWE and NXT wrestler Steph De Lander was impressed with the Malaysian crowd during the showcase. — Picture by Hari Anggara.

De Lander added that another reason why she came to Malaysia was to support the scene here, as she understood the struggle local wrestling scenes have to endure as it is the same in Australia.

“Australia is similar, although Australia has a bigger scene than here in Malaysia but it’s still quite underground, still unknown, and we had to get out there and they had to start from scratch to build to what it is now for the wrestling scene.

“So if I can come and help the Malaysian scene, if I can come over and bring some eyes over and those kinds of things to boost these guys here, I would love to do that.”