ACW A Night To Remember Review (20/06/2026)

By Mick Robson 

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Got an interesting review to get into today... the new kid on the block, ACW! Not to be confused with Adelaide Championship Wrestling (review on their latest show, Salvation, coming soon), this ACW is Australian Championship Wrestling, an ambitious project that first launched onto socials about a year ago, making major promises about being a national wrestling brand long before they even booked a show or signed a wrestler. But they had plans for a big fancy merch truck. Let’s get into it. 

The owner of ACW, Iftekhar Hasan, appears to be a big subscriber to the Eric Bischoff philosophy of “controversy creates cash”, as he managed to build a large social media following and a level of buzz/curiosity around exactly what ACW would entail. While doing so, he insulted and mocked many fans asking genuine questions about what the product would look like. As more information about Hasan came to light, it was revealed that he owned a Sydney kebab shop years ago, and made some homophobic remarks which further stirred up the brewing negativity. 

But whether they were talking positively or negatively, people were talking. They signed their first wrestler, Keegan Brettle- based out of All-Star Wrestling Australia, a smaller Sydney-based independent company. Then there was a drama around ACW supposedly buying All-Star, which turned out to be a “worked invasion” storyline apparently that fell through when there were clashes with All-Star owner Mitch Christen. But ACW are branding this event as “ACW All-Stars: A Night To Remember”- which was straight from All-Star Wrestling Australia’s history- and they have all their championship belts. Drama drama. 

Despite all of that, ACW started getting a number of sponsors on board- including, strangely, the Bangladesh Tourism Board- signing more notable wrestlers to their show, such as Adam Brooks and Dan Archer, and giving sneak peeks at production that made me kinda go, “alright, it seems like they’re actually trying to put something together here." I was on the fence about the whole event- it was the night before my birthday, and normally such a big wrestling show on locally, it would be a no-brainer. But I didn’t really want to support with my wallet with everything associated with ACW, especially the homophobic stuff. Then they announced it would be on YouTube for free. Problem solved. 

Let’s do this! 

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We get an acknowledgement of country and the singing of the Australian national anthem. The singing isn’t great, but fair play, the lighting, screens, all the visuals look top-notch. The “iconic” Padstow RSL has never looked better! 

The ring mat is absolutely covered with sponsors, just like TKO’s WWE. And the fanbase totally love that aesthetic addition. I guess they need to pay for all these fancy lights and screens somehow. 

ACW General Manager Chris Remy welcomes us to the show. He almost calls the show “All-Star Wrestling” before correcting himself and saying “ACW All-Stars"- LOL- and promises that it will be “a night to remember”. 

All-Star Wrestling Heavyweight Champion Jay Law makes his entrance with Judy Law. Some graphics issues as they throw the commentators nameplates on screen while the Laws are standing on stage, and then CARLITO- spoiling the big international surprise- okay, the biggest thing ACW had going for them was the production value, but it’s being torpedoed here in the opening minutes.  And now Jay Law’s mic isn’t working. 

Jay gets a working mic. He says he beat Jack Dullahan for the championship- hey, I interviewed Dullahan last year. He also beat Paris De Silva and Chris Masters. Moral of the story- whoever gets put in front of him, he will destroy. 

Jay Gilley makes his entrance. First time seeing him, he’s got a lot of energy! Gilley challenges Law to a title match, the champ beats him up and hits a spinning uranage. Judy counts a 3, but it’s not a real match. NOW Carlito makes his entrance, wearing a ACW shirt. Carlito makes the challenge, Jay Law doesn’t want to accept, but Judy accepts on his behalf. We have a main event! Graphic botch aside, having a surprise international star to kick off ACW was... cool. 

We get an ad for a... corporate law firm? Definitely the target audience here at a Sydney independent wrestling show- especially this particular Padstow crowd with a ton of little kids in the audience. And now the Bangladesh Tourism Board! Bills to pay though. 

Match 1: All-Star Wrestling Tag Team Championship- SCUM (Aries & Jimmy Zero) vs. Keegan Brettle & The Puppeteer (c) 

Commentary is barely audible over the entrance music as they apparently try to give some background on the wrestlers here. It’s better once the match starts though. 

All four wrestlers brawl in the ring to start. Puppeteer throws SCUM out of the ring and hits a plancha. Jimmy Zero returns fire with an Asai moonsault onto the champs. We finally get some order and the bell actually ringing as SCUM both take shots at the Puppeteer. Zero boots Keegan off the apron then backflips into a German suplex on Puppeteer! He’s truly an amazing talent. Not to be outdone, Aries comes in and hits a Lumbar Check on the green haired man. Zero Star Press by Jimmy gets a 2. 

Puppeteer lands a big boot and kicks his way free to get the hot tag to Keegan! He comes in and cleans house. Keegan hits a Destroyer on Zero, Puppeteer hits the teapot elbow drop on Aries- and that’s it! 

Winners: The Puppeteer & Keegan Brettle (at 3:35) 

Thoughts: Decent opening tag. Bit more action than the time suggests since there were a lot of pre-bell brawling and shenanigans. With all four being All-Star Wrestling originals, this seemed to resemble what ACW might’ve been had things worked out with Mitch Christen- All-Star just with better cameras and lighting. Which isn’t a bad thing at all. Always thought All-Star was a decent fed with very low production value.  

Puppeteer grabs a couple of beers with ACW branded stubby holders. He toasts with Keegan- then Keegan smacks him upside the head with the beer can! Holy heel turn, Batman! Referees try to break it up, but Keegan lets go when Chris Remy comes out. They smile at each other, indicating an alliance- then Remy produces a pair of scissors. Keegan’s signature mullet is gone! He leaves with both tag belts. Definitely a newsworthy start. 

Another Bangladesh ad while they sweep Keegan’s hair out of the ring. 

Match 2: Dan Archer vs. EC Brownie 

And here we go with the kind of talent that made me give this show/promotion a chance. Archer is a top guy- and the current champion- at Canberra’s highly successful Slam Pro Wrestling League, while Brownie has been making waves at PWA and Integrity, among other promotions around the country. 

Brownie overpowers Archer from the lock-up and immediately goes to work with a side headlock. They trade shoulder blocks and running strikes. Brownie elevates Archer to the ceiling with a back body drop. A vertical suplex soon after rattles Archer’s spine. Archer then avoids a Brownie charge and hits a backbreaker, followed by a dropkick. Archer is highly vocal here, drawing some reactions from this crowd, which currently seems casual at best, judging by the limited amount of noise they’re making. 

More back trauma as Brownie comes back with a massive spinebuster! Near fall. Archer ducks a clothesline and hits a suplex into a powerbomb- incorrectly called as the Paradox Piledriver on commentary... these guys couldn’t do a little homework? Near fall anyway. 

Archer goes up top- and as is contractually obliged in all Dan Archer matches, he gets crotched. He lands high on a German suplex soon after. Near fall for Brownie off the powerslam. Archer comes back with a superplex, lifting Brownie from the apron, for a long 2 count. Archer misses a moonsault and Brownie hits a devastating clothesline for 2. Brownie goes for a spear, but Archer moves and Brownie strikes the ring post. Archer hits a school boy- and gets the 3 with his feet on the ropes! 

Winner: Dan Archer (at 7:32) 

Thoughts: Hard to fault the action bell-to-bell so far. Archer and Brownie are two pros that put together an entertaining match. Archer was suitably obnoxious, getting his ass kicked by the monster Brownie, before eeking out the shady win. Wasn’t a classic, but for match 2 on the card, it absolutely delivered. 

The interviewer is talking to Linda from Hayrunners, a charity in southwest Victoria. Linda talks about the partnership with ACW to spread awareness. They help with bushfire and flood relief. That’s a sponsorship I can get on board with. 

More Bangladesh ads. 

A promo airs with Christian Auciello. He’s angry about not getting opportunities in All-Star (hilariously, they censor Mitch Christen’s name in the subtitles). He swears like a kid that’s just discovered swear words- I'm not anti-swearing by any means, but every second word was “fuck”, just to really hammer home the point that he’s angry. He’s going to take his opportunity in ACW. 

Match 3: All-Star Eastern States Championship- Matt Hayter vs. Adam Brooks (c) 

If I was going to start a massive nationally touring Australian wrestling company, Hayter and Brooksy would be among the first few names I would sign. Fantastic additions to this card. And the audio mix is better for these entrances- I can hear the commentators putting over Brooks as he comes out. 

They take their time feeling each other out and playing to the crowd before engaging in chain wrestling. They trade sunset flip pin attempts. More stalling. Hayter tries to be disrespectful and Brooks knocks him out of the ring with a chop! Brooks takes him around ringside and allows fans to hold Hayter’s arms to deliver more chops. That’s a good way to try and engage this somewhat cold crowd.  

Back in the ring, Brooks keeps the pressure on Hayter. Hayter fires back with a flying European uppercut and kips up. A running groin attack follows- as in, Hayter hits Brooks with his groin. Soon after, Brooksy gives him a taste of his own medicine. A F5 gets the champ a near fall. Hayter reverses a powerbomb into a rana and spikes Brooks with a tornado DDT. Near fall. Beautiful moonsault by Hayter gets another close 2 count. Brooks comes back with a sitout powerbomb for his own near fall. We get a big superplex and both men are down... 

Chris Remy comes out and announces this is now a triple threat. Keegan Brettle comes out, with the new short haircut complete. Hayter and Brooks block Keegan’s attacks momentarily, but after Brooks hits a Swanton on Hayter, Keegan throws him out and picks up the scraps to get the win. 

Winner: Keegan Brettle (at 11:13) 

Thoughts: Well, they’re really going all in with Brettle as a top heel. Interesting after he was previously the beloved bogan babyface, but it’s definitely a fresh coat of paint. As for the original Brooks vs. Hayter match... it was good. Nowhere near the best I’ve seen either guy have- maybe because they knew the screwy finish would override it all anyway. It was just starting to heat up when Remy and Keegan came out to throw a bucket of cold water on it all. 

Intermission. Lots more Bangladesh ads. 

Match 4: Violet Blitz vs. Alex Lee 

Or “Violent Blitz”, as the nameplate graphic incorrectly said. Violet is the ACW South Australia Women’s Champion, just in case the two ACW companies didn’t have enough market confusion to worry about. 

Lee, known as “The Queen of Strong Style”, opens with a big forearm strike. Blitz returns in kind, but not kindly. Lee drops her with a rising knee strike, followed by a kick to the back. Brief battle on the apron before a clothesline back in the ring sees Lee back in control.  

Violet trips Lee into the bottom turnbuckle and hits some mudhole stomps. Dropkick to the back earns her a 2 count. Violet hits a Diamond Dust but then walks into a high knee from Lee. Another running knee gets Lee a near fall. A clothesline from the second rope scores for the Bosnian Dragon. Violet ducks a kick and hits a Codebreaker. Spinning fisherman’s neckbreaker- and that’ll do it! 

Winner: Violet Blitz (at 6:12) 

Thoughts: Not great. Violet looked good in her offense, but for someone dubbed the Queen of Strong Style, Lee looked slow and awkward in a lot of her moves and movement. Also, the lack of reaction from the crowd hurt the atmosphere- that could be said about much of this show, but it was even more evident here. 

More Bangladesh ads. How much money have the Bangladesh Tourism Board put into this show? 

Match 5: James “The Enforcer” Long vs. Tedzilla  

Long has a MMA-influenced presentation and entrance, complete with cornermen, a stool and a bucket, looking like a serious, big deal... but Tedzilla is a MOUNTAIN of a man, squashing him in literal seconds. Big boot, chokeslam, the end. 

Winner: Tedzilla (at 0:30) 

Thoughts: Genuinely fun. I love when expectations are subverted like that. It was just announced that James Long would be in action, presenting him as this threatening star... then the presence of Tedzilla turned things on its head. This was a win. 

Tedzilla ignores the attempts of Maria Rekowski to interview him. The kids at ringside are happy to scream “TEDZILLA RULES!” into the mic though. 

ANOTHER Bangladesh ad! Seriously, where are the other sponsors for this show at least? 

Ken Dunlop is acknowledged at ringside for his contribution to Australian wrestling, earning the Order Of Australia. He is also openly gay, so I feel like part of the motivation in bringing him on was to battle the homophobia accusations. But maybe that’s just me being cynical- I feel like that’s earned after everything that’s happened with ACW up to this point though. Ken is prompted to stand and wave- I don’t think he realised he was on camera. 

Yet ANOTHER Bangladesh ad. Surely they’re just trolling at this point. 

Main Event: All-Star Wrestling Heavyweight Championship- Jay Law (c) (w/ Judy Law) vs. Carlito 

Carlito gets pyro, which the commentators joke about that blowing the budget. They also kind of bury the Padstow RSL, saying “this has got to be one of the biggest names to wrestle at a venue like this.” 

Measured start with a couple of strong lock-ups. Battle of the bulls here. Judy grabs Carlito’s leg, enabling Jay to go on the attack. Carlito gets the advantage and throws Jay out of the ring and into the steel guardrail. Getting back into the ring sees Jay get the advantage again, as he kicks the middle rope into Carlito’s... apples. Kitchen sink knees to the gut and the champ is well in control now. 

Carlito comes back with a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Jay comes back with a suplex and throws him out of the ring, allowing Judy to put the boots in behind the ref’s back. Carlito comes back later with clotheslines and a knee lift. Near fall. Neckbreaker by Jay gets the champ a near fall. Pace getting out of first gear almost. Jay looks for the spinning uranage but Carlito lands on his feet and hits a thrust kick. He grabs the apple, spits it in Judy’s face, and hits Jay with the Backstabber for the win! 

Winner: Carlito (at 11:27) 

Thoughts: Slow match. It was fine, but not the most exciting for a main event. Picture the most basic version of “babyface vs. heel and heel manager” and that’s what this was. The commentators were saying “the crowd is on their feet!” when they were clearly sitting down making no noise. But hey, at least the big international star won to send the fans home happy- 

Wait, Chris Remy’s back out here. Keegan comes out with all his belts to face Carlito for the title, because, fuck it, why not? 

Main Event: All Star Heavyweight Championship- Carlito (c) vs. Keegan Brettle 

Keegan immediately hits a cutter, but Carlito kicks out! Carlito makes a comeback with clotheslines, but Jay Law gets up on the apron to distract the ref, allowing Keegan to hit Carlito with the title belt! Keegan locks in a crossface but Carlito’s already out, and the ref calls for the bell.  

Winner: Keegan Brettle (at 1:30) 

Thoughts: Belt collector Keegan. Okay. Interesting move after he was the no. 1 draft pick for ACW. He’s a decent talent, but can he carry a company, especially one promising to be this big, as THE GUY? He hasn’t worked many places in recent times besides All-Star. ACW really seeming to hitch their wagon to Brettle. I did see a theory that they’ve done this purely to get all the All-Star belts in one place then scrap them... but I don’t know, I reckon they could’ve just scrapped the belts instead of doing this to end your debut show on a sour note. 

We end the show with Keegan getting in the face of the fans at ringside and raising all his belts on the stage as pyro goes off. Honestly shocked we didn’t end with another Bangladesh ad. 

Overall Thoughts 

Alright. So ACW talked a big game. They talked shit against anyone daring to doubt them. After all that, did they deliver? Short answer- no. 

Of all the problems I had with this show, heel Belt Collector Keegan wasn’t the biggest. Would I send the fans home mad after the first show? I’m not sure. But what I would do is give them something to be happy about somewhere on the show. Tag match- nope. Archer/Brownie- nope. Eastern States Championship- nope. Women’s match- nope. Main event- almost yes, then nope. Legit the only halfway babyface thing on the show might’ve been the Tedzilla thing... and even that’s questionable at this point. And then in between, death by Bangladesh tourism ads. 

Production looked glitzy- but that was offset by sound issues and fuck ups like displaying Carlito’s name plate early. Had that not happened, his surprise appearance was a major boost for the show. At least ACW copped to that in a post-show statement. But I think the biggest thing was the avalanche of ads- and that wasn’t a mistake, that was a conscious decision. If that’s the trade-off to having a shinier looking Australian wrestling product, having that amount of irrelevant ads... I don’t know, you can keep the LED screens and big lighting rig as far as I’m concerned. 

And as for the actual wrestling- it was okay. Felt a little like the top guys I was tuning in for were on auto-pilot. They weren’t bad at all, but it was far from the best matches I’ve seen any of them have. Seen much better Australian wrestling this year at much smaller, less well-lit shows. 

For promising so much and delivering an okay product at absolute best, with glaring issues... I don’t know. Can’t give it a passing grade. Feel like I should take a point off for every Bangladesh ad, but as it stands..

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Overall Score: 4/10 

Until next time, take care.