By Emily Anderson

Copyright abc

By day, public servant Del Goncalves works in a typical office and wears typical office clothes, but come nightfall, she dons a bunny costume and trades her office for a wrestling ring.

She’s among a growing cohort of Canberrans who have fallen in love with pro wrestling — a sport where pain and injury are a given.

“I always get asked if it hurts — it does,” Ms Goncalves said.

Popularised by the likes of Hulk Hogan, John Cena, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, pro wrestlers rehearse choreographed stunts before performing matches against opponents for live audiences.

Though the sport has a small base in Australia, it has developed a cult following in Canberra after the launch of a local wrestling academy and the Slam! Pro Wrestling league.

Joining the academy after watching a local show in 2022, Ms Goncalves said the sport was about testing her limits, putting on a show and taking on an alter ego.

“All of a sudden loud, I’m larger than life, I’ve got confidence that daytime me doesn’t have.”

An appetite for a fight

The sport’s popularity in Canberra has come as a surprise for academy co-founder Dan Dwyer who, when he isn’t in the ring, works as a car salesman.

“You’ll see me in a nice suit or polo pants,” Mr Dwyer said.

“[Then] Saturday rolls around and we’re into the tights and the big gold belts.

Known by his stage name Dan Archer, the Canberra man began wrestling when he was 16 years old after being inspired by video games and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Since then, he has competed around Australia, but said he wanted to create a local championship to support local and national talent.

“I’d often find myself travelling up and down the highways to Sydney and parts of New South Wales to be able to wrestle in front of audience,” Mr Dwyer said.

“But now [Canberra] has become quite a hotbed where we’ve got people travelling from all around the country.”

The wrestling performances have drawn crowds of up to 2,400, which Mr Dwyer said was the largest he’s experienced for an all-Australian event.

He said it’s the atmosphere of the crowd that hooks people in.

“There’s no other feeling you can get from other sports or hobbies.”

Battered and bruised

Though athletes practice moves hundreds of times before taking them to the performance stage, injuries are part and parcel of wrestling.

It’s something childhood educator Mia Fisher found out the hard way 18 months ago during a match against a fellow Canberra wrestler.

“Adrenaline is a wonderful thing. The match got called, I grabbed my arm, I straightened it out and I went out the back and I said, ‘I broke my arm’,” Ms Fisher said.

Nine months, two titanium plates and 13 screws later, her character “Kitten Mask” returned to the stage.

Despite the injury, she said wrestling is a hobby that she wants to continue doing for the rest of her life and hopes that she can inspire generations to take on the ring.

“I’m so grateful that I get to perform in front of all these people.”