It may have been three weeks after she planned, but Launceston wrestler Charlie Jordan got her chance to grace a Victorian ring.
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Locked in for a tag-team match on February 13 at Deathmatch Downunder's 'Smashing Sandcastles' event, Victoria's snap lockdown cancelled the event, with Jordan having to find her way out of the state.
"Due to restrictions, it was becoming very difficult for me to get back into Launceston or just Tasmania in general - I think all the flights going into Devonport, Launceston or Hobart were reaching $1000," she said.
"I had to make the dash out of Victoria to Sydney and managed to get a flight from there to Launceston without having to quarantine.
"I was fortunately able to make Tasmanian Championship Wrestling's big show Annihilation 8 but it was very, very stressful."
Describing the postponement as "a sign from the universe" that she wasn't ready, Jordan - who performs as Charli Rose - got back to Tasmania and continued training, assuming her Victorian chance would have to wait.
But a last-minute injury saw Deathmatch Downunder organisers get in touch with the 19-year-old midway through last week before arriving in Victoria on the day of the Saturday show.
Wrestling with RSxP in a tag-team match against Hector Jones and Mitchell Wright (the Anti-Deathmatch Party), Rose's team tasted defeat but she was incredibly grateful for her opportunity.
"It was everything [I thought it would be] and more, purely because planning matches and everything is so different," she said.
"I'm usually used to training for a specific match for weeks before but this time, there was no ring-preparation time before the show, I hadn't even touched the ropes or the mats.
"It tested my abilities, not only mentally and physically, in more ways than I thought it would."
On top of her involvement at Deathmatch Downunder, Rose wrestled two other matches during her Victorian weekend, ticking off a dream match in the process by taking on Natasha Webb - one of her first inspirations.
She took her on in a triple threat match alongside Cherry Stephens before wrestling a singles 'hardcore' contest at a book launch for Scarlett Harris' A Diva was a Female Version of a Wrestler.
Reflecting on her experience, Jordan is extremely thankful for the Victorian promotion's assistance.
"I couldn't have asked for a better support system and for them to give me the opportunity to not only wrestle once but three times over the course of the weekend, I don't think they'll understand how grateful I am."
Josh Partridge
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
