Impact to debut in Australia as New Japan’s replacement

Yesterday (May 8), Impact Wrestling announced a two show, four day tour of Australia for late June and early July. The dates in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales will be their first-ever trip to the South Pacific continent (and first outside of North America since a 2018 date in the United Kingdom), and also include fan events & a live podcast hosted by Conrad Thompson.

If that seems like short notice for even a brief international tour, it could be because Impact is filling in for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. NJPW was contracted with the New South Wales government for these shows, which would have been run under New Japan’s TAMASHII brand and centered around an Oceania Cup tournament. Per Impact’s press release, New Japan was forced to cancel due to “scheduling and talent availability issues”, and that tournament has been postponed.

The two wrestling shows will take place Fri., June 30, and Sat., July 1 both at Wagga Wagga’s Equex Centre. Details about the cards and the shows’ availability for global fans are fairly vague, but the presser does say:

The Impact Down Under Tour will feature most of the Impact stars, numerous championship matches and special challenge matches against the best Australia-based wrestlers. The shows will be broadcast worldwide on Fite TV and across Impact Wrestling international broadcast platforms, digital and social media.

As has been the trend with other company’s increased international presence — including the New Japan tour Impact is filling in for — the Down Under Tour is “is supported by the NSW Government Regional Events Acceleration Fund.”