Jack Panne set to fight in Cessnock for Heavyweight title

This competition is the latest in a series of professional wrestling fixtures, and Panne will take on the winner of the fight between Jackson Spade and Matt Bailey for the Suplex Heavyweight Championship. 

The event is the biggest in the 20-year-old’s career to date, and he said that he is feeling “pretty good”. 

“I’ve been doing it for a couple of years now, so I’m finally getting the shot at the big belt,” Panne said. 

Having been a lifelong fan of the WWE, Panne explained that he decided to give wrestling a shot at the age of 18, and he hasn’t looked back since. 

“I went and trained for a year, and from there on, for about two and a half years now I’ve been wrestling,” he said. 

“I went to Sydney for three courses. It was months of training, just learning how to move and do all the stuff.

“Other than that it’s just gym work and all the rest of it, training like a normal athlete.” 

Aside from the extreme physical demands, Panne said that one of the most difficult aspects of professional wrestling was trusting his opponent to pull off techniques convincingly without injuring one another. 

“Because you’re portraying a character, so you need to know what your character’s doing,” he said. 

“You’ve gotta be prepared, because injuries happen. It’s a lot of trust in theatre wrestling, so if I’m trusting someone with my body, [he’s got to trust me with his].

“You gotta work together, as much as it’s portraying a fight.” 

Although wrestling is a choreographed sport, it is very challenging and requires the athletes to remain in excellent physical shape in order to compete authentically while minimising risk. 

Luckily for Panne, he works as a personal trainer when not competing, so his twice-daily workout routine – which begins at 4.30am – is made easier by his constant proximity to the gym. 

Competing in the Suplex Heavyweight Championship will be a big step towards Panne’s eventual goal of competing in the WWE one day, but for the moment he said that he is “happy with the way it’s going”.

The event will begin from 6pm Saturday November 17 at the East Cessnock Bowling Club.