PROFESSIONAL wrestling is offering Ballarat a title short of sorts.
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Leading Australian wrestling promoter Cam Vale says Ballarat has a chance to be the Australian home for wrestling in a way that V8 racing is synonymous with Bathurst.
It is a big call, given it is mere weeks since more than 52,000 fans packed Perth's Optus Stadium for the WWE's Elimination Chamber premium live event.
We do not have a stadium that hosts even close to that size crowd, even with plans taking shape to grow Mars Stadium.
But, we did have one of the biggest names in the industry land on our doorstep.
Bret 'The Hitman' Hart has started making himself at home in Ballarat ahead of hosting an Australian Stampede at Selkirk Stadium on Saturday night and an afternoon's story time at Civic Hall on Sunday.
The heavyweight impact the global wrestling convention Starrcast will land should not be lost on Ballarat.
Even for the uninitiated, this family-friendly event has something for everyone: the athleticism, the showmanship, the storytelling, the legends and the Comic-Con kinda vibes.
This is the first time Starrcast has held an event like this outside the United States and six-time WWE women's champion Mickie James - one of the most highly respected female athletes in the industry - is channelling her efforts into hosting an all-women's pay-per-view event.
HER, on Friday night, was a chance even Mickie was sure she would have, despite a successful all-female event Empower, co-promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance, in August 2021.
There are plenty of seasoned performers in the mix with WWE names such as Shelton Benjamin, the Great Khali (now Dalip Singh), Vix Crow (formerly Alicia Fox), Lisa Marie Varon (Victoria), the freshly released Mike Rallis and Tenille Dashwood (the first Australian female signed to WWE, as Emma).
TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace made a surprise entrance in the WWE Royal Rumble, AEW wrestler Powerhouse Hobbsis on the bill and, throwing in one of the industry's most controversial voices Eric Bischoff, this makes for plenty of superstar power.
What makes this different is seeing industry veterans up close working to put over emerging talent.
They know from their own experience in the game and travels about the world that this is a tough career pathway, let alone for Australian athletes who pretty much have to pack up their lives and take a punt on trying to make it in the United States or Japan.
In the rise of streaming services, access to viewing international sports is booming and this is no different in wrestling.
Hart told The Courier wrestling was "undefinable" - "always moving, always changing, turning it into something else".
The HER showcase alone, driven by James, aims to shift perceptions and change conversations on female wrestling that for so long had been defined by white men in a less than flattering light.
Whether Ballarat realises it or not, there will be plenty of interest and eyes on what is unfolding on our doorstep.
This event could have gone anywhere in Australia, even Victoria if you consider Geelong and Bendigo's big-event facilities.
For so long, this column has reiterated Ballarat's reputation for hosting major sporting events.
Just look at how the AusCycling Road National Championships boomed in our backyard with growing community and business buy-in. We were to host the now-defunct 2026 Commonwealth Games' jewel, the track and field program.
This may not be an Elimination Chamber-level festival, but we can help create something really electrifying here in Ballarat when it comes to wrestling.
Give this a little time for others to smell what we have cooking and maybe we could live up to the potential Starrcast is offering us.
Wrestling fans will travel, but Ballarat needs to see this to truly start believing we can be a stronghold in sports entertainment.
