For the first time in the modern era, pro wrestling has arrived in Indonesia

Based on the research I’ve done, and I’m sure that there could be something I’m missing, pro wrestling has finally arrived in Indonesia for the first time. (Correction: I was pointed to some events that took place in Indonesia in the 1970’s by the Catch Museum account on Twitter. This link will take you to a poster from a January 24th, 1978 event.)

Kesini Banyak Wrestling has officially launched with the release of their first event video, a show titled Kebanting. The new pro wrestling company is a project headed up by Indonesian comedian Rizky Firdaus Wijaksana, also known as Uus, who also serves as one of the announcers on Kebanting.

Kesini Banyak Wrestling translates from Indonesian to English as “there’s a lot of wrestling here” while Kebanting translates closely to slam or slammed.

The first episode of Kebanting! was taped in Jakarta, more precisely the Jakbar neighborhood of West Jakarta, and took place in front of a good handful of fans and sponsor banners. Just from first glance, it appears as if this is a well funded project based on the number of sponsors, the production value, the set, the professional ring and the backing of a famous comedian who seems to be very passionate about the project.

The first episode of Kebanting! features one match with some pretty good high flying pro wrestling action. It’s quite possible that this is Indonesia’s first pro wrestling match ever and if so, this will go down as a pretty solid performance for such a historic first. The match features Chi-Nice and Hamybird in singles action. Chi-Nice would come out on top but Hamybird was able to execute some impressive offense, including a top rope swanton bomb. It seems like the promotion will be leaning into some comedy aspects of wrestling at times, which makes sense due to the founder’s background. Following the match, a new wrestler who has been identified as Fi-Ko laid both wrestlers out and even dropped Kesini Banyak Wrestling founder Uus with a fireman’s carry slam.

Hamybird performs a swanton bomb against Chi-Nice during potentially the first pro wrestling match in Indonesia. Image courtesy of Chi-Nice’s Instagram page

Prior to the launch of Kesini Banyak Wrestling, I had been contacted numerous times by pro wrestling fans based in Indonesia, seeking out any semblance of pro wrestling taking place locally. Now, it looks like the day has finally come where Indonesian fans and potential wrestlers have a promotion to turn their attention to.

With a very solid pro wrestling fan base in the country, the backing of a successful figure in the country’s entertainment industry and sponsors already lined up, the future looks bright for Kesini Banyak Wrestling and pro wrestling in Indonesia.

You can check out the first episode of Kebanting! by clicking here.

All images courtesy of the Kesini Banyak Wrestling Instagram page unless otherwise noted.