A look at Africa’s pro wrestling scene heading into 2023
The African continent has the most under-reported and least commercially visible pro wrestling scene in the world. This is an undeniable fact but one that may be slowly changing. With the WWE beginning to invest in the African market and African talent, it’s not hard to envision that the continent’s wrestlers and fans will begin to get more press coverage, more visibility and more resources sent their way. Whether or not that will lead to more international wrestling promotions expanding their reach on the continent remains to be seen but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
Now that there has been some more mainstream focus on pro wrestling in Africa, let’s take a look at the scene in the world’s second largest continent as we head into 2023. We’ll introduce you to some of the continent’s top champions, talk some of the top stories in African pro wrestling in 2022, introduce you to some of the continent’s promotions and more!
Africa’s Pro Wrestling Champions
In some of the most popular regions for pro wrestling in Africa, champions are determined by geographical area. For example, each city and even many neighborhoods in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo have their own champions. Since this is the case, we won’t be able to feature all of the continent’s pro wrestling champions in this piece but will do our best to share some of the top title holders in the region.
Mighty Man - National Heavyweight Champion - Nigeria Pro Wrestling Federation
Defeated The Great Mosendo at the National Security, Peace and Unity Pro Wrestling Championship in Abuja, Nigeria on June 13th, 2021 to become the first NPWF National Champion since 2018 when all titles were declared vacant by new management. Mighty Man would later add to his championship belt collection at the NPWF 40th Anniversary Event in Lagos on November 21st, 2021 after winning the Eze Dr. Uche Egenti International Heavyweight Championship in a ladder match against Super Roscoe.
Michel Noudem (with title) after defeating Power Lee (green singlet) for the Pro Wrestling Africa Heavyweight Championship
Michel Noudem - African Heavyweight Champion - Pro Wrestling Africa
“Le Matraqueur” defeated “Mr. Peace” Power Lee of Nigeria in Yaoundé, Cameroon to become the second Heavyweight Champion of the continental promotion on April 30, 2021 at the Battle of Yaoundé 2021. Noudem’s victory came via referee’s decision, putting an end to Power Lee’s six year reign as the PWA’s first African Heavyweight Champion, in front of his hometown fans in Cameroon’s capital.
The Wolf NDA poses with his son following a successful title defense at Battle of Yaoundé 2021
The Wolf NDA - African Middleweight Champion - Pro Wrestling Africa
The Middleweight Champion of Africa’s continental promotion also hails from Cameroon, giving the Central African nation a stranglehold on the PWA’s top titles. The Wolf oozes charisma and is loved by crowds everywhere he goes. His title defenses against Buffalo, also from Cameroon, were some of the wildest brawls seen in recent African pro wrestling memory. The Wolf has recently brought his craft to the United States, successfully defending the PWA Middleweight Championship multiple times on the Texas indie scene and scooping up a couple of new titles, including the America’s Academy of Pro Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship and the Texas Wrestling Alliance Texas Championship, over the last year.
Congo King (right) locks up with Ananzi
Congo King - All-Africa Heavyweight Champion - Africa Wrestling Alliance
Congo King, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has been reigning as the top champion of South Africa’s AWA since March 2019. His second title defense, against Mike Xander, was part of the first African pro wrestling event to be streamed on FITE TV, AWA: House of Pain, and is still available on the platform.
Mr. Wrestling - CPW World Champion - Champions Pro Wrestling
The longest reigning World Champion in CPW history. The South American company, formerly known as World Wrestling Professionals, is also popular in India. CPW is planning a big 2023 and Mr. Wrestling is in line to make some tough title defenses as challengers are beginning to line up.
Safrane - Champion of Congo, Classic Style - FECOLUSAF
Safrane became the national champion of The Republic of the Congo on April 28, 2022 by claiming the vacant title after defeating Lourd Biankouikila. In the Republic of the Congo, wrestling is broken up by geographical district and by two styles and a national federation will sanction wrestlers, champions and matches. The top FECOLUSAF title represents the whole country in two different styles of wrestling, classic style pro wrestling and “African style,” sometimes known as voodoo wrestling or catch fetiche. Safrane is set to defend the title belt on February 5, 2023 at the Nicole Oba Gymnasium in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, against RTGA Le Lion, the former FECOLUSAF Champion of Brazzaville, and the match is expected to be available on wrestlemap.com.
Animal Lion - FECOCA Champion of Kinshasa, Classic Style - FECOCA
Animal Lion became the Federation Congolese de Catch (Congolese Wrestling Federation) Champion of Kinshasa (the capital and largest city in the DRC) in Classic Style on October 15, 2022 after defeating Goldberg (DRC) in a championship final. The self-proclaimed Undertaker of Africa spent the first month of the year preparing to head into the Congolese National Championship, which was set for January 16th to the 18th, for a shot at becoming the Champion of Congo in Classic Style. The DRC has a similar system to its neighbor the Republic of the Congo where a governing body sanctions wrestlers and matches but champions are crowned based on geographical district and wrestlers from local clubs battle it out for the regional titles. The championship belt system is unique as well with reigning champions forced to vacate and regain their belt at yearly district or nation-wide championship events, depending which title is on the line. With his new status as Champion of Kinshasa, Animal Lion was a major contender heading into the FECOCA National Championship to determine the Champion of the Congo in Classic Style but was unable to advance past the semifinal.
Queen Shakira - FECOCA Women’s Champion - FECOCA
La Reine Shakira (French for Queen Shakira) is the undisputed women’s champion of Congolese wrestling. Recognized as the FECOCA Women’s Champion, Shakira is one of the most popular wrestlers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Kinshasa-based wrestler is a master in the catch fetiche, or voodoo wrestling, style, but is also proficient in the ring as a technician and is capable of taking on a lot of punishment before dishing out some of her own. Shakira has been featured in VICE documentaries, has a growing fanbase outside of the Congo, and is an esteemed figure who has visited with government dignitaries and often holds leadership roles in the Kinshasa-based catch clubs she wrestles and trains with.
Six Bolite - FECOCA Champion of Kinshasa, Congolese Style & FECOCA Champion of Congo, Congolese Style-FECOCA
Six Bolite has recently become a double champion. On October 15, 2022, he won the FECOCA Kinshasa Championship in Congolese style and then defeated the massive Elephant in the national championship final at YMCA Stadium in Kinshasa on January 18th, 2023. The masked wrestler is adored by the fans, always brings high energy to the ring and is a high quality grappler but also possesses the magical abilities to thrive in the Congolese style as well.
Samson - FECOCA Champion of the Congo, Classic Style - FECOCA
Samson won the Champion of the Congo title in the Classic Style category at the FECOCA National Championship event that took place over a three day period between January 16th and 18th. To gain the title belt, Samson advanced to the championship final where he defeated former Champion of Kinshasa in Classic Style, Goldberg (DRC). Samson sports long braids and is a solid technician in the ring, and has mastered several reversals and rolls that he used to defeat Goldberg and overcome his power.
Ebéndé Molasso - FECOLUSAF Champion of Brazzaville, Classic Style - FECOLUSAF
Sometimes also referred to as Tramotina, Ebéndé won the FECOLUSAF Brazzaville Championship in Classic Style at the Departmental Championship in September 2022 after defeating Obus in the championship final. Has also had success wrestling in Le Oünko where he is undefeated. He plays the role of a monster or an uncontrollable wild man as he’s escorted everywhere he goes by handlers who keep him locked up in chains due to his extremely dangerous and unpredictable nature. One of his signature moves includes breaking a cinderblock with a sledgehammer as it lies across his opponent’s chest.
Top Stories to Watch in 2023
WWE’s Expansion into Africa and the Lagos Tryouts
February 2023 will mark a big step in WWE’s new venture into finding the next African WWE superstar. That is when the first ever WWE tryouts to be held on African soil will be held in the Nigerian city of Lagos. What wrestlers will be invited to tryout and which wrestlers will be chosen? Could we see some of the wrestlers currently active on the scene in Nigeria get a giant opportunity to take their skills to the highest level? Or will the WWE’s talent search unearth athletes that will be new to the wrestling ring? We also may learn more about the WWE’s future plans in WWE, plans for localized content on the continent and what country the WWE African Superstar Search will head to after Nigeria this year.
Gold Wrestling Association and Nigeria Pro Wrestling Federation in 2023
One of the oldest pro wrestling scenes in Africa, Nigeria is home to the Nigeria Pro Wrestling Federation who celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2021 but had more of a subdued 2022, only getting into the ring to honor the life of fallen giant of the Nigerian scene Tony Destroyer in May. However, Gold Wrestling Association, a subsidiary of the NPWF, has launched in the meantime and been busy. The GWA had some big goals and ideas for December 2022 where they were able to put on multiple events. It looks like the GWA would like to keep that momentum moving through the new year and hold more events in Lagos and possibly even beyond in 2023.
Big 2023 for South African Scene
South Africa boasts the African continent’s most established pro wrestling scene. From funding to longevity to prestige, South Africa’s scene is the top of the top. The country has produced some international star wrestlers of their own, has hosted plenty more and has served as a locale for aspiring wrestlers from around Africa to visit and relocate to for a chance at a bigger scale opportunity in the world of pro wrestling. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has dampened the country’s pro wrestling scene and 2023 appears to be the year when things are expected to be all systems go again. Champions Pro Wrestling has been forced to delay their yearly Wrestle Monster mega event due to covid for multiple years now but look intent on holding the event this year. CPW has hosted big name international wrestlers in the past and is a viable brand in their home territory but also in India, having produced regular television programs in both countries.
Also in South Africa, African Wrestling Alliance is another top promotion that is likely looking to to pick up some momentum in 2023. Formerly the African Wrestling Federation, the AWA was once a nationally televised promotion in South Africa. They hit a big milestone in getting more eyes on their product when they became the first African wrestling promotion to have an event air live on FITE TV back in July of 2019. Now, with the Covid-19 restrictions being more lax, we’ll see if AWA will have more of an ambition to attempt to reach larger audiences again.
A third South African promotion that has been picking up steam is Honour Wrestling Association. The HWA recently opened their second training facility and announced that they had purchased another local promotion, South African Pro Wrestling. The HWA is picking up a lot of momentum and lays claim to the fact that they are South Africa’s most requested wrestling promotion. Perhaps 2023 will see HWA expand their reach to international status as well.
Egypt’s PWO Moving Forward
We haven’t heard much from the PWO promotion in Egypt since fall of 2022. Originally the promotion had big plans, bringing in Chris Masters and Carlito for an in ring face off that was teased as a future match for the PWO Heavyweight Championship. Sammy Guevara was brought in for an appearance. Jesus Rodriguez (FKA Roberto Rodriguez in WWE) and Anarko Montaña of Chile were brought in to help train wrestlers and spent a good chunk of time there doing so. The Covid-19 pandemic played a big part in putting any big plans on hold. PWO forged ahead with their training and even held training matches and crowned a champion of the training school and the title was defended and even switched hands. But also social media updates stopped around October and November of 2022. At this point, it’s unclear what the future holds for PWO which is a little disappointing after seeing things kick off with such promise and wrestlers that spent months training toward their goal of being to compete on live PWO events. There is still pro wrestling in Egypt, the EWR promotion appears to still be active and occasionally runs spot shows. However, it’s unfortunate to see the promise of high end pro wrestling and international touring wrestlers competing in Egypt being so up in the air right now. Let’s hope PWO can get back on track and achieve some of what they had in mind back in 2021 and 2022.
Le Oünko and the Commercialization of African pro wrestling
Le Oünko sprung up in 2022 with an interesting new product that brought high production value and arena shows to Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo. Upon the establishment of the promotion, we heard that Oünko had plans to expand their operations into other African countries. So far, things have been centered in Brazzaville, but Oünko has been featuring talent from the neighboring capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kinshasa, on their regular studio talk shows. It will be interesting to see if future arena events will feature talent from the DRC and help kick off their continental aspirations. Either way, the company is off to a good start, hosting a regular studio TV show that, as far as we can tell, is one of a very few instances of local pro wrestling being broadcast regularly on the continent.
Angola Wrestling Entertainment in action?
The independent fetish (voodoo) wrestling scene has been growing and expanding in Angola, as has the number of events being held by local wrestling clubs in the country’s capital of Luanda. However, Angola Wrestling Entertainment is still waiting to kick things off on a higher level. Led by skilled amateur wrestler and one time aspiring Olympian, Trovoada, the vision for AWE would see a sports entertainment style of wrestling, mostly void of the black magic of Congolese fetish wrestling, taking place in larger venues in the Luanda area. Trovoada and members of his team are popular in the area and regularly compete on smaller club shows so it will be interesting to see what type of an impact AWE can make if they get back into things after being in more of an exploratory mode since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
CADC and Pro Wrestling Africa
A new governing body of pro wrestling in Africa, which will be linked with the continental promotion Pro Wrestling Africa, has recently launched in Scotland and found their first champion. The Confederation Africaine De Catch kicked things off on a Rivals Pro Wrestling card in Lanarkshire, Scotland where Frankie Mooney defeated Ubaha Martin of Nigeria to become the first CADC World Heavyweight Champion (as well as capturing the Rivals World Heavyweight Championship from Ubaha in the process). Now the CADC is set to move forward as a governing body over African pro wrestling with only wrestlers that are from countries that are among the Pro Wrestling Africa member states being able to step forward as a challenger for the title. Hopefully, with the CADC having firm roots in Europe, this will provide African wrestlers with a chance to travel and compete in more countries where pro wrestling is a little bit more visible on the radar. As for Pro Wrestling Africa, it remains to be seen what the continental promotion has in store for 2023 events wise but there is certainly a desire to move forward with an event this year if the funding and opportunity presents itself. You can check out the match between Frankie Mooney and “Banilux Bulldog” Ubaha Martin for the CADC Championship below.
Funding and Pay Issues Getting Better
One of the main ailments that the African scene faces is a lack of funding. Promotions in many countries depend on government funding that doesn’t always come. Wrestlers don’t always get paid for events in certain countries and fans aren’t always charged to attend, either. For paid events, the number of fans that have the disposable income to attend a pro wrestling show isn’t always very high but these events are beginning to take place more frequently in places like Brazzaville and Kinshasa than they had in the past. There is some hope among wrestlers in Africa that now that the WWE is expressing interest in having more of a footprint in the continent that the willingness to provide funding and sponsorship from the local governments and businesses will increase. I’ve always been a firm believer that if promotions can move away from being dependent on government funds and instead seek out partners and sponsors in local business that it would be beneficial for a steadier influx of outside funds. However, that’s certainly easier said than done as there are likely laws and regulations in place in many of the countries, along with funding difficulties and differences that many from the West can’t grasp as easily.
National Champion of Both Congos
There are two national championship events in both the Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo that are set for early 2023 that should have a big impact on the national scene in both countries.
In the DRC, the National Championship that resulted in new Champions of the Congo being crowned, wrapped up on January 18th. A Champion of Congo has been crowned in both of the wrestling styles practiced in the DRC, classic style and Congolese style (voodoo wrestling/catch fetiche). In Congolese style, Six Bolite defeated Elephant in the championship final to become the new FECOCA Champion of the Congo. In classic style, Samson defeated the former FECOCA Champion of Kinshasa in Classic Style, Goldberg (DRC), in the bout to determine the new champion. Wrestlers from the DRC provinces of Kasai Central, Kongo Central, Kasai Oriental, Kasai, Kwilu, Grand Katanga, Nord Kivu, Grand Equateur, and Tshopo competed at the three day championship event that ran from January 16th to January 18th. You can check out the semifinals and final of the Congolese Championship in both styles below.
As for the DRC’s neighbor the Republic of the Congo, a big time challenge match for the FECOLUSAF Champion of the Congo in Classic Style is planned for February 5th at the Nicole Oba Gymnasium in Brazzaville. Former FECOLUSAF Champion of Brazzaville will challenge current FECOLUSAF Champion of the Congo in Classic Style, Safrane. These two met in 2022 at the National Championship, with Safrane coming out victorious against RTGA and then later, in the championship final to become the new Champion of the Congo. RTGA has issued the challenge to the champion, and it’s expected to be accepted and we hope to have footage of the match eventually available here on WrestleMap!
The Next Country to Build a Strong Wrestling Scene
Pro wrestling continues to be a developing industry all around Africa. Several countries have either established a pro wrestling scene that’s in its infancy or have taken the steps to get things started in the ring. Areas to keep an eye on when it comes to taking the next step with their wrestling scene include Morocco, Ghana, Benin, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Some of these countries are in the process of taking the initial step to launch a pro wrestling promotion in their area, some have been active to an extent for a few years, and others have active promotions that are starting to hit their stride. It will be interesting to see which one of these wrestling scenes will take the next big step over the coming year.
Wrestlers to Watch in 2023
RTGA Le Lion (Republic of the Congo)
Bedezo (Republic of the Congo)
Lourd Biankouikila (Republic of the Congo)
Nina Chaleur (Republic of the Congo)
CAP 150 (Republic of the Congo)
Big Fire (South Africa (by way of DRC))
Kilimanjaro (South Africa (by way of Nigeria))
There are certainly a number of wrestlers and promotions that were not mentioned here that could have a big 2023. The African scene is more vast than it may appear and hopefully 2023 will be a big year for some more of the wrestlers’ and promotions’ stories coming to light!
