When WWE made its debut on Netflix in January, it marked a seismic shifts in sports entertainment. While legends including John Cena, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and Australian megastar Rhea Ripley made appearances, another homegrown presence was missing: Adelaide’s own Bronson Reed.
For Reed, it was supposed to be the culmination of a long journey from suburban South Australia to the bright lights of WWE. Instead, he was sidelined with a major injury in November last year, when he jumped off the top of a WarGames cage and shattered his talus bone.
“I just remember I jumped off the cage and, I’ve jumped off of that height before… and never once did I put my foot down,” Reed told Rolling Stone AU/NZ. “And for some reason, when I jumped off that cage, my instincts kicked in and I put my foot down, and then that’s what broke my talus bone in my foot, which is a terrible injury to have ’cause it’s hard to rehab from.”
Initially, Reed was able to walk backstage which led doctors to believe nothing was broken. But once the adrenaline wore off, he wasn’t even capable of standing up.
“…In the moment, I remember it happening, and I wasn’t even in pain. I think I was in more shock, like, ‘Oh no, what’s this gonna mean?’,” he recalled.
Given he’d already been let go once in late 2021, Reed thought this could be another dead end for his relationship with WWE. Even more devastating was the fact he was been primed for a feud with another top WWE superstar, CM Punk, prior to the injury.
But the hometown battler refused to stay down. By May 2025, he was back in the ring as part of WWE’s biggest heel (pro wrestling term for bad guy) faction. He told Rolling Stone AU/NZ that unlike his first comeback, where doubts overshadowed, this time he knew he was “supposed to be here”.
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For Australian fans, his rise carries extra weight. He is part of a small but growing wave of locals carving out space in WWE, alongside Ripley and tag team The Grayson Waller Effect. His presence on the global stage represents a chance for Australian wrestling fans to see one of their own command attention in front of millions.
He’ll bring that energy home later this year, embarking on shows in Perth and Melbourne as part of a WWE takeover. It will mark his first time wrestling in front of a home crowd since signing with WWE in 2019. More than just another booking, it’s an opportunity to show Australia how far he’s come — from sidelined underdog to main-event contender.
Missing WWE’s Netflix debut was merely a blip in Reed’s journey. With resilience, the Adelaide native has stepped back into the spotlight, proving the comeback can be more thrilling that the initial debut.