Lord Andy Coyne
Photo: Cory Lockwood Photography
Watching wrestling live & in person is a truly unique experience due to the atmosphere of the audience. However, with streaming services now commonplace wrestling at all levels has become a global art form & thus the need for an amazing commentary team is paramount. Here in Australia, particularly in Melbourne, one man's voice has become synonymous with historic Australian wrestling moments. That man is Lord Andy Coyne, who has worked as the lead play-by-play commentator for Melbourne City Wrestling (MCW), Deathmatch Downunder & the brand new promotion Renegades Of Wrestling. What is perhaps surprising about Andy is that he is actually British so his journey to becoming the voice of Australian indie wrestling is rather unique.
Speaking to Pario recently Andy told us about his journey to discover a passion for wrestling, his initial aspirations, how he then came to be the voice of Melbourne wrestling & ultimately having the opportunity to commentate on a match involving perhaps one of the world's greatest ever wrestlers, Kazuchika Okada.
"I first found wrestling through my best friend's VHS tape collection. Looking at the covers of those I saw people like Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior & Sergeant Slaughter. But I didn't start watching properly until around 1996... my first Wrestlemania was Wrestlemania 12 with Bret Hart versus Shawn Michaels in a 60-minute iron man match," recalled Andy. As we continued chatting Andy spoke about how watching that match as a "young, naïve fan who 70% believed wrestling was real" got emotionally invested. This emotional attachment to wrestling cemented Andy's fandom & ultimately saw him looking to pursue a dream of being involved in wrestling.
Initially, Andy's aspirations involved stepping into the ring as a competitor, but much like fellow Pario interviewee Referee Hannah, injury & health concerns ended that dream early.
"I had a bit of a ticking time bomb in the form of a hip condition which is basically an accelerated arthritis," revealed Andy. "So the sad reality is I was always going to have a limited lifespan as a wrestler."
Not one to let this extinguish his passion Andy then looked to alternative ways to stay involved in the British wrestling scene, which was undergoing a resurgence at the time.
"In many ways, I fell into commentary simply because I always kept my eyes open for opportunities. Which is the biggest piece of advice I give to anyone in wrestling, be open to opportunity because even if it doesn't necessarily take you down the road you envisioned you'll learn something new."
From there Andy began to develop as a commentator before he was convinced to move to Australia by his wife. Once here Andy wanted to get involved in the local wrestling scene as a way to make new friends. And boy was that decision a great one not only for Andy himself but also for the promotions & wrestlers he would come to work with.
In his role as a commentator, Andy views himself as "one of the main storytellers" who is there to help flesh out the storylines & characters. With this in mind, Andy does a lot of prep work in the days leading up to every show.
All of this hard work paid off when Andy had the opportunity to commentate on a Kazuchika Okada match for MCW. "That was one of the few moments I had honest to God, goosebumps up and down my arm," Andy told Pario. "The enormity of having the longest reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion coming into our small little building was just a really magical moment."
Keep up with Lord Andy Coyne on social media at: @LordAndyCoyne
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