TMDK's Robbie Eagles Talks The Stable's Impact On The Australian Wrestling Scene

It's been about a year and a half since Robbie Eagles last held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title, and the 33-year-old is tired of waiting for his turn. As a result, Eagles made a bold move recently, defecting from CHAOS to join TMDK, and getting a title shot against current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi as a result.

But the move is fitting for Eagles beyond his title aspirations, as the TMDK stable is heavily rooted in Australia, Eagles' home country. In an interview with New Japan Pro-Wrestling's website, Eagles explained why TMDK has become so important to the Australian scene.

"I think the best way to put it is, there have been so many members of this group, starting with Shane [Haste] and Mikey [Nicholls]," Eagles said. "Now it's gone worldwide with guys like Bad Dude Tito, and Zack [Sabre Jr.] of course, but it's been a primarily Australian group, and it was always seen as the best of the best of all Australia, no state lines holding people back."

As for when the influence of TMDK really became noticeable in the Australian scene, Eagles pointed back to a decade ago, when the aforementioned Haste and Nicholls were breaking out in Pro Wrestling NOAH, only a few years before they became members of the WWE NXT roster.

"It was back in 2012, 2013 I think when Shane and Mikey won the GHC Tag Championships that everyone was looking to them for inspiration in this country," Eagles said. "They had DIY'd everything, but here they were getting the recognition they deserved in the world, and that we had known they'd deserved for years and years. Then JONAH would break those walls down, getting huge adulation across the country and representing TMDK through and through."