As the global wrestling scene started to take notice of Australia over the last few years, one man was helping to lead the local charge.

It got him all the way from Adelaide to Orlando, Florida, and now it’s got him all the way to one of the WWE’s biggest shows.

South Australia’s Bronson Reed will complete his journey from over a decade on the local scene to NXT TakeOver when he competes in a multi-man ladder match for the North American Championship next week.

And it’s a journey that wouldn’t have even gotten started if his high school sweetheart hadn’t believed in him.

NXT TakeOver XXX airs on Sunday 23rd August at 9am (AEST) on WWE Network.

When he couldn’t afford classes at the local wrestling school, his now-wife Paige stepped in to help him take the first step on his journey.

Though, first he had to tell her he liked wrestling – which as any wrestling fan can attest, can be dangerous.

“I was always a big wrestling fan so when we met, I let her know about wrestling. And sometimes as a younger kid wrestling can be a little bit taboo, because some people don’t really like it, some people do, so it was a tough decision to tell her – ‘hey, I’m obsessed with wrestling’,” Reed told Foxsports.com.au.

“But she embraced it and when we got out of high school, I went and started training at my local wrestling school, and she was the reason I was able to get in. I didn’t have a lot of money at the time, she gave me the money to do it, and ever since then she’s just been supportive.

“Me getting to WWE has obviously been a dream of mine since I was a very little kid, but because myself and my wife Paige have been together for so long, it became her dream as well to see us both get here.

“It’s sometimes surreal, I remember saying things 3-4 years ago like ‘hey, I’m hoping in the future we’ll be moving from Adelaide to Orlando’ … and now we’re here.”

It took a long time and a lot of work to get there.

When Reed started out in 2007, there were only a few token Aussies throughout WWE’s history. He travelled around the world to 13 countries plying his trade, including the wrestling hotbed of Japan, but he didn’t really explode on the global scene until recently.

Known as Jonah Rock at the time, he made his debut in Los Angeles-based promotion Pro Wrestling Guerilla in 2017, participating in the famous Battle of Los Angeles tournament.

It was the right place to be, because WWE heavily scouted the company.

In fact, of the 16 wrestlers who competed on Reed’s first PWG show, four others are also in WWE right now (Ricochet, Domonik Dijakovic, Keith Lee and Matt Riddle), while another five (Brian Cage, Marty Scurll, Rey Fenix, Pentagon Jr and Zach Sabre Jr) are stalwarts in other major companies.

“That put me on the map on a worldwide scale amongst all the independent wrestling fans,” Reed said.

“Working for PWG, you’ve had so many talents that are in WWE go through there – guys like from Undisupted Era, Ricochet, Walter, all those people, it was almost like a breeding ground for the future that was coming to NXT.

“It definitely helped my career, as soon as I did that … a lot of the talent and a lot of the people behind the scenes saw me in a different light. That allowed me to do a lot more around Australia and around the world.”

But even then, he had a problem – because Reed doesn’t exactly have the typical WWE ‘look’.

WWE head honcho Vince McMahon’s love of bodybuilding is well-known, and for years, you needed to be a certain height and shape to realistically be considered for a contract – with rare exceptions.

One of those exceptions, a pro wrestling great who spent some time in WWE after a legendary career elsewhere known as Dusty Rhodes, helped inspire Reed.

“It’s something even on the independent level I thought about as well. At times I’d have people in the wrestling business say maybe you’re not the look they want for WWE or NXT,” he said.

“But that’s not the case at all, if anything they’ve embraced me and I’m doing well. And I hope there’s a generation of kids that will see me and say hey, if he can do it, I can do it as well.

“Growing up I was a big Dusty Rhodes fan, and he wasn’t your typical wrestling athlete, but he was just so good in the ring and so good on the microphone that he was undeniable. And that’s what I strive to be.”

A year and a half after signing, Reed is finally getting the spotlight in WWE, as part of a growing contingent of Australian stars.

It’s a group that is helping him both in and outside of the ring.

“I’m really happy we have that support network – it makes things definitely easier,” he said.

“Myself and Brendan Vink started at the same time, so a lot of the initiation process of getting into WWE and starting at the Performance Center, we were together. Without that it would’ve been more daunting.

“Also the Aussies that are here are so nice – Shane (Thorne), Rhea (Ripley), Indi (Hartwell)’s here now as well.

“We’re all a support network for each other and it does make you feel a bit more at home hearing the Aussie accent now and then. Though I think mine is going sometimes.”

It’s particularly helpful because Reed hasn’t gone home since signing with WWE; and as much as he wants to see his family back in Adelaide, he’s got more than that on his mind when training for the biggest match of his career.

“I say it maybe once or twice a week… I really miss meat pies. I’d do anything to have a meat pie,” he said.

WWE SummerSlam airs on Monday 24th August at 9am (AEST) on Foxtel’s Main Event.