Vale NSW Pro Wrestling Legend Salem

Former multiple time UWA tag team champion, Salem has sadly passed away IWA announced on their Instagram page earlier today, 18 July 2023. It is understood Salem unfortunately suffered a medical episode over the weekend.

A mainstay of IWA and UWA in Sydney throughout the 2000s, Salem was a powerful big man, who captured the IWA Trans Tasman and UWA Ultimate championships during this time as a singles competitor and crossed paths with the likes of Tyson Gibbs, Rob Matrix, Phil Picasso along the way. His time as a tag team with Devlin De Skyes is remembered particularly fondly by his fans. As recently as 2020 and in what was his final wrestling match, Salem captured the AWE championship from then champion Psyckotic, before unfortunately vacating the title and retiring from Professional Wrestling for personal reasons in 2021.

Salem is being remembered as a monstrous menace within the four sides of a wrestling ring, but a genuinely kind and wonderful person outside of it and his loss is being felt deeply around the NSW wrestling community. Psykotic, remembered him as “a great leader and veteran in that ring”, whilst Phil Picasso recalled they “travelled all over NSW together”. The Giant Kyote, posted a beautiful tribute to Facebook to a fellow big man which encapsulated what many who knew him would feel – “This legend was truly one of a kind, Sandy Salem was without a doubt one of the best if not the best monster heels & at times face. He was always so kind to me and helped me with my movements & mannerisms whenever we saw each other down south”.

Angus McLoud, who shared the ring with Salem many times and fellow member of Clan McLoud wrote, “We started our wrestling journey together, i couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have a kindred spirt with me from the start. My tag team partner, my mate in metal, I gonna miss you big guy”.

We here at PW Downunder send our condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and fans – May he Rest in Peace.