Vietnam Pro Wrestling: The Rumble — Preview

It is Rumble season again in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam Pro Wrestling's over-the-top-rope elimination match is now the biggest annual tradition on the Vietnamese wrestling calendar, and in this writer's opinion it is also the toughest test any wrestler in Southeast Asia can face. Every year the promotion brings in talent from around the region and beyond to test themselves against Vietnam's own roster, and every year the match ends with one survivor holding a Sure Shot contract, which guarantees a match for a VPW championship of the winner's choosing, at any time and in any place. Because the contract can be cashed in against any title, current champions are allowed to enter as well, and that rule has produced some of the most chaotic finishes in company history.

Last year's match set a high bar. Rocky Huynh entered late at number 20, sat on a chair while the fans howled at him, and then stole the win from Jimmy AG in a final two that had the building shaking. The year before, Hy Draco won the Rumble and went on to take the top title in short order. The pattern is clear enough: whoever wins this match tends to be fighting for a championship within a few months, so the stakes are real even for the wrestlers who are nowhere near the title right now.

We have also rated every announced entrant's chance of winning, from very strong down to very slim. These are our own opinions and nothing more.

The announced field

Billy — Three previous entries. Won the VPW Tag Team Championships alongside Bobby as The Classic Night at last year's Rumble, which remains one of the loudest moments in the company's recent history. He can absorb an enormous amount of punishment before firing back, and that endurance may matter more in this match than anywhere else. Rumble advantage: Endurance. He takes more punishment than anyone and is still moving when others have gone.

Bobby — Also three previous entries, and the other half of the team that took the tag titles at last year's event. The power house of the pair and a genuine threat to lift and dump anyone in the ring. His bodyslam has finished matches on its own, and in a match decided by who can throw who, that matters. Rumble advantage: Raw lifting power. Anyone he gets hold of can be put over the rope in one motion.

Ronnie El Rapido — One previous entry, having debuted at number 2 last year. He has grown steadily over the past twelve months and this is a good chance to show that growth in front of a sold-out room. Rumble advantage: Speed and a low centre of gravity, which makes him awkward to grab and lift.

Xiumin Long — Three previous entries. Returned from injury in 2023 to a huge ovation and is now the Vortex Rebellion man closest to the top of the card. He also has a title match on this card, which raises an obvious question about how much he will have left whether he becomes champion or not. Rumble advantage: Heavyweight size combined with lucha footwork. Very hard to move off the mat.

Meteor Kid — Two previous entries, including a debut at number 1 last year. He was thrown almost back to the dressing room by Da Butcherman during the tag rumble at Vietnamania, so he owes someone a receipt. Rumble advantage: Fearlessness. He goes after bigger men from the first bell and never waits his turn.

Jimmy AG — Two previous entries. Returned from injury at last year's event and made it all the way to the final two before Rocky Huynh put him out. He is as likely to hand an opponent a chicken as he is to hit them, but the near miss last year has given him something to prove. Rumble advantage: Experience of the final two. He knows exactly what the last five minutes feel like.

K.P.Y. — Four previous entries, going back to a debut in the 2023 match. A hard-hitting kicker who has spent much of the last two years caught up in the Vortex Rebellion split, and he has unfinished business with more than one entrant. Rumble advantage: Size and power. Has been knocking the competition down all year.

Khoa Truong — Five previous entries, the joint most in the field. Ask around the VPW locker room and Khoa is the name most of them expect to win, which is exactly the sort of thing that ends in disappointment. His running rivalry with Henry has now seen the pair eliminate each other in two straight rumbles. Rumble advantage: Five Rumbles of ring knowledge and a habit of knowing where the danger is coming from.

Hai Nguyen — No previous entries. He earned his place by surviving five minutes against The British Horror at the last VPW Academy show, which is a strong way to arrive. He also faces An D in singles action earlier in the night, so this is a big evening for the masked man. Rumble advantage: Durability. He survived five minutes with The British Horror to earn this spot.

Damien Wolfe — Four previous entries and the winner of the 2022 “Rooster Rumble”. He has been quiet in the title picture lately but he knows this match format better than most. Rumble advantage: Strong. He has already won one of these. Few in the field understand the format better.

D. Austin — Five previous entries and perhaps one of the largest elimination totals in VPW history. If you are guessing who clears the ring at some point in the middle of this match, it is probably him. Rumble advantage: Eliminations. He clears the ring faster than anyone in VPW history.

Kira — Five previous entries and currently on a dominant run in VPW Academy show matches. That form has not yet carried over to the main shows, and this is the obvious place to change that. Rumble advantage: Form. Nobody has looked more dominant in Academy show competition this year.

Henry — Two previous entries since debuting in the 2024 match. He has spent two years trying to prove he belongs, and the Khoa rivalry has given him a clear target. Rumble advantage: Persistence. He keeps coming back at opponents long after they think he is finished.

Miles Karu — Two previous entries last year alone. Formed Juicy Meat with Da Butcherman at the 2025 event and the pair, won the tag rumble at Vietnamania last December. He also took Phong Tran out of VPW in the 2025 Rumble, and he arrives in Vietnam as the MYPW Southeast Asia Champion. With a singles match earlier in the night, he could be entering already worn down or perhaps on a high. Rumble advantage: Tag rumble winner and a champion elsewhere. He knows how to win a crowded match.

Da Butcherman — Two previous entries. The other half of Juicy Meat and the most physically intimidating man in the match. He has thrown people around in every Rumble he has been in, and the fans are visibly nervous when he goes near the smaller entrants. Rumble advantage: Size and force. No single man in this match can throw him out.

Hy Draco — Two previous entries and the winner of the 2024 Rumble. He also has the number one contender's match earlier in the night, which makes his position here more vulnerable. Winning both would be a lot. Rumble advantage:Aerial ability and balance, which keeps him on the right side of the ropes.

Dokuga — Four previous entries, but this is the first time he enters with no partner to rely on. The mist is still his most reliable weapon and it has already backfired on his own side once this year. Rumble advantage: The mist. One accurate blast can take a rival out of the match entirely.

An D — Four previous entries. This is his first Rumble since a long injury layoff, and he has a singles match with Hai Nguyen to get through first. Rumble advantage: Leadership and ring intelligence from a man who built a faction from nothing

The Founder Rocky Huynh — Four previous entries and the reigning Rumble winner. He won last year by sneaking in at the last minute and stealing the Sure Shot contract, and there is no reason at all to think he will fight fair this time. Rumble advantage: Timing and cunning. He won last year by picking the perfect moment. .

Xavier Patricks — Four previous entries. Has hinted that he picked up some new “moves” on his recent trips abroad. He is not a wrestler in the usual sense, so any elimination he manages will be a moment. Rumble advantage: Nobody takes his chances seriously, which means nobody watches him until it is too late.

Phuong Nam — Two previous entries since a debut in the 2023 match. Another non-wrestler, and one who has spent the last year managing and needling half the locker room. Plenty of people in this match would enjoy throwing him out. Rumble advantage: Allies at ringside and a talent for getting other people to do his fighting.

Ares — The reigning VPW Vietnam Champion, and one previous entry from the 2025 match. He defends the title against Xiumin Long earlier in the night, so he goes into the Rumble already having wrestled once. Every other entrant is fighting for a shot at his championship, which means twenty people have a reason to make sure he does not last long. Rumble advantage: Power. He can throw almost anyone in this match over the top rope on his own, and the spear clears space fast.

Two more ratings for the field as a whole. An unannounced entrant winning the match rates as strong, since surprise names have shaped every recent Rumble and more entrants are still to be revealed. Ares, should he enter at all, would rate as very strong.

Who else could join?

More names are almost certain to be added, and some will not be announced at all.

Newer prospects from the VPW Academy would be a logical fit, particularly given how well recent debuts at low numbers have gone.

Returns are always possible. This match has been used before to bring people back from long absences.

Visitors from Singapore, Thailand or Malaysia have appeared in previous years, and the unspoken VPW versus SPW rivalry has run through the last two Rumbles.

The biggest open question is Ares. Champions have entered before, with Rocky Huynh doing so in 2024 and Ares himself in 2025, but the champion has not been named among the entrants this time.

Miles Karu vs Hy Draco

This is a first-time meeting and a number one contender's match, which gives it real weight on the card. Draco has been here before and knows what a title shot is worth, so he will be desperate to win. Karu has never had a VPW championship match, and this is his route to one. Both men work at speed and both like the air, so the match should move quickly. Karu has also hinted at new moves picked up in Japan, and in my opinion that is the part worth watching, because he has improved with every visit to Vietnam.

Ares vs Xiumin Long

The first singles meeting between these two, with the VPW Vietnam Championship on the line. They last shared a ring in Ares' debut match, when the champion teamed with Venomshank against The Mystic Warriors and Sid Nguyen. Both are legitimate heavyweights, and the framing is generational. Long represents the origin story of Vietnam Pro Wrestling and the early days of the company, while Ares is the top of the post-Covid generation that came out of the Cu Chi period. Two generations, one championship.

Hai Nguyen vs An D

The third announced match brings together two wrestlers at opposite ends of their careers. Hai Nguyen is the masked newcomer who has risen quickly in VPW, and his refusal to stay down has made him easy for the crowd to get behind. Across the ring is An D, a long-serving VPW veteran and a VIETSLAM star who now goes by “The National Treasure”. This is comfortably the biggest test Hai Nguyen has faced so far, and it comes on the same night he makes his first Rumble appearance. An D, meanwhile, is still working his way back to full sharpness after a long injury layoff, so a win over a rising name would do a lot to re-establish him.

Yota Tsuji in attendance

As covered last week, Yota Tsuji will be at the show. He is advertised as an observer only, with no match announced. Given what has happened at previous VPW shows when international names have been in the building, the only way to be sure you see whatever unfolds is to be there.

What to expect on the night

Looking at the card as a whole, this is a shorter show than some VPW events, and that is deliberate. The Rumble itself takes up a large chunk of the running time, so the three announced singles matches all carry real weight rather than filling space. Two of them feed directly into the Rumble, with Miles Karu, Hy Draco, Xiumin Long, Hai Nguyen and An D all working twice on the same night, and that is the detail most likely to decide the main event. A wrestler who has already gone fifteen hard minutes is much easier to lift over the top rope.

The other thing worth watching is the number of unresolved rivalries entering the same match. Khoa Truong and Henry have eliminated each other twice in a row. An D still has business with the Vortex Rebellion members who moved on without him. K.P.Y. has history with more than one man in the field. Rocky Huynh has spent a year making sure nobody in the locker room trusts him. In my opinion, that is where the Rumble gets its drama, because the wrestlers who stop to settle old scores rarely last to the finish, and the ones who keep their heads tend to be standing at the end.

Tickets and details

Tickets are still on sale but are expected to sell out. Recent Rumbles have all been full houses.

Saturday, 22 August 2026

Doors open and meet-and-greet: 6:00 PM

First match: 7:00 PM

VAIB Studio, 37 Bế Văn Cấm, Tân Kiềng, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City

Full results and a review will follow on SEA Wrestling after the show.

Buy your tickets here