Former WWE and AEW star Parker Boudreaux has an upcoming match against fellow ex-WWE star Shanky in Australia later this month. Boudreaux has made strides in his career since being released by AEW in 2024.
The man formerly known as Harland had a few matches at AAA in Mexico before starting to tour Japan. He has mainly wrestled for GLEAT and will be returning there later this year for his sixth tour.
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Speaking to Sportskeeda’s Riju Dasgupta, Boudreaux hyped his match against Shanky and discussed several topics like Paul Heyman and the “Next Brock Lesnar” label.
Parker Boudreaux vs. Shanky in Australia
On April 26 at the Thornbury Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, Parker Boudreaux will take on Shanky in a one-on-one match. It’s part of a huge collaborative event between Australia’s two biggest wrestling promotions, Melbourne City Wrestling and Oceania Pro Wrestling.
“This Australia tour is so special coming up. I can’t even really describe it because it’s the two biggest companies in Australia. So April 26th, it’s me versus Shanky. Shanky’s, obviously, he was in the WWE long time and he’s a beast. He’s bigger than me, he’s taller than me, weighs more than me. He’s super strong,” Boudreaux said.
It’s a battle between an unstoppable force and an immovable object. The two behemoths are set to clash and make some noise in Australia. Boudreaux hyped up the matchup, which has garnered some steam on social media, with less than two weeks before the Sunday Showcase event.f
“Shanky is very young. He’s around my age. He’s very popular. He’s a good, good worker. He’s a good wrestler, and I think it’s gonna be a match up, where people are gonna be feening to see this because this is, in my opinion, this could be like on a WWE card or an AEW card or TNA card or a GLEAT card. This could be anywhere. This could be a match being done anywhere, and so for it to be done in the biggest two Australian promotions is huge,” Boudreaux said.
Being busted open by The Great Khali
In addition to Mexico and Japan, Parker Boudreaux also performed at Continental Wrestling Entertainment in India. Boudreaux won the CWE World Heavyweight Championship by defeating JT Baba. He was then confronted by WWE Hall of Famer, The Great Khali, who busted him wide open with a huge chop to the head.
“I actually had to get stitches after cause I was bleeding a lot. People were worried and stuff because his hand, I swear, I have a huge hand, his hand like engulfs mine. So that chop, some people may think it’s not dangerous or powerful. That chop is extremely powerful. That’s why it’s a Hall of Fame move. It’s there for a reason,” Boudreaux said.
Boudreaux eventually lost the CWE World Heavyweight Title to Shivam Thakur six days later. Nevertheless, he has nothing but respect, admiration, and gratitude to Khali for inviting him to perform in India.
Being a ‘Paul Heyman Guy’
There’s no denying that Parker Boudreaux is a “Paul Heyman Guy.” The Hall of Fame manager has always provided him with advice, which continues to this day. Boudreaux told Sportskeeda how Paul Heyman remains in touch with him and congratulates him for his success.
“To this day, especially because he has all my respect, he brought me into the business. He still talks to me to this day. I don’t think he would ever mind me saying that because he talks to me often. He inspires me often. He gives me motivating messages, even when I went against The Great Khali and had my world championship match with [JT] Baba and all those things,” Boudreaux said.
The former WWE star added:
“He gave me feedback on that. He’s watching me. He’s the one that’s inspiring me so much, honestly, when it comes to maybe wrestling business-wise. He’s inspiring me the most because he’s constantly in touch with me, and he’s been in constantly in touch with me since before, even when I started WWE.”
Before WWE, Boudreaux played college football for the UCF Knights. He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and even joined Notre Dame as a freshman before transferring to UCF.
Boudreaux signed a WWE developmental deal in 2021. He was given the name Harland and was an enforcer for Joe Gacy. He spent less than a year there before being released. He briefly appeared at Major League Wrestling before signing with All Elite Wrestling.
In AEW, Boudreaux was initially part of The Trustbusters with Ariya Daivari and Slim J. He later joined Swerve Strickland’s Mogul Affiliates, but his time there was cut short by injury.
Changing the ‘Next Brock Lesnar’ narrative
Due to his size and similar look to a young Brock Lesnar, Parker Boudreaux was initially described as the “Next Brock Lesnar.” However, the nickname seems to be going away in Japan, where more fans are starting to appreciate what he’s doing.
“Especially Japan, and I think that’s why, not really anyone calls me the next Brock Lesnar in Japan. It’s always the new monster, but then also when I do these meet and greets, I’m also trying to learn Japanese as well, so it’s like they see my respectful side outside of the ring,” Boudreaux said.
Boudreaux was also proud of making strides in his career, in and out of the ring. He is expected to continue working at GLEAT in Japan later this year, training under Kotaro Suzuki, who was one of the last students of the great Mitsuharu Misawa.
The 28-year-old powerhouse began touring Japan in October 2024. He immediately challenged Hayato Tamura for the G-REX Title, which is the world championship for GLEAT.
Despite failing to win the title, Parker Boudreaux is looking forward to his next opportunity to become the G-REX Champion.
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Edited by Pratik Singh
