WWE made history in more ways than one this weekend. For the first time in the company’s history, the sports entertainment franchise ran their Elimination Chamber show outside of the U.S., bringing the premium live event overseas to Perth, Australia. It was a memorable night for the over 50,000 fans in attendance, and countless who watched it live from the comfort of their homes. But, for Bluey fans, what made it stand out was an unexpected but welcome shout-out to the best animated canine mom in cartoons, as one wrestler wore their best Bluey outfit during her thrilling match.
During the kickoff show prior to the start of the Elimination Chamber, the reigning WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions “The Kabuki Warriors” had their hands full as they defended their titles against the team of Indi Hartwell and Candace LeRae. This match was a homecoming for Hartwell, a Melbourne native, but our eyes were on her partner.
Candace LeRae is known for incorporating pieces of her favorite fandoms into her wrestling gear, and tonight was no different. For the 14th annual Elimination Chamber, “The Poison Pixie” arrived in the Optus Stadium dressed in an outfit inspired by Chilli Heeler. Decked out in orange, the outfit featured the white hairs seen in her markings, as well as a paw print on her chest. Even her knee pads featured the signature spots of Chilli, making it unmistakeable for those who know Bluey.
LeRae and Hartwell fought valiantly against the dominant duo of Asuka and Kairi Sane, fending off their sneaky attacks and going toe-to-toe with them on the mats. The Aussie/ American connection found success using double team moves, but as the match progressed, LeRae was isolated from her partner and took the brunt of the beatdown from the champs.
After absorbing a ton of damage, LeRae found her way to her teammates corner, bringing Hartwell back into the match with a head full of steam. The Australian native was a force to be reckoned with, nearly pinning the champs on multiple occasions during her comeback. The match nearly ended after Hartwell gave a spinebuster to each of her opponents, stacking them on top of each other in an attempt to get a double pin. Her efforts were in vain, however, when Hartwell tagged out to LeRae and was snatched from the ring, distracting her partner and leaving an opening for The Kabuki Warriors to find a sneaky way to snag the win.
Ultimately, LeRae and Hartwell weren’t able to pick up the win, and the tag belts remained on the waists of the Kabuki Warriors. Harnessing the Bluey spirit, LeRae took to her Instagram account, where she posted the lesson Bingo learned during “The Show,” writing:
“Have a cry. Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off. And Keep going. The show must go on.”
What makes this moment even more special is realizing that the last person to don Bluey-inspired wrestling gear in WWE was Johnny Gargano AKA the husband of LeRae! The pair have a young child who is obsessed with Bluey, which meant of course his parents would be, too. At last year’s Elimination Chamber, Gargano wore an outfit honoring Bandit during his match. While “Johnny Wrestling” also came up short in the bout, Gargano had a few wild moments during the match, including a spectacular maneuver from the top of the chamber pod that still has people talking.
LeRae and Gargano never shied away from making their fandoms known in the ring. During their time in NXT, the married couple formed a stable with Hartwell called “The Way,” which (you guessed it) alluded to that famous line from The Mandolorian on Disney+.
Besides showing up during last year’s Elimination Chamber event, the Heeler sisters appeared in WWE last summer during an episode of Smackdown. Bingo didn’t make it out unscathed, but thanks to some asisstance from AJ Styles, Bluey went over on one of the bad guys to the delight of the live audience.
The Heeler girls have also appeared in the crowd at several AEW events, making for an interesting crossover between two very different fandoms.
It’s unfortunate that WWE hasn’t had LeRae and Gargano tag together in an intergender match like the Mixed Match Challenge from a few years ago, because I think it’s safe to say we would all love to see these two wrestling in the same ring wearing their Bluey gear. WWE, make it happen or face the wraith of their Magic Asparagus!
