Impact Pro Wrestling (IPW) is a
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
promotion
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
. It has promoted regular events throughout the country and abroad in the last several years and is credited for being the first to bring live wrestling shows to cities, such as
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
and
Whangarei, in over two decades.
A staple of
Armageddon Expo
Armageddon Expo is a New Zealand owned and operated pop culture convention that holds multiple events around New Zealand in cities including Auckland, Wellington, Tauranga and Christchurch. The event, run by Beyond Reality Media Premier Event M ...
since 2002, its annual "Armageddon Cup" supercard has been a major attraction at the event in subsequent years. IPW frequently visited Australia during the early 2000s, in conjunction with Peter Ball's
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
-based Major Impact Wrestling, and the two companies merged to form a sister promotion, Impact Pro Wrestling Australia, in 2007.
That same year, the promotion signed a deal with
Sky Network Television
Sky Network Television Limited, more commonly known as Sky, is a New Zealand broadcasting company that provides pay television services via satellite television, satellite, media streaming services and broadband internet services. It is also a ...
's
ALT TV
__NOTOC__
ALT TV was a New Zealand broadcast, privately owned and operated 24-hour live-to-air music TV, which aired from 2006 to 2009 and was seen on SKY Digital channel 065. In March 2009, the company was placed into liquidation and the channel ...
to broadcast a weekly television show, ''IPW Ignition'', which aired throughout the country as the first wrestling program seen in New Zealand since
Steve Rickard
Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt (3 September 1929 – 5 April 2015), best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, was a New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. As a wrestler, he traveled throughout the world during the 1960s and 1970s, ...
's ''
On the Mat'' during the 1980s. It was later picked up by
Canterbury Television
Canterbury Television was an independent television station broadcasting in Canterbury, New Zealand.
The name is synonymous with regional television in New Zealand as it was the name of the first regional broadcaster to operate in New Zealand ...
and
Triangle TV
Face TV (previously Triangle Television) is a public service television station based in Auckland, New Zealand. Since August 1998. It broadcasts on the Sky Network as of December 2013 ASO. Previously, Triangle has broadcast across Auckland o ...
in late 2008, shortly before ALT TV's demise, and remains the longest-running wrestling series in New Zealand.
In 2011 IPW began a new weekly show entitled ''Mana Mamau'' which aired on Maori Television to replace Ignition. Mana Mamau aired its final episode in 2012.
The promotion is home to several of New Zealand's top independent wrestlers including Jamie Tagataese, Candy Lee,
Reuben de Jong, Kingi, and
Vinny Dunn, all of whom having been featured in the
New Zealand national media, as well as appearances from major American stars such as
Christy Hemme
Christina Lee Hemme ( ; born October 28, 1980) is an American former professional wrestler, singer and model. She is best known for her time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (now known as Impact Wrestling) as a ring announcer and one of the or ...
,
Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...
,
Raven
A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...
,
Disco Inferno
"Disco Inferno" is a song by American disco band the Trammps from their 1976 fourth studio album of the same name. With two other cuts by the group, it reached No. 1 on the US '' Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart in early 1977, but had li ...
,
The Sandman
The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
Representation in traditional folklore
The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
,
"The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, and
Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955), better known by the ring name Jake "The Snake" Roberts, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer. He is be ...
.
History
Mania Pro Wrestling and the Armageddon Expo (2000–2003)
IPW was first formed in 2000 by a group of aspiring independent wrestlers then training under the Steve Hodgson at Mania, an
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
-based gym which specialised in training female
martial artists
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...
and
stunt actors, and began promoting events locally under the banner of Mania Pro Wrestling.
The following year, they held an exhibition show at the
Aotea Centre
The Aotea Centre is a performing arts and events centre in Auckland, New Zealand. Located at the western edge of Aotea Square, off Queen Street, the centre provides a cultural, entertainment and conventions venue space in the heart of the city ...
for the
2002 Armageddon Expo. Their performance proved popular with the crowd and were invited back by promoters for the 2003 expo. IPW would eventually become a regular feature attraction at the pop culture event holding its annual "Armageddon Cup" every year since then.
The beginning of 2003 saw a management change take place, as the company was rebranded MPW. At this time Peter Lane, a former New Zealand wrestling talent from the 'On the Mat' era, was introduced to the company as a new training figure. Peter's years of experience proved an invaluable asset to the maturing wrestling of the new breed of New Zealand Professional Wrestler.
Early years of Impact Pro Wrestling (2003–2004)
In 2003, a new promotion was formed by a core group of MPW wrestlers under Cameron "The Economist" Bailey, Chuck "The Machine" Warner and Nick "Daddy Kool" Fergusson who pooled their money to start Impact Pro Wrestling.
After a year's worth of fundraising, they were able to purchase a custom-built wrestling ring and a training facility where they began running monthly shows soon after.
That year, they held their first event outside Auckland appearing at the
Michael Fowler Centre
The Michael Fowler Centre is a concert hall and convention centre in Wellington, New Zealand. It was constructed on reclaimed land next to Civic Square, and is the pre-eminent concert site in central Wellington.
Commissioned in 1975, building be ...
in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
for
2003 Armageddon Expo.
It was at this event that the promotion held its first-ever "Armageddon Cup" supercard with The Economist eliminating Joey Kinkade in an interpromotional
battle royal
Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...
between wrestlers from IPW and
New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling
New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling (NZWPW) is a professional wrestling promotion based in Petone and later Wainuiomata in New Zealand. The promotion entered a hiatus in 2018, when former NZWPW wrestler, Jay Marshall left the promotion to start Capi ...
.
National expansion and IPW Ignition (2004–2007)
With the acquisition of a new ring and training facilities, IPW was prepared to achieve its first goal of running regular house shows in the Auckland area. Beginning with Genesis at Pt. Chevalier in May 2004, IPW began staging monthly shows in central Auckland. Within two years, IPW was holding regular shows not only in Auckland but throughout the country. They also had one of the largest rosters with approximately 25 wrestlers in Auckland.
In May 2005,
TVNZ
, type = Crown entity
, industry = Broadcast television
, num_locations = New Zealand
, location = Auckland, New Zealand
, area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...
's Hadyn Jones conducted an interview with The Economist and The Machine at their Auckland gym.
Taking its show on the road, IPW hosted
New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling
New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling (NZWPW) is a professional wrestling promotion based in Petone and later Wainuiomata in New Zealand. The promotion entered a hiatus in 2018, when former NZWPW wrestler, Jay Marshall left the promotion to start Capi ...
at Capital Punishment in Wellington in March 2006. Five months later, they participated in the 2006 NZPWI Invitational, a major interpromotional event promoted by NZPWI.co.nz founder Dion McCracken, which included New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling, Kiwi Pro Wrestling and Australia's Major Impact Wrestling. Held on 12 August 2006, at the
Lynfield YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
, McCracken served as IPW's
colour commentator
A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...
at the event. A legitimate black belt in
tae kwon do
''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...
, he knocked out IPW wrestler "Handsome" Danny Jacobs with a superkick during the "Eliminator" battle royal. This incident was voted by NZPWI.co.nz visitors (22.9%) as the "Best Moment" for the New Zealand wrestling category.
IPW enjoyed rousing success when it presented Coastal Assault in October 2006 at
Stanmore Bay on the
Hibiscus Coast
The Hibiscus Coast is a populated area on a stretch of the Hauraki Gulf coast in New Zealand's Auckland Region. It has a population of making it the 11th most populous urban area in New Zealand, and the second most populous in the Auckland Re ...
, the North Auckland town which is home to
"The One" Vinny Dunn. At the end of the year, IPW stars Alexander and Ricky DeVinal appeared in a
television commercial
A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
for Primo, a brand of
flavoured milk
Flavored milk is a sweetened dairy drink made with milk, sugar, flavorings, and sometimes food colorings. It may be sold as a pasteurized, refrigerated product, or as an ultra-high-temperature (UHT) treated product not requiring refrigeration. ...
popular in New Zealand. In January 2007, "Double D" Davey Deluxeo appeared with
WWE World Heavyweight Champion
The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown ...
Dave Batista
David Michael Bautista Jr. (born January 18, 1969) is an American actor and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He had several stints in WWE between 2002 and 2019. In his acting career, he is most widely known for his port ...
in Auckland's ''Central Leader'' newspaper ahead of the
2007 WWE Road to WrestleMania 23 tour. This marked an IPW wrestler's first official interaction with an active WWE wrestler since MPW hosted former WWE Champion
John "Bradshaw" Layfield
John Charles Layfield (born November 29, 1966), better known by the ring name John "Bradshaw" Layfield (abbreviated to JBL), is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and Gridiron football, football player. He is curre ...
for a morning in 2002.
A month later, it was announced that IPW had achieved its first long-term goal by securing a television deal with Auckland's
ALT TV
__NOTOC__
ALT TV was a New Zealand broadcast, privately owned and operated 24-hour live-to-air music TV, which aired from 2006 to 2009 and was seen on SKY Digital channel 065. In March 2009, the company was placed into liquidation and the channel ...
.
The first episode of "
IPW Ignition", which featured footage from its recent IPW New Year's Bash supercard, aired on 10 February 2007. Appearing nationwide on
SKY Network Television
Sky Network Television Limited, more commonly known as Sky, is a New Zealand broadcasting company that provides pay television services via satellite television, satellite, media streaming services and broadband internet services. It is also a ...
, it was the first weekly wrestling series to be broadcast in the country since
Steve Rickard
Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt (3 September 1929 – 5 April 2015), best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, was a New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. As a wrestler, he traveled throughout the world during the 1960s and 1970s, ...
's "
On the Mat" in the 1980s.
It was later made available for a worldwide audience via the
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
thanks to Alt TV's shift to live
online streaming
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
. A year later, it was also shown on
Canterbury Television
Canterbury Television was an independent television station broadcasting in Canterbury, New Zealand.
The name is synonymous with regional television in New Zealand as it was the name of the first regional broadcaster to operate in New Zealand ...
and
Triangle TV
Face TV (previously Triangle Television) is a public service television station based in Auckland, New Zealand. Since August 1998. It broadcasts on the Sky Network as of December 2013 ASO. Previously, Triangle has broadcast across Auckland o ...
; the first episode on CTV premiered on 5 October 2008. As of 2010, it remains the longest-running wrestling series in New Zealand.
On the same night "IPW Ignition" aired, IPW made its
Whangarei debut staging IPW Collision at the Forum North venue to a sold-out crowd.
Dion McCracken, who was instrumental in bringing IPW to Northland, made a guest appearance during the show as a referee, officiating in the match between "The Deal" Dal Knox and "Handsome" Danny Jacobs. It had been over 25 years since there had been a wrestling held there.
Notable New Zealand wrestler of yesteryear Jock Ruddock was present in the live audience.
Bruno Bekkar, a one-time
NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Champion, also made a guest appearance at a sold-out show in Auckland on 15 March.
On 24 March, IPW made its first appearance in Hamilton in 25 years, at The Meteor, which hosted the event "IPW Breaking Point" in which featured a battle royal for the #1 Contendership match which was won by Roger Ventura. McCracken joined the promotion as a full-time colour commentator that year and assisted in arranging shows in various cities. Mema Maeli, the first women to become a
ring announcer
A ring announcer is an in-ring (and sometimes on-camera) employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience.
In boxing and mixed martial arts bouts, ...
for Samoa's boxing association, also joined the promotion as IPW's sole female announcer.
In October 2007, at the
2007 Armageddon Expo, Kid Liger won a 25-man battle royal to win the "Armageddon Cup". On the final day of the convention, at the
Aotea Centre
The Aotea Centre is a performing arts and events centre in Auckland, New Zealand. Located at the western edge of Aotea Square, off Queen Street, the centre provides a cultural, entertainment and conventions venue space in the heart of the city ...
in Auckland,
Raven
A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...
made a surprise appearance by attacking Joseph Kinkade after his match against John Questions. Kinkade's manager Gary O. Davis had insulted him earlier in the show.
Christy Hemme
Christina Lee Hemme ( ; born October 28, 1980) is an American former professional wrestler, singer and model. She is best known for her time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (now known as Impact Wrestling) as a ring announcer and one of the or ...
and
Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...
also attended the show, Hemme being involved in a storyline with Danny Jacobs.
Later that month, IPW wrestlers "Double D" Davey Deluxeo, Vinny Dunn and Alfred Valentine were profiled by the
New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...
.
Troy Rawhiti-Forbes, another New Zealand independent wrestler, was also interviewed and discussed both the early history of the promotion as well as
professional wrestling in New Zealand
Professional wrestling in New Zealand has been promoted in the country from the early 20th century. In 1919, Gisborne Katene became the first NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship, national heavyweight champion, though the title was not recog ...
itself.
At the house show "Nightmare B4 Xmas" in December 2007, IPW also saw the rebirth of the women's division. Long Dormant since the Mania Pro Wrestling days in the early 2000s, the intergender tag match between Handsome Danny Jacobs and Britenay vs The Samoan Silverback Alexander and Evie saw the first two females competing within the revamped IPW.
The following year saw the return of two females that were involved with Mania, Just Plain Evil and Alita Capri.
IPW also began expanding oversees as well and frequently visited Australia during the early 2000s. Closely associated with Peter Ball's Major Impact Wrestling in the Gold Coast, the two companies were involved in interpromotional events and talent exchanges for five years before eventually merging to form a sister promotion, Impact Pro Wrestling Australia, in the summer of 2007. IPW would continue exchanging talent between New Zealand and Australia during the next few years.
Recent years (2008–)
2008
On 19 April 2008, Raven and
Disco Inferno
"Disco Inferno" is a song by American disco band the Trammps from their 1976 fourth studio album of the same name. With two other cuts by the group, it reached No. 1 on the US '' Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart in early 1977, but had li ...
attended the
2008 Armageddon Convention in Wellington. Disco Inferno won the Armageddon Cup in a battle royal
but lost the cup to Davey Deluxeo at the
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
convention a week later. He also wrestled a tag team match on 27 April 2008 at the same convention. His partner was IPW Champion "The Deal" Dal Knox.
In May, Davey Deluxeo and Jordan Invincible were interviewed by the
New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...
. The two wrestlers, referred by the publication as the "best tag team partnership since Kiwi tag team
The Bushwhackers
The Bushwhackers are a professional wrestling tag team who competed first as the New Zealand Kiwis and then as The Sheepherders during their 36-year career as a tag team. They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation, Jim Crockett Promotions, ...
", talked about impressing WWE road agents when
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
when the organisation came to New Zealand for shows in Auckland and Christchurch the next month. At IPW's Redemption, Jordan Invincible defeated Dal Knox to win the IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship for the first time. His victory was partially due to outside interference from Davey Deluxeo who used his Armageddon Cup as a
weapon or foreign object against Knox.
On 5 October 2008, the promotion took part in "Connecting Families Day" at the
Ellerslie YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
. Attended by an estimated 1,500 people, the four-hour event included demonstrations from IPW wrestlers as well as an appearance from New Zealand children's entertainer Linda Adamson as part of her upcoming DVD "Love to Sing". Several IPW wrestlers were also featured on 10 October edition
Television New Zealand
, type = Crown entity
, industry = Broadcast television
, num_locations = New Zealand
, location = Auckland, New Zealand
, area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the Solom ...
's IAM TV where the host took part in training sessions at their IPW facility in Auckland.
The Sandman
The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
Representation in traditional folklore
The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
appeared at the
2008 Armageddon convention in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, New Zealand, wrestling for Impact Pro Wrestling NZ between 25 and 27 October 2008. He defeated Joseph Kinkade in his first match
and The Machine in his second match, both with the
White Russian Legsweep. He then teamed up with IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship holder "The Deal" Dal Knox in a tag match against Kinkade and The Machine, which saw Knox take the win with a Knox Out on Kinkade.
Pro Wrestling Entertainment invasion (2008–09)
At "Breakdown" in May 2008 Justin Lane, founder of failed promotion Pro Wrestling Entertainment (PWE) turned up and cost Kommissioner Kool his match against Jon E. King. Afterwards Lane gave King a PWE T-shirt, which King gratefully accepted. At "Redemption" in June King and Lane announced that they were taking over IPW, and on an "Ignition" taping they made threats that they would win their match against Kool and his chosen partner at "Unbreakable" in July, with the winning team getting the IPW Commissionership. For the match at "Unbreakable" Kool chose The Machine as his partner; however, The Machine turned on Kool and joined PWE as an
enforcer
Enforcer or enforcers may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Comics
* Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character
* Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team
* New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team
Film and television
* ''The Enforcer ...
, giving King the IPW Commissionership in the process. The trio recruited the tag team Saint Chaos (Brian Saint James and Curt Chaos) at "Unleashed" in September after helping them defeat Pirates And Ninjas Are Totally Awesome (Pirate Jason Burns and Ninja Liam Fury). The Machine executed the Machine Head on Ninja Liam Fury, Jon E. King grabbed the bell when the referee attempted to disqualify Saint Chaos and ordered the referee to count the pinfall. Finally at "Rival Turf" in October King won the IPW South Pacific Championship.
However, at "Nightmare B4 Xmas" in December, Team IPW (Link Van Haggard, Kid Liger, Pirate Jason Burns and Ninja Liam Fury) defeated Team PWE (Jon E. King, The Machine, Brian Saint James and Curt Chaos) in an 8-man match to cost King his IPW Commissionership, at "Breaking Point" in March 2009 King lost the South Pacific Championship to Lil T (with help from guest referee "Te Tahi" Vinny Dunn) and at IPW Genesis 2009 each member of PWE wrestled an IPW wrestler. Jordan Invincible defeated Curt Chaos, Brian Saint James defeated Les West (with help from Curt Chaos), Daddy Kool defeated Justin Lane (despite interference from the rest of PWE), Jon E. King defeated Vinny Dunn and "The Deal" Dal Knox defeated The Machine in a Lights Out Death Match. Due to IPW winning the series 3-2 the PWE faction was forced to disband immediately. All PWE paraphernalia were banned from IPW shows and the members were banned from teaming together as a fivesome for six months.
2009
![IPW Armageddon Expo 2009 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/IPW_Armageddon_Expo_2009_2.jpg)
On 4 April 2009, IPW returned to
2009 Armageddon Expo where the "Armageddon Cup" was decided in a 17-person battle royal which included female wrestler Just Plain Evil. She was the first women to ever compete in a battle royal in New Zealand. The winner, Les West, was to face the then IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Champion Dal Knox for the title. Parts of the event were filmed for ''A Kiwi Century on the Mat'', an upcoming historical
documentary on professional wrestling in New Zealand, as well as conducted interviews with colour commentator Dion McKracken and then IPW New Zealand Champion Dal Knox. On 1 May, in celebration of
Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to attract new readers to independent comic book stores. It usually takes place on the first Saturday of May and is often cross-promoted wit ...
, IPW took part in a special fundraiser for the
Onehunga Primary School library organized by
Gotham Comics
Gotham Entertainment Group LLC was an American company established in 1997 in comics, 1997 to establish a leadership position in the Indian comics, Indian Comic anthology, comic magazine and children's book market. The company was established by ...
in
Onehunga
Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the Auckland CBD, city centre, close to the volcano, volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree ...
which raised nearly $500. The event was attended by over 800 people and an estimated 3,000
comic books
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
were given away.
On 20 July,
20/20
Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...
aired a special report on professional wrestling in New Zealand featuring IPW and its Wellington rivals Kiwi Pro Wrestling and
New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling
New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling (NZWPW) is a professional wrestling promotion based in Petone and later Wainuiomata in New Zealand. The promotion entered a hiatus in 2018, when former NZWPW wrestler, Jay Marshall left the promotion to start Capi ...
. Dal Knox, then IPW Heavyweight Champion, was specifically profiled during the program. Also that summer, the promotion was similarly profiled on the
Māori Television
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
sports show ''Hyundai Code''.
In September 2009, local Auckland band 'These Four Walls' released their music video ''Sweet December'', starring IPW's very own Evie, Britenay, Liam Fury and Brian St James.
In August 2009,
Whangaparaoa
The Whangaparaoa Peninsula is a suburban area about 25 km north of Auckland, New Zealand. It had 30,672 residents in 2013, many of them in the eponymous town of Whangaparaoa on its southern side. It is part of the Hibiscus Coast. ...
wrestler
"The One" Vinny Dunn was interviewed by
Stuff.co.nz
Stuff is a New Zealand news media website owned by newspaper conglomerate Stuff Ltd (formerly called Fairfax). It is the most popular news website in New Zealand, with a monthly unique audience of more than 2 million.
Stuff was founded in 20 ...
prior to his match at IPW's "Nightmare B4 Xmas" supercard at
Westlake Boys High School
Westlake Boys High School is a state secondary school for boys located in Forrest Hill, Auckland, New Zealand. The school opened in 1962, when Westlake High School (opened 1958) split into Westlake Girls High School on the existing site and We ...
where he would wrestle Joseph Kinkade, O Davis and Ivanoff for a chance at the IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship. He also discussed his claiming the Impact Pro Wrestling South Pacific Championship in Australia and recent victory over Jon E. King in a "brutal" best of five series to become top contender for the national title. Alita Capri, one of IPW's five female wrestlers, was also interviewed for her upcoming match at the event and
encouraged fans to bring items to the show that could be used as
foreign objects. She expressed an interest in helping establish a serious women's division in the near future and hoped that more young women would become interested in following the sport.
The annual NZPWI peoples choice awards for the years 2008 and 2009
saw IPW clean up all categories. The most recent peoples choice awards saw
"The One" Vinny Dunn pick up 'Best Wrestler', Pirates and Ninjas are Totally Awesome (Pirate Burns, Ninja Fury) pick up 'Best Tag Team' and Evie for 'Best Female'. IPW also picked up the award for 'Best Promotion', with a majority vote of 61.2%.
2010
"New Years Bash" started off the year, with freshly crowned IPW champion
"The One" Vinny Dunn to battle IPW Australia's South Pacific Champion "The future" Nick Burns. The match ended in a no-contest, after rampant interference from Gary O. Davis, and both men therefore retained each of their respective titles.
The following month at "Coastal Assault", Vinny took on "The Professional" Joseph Kinkade. Under the guidance from his manager Gary O. Davis, Kinkade dominated for the most of the match with the help of tag team partner Mischa Ivanoff. Peter Lane managed to somewhat even the score by taking Ivanoff out of action to the outside, and Dunn hit his finisher to retain.
Also during this show, The women's match between JPE and Evie saw the first pinfall over the dominant JPE by Evie since her debut the year prior.
"The One" Vinny Dunn and Jon E. King featured on
Maori TV's Sports show, Hyundai Code. Here, Dunn and King wrestled in New Zealands first ever live match, and Dunn managed to retain over former IPW champion, Jon E. King.
Dunn and King also featured on the after-school programme, 'The Erin Simpson Show'.
"Extreme Measures" in April saw the crowning of the first ever IPW tag team champions, via elimination match that all tag teams in IPW would compete. "The Professional" Joseph Kinkade and Mischa Ivanoff were the last in the ring, squaring off against Pirate Burns and Ninja Fury. While Burns and Kinkade brawled to the outside, Fury hit a huge Shooting Star Press on Ivanoff. Pirates and Ninjas are Totally Awesome were then crowned the first ever tag team champions in IPW history.
IPW's Fallout saw Ninja Liam Fury team up with 'Wrestlings Most Wanted' in the absence of Pirate Burns, in order to defend the IPW Tag Team belts against Saint Chaos. Brian Saint James and Curt Chaos were crowned the new IPW Tag champs that night.
=The Era of The Deal & the Devil
=
2010's major storyline began in May at IPW Genesis, The main event at IPW's "Genesis" saw
"The One" Vinny Dunn and The Samoan Silverback Alexander go head to head, but The Silverback failed to get the win. The end of the match was interrupted by Justin Lane, who stated that when Dunn put out an open challenge for the championship, Alexander wasn't the only man to sign a contract for a title shot. He introduced that his 'monster' of a wrestler,
Reuben De Jong, had responded to the challenge that would happen that night. The champion tried to retain, but the odds were against him and former heavyweight kickboxer and MMA fighter De Jong delivered a powerful double-handed chokeslam to take the win, and to be crowned new
IPW champion. This being the most shocking moment of 2010 so far, would start one of the most heated feuds in IPW history.
Immediately after the show, Vinny Dunn's manager, Peter Lane advised the IPW Community that Vinny Dunn would cash in his rematch clause at IPW Breakdown; however, Justin Lane revealed that his client, the new IPW NZ Heavyweight Champion, Reuben De Jong, did not sign any contract for a rematch and was threatening legal action against IPW. Three days later after the initial threat was made, IPW Commissioner Dion McCraken posted a video stating that he would postpone the show and that the rematch would take place at Manurewa Recreation Centre the following month.
During NZWPW's Power Play show, "Te Tahi" Vinny Dunn and Jon E King invaded the show after threats made by the
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
promotion of turning up to IPW Genesis. It was at this show that Dunn suffered an injury and at IPW Breakdown, the IPW Commissioner Dion McCracken revealed that Vinny Dunn had failed his fitness test and rescheduled the match for Reuben De Jong vs "The Samoan Silverback" Alexander in which De Jong retained.
At IPW Rival Turf, the anticipated re-match between "Te Tahi" Vinny Dunn and IPW Champion, Reuben De Jong took place with Vinny Dunn being crowned the new IPW Champion, after making the 6'3 giant tap out to the Ankle Lock after Reuben De Jong was accidentally hit in the head with a briefcase by his own manager, Justin Lane. However, the new reign was short-lived after a shock turn of events in the main event of that evening, involving IPW's Pro Wrestling Excellence and
NZWPW saw the returning "The Deal" Dal Knox turn against his best friend and take the IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship from him with assistance from the IPW Commissioner, Dion McCracken much to the disgust and shock of the IPW fans and even the IPW roster and staff which has now been labelled "The Westlake Screwjob".
At IPW Fallout, the IPW Commissioner, Dion McCracken revealed his master plan alongside his "perfect champion" "The Deal" Dal Knox, stating that he was responsible for instigating the match at IPW Genesis between
Reuben De Jong and Vinny Dunn and that he did not fail his fitness test at IPW Breakdown and actually withdrew the rematch on purpose, he later on revealed that Dunn was in his eyes a "transitional champion" and was just waiting till Dal Knox was able to return which was at Rival Turf where he organised the alliance between
NZWPW, Pure Wrestling Excellence, Knox and himself. McCracken also stated that Vinny Dunn would not receive a rematch that night and that if Vinny Dunn was to strike either himself or the Champion, he would be suspended indefinitely to which Dunn ignored and struck the Commissioner with a right hand.
At IPW Unleashed, Vinny Dunn was suspended indefinitely due to the attack he made at the previous show and for not "apologizing" to the Commissioner and the Champion stating that "he would never toe the line", McCracken responded by removing his rematch clause and suspended the former champion indefinitely from all competition in Impact Pro Wrestling.
During IPW's annual show at the
Armageddon Expo
Armageddon Expo is a New Zealand owned and operated pop culture convention that holds multiple events around New Zealand in cities including Auckland, Wellington, Tauranga and Christchurch. The event, run by Beyond Reality Media Premier Event M ...
in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
"Te Tahi" Vinny Dunn was fired despite following Dion McCracken's orders to gather 500 people for the next session. In the last session the IPW Armageddon Cup was on the line, with the winner being able to wrestle for the IPW New Zealand Heavyweight title at any stage. Halo won the 20-person Gauntlet match and the chance to face the IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Champion. However, as the IPW Commissioner, Dion McCracken, presented the Cup to Halo, it was revealed that "Te Tahi" Vinny Dunn was under the mask and now with the Armageddon Cup in his possession he reclaimed his job and had the chance to face Dal Knox for the title which Dion McCracken wasn't happy about. Vinny Dunn presented Dion McCracken with a right hand much to the crowds delight.
At IPW Ground Zero, "The Deal" Dal Knox faced "The Samoan Siverback" in the main event with the IPW Commissioner, Dion McCracken as special guest referee. During the match, it was announced that an enforcer would make sure that McCracken would be fair in calling the match, in which was revealed to be
Reuben De Jong. At the end of the match, which saw Dal Knox retain, "Te Tahi" Vinny Dunn interrupted the post-match celebrations to reveal that he would be cashing in his opportunity to face Knox at Nightmare B4 Xmas 2010, stating that he would want Knox fresh and ready and would not "stoop to his level" to take the title off Knox much to the horror of the champion.
At IPW Nightmare B4 Xmas "Te Tahi" Vinny Dunn won the IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship of "The Deal" Dal Knox in a Fans Bring The Weapons Match, despite the interference of Tykade and The Five Star Revolution of NZWPW.
2011
At IPW New Year's Bash, Dion McCracken went on a firing spree, (kayfabe) firing Jesse Astro, The Kiwi Express, Joseph Kinkade, Lil T, Miles, The New Zealand Dream, The Waipukurau Warrior, Les West, ring announcer Troy Rawhiti-Forbes and referee Matt Wolfe, disbanding Pirates And Ninjas Are Totally Awesome and making the Alita Capri versus Just Plain Evil match a Loser Gets Fired Match. McCracken also put the remaining roster on notice. Just Plain Evil defeated Capri resulting in Capri getting (kayfabe) fired. In the main event, Vinny Dunn defeated Dal Knox by submission to retain the IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship. Knox demanded another match against Dunn at IPW Coastal Assault. In response Dunn announced that the match would be a 30-minute
Iron Man match.
In May 2011, it was announced that IPW had made a deal with Maori Television to film a new show. The show "
Mana Mamau
Impact Pro Wrestling (IPW) is a New Zealand professional wrestling promotion. It has promoted regular events throughout the country and abroad in the last several years and is credited for being the first to bring live wrestling shows to cities ...
" was a weekly feature on Maori TV throughout 2011 and into 2012. Within the show's 40-episode run both the IPW Tag Team Championships changed hands as well as the IPW NZ Heavyweight championship.
2012
IPW returned to its roots in 2012 by going back to the live event structure that made it so popular. At the Genesis event in March Dave O'Connor and Dal Knox lost their IPW Tag titles to NEO Justice Double and Brian Saint James won the Eliminator giving him an IPW Championship match whenever he chooses.
=The Road to Destiny
=
On 19 May 2012, during the live event, IPW Collision Course, in Hamilton, New Zealand, IPW Commissioner Dion McCracken announced a new championship was being commissioned for the growing women's division, sporting a red strap and mirroring the
IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship
IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship is the top professional wrestling championship title in the New Zealand promotion Impact Pro Wrestling. It was the original heavyweight title of the Mania Pro Wrestling promotion, later used in IPW as its ...
he advised a tournament would determine the new Women's champion.
The first match was between Megan Kate and Britenay at IPW Collision Course, which was won by Britinay under dubious circumstances. Collision Course would also prove to be the turning point for then comical 'gangster' duo TNT as they would ambush IPW Tag-Team Champions, NEO Justice Double after they defeated Project Mayhem (NZWPW's Tag-Team Champions, Johnny Idol and IPW's James Shaw) in an inter-promotional champion versus champion match. Lil T and Brother T would hit their patented T Factor on both members of NJ2 before raising the Tag-Team Championships and signaling their intentions. Days later IPW posted a video featuring TNT justifying their actions, saying they 'would no longer be considered jokes' amongst the locker room. This would lead to an unsuccessful challenge to the Tag-Team Championships at IPW Unleashed.
The next match in the women's championship tournament was between
Evie Evie may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Evie (given name)
* Evie (singer), American contemporary Christian music singer Evelyn Tornquist (born 1957)
* Evie (wrestler), ring name of New Zealand female professional wrestler Cheree Crowl ...
and Olivia Shaw (in her debut singles match) at IPW Unleashed in Evie's hometown of Pakuranga, Auckland which resulted in Evie advancing to the finals. However, an appeal by Megan Kate shortly after IPW Collision Course resulted in a re-match being made between Megan Kate and Britenay at IPW Taranaki Turmoil by the Commissioner.
That match was once again won by Britenay after she used the ropes as leverage to gain an advantage and take the pinfall, resulting in Evie vs Britenay for the IPW Women's Championship at IPW Destiny.
On 18 August 2012, after 3 months of tournament matches. Evie and Britenay squared off what was to be expected a strenuous battle between the two stalwarts of the division. However, before the match officially got underway IPW Commissioner Dion McCracken added Megan Kate to the match making the match a triple threat match.
At the end of the bout, and after hitting her trademarked 'TTYL' (Fireman's Carry into Shin Kick) on her tag team partner, Megan Kate. Evie became the first ever IPW Women's Champion, much to the delight of the sold-out audience.
Once again, TNT and NEO Justice would do battle, this time in an 828 Street Fight. It would seem this time the odds were tipped in the challengers favor. But as Link flew over the top rope to put Lil T through a table ringside, Kazuki finished Brother T with a Shiranui through a ladder to once again retain, at Destiny.
On 4 August 2013, former IPW Tag Team Champion
Dils O'Conner defeated
Masato Tanaka
is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in Japan where he was a one-time FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Champion and a one-time WEW World Heavyweight Champion and in Ext ...
at
Pro Wrestling Zero1
(stylized as Pro Wrestling ZERO1), formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (stylised in all capital letters) and often referred to simply as Zero1, is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001. I ...
's
Fire Festival
is an annual professional wrestling round-robin tournament held by Pro Wrestling Zero1 to determine the top wrestler in the promotion, typically contested in late July/early August. Within the English-speaking professional wrestling world, th ...
Final in Tokyo, Japan. As well as winning the prestigious tournament he also won the vacant
World Heavyweight Championship becoming the first New Zealand born world champion in over 30 years.
All time roster
Wrestlers
*
Aaron Henry
*Adam Avalanche
*Alex Savage
*Alexander
*Alfred Valentine
*Alita Capri
*Amber Saint
*Ant Khan
*Ashlee Spencer
*
Bea Priestley
Beatrice St. Clere Priestley (born 22 March 1996) is an English-New Zealand professional wrestler, best known by the ring name Bea Priestley. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Blair Davenpor ...
*Ben Mana
*Britenay
*Brook Duncan
*Candy Lee
*Carmen Rose
*Charlie Roberts
*Curtis Castlewood
*Curt Chaos
*Dahlia Black
*Daddy Kool
*Dal Knox
*Darksyde
*Dave O'Conner
*
Dils O'Connor
*Elias/The Jukebox Hero
*
Evie Evie may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Evie (given name)
* Evie (singer), American contemporary Christian music singer Evelyn Tornquist (born 1957)
* Evie (wrestler), ring name of New Zealand female professional wrestler Cheree Crowl ...
*"Falcon Kid" Cam Kaiba
*Fire Ant
*Horus
*Garrick Black
*Grace Lightning
*Jake Shehaan
*Jakob Cross
*James Shaw
*Jamie Tagataese
*JB Bennett
*Jesse Astro
*Joel Clementson
*Johnny Idol
*Jordan Invincible
*Joseph Kinkade
*Just Plain Evil (JPE)
*Kazuki
*Kellyanne
*Kid Nova
*Kingi
*Kurt McPherson
*Liam Fury
*Liger
*Lil' T
*Lil Ted
*Link Van Haggard
*Luke Joshua
*Marcus Kool
*Mason Daniels
*Matty Short
*Megan-Kate
*Michael Richards
*Mitch Gray
*Nico Dandy
*Oliver Griffin
*Pat Schisk
*Phoenix
*Reuben De Jong
*Ringo Ryan
*Ricky DeVinal
*Roger Ventura
*Saint Finn
*Samira The Arabian Nightmare
*Sir Mr. Burns
*Sweet T
*Stefan Busche
*Taylor Adams
*Tee Hawke
*TJ Rocket
*TK Cooper
*
Travis Banks
Travis Bligh (born 15 February 1987), better known by his ring name Travis Banks, is a New Zealand professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE on their NXT UK brand. He is also known for competing in promotions such as Fight Cl ...
*
Vinny Dunn
*Will Stone
*Zac Hayle
Others
*Steve Mccleary (Announcer)
*Conan Wood (Referee)
*Lloyd Morgan (Referee)
*Ben Ruegg (Referee)
*David Dunn (Announcer)
* Right Time Riot (Announcer)
* Benjamin Keen (Manager)
* Dion Mccracken (Manager)
*Gary O.Davis (Manager)
*Miss Rivers (Valet)
*Father Shaw (Manager)
Championships
Current champions
Video on demand
''IPW Ignited'' is a video on demand series, available to purchase or rent through the
Vimeo
Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...
website.
It was also briefly broadcast on
CTV. The first episode was released on 16 September 2015.
On 31 July 2019, IPW announced a partnership with sports streaming service FITE TV to air fortnightly episodes. The first episode was released the following month on 23 August.
As of 2022, in a partnership with
Southern Pro Wrestling
Southern Pro Wrestling (SPW) is a New Zealand professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion. Since the promotion's formation in 2015, it has promoted regular live events throughout the country predominantly in Invercargill and ...
, IPW events are available through SPW's on demand streaming service ''SPW On Demand''.
See also
*
Professional wrestling in New Zealand
Professional wrestling in New Zealand has been promoted in the country from the early 20th century. In 1919, Gisborne Katene became the first NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship, national heavyweight champion, though the title was not recog ...
*
List of professional wrestling promotions in New Zealand
References
External links
*
Online World of Wrestling - New Zealand Results Archive
{{Professional wrestling in New Zealand
New Zealand professional wrestling promotions
Entertainment companies established in 2003
Sport in Auckland
Companies based in Auckland