Keith Mildon (born 1933), also known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Keita Meretana, is a former

professional wrestler 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 or ...

and heavyweight wrestling champion of New Zealand from

Wairoa Wairoa is a town and territorial authority district in New Zealand's North Island. The town is the northernmost in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of ...

, New Zealand.

Professional wrestling career

Mildon, third son of L. W. Mildon and C. Mildon of

and nephew of

Ike Robin Ihakara Te Tuku Rapana (8 November 1886 – 21 June 1968), commonly known as Ike Robin, was a New Zealand sportsman, businessman, orator and member for the Māori Anglican Church. A champion sheep shearer and professional wrestler, he was the f ...

, the first professional wrestling champion of New Zealand, began wrestling in 1951. He studying wrestling with Anton Koolmann 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 ...

and for eight years wrestled mainly in the East Coast,

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

and Wellington areas. In 1952, he was awarded the trophy for the most scientific wrestler in Gisborne. In May 1959, at the age 26 with weights 16 stone 6 lbs, he turned professional and made his debut with two bouts against the Australian, Ricky Wallace, wrestling a draw with him at

Hāwera Hāwera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was established i ...

on 30 May and defeated him on Queen's Birthday weekend 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 ...

. Afterwards, he met the team which visited New Zealand, led by Jack Bence (United States), André Drapp (France), Braka Cortez (Brazil) and several others. On 3 October 1959, he defeated Lofty Binnie and won the

NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship The NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship is the primary singles title in the NWA-affiliated wrestling promotion NWA New Zealand. It is the first heavyweight championship in New Zealand and one of the oldest in the world. It was first won b ...

. When the 1960 wrestling season opened in New Zealand, he challenged all the overseas visiting wrestlers:

Lou Newman Lou may refer to: __NOTOC__ Personal name * Lou (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Lou (German singer) *Lou (French singer) * Lou (surname 娄), the 229th most common surname in China * Lou (surname 楼), the 269th most common ...

(United States), Herby Freeman (New York), Seymour Koenig (New York) and

Ken Kenneth Kenneth Arthur Schischka (11 June 1912 – 16 October 1994), better known by his ring name Ken Kenneth, was a New Zealand professional wrestler. Championships and accomplishments * Dominion Wrestling Union **NWA Australasian Heavyweight Champi ...

, a New Zealander who had returned from six years of campaigning in the United States. During 1960, he spent three months campaigning in Australia, and as a preliminary to his contests, he performed a

haka Haka (; plural ''haka'', in both Māori and English) are a variety of ceremonial performance art in Māori culture. It is often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted or chanted accompani ...

. When he appeared on Australian television, he wore his full

Māori 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 C ...

regalia Regalia is a Latin plurale tantum word that has different definitions. In one rare definition, it refers to the exclusive privileges of a sovereign. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and dress accessories of a sovereign ...

. In 1961, Meretana left his native land for

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

under contract to promoter,

Al Karasick AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (Aladdin), Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (EastEnders), Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British ...

, and then spent two years in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He also competed in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Personal life

In the off-season from wrestling, he was a truck-driver in Wellington and participated in

Church Welfare work. 1 July 1967 over 450 guests attended his

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

to Tangiwai Tihema at the

Gospel Hall Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

, Levin. Tihema is the granddaughter of David Raunini Tatana, M.B.E. of Levin, a descendant of Te Rauparaha. After the wedding, the couple chose to live in Wellington.

Championships and accomplishments

NWA New Zealand NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgenr ...

(1 time)

References

External links

Picture in the magazine Te Ao Hou - The New World
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meretana, Keita 1933 births 20th-century professional wrestlers New Zealand male professional wrestlers Living people New Zealand Māori sportspeople People from Wairoa Sportspeople from the Hawke's Bay Region