WWE (formerly World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment), an American professional wrestling promotion based in Stamford, Connecticut, in the United States owned by the McMahon family, has been promoting events in New Zealand since 2006.

History

WWE held their first live event tour in New Zealand on March 4, 2006, at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington. This was the

WWE Smackdown Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour WWE (formerly World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment), an American professional wrestling promotion based in Stamford, Connecticut, in the United States owned by the McMahon family, has been promoting events in New Zealand s ...

, which featured a main event triple threat match between Kurt Angle, Undertaker and Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship. This event drew 23,875 people. The following two years, WWE returned to New Zealand for a pair of SmackDown and

ECW ECW may refer to: Professional wrestling * Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001 * The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...

co-branded shows. In 2009 and 2011 the

Raw brand Raw is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestle ...

did a one night show in Auckland, with SmackDown doing a show in 2010. The WWE then took a long break between shows in New Zealand and did not return until 2016. At the 2016 show, WWE announced

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * '' WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * '' NXT UK'', the British spi ...

would be doing a show as part of their Oceania tour. Two NXT Live shows were scheduled for December 5 and 6, 2016 at The Trusts Arena in Auckland and the TSB Bank Arena in Wellington. however these were eventually cancelled. The following year, in 2017 the Raw brand returned to New Zealand for one show in Christchurch. WWE announced the Raw brand would once again return for a live event at Auckland's Spark Arena on August 8, 2020. This show was later postponed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was firstly postponed to July 31, 2021, secondly postponed to August 4, 2022, and lastly postponed with no new date given. The event was finally cancelled on May 5, 2023, over 3 years since its original announcement.

Events in New Zealand

WWE Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour

The WWE SmackDown Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour was the first WWE event held in New Zealand and took place at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, on March 4, 2006. The event was recorded by WWE and aired exclusively on WWE 24/7 in the United States. Michael Cole and Tazz recorded the commentary from WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. The event was attended by 23,875. WWE talent and management were impressed with the reactions and excitement by the audience, and also the large size of the stadium. “Holy Cow, this is a coliseum, not an arena,” was one of the WWE wrestler's remarks when entering inside New Zealand's second-largest stadium.

Results

Other on-screen personnel

* Commentators ** Michael Cole ** Tazz * Ring Announcer ** Tony Chimel *

Referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

** Nick Patrick ** Charles Robinson ** Jimmy Korderas

Broadcast

The WWE and

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

have had an agreement to carry WWE programming in New Zealand since the late 1990s. In August 2014, WWE Network launched in New Zealand.

References

Notes

{{Professional wrestling in New Zealand Professional wrestling in New Zealand New Zealand