WWE 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 vari ...

(formerly World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment), an American

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 or ...

promotion based in Stamford,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, 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 territori ...

owned by the

McMahon family The McMahon family is an Irish-American family, primarily known for their involvement in the professional wrestling business. They are the founders, owners, and promoters of the wrestling company, WWE. Vince McMahon, a third generation wrestlin ...

, has been promoting events in

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 ...

since 2006.

History

WWE held their first live event tour in New Zealand on March 4, 2006, at the

Westpac Stadium Wellington Regional Stadium (known commercially as Sky Stadium through naming rights) is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium's bowl site size is . The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situ ...

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 metr ...

. This was the WWE Smackdown Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour, 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 ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...

and ECW co-branded shows. In 2009 and 2011 the Raw brand did a one night show in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, 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 spin- ...

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 The Trusts Arena is an indoor arena located in Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a multi-purpose stadium that primarily holds sports events and music concerts. The Arena was opened by then Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark on 11 ...

in Auckland and the

TSB Bank Arena The TSB Bank Arena (formerly known as the Queens Wharf Events Centre) is an indoor arena in Wellington. About The arena hosts mainly basketball games and is the home arena for the Century City Saints and part-time home arena of the New Zealand ...

in Wellington. however these were eventually cancelled. The following year, in 2017 the Raw brand returned to New Zealand for one show in

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 Rive ...

. WWE announced the Raw brand would once again return for a live event at

Spark Arena Spark Arena (also known as Auckland City Arena, and formerly as Vector Arena) is a multipurpose arena in Auckland, New Zealand. The venue is located at Quay Park, Parnell, very close to Britomart Transport Centre and The Strand Station. The ar ...

on August 8, 2020. This show was later postponed three times due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. 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

, New Zealand, on March 4, 2006. The event was recorded by WWE and aired exclusively on WWE 24/7 in the

. 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 Commentator or commentators may refer to: * Commentator (historical) or Postglossator, a member of a European legal school that arose in France in the fourteenth century * Commentator (horse) (foaled 2001), American Thoroughbred racehorse * The Co ...

** Michael Cole **

Tazz Peter Senerchia (born October 11, 1967), better known by the ring name Taz (also spelled Tazz) is an American radio personality, color commentator, and retired professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator and manage ...

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 bou ...

Tony Chimel Tony Chimel is an American former professional wrestling ring announcer best known for his time with WWE. Announcing career World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment / WWE Before Chimel become a ring announcer, he and Joey Marella were the main ...

* Referee ** Nick Patrick ** Charles Robinson **

Jimmy Korderas Demetrius Korderas (born March 19, 1962), better known by his referee name, Jimmy Korderas, is a Canadian professional wrestling referee, commentator and television personality who currently works for Canadian TV sports network Sportsnet. He is be ...

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 WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television t ...

launched in New Zealand.

References

Notes

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