Professional wrestling in New Zealand has been promoted in the country from the early 20th century. In 1919, Gisborne Katene became the first national heavyweight champion, though the title was not recognized by the

National Wrestling Association The National Wrestling Association (NWA) was an early professional wrestling sanctioning body created in 1930 by the National Boxing Association (NBA; now the World Boxing Association, WBA) as an attempt to create a governing body for professional ...

until 1925, and promoter Walter Miller began running events under the

Dominion Wrestling Union The Dominion Wrestling Union (DWU) was the first professional wrestling promotion in New Zealand. It was one of two organisations first active in the Australasian region, along with Australia's Stadiums Limited, and served as the country's single ...

banner ten years later. It was not until the years following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

that

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 ...

enjoyed its first

golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

. Pat O'Connor, a one-time

NWA 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 ...

and AWA World Heavyweight Champion, was one of the earliest stars of that era. During the 1960s and 1970s, other wrestlers from

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 ...

also travelled to 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 ...

, where they enjoyed similar success in the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

and the

World Wide Wrestling Federation Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing ...

. American wrestlers frequently toured New Zealand during this period and were well received by the public. The

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is i ...

was also defended several times in the country; in 1984

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

won the title from Harley Race 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

Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also serves as Director of Business Development. Beginning his career in his father ...

defeated Sting 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 ...

to unify the title with Australia's

WWA World Heavyweight Championship The World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling All-Stars. It was the primary championship in the WWA. The title was sanctioned by WWA as their world ...

in 2003. As in the United Kingdom, its popularity was helped through a weekly television show, '' On the Mat'', that showcased many wrestlers from around the world in the 1970s and early 1980s. Although professional wrestling in New Zealand declined following the 1980s wrestling boom, it still maintained a presence in the industry. Retired wrestler and promoter

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, ...

briefly served as President of the NWA during the mid-1990s.

Jason Conlan Jason Conlan (born 1971) is a New Zealand cartoonist, best known under the pseudonym Mister J, who is the creator of Pro Wrestling Illustrated's monthly cartoon strip "On the Mat". He has also contributed to the similar Australian wrestling publi ...

, a New Zealand-born cartoonist known as

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

's "Mr. J", began drawing a popular comic strip for the publication in 1995.

Sharon Mazer Sharon Mazer is an academic in New Zealand who is professor of theatre and performance studies at Auckland University of Technology. She is known for her book, ''Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle'', and as a researcher of popular perfo ...

Auckland University of Technology Auckland University of Technology (AUT) ( mi, Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT ...

wrote a series of articles on professional wrestling and published ''Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle'' in 1998. Since 2003, its popularity has returned following the emergence of several

independent promotion In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor league for pro wres ...

s, and with it the reappearance of televised wrestling, bringing professional wrestling back into the popular culture of New Zealand.

History

Early years (1900–1920s)

Though wrestling bouts had been held as early as the 1860s, modern professional wrestling would not take shape until around the turn of the 20th century.

Georg Hackenschmidt Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt ( – 19 February 1968) was an early 20th-century Estonian strongman, professional wrestler, author, and sports philosopher who is recognized as professional wrestling's first world heavyweight champion. Hack ...

toured the country performing against local wrestlers in exhibition bouts in 1905 and 1910. In 1919, Gisborne Katene defeated Frank Findlay for 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 ...

, though it became vacant shortly afterwards. The first officially recognized champion was Maori wrestler

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 ...

who won the title in

on 17 March 1925, and held it until his retirement the following year; the title continued to be defended for almost 70 years. Prior to his retirement, Robin and Stanislaus Zbyszko, a one-time

World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...

, faced each other in a three-match series at the

Auckland Town Hall Auckland Town Hall is an Edwardian building on Queen Street in the Auckland CBD, New Zealand, known both for its original and ongoing use for administrative functions (such as Council meetings and hearings), as well as its famed Great Hall and ...

in 1926. One of their matches lasted for several hours before ending in a time limit draw which, according to the ''New Zealand Railways Magazine'', had "gone on for many weary hours and when midnight Saturday chimed and Sunday commenced the match had to cease". Despite the vast geographic distances, professional wrestling as practiced in the South Pacific region followed along the same lines as professional wrestling in Canada and the United States.Morton, Gerald W. and George M. O'Brien. ''Wrestling to 'Rasslin: Ancient Sport to American Spectacle''. Bowling Green, Ohio: Popular Press, 1985. (pg. 72)

Association with the NWA (1930s–1940s)

In 1929, the country's first

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...

, the Dominion Wrestling Union, was established. It was originally under the control of the New Zealand Wrestling Union, a governing body which oversaw both amateur and professional wrestling, until hiring American-born promoter Walter Miller in 1935. Miller, who had been in the wrestling business since 1914, was able to bring in some of the top stars in the US throughout the 1930s and 1940s. In 1937, the promotion featured Dr. Gordon McKenzie, Tom Meade, Don Mclntyre, Hal Rumberg, Ray Richards, Sam Stein, Jack Forsgren, John Spellman, Matros Kirilenko, King Kong Cox, Chief Little Wolf, Frank Marshall,

Rusty Wescoatt Norman "Rusty" Wescoatt (August 2, 1911 – September 3, 1987) was an American supporting actor who appeared in over 80 films between 1947 and 1965. Early life The son of Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Wescoatt, he was born on August 2, 1911, in Maui, Hawa ...

, Glen Wade, Joe Woods, Frank Judson, Don Noland, Vie Christy, Francis Fouche and

Ed "Strangler" Lewis Robert Herman Julius Friedrich (June 30, 1891 – August 8, 1966), better known by the ring name Ed "Strangler" Lewis, was an American professional wrestler and trainer. During his wrestling career, which spanned four decades, Lewis was a four-ti ...

. The American wrestlers, who then travelled by boat, spent the three-week trip in training prior to their arrival. Canadian wrestler George Walker claimed the New Zealand-version of the British Empire/Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship upon his arrival in New Zealand in 1929. Former Canadian Olympian

Earl McCready Earl Gray McCready (June 5 or 15, 1905 – December 9, 1983) was a Canadian amateur and professional wrestler. McCready competed in the U.S. for Oklahoma State University in folkstyle, and as a freestyle wrestler who competed for Canada in ...

was recognized as champion when Walker left to compete for a rival promotion in 1935, and legitimised his claim to the title by defeating Walker on 9 November 1937; his second and last reign lasted from 1940 to 1953. Other stand-out stars included

Dean Detton Dean Henry Detton (June 27, 1908 – February 23, 1958) was an American professional wrestler and World Heavyweight Champion who was active in the early portion of the twentieth century. Previously he was a proficient University of Utah football ...

, Ken Kenneth, John Kattan and African-American wrestler Jack Claybourne. It was

Lofty Blomfield Meynell Strathmore Blomfield (18 July 1908 – 29 June 1971) was a New Zealand professional wrestler, known by his ringname Lofty Blomfield, who was arguably the country's most popular wrestler during the 1930s and 40s. He competed primarily for ...

, however, who was arguably New Zealand's most popular wrestler of the period. He was the first New Zealand Amateur Heavyweight Wrestling Champion in 1931 and the first undisputed New Zealand Heavyweight Champion seven years later. During the late-1930s, Blomfield was to have met NWA World Heavyweight Champion

Bronko Nagurski Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski (November 3, 1908 – January 7, 1990) was a Canadian-born professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL), renowned for his strength and size. Nagurski was also a successful professional ...

in a first-ever "champion vs. champion" match. Miller negotiated with NWA promoters

Toots Mondt Joseph Raymond "Toots" Mondt (January 18, 1894 – June 11, 1976) was an American professional wrestler and promoter who revolutionized the wrestling industry in the early to mid-1920s and co-promoted the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Some of ...

, Lou Daro and Tony Stecher for Nagurski to travel to New Zealand in exchange for the largest guarantee ever offered a boxer or wrestler in the Southern Hemisphere. It was believed at the time that the event would attract more than 40,000 people. Though Nagurski ultimately cancelled the trip at the last minute, Blomfield followed the world champion to Canada where the two wrestled to a time limit draw in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

on 17 March 1938. Blomfield was the first New Zealander to challenge for the NWA World title. In October of that year, he won a tournament to become the undisputed New Zealand Heavyweight Champion. Blomfield held the title for over a decade until his retirement on 7 June 1949. Throughout his career, Blomfield vigorously defended professional wrestling and denied frequent charges that matches were rigged. Four decades later, Blomfield became the first wrestler to be inducted into the

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the Hall o ...

. To date he remains the only wrestler, amateur or professional, to be an inductee. The same year of Blomfield's retirement, a number of New Zealand-born wrestlers left for Europe where they became major stars on the continent during the next few years. Ernie "Kiwi" Kingston, a student of Olympic wrestler Anton Koolmann, was considered one of the best heavyweights in Europe and a main rival of British Heavyweight Champion

Bert Assirati Bartolomeo "Bert" Assirati (9 July 1908 – 31 August 1990), was an English professional wrestler who became a multiple-time British Heavyweight Champion, and, posthumously, a charter member of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. He ...

. A few were especially popular in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

such as Ray Clarke, who also had a notable rivalry with Assirati, Bob Russell and Russ Bishop. While many of these men were regarded as some of the most formidable wrestlers during the late 1940s and 1950s, they most often remained unknown in their native country.

Golden Age (1950s–1970s)

After the end of World War II, amateur and professional wrestling enjoyed widespread popularity in New Zealand popular culture.Adams, Yvette. ''More Than Meets The Eye: A True Story Based on the Life and Times of the Best Blind Wrestler the World Has Ever Seen''. Southbank, Victoria: Griffin Press, 2006. (pg. 151, 208) Part of this of was due to its radio broadcasts from live events both prior to and after the war. By 1956, professional wrestling had surpassed the then- national sport of rugby in popularity and was the most popular spectator sport in New Zealand with the exception of

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

. The Wellington Town Hall Concert Chamber was one of the more popular postwar venues for wrestling events. Within a few years, New Zealand champions were traveling oversees as far as

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

Pat O'Connor, a champion amateur wrestler who had competed at the

Pan American Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...

and the British Empire Games, was discovered by visiting American wrestlers Joe Pazandak and Butch Levy and taken back to

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, where he eventually became a major star in the

and the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

. Matysik, Larry. ''Wrestling at the Chase: The Inside Story of Sam Muchnick and the Legends of Professional Wrestling''. Toronto: ECW Press, 2005. On 9 January 1959, O'Connor defeated

Dick Hutton Richard Heron Avis Hutton (October 4, 1923 – November 24, 2003) was an American amateur and professional wrestler. He was a three-time NCAA champion and, as a professional, held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, making him a one-time worl ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

to become the first wrestler from New Zealand to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.Hornbaker, Tim. ''National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling''. Toronto: ECW Press, 2007. (pg. 209-210, 219) Over the next 20 years, many other wrestlers from New Zealand became big name stars in the United States.

Abe Jacobs Abe Jacobs (born June 18, 1928) is a New Zealand retired professional wrestler. He was one of the first men to follow fellow New Zealander Pat O'Connor to the United States where, like O'Connor, Jacobs became a major star in the National Wres ...

was among the first to follow O'Connor to the US and later challenged him for the NWA World title in New York. This was the first time two New Zealanders fought for a world heavyweight championship, and on foreign soil. In 1959, Miller died and was succeeded by

who ran the Dominion Wrestling Union for two years until starting All Star Pro-Wrestling in 1962. Fellow wrestler

John da Silva John Walter da Silva (11 June 1934 – 8 April 2021) was a New Zealand wrestler and boxer. Biography Da Silva was born on 11 June 1934. He represented New Zealand in wrestling at the 1956 Olympics and at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwe ...

also began a rival promotion, Central Wrestling Association, around this time but it eventually closed in the early 1970s. After Miller's death, regular appearances by American wrestlers declined considerably, though a few still managed to arrive each year. In that time, a number of local stars were developed in New Zealand including

Tony Garea Anthony Gareljich (born 20 September 1946) is a New Zealand retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tony Garea. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestl ...

Peter Maivia Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia (born Fanene Pita Anderson; April 6, 1937 – June 13, 1982) better known as Peter Maivia was a Samoan-American professional wrestler. Maivia was the maternal grandfather of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and was also part o ...

,Solomon, Brian. ''WWE Legends''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006. (pg. 142-143, 145, 162, 195-196, 199) Al Hobman, and

The Sheepherders 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, ...

. From other parts of the world came Australian wrestlers Ron Miller and

Larry O'Day Larry Davies (1944 – 30 June 1997) was an Australian professional wrestler best known as Larry O'Dea. He was one half of the tag team known as "The Australians" with Ron Miller. Larry made his professional wrestling debut in the 1960s for ...

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

Robert Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...

from Scotland, Canadians Gordon Nelson and

George Gordienko George Gordienko (January 7, 1928 – May 13, 2002) was a Canadian professional wrestler and artist. Born of first generation Ukrainian and Cossack-Canadian parents in North Winnipeg, Manitoba, by age 17 Gordienko had received numerous awards fo ...

, and

André the Giant André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by exce ...

. South Pacific Wrestling, another small promotion started by referee Ernie Pinches, produced Johnny Garcia and

Onno Boelee Onno Boelee (1945–2013) was a Dutch-New Zealand actor, stuntman and professional wrestler. Although he never won a championship title, he was a popular star in Steve Rickard's All Star-Pro Wrestling, frequently appearing on Rickard's wrestli ...

during the 1970s. By the end of the decade, Rickard and Australian wrestling promoter Jim Barnett managed to attract foreign stars back to the Pacific. American wrestlers frequently toured New Zealand as well and were well received by the public. In 1972, Big Bad John, Bulldog Brower, Les Wolff,

King Curtis Iaukea Curtis Piehau Iaukea III (September 15, 1937 – December 4, 2010) was an American professional wrestler better known as King Curtis Iaukea. Iaukea won championships in several of the major regional U.S. promotions, both as a single and in vario ...

Spiros Arion Spiros Arion ( el, Σπύρος Αρίων) born Spyridon Manousakis ( el, Σπυρίδων Μανουσάκης) (born September 1940) is an Egyptian-born Greek former professional wrestler who had an extensive and successful career, mainly in ...

Mark Lewin Mark Lewin (born March 16, 1937) is an American retired professional wrestler. Early life Lewin was born in Buffalo, New York. He had two elder brothers, Donn and Ted, both of whom also became professional wrestlers. He attended Lafayette High ...

, Thunderbolt Patterson,

Sweet Daddy Siki Reginald Siki (born June 16, 1940) is an American-Canadian retired professional wrestler and singer, best known as Sweet Daddy Siki. He is believed to be the first African-American to challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Professi ...

Tarzan Tyler Camille Tourville (December 4, 1927 – December 24, 1985) was a Canadian professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name, Tarzan Tyler. He was one-half of the first WWWF World Tag Team Champions, along with Luke Graham. Profe ...

Dewey Robertson Byron James John "Dewey" Robertson (February 28, 1939 - August 16, 2007) was a professional wrestler, known best by his ring name The Missing Link. As The Missing Link, Robertson wore blue and green face paint and shaved portions of his head wh ...

and

Haystacks Calhoun William Dee Calhoun (August 3, 1934 – December 7, 1989) was an American professional wrestler, who used the professional name "Haystack" or "Haystacks" Calhoun. Early life Born on August 3, 1934, William Dee Calhoun grew up on a farm i ...

all toured New Zealand. Calhoun and his wife in particular made numerous television appearances, press interviews and visited schools. The debut of Rickard's '' On the Mat'' during this period,Mazer, Sharon. ''Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle''. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1998. (pg. x) a counterpart of Britain's '' World of Sport'', replaced the once popular radio broadcasts and showcased many New Zealand and international stars Afi, Siva. ''Reign of Fire: My Testimony from the Depths of Hell I Rose into the Majesty of God Almighty''. Lulu.com (pg. 20) including Pat Barrett, The Destroyer, Man Mountain Link,

Les Thornton Les Thornton (9 April 1934 – 1 February 2019) was a British professional wrestler who competed in Great Britain, Japan, European and North American regional promotions throughout the 1970s and 1980s including Joint Promotions, Stampede Wrestl ...

Leo Burke Léonce Cormier (born June 29, 1948) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He was born in Dorchester, New Brunswick. He competed across Canada, in several American promotions, and wrestled internationally for both Puerto Rico's World Wr ...

, Ripper Collins,

Rick Martel Richard Vigneault (born March 18, 1956) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, trainer, and television presenter, better known by his ring name, Rick Martel. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association, the ...

Tiger Jeet Singh Jagjeet Singh Hans (born April 3, 1944) is an Indo-Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler, known better by his ring name Tiger Jeet Singh. He was known for his elaborate ring entrances, and generally performed as a heel. He wrestled in Japan ...

, Ali Vizeri,

Abdullah the Butcher Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling ma ...

, and

Siva Afi Papali'itele Max Amata Taogaga (born 28 April 1949) is a Samoan retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the late-1980s under the ring name Siva Afi. Early life Max Taog ...

. Afi's tournament victory over John DaSilva in 1978 marked the first time a Samoan wrestler won a New Zealand championship on New Zealand television, and the first to hold the national title since 1964; An official member of the NWA since 1972, the NWA World title was also defended in Rickard's promotion. Peter Maivia nearly won the NWA World title from then-champion Harley Race in 1979. This title changed hands between

and Harley Race in

Wellington, New Zealand 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 ...

and Geylang, Singapore in 1984 but these would not be acknowledged by the NWA for several years. While Peter Maivia, Tony Garea and The Sheepherders left for the US in the 1970s, stars from the

and the

regularly toured the country including

Don Muraco Don Muraco (born September 10, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler and podcaster. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1981 to 1988, where he held the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Cha ...

Toru Tanaka Charles J. Kalani Jr. (January 6, 1930 – August 22, 2000) was an American professional wrestler, professional boxer, college football player, soldier, actor, and martial artist who, in fighting rings, was also known as Professor Toru Tanaka, o ...

Mr. Fuji Harry Masayoshi Fujiwara (May 4, 1934 – August 28, 2016) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known professionally by his ring name Mr. Fuji (or Master Fuji to his protégés). He was famous for often throwing salt in the ey ...

and

Rocky Johnson Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Among many National Wrestling Alliance titles, he was the first Black Georgia Heavyweight Champion as well as the NWA Televisi ...

. New Zealand was among the places future

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...

lived in with his father Rocky while growing up. Japanese wrestlers too, such as

Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...

, the

Great Togo (January 11, 1946 – November 28, 2016) was a Japanese professional wrestler. He was an executive director of Pro Wrestling Noah. Sumo career In July 1961, Haruka Eigen began wrestling as a sumo. He was part of the Tatsunami stable. He quit su ...

and

midget wrestler Midget wrestling is professional wrestling involving people of exceptionally short stature. Its heyday was in the 1950s and 1960s, when wrestlers such as Little Beaver, Lord Littlebrook, toured North America, and Sky Low Low was the first holder ...

Little Tokyo, also visited New Zealand.

Decline (1980s–1990s)

Though the retirements of O'Connor and Garea left a void, talents such as

Ox Baker Douglas Albert Baker Sr. (April 19, 1934 – October 20, 2014) was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known professionally as Ox Baker. He was famous for his distinctive eyebrows and finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes c ...

Tor Kamata McRonald Kamaka (March 9, 1937 – July 23, 2007) was an American-Canadian professional wrestler known by the ring name Tor Kamata. He won several heavyweight and tag team championships, most notably the PWF World Heavyweight Championship in A ...

Al Perez Al Perez (born July 23, 1960) is a retired American professional wrestler. He held 16 titles during a 20-year career, including the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship. Professional wrestling career Early career Perez began wrestling as an amat ...

Rip Morgan Michael Morgan (born August 20, 1957) is a former professional wrestler from New Zealand who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling and World Class Championship Wrestling best known as Rip Morgan. Best known as ...

Samoan Joe Joseph Afamasaga (2 January 1949 - 9 July 2015), better known by his ring name Samoan Joe, was a New Zealand professional wrestler who competed in the Australasian and South Pacific region during the 1970s and early 1980s. He was a popular fa ...

, Johnny Garcia, Bruno Bekkar and A.J. Freely remained in New Zealand during the 1980s and early 1990s. Likewise, wrestlers from the

World Wrestling Federation 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 ...

often toured New Zealand and Australia such as

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, ...

(formerly The Sheepherders) and

Lanny Poffo Lanny Mark Poffo (born December 28, 1954), better known by his ring names "Leaping" Lanny Poffo and The Genius, is a Canadian-American professional wrestler, motivational speaker, poet, and actor. Poffo was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to ...

. These stars continued to be seen in New Zealand via ''On the Mat'' until the early 1980s. During the wrestling boom of the mid-late 1980s, and particularly inspired by the '' Superstars of Wrestling'' TV show, a Wellington-based promotion run by veterans including Bruno Bekkar, Al Hobman, Bob "the Hog" Crozier and others staged a number of wrestling events throughout Wellington and the lower North Island. As American wrestling went into a slump following the wrestling boom of the 1980s, All Star Pro-Wrestling closed in the 1990s, after 30 years. A few small independent promotions sprang up after All-Star's close, specifically the Arena Wrestling Alliance (1990), Wai-Kato Wrestling Association (1991–1992) and the International Wrestling Federation (1993), though these were all short-lived. By 1998, professional wrestling in New Zealand was all but non-existent. However, many New Zealand wrestlers and personalities maintained a strong presence in the industry. Steve Rickard served as President of the NWA from 1995 to 1996. New Zealand-born cartoonist

, also known as

's "Mr. J", began drawing a monthly comic strip for the publication around this time. Sharon Mazer, associate professor of Theatre & Performance Studies at

, wrote a series of articles on professional wrestling focused on what was then the WWF and research done at the Unpredictable Johnny Rodz School of Professional Wrestling (Gleason's Gym, Brooklyn). In 1998, she wrote ''Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle''. Mazer also contributed to author Nicholas Sammond's ''Steel Chair to the Head: The Pleasure and Pain of Professional Wrestling'' (2005). Children's

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

author Debbie Renner claimed to have once competed under the name "Tasmanian Devil" prior to becoming a full-time writer. In celebration of the coming

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

was featured on a special commemorative edition of the

New Zealand ten-dollar note The New Zealand ten-dollar note is a New Zealand banknote. It is issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and since 1999 has been a polymer banknote. It was first issued on 10 July 1967 when New Zealand decimalised its currency, changing fro ...

by the Chatham Islands Note Corporation. The ''New Zealand Pro Wrestling Informer'' (NZPWI), an online resource for New Zealand professional wrestling, appeared in 1999, and was one of the earliest professional wrestling-related websites to appear on the Internet. Between 2003 and 2008, it interviewed numerous wrestlers from

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

and

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 va ...

. Among those included retired foreign wrestlers who had previously competed in New Zealand as well as younger upcoming wrestlers such as

Samoa Joe Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Samoa Joe who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Joe is currently a double champion - in his first reign both as AEW ...

and

Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and bodybuilder. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is an eight-time world champion, having been a two-t ...

21st century (2000s–)

On 25 May 2003,

hosted a "champion vs. champion" match, in which NWA World Heavyweight Champion

defeated Sting to unify Australia's

. Mania Pro Wrestling, the first wrestling promotion since the close of Rickard's All Star Pro-Wrestling, was established in Auckland mid-2000, following the success Mania Female Fighting Academy had enjoyed with their blend of stunt fighting and mat wrestling. Wellington promoter and former professional wrestler Martin Stirling took an interest in the return of the artform, and established Wellington Pro Wrestling in October 2003. Early 2003 in

the scene changed, as the collective of wrestlers who made up Mania Pro Wrestling, after a disagreement over the running of the company, established their own brand away from the Fighting Academy, known now as Impact Pro Wrestling. In January 2005, Stirling changed his promotions title to

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 ...

. WWE held their first live event tour in New Zealand on 4 March 2006, at the Westpac Stadium. 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. Competition emerged in the New Zealand wrestling industry during May 2006 in

, when

split from Stirling's company and Kiwi Pro Wrestling was established, made up of a number of Stirling's former stars. These new promotions also brought back televised wrestling, which had been absent since the days of Rickard's ''On the Mat'', with the debut of '' IPW Ignition'' and KPW's '' Off the Ropes''. The decade saw cooperation between New Zealand and Australian promoters as well. In 2007, Peter Ball's Major Impact Wrestling merged with New Zealand's Impact Pro Wrestling to form a sister promotion in Australia,

Impact Pro Wrestling Australia 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 ...

. That same year, Dominic Ferrari's New Aussie Wrestling took part in an inter-promotional "Australia vs. New Zealand" supercard with Kiwi Pro Wrestling. In 2008, the Australasian Wrestling Federation made two trips to New Zealand, performing using their own talent and members of New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling. In late 2022,

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

announced '' NJPW Tamashii,'' a series of events that would be held in Australia and New Zealand. The Tamashii brand was officially launched in September, with the first show taking place on 11 November in Christchurch.

WWE in New Zealand

Shows from other international promotions held in New Zealand

Major events by New Zealand promotions

CPW MitchellMania

Capital Pro Wrestling's MitchellMania event is the only event in history to feature wrestlers from every professional wrestling promotion in New Zealand. Promotions featured included UCW, Maniacs United, IPW, PWE, Hughes Academy, Asylum Pro, NZWPW and SPW. It was a fundraiser and every active New Zealand promotion at the time joined together for the event, raising over $1800 in ticket sales towards getting "New Zealand's biggest wrestling fan" Mitchell Fels to

WrestleMania 35 WrestleMania 35 was the 35th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place ...

. The story gained mainstream media attention and was featured on

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 ...

and

Newshub ''Newshub'' (stylised as ''Newshub.'') is a New Zealand news service that airs on the television channels Three and Eden, as well as on digital platforms. It formerly operated across radio stations run by MediaWorks Radio until December 2021 ...

. This helped Mitchell Fels receive over $25,000 on Givealittle in total and would later receive free tickets to the Hall of Fame induction ceremony and WrestleMania. This announcement was made on

Three 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

's The Project current affairs television program, by

WWE NXT ''WWE NXT'', also known as ''NXT'', is an American professional wrestling television program. It is produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, featuring performers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The show currentl ...

superstar

Dakota Kai Cheree Georgina Crowley (born 6 May 1988) is a New Zealand-born professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Dakota Kai. She is a member of Damage CTRL and is one half of the cu ...

SPW Southern Rumble

On 14 July 2018, SPW held the biggest live independent wrestling show seen in New Zealand for over 27 years, the 2018 Southern Rumble, which was held at ILT Stadium in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

in front of 1,200+ in attendance.Events - SPW Southern Rumble 2018
3 May 2020 The event featured well known overseas wrestlers such as

Will Ospreay William Peter Charles Ospreay (born 7 May 1993) is an English professional wrestler who is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion in his first reign and leader of the ...

Tenille Dashwood Tenille Averil Dashwood (born 1 March 1989) is an Australian professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Emma. Dashwood started training for professional wrestling in Australia ...

and

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 ...

. The main event was a 20-man Southern Rumble match won by Kane Khan. The 2019 Southern Rumble event was held again in ILT Stadium on 13 July 2019, with similar attendance numbers. The 2019 event was a cross promotional event with

Melbourne City Wrestling Melbourne City Wrestling is an Australian independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 2010, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Melbourne City Wrestling currently has two major venues that they use. MCW hosts monthly events at th ...

(MCW). The show featured 8 matches including a

Winner Takes All match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

for the SPW New Zealand Championship and the

MCW Heavyweight Championship The MCW Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling heavyweight championship owned by the MCW Pro Wrestling (MCW) promotion. The title was created and debuted on October 11, 1998, at a MCW live event. In 2003, MCW ceased operations; at ...

. JK Moody won the 20-man Southern Rumble main event. On 24 August 2019, the event aired on

TVNZ Duke TVNZ Duke ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Tiuka), formerly Duke and stylized as TVNZ DUKE or DUKE, is a New Zealand television channel run by state broadcaster Television New Zealand. It screens programming targeted at a male audience. It was launched on 20 ...

and was viewed by over 40,000 people.TVNZ 2020
10 May 2020

Major professional wrestling promotions

Television programming

Weekly

Pay-per-view

Former

References

External links

NZPWI.co.nz
the ''New Zealand Pro Wrestling Informer''
KiwiWrestling.com
official website for upcoming documentary on New Zealand professional wrestling
Wrestling - An Encyclopedia of New Zealand
a brief history on amateur and professional wrestling in New Zealand
Pro-Wrestling in Oceania (Australia & New Zealand) at WrestlingScout
*
Jason Hunt's Slammin' Steel Chair Fan Club
Wrestling in the 1920s. {{Good article

History

Early years (1900–1920s)

Association with the NWA (1930s–1940s)

Golden Age (1950s–1970s)

Decline (1980s–1990s)

21st century (2000s–)

WWE in New Zealand

Shows from other international promotions held in New Zealand

Major events by New Zealand promotions

CPW MitchellMania

SPW Southern Rumble

Major professional wrestling promotions

Television programming

Weekly

Pay-per-view

Former

See also

References

Further reading

External links