Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt (3 September 1929 – 5 April 2015), best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, was a New Zealand
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 ...
,
trainer and
promoter. As a wrestler, he traveled throughout the world during the 1960s and 1970s, often visiting countries where professional wrestling was unknown such as
southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, and was one of the top competitors to come from New Zealand during that era. Rickard was a frequent opponent for many foreign wrestlers travelling overseas including
NWA World Heavyweight Champions
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 subgen ...
such as
Jack Brisco
Freddie Joe "Jack" Brisco (September 21, 1941 – February 1, 2010) was an American amateur and professional wrestler. As an amateur for Oklahoma State, Brisco was two-time All-American and won the NCAA Division I national championship. He turne ...
,
Dory Funk Jr.,
Harley Race
Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer.
Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federati ...
and
"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair. He also had high-profile matches with
Karl Gotch
Charles Istaz (August 3, 1924 – July 28, 2007) was a Belgian-born German-American professional wrestler and trainer, best known by his ring name Karl Gotch. In Japan, Gotch was known as the "God of Wrestling" due to his influence in shaping the ...
,
Killer Kowalski
Walter Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008), known professionally as Killer Kowalski, was a Polish-Canadian professional wrestler.
Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, includin ...
,
The Destroyer,
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 exces ...
,
Abe Jacobs and
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
as well.
He was a former
NWA Australasian Heavyweight Champion, a 3-time
NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Champion, and a record 8-time
NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Champion. He and
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 ...
were also the first
NWA Australasian Tag Team Champions in the early 1980s.
Rickard is considered one of the most influential figures in
New Zealand professional wrestling in the latter half of the 20th century. He took over 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 ...
after the death of founder Walter Miller in 1959 and ran it for two years. In 1962, he established All Star Pro Wrestling, also known as NWA New Zealand internationally, which eventually succeeded the DWU and remained the country's single major promotion for the next 30 years. He and Australian promoter
Jim Barnett were responsible for bringing foreign wrestlers, especially from Canada and the United States, back to the Pacific region by the late 1960s. He was also the creator of ''
On the Mat'', one of the country's longest running sports programmes from 1975 to 1984, and its short-lived spin-off ''
The Main Event
In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
'' in 1990.
Rickard was also a successful hotelier and businessman before and after his wrestling career, most notably, establishing one of the first gyms 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 m ...
and running the Hutt Park Hotel for 15 years. After his in-ring retirement in 1989, he remained involved in the wrestling industry. He served as
President of the NWA during the early to mid-1990s first shared between himself, Howard Brody, Dennis Coralluzzo and
Jim Crockett Jr. from 1993 to 1995, and alone from 1995 to 1996. He was also a one-time a director of the
Cauliflower Alley Club
The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America.
Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abra ...
and
honoured by the organisation in 1997.
Early life and amateur career
Steve Rickard, born Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt, grew up in
Napier, New Zealand
Napier ( ; mi, Ahuriri) is a city on the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Hawke's Bay region. It is a beachside city with a seaport, known for its sunny climate, esplanade lined with Norfolk Pines and extensi ...
. He joined an
amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...
club at age 14, and left school that same year to work three jobs to help support his mother and younger brother Eddy and sister Val As a young man, he joined the
national police force in Napier and later transferred to
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 m ...
where he worked as a
police detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
with the
Criminal Investigation Branch. He eventually left the police force
and bought the Hutt Park Hotel which he owned for the next 15 years.
Rickard started competing as an amateur wrestler in Napier during the 1940s, wrestling in the national championships New Zealand wide, and later began training wrestlers himself. According to Rickard, he "used to train the wrestlers and get some place or another where you could put a mat down" before building his own facility though "the conditions generally were not very good at all". Rickard continued his training in Wellington and eventually opened one of the city's first gyms on
Cuba Street.
Professional career
Early career as a world journeyman
Rickard was wrestling on the amateur circuit with Ricky Walsh during this time and it was he who convinced Rickard to begin wrestling professionally. He began wrestling for local promoters in Wellington including shows for wrestler
Al Hobman.
In 1963, Rickard won his first major title when he defeated Hobman 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 by ...
. He briefly lost it to
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 ...
in Auckland on 3 August 1964, but regained it in Wellington three days later. Rickard re-lost the title to Hobman later that year. On the advice of Ricky Wallace, he later began travelling overseas. His first international tour was to Australia and then shortly afterwards went on to
New Caledonia,
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
,
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
,
Fiji, and
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...
. He also wrestled throughout Canada and the United States early in his career.
During the next two decades, Rickard's professional wrestling career would take him to countries throughout the world
and many were where in places where professional wrestling had never been promoted before; he would make numerous trips to Australia and Singapore, and wrestle in
Japan,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
,
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 ...
and most of the major
Pacific Islands
Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of ...
including
New Hebrides
New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...
,
Western Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); a ...
,
American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internation ...
,
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Aust ...
and Hawaii. He eventually became one of the top wrestlers to compete internationally during the 1960s and 70s and often faced many prominent stars of the era. He was the opponent of many
NWA World Heavyweight Champions
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 subgen ...
in bouts outside North America, such as
Jack Brisco
Freddie Joe "Jack" Brisco (September 21, 1941 – February 1, 2010) was an American amateur and professional wrestler. As an amateur for Oklahoma State, Brisco was two-time All-American and won the NCAA Division I national championship. He turne ...
and
Dory Funk Jr., and was also involved in high-profile matches with
The Destroyer,
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 exces ...
,
Abe Jacobs and
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
, the latter billed as "the uncrowned Heavyweight Champion of the World". His bouts in Australia against
Killer Kowalski
Walter Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008), known professionally as Killer Kowalski, was a Polish-Canadian professional wrestler.
Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, includin ...
were called "real blood baths". He also wrestled
Karl Gotch
Charles Istaz (August 3, 1924 – July 28, 2007) was a Belgian-born German-American professional wrestler and trainer, best known by his ring name Karl Gotch. In Japan, Gotch was known as the "God of Wrestling" due to his influence in shaping the ...
while touring Canada in 1965 and publicly praised his scientific abilities afterwards as "a true wrestler with all the science that we are led to believe the greats of earlier generations possessed – men like
Jim Londos
Christos Theofilou ( el, Χρήστος Θεοφίλου; January 2, 1894 – August 19, 1975), better known as "The Golden Greek" Jim Londos (Greek: Τζίμ Λόντος), was a Greek American professional wrestler. Londos was one of the most p ...
,
Dick Shikat
Richard I. Shikat (11 January 1897 – 3 December 1968) was a German professional wrestler and World Heavyweight Champion who was active in the early portion of the twentieth century. Shikat was considered to be one of the most dangerous 'hooker ...
, Stan Zbyszko and others".
Singapore and the Jakarta airport riot
In July 1969, he accompanied the
Japanese Wrestling Association
The was the first professional wrestling promotion to be based in Japan. It operated from 1953 to 1973.
History JWA under Rikidōzan (1953–1963)
Rikidōzan, a former ''rikishi'' ( sumo wrestling practitioner) who had debuted as a Western- ...
on its tour of Southeast Asia. He teamed with Kurt von Stroheim, a tag team champion in the United States and Australia with his brother Karl, and lost to
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 ...
&
Antonio Inoki
Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born ; February 20, 1943 – October 1, 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. He was best known by the ring name , a homage ...
in both their encounters in Singapore and Hong Kong. On the second day of the tour, on 15 July, he and von Stroheim wrestled Giant Baba & Michiaki Yoshimura at
Victoria City
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychel ...
's
South China Stadium in front of 5,000 fans. Four months later in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, approximately 8,500 were in attendance when Rickard fought to a double-countout with
Kantaro Hoshino at the
Sumo Hall.
That same year, while wrestling out of Singapore, Rickard was visiting the Indonesian capital of
Jakarta with several other wrestlers. While arriving at an airport, he and two other wrestlers, King Kong and Mr. X, started a brawl with Shintaro Fuji, Jack Claybourne, and Charlie Londos. The local populace was unfamiliar with professional wrestling at the time and when Jack Claybourne, a French-speaking African from
Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island and an Overseas department and region, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of ...
, was seen being attacked by masked wrestler Mr. X it was presumed to be a
racially motivated assault. As the country was
then under control of the military, truckloads of soldiers were called in and soon arrived the airport. All six wrestlers fled to the runway where Rickard flagged down a small plane getting ready to take off. Boarding the plane, the pilot refused to take off until the soldiers began firing and one of the bullets went through the plane's
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
. Flying back to Singapore, a friend gave Mr. X a newspaper cutting with a picture of the airport brawl. The headline read "Steve Rickard and
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Ca ...
gangsters from Australia in racial attack at airport". Rickard and the other wrestlers were allowed to reenter the country to appear for their match after local promoter Ranjid Singh offered a "
sweetener
{{Wiktionary, sweetener
A sweetener is a substance added to food or drink to impart the flavor of sweetness, either because it contains a type of sugar, or because it contains a sweet-tasting sugar substitute. Many artificial sweeteners have be ...
" during a meeting with military leaders.
Rickard was involved in other incidents during his international travels. He was riding a train in India when it was bombed in a terrorist attack. He was also once stranded in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...
when the government closed down the country's airports
during trouble with Turkey.
Touring India as Young Kong
Rickard later became a close friend of
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
and who later asked him to take his place in a tour of India in early 1970. Kong also asked Rickard to use his name, wrestling as his
kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...
"son" Young Kong, which was considered a great honour at the time given Kong's legendary reputation throughout Asia at the time and Rickard's bouts in India drew thousands of people. At one point, at a show in Zijayawada, he was the only non-Indian wrestler booked for the event and many of the local Indian wrestlers were favored by the crowd. Rickard was scheduled to face Tiger Sucha Singh, a top star in the area at the time, and defeated him after 50 minutes. Fans charged the ring almost immediately after the bout, but instead of reacting violently, they "hoisted on their shoulders and carried from the ring". Returning to Singapore after the tour, Rickard visited King Kong in hospital two days before his death on 16 May 1970. The next day at his funeral, he served as King Kong's
pallbearer
A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person.
Some traditions distinguish between the roles ...
along with five other wrestlers.
That same year, Rickard was profiled by ''Fight Times Magazine'' and which claimed that he was "rapidly becoming known as the greatest globetrotter in wrestling". At the time of the article, he was on a tour in Australia and was to travel to Japan and then return to New Zealand via the United States and Hawaii. Rickard had wrestled in the US earlier in his career and had a brief stint in the
Carolinas
The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east.
Combining Nort ...
where he teamed with fellow New Zealander
Abe Jacobs before returning to Singapore choosing to honour a prior commitment with local promoters there by opening for them in their new season.
While wrestling for
Frank Tunney and
Maple Leaf Wrestling
Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name in the 1970s and 1980s of the professional wrestling promotion run by Frank Tunney in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
History
Queensbury Athletic Club
The promotion, initially known as the Queensbury Athl ...
, he faced
Giant Jean Ferre in front of 14,000 people at the
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sin ...
on 14 November 1971.
All Star Pro Wrestling
When not competing internationally, he also wrestled in his native New Zealand, where he became a mainstay for the country's main promotion, 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 ...
, for longtime promoter
Walter Miller. After Miller's death in 1959, Rickard ran the DWU before forming his own promotion,
All Star Pro Wrestling, three years later. Although he would only run cards on and off during the next few years, Rickard's organisation would eventually succeed the DWU as the country's single major wrestling promotion for the next 30 years.
Walter's death caused a decline in wrestling, not only in New Zealand, but for the entire Australasian region as appearances from foreign wrestlers declined to only a few each year. Rickard and
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 Commonwea ...
, who ran the rival Central Wrestling Alliance, sought to develop their own stars during early to mid-1960s such as Al Hobman,
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) ] and
The Sheepherders. He and fellow wrestler Joe Komone also discovered future Australian heavyweight champion
Earl Black and who spent his rookie year for Rickard in Wellington before going to work for Australian promoters Hal Morgan and
Jim Barnett in Sydney.
Eventually, he and Jim Barnett of
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 Natio ...
in Australia were able to work together to bring back foreign wrestlers to the Pacific within a few years. By the late 1960s, New Zealand was being regularly visited by Australian wrestlers
Ron Miller and
Larry O'Day of Barnett's World Championship Wrestling,
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 French wrestler
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 exces ...
. In 1972, he helped book one of the biggest tours to date when US wrestlers 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 and
Haystacks Calhoun wrestled throughout the country. The American wrestlers proved very popular with the public and a few, such as Calhoun and his wife, were featured in the
national media.
In 1972, Rickard's partnership with Jim Barnett ended when Barnett sold his share of Big Time Wrestling and went back to the United States. By this time, Rickard had decided to promote All Star Pro-Wrestling full-time in New Zealand as live events were proving extremely popular.
His shows sold out the Wellington Winter Show Buildings ten weeks in a row and often had to turn away hundreds of spectators. On one occasion, Rickard had to rescue his wife from angry fans who, when told the show had sold out, began rocking the small ticket booth.
Many wrestlers from throughout the world, especially from Canada and the United States, would come to wrestle for Rickard's All Star Pro-Wrestling for the next decade. Not only were these some of the top wrestlers of the NWA at the time but younger wrestlers as well.
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, th ...
made one of his first international tours for Rickard in 1974 and later became a major star for his promotion.
''On the Mat''
Rickard's success with All Star Pro-Wrestling encouraged him to capitalize on this popularity with a nationally broadcast wrestling program. He had seen how successful televised wrestling had been in Australia and in the United States, and with Jim Barnett was involved with airing the short-lived Big Time Wrestling in 1972. Similar to Britain's ''
World of Sport'', the program was to showcase both the country's top wrestlers and international stars of the period. He used footage taken from one of his earlier events at the Wellington Winter Show Buildings had a
film pilot made which he used to "
pitch" the idea to
TV1 but it passed on the show. Rickard had to wait two years until the founding of a second network,
TV2, which was more favourable to the idea of a wrestling program.
After meeting with then programme director Kevan Moore, Rickard developed the show with
South Pacific Pictures
South Pacific Pictures is a New Zealand television production company. The company produces drama series, mini-series, telemovies and feature films for the domestic market and international market. SPP's largest property is '' Shortland Street ...
. The first episode of ''
On the Mat'' premiered in 1975, with
Ernie Leonard
Ernie Leonard (1931 – 15, July 1994) was a New Zealand television presenter, wrestling commentator, and actor. He was well known to wrestling fans.
Background
Leonard was born in Marton, New Zealand in 1931. The son of an Anglican minister, h ...
and Rickard as the
play-by-play announcer, and was an instant success. It remained on the air for 9 years, being broadcast in several countries, and became New Zealand's longest-running sports show. During the show's off-season, he and the All Star Pro-Wrestlers spent the three months wrestling overseas touring the Middle East, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Hawaii.
Rickard often stepped out of his role as announcer and actively competed on the show. On 22 June 1978, he defeated
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 ...
for the
NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Champions. He and Tanaka traded the belt twice in a two-month period and Rickard went on to hold the title a record 8-times in the next five years.
Rickard also started promoting outside New Zealand, purchasing the
50th State Big Time Wrestling
50th State Big Time Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Hawaii or Mid-Pacific Promotions) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Ha ...
territory in Hawaii from
Ed Francis
Edmund Charles "Ed" Francis (June 11, 1926 – November 18, 2016) was a professional wrestler and wrestling promoter in Hawaii in the 1960s. Many wrestlers who came through Hawaii in the 1960s and 1970s were bound to come across the name Ed Fra ...
. In June 1979, he began holding weekly matches at Block Arena in
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
, and monthly events at the
Blaisdell Center Arena in
downtown Honolulu
Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, and governmental center of Honolulu, the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the no ...
. He had a television contract with
KGMB-TV, retaining Lord Blears as his announcer, and featured Rick Martel, Siva Afi,
"Pretty Boy" Larry Sharpe,
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 Cham ...
,
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 ...
,
Billy White Wolf, Karl von Steiger, Ripper Collins and other NWA stars. He also used many of his own wrestlers such as
The Sheepherders and, based partly on their television appearances, were seen by US promoters and eventually brought to the United States.
He sold his territorial rights in Hawaii to Peter Maivia a year later.
He also continued wrestling in New Zealand during this time meeting NWA World Heavyweight Champion
Harley Race
Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer.
Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federati ...
in Hamilton on 11 September 1979, and defeating the world champion via disqualification, and teaming with Rick Martel to defeat
Mr. Fuji & Casey Mille in Auckland a month later.
His two sons,
Ricky and Tony Rickard, were trained by Rickard and also involved in the promotion and sometimes featured in its storylines. In 1981, Steve Rickard feuded with
Larry O'Day over the NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship after O'Day broke the leg of one of his sons. Ricky Rickard, though his career was brief, became an accomplished wrestler in his own right by capturing his father's title from Butcher Brannigan two years later. On one occasion, unrelated to an ongoing storyline, Ricky was wrestling in a tag team match refereed by his brother Tony and commentated by their father.
On 8 October 1981, he and
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 ...
were awarded the
NWA Australasian Tag Team Championship and held the titles for nearly seven months. Though they lost the titles to
King Kamaka &
Baron Von Krupp in Auckland the following year, they regained the titles on 27 May 1982. Their second and final reign lasted two months and ended when they were beaten by King Kamaka &
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 ca ...
on 19 August.
Though foreign stars, especially from the US, were becoming harder to find by the early 1980s, Rickard was able to bring in Harley Race,
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 mat ...
and
"The Original Sheik" Ed Farhat as well as younger wrestlers such as
Bret Hart
Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling back ...
and
Barry Darsow
Barry Allen Darsow (born October 6, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler who performed as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition. He also wrestled as Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, The Blacktop Bully and "Mr. Hole in One" Barry D ...
. Darsow, who wrestled as Mongol Zar, later defeated him for the
NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship in 1983 but quickly regained it. That same year, the 54-year-old Rickard won the national championship from
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 ...
and vacated shortly afterwards. It had been twenty years since he had last held the title. Also, on 4 March 1983, he fought
"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton ( mi, Kirikiriroa) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato, Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the count ...
.
The poor New Zealand economy, as well as the
decline of the NWA in the face of the
national expansion of the World Wrestling Federation, made importing foreign wrestlers extremely difficult and finally Rickard could no longer afford to produce the show and was forced to cancel On the Mat by 1984.
Later career and retirement
As a member of the National Wrestling Alliance, Rickard was involved in arranging title defences in the
Australasian region for NWA World champions during the 1970s and 80s. He was responsible for the unsanctioned title switch between Ric Flair and Harley Race at the
Wellington Town Hall
The Wellington Town Hall ( mi, Te Whare Whakarauika) is a concert hall and part of the municipal complex in Wellington, New Zealand, which opened in December 1904. It has been closed to the public since the 2013 Seddon earthquake, and it is cur ...
on 21 March 1984, and in
Geylang, Singapore three days later.
Race, who had been friends with Rickard for many years, agreed to this in an attempt to help revive wrestling in Australasia then in decline. Flair also went along with it later commenting "If Harley Race OK'd it, it was hard for anyone to tell them different". It has been worked out a "backroom deal", mostly to keep it a secret from wrestling "
dirt sheets" such as the
Wrestling Observer
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...
, however the NWA objected to being left out of the planning and refused to recognize these title changes for several years.
After the cancellation of On the Mat, Rickard continued to promote shows with All Star Pro-Wrestling and attempted several international tours. In the mid-1980s, he spent time in NWA Hawaii where he defended the Commonwealth title against Larry O'Day and
Lars Anderson. He also teamed with his son Tony against Larry O'Day & Ripper Collins in a best 2-of-3 falls match for the
NWA Australasian Tag Team titles.
Rickard retired from active competition in 1989, shortly before his 60th birthday, as a result of a series of injuries sustained during his career. He underwent surgery to have had both his hips and knees replaced, and an untreated shoulder dislocation sustained during an overseas tour would continue to trouble him for many years.
The Main Event and NWA
In 1990, Rickard attempted another wrestling program called "The Main Event" which aired on
TV3. Like ''On the Mat'', the show featured local New Zealand talent as well as international wrestlers such as the Mongolian Mauler, the Russian Brute,
The Russian Brute
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
,
Lou Perez,
The Bull,
The Terminator
''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor ( Linda Hamilton), who ...
, and
The Nasty Boys
The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags. The team were active from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and br ...
(
Brian Knobs &
Jerry Sags
Jerome Saganowich (born July 5, 1964) is an American professional wrestler best known by his wrestling name Jerry Sags. He is a member of the tag team The Nasty Boys with partner and long-term friend Brian Knobbs.
Early life and education
Sags ...
). The main star, however, was
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 ...
who won the
NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship from Canadian Stockman in Auckland on 13 July 1990. Although Rickard had a less active role in the show outside his duties as announcer he had a small role in its storylines. While serving as the guest ring announcer for a championship tournament in 1991, for example, he was attacked the Mongolian Mauler after losing to Siva Afi in the finals. The program was unable to match the ratings of its rival on
TV2 (New Zealand)
TVNZ 2 ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Rua) is the second New Zealand television channel owned and operated by the state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand (TVNZ). It targets a younger audience than its sister channel, TVNZ 1. TVNZ 2's line up cons ...
, ''
WWF Superstars of Wrestling
''WWF Superstars of Wrestling'' (later shortened to ''WWF Superstars'' and to ''Sunday Morning Superstars ''), also referred to as ''Maple Leaf Wrestling'' in Canada was an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by ...
'', and was cancelled after 11 episodes.
Though All Star Pro-Wrestling ceased promoting shortly after the cancellation of the show, Rickard remained a member of the NWA up until the mid-1990s. In 1994, he reappeared in NWA Hawaii where he wrestled
Jerry "The King" Lawler, with
Brian Christopher
Brian Christopher Lawler (January 10, 1972 – July 29, 2018) was an American professional wrestler. He is best remembered for his career in the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he performed as "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher and Grand ...
in his corner, at the
Honolulu Stadium
Honolulu Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Moiliili district of Honolulu, Hawai'i, at the corner of King and Isenberg Streets. Opened in 1926, it was the primary sports venue in Hawaii preceding Aloha Stadium. During its final y ...
. He also served as president of the organisation, along with Howard Brody, Dennis Coralluzzo and
Jim Crockett, Jr. from 1993 to 1995, and then alone until 1996. He was also involved with the
Cauliflower Alley Club
The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America.
Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abra ...
, a professional wrestling and boxing fraternal society, and was on the
board of directors at one time; he became an
official honouree of the organisation in 1997.
He continued promoting wrestling events into the 21st century running occasional events in southeast Asia. On 12 December 2004, he organised a show at the
Singapore Indoor Stadium
The Singapore Indoor Stadium, known exonymously as the Indoor Stadium, is an indoor arena located in Kallang, Singapore. It is within walking distance of the Singapore National Stadium, and collectively form a part of the wider Singapore Spor ...
featuring the first
steel cage 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 ...
held in Singapore in over a decade and headlined by Dusty Wolfe,
The Honky Tonk Man
Roy Wayne Farris (born January 25, 1953), better known by the ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American retired professional wrestler. He previously wrestled for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WW ...
,
Warlord
A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
and
The Barbarian.
Later years
In the years following his retirement, Rickard has been recognized by the
national media for his contributions to
professional wrestling in New Zealand. He has been referred to as "the
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...
of New Zealand wrestling" 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 newspape ...
''
and credited as "the man who turned wrestling into home entertainment" with his On the Mat program. He has also received praise from the
internet wrestling community being called "one of New Zealand's greatest wrestlers" by the
Pro Wrestling Torch
Wade Keller (born May 22, 1971) is an American professional wrestling journalist who runs the ''Pro Wrestling Torch'' newsletter. Keller has hosted ''The Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast'' on PodcastOne since 2017.
''Pro Wrestling Torch''
Ke ...
.
In June 2007, Rickard was interviewed by KiwiProWrestling.co.nz where he reflected on his amateur and professional career.
On 13 June 2008, Rickard visited Kiwi Pro Wrestling's "Wild 4 Wrestling" training facility where he met with KPW CEO
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 ...
, "Irishman" Mike Ryan and several of its students, most notably, Max "the Axe" Damage.
In early 2009, he and his wife Lorraine left their home of 30 years in
Oriental Bay
Oriental Bay is a bay and suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Noted for being both a popular beach and a luxurious centre of affluence in the city, it is located close to the Central Business District on Wellington Harbour.
...
and moved into a retirement home in
Greenmeadows outside his birthplace of Napier. On 3 September 2009, Rickard celebrated his 80th birthday in
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 ...
which was attended by around 100 guests including former wrestlers Arthur Sneddon and Joe Fau. The event was covered 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 newspape ...
.
Two months later, he was interviewed for ''A Kiwi Century On the Mat'', an upcoming historical documentary on professional wrestling in New Zealand, a year later. That same year, Dave Cameron of ''Fight Times Magazine'' ranked him #4 of a top ten listing of New Zealand's greatest wrestlers. The New Zealand Herald included Rickard in its list of New Zealand's favourite wrestlers as did the Herald columnist Chris Rattue in his own top ten list.
He died on 5 April 2015 in
Queensland, Australia
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
.
Championships and accomplishments
*All Star Pro Wrestling
**
NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship (New Zealand version) (8 times)
**
NWA Australasian Tag Team Championship (2 times, first) – with
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 ...
*
Cauliflower Alley Club
The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America.
Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abra ...
**Other inductee (
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
)
*
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc.
Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...
**National
***
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 by ...
(3 times)
**Regional
***
NWA Australasian Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
References
Further reading
*
Flair, Ric. ''
Ric Flair: To Be the Man''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.
*Mancer, John. ''Steve Rickard's Life On the Mat''. 1st ed. Auckland: Rugby Press, 1979.
External links
*
Steve Rickard at GenickBruch.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rickard, Steve
1929 births
2015 deaths
New Zealand male professional wrestlers
Professional wrestling announcers
Professional wrestling promoters
Professional wrestling trainers
Sportspeople from Napier, New Zealand
People from Wellington City
New Zealand businesspeople
New Zealand police officers
New Zealand hoteliers
Stampede Wrestling alumni