New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling
Encyclopedia
New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling (WPW) is a professional wrestling promotion
based in Wellington
, New Zealand
.
trainer, Martin Stirling. Wrestlers trained by Stirling first performed at the Armageddon Convention
on 20 September 2003, as part of an Impact Pro Wrestling show, and the promotion was launched under the name Wellington Pro Wrestling (WPW). Their first show was held on 14 November 2003 in Petone
. WPW then got re-branded to New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling in January 2005, This was partly because the domain name
for WPW was already used and to reflect the growing interest in touring New Zealand
(Christchurch, Masterton, Levin, Gisborne, Hastings and Auckland) as well as the Wellington
area.
, Palmerston North
, Porirua
, Otaki
, Levin
, Paraparaumu
and many others major centres up and down the country making it the most widely touring New Zealand promotion and the only one to perform regularly in both New Zealand's North Island
and South Island
. Wrestlers from WPW have also wrestled for Australian promotion Impact Pro Wrestling Australia (formerly Major Impact Wrestling). Female wrestler Misty also competed in the all women's Australian promotion PWWA.
In May 2006 a number of WPW wrestlers, led by former WPW booker The Punisher and WCW/ NWA star Rip Morgan
, left to set up a rival promotion called Kiwi Pro Wrestling
. Since then WPW has had an on-again-off-again working relationship with Auckland based promotion Impact Pro Wrestling. In 2008 WPW featured on the television show 'Good Morning' which is a nationally seen show on TV One to promote Powerplay V with all profits being donated to the Te Omanga Hospice. It continued on its charity work in 2009 when it ran a show to raise funds for the Movember foundation. WPW also co-promoted a show with the Australasian Wrestling Federation featuring former ECW, WCW, WWE and TNA Superstar Raven. In 2009 current WWE Superstar Chris Masters featured at Powerplay VI, making numerous television appearances to promote the event including 'Good Morning' and '20/20'.
WPW has further expanded opening new branches within major cities throughout New Zealand including branches in Hastings and Gisborne.
background, WPW has made much of its links with New Zealand's martial arts scene. Many of their early shows featured demonstrations of fighting styles such as karate
and kickboxing
. Shows have also been co-promoted with major Sumo
events such as the 2005 Oceania
Sumo Championships and the 2006 New Zealand Open Sumo Championships.
Also in 2006, WPW co-sponsored sumo wrestlers Sio Sakaria and Mark Tanu to attend the Junior World Championships in Estonia
, where they won silver and bronze medals respectively.
In 2009 WPW wrestlers Travis Banks and Tykade both won gold medals at the Oceania Sumo championships in Australia.
This was backed up in 2010 when numerous WPW wrestlers took part in the Oceania Sumo Championships (this time held in Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand). With Tykade once again taking out the open and heavyweight divisions, Rufguts and Ben Mana were also in the medals in the heavyweight and open divisions.
Travis Banks, Tykade and Rufguts went on to compete at the World Combat Games in China in August 2010
. The show ended prior to the New Year of 2009.
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
based in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Formation
WPW started in October 2003 by martial artsMartial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
trainer, Martin Stirling. Wrestlers trained by Stirling first performed at the Armageddon Convention
Armageddon (convention)
Armageddon is a commercial science fiction and comics convention held in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Melbourne Adelaide and Sydney. In recent years it has also showcased computer and video gaming, animation, and consumer electronics...
on 20 September 2003, as part of an Impact Pro Wrestling show, and the promotion was launched under the name Wellington Pro Wrestling (WPW). Their first show was held on 14 November 2003 in Petone
Petone
Petone is a major suburb of the city of Lower Hutt in New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the narrow triangular plain of the Hutt River, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour...
. WPW then got re-branded to New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling in January 2005, This was partly because the domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
for WPW was already used and to reflect the growing interest in touring New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
(Christchurch, Masterton, Levin, Gisborne, Hastings and Auckland) as well as the Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
area.
Expansion
WPW has performed shows in ChristchurchChristchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, Palmerston North
Palmerston North
Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
, Porirua
Porirua
Porirua is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand, immediately north of the city of Wellington, with their central business districts 20 km apart. A large proportion of the population commutes to Wellington, so it may be considered a satellite city. It almost completely surrounds...
, Otaki
Otaki
Otaki may refer to:*Ōtaki , a parliamentary electorate in New Zealand*Otaki, New Zealand, a town in New Zealand*Otaki River, a river in New Zealand*Ōtaki, Chiba, a town in Japan*Ōtaki, Saitama, a former village in Japan...
, Levin
Levin, New Zealand
Levin is a town in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of New Zealand, and is the largest town in the Horowhenua district. It is 90 kilometres north of Wellington, 50 kilometres south of Palmerston North, and two kilometres to the east of Lake Horowhenua....
, Paraparaumu
Paraparaumu
Paraparaumu is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies in the Kapiti Coast, 50 kilometres north of the nation's capital city, Wellington....
and many others major centres up and down the country making it the most widely touring New Zealand promotion and the only one to perform regularly in both New Zealand's North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
and South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
. Wrestlers from WPW have also wrestled for Australian promotion Impact Pro Wrestling Australia (formerly Major Impact Wrestling). Female wrestler Misty also competed in the all women's Australian promotion PWWA.
In May 2006 a number of WPW wrestlers, led by former WPW booker The Punisher and WCW/ NWA star Rip Morgan
Rip Morgan
Mike Morgan 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 one half of the New Zealand Militia in WCW with Jack Victory...
, left to set up a rival promotion called Kiwi Pro Wrestling
Kiwi Pro Wrestling
Kiwi Pro Wrestling is a professional wrestling promotion based in Wellington, New Zealand.-History:Started in May 2006 by veteran New Zealand wrestler Rip Morgan, KPW was formed with the express purpose of taking NZ wrestling from club level to professional level and groom local wrestling talent...
. Since then WPW has had an on-again-off-again working relationship with Auckland based promotion Impact Pro Wrestling. In 2008 WPW featured on the television show 'Good Morning' which is a nationally seen show on TV One to promote Powerplay V with all profits being donated to the Te Omanga Hospice. It continued on its charity work in 2009 when it ran a show to raise funds for the Movember foundation. WPW also co-promoted a show with the Australasian Wrestling Federation featuring former ECW, WCW, WWE and TNA Superstar Raven. In 2009 current WWE Superstar Chris Masters featured at Powerplay VI, making numerous television appearances to promote the event including 'Good Morning' and '20/20'.
WPW has further expanded opening new branches within major cities throughout New Zealand including branches in Hastings and Gisborne.
Martial arts
Thanks to Martin Stirling's martial artsMartial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
background, WPW has made much of its links with New Zealand's martial arts scene. Many of their early shows featured demonstrations of fighting styles such as karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
and kickboxing
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
. Shows have also been co-promoted with major Sumo
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
events such as the 2005 Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
Sumo Championships and the 2006 New Zealand Open Sumo Championships.
Also in 2006, WPW co-sponsored sumo wrestlers Sio Sakaria and Mark Tanu to attend the Junior World Championships in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, where they won silver and bronze medals respectively.
In 2009 WPW wrestlers Travis Banks and Tykade both won gold medals at the Oceania Sumo championships in Australia.
This was backed up in 2010 when numerous WPW wrestlers took part in the Oceania Sumo Championships (this time held in Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand). With Tykade once again taking out the open and heavyweight divisions, Rufguts and Ben Mana were also in the medals in the heavyweight and open divisions.
Travis Banks, Tykade and Rufguts went on to compete at the World Combat Games in China in August 2010
Invasion
WPW previously aired on Triangle TV. The show debuted on 21 August at 11pm. Invasion includes touring of WPW and was officially kicked off on 16 August in Wainuiomata and now occasionally, Upper HuttUpper Hutt
Upper Hutt is a satellite city of Wellington. It is New Zealand's smallest city by population, the second largest by land area. It is in Greater Wellington.-Geography:Upper Hutt is 30 km north-east of Wellington...
. The show ended prior to the New Year of 2009.
Current champions
| Championship | Current champion(s) | Date Won | Event | Previous champion(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZWPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship NZWPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship NZWPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship is the top professional wrestling championship title in the New Zealand promotion New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling . It was the original super heavyweight title of Wellington Pro Wrestling and introduced as the WPW Super Heavyweight Championship on 3... |
D-Hoya | NZWPW Over the Top | Defeated Tykade with outside interference from Johnny Idol, Corey Dallas and Rehua. | |
| NZWPW New Zealand Tag Team Championship NZWPW New Zealand Tag Team Championship NZWPW New Zealand Tag Team Championship is the top professional wrestling tag team championship title in the New Zealand promotion New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling. The title was first won by The Superlatives , who won a tournament final at Power Play IV in Lower Hutt, New Zealand to win the titles... |
"Rufguts" Roddy Gunn and Johnny Idol | 12 August 2011 | NZWPW | They won the titles in Levin defeating three other tag teams in a four corner elimination tag match. |
Roster
- Ben Mana
- "The Ideal Experience" Corey Dallas
- D-Hoya
- Frederick The Great
- JC Star
- "The Beast of the British Isles" Jakob Cross
- Johnny Idol
- James Shaw
- Kamystery
- Mikey Rave
- Misty
- Osiris
- Rehua - CWO
- "Rufguts" Roddy Gunn
- Scravenge
- "Shining" Nick Silver
- Smiley Virus
- Stellar Hammer
- "The Adrenaline Rush" Taylor Adams
- The Nerd
- Thor
- Tykade
Tag Teams and Stables
- Circus of Tragedy (Dreamcatcher, Osiris and Scravenge)
- Project Mayhem ("Rufguts" Roddy Gunn, Johnny Idol and "IPW's" James Shaw)
- Mikey Rave and "The Adrenaline Rush" Taylor Adams
- Smiley Virus and Kamystery