Professional wrestling in New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Professional wrestling in New Zealand has been promoted in the country from the early 1900s. In 1919, Gisborne Katene became the first national heavyweight champion
, though the title was not recognized by the National Wrestling Association
until 1925, and promoter Walter Miller began running events under the Dominion Wrestling Union
banner ten years later.
It was not until the years following the Second World War that professional wrestling
enjoyed its first golden age
. Pat O'Connor
, a one-time NWA
and AWA World Heavyweight Champion
, was one of the earliest stars of that era. During the 1960s and 70s, other wrestlers from New Zealand
also travelled to the United States
, where they enjoyed similar success in the National Wrestling Alliance
and the World Wide Wrestling Federation. American wrestlers frequently toured New Zealand during this period and were well-received by the public. The NWA World Heavyweight Championship
was also defended several times in the country; in 1984 Ric Flair
won the title from Harley Race
in Wellington
and Jeff Jarrett
defeated Sting
in Auckland
to unify the title with Australia's WWA World Heavyweight Championship
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
briefly served as President of the NWA during the mid-1990s. Jason Conlan
, a New Zealand-born cartoonist known as Pro Wrestling Illustrated
's "Mr. J", began drawing a popular comic strip for the publication in 1995. Sharon Mazer of the University of Canterbury
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 promotions, and with it the reappearance of televised wrestling, bringing professional wrestling back into the popular culture of New Zealand.
. Georg Hackenschmidt
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
, though it became vacant shortly afterwards. The first officially recognized champion was Maori wrestler Ike Robin
who won the title in Auckland
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, faced each other in a three-match series at the Auckland Town Hall
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
.
, 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 40s. 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 Westcoatt, Glen Wade, Joe Woods, Frank Judson, Don Noland, Vie Christy, Francis Fouche and Ed "Strangler" Lewis
. 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
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, Ken Kenneth, John Kattan and African-American wrestler Jack Claybourne.
It was Lofty Blomfield
, 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
in a first-ever "champion vs. champion" match. Miller negotiated with NWA promoters Toots Mondt
, 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
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
. 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
. A few were especially popular in the United Kingdom
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 50s, they most often remained unknown in their native country.
in popularity and was the most popular spectator sport in New Zealand with the exception of horse racing
. 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
.
Pat O'Connor
, a champion amateur wrestler who had competed at the Pan American
and the British Empire Games
, was discovered by visiting American wrestlers Joe Pazandak and Butch Levy and taken back to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he eventually became a major star in the National Wrestling Alliance
and the American Wrestling Association
. On 9 January 1959, O'Connor defeated Dick Hutton
in St. Louis, Missouri
to become the first wrestler from New Zealand to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Over the next 20 years, many other wrestlers from New Zealand became big name stars in the United States. Abe Jacobs
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 Steve Rickard
who ran the Dominion Wrestling Union for two years until starting All Star Pro-Wrestling in 1962. Fellow wrestler John da Silva
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, Peter Maivia
, Al Hobman
, and The Sheepherders. From other parts of the world came Australian wrestlers Ron Miller and Larry O'Day
of World Championship Wrestling, Robert Bruce
from Scotland, Canadians Gordon Nelson and George Gordienko
, and Andre the Giant
. South Pacific Wrestling, another small promtion started by referee Ernie Pinches, produced Johnny Garcia
and Onno Boelee
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
, Spiros Arion
, Mark Lewin
, Thunderbolt Patterson, Sweet Daddy Siki
, Tarzan Tyler, Dewey Robertson
and Big Haystacks Calhoun
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, a counterpart of Britain's World of Sport
, replaced the once popular radio broadcasts and showcased many New Zealand and international stars including Pat Barrett
, The Destroyer
, Man Mountain Link
, Les Thornton
, Leo Burke
, Ripper Collins
, Rick Martel
, Tiger Jeet Singh
, Ali Vizeri, Abdullah the Butcher
, and Siva Afi. 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 Ric Flair
and Harley Race in Wellington, New Zealand
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 National Wrestling Alliance
and the World Wide Wrestling Federation regularly toured the country including Don Muraco
, Toru Tanaka, Mr. Fuji
and Rocky Johnson
. New Zealand was among the places future WWE superstar Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson lived in with his father Rocky while growing up. Japanese wrestlers too, such as Giant Baba
, the Great Togo and midget wrestler
Little Tokyo
, also visited New Zealand.
Though the retirements of O'Connor and Garea left a void, talents such as Ox Baker
, Tor Kamata
, Al Perez
, Rip Morgan
, Samoan Joe
, 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
often toured New Zealand and Australia such as The Bushwhackers
(formerly The Sheepherders) and Lanny Poffo
. These stars continued to be seen in New Zealand via On the Mat until the early 1980s.
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 Jason Conlan
, also known as Pro Wrestling Illustrated
's "Mr. J", began drawing a monthly comic strip for the publication around this time. Sharon Mazer, a theatre and film studies teacher at the University of Canterbury
, wrote a series of articles on professional wrestling in New Zealand and abroad. 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
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
, Abe Jacobs
was featured on a special commemorative edition of the New Zealand ten dollar note
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
and World Wrestling Entertainment
. Among those included retired foreign wrestlers who had previously competed in New Zealand as well as younger upcoming wrestlers such as Samoa Joe
and Bobby Lashley.
hosted a "champion vs. champion" match, in which NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett
defeated Sting
to unify Australia's WWA World Heavyweight Championship
. 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 Auckland
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
. Competition emerged, May 2006 in Wellington
, when Rip Morgan
split from Sterling's company and Kiwi Pro Wrestling
was established, made up of a number of Sterling'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
. Of the major promotions in New Zealand, none are active in the country's South Island
, focusing instead on the North Island
.
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. 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
.
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 Gisborne Katene who defeated Frank Findlay in 1919...
, though the title was not recognized by the National Wrestling Association
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
until 1925, and promoter Walter Miller began running events under the Dominion Wrestling Union
Dominion Wrestling Union
The Dominion Wrestling Union 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 Stadium Limited, and served as the country's single major promotion for 30 years until being succeeded by All...
banner ten years later.
It was not until the years following the Second World War that professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
enjoyed its first golden age
Golden Age (metaphor)
A golden age is a period in a field of endeavour when great tasks were accomplished. The term originated from early Greek and Roman poets who used to refer to a time when mankind lived in a better time and was pure .-Golden Age in society:...
. Pat O'Connor
Pat O'Connor (wrestler)
Patrick John "Pat" O'Connor , was a professional wrestler from New Zealand. O'Connor was regarded as one of the premier workers of his era...
, a one-time NWA
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
and AWA World Heavyweight Champion
AWA World Heavyweight Championship
The American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association. All AWA trademarks, including the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, are now owned by WWE...
, was one of the earliest stars of that era. During the 1960s and 70s, other wrestlers from 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...
also travelled to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where they enjoyed similar success in the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
and the World Wide Wrestling Federation. American wrestlers frequently toured New Zealand during this period and were well-received by the public. The NWA World Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
was also defended several times in the country; in 1984 Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
won the title from Harley Race
Harley Race
Harley Leland Race is a retired American professional wrestler and current promoter and trainer. During his career as a wrestler, he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 7 times...
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...
and Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
defeated Sting
Sting (wrestler)
Steven James "Steve" Borden , better known by his ring name Sting, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
to unify the title with Australia's WWA World Heavyweight Championship
WWA World Heavyweight Championship
The World Wrestling All-Stars 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 title and defended in multiple countries...
in 2003.
As in the United Kingdom
Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom
Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom spans over 100 years but became popular when the then new Independent Television station - ITV began showing it in 1955 firstly on Saturday afternoons and then also in a late night mid week slot...
, its popularity was helped through a weekly television show, On the Mat
On the Mat
On the Mat was a professional wrestling television program for the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated All Star Pro-Wrestling , or simply NWA New Zealand, that aired on Television New Zealand's TV2 from 1975 to 1984...
, 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
1980s wrestling boom
The 1980s professional wrestling boom was a surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in the United States and elsewhere throughout the 1980s...
, it still maintained a presence in the industry. Retired wrestler and promoter Steve Rickard
Steve Rickard
Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt , best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter...
briefly served as President of the NWA during the mid-1990s. Jason Conlan
Jason Conlan
Jason Conlan 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"...
, a New Zealand-born cartoonist known as Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
's "Mr. J", began drawing a popular comic strip for the publication in 1995. Sharon Mazer of the University of Canterbury
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...
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 promotions, and with it the reappearance of televised wrestling, bringing professional wrestling back into the popular culture of New Zealand.
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 centuryTurn of the century
Turn of the century, in its broadest sense, refers to the transition from one century to another. The term is most often used to indicate a non-specific time period either before or after the beginning of a century....
. Georg Hackenschmidt
Georg Hackenschmidt
Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt was an early 20th-century Estonian strongman and professional wrestler, and the first free-style heavyweight champion of the world. He launched his professional career in Russia and lived most of his life in London, England, where he gained the nickname of 'The...
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
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 Gisborne Katene who defeated Frank Findlay in 1919...
, though it became vacant shortly afterwards. The first officially recognized champion was Maori wrestler Ike Robin
Ike Robin
Ihakara Te Tuku Rapana, MBE was a New Zealand sportsman, businessman, orator and member for the Maori Anglican Church...
who won the title in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
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
Stanislaus Zbyszko
Stanislaus Zbyszko was a Polish strongman and professional wrestler popular in the United States during the 1920s. He was one of the most influential European grapplers of all-time, he was also among the sport’s great pioneer champions...
, a one-time World Heavyweight Champion, faced each other in a three-match series at the Auckland Town Hall
Auckland Town Hall
The Auckland Town Hall is a historic building on Queen Street in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, known both for its original and ongoing use for administrative functions , as well as for its famed Great Hall and its separate Concert Chamber...
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
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...
followed along the same lines as professional wrestling in Canada and the United States
History of professional wrestling
Professional wrestling in the United States, up until the late 1920s, was viewed as a legitimate sport. Across the country there were "iron men" who would stand in the center of the ring, usually at state fairs, and literally shout out a challenge to anyone with the nerve to enter the ring...
.
Association with the NWA (1930s–1940s)
In 1929, the country's first professional wrestling promotionProfessional 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...
, 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 40s. 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 Westcoatt, Glen Wade, Joe Woods, Frank Judson, Don Noland, Vie Christy, Francis Fouche and Ed "Strangler" Lewis
Ed Lewis (wrestler)
Robert Herman Julius Friedrich , was a professional wrestler best known by his ring name Ed "Strangler" Lewis, whose career spanned four decades.-Wrestling career:...
. 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
NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship (New Zealand version)
The New Zealand version of the NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship was a professional wrestling heavyweight championship defended in the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated Dominion Wrestling Union from 1929 to 1953 and in All Star Pro Wrestling from 1968 to 1990...
upon his arrival in New Zealand in 1929. Former Canadian Olympian Earl McCready
Earl McCready
Earl Gray McCready was an amateur wrestler who competed in the U.S. for Oklahoma State University in folkstyle, and as a Canadian freestyle sport wrestler who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics....
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, Ken Kenneth, John Kattan and African-American wrestler Jack Claybourne.
It was Lofty Blomfield
Lofty Blomfield
Meynell Strathmore Blomfield 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...
, 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
Bronko Nagurski
Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski was a Canadian-born American football player. He was also a successful professional wrestler, recognized as a multiple-time world heavyweight champion.-Youth and collegiate career:...
in a first-ever "champion vs. champion" match. Miller negotiated with NWA promoters Toots Mondt
Toots Mondt
Joseph Raymond "Toots" Mondt was a former wrestling promoter who revolutionized the wrestling industry in the early to mid 1920s and co-promoted the World Wide Wrestling Federation...
, 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
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
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
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 of Fame since its inception representing a wide...
. 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
Kiwi Kingston
Ernie "Kiwi" Kingston was a wrestler and film actor from New Zealand, relatively unknown, but still remembered for his role as the Karloff-like Frankenstein Monster in Hammer's The Evil of Frankenstein . He also appeared in the film Hysteria .-External links:*...
, a student of Olympic wrestler Anton Koolmann
Anton Koolmann
Anton Koolmann was a wrestler and coach from Kuusalu Parish, Estonia who took part at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.-Career:...
, was considered one of the best heavyweights in Europe and a main rival of British Heavyweight Champion
British Heavyweight Championship
The British Heavyweight Championship is a top British wrestling championship found throughout the country's circuit.Many versions of the British Heavyweight Championship exist in the independent circuit of the United Kingdom at any given time but the scene is usually dominated by one companies...
Bert Assirati
Bert Assirati
Bartolomeo Esserati , also known as Bert Assirati, was an English professional wrestler who became a multiple time British Heavyweight Champion, and, posthumously, a member of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame...
. A few were especially popular in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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 50s, 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. 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 rugbyRugby union in New Zealand
Rugby union is the unofficial national sport of New Zealand. Rugby, as it is generally referred to by New Zealanders, is an integral part of New Zealand culture. The national team, the All Blacks, rank as the top international team in the world. The sport was known in New Zealand from 1870, and the...
in popularity and was the most popular spectator sport in New Zealand with the exception of horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. The Wellington Town Hall Concert Chamber
Wellington Town Hall
The Wellington Town Hall is a concert hall and part of the municipal complex in Wellington, New Zealand. The foundation stone for the building was laid in 1901 and construction began the following year. It was officially opened on 7 December 1904....
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
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
.
Pat O'Connor (wrestler)
Patrick John "Pat" O'Connor , was a professional wrestler from New Zealand. O'Connor was regarded as one of the premier workers of his era...
, a champion amateur wrestler who had competed at the Pan American
Pan American Games
The Pan-American or Pan American Games are a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Pan American Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics...
and the British Empire Games
1950 British Empire Games
The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth edition of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between the 4th and 11th of February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the 3rd edition of the games...
, was discovered by visiting American wrestlers Joe Pazandak and Butch Levy and taken back to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he eventually became a major star in the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
and the American Wrestling Association
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
. On 9 January 1959, O'Connor defeated Dick Hutton
Dick Hutton
Richard "Dick" Hutton was an American amateur and professional wrestler. He was a three-time NCAA champion and, as a professional, held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.-Early life:...
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
to become the first wrestler from New Zealand to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Over the next 20 years, many other wrestlers from New Zealand became big name stars in the United States. Abe Jacobs
Abe Jacobs
Abe Jacobs is a retired New Zealand 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 Wrestling Alliance during the "Golden Age of Wrestling"...
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 Steve Rickard
Steve Rickard
Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt , best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter...
who ran the Dominion Wrestling Union for two years until starting All Star Pro-Wrestling in 1962. Fellow wrestler John da Silva
John da Silva
John da Silva or John Silva is a former New Zealand wrestler and boxer. He represented New Zealand in wrestling at the 1956 Olympics and at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games...
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, Peter Maivia
Peter Maivia
Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia was a American Samoan professional wrestler better known as "High Chief" Peter Maivia. He was head of the famous Samoan wrestling family...
, Al Hobman
Al Hobman
Allan "Al" Hobman was a New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. Hobman was one of the first homegrown stars to emerge from the Dominion Wrestling Union, and later Steve Rickard's All Star-Pro Wrestling, during the 1960s and 70s such as Tony Garea, Peter Maivia and The Sheepherders...
, and The Sheepherders. From other parts of the world came Australian wrestlers Ron Miller and Larry O'Day
Larry O'Dea
Larry Davies was a professional wrestler best known as Larry O'Dea. He was one half of the tag team known as "The Australians"....
of World Championship Wrestling, Robert Bruce
Robert Bruce (wrestler)
Robert Bruce , born John Charles Young, was a Scottish-born professional wrestler and talent agent in Auckland, New Zealand.-Biography:...
from Scotland, Canadians Gordon Nelson and George Gordienko
George Gordienko
George Gordienko 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 for his physical prowess...
, and Andre the Giant
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
. South Pacific Wrestling, another small promtion started by referee Ernie Pinches, produced Johnny Garcia
John Garea
John "Johnny" Garea is a semi-retired New Zealand professional wrestler, known by his ring name Johnny Garcia, who competed in Steve Rickard's All Star-Pro Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling and occasionally for the World Wrestling Federation during the 1970s and 80s...
and Onno Boelee
Onno Boelee
Onno Boelee is a New Zealand actor, stuntman and retired professional wrestler of Dutch decent. Although never winning a championship title, he was a popular star in Steve Rickard's All Star-Pro Wrestling, frequently appearing on Rickard's wrestling programme On the Mat, and later in Japan for...
during the 1970s.
By the end of the decade, Rickard and Australian wrestling promoter Jim Barnett
Jim Barnett (wrestling)
James E. Barnett was an American professional wrestling promoter, and owner of Georgia Championship Wrestling and Australia's World Championship Wrestling.-Professional wrestling career:...
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
Bulldog Brower
Richard Gland was an American professional wrestler who used the ring name Bulldog Brower.-Professional wrestling career:...
, Les Wolff
Buddy Wolfe
Les Wolff is a retired American football player and professional wrestler, known by his ring name "Beautiful" Buddy Wolfe, who competed in North American regional promotions including the American Wrestling Association, National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wide Wrestling Federation during the...
, King Curtis Iaukea
King Curtis Iaukea
Curtis Piehau Iaukea, III was a professional wrestler better known as King Curtis Iaukea. Iaukea won championships in several of the major regional US promotions, both as a single and in various tag team combinations, during the 1960s. He then competed in the World Wrestling Federation where he...
, Spiros Arion
Andres Labrakis
Andres Labrakis is a Greek retired professional wrestler who had extensive and successful careers in both Australia and the United States. Known as Spiros Arion and The Golden Greek, he debuted in 1961 and retired in 1978.- Europe :...
, Mark Lewin
Mark Lewin
-Career:Mark Lewin broke into wrestling in the early '50s and had great early success in a matinee-idol babyface tag team with Don Curtis, headlining in major territories like New York and Chicago. The team's brief heel turn was a shock to its many fans...
, Thunderbolt Patterson, Sweet Daddy Siki
Sweet Daddy Siki
Reginald Siki is a former professional wrestler and was born on June 16 in Montgomery, Texas.Sweet Daddy Siki started wrestling in 1955 in Artesia, New Mexico. He also did some training in Los Angeles with Sandor Szabo and Ray Ortega...
, Tarzan Tyler, Dewey Robertson
Dewey Robertson
Byron James John "Dewey" Robertson was a professional wrestler, known best for his ring name The Missing Link....
and Big Haystacks Calhoun
William Calhoun
William Dee Calhoun was a professional wrestler, who used the professional name "Haystack" or "Haystacks" Calhoun. The gargantuan wrestler was one of the foremost drawing cards during the industry’s “Golden Age” of the 1950s and 1960s while sporting his trademark white T-shirt, blue overalls, and...
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
On the Mat
On the Mat was a professional wrestling television program for the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated All Star Pro-Wrestling , or simply NWA New Zealand, that aired on Television New Zealand's TV2 from 1975 to 1984...
during this period, a counterpart of Britain's World of Sport
World of Sport (UK TV series)
World of Sport was a British television sport anthology programme which ran on ITV between 2 January 1965 to 28 September 1985 in response to competition from BBC's Grandstand...
, replaced the once popular radio broadcasts and showcased many New Zealand and international stars including Pat Barrett
Pat Barrett
Patrick "Pat" Barrett is a former Irish professional wrestler who is best known for his time with NWA and WWWF. He has wrestled in many areas which include Ireland, Pacific Islands, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and United States of America.-Career:The Irish wrestler Pat Barrett started wrestling...
, The Destroyer
Dick Beyer
Dick Beyer is a retired professional wrestler who is best known by his ring names, The Destroyer or Doctor X.-Early life:...
, Man Mountain Link
Rick Link
"The Beastmaster" Rick Link is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. He wrestled throughout Canada and the United States for the National Wrestling Alliance during the 1970s and 80s under a number of ringnames, most notably, as M.E.B. in NWA Central States and as...
, Les Thornton
Les Thornton
Les Thornton is a retired British professional wrestler who competed in European and North American regional promotions throughout the 1970s and 1980s including Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance...
, Leo Burke
Leo Burke
Leonce Cormier is a retired Canadian 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 Wrestling Council and the National Wrestling Alliance in New Zealand...
, Ripper Collins
Ripper Collins
James Anthony "Rip" Collins was a Major League Baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates....
, Rick Martel
Rick Martel
Richard Vigneault is a retired Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation between 1980 and 1995 under the ring name Rick Martel...
, Tiger Jeet Singh
Tiger Jeet Singh
Jagjit Singh Hans is a semi-retired professional wrestler, known better by his ring name Tiger Jeet Singh. He wrestled as a crazed heel, coming to the ring with a sword in his mouth . Singh wrestled in Japan for 22 years...
, Ali Vizeri, Abdullah the Butcher
Abdullah the Butcher
Lawrence Robert "Larry" Shreve best known as Abdullah the Butcher, and also at times The Madman from the Sudan, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler known as one of the most brutal or "hardcore" professional wrestlers of all-time...
, and Siva Afi. 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
Harley Race
Harley Leland Race is a retired American professional wrestler and current promoter and trainer. During his career as a wrestler, he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 7 times...
in 1979. This title changed hands between Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
and Harley Race in Wellington, New Zealand
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...
and Geylang, Singapore
Geylang
Geylang is a neighbourhood in the city-state of Singapore east of the Central Area, Singapore's central business district. It is located to the east of the Singapore River, an area that locals have associated, from the days of Sir Stamford Raffles, as a Malay kampong opposite facing two islands...
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 National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
and the World Wide Wrestling Federation regularly toured the country including Don Muraco
Don Muraco
Donald Muraco , better known by his ring name "The Rock" Don Muraco, is a retired American professional wrestler...
, Toru Tanaka, Mr. Fuji
Mr. Fuji
Harry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. He was infamous for often throwing salt in the eyes of face wrestlers...
and Rocky Johnson
Rocky Johnson
Rocky Johnson is a retired Canadian professional wrestler. Quite popular in his own right in the 1970s and 1980s, he is also known for being the father of actor and professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson...
. New Zealand was among the places future WWE superstar Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson lived in with his father Rocky while growing up. Japanese wrestlers too, such as Giant Baba
Shohei Baba
was a professional wrestler and co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling. He was also known as Giant Baba. Baba, along with Antonio Inoki, became one of the most famous Japanese wrestlers of his era, with a popularity in Japan comparable to Hulk Hogan's in the United States of America...
, the Great Togo and midget wrestler
Midget wrestler
A midget professional wrestler is a dwarf or person of short stature who competes in professional wrestling. The heyday of midget wrestling was in the 1950s and 1960s, when wrestlers such as Little Beaver, Lord Littlebrook, and Fuzzy Cupid toured North America, and Sky Low Low was the first holder...
Little Tokyo
Shigeri Akabane
Shigeri Akabane , known by his ringname Little Tokyo, was a Japanese professional midget wrestler who competed in North American promotions during the 1970s and 1980s including Herb Abrams' Universal Wrestling Federation, the American Wrestling Association and the World Wrestling Federation, most...
, also visited New Zealand.
Decline (1980s–1990s)
Ox Baker
Douglas A. Baker better known professionally as Ox Baker, is an American former professional wrestler and actor, and was feared for his dreaded finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes called the "Hurt Punch", after Baker's famous catchphrase "I love to hurt people!" He has appeared in several...
, Tor Kamata
Tor Kamata
McRonald Kamaka was an American/Canadian professional wrestler known by the ring name Tor Kamata. He won several Heavyweight and Tag Team championships, including one World Tag Team title. He was a classic "bad guy" wrestler...
, Al Perez
Al Perez
Al Perez is a retired American professional wrestler.-Professional wrestling career:Perez began wrestling as an amateur in high school and was one of the top athletes in his home state of Florida. He started professional wrestling in 1982.He formed a team in ICW with Joe Savoldi known as the "New...
, 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...
, Samoan Joe
Samoan Joe
Joseph "Joe" Afamasaga is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler, best known by his ringname Samoan Joe, who competed in the Australasian and South Pacific region during the 1970s and early 1980s...
, Johnny Garcia
John Garea
John "Johnny" Garea is a semi-retired New Zealand professional wrestler, known by his ring name Johnny Garcia, who competed in Steve Rickard's All Star-Pro Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling and occasionally for the World Wrestling Federation during the 1970s and 80s...
, Bruno Bekkar
Bruno Bekkar
Brian Ashby is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler and trainer, known by his ring name Bruno Bekkar, who competed for Steve Rickard's All Star-Pro Wrestling and for other promoters in New Zealand and Australia from the early 1960s until his retirement in 1992...
and A.J. Freely remained in New Zealand during the 1980s and early 1990s. Likewise, wrestlers from the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
often toured New Zealand and Australia such as The Bushwhackers
The Bushwhackers
The Bushwhackers were a professional wrestling tag team that also competed as The Sheepherders during their long career. They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation and Jim Crockett Promotions as well as a nearly 40 year run on the independent wrestling circuit...
(formerly The Sheepherders) and Lanny Poffo
Lanny Poffo
Lanny Mark Poffo , better known by his ring name "Leaping" Lanny is an American professional wrestler. Poffo was born in Calgary, Canada, to Angelo Poffo, an Italian American Catholic, and Judy, a Jewish American. He is also the brother of wrestling legend "Macho Man" Randy Savage...
. These stars continued to be seen in New Zealand via On the Mat until the early 1980s.
As American wrestling went into a slump following the wrestling boom of the 1980s
1980s wrestling boom
The 1980s professional wrestling boom was a surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in the United States and elsewhere throughout the 1980s...
, All Star Pro-Wrestling closed in the 1990s, after 30 years. A few small independent promotions
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
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 Jason Conlan
Jason Conlan
Jason Conlan 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"...
, also known as Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
's "Mr. J", began drawing a monthly comic strip for the publication around this time. Sharon Mazer, a theatre and film studies teacher at the University of Canterbury
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...
, wrote a series of articles on professional wrestling in New Zealand and abroad. 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
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
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
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
, Abe Jacobs
Abe Jacobs
Abe Jacobs is a retired New Zealand 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 Wrestling Alliance during the "Golden Age of Wrestling"...
was featured on a special commemorative edition of the New Zealand ten dollar note
New Zealand dollar
The New Zealand dollar is the currency of New Zealand. It also circulates in the Cook Islands , Niue, Tokelau, and the Pitcairn Islands. It is divided into 100 cents....
by the Chatham Islands Note Corporation
Chatham Islands Note Corporation
The Chatham Islands Note Corporation was the private organisation that was set up to issue the two series of Chatham Islands notes in 2000 and 2001. It planned to issue coins in 2001, but their activities were curtailed upon the instruction of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. The Chatham Islands...
.
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
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
and World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
. Among those included retired foreign wrestlers who had previously competed in New Zealand as well as younger upcoming wrestlers such as Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
and Bobby Lashley.
21st century (2000s–)
On 25 May 2003, AucklandAuckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
hosted a "champion vs. champion" match, in which NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
defeated Sting
Sting (wrestler)
Steven James "Steve" Borden , better known by his ring name Sting, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
to unify Australia's WWA World Heavyweight Championship
WWA World Heavyweight Championship
The World Wrestling All-Stars 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 title and defended in multiple countries...
. 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 Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
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
Impact Pro Wrestling
Impact Pro Wrestling is a New Zealand professional wrestling promotion. It is the only promotion based in Auckland and one of the country's three major organisations along with Kiwi Pro Wrestling and New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling...
. In January 2005, Stirling changed his promotions title to New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling
New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling
New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling is a professional wrestling promotion based in Wellington, New Zealand.-Formation:WPW started in October 2003 by martial arts trainer, Martin Stirling...
. Competition emerged, May 2006 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...
, when 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...
split from Sterling's company and 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...
was established, made up of a number of Sterling'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
IPW Ignition
IPW Ignition is a professional wrestling television program for Impact Pro Wrestling . The show debuted on Sky Television's Alt TV in New Zealand on 10 February 2007, and later became available worldwide via internet broadcasting...
and KPW's Off the Ropes
Off The Ropes
Off the Ropes is a professional wrestling television program for Kiwi Pro Wrestling . The show debuted on Prime TV in New Zealand on 15 November 2009.-Show history:...
. Of the major promotions in New Zealand, none are active in the country's 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...
, focusing instead on the 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...
.
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. That same year, Dominic Ferrari's New Aussie Wrestling took part in an inter-promotional "Australia vs. New Zealand" supercard with 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...
. 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
New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling
New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling is a professional wrestling promotion based in Wellington, New Zealand.-Formation:WPW started in October 2003 by martial arts trainer, Martin Stirling...
.
Professional wrestling promotions
| Name | Location | Owner(s) | Years active | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | ||||||
| Impact Pro Wrestling Impact Pro Wrestling Impact Pro Wrestling is a New Zealand professional wrestling promotion. It is the only promotion based in Auckland and one of the country's three major organisations along with Kiwi Pro Wrestling and New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling... |
Auckland Auckland The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world... |
Cameron Bailey Chuck Warner |
2000– | |||
| 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... |
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... |
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... |
2006– | |||
| New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling is a professional wrestling promotion based in Wellington, New Zealand.-Formation:WPW started in October 2003 by martial arts trainer, Martin Stirling... |
Wellington | Martin Stirling | 2003– | |||
| Defunct | ||||||
| Dominion Wrestling Union Dominion Wrestling Union The Dominion Wrestling Union 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 Stadium Limited, and served as the country's single major promotion for 30 years until being succeeded by All... |
Wellington | Walter Miller Steve Rickard |
1929–1961 | |||
| All Star Pro-Wrestling | Wellington | Steve Rickard | 1962–1992 | |||
| Central Wrestling Association | Wellington | John DaSilva | 1960s–1970s | |||
| South Pacific Wrestling Association | Auckland | Ernie Pinches Don Scott |
1970s | |||
| Arena Wrestling Alliance | Wellington | Don Muraco Don Muraco Donald Muraco , better known by his ring name "The Rock" Don Muraco, is a retired American professional wrestler... |
1990 | |||
| Wai-Kato Wrestling Association | Auckland | Shane O'Rourke | 1991–1992 | |||
| International Wrestling Federation | Auckland | Vaughan Palelei Martin Stirling |
1993 | |||
See also
- Professional wrestling in AustraliaProfessional wrestling in AustraliaProfessional wrestling in Australia makes up a small but growing part of Australian culture. Unlike the North American or Japanese products which have large, globally renowned organisations such as World Wrestling Entertainment, New Japan Pro Wrestling or Total Nonstop Action Wrestling with several...
- Professional wrestling in the United KingdomProfessional wrestling in the United KingdomProfessional wrestling in the United Kingdom spans over 100 years but became popular when the then new Independent Television station - ITV began showing it in 1955 firstly on Saturday afternoons and then also in a late night mid week slot...
- Professional wrestling in the United States
Further reading
- Mazer, Sharon. Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1998. ISBN 1-57806-021-4
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