 | |
| Acronym | NZWPW |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder(s) | Martin Stirling |
| Formerly | Wellington Pro Wrestling |
| Website | nzwpw.com |
New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling (NZWPW) is a professional wrestling promotion based in Petone and later Wainuiomata in New Zealand. The promotion entered a hiatus in 2018,[1][2] when former NZWPW wrestler, Jay Marshall left the promotion to start Capital Pro Wrestling.[3] Since 2020, professional wrestling and training in Wainuiomata is now run by former NZWPW wrestler, Hayden Thiele with his Valiant Pro promotion. This promotion has many former wrestlers from NZWPW such as Axl Stirling, "Rufguts" Roddy Gunn, Chad Howard and Jade Priest.[4]
History
Formation
NZWPW was formed in October 2003 by martial arts trainer, former New Zealand Sumo Wrestling champion and head of Petone's He Toa Sports Association, Martin Stirling. Stirling noticed a new generation of wrestling fans, brought up on WWF action. With a wrestling ring already set up at his He Toa gym, Stirling sent an invitation for prospective Wrestlers. Four men answered the call, X-Rated, Juice, Inferno and D-Hoya, with these four pioneers, NZWPW was born. 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). WPW's first show was held on 14 November 2003 in Petone. Throughout 2004, more wrestlers joined and small shows were held at community venues around the Hutt Valley. Soon, Stirling, was inundated with prospective wrestlers and had to hold training weekends to find the best talent.[5]
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. By May 2005, NZWPW had a presence on the internet and thirty five active wrestlers. On 25 March 2005 NZWPW held the Powerplay 2 event at the Lower Hutt Town Hall with over 300 fans in attendance[5]
Expansion
NZWPW performed shows in Christchurch, Palmerston North, Porirua, Ōtaki, Levin, Paraparaumu, Blenheim 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 NZWPW have also wrestled for Australian promotion Impact Pro Wrestling Australia (formerly Major Impact Wrestling).[6] Female wrestler Misty also competed in the all women's Australian promotion PWWA.
In May 2006 a number of NZWPW wrestlers, led by former NZWPW booker The Punisher and WCW/NWA star Rip Morgan, left to set up a rival promotion called Kiwi Pro Wrestling. Since then NZWPW has had an on-again-off-again working relationship with Auckland-based promotion Impact Pro Wrestling. In 2008 NZWPW 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. NZWPW also co-promoted a show with the Australasian Wrestling Federation featuring Raven. In 2009 Chris Masters featured at Powerplay VI, making numerous television appearances to promote the event including 'Good Morning' and '20/20'.
Martial arts
Thanks to Martin Stirling's martial arts background, NZWPW 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.[7] Shows have also been co-promoted with major Sumo events such as the 2005 Oceania Sumo Championships[8] and the 2006 New Zealand Open Sumo Championships.[9]
Also in 2006, NZWPW 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.[10]
In 2009 NZWPW wrestlers Travis Banks and Tykade both won gold medals at the Oceania Sumo championships in Australia.[11][12]
This was backed up in 2010 when numerous NZWPW 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.
Triangle TV
Invasion
New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling Invasion previously aired on Triangle TV & Stratos.[13] The show debuted on 21 August 2008[14] at 11pm.[15] Invasion includes touring of NZWPW and was officially kicked off on 16 August in Wainuiomata and occasionally, Upper Hutt. The show ended prior to the New Year of 2009.
Championships
Current Champions
| Championship | Champion(s) | Date won | Days held | Location | Event | Previous Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZWPW Heavyweight Championship | Bryant | 14 September 2018 | 1,931 | Epuni | Friday Night Live Pro Wrestling | Wayne La Perfeccion |
| NZWPW Tag Team Championship | The Wainui Express (Hayden and Jade Priest) |
20 July 2018 | 1,987 | Epuni | Friday Night Live Pro Wrestling | Vacant |
| He Toa Cup | "The Spartan" Sam Black | 15 June 2018 | 2,022 | Epuni | Friday Night Live Pro Wrestling | Cam Owens The Third |
NZWPW Heavyweight Championship
The NZWPW Heavyweight Championship was the top professional wrestling championship title in the New Zealand promotion New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling (NZWPW). It was the original super heavyweight title of Wellington Pro Wrestling and introduced as the WPW Super Heavyweight Championship on 3 December 2004. The inaugural champion was Ruamoko, who defeated Les Barrett in a tournament final in Lower Hutt, New Zealand on 25 April 1992. The title became vacant when Ruamoko suffered an injury in early-2005 and, after the promotion became New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling, it was replaced by the current heavyweight championship first won by Island Boy Si on 25 March 2005.
NZWPW Tag Team Championship
The NZWPW Tag Team Championship was 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 (Jean Miracle and Nick Silver), who won a tournament final at Power Play IV in Lower Hutt, New Zealand to win the titles on 14 April 2007. It was the first title of its kind to be established by a major promotion since the NWA Australasian Tag Team Championship during the early 1980s and was the oldest active tag team championship in New Zealand.
He Toa Cup
| He Toa Cup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The final He Toa Cup holder, "The Spartan" Sam Black | |||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||
| Promotion | New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling | ||||||||||||
| Date established | 10 December 2011 | ||||||||||||
| Date retired | 17 November 2018 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
The He Toa Cup was the secondary singles professional wrestling championship in the New Zealand promotion New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling. The cup was first won by Ben Mana on 10 December 2011 in Petone, New Zealand. From 2011 – 2013, the cup was defended at every NZWPW show held in the He Toa Gym in Petone. The final champion was "The Spartan" Sam Black, who was in his first reign.
Title history
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
| 1 | Ben Mana | 10 December 2011 | Final Countdown (2011) | Petone | 1 | 120 | Ben Mana became the first He Toa Cup champion | [16] |
| 2 | Jakob Cross | 8 April 2012 | Bringing Down The House | Petone | 1 | 257 | [16] | |
| 3 | JC Star | 21 December 2012 | Bringing Down The House | Petone | 1 | 98 | [16] | |
| 4 | Dream Catcher | 29 March 2013 | Bringing Down The House | Petone | 1 | 35 | [16] | |
| 5 | Chad Howard | 3 May 2013 | Bringing Down The House | Petone | 1 | 168 | [16] | |
| — | Vacated | N/A | Right 2 Challenge (2013) | Ōtaki | — | — | Chad Howard exchanged the cup for a match against Ben Mana for the NZWPW Championship | [17] |
| 6 | Mikey | 28 February 2014 | Bringing Down The House | Petone | 1 | 119 | [18] | |
| 7 | Mr Silver | 27 June 2014 | Beat Down (2014) | Petone | 1 | 85 | [19] | |
| 8 | Axl | 20 September 2014 | Road to Rescue (2014) | Waikanae | 1 | 167 | Axl defeated Mr Silver in a Loser Wears a Dress match | [20] |
| 9 | Chad Howard | 6 March 2015 | Bringing Down The House – End of an Era | Petone | 2 | 204 | Chad Howard won a He Toa Cup Rumble | [21] |
| 10 | Jade Priest | 26 September 2015 | Live Pro Wrestling – Featuring A Cosplay Contest | Wainuiomata | 1 | 181 | [22] | |
| 11 | Axl | 25 March 2016 | NZWPW Returns To Masterton | Masterton | 2 | 595 | [23] | |
| 12 | Kartik | 10 November 2017 | Powerplay 2017 | Epuni | 1 | 140 | Kartik won a Battle Royale for the He Toa Cup | [24] |
| 13 | Cam Owens The Third | 30 March 2018 | Friday Night Live Pro Wrestling | Ngaio | 1 | 77 | Cam Owens The Third won a Royal Rumble Match for the He Toa Cup | [25] |
| 14 | "The Spartan" Sam Black | 15 June 2018 | Friday Night Live Pro Wrestling | Epuni | 1 | 155 | [26] | |
List of combined reigns
| Rank | Champion | No. of reigns | Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Axl | 2 | 762 |
| 2 | Chad Howard | 2 | 372 |
| 3 | Jakob Cross | 1 | 257 |
| 4 | Jade Priest | 1 | 181 |
| 5 | "The Spartan" Sam Black | 1 | 155 |
| 6 | Kartik | 1 | 140 |
| 7 | Ben Mana | 1 | 120 |
| 8 | Mikey | 1 | 119 |
| 9 | JC Star | 1 | 98 |
| 10 | Mr Silver | 1 | 85 |
| 11 | Cam Owens The Third | 1 | 77 |
| 12 | Dream Catcher | 1 | 35 |
Alumni
|
 Former NZWPW Heavyweight Champion, Axl and final champion, Bryant
Non-Wrestling Personnel
|
Powerplay history
Powerplay was NZWPW's biggest and longest running event. A Powerplay event had been held almost every year of the promotion's existence.
Powerplay (2004)
| Powerplay (2004) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | WPW | ||
| Date | 25 June 2004 | ||
| City | Petone, New Zealand | ||
| Venue | Petone Central School | ||
| Tagline(s) | Showtime | ||
| Powerplay chronology | |||
| |||
| No. | Results | Stipulations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Les "The Slammer" Barrett defeated Chrome | Singles match | ||
| 2 | H-Flame defeated "Silencer" Jean Miracle | Singles match | ||
| 3 | The Ram defeated Creed by disqualification | Singles match | ||
| 4 | Gold & Dal Knox defeated Inferno & Jonnie Juice | Tag team match | ||
| 5 | X-Rated defeated D-Hoya (c) | Singles match for the WPW Catchweight Championship | ||
| 6 | Jonnie Juice defeated Les "The Slammer" Barrett, Blade, Chrome, Creed, D-Hoya, AJ Freely, Gold, H-Flame, Inferno, Dal Knox, "Silencer" Jean Miracle & The Ram | 13-man Crusade match | ||
| ||||
Powerplay II
| Powerplay II | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | NZWPW | ||
| Date | 25 March 2005 | ||
| City | Lower Hutt, New Zealand | ||
| Venue | Lower Hutt Town Hall | ||
| Powerplay chronology | |||
| |||
| No. | Results | Stipulations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Ram defeated "The Hype" Bobby Cool | Singles match | ||
| 2 | X-Rated defeated Dan "The Man" Stirling | Singles match | ||
| 3 | Island Boy Si defeated Max "The Axe" Damage | NZWPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semi-Final | ||
| 4 | Ivan Dragunov vs. The Rookie ended in a draw | Singles match | ||
| 5 | The Punisher defeated Harvey Dollars | NZWPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semi-Final | ||
| 6 | Inferno & H-Flame defeated Jonnie Juice & "Silencer" Jean Miracle | Tag team match | ||
| 7 | D-Hoya (c) defeated NOS | Singles match for the NZWPW Catchweight Championship | ||
| 8 | Island Boy Si defeated The Punisher | NZWPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship Tournament Final | ||
| ||||
Powerplay III
| Powerplay III | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | NZWPW | ||
| Date | 14 April 2006 | ||
| City | Lower Hutt, New Zealand | ||
| Venue | Lower Hutt Town Hall | ||
| Powerplay chronology | |||
| |||
| No. | Results | Stipulations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Shining" Nick Silver vs. Dan Stirling ended in a draw | Singles match | ||
| 2 | Chrome defeated Anarchy | Singles match | ||
| 3 | Adam Avalanche defeated CD & Jimmy Sparx | Triple threat match | ||
| 4 | The Ram defeated Inferno | Singles match to determine the Number 1 Contender to the NZWPW New Zealand Championship | ||
| 5 | TNT defeated Angel of Destruction | Singles match | ||
| 6 | D-Hoya defeated Jonnie Juice (c) | Singles match for the NZWPW New Zealand Championship | ||
| 7 | "Silencer" Jean Miracle & Max Damage defeated H-Flame & NOS | Tag team match | ||
| ||||
Powerplay 6
| Powerplay 6 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | NZWPW | ||
| Date | 23 April 2009 | ||
| City | Taita, New Zealand | ||
| Venue | Walter Nash Stadium | ||
| Powerplay chronology | |||
| |||
| No. | Results | Stipulations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Montana defeated Axl | Singles match | ||
| 2 | The Nerd defeated Travis Banks | Singles match | ||
| 3 | MacBeth & Misty defeated Carmella Caprice & Matariki | Tag team match | ||
| 4 | Ben Mana & Tykade defeated The Circus of Tragedy (Osiris & Phil Woodgate) (c) | Tag team match for the NZWPW Tag Team Championship | ||
| 5 | CD defeated Dan Stirling | Singles match | ||
| 6 | D-Hoya (c) defeated JC Star | Singles match for the NZWPW Heavyweight Championship | ||
| 7 | Chris Masters defeated Adam Avalanche and Rufguts | Triple threat match | ||
| ||||
Powerplay VII
| Powerplay VII | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | WPW | ||
| Date | 19 June 2010 | ||
| City | Lower Hutt, New Zealand | ||
| Venue | Lower Hutt Town Hall | ||
| Powerplay chronology | |||
| |||
| No. | Results | Stipulations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G.I. Jay defeated Fred The Great | Singles match | ||
| 2 | Thor defeated Axl, Mikey Rave & The Nerd | Four way match | ||
| 3 | Red Dragon defeated Kid Mystique | Singles match | ||
| 4 | "Shining" Nick Silver defeated Travis Banks | Lance Storm Tournament Final | ||
| 5 | Corey Dallas vs. JC Star ended in a draw | Singles match | ||
| 6 | Jon E. King & "The One" Vinny Dunn defeated Corey Dallas & JC Star | Tag team match | ||
| 7 | Ben Mana defeated Adam Avalanche | Singles match | ||
| 8 | Chi-Tah defeated Misty, Carmella Caprice & Stella Hammer | Four way match | ||
| 9 | Chad Howard defeated Johnny Idol | Hair vs. Mask Match | ||
| 10 | Tykade defeated Rufguts (c) | Singles match for the NZWPW New Zealand Championship | ||
| ||||
Powerplay XI
| Powerplay XI | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | NZWPW | ||
| Date | 15 November 2014 | ||
| City | Levin, New Zealand | ||
| Venue | Levin Memorial Hall | ||
| Tagline(s) | A Battle for the Heart And Soul of NZWPW | ||
| Powerplay chronology | |||
| |||
| No. | Results | Stipulations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Wainui Express (c) defeated Rodeo Drive | Tag team match for the NZWPW Tag Team Championship | ||
| 2 | "The Standard Hero" Graham Hughes defeated Kade Morgan 3G | Singles match | ||
| 3 | Franke Quinn defeated Scarlett (c) | Singles match for the KPW Women's Championship | ||
| 4 | Charlie Roberts defeated Shane Sinclair | Singles match. Hughes Academy Champion vs. KPW Champion | ||
| 5 | Misty (c) defeated Krystal Kayne | Singles match for the Hughes Academy Women's Championship | ||
| 6 | Team Warriors (Ben Mana, Paul Sayers, Hayden Thiele, Jade Priest & Mr. Silver defeated Team Nobodies Drive (Bryant, Chad Howard, Axl, XXX-Rated & "Dreamcatcher" Phil Woodgate) | 5 on 5 elimination tag team match | ||
| ||||
5 on 5 Elimination Tag Team mtch
| Elimination | Wrestler | Eliminated by | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryant | Disqualification | |||
| 2 | Ben Mana | Countout | |||
| 2 | Axl | Countout | |||
| 3 | Mr. Silver | Pinfall | |||
| 4 | Jade Priest | Pinfall | |||
| 5 | Hayden Thiele | Pinfall | |||
| 6 | Chad Howard | Pinfall | |||
| 6 | XXX-Rated | Pinfall | |||
| 6 | "Dreamcatcher" Phil Woodgate | Submission | |||
| Survivor(s): | Paul Sayers | ||||
Powerplay 2017
| Powerplay 2017 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | NZWPW | ||
| Date | 10 November 2017 | ||
| City | Epuni, New Zealand | ||
| Venue | Epuni Community Hall | ||
| Powerplay chronology | |||
| |||
| No. | Results | Stipulations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cam Owens the Third defeated Sam Black | Singles match | ||
| 2 | Shane Sinclair defeated "Rufguts" Roddy Gunn via Disqualification | Stirling Rules match | ||
| 3 | Wayne la Perfeccion defeated Paul Sayers | Singles match | ||
| 4 | Katrik defeated Bryant, Misty, Umlaut, Jay Marshal, Axl (c), Robbo "The Aussie Dreamboat" Smith, and "The Standard Hero" Graham Hughes | Battle Royale for the He Toa Cup | ||
| 5 | Jade Priest defeated "Thunderbird" Daniel Martins | Singles match | ||
| 6 | Charlie Roberts defeated Chad Howard (c) | Singles match for the NZWPW Heavyweight Championship | ||
| 7 | Axl defeated Charlie Roberts (c) | Singles match for the NZWPW Heavyweight Championship | ||
| ||||
See also
References
- ↑ NZWPW – Kayfabia. 6 May 2020
- ↑ Last Show. 6 May 2020
- ↑ Regional News (13 November 2018). "In the ring for Mitchell". Regional News. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ↑ Wainuiomata News (12 February 2020). "Who will be crowned the first wrestling champion?". Wainuiomata News. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- 1 2 Wrestling Revival. 10 May 2005
- ↑ New Zealand Wrestling Archive: NZWPW Stars in MIW. 13 March 2006
- ↑ New Zealand Pro Wrestling Informer: Report from first WPW show. 18 November 2003
- ↑ New Zealand Wrestling Archive: NZWPW – "Powerplay II" Preview. 17 March 2005
- ↑ Sumo and Professional Wrestling Collide. April 2006
- ↑ New Zealand Pro Wrestling Informer: NZWPW Sumo Success. 29 August 2006
- ↑ "Wrestler home to show skills". 23 August 2009.
- ↑ "Travis Banks: Potential Perfection". February 2010.
- ↑ "Invasion Times". NZWPW (ARCHIVED). Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ↑ "NZWPW Invasion on Triangle (ARCHIVED)". NZWPW. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ↑ "Local Programmes". Triangle Television (ARCHIVED). Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "NZWPW Championship History". NZWPW.com. 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ↑ "He Toa Cup tournament begins tonight". NZPWI.co.nz. 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ↑ "Mana retains, Nobodies retreat at BDTH". NZPWI.co.nz. 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ↑ "Rufguts becomes dual-champion at Beat Down". NZPWI.co.nz. 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ↑ "Rufguts rejected, Dream Catcher wins NZWPW Championship". NZPWI.co.nz. 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ↑ "Bringing Down the House – End of an Era". Kayfabia.com. 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ↑ "Live Pro Wrestling Cosplay Contest". Kayfabia.com. 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ↑ "Returns To Masterton". Kayfabia.com. 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- ↑ "Presents: Powerplay: 2017". Kayfabia.com. 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- ↑ "Friday Nights Live Pro Wrestling At Ngaio". Kayfabia.com. 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- ↑ "Friday Nights Live Pro Wrestling At Ngaio". Kayfabia.com. 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
External links
| Promotions |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand championships |
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