| Acronym | WPW |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 2003 |
| Headquarters | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Founder(s) | Martin Stirling |
| Formerly | Wellington Pro Wrestling |
| Website | [1] |
New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling (WPW) is a professional wrestling promotion based in Wellington, New Zealand.
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WPW started in October 2003 by martial arts 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.
WPW has performed shows in Christchurch, 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).[1] 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.
Thanks to Martin Stirling's martial arts 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.[2] Shows have also been co-promoted with major Sumo events such as the 2005 Oceania Sumo Championships[3] and the 2006 New Zealand Open Sumo Championships.[4]
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.[5]
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
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 Hutt. The show ended prior to the New Year of 2009.
| Championship | Current champion(s) | Date Won | Event | Previous champion(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZWPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship | D-Hoya | NZWPW Power play VIII | Defeated Rufguts Roddy Gunn and JC Star in a triple threat to win his 7th championship | |
| NZWPW New Zealand Tag Team Championship | "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. |
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