31 Jul 2020

Homegrown pro-wrestling growing popular in New Zealand

From Checkpoint, 6:19 pm on 31 July 2020

Professional wrestling had its hey day in New Zealand in the seventies when On the Mat was a must see on TV for many.

Steve Rickard, John Da Silva and Robert Bruce became household names along side any All Black or New Zealand cricketer.

Since then the likes of WWF and WWE took the world by storm and New Zealand pro wrestling fans got to know Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Bret 'Hitman' Hart, Jesse 'The Body' Ventura and the Rock.

However there is an increasing number of New Zealanders that are trying to get locals back into the ring, as Barry Guy found out.