| Acronym | DWU |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1929 |
| Defunct | 1962 |
| Headquarters | New Zealand |
The Dominion Wrestling Union (DWU) 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 Stadiums Limited, and served as the country's single major promotion for 30 years until being succeeded by All Star Pro Wrestling in 1962. The DWU was initially under the control of the New Zealand Wrestling Union, a sort of governing body which promoted both amateur and professional bouts, until American promoter Walter Miller largely took over the running of professional events in 1935 and which remained under Miller's control until his death in 1959.
Miller eventually established New Zealand as one of the first international territories of the National Wrestling Association, and later the National Wrestling Alliance, from which many of the stars of the era were brought to face the country's top wrestlers. From its earliest days, New Zealand professional wrestlers were recruited from the amateur ranks including Lofty Blomfield in the 1930s and later Pat O'Connor, Dick Hrstich, Abe Jacobs, John da Silva and Steve Rickard during the 1940s and 1950s. Many others would leave New Zealand in the years following the Second World War, such as Ernie "Kiwi" Kingston, to pursue a career in Europe and North America.
When Miller died in 1959, wrestler Steve Rickard continued running the DWU for two years until founding his own promotion, All Star Pro Wrestling, in 1962. This new organisation took the DWU's spot as the country's main professional wrestling promotion for the next 30 years, and as an overseas NWA territory, until its close in the early 1990s.
Professional wrestling bouts had been held in New Zealand as early as the 1860s, with modern professional wrestling taking shape around the turn of the 20th century, and were generally held by private and local athletic associations. [1] Gisborne Katene defeated Frank Findlay for the NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship in 1919 but subsequently became vacant. The first champion officially recognized by the National Wrestling Association was Maori wrestler Ike Robin who won the title in Auckland on 17 March 1925, and retired as champion the following year. [2] [3] Shortly before his retirement, Robin faced one-time World Heavyweight Champion Stanislaus Zbyszko in a three-match series at the Auckland Town Hall in 1926. [4] [5] According to one account by the New Zealand Railways Magazine, one of their matches ended in a time-limit draw after having "gone on for many weary hours and when midnight Saturday chimed and Sunday commenced the match had to cease". [6] Though separated by thousands of miles, professional wrestling as practiced in the South Pacific region would continue to follow along the same lines as in Canada and the United States. [7]
The New Zealand Wrestling Union was officially founded on 22 July 1930, at the Central Fire Station in Wellington. Its purpose was to unite the various amateur and professional wrestling associations under a governing body in order to promote events on a national scale, establish a level of professionalism and to keeping the game clean of so-called "rough-house wrestling". [8] The sport flourished while under the control of the union and, on 22 June 1931, the New Zealand School of Wrestling was officially opened at Wellington with one-time Australian heavyweight champion “Smiler” Clark as its head instructor and operated by sportsman Pat Allen. It was the first facility to provide "ideal gymnasium conditions" for developing top level amateur talent. [9] The first national amateur championships were held with Lofty Blomfield becoming the first heavyweight amateur champion; [1] he entered professional wrestling shortly afterwards and became the first undisputed New Zealand Heavyweight Champion seven years later. [10] [11] In 1933, NZWU President H.D. Bennett travelled to Australia seeking to improve the quality of its imported talent. A year later, Gus Sonnenberg, Wong Buk Cheung and Dan Koloff agreed to tour the country. [5] [12]
By 1935, however, it had become difficult to find enough professionals, and American promoter Walter Miller was hired as a booking agent. He was eventually granted control of the professional wrestling groups, under the Dominion Wrestling Union, and was able to bring in many National Wrestling Association stars of the time, the majority from Canada and the United States, to face some of the country's leading wrestlers. [1]
Miller's organisation would sign wrestlers on a seasonal basis, usually from May to November, and required wrestlers to have licensing for that period. Canadians were especially important draws as they were then subjects of the British Empire and not subject to the same taxation as were required by American wrestlers. The same year that Miller took over, Canadian wrestler George Walker, then holder of the NWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship, left to compete for a rival promotion. The title was subsequently awarded to another Canadian, former Olympian Earl McCready, who legitimised his claim to the title by defeating Walker on 9 November 1937; his second and final reign lasted from 1940 to 1953. [13] Other foreigners to become major stars for the DWU included Dean Detton, Ken Kenneth, John Kattan and African-American wrestler Jack Claybourne. [5]
Within a few years, Miller had successfully established the promotion as one of the NWA's first international territories. In 1937, the promotion hosted a tour which included 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 Wescoatt, Glen Wade, Joe Woods, Frank Judson, Don Noland, Vie Christy, Francis Fouche and Ed "Strangler" Lewis. [14]
Lofty Blomfield was arguably New Zealand's most popular wrestler of the period. He had turned pro shortly after becoming the first national heavyweight amateur champion in 1931, and within a few years captured the NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship. One of the first international title defences to take place in New Zealand was to have been a "champion vs. champion" match between Blomfield and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Bronko Nagurski during the late-1930s. [6] It was primarily arranged by Miller, working in partnership with NWA promoters Toots Mondt, Lou Daro and Tony Stecher, and included Nagurski being offered the largest guarantee ever offered a boxer or wrestler in the Southern Hemisphere. The event was expected to have over 40,000 fans in attendance. Nagurski cancelled the trip at the last minute, however, 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. [15] Seven months later, 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. [2] [3] [10] [11] Throughout his career, Blomfield vigorously defended professional wrestling and denied frequent charges that matches were rigged. [16]
Both amateur and professional wrestling were at the height of popularity during the 1950s, [17] [18] and by 1956, it was regarded as the most popular spectator sport in New Zealand along with horse racing. [19] Much of this popularity was due in part to radio broadcasts from live events in the interwar and post-WWII years; the Wellington Town Hall Concert Chamber was one of the more popular postwar venues for wrestling events. [17] [20] New Zealand champions also began travelling oversees, as far as Western Canada, during the decade. [21]
Although its older stars such as Blomfield or McCready retired in the years following World War II, a new generation of wrestlers emerged during the 1950s including Pat O'Connor, Dick Hrstich, [22] Abe Jacobs, [23] John da Silva and Steve Rickard. Discovered by visiting American wrestlers Joe Pazandak and Butch Levy, O'Connor was taken to the United States where he eventually became a top star for the National Wrestling Alliance and the American Wrestling Association, [24] and later won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Dick Hutton. [2] [25] [26] O'Connor was the first New Zealander to win the NWA World title and his success encouraged others to follow him to North America. [27] A year after his world title victory, O'Connor was challenged by fellow DWU veteran Abe Jacobs in New York marking the first time two New Zealanders fought for a world heavyweight championship, and on foreign soil. [28]
Miller also continued to bring in major names such as Al Costello, Don Beitleman, The Great Zorro and Johnny Kostas. A 1956 bout between Samoan wrestler Alo Leilani and Pat O'Connor, in his first appearance since going to the US, was in front of a sellout crowd at Rotorua. O'Connor also defeated Australia's Al Costello at Carlaw Park in Auckland before a "tremendous outdoor crowd". It was the first outdoor event staged in New Zealand since Lofty Blomfield defeated Brother Jonathan prior to the Second World War. [5] Lou Thesz was scheduled to headline an American tour of the country while visiting Australia in late-1957. He was originally promoted as the NWA World Champion by then American booking agent Ted Thye, though the title was disputed between Thesz and Edouard Carpentier, and set to defend the title against Ricky Waldo and Ski Hi Lee in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch. Though an agreement had been made between Thye and Miller, Melbourne promoter Dick Lean refused to allow them to compete for the DWU while they were still under contract in Australia. The promotion made a late bid to prevent the late cancellation, including a last minute phone conversation between Lean and then Dominion Wrestling Union secretary Bert Steele, but were unsuccessful. The promotion suffered a significant financial loss, as attendance for these events had been very high, and were forced to offer a refund to all ticket holders. [29]
In February 1959, 61-year-old Jim Londos wrestled New Zealander Fred Wright at Auckland's Western Springs Stadium in front of 6,000 fans. The match ended in controversy as Londos' opponent hit the referee with a haymaker and disqualified and received some attention by the Auckland media. [5]
Although he relented slightly in his later years, Miller had maintained a strict control over the sport and talent throughout his 30-year involvement with the promotion. He was specifically dedicated to the older-style popularised by the Gold Dust Trio and, with "gimmick characters" and less focus on athleticism becoming popular in the US, believed that "American gimmickry" would drive away fans in New Zealand. Miller died in 1959 and was succeeded by Steve Rickard who ran the Dominion Wrestling Union for next three years. In 1961, the amateur side of the sport decided to break away from the New Zealand Wrestling Union and was accepted into the International Amateur Wrestling Federation, followed by the New Zealand Olympic and British Empire Games Associations. Rickard established the All Star Pro-Wrestling in 1962 which succeeded the DWU as the single major promotion in the country. [1]
This is not an exhaustive list, as DWU was the only national promotion in New Zealand until 1962 and many wrestlers, both New Zealanders who competed for a brief time and then retired, or foreigners who came for a single tour, were booked.
Patrick John O'Connor, was a New Zealand/American amateur wrestler and professional wrestler. Regarded as one of the premier workers of his era, O'Connor held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Heavyweight Championship simultaneously, the latter of which he held for approximately two years. He was also the inaugural AWA World Heavyweight Champion. He is an overall two-time world champion.
Houston Harris was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobo Brazil. Credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling, Harris is considered one of the first black professional wrestlers.
Michael Morgan is a former professional wrestler from New Zealand who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling and World Class Championship Wrestling as Rip Morgan. He is perhaps best known as one half of the New Zealand Militia in WCW with Jack Victory. Morgan also wrestled in WCW/NAWA/SAPW with Victory as "The Royal Family". He was the last flag bearer for the original New Zealand Sheepherders. He was formerly the CEO of the now defunct Wellington-based professional wrestling promotion Kiwi Pro Wrestling.
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. The title has generally been defended in New Zealand, most often in Christchurch, Tauranga, Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand.
Rocky Iaukea is a retired American professional wrestler, known by his ringname Prince Iaukea, who competed in the Pacific Northwest and Southeastern United States with the National Wrestling Alliance during the 1980s, and in Japan during the early 1990s. From 1987 to 1990, he wrestled as Abbuda Dein in Pacific Northwest Wrestling winning the NWA Pacific Northwest Television Championship twice and the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship three times with Mike Miller and The Grappler. A second-generation wrestler, he is the son of Curtis Iaukea and a cousin of Maunakea Mossman.
Professional wrestling in New Zealand has been promoted in the country from the early 20th century. 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.
On the Mat was a professional wrestling television programme for the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated All Star Pro Wrestling (ASPW), or simply NWA New Zealand, that aired on Television New Zealand's TV2 from 1975 to 1984. One of the most popular and the longest-running weekly sports series in the history of New Zealand, the show featured some of the country's top wrestlers and international stars from throughout the world during the 1970s and early 1980s.
Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt, best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, was a New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. As a wrestler, he traveled throughout the world during the 1960s and 1970s, often visiting countries where professional wrestling was unknown such as southeast Asia, and was one of the top competitors to come from New Zealand during that era. Rickard was a frequent opponent for many foreign wrestlers travelling overseas including NWA World Heavyweight Champions such as Jack Brisco, Dory Funk Jr., Harley Race and "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair. He also had high-profile matches with Karl Gotch, Killer Kowalski, The Destroyer, André the Giant, Abe Jacobs and King Kong as well.
The New Zealand version of the NWA Australasian Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling regional heavyweight championship recognized by the National Wrestling Alliance and competed for by wrestlers in the Australasian region. It was largely defended in New Zealand's Dominion Wrestling Union from around 1938 to 1951 and in All Star Pro Wrestling from 1964 to 1968. The earliest-known champion was New Zealand wrestler Lofty Blomfield who defended the title until losing it to American wrestler Ray Steele in Auckland on December 12, 1938. Peter Maivia and Steve Rickard feuded over the title during the mid-1960s with Maivia regaining the title in 1968 shortly before it was abandoned. Much of the title's history is unknown, however, there were 7 officially recognized champions during the three decades it was defended.
Abner Robert Jacobs was a 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". One of the most recognisable "babyfaces" during this period, he was billed as the "Jewish Heavyweight Champion" and wrestled in a number of high-profile matches with many stars of the era including numerous bouts against NWA World Heavyweight Champions Lou Thesz, Gene Kiniski, Buddy Rogers, Dick Hutton and Pat O'Connor. His bout against O'Connor in 1961, which aired on Capitol Wrestling's weekly television show, was the first time two New Zealanders wrestled for a championship title on foreign soil.
Sgt. Major Meynell Strathmore Blomfield ; also known as Lofty was a New Zealand professional wrestler, also known by another ring name; that of Walter Browning. Lofty was arguably the country's most popular wrestler during the 1930s and 40s. He competed primarily for promoter Walter Miller and the Dominion Wrestling Union for nearly 20 years where he defended the NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship against many of the top stars of the National Wrestling Association from 1936 until his retirement 1949. He is credited for inventing "The Octopus Clamp", an early version of the Scorpion Deathlock, and is the longest reigning heavyweight champion in the history of professional wrestling in New Zealand.
Ihakara Te Tuku Rapana, commonly known as Ike Robin, was a New Zealand sportsman, businessman, orator and member for the Māori Anglican Church. A champion sheep shearer and professional wrestler, he was the first national heavyweight champion recognised by the National Wrestling Association and successfully defended the title against some of the top stars of the Gold Dust Trio-era, most notably, Stanislaus Zbyszko in 1926. Over 40 years after his death, he was ranked No. 7 in a top ten list of New Zealand's greatest wrestlers by Fight Times Magazine in 2009.
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. Hobman twice won the NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship from John Da Silva in 1960 and Steve Rickard in 1964 with a combined reign of nearly 6 years as champion. He and Rickard were also the first New Zealand Tag Team Champions.
A. J. Freeley or Freely is a semi-retired New Zealand professional wrestler. He competed throughout Australasia and in the United States during the 1990s, however, he is best remembered as the last NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Champion of Steve Rickard's NWA New Zealand. He won the belt from 3-time champion Bruno Bekkar in 1992, shortly before the promotion's close, and was billed as champion until the end of the decade.
Bryan 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. One of the country's biggest stars during the 1970s, he is a three-time NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Champion and a former NWA Australia Heavyweight Champion. He also teamed with Don Kent in the Puerto Rico-based World Wrestling Council as the fourth incarnation of the Fabulous Kangaroos and together twice won the WWC North American Tag Team Championship in 1981.
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. The youngest pro wrestler in New Zealand at the time of his debut in 1970, he was a regular on the Australian wrestling programme Big Time Wrestling and its New Zealand counterpart On the Mat as well as a two-time NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Champion. Garea is the real life brother of four-time WWWF World Tag Team Champion and WWE Road Agent Tony Garea.
Rick "Ricky" Rickard is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated All Star-Pro Wrestling, promoted by his father Steve Rickard, as well as touring Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and the United States during the 1970s and early 1980s. He was a mainstay on his father's wrestling programme On the Mat and briefly held the NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship in 1983. Rickard also had a successful 10-year amateur career representing New Zealand as an amateur wrestler in the United States.
Dick Hrstich was a Yugoslavian/New Zealand professional wrestler, known by his ring names Ray Hrstich and Ray Gordon, who competed in the former Yugoslavia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States during the late 1950s and 60s. He was among the first New Zealanders to travel to the US and, like his fellow countrymen Pat O'Connor and Abe Jacobs, became a major star with the National Wrestling Alliance during the Television-era.
John Katan was a Ukrainian Canadian professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. A journeyman wrestler, Katan appeared throughout the world competing in nearly 6,000 matches during his 21-year career. Dubbed "Honest John", as well as the "Calgary Eyeopener" and "Palermo Panther", Katan was known for his great strength and won an estimated 90 percent of his bouts.
Pro Wrestling eXpress is a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in North Versailles, Pennsylvania in 1994 by Jim Miller and Sean "Shocker" Evans. It is the longest-running promotion in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. PWX was the main rival of Steel City Wrestling during the 1990s and was an affiliate of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 to 2012. PWX held a prominent role in the organization during this period. It was part in the annual NWA Anniversary Shows from 1998 to 2000 and brought national and world NWA champions to audiences in the East Coast of the United States. The promotion also collaborated with non-NWA members on the local independent circuit holding several interpromotional shows with Chris Lash's Allied Powers Wrestling Federation and participated in Deaf Wrestlefest (2010).
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