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 successful African-American professional wrestlers.
Tomomi Tsuruta, better known by his ring name Jumbo Tsuruta, was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for most of his career, and is well known for being the first ever Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heavyweight Championship, the NWA United National Championship, and the NWA International Heavyweight Championship, and unifying the three titles. He is also known for being one-half of the first-ever World Tag Team Champions with Yoshiaki Yatsu, having won the NWA International Tag Team Championship and the PWF Tag Team Championship, and unifying the two titles.
Joseph Afamasaga, better known by his ring name Samoan Joe, is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler who competed in the Australasian and South Pacific region during the 1970s and early 1980s.
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, when former NZWPW wrestler, Jay Marshall left the promotion to start Capital Pro Wrestling. 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, "Rufguts" Roddy Gunn, Chad Howard and Jade Priest.
Jonnie Juice is a New Zealand retired professional wrestler. He is currently contracted to the Wellington based promotion Kiwi Pro Wrestling.
Vincent "Vinny" Dunn is a New Zealand professional wrestler and former professional rugby league footballer who has competed in several Australasian independent wrestling promotions since his debut in 2005. He has worked for the Australasian Wrestling Federation, Kiwi Pro Wrestling and is currently signed to Impact Pro Wrestling NZ (IPW). Recognized as the IPW's First Triple Crown Champion, he is a former IPW Heavyweight Champion and, in Impact Pro Wrestling Australia, is the first ever IPW South Pacific Champion, which he held from 18 August 2007 until 15 March 2008. Dunn also winner of the annual IPW Armageddon Cup at the 2006 Armageddon Expo.
Earl Gray McCready was a Canadian amateur wrestler. McCready competed in the U.S. for Oklahoma State University in folkstyle, and as a freestyle sport wrestler who competed for Canada in the 1928 Summer Olympics. Later in life he became a pro wrestler.
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.
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. It was first won in 1929 by Canadian wrestler George Walker, who claimed the title upon his arrival in New Zealand, and defended the belt for seven years before leaving for a rival promotion in 1935. It was the second oldest championship after the NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship and had 36 officially recognized champions during its 60-year history.
Impact Pro Wrestling (IPW) is a New Zealand professional wrestling promotion. It has promoted regular events throughout the country and abroad in the last several years and is credited for being the first to bring live wrestling shows to cities, such as Hamilton and Whangarei, in over two decades.
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, 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 remains the oldest currently active tag team championship in New Zealand.
Reuben de Jong is a New Zealand heavyweight kickboxer, mixed martial artist, strongman and professional wrestler of Dutch descent. He is a two-time professional strongman champion of New Zealand and competed in the K-1 Kings of Oceania in 2006 and 2007. De Jong is the holder of two national records in the farmer's walk and stone lifting, and the Guinness World Record for running through the most panes of glass in under one minute. He was signed with WWE under the name of Russell Walker in 2011, but was released the same year.
IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship is the top professional wrestling championship title in the New Zealand promotion Impact Pro Wrestling. It was the original heavyweight title of the Mania Pro Wrestling promotion, later used in IPW as its primary singles title. It was introduced as the MPW Heavyweight Championship on 9 April 2002. When a new promotion was founded by a core group of MPW wrestlers in 2003, the title was established as its new heavyweight championship.
On the Mat was a professional wrestling television program 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.
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.
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.
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 3-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.
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.
Dylan James is a New Zealand professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling and Toryumon Mexico. He is best known for working for Pro Wrestling Zero1 under the ring name James Raideen, where he is a former World Heavyweight Champion.
