WWE in New Zealand

History of professional wrestling by American promotion WWE in New Zealand
Professional wrestling pay-per-view event series
WWE in New Zealand
Created byVince McMahon
PromotionsWWE
BrandsRaw
SmackDown
First eventWWE SmackDown Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour

WWE (formerly World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment), an American professional wrestling promotion based in Stamford, Connecticut, in the United States owned by the McMahon family, has been promoting events in New Zealand since 2006.

History

WWE held their first live event tour in New Zealand on March 4, 2006, at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington. This was the WWE Smackdown Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour, which featured a main event triple threat match between Kurt Angle, Undertaker and Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship. This event drew 23,875 people.

The following two years, WWE returned to New Zealand for a pair of SmackDown and ECW co-branded shows. In 2009 and 2011 the Raw brand did a one night show in Auckland, with SmackDown doing a show in 2010. The WWE then took a long break between shows in New Zealand and did not return until 2016. At the 2016 show, WWE announced NXT would be doing a show as part of their Oceania tour. Two NXT Live shows were scheduled for December 5 and 6, 2016 at The Trusts Arena in Auckland and the TSB Bank Arena in Wellington.[1][2] however these were eventually cancelled.[3] The following year, in 2017 the Raw brand returned to New Zealand for one show in Christchurch.[4]

WWE announced the Raw brand would once again return for a live event at Auckland's Spark Arena on August 8, 2020. This show was later postponed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was firstly postponed to July 31, 2021, secondly postponed to August 4, 2022, and lastly postponed with no new date given. The event was finally cancelled on May 5, 2023, over 3 years since its original announcement.[5]

Events in New Zealand

Date Name Brand Venue City Main event
March 4, 2006 WWE SmackDown Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour SmackDown Westpac Stadium Wellington Kurt Angle vs. Mark Henry vs. The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship
February 23, 2007 WWE SmackDown Road to WrestleMania 23 Tour SmackDown & ECW Westpac Centre Christchurch Batista vs. Mr. Kennedy for the World Heavyweight Championship[6]
February 24, 2007 Western Springs Stadium Auckland
June 11, 2008 WWE Smackdown ECW Tour SmackDown & ECW Vector Arena Auckland Edge vs. Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship[7]
June 12, 2008 Westpac Centre Christchurch Matt Hardy, Batista & The Undertaker vs. Edge, Montel Vontavious Porter and Mark Henry[8]
July 3, 2009 WWE Raw Live Tour Raw Vector Arena Auckland Randy Orton & Big Show vs. John Cena & Triple H[9]
August 5, 2010 WWE SmackDown Live 2010 SmackDown Vector Arena Auckland Kane vs. Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship[10]
July 6, 2011 WWE World Tour Raw Vector Arena Auckland John Cena vs. R-Truth for the WWE Championship[11]
August 10, 2016 WWE Live: New Zealand Unbranded Vector Arena Auckland Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins[12]
September 13, 2017 WWE Live: New Zealand Raw Horncastle Arena Christchurch Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman in a Street Fight[13]


WWE Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour

WWE SmackDown Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour
Promotional poster featuring Batista
PromotionWorld Wrestling Entertainment
Brand(s)SmackDown!
DateMarch 4, 2006
CityWellington, New Zealand
VenueWestpac Stadium
Attendance23,875 [14]

The WWE SmackDown Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour was the first WWE event held in New Zealand and took place at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, on March 4, 2006. The event was recorded by WWE and aired exclusively on WWE 24/7 in the United States. Michael Cole and Tazz recorded the commentary from WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.

The event was attended by 23,875.[14] WWE talent and management were impressed with the reactions and excitement by the audience, and also the large size of the stadium. “Holy Cow, this is a coliseum, not an arena,” was one of the WWE wrestler's remarks when entering inside New Zealand's second-largest stadium.[15]

Results

No.ResultsStipulationsTimes
1DGregory Helms (c) defeated Jamie Noble and Kid Kash[16]Triple Threat match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship—
2DFunaki defeated SylvainSingles match—
3DMNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro) (c) defeated Paul London and Brian KendrickTag Team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship—
4Road Warrior Animal defeated Matt HardySingles match5:30
5Bobby Lashley defeated FinlaySingles match8:31
6The Boogeyman defeated Orlando JordanSingles match3:50
7Chris Benoit (c) defeated Booker T by submissionSingles match for the WWE United States Championship11:06
8Rey Mysterio defeated Randy OrtonSingles match13:34
9The Undertaker defeated Kurt Angle (c) and Mark Henry (with Daivari) by disqualificationTriple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship14:32
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
D – this was a dark match

Other on-screen personnel

The setup in the Westpac Stadium before the event.

Broadcast

The WWE and Sky have had an agreement to carry WWE programming in New Zealand since the late 1990s.[17]

In August 2014, WWE Network launched in New Zealand.[18]

Programming Notes
WWE pay-per-views Broadcast live on WWE Network.[19]
WWE Raw Broadcast live on Sky 5. A one-hour version is also broadcast on Sky Open.[20]
WWE NXT A one-hour version is broadcast on both Sky 5 and Sky Open.[21]
WWE SmackDown Broadcast live on Sky 5. A one-hour version is also broadcast on Sky Open.[20]

References

  1. ^ "First Ever NXT Live Events This December!". Scoop. Scoop Media. WWE. September 5, 2016. Archived from the original on 5 September 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  2. ^ Caldwell, James (August 21, 2016). "8/20 "WWE NXT Takeover: Brooklyn" Results - CALDWELL'S Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2021. NXT announcement: NXT is heading to Australia and New Zealand. It's this December. And it's a long tour from December 5-15.
  3. ^ "WWE cancels New Zealand NXT Live events". NZPWI. November 7, 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  4. ^ Staff, WWE.com (June 26, 2017). "WWE Live returns to New Zealand and Australia this September". WWE. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  5. ^ "WWE LIVE NEW ZEALAND Saturday 31 July 2021 at Spark Arena". Spark Arena. Spark Arena, Quay Park, Downtown Auckland, New Zealand. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021. The wait is finally over, after a sell-out show in 2016 that saw 10,000+ WWE fans pack into Spark Arena, WWE returns for one electrifying night on Saturday 31 July 2021.
  6. ^ "WWE (Smackdown! & ECW) @ Christchurch, New Zealand - Westpac Stadium - February 23, 2007 (9,000; sell out)". The History of WWE. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  7. ^ "WWE (Smackdown! & ECW) @ Auckland, New Zealand - Vector Arena - June 11, 2008 (8,500)". The History of WWE. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  8. ^ "WWE (Smackdown! & ECW) @ Christchurch, New Zealand - Westpac Arena - June 12, 2008". The History of WWE. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  9. ^ "WWE (Raw) @ Auckland, New Zealand - Vector Arena - July 3, 2009". The History of WWE. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  10. ^ "WWE (Smackdown!) @ Auckland, New Zealand - Vector Arena - August 5, 2010". The History of WWE. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  11. ^ "WWE (Raw) @ Auckland, New Zealand - Vector Arena - July 6, 2011 (6,100)". The History of WWE. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  12. ^ Namako, Jason (August 10, 2016). "8/10 WWE Live Results: Auckland, New Zealand (First day of overseas tour, NXT tour announced, Rollins vs. Reigns)". WrestleView. Auckland, New Zealand. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  13. ^ Martin, Adam (September 14, 2017). "9/13 WWE Live Results: Christchurch, New Zealand (Reigns vs. Strowman)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  14. ^ a b Westpac Stadium (2006). "Westpac Stadium Wellington WWE: Road to Wrestlemania Smackdown 22". Westpac Stadium. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  15. ^ Dion McCracken (2006). "Westpac Stadium gives thanks to crowd and NZPWI". NZPWI. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  16. ^ Dion McCracken (2006). "Angle retains WHC in Wellington". NZPWI. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Here's Why World Wrestling (WWE) is a Hot Investment Pick". NASDAQ.com. 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  18. ^ Dunn, David. "WWE Network available in New Zealand – NZPWI". Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  19. ^ "WWE Pay Per View events". Sky. 2022-02-02. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  20. ^ a b WWE (17 December 2018). "WWE and SKY extend long-standing partnership in New Zealand". Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  21. ^ Dunn, David (3 July 2020). "WWE NXT to air on Prime, Sky 5". Retrieved 6 July 2020.

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