NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship

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.^[1][2]

Title history

Wrestler:	Times:	Date:	Place:	Notes:
Gisborne Katene	1	1919		Defeated Frank Findlay for the title, but later declared vacant.
Ike Robin	1	17 March 1925	Auckland, New Zealand	Title is vacated when Robin retires in 1926. He is credited as the first officially recognized heavyweight champion.[3][4][5]
Tom Alley	1	1929		[6]
Stanley Pinto	1	1930		May have defeated Alley in tournament final in Wellington on 23 November 1931.[6]
Title history unrecorded.
George Walker	1	1931		Walker retired on 23 November 1937, and the title was vacated.
Dean Detton	1	22 August 1938	Auckland, New Zealand	Defeated Lofty Blomfield for the title, but was later vacated in August 1938.
Lofty Blomfield	1	10 September 1938	Auckland, New Zealand	Defeated Pat Fraley for the title. He later defeated title claimant Dean Detton in Auckland on 27 August 1938, and won championship tournament to become undisputed champion in October 1938. Blomfield held the title for over a decade until his retirement on 7 June 1949.[3][7]
Ken Kenneth	1	22 June 1949		Originally awarded the title, Kenneth was stripped in June 1958 for not defending the belt for over a year.[3]
Dick Hrstich	1	11 June 1958	Christchurch, New Zealand	Defeated Fred Wright for the title. Later vacated in October 1959 when Hrstich leaves the country.
Keita Meretana	1	3 September 1959	Tauranga, New Zealand	Defeated Lofty Binnie for the title.
Ken Kenneth	2	June 1960	Auckland, New Zealand	Title vacated in October 1960 when Kenneth leaves the country.
Al Hobman	1	26 October 1960	Wellington, New Zealand	Defeated John DaSilva for the title.[3]
Steve Rickard	1	1963		[3][8]
Peter Maivia	1	3 August 1964	Auckland, New Zealand	[9]
Steve Rickard	2	6 August 1964	Wellington, New Zealand
Al Hobman	2	1964
John DaSilva	1	7 September 1967	Wellington, New Zealand	Title declared vacant in 1979 when DaSilva begins wrestles overseas.[3]
Siva Afi	1	23 April 1978		Defeated John DaSilva in tournament final to win title.
Steve Rickard	3	1983
Title is vacated.
Rip Morgan	1	8 September 1983	Auckland, New Zealand	Defeated Samoan Joe in tournament final to win title.[10]
Title history unrecorded.
Bruno Bekkar	1	September 1985		Won title in tournament final.[3]
Johnny Garcia	1
Bruno Bekkar	2	12 December 1987	Auckland, New Zealand
Johnny Garcia	2	26 November 1988
Bruno Bekkar	3	1990
A.J. Freeley	1	22 November 1992		Freeley is still billed as the heavyweight champion as of January 1999.

References

1. ^ "New Zealand Heavyweight Title". Pro-Wrestling Title Histories: New Zealand. Wrestling-Titles.com. 2003. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/nz/nz-h.html. 
2. ^ "New Zealand Heavyweight Title (inactive)" (in (German)). GenickBruch.com. 2001. http://www.genickbruch.com/index.php?befehl=titles&titel=384. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Cameron, Dave (10 March 2009). "Our greatest grapplers" (PDF). Rogue Magazine. http://www.roguemag.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=711. 
4. ^ Bennett, Matthew (27 June 2007). "Ihakara Te Tuku Robin (1886-1968)". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/DNZB/alt_essayBody.asp?essayID=4R24. 
5. ^ "Sports: Maori Wrestling Champion". Te Ao Hou: The New World (Maori Writer's Issue). National Library of New Zealand. September 1959. http://teaohou.natlib.govt.nz/journals/teaohou/image/Mao28TeA/Mao28TeA054.html. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Remember Stanley Pinto, First Mat Villain?". Wrestling Flashbacks. All-Sports Monthly. August 1949. http://www.wrestlingclassics.com/wawli/Nos.001-010.html. 
7. ^ "Lofty Blomfield's Bid For A World Title". Wrestling Flashbacks. All-Sports Monthly. July 1949. http://www.wrestlingclassics.com/wawli/Nos.001-010.html. 
8. ^ "Profile: Steve Rickard". KiwiProWrestling.co.nz. 2007. http://www.kiwiprowrestling.co.nz/Steve-Rickard.556.0.html. 
9. ^ Slagle, Steve. "Hall of Fame Inductee: High Chief Peter Maivia". Photos & Bios: The Stories Behind the Stars. Professional Wrestling Online Museum. http://www.wrestlingmuseum.com/pages/wrestlers/petermaivia2.html. 
10. ^ "Profile: Rip Morgan". KiwiProWrestling.co.nz. 2007. http://www.kiwiprowrestling.co.nz/CEO-Rip-Morgan.483.0.html.