Southern Pro Wrestling (SPW) is a New Zealandprofessional wrestlingpromotion. Since the promotion's formation in 2015, it has promoted regular live events throughout the country predominantly in Invercargill and Queenstown[1] In 2018, SPW held the biggest live independent wrestling show seen in New Zealand for over 27 years, the 2018 Southern Rumble, which was held at ILT Stadium in Invercargill in front of 1,200+ in attendance.[2] SPW has led to a resurgence of the popularity and mainstream media coverage of professional wrestling in New Zealand.[3] The 2019 Southern Rumble event was held again in ILT Stadium, with similar attendance numbers.[4] SPW currently has over 30 full-time employees.[5] In March 2019, SPW signed a deal with New Zealand's largest free-to-air broadcaster, TVNZ with an audience of 2 million people.[6] 22 June 2019, marked the return of New Zealand pro-wrestling on TVNZ for the first time since On the Mat ended 35 years prior.[7][8][9][10] On 24 August 2019, the 2019 Southern Rumble event aired on TVNZ Duke and was viewed by over 40,000 people.[11]
Troy Crosbie and Marc Perry are the founders of SPW.[12] Perry was trained by WWE legend Lance Storm in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and since then has wrestled and performed across New Zealand.[13]
Marc Perry was trained by UK World of Sport legend Steve Logan and former WWE superstar Drake Maverick. He has wrestled all over the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and NZ and worked with well-known international wrestlers. He has taken part in WWE Tryouts and performed for New Japan Pro-Wrestling.[5]
The SPW New Zealand Championship is the top professional wrestling championship title in the New Zealand promotion Southern Pro Wrestling (SPW). The inaugural champion was "The Shooter" Shane Sinclair, who defeated "Hooligan" Marcus Kool & "Powerhouse" T-Rex in the tournament final at the Fight For Gold event in Invercargill.
Won the 20 Man Southern Rumble match the previous night, earning a championship match against Shane Sinclair. Jamie Tagataese went on to defeat Shane Sinclair in a singles match.
THE NZ MEGA POWERS (Cool Guy Sky & Will Power) (764 days)
Shortest reign
NZXT (Mason Daniels & Michael Richards) (49 days)
The SPW New Zealand Tag Team Championship is the top professional wrestlingtag team championship title in the New Zealand promotion Southern Pro Wrestling (SPW). The inaugural champions were NZXT (Mason Daniels & Michael Richards), who defeated the CruiserMates (Falcon Kid & Liam Fury) at the 2018 Fight For Gold event in Invercargill.
SPW programming is available in New Zealand on the TV channel, TVNZ Duke available on Freeview, Sky and Vodafone TV. Additionally, SPW shows are available online through TVNZ OnDemand (Not currently as of 13/08/2022). Furthermore, SPW provides a subscription video on demand service SPW On Demand with standalone Android and iOS apps, as well as via Pivotshare.[30]
