My interest in wrestling in general, and pro wrestling in particular, was initially aroused in the mid-1970s, when I was still in high school.
New Zealand promoter Steve Rickard ran a weekly program on television - "On The Mat". At the time I first tuned into this show, the "big names" were Americans King Curtis and Mark Lewin, Scotsman Robert Bruce and New Zealand's John Da Silva.
On leaving school and entering the workforce, I began attending the monthly live shows at the Wanganui Opera House. Curtis and Lewin had left the country by this time, but Rick Martel, Peter Maivia, Rocky Johnson, Les Thornton and J.J. Dillon were just some of the big names from the international scene who came through town. I also saw my first live women's match between Joyce Grable and Le Lani Kai in either 1978 or 1979 - this was possibly Kai's first ever overseas tour, on the way to a stellar international career.
In 1981 I move to the Wellington area and was able to start attending the weekly shows there, which were held either at the Winter Show Buildings or the Wellington Town Hall. The latter venue provided two memorable events......
Firstly, a visit to his home country saw New Zealand's only ever World Champion, Pat O'Connor, participate in a series of matches against young "rising star" Al Perez. Pat had retired from active duty in the ring by this stage, but he and Perez still put on a memorable scientific match, which ended in a time-limit draw.
And secondly, I was in the crowd for the March 1984 NWA World Title change that "didn't take place", when Harley Race defeated Ric Flair. (The picture above was taken at this event by New Zealand Wrestling Historian Dave Cameron - more on Dave in later posts!).
Steve Rickard stopped promoting on a regular basis shortly after this, although he did run a brief tour in either 1986 or 1987. At about this time however, I was already taking my interest beyond just fan level.
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