WWE in New Zealand#WWE Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour
{{short description|History of professional wrestling by American promotion WWE in New Zealand}}
{{Infobox professional wrestling event series
|name = WWE in New Zealand
|image_size =
|caption =
|alt =
|othernames =
|nicknames =
|createdby = Vince McMahon
|promotions = WWE
|firstevent = WWE SmackDown Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour
|lastevent =
|gimmick =
|featuredmatches =
}}
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.{{cite news |title=First Ever NXT Live Events This December! |url=https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1609/S00056/first-ever-nxt-live-events-this-december.htm |access-date=25 April 2021 |work=Scoop |agency=WWE |publisher=Scoop Media |date=September 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160905134302/https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1609/S00056/first-ever-nxt-live-events-this-december.htm |archive-date=5 September 2016}}{{cite news |last1=Caldwell |first1=James |title=8/20 "WWE NXT Takeover: Brooklyn" Results - CALDWELL'S Complete Live Report |url=https://www.pwtorch.com/site/2016/08/20/820-wwe-nxt-takeover-brooklyn-results-caldwells-ongoing-live-report/ |access-date=25 April 2021 |work=Pro Wrestling Torch |date=August 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822231507/https://www.pwtorch.com/site/2016/08/20/820-wwe-nxt-takeover-brooklyn-results-caldwells-ongoing-live-report/ |archive-date=22 August 2016 |quote=NXT announcement: NXT is heading to Australia and New Zealand. It’s this December. And it’s a long tour from December 5-15.}} however these were eventually cancelled.{{cite news |title=WWE cancels New Zealand NXT Live events |url=https://www.nzpwi.co.nz/2016/11/wwe-cancels-both-new-zealand-nxt-live-events/ |access-date=30 April 2021 |work=NZPWI |date=November 7, 2016}} The following year, in 2017 the Raw brand returned to New Zealand for one show in Christchurch.{{cite news |author=WWE.com Staff |title=WWE Live returns to New Zealand and Australia this September |url=https://www.wwe.com/worldwide/article/wwe-live-events-new-zealand-australia-september-2017 |access-date=25 April 2021 |work=WWE |date=June 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627140204/https://www.wwe.com/worldwide/article/wwe-live-events-new-zealand-australia-september-2017 |archive-date=27 June 2017}}
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.{{cite web |title=WWE LIVE NEW ZEALAND Saturday 31 July 2021 at Spark Arena |url=https://www.sparkarena.co.nz/wwe-live-2020/ |website=Spark Arena |access-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207092219/https://www.sparkarena.co.nz/wwe-live-2020/ |archive-date=7 February 2021 |location=Spark Arena, Quay Park, Downtown Auckland, New Zealand |quote=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.}}
Events in New Zealand
WWE Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour
{{Infobox Wrestling event
|name = WWE SmackDown Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour
|image = Wwe road to wrestlemania 22 tour.jpg
|alt =
|caption = Promotional poster featuring Batista
|promotion = World Wrestling Entertainment
|brand = SmackDown!
|theme =
|date = March 4, 2006
|venue = Westpac Stadium
|city = Wellington, New Zealand
}}
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. 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.nzpwi.co.nz/2006/03/westpac-stadium-gives-thanks-to-crowd-and-nzpwi/|title=Westpac Stadium gives thanks to crowd and NZPWI|author= Dion McCracken|year=2006 |publisher=NZPWI|access-date=7 April 2018}}
=Results=
{{Pro Wrestling results table
|note1 = dark
|match1 = Gregory Helms (c) defeated Jamie Noble and Kid Kash{{cite web |url=https://www.nzpwi.co.nz/2006/03/angle-retains-whc-in-wellington/|title=Angle retains WHC in Wellington|author= Dion McCracken|year=2006 |publisher=NZPWI|access-date=7 April 2018}}
|stip1 = Triple Threat match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
|note2 = dark
|match2 = Funaki defeated Sylvain
|stip2 = Singles match
|note3 = dark
|match3 = MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro) (c) defeated Paul London and Brian Kendrick
|stip3 = Tag Team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
|match4 = Road Warrior Animal defeated Matt Hardy
|stip4 = Singles match
|time4 = 5:30
|match5 = Bobby Lashley defeated Finlay
|stip5 = Singles match
|time5 = 8:31
|match6 = The Boogeyman defeated Orlando Jordan
|stip6 = Singles match
|time6 = 3:50
|match7 = Chris Benoit (c) defeated Booker T by submission
|stip7 = Singles match for the WWE United States Championship
|time7 = 11:06
|match8 = Rey Mysterio defeated Randy Orton
|stip8 = Singles match
|time8 = 13:34
|match9 = The Undertaker defeated Kurt Angle (c) and Mark Henry (with Daivari) by disqualification
|stip9 = Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship
|time9 = 14:32
}}
=Other on-screen personnel=
Broadcast
The WWE and Sky had an agreement to carry WWE programming in New Zealand from the late 1990s until the end of 2024.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasdaq.com/article/heres-why-world-wrestling-wwe-is-a-hot-investment-pick-cm1087384|title=Here's Why World Wrestling (WWE) is a Hot Investment Pick|date=2019-01-25|website=NASDAQ.com|language=en-us|access-date=2019-05-21}} Weekly television programming was aired on Sky 5 (previously known as Sky 1 and The Box). Pay-per-views were aired on Sky Arena / Sky Box Office.
In August 2014, WWE Network launched in New Zealand.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nzpwi.co.nz/2014/08/wwe-network-available-in-new-zealand/|title=WWE Network available in New Zealand – NZPWI|last=Dunn|first=David|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-05-21}} This was later closed on 1 January 2025, with all WWE programming moving to Netflix in New Zealand as part of WWE's worldwide deal with the streaming platform.
| class="wikitable" style="background:#fcfdff; font-size:95%;" |
| Programming || Notes |
|---|
| WWE Premium Live Events
| rowspan="4" |Broadcast live on Netflix |
| WWE Raw |
| WWE NXT |
| WWE SmackDown |
References
{{reflist}}
Notes
{{Reflist|group=Note}}
{{WWE}}
{{Professional wrestling in New Zealand}}