We'd like to pay our respects to the Rickard family on the passing of Steve's wife Lorraine. Lorraine was ill when we interviewed Steve late last year and his concern for her was obviously very evident. We'd like to thank Steve once again publicly for taking time to sit down with us for an interview under those circumstances.
Lorraine Batt's part in the history of Professional Wrestling should not be underestimated. Along with Steve she ran promotions and did accounts for various tours that came through New Zealand during the 1960s-80s. We'll probably never know her full role in bringing professional wrestling to the people of New Zealand.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
On the Mat Online!
We've been working with NZ On Screen over the past few weeks to bring some of the original On the Mat episodes to the Internet. They have licensed two shows to re-screen over the web and we were invited to write the background information for them - so check out On the Mat in all its glory, and enjoy.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Goodbye 2009 / Hello 2010
A big thank you to all those who in 2009 contributed their knowledge and time to help out with interviews for this documentary.
Many thanks also for all the words of encouragement and advice we have received.
Best wishes to everyone for 2010. No doubt we will be contacting a few of you at some stage this year asking if we can get you on camera to share your wrestling memories.
Until then, take care and have a good one.
Cheers,
Adam, Shanan and Mark.
Many thanks also for all the words of encouragement and advice we have received.
Best wishes to everyone for 2010. No doubt we will be contacting a few of you at some stage this year asking if we can get you on camera to share your wrestling memories.
Until then, take care and have a good one.
Cheers,
Adam, Shanan and Mark.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Good news and Bad news
First the Bad news. We're delaying the release of A Kiwi Century On the Mat, our feature-length documentary on the history of professional wrestling for a year.
Why? While we could have gotten it done for the Film Festivals in 2010, it would've been rushed and it wouldn't have been complete in our minds. Also, we really want to get to the United States and the islands in 2010 to talk on camera to some more of those wrestlers: kiwis and others, who've been such an exciting part of this story. So that's the good news, somehow (and we don't quite know how yet) we'll be heading off-shore next year to interview some of the greats who have passed through New Zealand to get their take on professional wrestling in our little country.
There's a whole list of names, indeed some of the biggest that we want to talk to and we've already made contact with a couple of them so cross your fingers for us!
We'll continue to update this website regularly as we talk to more and more people, and with that in mind, here is a grab from IPW's 'The Deal' Dal Knox recorded at Armageddon in Wellington earlier this year:
Why? While we could have gotten it done for the Film Festivals in 2010, it would've been rushed and it wouldn't have been complete in our minds. Also, we really want to get to the United States and the islands in 2010 to talk on camera to some more of those wrestlers: kiwis and others, who've been such an exciting part of this story. So that's the good news, somehow (and we don't quite know how yet) we'll be heading off-shore next year to interview some of the greats who have passed through New Zealand to get their take on professional wrestling in our little country.
There's a whole list of names, indeed some of the biggest that we want to talk to and we've already made contact with a couple of them so cross your fingers for us!
We'll continue to update this website regularly as we talk to more and more people, and with that in mind, here is a grab from IPW's 'The Deal' Dal Knox recorded at Armageddon in Wellington earlier this year:
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Steve Rickard
Last weekend we travelled to Hawke's Bay to interview the legendary Steve Rickard.
He spoke with us on camera for around an hour and a half about his time wrestling, his promoting days and his television ventures, the most notable of which, On the Mat ran for nine years on New Zealand television.
We talked about the biggest attractions he brought in over his promoting career from Giants to midgets, Women's wrestling, his relationship with the american National Wrestling Alliance, and he told us his version of events surrounding the unrecognised World Title change in Wellington between Ric Flair and Harley Race among many, many other stories.
(Shanan and Adam go over their interview notes while Steve takes a break to answer his telephone)
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Martin Stirling
On Sunday the 15th November we had the pleasure of interviewing Martin Stirling at his He Toa Sports gym in Petone.
Martin very graciously told us anecdotes and stories about his former wrestling career and his current job running New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling (NZWPW).
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Roger Ventura
A couple of weeks ago we interviewed Roger Ventura at the last NZWPW event at the Lower Hutt Town Hall. He has some great stories and a unique take on the wrestling scene in New Zealand.
Here's how he got into Wrestling:
Mid November we've lined up one of this documentaries marquee interviews with Steve Rickard. Steve is arguably the most influential person in the history of New Zealand Professional Wrestling, from competing as an amateur and then a professional to promoting in New Zealand and throughout the Asia-Pacific region to his involvement in 3 shows for Television, for nearly 50 years Steve Rickard's name has been hard-wired with Professional Wrestling.
We're excited that he's accepted our request to discuss his life in wrestling.
Here's how he got into Wrestling:
Mid November we've lined up one of this documentaries marquee interviews with Steve Rickard. Steve is arguably the most influential person in the history of New Zealand Professional Wrestling, from competing as an amateur and then a professional to promoting in New Zealand and throughout the Asia-Pacific region to his involvement in 3 shows for Television, for nearly 50 years Steve Rickard's name has been hard-wired with Professional Wrestling.
We're excited that he's accepted our request to discuss his life in wrestling.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
