Pro Wrestling: Ben Mana wins for his home fans at Whanganui Warfare

Ben Mana delivers a running splash to Liger at IPW Whanganui Warfare at the Wanganui Racecourse on Saturday night.

Whanganui Prison Corrections Department officer Benjamin Thorpe got personal redemption and payback for his fellow locals at the second annual IPW Whanganui Warfare show with a big victory over his Auckland opponent on Saturday night at the racecourse.

In his persona of Ben Mana, the The Modern Day Maori Warrior, Thorpe defeated former IPW champion Liger, aka Michel Mulipola, by ankle lock submission in one of the featured matches on the eight-bout card.

Mana came to the ring after Liger had taunted the other Whanganui wrestler on the IPW roster in Bradical, aka Brad Fisher, who was working as the ring announcer, for injuring him at last year's show.

Liger then brought a future Whanganui groom who was on his stag night into the ring and laid into him with vicious chops to the chest.

Mana arrived and dished out punches and chops of his own, before throwing Liger out of the ring.

He held the advantage as the brawl continued until he charged a staggered Liger, who avoided him, and Mana crashed into the ring post.

The veteran Liger then pushed Mana into the guard rail before returning to the ring and diving out onto the local favourite.

Liger would cut off all of Mana's comebacks, laying him out with a clothesline and a spear tackle both times the Whanganui wrestler began to strike back.

However, Mana was now the one to catch his opponent off guard, literally, as he delivered a powerslam when Liger leapt at him off the ropes.

Mana took control with shoulder tackles, a side slam and big splash, but Liger avoided getting picked up for the big finishing move with headbutts and delivered another clothesline to the back of Mana's head.

However, that was Aucklander's final flurry and Mana recovered to slam him face first on the mat and grab the ankle lock, with Liger submitting after he could not reach the ropes.

It was Mana's first big win in front of his home audience after narrowly being defeated last year in his challenge for the IPW Heavyweight Title.

The current champion, Jacob Cross, had a real scrap on his hands with challenger Shane Sinclair in the main event.

Sinclair, from Taranaki, was favoured by the Whanganui crowd, and the match soon spilled out of the ring and into the audience, with both men trading heavy blows and elbow drops.

It appeared Cross might lose his title when he laid Sinclair across the ringside announcers table, only to crash through it himself when the challenger rolled out of the way.

However, Sinclair had injured his hand during the melee, which prevented him from keeping a lock on his specialty leg submission hold, back inside the ring, as the desperate Cross began kicking his way free.

A couple of superkicks in the corner stunned Sinclair, and Cross unleashed a vicious clothesline to score the pinfall.

Over 300 fans packed into the Eulogy Lounge at the Wanganui Racecourse, up on the 230 from the inaugural IPW show, and management confirmed they will be returning again next year.

Other results:
Mr Burns and Curtis Castlewood bt Short 'n Sweet by pinfall; Alfred Valentine defeated Falcon Kid, Charlie Roberts and Will Stone in a Fatal 4-Way Match; Ant Khan and Paul Sayers bt Wainui Express by pinfall; Mr Tagataese bt Adam Avalanche by pinfall; Candy Lee retained the IPW Women's Championship against Grace Lightning and Misty in a Triple Threat Match.