Victoria Ryan (standing) was victorious in her singles match with Frankie Quinn. Photo / Mike Tweed
Victoria Ryan (standing) was victorious in her singles match with Frankie Quinn. Photo / Mike Tweed
Whanganui Showdown Reviewed by Mike Tweed
A boisterous crowd filled the Whanganui War Memorial Centre on Friday night to watch New Zealand's best wrestlers - including some hometown favourites - put on the Whanganui Showdown.
Whanganui was represented in the form of "The Modern Day Māori Warrior" Ben Mana, Tim Warren,"The Cuz" Mikaere Isaacs, and H-Flame, who was back in the ring for the first time in eight years.
Tim Warren and H-Flame were two of the first wrestlers on show - facing off against each other for local bragging rights.
H-Flame eventually snuffed out Warren's resistance with his trademark H-Bomb.
Warren lay sprawled on the canvas while the victor flexed his biceps, much to the delight of his fans in the crowd.
A night of wrestling wouldn't be complete without a few "heels" (bad guys) and that role was gleefully filled by Kingi and the mountainous Chalky Murdoch.
Their scowls and dirty tactics drew boos from the crowd, but both were eventually eliminated from the eight-man "Last Warrior Standing" shootout in the semifinal stage.
Unfortunately, Isaacs was also given his marching orders, dispatched Slade Mercer in the quarter-finals.
Whanganui was in desperate need of a hero by this stage, and he arrived in the form of Ben Mana, who joined fellow man-mountain Jamie Tagataese to fight Ringo Ryan and Antony Khan in a tag team match.
Resplendent in full Union Jack regalia, Ryan jeered at the crowd before he and Khan administered a severe beating to Tagataese, as Mana watched helplessly from outside the ropes.
The Modern Day Māori Warrior was soon to the rescue however, flattening his opponents one by one and turning the tide of the match.
Unbelievably though, it was Ryan and Khan who eventually emerged victorious, despite giving away a combined weight disadvantage of close to 100kg.
Niwa ended Slade Mercer's challenge to be crowned the winner of Warrior Wrestling's inaugural "Last Warrior Standing" tournament. Photo / Mike Tweed
The Whanganui fire had been extinguished.
There was still plenty of action for the crowd to sink their teeth into though, and one of the most exciting matches of the evening came in the form of the two smallest wrestlers on the card - Victoria Ryan and Frankie Quinn.
It was acrobatic, back and forth action the whole way through, with Ryan eventually claiming victory.
Not before she had throttled Quinn's neck against the bottom rope, however.
The final match of the night, and the climax of the Last Warrior Standing tournament, resulted in Niwa pinning Slade Mercer, who came perilously close to securing the victory himself.
Niwa climbed to the top rope with the spoils and grinned at the hundreds in attendance.
And that was that - more than two hours of non-stop action under the bright lights.
Warrior Wrestling promoter Antony Khan, who emerged victorious in his tag-team match earlier in the evening, said he was blown away by the response they had received.
"This was the first time we've been in Whanganui, and it was beyond my expectations," Khan said.
Warrior Wrestling began to take shape during lockdown last year, and Khan said starting a school had been the first focus.
"We officially started the wrestling school in August, and then we did our first show in October.
"That went well, so we went up north to Dargaville and Whangārei, and then we came here."
Khan said they would definitely be returning to Whanganui in the future.
"After tonight, I don't think we could not come back.
"The goal is to get the talent from all over New Zealand and bring them to one place."
