# Southern Pro Wrestling

Southern Pro Wrestling (SPW) is a New Zealand professional wrestling promotion. Since the promotion's formation in 2015, it has promoted regular live events throughout the country predominantly in Invercargill and Queenstown In 2018, SPW held the biggest live independent wrestling show seen in New Zealand for over 27 years, the 2018 Southern Rumble, which was held at ILT Stadium in Invercargill in front of 1,200+ in attendance. SPW has led to a resurgence of the popularity and mainstream media coverage of professional wrestling in New Zealand. The 2019 Southern Rumble event was held again in ILT Stadium, with similar attendance numbers. SPW currently has over 30 full-time employees. In March 2019, SPW signed a deal with New Zealand's largest free-to-air broadcaster, TVNZ with an audience of 2 million people. 22 June 2019, marked the return of New Zealand pro-wrestling on TVNZ for the first time since On the Mat ended 35 years prior. On 24 August 2019, the 2019 Southern Rumble event aired on TVNZ Duke and was viewed by over 40,000 people.

## Founders

Troy Crosbie and Marc Perry are the founders of SPW. Perry was trained by WWE legend Lance Storm in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and since then has wrestled and performed across New Zealand.
Marc Perry was trained by UK World of Sport legend Steve Logan and former WWE superstar Drake Maverick. He has wrestled all over the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and NZ and worked with well-known international wrestlers. He has taken part in WWE Tryouts and performed for New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

## Notable Appearances

Various well-known international wrestlers have made appearances in SPW such as Travis Banks, Tenille Dashwood, Bea Priestley, Jimmy Havoc and Will Ospreay. Travis Banks appeared in SPW at the Southern Rumble on 13 July 2019, despite being under contract with WWE on its NXT UK brand at the time. The 2019 Southern Rumble event was a cross-promotional event with Melbourne City Wrestling (MCW)

## Championships
### Current champions

| Championship | Current champion(s) | Date won | Event | Previous Champion(s) |
| SPW New Zealand Championship | Azza | October 26, 2024 | Halloween Haunting (2024) | Cool Guy Sky |
| SPW New Zealand Tag Team Championship | Black Light District (Saboor & Corey Beams) | August 3, 2024 | Southern Rumble (2024) | The Golden Light (James Shaw & Ryder) |

### SPW New Zealand Championship

The SPW New Zealand Championship is the top professional wrestling championship title in the New Zealand promotion Southern Pro Wrestling (SPW). The inaugural champion was "The Shooter" Shane Sinclair, who defeated "Hooligan" Marcus Kool & "Powerhouse" T-Rex in the tournament final at the Fight For Gold event in Invercargill.

#### Title history

Key :
| No. | Overall reign number |
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Championship change | Championship change | Reign statistics | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. |
| No. | Champion | Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Notes | Ref. |
| 1 | Shane Sinclair | 17 March 2016 | Fight For Gold (2016) | Invercargill | 1 | 93 | Shane Sinclair won a 6 man tournament, defeating Marcus Kool & T-Rex in the tournament final. | |
| — | Vacated | 18 June 2016 | — | — | — | — | Shane Sinclair had to vacate the title due to being present for the birth of his first child. | |
| 2 | Marcus Kool | 15 July 2016 | Southern Rumble (2016) | Invercargill | 1 | 224 | Marcus Kool defeated T-Rex in a Southland Street Fight for the vacant title. | |
| 3 | T-Rex | 24 February 2017 | Fight For Gold (2017) | Invercargill | 1 | 246 | T-Rex cashed in his Fight for Gold contract and defeated Marcus Kool. | |
| 4 | JK Moody | 28 October 2017 | Halloween Haunting (2017) | Invercargill | 1 | 259 | JK Moody defeated T-Rex. | |
| 5 | Kane Khan | 14 July 2018 | Southern Rumble (2018) | Invercargill | 1 | <1 | Kane Khan defeated JK Moody in a TLC match. | |
| 6 | Will Power | 14 July 2018 | Southern Rumble (2018) | Invercargill | 1 | 105 | Will Power defeated Kane Khan. | |
| 7 | Kane Khan | 27 October 2018 | Halloween Haunting (2018) | Invercargill | 2 | 140 | Kane Khan defeated Will Power. | |
| 8 | Marcus Kool | 16 March 2019 | Queenstown Wrestlefest (2019) | Queenstown | 2 | 119 | Marcus Kool defeated Kane Khan. | |
| 9 | Slex | 13 July 2019 | Southern Rumble (2019) | Invercargill | 1 | 105 | Slex defeated Marcus Kool | |
| 10 | Shane Sinclair | 26 October 2019 | Halloween Haunting (2019) | Invercargill | 2 | 287 | Defeated Marcus Kool and Slex in a Triple Threat Elimination match. | |
| 11 | Jamie Tagataese | 8 August 2020 | Southern Rumble - Night 2 (2020) | Invercargill | 1 | 364 | Won the 20 Man Southern Rumble match the previous night, earning a championship match against Shane Sinclair. Jamie Tagataese went on to defeat Shane Sinclair in a singles match. | |
| 12 | Will Power | 7 August 2021 | Southern Rumble (2021) | Invercargill | 2 | 637 | Will Power defeated Jamie Tagataese. | |
| 13 | K9 | 6 May 2023 | Battlelines (2023) | Invercargill | 3 | 175 | K9 defeated Will Power in a Last Man Standing Match. | |
| 14 | Cool Guy Sky | 28 October 2023 | Halloween Haunting (2023) | Invercargill | 1 | 364 | Cool Guy Sky defeated K9 | |
| 15 | Azza | 26 October 2024 | Halloween Haunting (2024) | Invercargill | 1 | 110 | Azza cashed in the Fight for Gold Briefcase after Sky was assaulted by the Black Light District following his title defence in the main event. Azza successfully pinned Sky to become the new champion | |

##### List of combined reigns

| Rank | Champion | No. of reigns | Combined days |
| 1 | Will Power | 2 | 742 |
| 2 | Shane Sinclair | 2 | 380 |
| 3 | Jamie Tagataese | 1 | 364 |
| 4 | Marcus Kool | 2 | 343 |
| 5 | JK Moody | 1 | 259 |
| 6 | T-Rex | 1 | 246 |
| 7 | K9/Kane Khan | 3 | 157+ |
| 8 | Slex | 1 | 105 |

### SPW New Zealand Tag Team Championship

The SPW New Zealand Tag Team Championship is the top professional wrestling tag team championship title in the New Zealand promotion Southern Pro Wrestling (SPW). The inaugural champions were NZXT (Mason Daniels & Michael Richards), who defeated the CruiserMates (Falcon Kid & Liam Fury) at the 2018 Fight For Gold event in Invercargill.

#### Title history

Key :
| No. | Overall reign number |
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Championship change | Championship change | Reign statistics | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. |
| No. | Champion | Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Notes | Ref. |
| 1 | NZXT (Mason Daniels & Michael Richards) | 3 March 2018 | Fight For Gold (2018) | Invercargill | 1 | 49 | NZXT defeated Down to Fight to become the inaugural champions. | |
| 2 | CruiserMates (Falcon Kid & Liam Fury) | 21 April 2018 | Battle Lines (2018) | Invercargill | 1 | 217 | CruiserMates defeated NZXT. | |
| 3 | Detention (Ryder & Sky) | 24 November 2018 | Fight Nights 10 | Invercargill | 1 | 161 | Detention w/Professor Palmer defeated CruiserMates. | |
| 4 | Deadly Sins (JK Moody & Kane Khan) | 4 May 2019 | Battle Lines (2019) | Invercargill | 1 | 112 | Deadly Sins defeated Detention. | |
| — | Vacated | 24 August 2019 | Fight Nights 12 | — | — | — | Deadly Sins moved from SPW to seek out opportunities abroad. As a result of being unable to defend the titles, they were forced to vacate them. | |
| 5 | Power Tools (Will Power & Hammer) | 26 October 2019 | Halloween Haunting (2019) | Invercargill | 1 | 140 | Power Tools defeated Detention in the tag team tournament final. | |
| 6 | CTRL (Carnage & Jake Shehaan) | 14 March 2020 | Queenstown WrestleFest (2020) | Queenstown | 1 | 328 | CTRL defeated Will Power & "Human Love Machine" T-Rex | |
| 7 | THE NZ MEGA POWERS (Cool Guy Sky & Will Power) | 5 February 2021 | Fight For Gold - Night 1 (2021) | Invercargill | 1 | 764 | THE NZ MEGA POWERS defeated CTRL Jake Sheehan & Carnage | |
| 8 | The Golden Light (James Shaw & Ryder) | 11 March 2023 | Fight For Gold (2023) | Invercargill | 1 | 511 | The Golden Light defeated THE NZ MEGA POWERS | |
| 9 | Black Light District (Saboor & Corey Beams) | 8 March 2024 | Southern Rumble (2024) | Invercargill | 1 | 339+ | Black Light District defeated The Golden Light | |

## Southern Rumble History

The Southern Rumble is SPW's biggest event. A Southern Rumble event has been held every year since 2016.

### Southern Rumble (2016)

| No. | Results | Stipulations |
| 1 | Brook Duncan defeated Curt Chaos (w/Miss Rivers) | Singles match |
| 2 | No Face defeated Liger | Singles match |
| 3 | Will Power defeated Hammer | Singles match |
| 4 | The Deadly Sins (JK Moody & Kane Khan) defeated Privileged (Charlie Roberts & Curtis Castlewood) | Tag team match |
| 5 | Slade Mercer defeated 13 others to win the Southern Rumble | Southern Rumble match to determine the number one contender for the SPW New Zealand Championship |
| 6 | Marcus Kool defeated T-Rex | Southland Street Fight for the vacant SPW New Zealand Championship |

### Southern Rumble (2017)

| No. | Results | Stipulations |
| 1 | Will Ospreay defeated Shane Sinclair | Singles match |
| 2 | Hammer defeated Marcus Kool | Singles match |
| 3 | Bea Priestley defeated Ashlee Spencer | Singles match |
| 4 | TK Cooper defeated Taylor Adams | Singles match |
| 5 | T-Rex (c) defeated Jakob Cross | Singles match for the SPW New Zealand Championship |
| 6 | JK Moody defeated 19 others to win the Southern Rumble | Southern Rumble match to determine the number one contender for the SPW New Zealand Championship |
| (c) – the champion(s) heading into the match |||

### Southern Rumble (2018)

| No. | Results | Stipulations |
| 1 | Marcus Kool defeated Will Ospreay | Singles match |
| 2 | Tenille Dashwood defeated Bea Priestley | Singles match |
| 3 | CruiserMates (Falcon Kid & Luke Fury) (c) defeated NZXT (Mason Daniels & Michael Richards) | 2 out of 3 falls tag team match for the SPW New Zealand Tag Team Championship |
| 4 | T-Rex defeated Gino Gambino | Singles match |
| 5 | Kane Khan defeated JK Moody (c) | Tables, ladders, and chairs match for the SPW New Zealand Championship |
| 6 | Will Power defeated Kane Khan (c) | Singles match for the SPW New Zealand Championship (Fight for Gold cash-in match) |
| 7 | Kane Khan defeated 19 others to win the Southern Rumble | 20-man Southern Rumble match to determine the number one contender for the SPW New Zealand Championship |
| (c) – the champion(s) heading into the match |||

### Southern Rumble (2019)

| No. | Results | Stipulations |
| 1 | Falcon Kid defeated Kingi | Singles match |
| 2 | Will Power defeated Gino Gambino | Singles match |
| 3 | Lochy Hendricks defeated Shane Sinclair | Singles match |
| 4 | Kellyanne defeated Indi Hartwell | Singles match |
| 5 | Deadly Sins (JK Moody & Kane Khan) (c) defeated The South Pacific Power Trip (TK Cooper & Travis Banks) | Tag team match for the SPW New Zealand Tag Team Championship |
| 6 | T-Rex defeated Dowie James | Southland Street Fight |
| 7 | Slex (c) defeated Marcus Kool (c) | Winner Takes All match for the SPW New Zealand Championship and the MCW World Heavyweight Championship |
| 8 | JK Moody defeated 19 others to win the Southern Rumble | 20-man Southern Rumble match to determine the number one contender for the SPW New Zealand Championship |
| (c) – the champion(s) heading into the match |||

### Southern Rumble (2020)

| No. | Results | Stipulations |
| 1 | TK Cooper defeated Will Power | Singles match |
| 2 | Jake Shehaan (w/Amber Saint) defeated Cam Kaiba | Singles match |
| 3 | Rangi defeated Charlie Roberts | Singles match |
| 4 | T-Rex defeated Marcus Kool | Singles match |
| 5 | Shane Sinclair (c) defeated NIWA | Singles match for the SPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship |
| 6 | Jamie Tagataese defeated 19 others to win the Southern Rumble | 20-man Southern Rumble match to determine the number one contender for the SPW New Zealand Championship |
| (c) – the champion(s) heading into the match |||
| No. | Results | Stipulations |
| 1 | Will Power defeated T-Rex | Singles match |
| 2 | Charlie Roberts defeated Albino Rhino | Singles match |
| 3 | CTRL (c) defeated Cool Guy Sky & NIWA, Detention and Rangi & Vinny Dunn | Fatal Four Way Tag Team Elimination Match for the SPW New Zealand Tag Team Championships |
| 4 | Cam Kaiba defeated Liam Fury | Southland Street Fight |
| 5 | Marcus Kool defeated TK Cooper | Singles Match |
| 6 | Hammer defeated Professor Palmer | Singles Match |
| 7 | Jamie Tagataese defeated Shane Sinclair (c) | Singles Match for the SPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship |
| (c) – the champion(s) heading into the match |||

### Southern Rumble (2021)

| No. | Results | Stipulations |
| 1 | THE NZ MEGA POWERS (c) defeated the Knights of Mayhem (w/Sabrina) | Tag Team Match for the SPW New Zealand Tag Team Championships |
| 2 | Jaxon Cross defeated Hammer | Singles match |
| 3 | T-Rex defeated Charlie Roberts | Singles match |
| 4 | NIWA defeated Marcus Kool | Dog Collar Chain Match |
| 5 | K9 defeated 19 others to win the Southern Rumble | 20-man Southern Rumble match to determine the number one contender for the SPW New Zealand Championship |
| 6 | Will Power defeated Jamie Tagataese (c) | Singles Match for the SPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship |
| (c) – the champion(s) heading into the match |||

## Television and streaming

SPW programming is available in New Zealand on the TV channel, TVNZ Duke available on Freeview, Sky and Vodafone TV. Additionally, SPW shows are available online through TVNZ OnDemand (Not currently as of 13/08/2022). Furthermore, SPW provides a subscription video on demand service SPW On Demand with standalone Android and iOS apps, as well as via Pivotshare.