# IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship

The IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship is the top professional wrestling championship title in the New Zealand promotion Impact Pro Wrestling. It was the original heavyweight title of the Mania Pro Wrestling promotion, later used in IPW as its primary singles title. It was introduced as the MPW Heavyweight Championship on 9 April 2002. When Impact Pro Wrestling was founded by a core group of MPW wrestlers in 2003, the title was established as its new primary singles title and renamed to the IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship. The MPW Championship reigns are still recognised in the title's lineage. The current champion is James Shaw who is in his fifth reign.
The championship is regularly defended throughout New Zealand, most often in central Auckland, at monthly live shows. It has formerly been defended at live events such as the Armageddon Expo and on weekly series IPW Ignited. In 2007, the title made its debut in the Northland Region, with the promotion's IPW Collision event in Whangārei. The title match featured Jon E. King facing off against the Samoan Silverback Alexander. It has also been defended at several interpromotional events both in New Zealand and Australia. IPW Heavyweight Champion Jon E. King competed at the 2006 NZPWI Invitational with KPW Heavyweight Champion H-Flame where both men made it to the semi-finals and where King was eliminated by "Heartless" Alfred Valentine. The 2007 NZPWI Invitational saw the first ever "champion vs. champion" match when returning champions Jon E. King and H-Flame faced each other in a non-title match in the opening rounds. King went on to win the tournament.
The championship is contested in professional wrestling matches. The inaugural champion was The Machine, who defeated Jon E. King in Māngere, Auckland on 9 April 2002 to become the first MPW Heavyweight Champion; King had won a Royal Rumble-type match, eliminating "Superstar" Troy Daniels to earn a place in the championship decider. IPW recognised both MPW Heavyweight Championship reigns when the promotion became Impact Pro Wrestling in 2003. James Shaw holds the record for most reigns with five. At 693 days, Jake Shehaan's second reign was the longest in the title's history. Charlie Roberts' sole reign lasted only two minutes and thirty-eight seconds, the shortest in the history of the title. Overall, there have been 51 reigns shared between 25 wrestlers, with three vacancies.
The promotion has often been represented by the reigning IPW Champion in the national media. In May 2005, TVNZ's Hadyn Jones conducted an interview with The Machine and then IPW Champion The Economist at their Auckland gym. On 2 February 2006, Jon E. King was a guest on Ngati Hine FM where he was interviewed by disc jockey Darcy Edwards and with fellow IPW wrestler Alfred Valentine on the TV One's morning talk show Breakfast by Kay Gregory that summer. Jordan Invincible was among the wrestlers featured on 10 October 2008 edition Television New Zealand's IAM TV and where Invincible wrestled the host in a mock battle at their IPW facility in Auckland. IPW New Zealand Champion Dal Knox was interviewed at the 2008 Armageddon Expo, along with IPW colour commentator Dion McCracken, as part of an upcoming documentary on professional wrestling in New Zealand, A Kiwi Century On The Mat, in April 2009. Knox was also profiled by 20/20 in a special report on professional wrestling in New Zealand, as well as on the Māori Television sports show Hyundai Code.

## Title history
### Reigns

Key :
| No. | Overall reign number |
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Championship change | Championship change | Reign statistics | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. |
| No. | Champion | Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Notes | Ref. |
| 1 | The Machine | 9 April 2002 | Slaughter in the South | Māngere | 1 | 242 | The Machine defeated Jon E. King to become the inaugural champion. King had previously won a Royal Rumble-style match to face The Machine. | |
| 2 | Davey Deluxeo | 7 December 2002 | Nightmare Before Xmas | Point Chevalier | 1 | 515 | The championship was renamed the 'IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship' when IPW was formed in 2003. | |
| 3 | Lyte Playa | 5 May 2004 | Genesis | Point Chevalier | 1 | 105 | | |
| 4 | Davey Deluxeo | 18 August 2004 | Rival Turf | Point Chevalier | 2 | 122 | | |
| 5 | The Machine | 18 December 2004 | Nightmare Before Xmas 2 | Māngere | 2 | 123 | | |
| — | Vacated | 20 April 2005 | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated due to The Machine suffering a hand injury. | |
| 6 | The Economist | 23 April 2005 | Collision | Māngere | 1 | 189 | The Economist won the vacant championship in tournament final by defeating Joey Kinkade, Jon E. King and The Machine in a fatal four-way elimination match. | |
| 7 | Alfred Valentine | 29 October 2005 | Unleashed | Lynfield | 1 | 147 | | |
| 8 | Jon E. King | 25 March 2006 | Full Breaking Point | Lynfield | 1 | 21 | | |
| 9 | Alfred Valentine | 15 April 2006 | Collision | Lynfield | 2 | 63 | | |
| 10 | Jon E. King | 17 June 2006 | Breakdown | Lynfield | 2 | 71 | This was a ladder match. | |
| 11 | Davey Deluxeo | 27 August 2006 | Unbreakable | Lynfield | 3 | 91 | | |
| 12 | Jon E. King | 26 November 2006 | Extreme Measures | Lynfield | 3 | 384 | This was fatal four-way elimination match also involving Jordan Invincible and Alexander. | |
| 13 | Dal Knox | 15 December 2007 | Nightmare Before Xmas 5 | Westlake | 1 | 196 | This was a Fans Bring the Weapons match. | |
| 14 | Jordan Invincible | 28 June 2008 | Redemption | Lynfield | 1 | 98 | This was a no disqualification match. | |
| 15 | Dal Knox | 4 October 2008 | Rival Turf | Lynfield | 2 | 336 | | |
| 16 | Joseph Kinkade | 5 September 2009 | Fallout | Lynfield | 1 | 98 | | |
| 17 | Vinny Dunn | 12 December 2009 | Nightmare Before Xmas 7 | Westlake | 1 | 168 | This was a Fans Bring the Weapons match. | |
| 18 | Reuben de Jong | 29 May 2010 | Genesis | Westlake | 1 | 85 | This was an open challenge match put out to any professional wrestler in New Zealand by Vinny Dunn. | |
| 19 | Vinny Dunn | 22 August 2010 | Rival Turf | Westlake | 2 | <1 | | |
| 20 | Dal Knox | 22 August 2010 | Rival Turf | Westlake | 3 | 111 | | |
| 21 | Vinny Dunn | 11 December 2010 | Nightmare B4 Xmas | Westlake | 3 | 91 | | |
| 22 | Dal Knox | 12 March 2011 | Genesis | Westlake | 4 | 313 | | |
| 23 | Alexander | 19 January 2012 | Mana Mamau | Westlake | 1 | 15 | | |
| 24 | Kingi | 3 February 2012 | Mana Mamau | Westlake | 4 | 449 | Kingi was formerly known as Jon E. King. | |
| 25 | Travis Banks | 27 April 2013 | A Decade of Impact | Lynfield | 1 | 72 | | |
| — | Vacated | 8 July 2013 | — | — | — | — | All IPW championships were vacated in the lead up to Revival of the Fittest. | |
| 26 | Vinny Dunn | 27 July 2013 | Revival of the Fittest | Mt. Albert | 4 | 189 | This was a fatal four-way elimination match also featuring Kingi, Joseph Kinkade, and James Shaw, who Dunn last eliminated to win. | |
| 27 | Travis Banks | 1 February 2014 | The Good, The Bad & The Ugly | Lynfield | 2 | 175 | | |
| 28 | Liam Fury | 26 July 2014 | Trial by Combat | Mt. Albert | 1 | 266 | | |
| 29 | James Shaw | 18 April 2015 | The Rush for Gold | Mt. Albert | 1 | 84 | This was a triple threat match also featuring Jakob Cross. | |
| 30 | Jakob Cross | 11 July 2015 | The Ultimate Prize | Mt. Albert | 1 | 99 | | |
| — | Vacated | 18 October 2015 | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated due to Jakob Cross attacking a fan. | |
| 31 | James Shaw | 19 December 2015 | Nightmare B4 X-Mas 2015 | Lynfield | 2 | 112 | A Nightmare Championship Series was used to determine the winner of the vacant championship. The series involved Brook Duncan, Curt Chaos, Dal Knox, Johnny Idol, Liger, No Face, and Shane Sinclair. Shaw defeated Idol in a Fans Bring the Weapons match to win the vacant championship. | |
| 32 | Curt Chaos | 9 April 2016 | Championship Carnage | Mt. Albert | 1 | 378 | Chaos cashed in his Eliminator contract immediately after James Shaw had successfully defended the championship against The Dapper Agents. | |
| 33 | Brook Duncan | 22 April 2017 | The Eliminator | Lynfield | 1 | <1 | | |
| 34 | James Shaw | 22 April 2017 | The Eliminator | Lynfield | 3 | 78 | Brook Duncan defeated Curt Chaos but was then challenged and beaten by Shaw. Duncan's reign lasted exactly four minutes and sixteen seconds. | |
| 35 | Reuben de Jong | 9 July 2017 | Bangers and Smash | Mt. Eden | 2 | <1 | | |
| 36 | James Shaw | 9 July 2017 | Bangers and Smash | Mt. Eden | 4 | 41 | | |
| 37 | Brook Duncan | 19 August 2017 | Ultimatum | Mt. Eden | 2 | 119 | This was The Ultimate match; A 30 minute Iron man match in which the first 20 minutes of the match contested under traditional rules, before the final ten minutes switches to no disqualification. | |
| 38 | Burns | 16 December 2017 | Nightmare Before Xmas | Mt. Eden | 1 | 154 | Mr. Burns defeated Brook Duncan following interference from the Young Nats. | |
| 39 | Liam Fury | 19 May 2018 | IPW XV | Lynfield | 2 | 91 | | |
| 40 | Liger | 18 August 2018 | Homecoming | Balmoral | 1 | 28 | Liger cashed in his Eliminator contract and defeated Liam Fury after interfering with Liam Fury's match against Henare. | |
| 41 | Liam Fury | 15 September 2018 | Pride vs. Fury | Māngere | 3 | 91 | | |
| 42 | Jakob Cross | 15 December 2018 | Nightmare Before Xmas | Mt. Eden | 2 | 182 | This was a Fans Bring the Weapons match. | |
| 43 | Jamie Tagataese | 15 June 2019 | IPW Winter Warfare | Mt. Eden | 1 | 413 | | |
| 44 | Jake Shehaan | 1 August 2020 | Fans Bring The Weapons: Tagataese VS Shehaan 2 | Mt. Eden | 1 | 140 | This was a Fans Bring the Weapons match. | |
| 45 | Jamie Tagataese | 19 December 2020 | Nightmare Before Xmas | Te Atatū Peninsula | 2 | 182 | This was a Triple Threat Steel Cage match also featuring Cam Kaiba. | |
| 46 | Charlie Roberts | 19 June 2021 | The Eliminator | Mt. Eden | 1 | <1 | | |
| 47 | Jake Shehaan | 19 June 2021 | The Eliminator | Mt. Eden | 2 | 693 | Shehaan cashed in his Eliminator contract which he had won earlier in the night. Roberts' reign lasted exactly two minutes and thirty-eight seconds, beating the previous record for shortest title reign. | |
| 48 | Horus | 13 May 2023 | IPW XX | Mt. Eden | 1 | 217 | | |
| 49 | Spartan | 16 December 2023 | Nightmare Before Xmas | Mt. Albert | 1 | 171 | Spartan cashed in his Eliminator Contract at Misery Business for a match at Nightmare Before Xmas. This was a 'Winner Take All' match with the Kinkade Cup also on the line. | |
| 50 | Horus | 8 June 2024 | Ultimate Glory | Mt. Eden | 2 | 189 | This was a four-way Ultimate Match also featuring James Shaw and Jake Shehaan. After 30 minutes had elapsed and nobody had scored a fall, the match went into sudden death overtime. Horus won by pinning Spartan. | |
| 51 | James Shaw | 14 December 2024 | Nightmare Before Christmas | Mt. Eden | 5 | 64+ | This was a Triple Threat Steel Cage match also featuring Spartan. James Shaw won by cutting a hole in the bottom of the cage with bolt cutters and escaping. This win made James Shaw the first ever 5 time IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Champion. | |
`== Combined reigns == As of February 16, 2025.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days |
| 1 | Dal Knox | 4 | 956 |
| 2 | Jon E. King/Kingi | 4 | 925 |
| 3 | Jake Shehaan | 2 | 833 |
| 4 | Davey Deluxeo | 3 | 728 |
| 5 | Jamie Tagataese | 2 | 595 |
| 6 | Liam Fury | 3 | 448 |
| 6 | Vinny Dunn | 4 | 448 |
| 8 | Horus | 2 | 406 |
| 9 | James Shaw | 5 | 379+ |
| 10 | Curt Chaos | 1 | 378 |
| 11 | The Machine | 2 | 365 |
| 12 | Jakob Cross | 2 | 281 |
| 13 | Travis Banks | 2 | 247 |
| 14 | Alfred Valentine | 2 | 210 |
| 15 | The Economist | 1 | 189 |
| 16 | Spartan | 1 | 171 |
| 17 | Mr. Burns | 1 | 154 |
| 18 | Brook Duncan | 2 | 119 |
| 19 | Lyte Playa | 1 | 105 |
| 20 | Jordan Invincible | 1 | 98 |
| 20 | Joseph Kinkade | 1 | 98 |
| 22 | Reuben de Jong | 2 | 85 |
| 23 | Liger | 1 | 28 |
| 24 | Alexander | 1 | 15 |
| 25 | Charlie Roberts | 1 | <1 |