WWE in New Zealand
WWE (formerly World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment), an American professional wrestling promotion based in Stamford, Connecticut in the United States owned by the McMahon family, has been promoting events in New Zealand since 2006. History. WWE held their first live event tour in New Zealand on March 4, 2006, at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington. This was the WWE Smackdown Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour, which featured a main event triple threat match between Kurt Angle, Undertaker and Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship. This event drew 23,875 people. The following two years , WWE returned to New Zealand for a pair of SmackDown and ECW co-branded shows. In 2009 and 2011 the Raw brand did a one night show in Auckland, with SmackDown doing a show in 2010. The WWE then took a long break between shows in New Zealand and did not return until 2016. At the 2016 show, WWE announced NXT would be doing a show as part of their Oceania tour. Two NXT Live shows were scheduled for December 5 and 6, 2016 at The Trusts Arena in Auckland and the TSB Bank Arena in Wellington. however these were  eventually cancelled. The following year, in 2017 the Raw brand returned to New Zealand for one show in Christchurch. WWE announced the Raw brand would once again return for a live event at Auckland's Spark Arena on August 8, 2020. This show was later postponed to July 31, 2021, then postponed for a second time to August 4, 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Events in New Zealand. <onlyinclude> </onlyinclude> WWE Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour. The WWE SmackDown Road to WrestleMania 22 Tour was the first WWE event held in New Zealand and took  place at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, on March 4, 2006. The event was recorded by WWE and aired exclusively on WWE 24/7 in the United States. Michael Cole and Tazz recorded the commentary from WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. The event was attended by 23,875. WWE talent and management were impressed with the reactions and excitement by the audience, and also the large size of the stadium. “Holy Cow, this is a coliseum, not an arena,” was one of the WWE wrestler's remarks when entering inside New Zealand's second-largest stadium. Broadcast. The WWE and  Sky have had an agreement to carry WWE programming in New Zealand since the late 1990s. In August 2014, WWE Network launched in New Zealand.