“They come along and all of a sudden they’re the biggest fans”.
A popular Richmond establishment will once again ding-ding for bloodsport this Saturday with 14 decorated professional wrestlers from both New Zealand and offshore vying for coveted titles.
Richmond wrestler Duncan “Brook Duncan” McDougall says the Valiant Pro All Star Wrestling event at Club Waimea in 2023 was a “great success” with around 400 spectators submitting to witness the bloodsport in the region.
He, along with Nelson’s “The New Zealand Dream” Luke Clementson and Blenheim’s “The Kiwi Bomber” Taylor Adams, hope for similar scenes this year, particularly more audience members who have been less exposed to live wrestling.
“The main thing is that we fill out Club Waimea and that people enjoy a good night out of entertainment, especially people that have never seen live wrestling before,” he says.
“I’m yet to come across someone that’s come to one of our events and gone, ‘not very good’, everyone says ‘oh, when’s the next one’. They come along and all of a sudden they’re the biggest fans.”
Duncan says the titles up for grabs include the Wellington Heritage Championship, which is currently held by “The Beast” Jade Priest and the New Zealand All Star Wrestling Championship, which is currently held by Pauly Spitfire.
He says Sal’s Pizza vouchers for the crowd will also be obtainable in one match.
Duncan, who also plays for Marist Saints, and keeps “ring ready” while also caring for his newborn, says a 20 per cent discount is again in play this year for all readers of the paper, using the code PAPER20 at checkout.
Fixtures:
Match 1. “The New Zealand Dream” Luke Clementson vs UK Superstar Ringo Ryan.
Match 2. Chad Howard vs Rangi (Sal’s Pizza 2 for 1 match).
Match 3. Big Frank vs Kyuss vs Jamie Tagataese vs mystery opponent (four-way elimination match to determine the number one contender for the New Zealand All Star Wrestling Championship).
Match 4. “The Beast” Jade Priest (champion) vs “Te Tahi” Vinny Dunn (challenger) for the Wellington Heritage Championship.
Match 5. “Kiwi Bomber” Taylor Adams vs Chalky Murdoch.
Match 6. Pauly Spitfire (champion) vs Brook Duncan (challenger) for the New Zealand All Star Wrestling Championship.
Valiant Pro: All Star Wrestling, Club Waimea, 24 August, 5-8pm, tickets at Eventfinda.
