The September 30 event highlighted the comeback to the ring of hometown hero Marc ‘Hooligan Marcus Kool’ Perry after a career-threatening neck injury.
Perry had more than a year out after sustaining two bulging discs in his neck in a mountain biking accident in Wanaka — ‘‘which is crazy because I’ve been landing on my head since I was 14 years old wrestling."
The event’s run by Southern Pro Wrestling NZ (SPWNZ), which Perry co-founded with Southland accountant/wrestler Tony Crosbie in 2015.
The first Queenstown show was staged later that year and it’s been held here every year since, except 2022 when Perry was injured.
The tournament saw hundreds of roaring fans cheering on the exaggerated feature matches.
After calling out his longtime rival Jaxon Cross, the Hooligan took home the long awaited win in an all out brawl involving football boots, chairs and tables.
Perry finished the highly anticipated match with a head-first ladder dive and a kick to the face.
‘‘He thinks I’ve been dodging him for a long time and it was really convenient that I was injured last time he was here.’’
The night also featured three SPWNZ championship matches.
In a first for Queenstown, the New Zealand women’s bout saw current champ Megan Kate holding on to her belt against fellow Aucklander Amber Saint.
The newly-crowned ‘Smoko Express’ tradie duo from Southland held onto their tag-team title against ‘Golden Lights’, with a V energy drink induced takedown.
Invercargill’s Kane ‘K9’ Bates was also able to hold onto his championship belt against his best friend and former tag-team partner JK Moody.
Perry doesn’t hide from the fact the results are pre-determined in the make-believe world of pro wrestling, widely labelled ‘sports entertainment’.
‘‘The idea is to suspend belief … you’re there to enjoy, take yourself out of the real world for a couple of hours.
‘‘It’s live action in front of your eyes, we don’t have stunt coordinators, we don’t have second takes.’’
