Story: Boxing and wrestling

On the mat

On the mat was a professional wrestling show which screened on New Zealand television from 1975 to 1983. It was masterminded by wrestling promoter Steve Rickard, who was one of the presenters. Here, New Zealand wrestlers Brute Miller and Sweet William, who became famous in United States pro-wrestling circles as The Bushwackers team, take on Lu Leota and Samoan Joe. The orchestrated nature of professional wrestling bouts is obvious in this clip, with both sides delivering and taking plenty of fake blows.

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TVNZ Television New Zealand

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How to cite this page:

Joseph Romanos, 'Boxing and wrestling - Wrestling', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/37967/on-the-mat (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Joseph Romanos, published 5 Sep 2013, updated 1 Jan 2015