On the Mat

In the years following the Second World War, professional wrestling in New Zealand became extremely popular reaching a high point in the 1950s. The death of longtime Dominion Wrestling Union promoter Walter Miller in 1959, however, caused the promotion to go into a slump as appearances from foreign wrestlers dwindled to only a small few each year. Steve Rickard, one of its rising stars, continued to run the DWU for two years before starting his own promotion, All Star Pro-Wrestling, in 1962. Another New Zealand wrestler, John da Silva,[1] started a short-lived rival promotion called the Central Wrestling Association which operated up until the 1970s.

During the next decade, Rickard and da Silva were able to develop new stars such as Al Hobman,[2][3] Tony Garea, Peter Maivia,[4] and The Sheepherders.[5] They were also eventually able, along with Australia-based American promoter Jim Barnett, bring back more foreign stars to the Australasian region.[6] New Zealand was often visited by Australian wrestlers Ron Miller and Larry O'Day of World Championship Wrestling, Robert Bruce from Scotland, Canadians Gordon Nelson and George Gordienko,[7] and French wrestler André the Giant.[8]

American wrestlers became especially popular with the public during the early 1970s. One of the biggest US tours occurred in 1972 when Big Bad John, Bulldog Brower, Les Wolff, King Curtis Iaukea, Spiros Arion, Mark Lewin, Thunderbolt Patterson, Sweet Daddy Siki, Tarzan Tyler, Dewey Robertson and Haystacks Calhoun wrestled throughout New Zealand. Calhoun and his wife were often seen and talked about in the national media. The couple made numerous television appearances, press interviews and visited schools.[9] That same year, the Rickard-Barnett partnership ended when Barnett sold his share of Big Time Wrestling, an Australian wrestling programme that had briefly aired in New Zealand,[10] and returned to work in the United States. Rickard then decided to promote wrestling events full-time with All Star Pro-Wrestling. Rickard's later affiliation with the National Wrestling Alliance ensured the arrival of many wrestlers from North America and elsewhere for the next several years.[11]

With the influx of new talent, both from New Zealand and abroad, Steve Rickard considered creating a weekly television series, much like Britain's World of Sport, to showcase these wrestlers to a national audience and capitalize on the popularity of his promotion's live events and from foreign wrestlers then touring the country. According to Rickard, the promotion sold-out the Wellington Winter Show Buildings ten weeks in a row and still had to turn away hundreds more.[11] Prior to the introduction of television in New Zealand in 1960, wrestling had been extremely popular through live radio broadcasts. In the later years of the "television era" of the 1970s and 80s, television stations commonly aired professional wrestling, such as Hollywood Wrestling or Wrestling at the Chase, as a source of inexpensive yet popular programing.[12]

Encouraged by successful wrestling shows in Australia and the US, Rickard recorded a film pilot at a cost of $500 using matches from one of his shows at the Wellington Winter Show Buildings in 1973. This included a midget wrestling match and another with American wrestler Harley Race. Rickard initially approached TV1 and used the pilot to "pitch" the idea for a New Zealand-based professional wrestling programme. The network showed little interest in the show and eventually passed on the idea. When TV2 was established two years later, however, Rickard managed to get a meeting with then programme director Kevan Moore. A deal was quickly made and Rickard worked with South Pacific Pictures to develop and produce this new wrestling programme.[10][13] Tim Bickerstaff, a popular New Zealand radio personality and television sports writer, was involved in filming early episodes of the show.[14]

On the Mat debuted as a half-hour late night series on Television New Zealand's TV2 on 3 July 1975.[15][16][17] The show was hosted by colour commentator Ernie Leonard along with Steve Rickard as the play-by-play announcer. Many of the top stars in New Zealand and from around the world during the 1970s and early-1980s appeared on the show during its 9-year run.[11][12][18][19]

The show became an overnight sensation, both in New Zealand and internationally, and was one of the country's highest rated shows of all time.[20] For much of its history, On the Mat was centred around a core group of native stars headlined by Wellington-based wrestlers Steve Rickard, John Da Silva and Robert Bruce[21][22][23] who became household names by the end of the 1970s.[18] Another Pacific star, King Curtis Iaukea, was the main "heel" wrestler for many years[18][21] as were Australia's Ron Miller and Larry O'Day. Other foreign wrestlers to appear on the programme included Pat Barrett, Dick Beyer, Man Mountain Link, Les Thornton, Leo Burke, Ripper Collins, Rick Martel, Tiger Jeet Singh, Ali Vizeri and Abdullah the Butcher.[24][25]

Peter Maivia and Siva Afi were also very popular during this period and they became the focus of the show within several years. Rickard promoted both Maivia and Afi to appeal to the Polynesian market in New Zealand much in the same way Vince McMahon, Sr. did with Bruno Sammartino and Italian Americans in New York during the 1960s. In 1978, Afi defeated John da Silva in a tournament final to capture the NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship on 23 April 1978. It was the first time a Samoan wrestler had held the New Zealand championship since 1964.[2][3][25] A year later, Miavia won the NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship from Ripper Collins in Auckland.[2][7]

At the start of the show's off-season each year, Rickard and his wrestlers spent the three months on international tours overseas in the Middle East, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Hawaii.[11]

On the Mat's success greatly increased attendance for live events throughout the country. Imported talent coming as far away as the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia to challenge local wrestlers, particularly ones that fans could identify with and relate to, kept viewers tuning in each week.[13] The show's popularity also brought the first television exposure to New Zealand stars and, due in part to their TV appearances for On the Mat, Peter Maivia, Tony Garea and The Sheepherders were all brought to the US where they became major stars in the NWA and the World Wide Wrestling Federation in the 1970s, and later in the World Wrestling Federation during the 1980s wrestling boom. WWWF stars such as Don Muraco, Toru Tanaka, Mr. Fuji[4][25] and Rocky Johnson also appeared on the show while touring the country.

Original storylines, apart from the NWA, were also featured in the show. Robert Bruce, who had originally come to New Zealand as a fan favourite, "turned heel", reformed as a "face" then returned to being a heel within the span of a few weeks. His antics gained himself and others national attention[26] and enraged crowds so much that he was actually stabbed by an irate fan.[27] Rickard's two sons were also involved in the promotion. One episode in 1980 featured a tag team match with Ricky Rickard as a participant, his brother Tony Rickard refereeing the match and their father Steve Rickard commentating. The show sometimes featured celebrity guests, most notably, radio personality Billy T. James.[12]

On 17 March 1981, Barry Holland officially took over Ernie Leonard's position as head announcer so Leonard could work full-time behind the scenes in his role as producer. Returning from a period of touring Southeast Asia and Africa, Steve Rickard announced the show was being aired in Kenya, Tanzania, Hong Kong and Malaysia as well as the arrivals of Abdullah the Butcher, Bret Hart, and possibly "The Original Sheik" Ed Farhat. Also on that episode, Rickard read aloud a letter sent to him by Larry O'Day in which the Australian wrestler taunted Rickard over breaking the leg of his son earlier that year and publicly accepted O'Day's challenge to a match for the NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship.[12] A month after the death of Peter Maivia, the 6 July 1982 edition of "On the Mat" was a tribute show in his memory and the promotion broadcast two of his matches.[28]

An official member of the NWA since 1972, many of its top stars were featured on the programme when they visited New Zealand. As a result, NWA storylines and feuds not only became part of the show but were usually not seen by fans outside the country. This was especially true of title defences for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, defended on the show on several occasions, involving both foreign and native New Zealand wrestlers.

Peter Maivia very nearly won the title from then reigning champion Harley Race in Western Springs Stadium in 1979,[4] winning the bout via disqualification, and there was a serious concern the estimated 10,000 fans in attendance[13] would riot if Maivia did not address the crowd to explain why the NWA did not allow title changes based on a disqualification win.[13][29] A 30-minute NWA title match between Race and Rick Martel took up an entire episode of On the Mat. After returning to the US, Race would later send a tape of this match to promoters before he entered a territory.[30]

Another controversial match occurred in 1983 when Mark Lewin seemingly won the NWA title from "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair in a best 2-of-3 falls match in Auckland. Although he scored the winning pinfall, and was given the belt, the decision was reversed by referees due to Flair having been tossed over the top rope moments before. Although this was not an illegal move in New Zealand, the bout was under NWA regulations and referees were forced to disqualify Lewin. In a post-match brawl, Lewin knocked out Flair with the belt and left the ring with it.[31] The following year, the NWA World title changed hands between Ric Flair and Harley Race in Wellington, New Zealand and Geylang, Singapore[32] though it would be several years before the NWA eventually recognized them.[33]

By the early 1980s, though the show was still popular, it became increasingly more difficult for Rickard to bring in top quality wrestlers from overseas. The World Wrestling Federation's national expansion under Vince McMahon in the US resulted in the decline of the National Wrestling Alliance and made the top American stars less available to travel outside the US.[18] Rickard and World Championship Wrestling had also long shared the transportation costs of bringing in foreign wrestlers into the Pacific, however, the close of WCW in 1978 resulted in Rickard taking on the full cost himself. Even local stars such as Peter Maivia and Siva Afi, despite their popularity in New Zealand, left the country to compete in the US.[13]

The high costs of running the show, in addition to a worsening economy in New Zealand, forced Rickard to cancel the show in 1984. The final episode aired on 23 July 1984, and featured Samoan Joe, Larry O'Day, Mel Fortuna, Tony Rickard and Rip Morgan.[34] He and All Star Pro-Wrestling attempted a couple of tours during the next two years but the show's cancellation eventually saw the close of his promotion.[18]

Each episode opened with a video of the All Star Pro-Wrestlers competing in various matches as well as the show's theme song, before going to an introduction and the opening match. An episode typically featured two to three matches (and sometimes footage from a recent live event or match from overseas) as well as post-match interviews and vignettes from wrestlers regarding their upcoming matches or current storylines. Celebrity guests were often invited to the show where they were later interviewed by one of the hosts such as comedian and radio personality Billy T. James in 1980. The show typically ended after the main event (the final match on an episode) and closed similar to the opening credits.