It was Game Over for Rufguts at Power Play VII on Saturday night when Tykade brought his near-six month NZWPW Championship reign to an end.

Rufguts, accompanied by half the NZWPW roster, took out referee Damian Tait before stripping him of his shirt and giving it to Ben Mana to put on before the match had a chance to begin. Content that the odds were stacked in his favour, Rufguts was shocked to see D-Hoya make his way out from the backstage area to tear the referee’s shirt from Ben Mana and don it himself at the request of NZWPW Chairman Martin Stirling.

Realising he could be in trouble, Rufguts set about nailing Tykade with illegal moves - eye gouges and low blows in an attempt to get himself disqualified. D-Hoya turned a blind eye to the rule breaking though, refusing to disqualify Rufguts and allow him to retain his title.

With the match now being fought with no disqualifications, Rufguts called for his allies at ringside to help him beat down Tykade in a group assault. The remaining members of the NZWPW roster quickly emptied from the back though to join the brawl, and eventually the ring cleared, leaving just D-Hoya, Rufguts and Tykade.

Rufguts changed his tact and set about trying to wear Tykade down, nullifying his power advantage by locking the massive challenger in a sleeper hold. The crowd rallied behind Tykade and helped him to stay in the match though, allowing Tykade to slam Rufguts hard into the canvas with a belly-to-belly suplex.

When the action spilled out of the ring Rufguts grabbed the ring bell and smashed it into Tykade’s face, stunning the challenger. Rufguts then rolled Tykade back into the ring and took to the top rope, looking for an all-or-nothing splash. Unfortunately for the NZWPW Champion, he got nothing as Tykade rolled to safety and left Rufguts to crash and burn in the middle of the ring.

Tykade dragged Rufguts back to his feet and nailed the Game Over, but Rufguts surprisingly kicked out at a count of two. Tykade again tried for the Game Over only to have Rufguts wriggle free and try to scoop him up for the Rufdriver. Tykade’s 140kg frame proved to be too much for Rufguts to lift though, and as he strained under the weight, Tykade hit a second Game Over to finally put Rufguts away and claim the NZWPW Championship.

Rufguts’ night was not over though, as Tykade intended to make him apologise to NZWPW fans for bringing the promotion into disrepute by with his court appearance last month. NZWPW Tag Team Champions The Five Star Revolution came to back Tykade up, and the new champ demanded an apology.

When Rufguts refused, JC Star blasted him with a Starstruck Superkick and Travis Banks locked him in the Lion Clutch. Tykade again asked Rufguts to apologise and the now former NZWPW Champion screamed that he was sorry, much to the delight of the Lower Hutt Town Hall.

NZWPW Power Play VII Results:

• GI Jay def. Fred The Great
  The debuting Fred looked to take Jay’s head off with a flying knee, but Jay was able to sidestep the attack and roll Fred up for the three count.
  
  
• Storm Wrestling Academy Scholarship:
  “Shining” Nick Silver def. Travis Banks
  Banks pushed Silver to the limit in their bout, almost making SNS tap out to a Calgary Crab in the middle of the ring. Silver was able to escape though and got his boot up just in time as Travis tried to crush him in the corner. With Banks temporarily dazed, “Shining” Nick nailed the Silver Bullet, winning the match and the opportunity to train under Lance Storm at the Storm Wrestling Academy in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  
  
• Thor def. Axl, Mikey Rave, The Nerd
  Rave dropkicked Axl from the ring only to be Gorilla pressed over the top rope and onto Axl by Thor. Thor then turned his attention to The Nerd, driving him into the mat with Odin’s Smite, a devastating chokeslam, to pick up a big win in this fatal four-way match.
  
  
• SCW Championship:
  Red Dragon (c) def. Kid Mystique
  Dragon slammed Mystique to the mat before finishing him off with the Rain of Fire top rope legdrop.
  
  
• No Contest: Corey Dallas vs. JC Star
  Before Dallas and Star had a chance to lock-up, they were interrupted by an invading IPW team of Jon E. King and “The One” Vinny Dunn. Former NZWPW Tag Team Champion Rehua quickly made his way to the stage, revealing himself to be NZWPW’s CWO before changing the scheduled match into a tag team bout.
  
  
• Jon E. King & “The One” Vinny Dunn w/ Gary O. Davis def. Corey Dallas & JC Star w/ Rehua
  When JC Star accidentally collided with Rehua at ringside, the CWO signalled for Corey Dallas to leave the ring - leaving JC Star all alone with former IPW Champions Dunn and King. Star tried his best to fight off the invaders, but after Gary O. Davis tripped Star on the top turnbuckle while King distracted the referee, “The One” was able to finish JC with a picturesque Muscle Buster.
  
  
• Ben Mana def. Adam Avalanche
  Avalanche took to the middle rope for a moonsault after Ben Mana collapsed trying to lift his former tag team partner. Mana managed to revive just in time to roll out of the way of Adam’s moonsault though, and quickly covered Avalanche for one of the biggest wins of his career.
  
  
• Chi-Tah def. Carmella Caprice, Misty, Stellar Hammer
  With no disqualifications, Misty’s eagerness to use a chair backfired on her. After taking out Stellar, Misty tried to hit Chi-Tah with the chair, only to have the chair rebound off the ropes and back into Misty’s face! Chi-Tah then took out the only remaining woman, Carmella Caprice, before finishing her with the Chi-Tah Pounce from the top rope.
  
  
• Hair vs. Mask:
  Chad Howard def. The Masked Wrestler (Johnny Idol)
  The Masked Wrestler astounded everyone with some uncharacteristic moves such as a powerbomb, but in the end Howard’s desire to see the wrestler unmasked proved to be too great as he caught The Masked Wrestler in a roll-up. As the match stipulated, the loss forced The Masked Wrestler to remove his mask, and confirm Chad Howard’s suspicions that he had, in fact, been Johnny Idol all along.
  
  
• NZWPW Championship, Special Referee: D-Hoya:
  Tykade def. Rufguts (c)
  With D-Hoya refusing to allow Rufguts to be intentionally disqualified, the champ continued to break the rules in his battle with Tykade. Tykade weathered the storm though and after two failed attempts managed to hit Rufguts with the Game Over to become the new NZWPW Champion! Post-match, NZWPW Tag Team Champions The Five Star Revolution hit the ring to celebrate with Tykade. JC Star nailed Rufguts with the Starstruck Superkick and Travis Banks locked him in the Lion Clutch. Tykade then grabbed a microphone and forced Rufguts to apologise for his irresponsible behaviour in recent months before finally letting him go and celebrating his championship victory.