For nearly a year now, the IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship has been held just out of reach of two of New Zealand’s premier wrestlers. However, Travis Banks finally saw justice and regained the championship he never lost at last month’s event, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.
Rather than allowing Vinny Dunn his rematch, Banks made an executive decision to give a title shot to a man he thinks “deserves it more than anyone else”, James Shaw.
Both Shaw and Banks have been prevented from gaining that championship gold for months thanks to The Investment, but now the two get to face each other to prove who really is the best in IPW.
Furthermore, they have decided to make this battle for the championship The Ultimate Match. The idea came to fruition on an episode of The IPW Informer where Banks and Shaw decided on the rules of The Ultimate Match: a 30 minute ironman match which will see the last 10 minutes be no disqualification.
However, Dunn has said that he deserves his rematch and will demand it when he addresses the IPW audience on March 22. While one must imagine that Dunn is contractually locked in for a rematch at some point, the question will only be answered this Saturday as to whether Dunn is added to The Ultimate Match or if he’ll have to wait for his own time.
The other big news that came out of The Good, The Bad & The Ugly was that Kingi would be leaving IPW. Regardless, Kingi and Alfred Valentine – collectively known as The Origin – made sure that the main event between Vinny Dunn and Travis Banks would see no interference from The Investment, resulting in the championship change.
Now Valentine is alone and will have to face the music. The Investment head Daniel Burnell had the following to say: “Kingi saw the light and ran. Valentine, if you don’t want to follow suit… then we’ll simply force you out of our company. The Origin will be no more.”
Burnell has pitted Valentine in a handicap match against two of The Investment’s members: Pat Schisk and Armageddon Cup holder Curt Chaos. Has The Investment finally rid themselves of The Origin, or does Valentine have something left up his sleeve?
IPW The Ultimate Prize takes place this Saturday, March 22, at the Lynfield Recreation Centre in Auckland. Click here for a map. Doors open at 6.30pm with the first match scheduled for 7pm. Tickets are available at the door ($15 for adults, $8 for children). The card, subject to change, is listed below.
IPW The Ultimate Prize Card:
- IPW Championship, The Ultimate Match:
Travis Banks (c) vs. James Shaw - Interim IPW Women’s Championship:
Britenay (c) vs. Olivia Shaw - IPW Tag Team Championship:
The Agents of Change (c) vs. TnT - 2-on-1 Handicap Match:
Alfred Valentine vs. Curt Chaos & Pat Schisk
