Kiwi Niwa McIlroy has made it big on the Mexican pro wrestling circuit and has now entered the highly-touted British leagues as a result.
But Covid-19 has disrupted his plans to return to the UK.
Wrestling has been a dream of Mr McIlroy’s ever since childhood, begging his mum at 13 for $120 to join his local club.
Mr McIlroy soon gained fame as Johnny Idol, and he even had a little doll of himself made up.
“Not too bad, wrestling in front of 16,000 people,” he said of his time in Mexico after moving there at 23.
Now, he’s giving back and doing his part to help usher in a pro wrestling renaissance in Wainuiomata, in the Lower Hutt.
He said being stuck in New Zealand was “a bummer but also a blessing in disguise” because he could see his family and teach others what he knew.
Watch the full story, as well as reporter Julian Lee get thrown around, in the video above.
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