NZWPW Champion Ben Mana showed Hotaru just what it takes to be one of New Zealand wrestling’s best at Maniacs United’s Retribution event this past Saturday, May 31.
Mana pulled out all the stops to defeat the South African high-flyer, and deviated from his usual, rule-following self.
Mana refused to shake Hotaru’s hand at the start of the match, instead directing a middle finger at his opponent as the non-title bout got underway.
The NZWPW Champion would soon go after Hotaru’s knee – despite knowing the pain of going through a serious knee injury himself – as he looked to ground the high-flyer.
Mana surprisingly attempted to unmask Hotaru in an uncharacteristic lack of sportsmanship, but Hotaru was able to tip Mana out of the ring and hurtle onto him with a suicide dive, keeping his mask on his head and putting the Modern Maori Warrior on the back-foot.
Back in the ring Hotaru put Mana down with a superkick and a Superman punch, but struggled to finish the match with his 450 splash.
Hotaru’s knee gave out when he went to the top rope, and Ben Mana was ready to capitalise with a Mana Slam on his weakened opponent for the win.
Maniacs United Retribution Results:
- Dan Stryker w/ OCD def. Rise
- Stix def. Charlie Roberts
- “Rufguts” Roddy Gunn def. Kingston Eclipse [Special Referee: Scarlett]
- JPE & Scarlett w/ OCD def. O Beast & Shadow Ninja
- Ben Mana def. Hotaru
