One of the most popular and the longest-running weekly sports series in the history of New Zealand, the show featured some of the country's top wrestlers and international stars from throughout the world during the 1970s and early 1980s.

On the Mat characterized the "golden age" of professional wrestling in New Zealand and made household names of promoter Steve Rickard, John da Silva, Robert Bruce and others during the 1970s.

Several New Zealand wrestlers such as Tony Garea, Peter Maivia, Siva Afi and The Sheepherders, partly from their television appearances, were brought over to the United States where they became major stars during the 1980s wrestling boom.

As a member of the National Wrestling Alliance, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship was defended on the show on several occasions, both between North American wrestlers and against New Zealanders, by legendary champions such as Harley Race and "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair.

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.

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.

[10][13] Tim Bickerstaff, a popular New Zealand radio personality and television sports writer, was involved in filming early episodes of the show.

[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.

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.

[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.

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.

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.

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.

The final episode aired on 23 July 1984, and featured Samoan Joe, Larry O'Day, Mel Fortuna, Tony Rickard and Rip Morgan.

The show was not only a ratings success, it also helped promote live events which sold out town halls and other venues throughout the country on a weekly basis.

In 1990, Steve Rickard proposed a new wrestling programme under a similar format and, supported by Isambard Productions, secured a deal with the newly established TV3 to air The Main Event that year.

Wallace Chapman, co-host of the political interview show Back Benches, has said his "favourite TV moment" was watching On the Mat as a child.

[47] Another childhood fan is New Zealand-born cartoonist Jason Conlan, also known as Pro Wrestling Illustrated's "Mr. J", whose monthly comic strip shares the same name.

Also in 2009, in memory of the passing of Scottish-born New Zealand wrestler Robert Bruce, Chris Rattue of The New Zealand Herald named several former On the Mat stars including Bruce, King Curtus Iaukea, Rick Martel, Steve Rickard, John da Silva, Peter Maivia, Samoan Joe and The Bushwhackers as among his Top 10 favourite wrestlers of all-time.

[50] In early-2010, two episodes were chosen to be shown on NZ On Screen[30] and Tammy Davis of Outrageous Fortune starred in an internet promotional video which spoofed the series.