User:Harbin Kiwi/sandbox

Tommy Combat in Nepal, 2019

Thomas Clark (born June 19, 1984) is a New Zealand professional wrestler. He launched his career in 2001 with Mania Pro Wrestling in New Zealand, debuting under the persona Tommy Combat. Combat’s first match was against The Assassin in Kumeu, Auckland, on June 30, 2001. Notably, on June 8, 2002, Combat competed in a table match against Daddy Kool in Greenlane, Auckland, before heading to the United States to enhance his training.

In the U.S., Combat trained at Les Thatcher’s Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) in Cincinnati, Ohio, for six months. While Les Thatcher oversaw the HWA, Combat’s hands-on training was under the guidance of Cody Hawk. During his time at HWA, Combat interacted with fellow wrestlers such as Nigel McGuinness, BJ Whitmer, and Matt Stryker.

Upon returning to New Zealand, Combat found himself at a watershed moment in the annals of New Zealand pro wrestling. A group of visionary wrestlers from Mania Pro Wrestling decided to carve out a new path, leading to the birth of Impact Pro Wrestling (IPW). At IPW’s inaugural show during the Wellington Armageddon Expo in April 2003, Combat clinched victories against Jon E. King and Heartless Alfred Valentine.

In 2004, Combat moved to Australia to join International Wrestling Australia (IWA), adopting the new moniker Tommy Tamati. In IWA, Tamati competed throughout New South Wales, often teaming up with IWA’s owner, Mark Mercedes, as a heel in tag team matches. On March 11, 2004, Tamati won the IWA Trans-Tasman Championship in Mudgee, NSW, from Brad Phoenix but lost it back to Phoenix five days later in Tamworth, NSW. On 27 March 2004, Combat competed against Rob Matrix for the IWA Heavyweight Championship in Muswellbrooke, NSW, in a losing effort. After a brief stint of two more months at IWA, Tamati took a long hiatus.

Over the next 13 years, Clark occasionally participated in matches in New Zealand, making sporadic one-off appearances until 2017, when he returned to more regular competition. Now residing in China, Clark joined Middle Kingdom Wrestling (MKW), competing as a face character named Triple T. This new persona combined his previous moniker, Tommy Tamati, with 'Tuomasi' (the Chinese equivalent of Thomas).

Triple T made his MKW debut on June 2, 2017, in Harbin, China, against Italian wrestler Mad Tiger. After several matches, Triple T competed for the MKW Championship against Britain's Big Sam on March 17, 2018. Despite interference from Uncle Money on behalf of Big Sam, which cost Triple T the match, he sought retribution and defeated Uncle Money in a grudge match on May 2, 2018. Following this victory, Triple T turned heel, reverting to his original wrestling name, Tommy Combat. With Khan Spirasi as his manager, Combat formed the Flat Earth Foundation (FEF), embracing a gimmick that promoted the flat earth conspiracy theory, anti-vaccination views, and the outlandish claim that New Zealand does not exist.

A career highlight for Combat was his participation in the main event of The Belt & Road Tournament in Kathmandu, Nepal, on May 11, 2019. Competing in Nepal’s largest indoor hall at the Dasharath Rangasala Stadium, Combat fought in a fatal 4-way match against Nuwakote Tiger, Ash Silva, and Black Mamba for the MKW Belt & Road Championship. Nuwakote Tiger emerged victorious by pinning Ash Silva while Combat was held in a cross-face by Black Mamba.

Post-event, Combat received a certificate of participation from Nepal’s acting Prime Minister, Ishwor Pokharel, in a press conference. The event was also broadcast on Nepalese national television.

Combat continued to make waves in MKW’s Kingdom Rumble Match on September 7, 2019, featuring alongside notable wrestlers like Peter Avalon, Zeda Zhang, and Hoho Lun before taking a second hiatus from professional wrestling.