“The speeches, the pageantry, the peacocking, the larger-than-life personas you see in government and politics all lean heavily into pro wrestling.
“That ability to tap into an audience and make them feel something – that actually ties into politics,” he said.
Mulipola said years of pro wrestling, the violence and theatre of it, have taught him how to connect with people and understand a crowd.
Green Party candidate Michel Mulipola puts on his “Liger” mask. Photo / Corey Fleming
He is also one of New Zealand’s top Pasifika comic artists – he’s worked as an illustrator for Marvel Comics, and Disney, including helping shape the look and authenticity of Moana 2.
Closer to home, his work in the New Zealand School Journal is familiar to children all over the country.
Mulipola told the Herald his political colleagues have embraced his talents.
“The Green Party is aware of my shenanigans as a professional wrestler and some of them have been very interested to see me in action.”
The Herald asked Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson about Mulipola’s activism and wrestling career. She said he brought a “colourful and diverse background” to his candidacy.
“He’s an outspoken advocate for his community, drawing on a family history of activism to fight racism and injustice,” Davidson said.
“I also doubt we’ve ever had a professional wrestler in Parliament, so he’d be the first.”
Mulipola recently attracted controversy after past social media posts were found referring to police as “pigs” and describing a member of the coalition Government as a “piece of s***”.
The 130kg Green Party candidate flies through the wrestling ring. Photo / Corey Fleming
He also copped criticism from Act last month after posting a now-deleted joke that made light of the death of right-wing US commentator Charlie Kirk on social media.
Mulipola told the Herald this week that he now planned a more restrained public approach.
“The standards of behaviour expected of me as a Green Party candidate are different from those I had as an activist.
“My usual agitating activist ways have definitely been curbed … at least until after the election,” he said.
Mulipola has spent more than 20 years wrestling and has shared the ring with some of the sport’s biggest names, including Tongan legend King Haku – with whom he won the New Zealand Tag Team Championship in 2017.
Green Party candidate Michel Mulipola gets punched by fellow wrestler Kauri. Photo / Corey Fleming
Seeing Polynesian wrestlers succeeding on the world stage had a profound impact on him growing up.
“As a kid, there weren’t many brown people on television, particularly people who could travel the world, beat people up and speak their native tongue.”
Both politics and wrestling are ultimately about storytelling and connecting with an audience, Mulipola said.
“In politics you’re telling stories, selling a story, and in pro wrestling you’re selling a match.
“And because wrestling doesn’t shy away from what it is, there’s an honesty we have, that politics can learn from.”