Wrestlers arrive in Wellington to raise money and generate awareness of autism.

Updated November 24 2014 - 8:57am, first published 1:00am

A fight night that was all about changing people's understanding of autism had Wellington out in force to see members of the Australian Pro Wrestling Gym at the Hardnox Gym.
Luke Abbott, who organised the event said Autism Spectrum Australia was a cause very close to his heart.
His daughter has autism and as a foster carer he has looked after several children with varying degrees of autism.
"People don't realise how common it is, but one in every 100 kids are born with it," he said.
"A lot of people just assume these kids are being naughty, and it's not until they learn a bit about autism that they understand what's going on."
Mr Abbott said the event was as much about raising awareness as it was raising money for Autism Spectrum Australia.
"They have done a lot of work on education to assist with diagnosis," he said.
"They are really trying to target a younger age group so the diagnosis isn't left later in life."
For a long time he has admired the work of Autism Spectrum Australia.
"One boy, when he was assisted didn't feel like he was different anymore because he was starting to learn and catch up in education," he said.
Mr Abbott's nephew, wrestler Chris Abbott, was keen to get onboard with the cause and so 10 wrestlers from the Australian Pro Wrestling Gym in Penrith travelled down for the weekend and put on a show for free.
"It is something not many people care about," Chris Abbott said, adding that he hoped this would change with greater awareness.
From a young age he was mad about wrestling, idolising, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson all through the 90s and staging his own wrestling routines in the backyard as a child.
"I have always loved it, it is staged and so it takes a lot of skill to learn and it is more entertaining than boxing because there's more physical entertainment."
"There's also a lot of psychology involved." 
He said that while it was staged, the moves were very real and people could get hurt if something went wrong.
The team held another fundraiser a few weeks ago in Sydney.
"We will go anywhere for anyone who wants to see us," he said.
Owners of Hardnox Gym Joel Galea and Kellsey Melhuish said when they heard about the cause they were keen to let the wrestlers perform in their venue for free.
"We love supporting any community event and definitely to help people with autism. We know children with autism, particularly in the gym and it makes it an important fundraiser."
It was a busy night, not just with the wrestling but also a bake off and auction. At the end of the night $3000 was raised and Luke Abbott thanked everyone for working hard to make the night happen.

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