This Day in Pro Wrestling History

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1392509877185040384

Sad day in wrestling history.

 

[BruiserBrody]

1967 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
- AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Larry Hennig in a 2 out of 3 falls match

1973 Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
- Indian Strap Match: Wahoo McDaniel beat Superstar Billy Graham
- AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch in 2 out of 3 falls

1977 Omaha, Nebraska:
Samoan Strap Match: Peter Maivia beat Angelo Mosca
Pedro Morales forfeit win over Lord Alfred Hayes
Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Bob Backlund & Billy Francis
Hillbilly Pete and Wee Willie Wilson beat Billy the Kid and Lord Littlebrook
Jim Brunzell drew Bob Backlund
(Looks like travel issues here....likely Brunzell and Backlund had a 20 or 30 min broadway while the office (who may have only been Greg and the local promoter??? tried to find out where the crew is.)

1978 Minneapolis, Minnesota:
- AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Billy Robinson
- AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Bob Orton Jr & Bobby Heenan
- Rufus R Jones no contest Angelo Mosca (MINUS 5 stars!)
- Evan Johnson beat Ray Stevens by DQ
- Pat Patterson beat Steve Olsonoski

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
WWWF World Champion Bob Backlund defeated Spiros Arion via countout
Gorilla Monsoon defeated Butcher Vachon
Superstar Billy & Luke Graham defeated Dusty Rhodes & Haystacks Calhoun

1979 Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
Crusher beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel by DQ
Greg Gagne beat Pat Patterson

1980 Memphis, Tennessee:
Bill Dundee & Ricky Morton beat Wayne Farris & Larry Latham
Rocky Johnson & Jimmy Valiant beat Dennis Condrey & David Schultz to win the Southern Tag Team Titles

Portland, Oregon:
The Sheepherders defeated Roddy Piper and Rick Martel to win the NWA Pacific Tag Team Titles

1984 Spencer, North Carolina:
The Masked Outlaw (Dory Funk Jr.) defeated NWA Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Champion Angelo Mosca Jr. to win the championship

San Antonio, Texas:
NWA World champion Kerry Von Erich defeated Ric Flair

1985 Minneapolis, Minnesota:
AWA Champion Rick Martel beat Nick Bockwinkel
Larry Hennig & Jerry Blackwell went to a no contest with AWA Tag Team Champions Road Warriors
Jim Garvin beat the Crusher by DQ
Jerry Blackwell beat Terry Gordy by DQ

St. Louis, Missouri:
NWA champion Ric Flair defeated Kevin Von Erich
Mike Von Erich defeated Rip Oliver
The Fantastics defeated Midnight Express

1986 Greenville, South Carolina:
Ron Garvin defeated Ivan Koloff
Wahoo McDaniel defeated Jimmy Garvin via disqualification
National Heavyweight Champion Tully Blanchard & NWA TV Champion Arn Anderson fought Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson to a no contest
Nikita Koloff defeated Magnum TA in a Russian chain match

1990 :

1996 – Ahmed Johnson defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley in the finals to win the WWF Kuwait Cup Tournament. At the same event in Kuwait City, Shawn Michaels retained the WWF World Title against ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin in the main event.

1997 – The live edition of WWF Raw from Delaware ended on-air with an infamous incident in the real-life rivalry between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, and was discussed in-depth by the two Hall of Fame legends in their sit-down interview with Jim Ross for the Rivalries DVD released in the early 2010s. During an in-ring promo segment between the two, Hart who was recovering from a legitimate injury was berating Michaels whilst sat in a wheelchair. Hart missed his “go-home” cue from the production team informing him that the live show on the USA Network was ending. As a result the show went off the air with Hart verbally lambasting Michaels, and the segment eventually ended with Hart’s exit line out of the segment of “you don’t have the guts, you don’t have the insides.” This was the cue for Michaels to deliver his superkick to Hart as planned, but the spot did not make it on-air, and was shown on the following week’s episode. The purpose of this segment was to set up the booked one-on-one match between Hart and Michaels at the King of the Ring, which subsequently did not happen due to Hart still being injured, and was three weeks prior to their shoot backstage fight in Hartford, Connecticut. On the same episode, Rob Van Dam makes his first ever appearance on Raw. He is presented as a guest of Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler from ECW and defeats a preliminary talent by the name of Jeff Hardy.

 

[BruiserBrody]

1960 Tokyo, Japan:
Rikidozan defeated Leo Nomellini to win the second-annual JWA World League Tournament

1966 Tokyo, Japan:
Giant Baba defeated Wilbur Snyder to win the eighth-annual JWA World League Tournament

1969 Portland, Oregon:
Tony Borne and Moondog Mayne defeated Karl and Kurt Von Steiger to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles

1975 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
Dominic DeNucci and Victor Rivera defeated The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy and Johnny) for the WWWF World Tag Team Titles

1976 Kansas City, Kansas:
Bob Geigel & Akio Sato defeated Ed Wiskoski & Roger Kirby
In a Texas Bull Rope Match: Mike George defeated Dusty Rhodes

1978 Omaha, Nebraska:
AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Billy Robinson
Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens beat Rufus R Jones & Pat O'Connor
(I really want to see O Connor and Jones' tandem promos)

Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
- The Crusher beat Angelo Mosca in a chain match
- Verne Gagne beat Johnny Valiant
- Blackjack Lanza & Bob Orton Jr. beat AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell by DQ

1979 Green Bay, Wisconsin:
Verne Gagne & Mad Dog Vachon beat Nick Bockwinkel & Pat Patterson.

1982 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
- AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Tito Santana
- Greg Gagne beat Jerry Blackwell
- Sheik Adnan beat Baron Von Raschke
- Ken Patera beat Brad Rheingans

1983 St. Louis, Missouri:
Harley Race defeated Crusher Blackwell to win the Missouri State title
Kerry Von Erich and George Wells defeated Kim Duk and Roger Kirby (sub Yasu Fuji)
Greg Valentine no contest with Bruce Reed
-Bob Orton Jr. defeated Manny Fernandez
- Dewey Robertson drew Rick Martel

1984 St. Paul, Minnesota:
Rick Martel defeated Jumbo Tsuruta to win the AWA World Heavyweight Title
Blackjack Mulligan & Blackjack Lanza no contest Abdullah The Butcher & Jerry Blackwell
The Crusher beat Sheik Adnan
Fabulous Ones beat Jesse Ventura & Steve Regal
Larry Zbyszko beat Curt Hennig by DQ

1988 Houston, TX US Title Tourney
Barry Windham defeated The Midnight Rider
Lex Luger and Al Perez went to a DDQ
Nikita Koloff over Ivan Koloff
Windham got a bye into the finals
Nikita beat Tully Blanchard
Windham beat Nikita to win the title

(Pretty scummy of Dusty to book his alias vs Windham (Italian Stallion played the role and was unmasked) as I assume the fans were sold on the idea that the suspended Dusty would be facing the newly turned heel Windham).

1989 Sarasota, Florida

Steel Cage Match Big Steel Man defeated Dusty Rhodes

1990 Chicago, Illinois:
Road Warrior Animal & Mike Rotunda defeated Bobby Eaton & Stane Lane
NWA Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Doom
Road Warrior Hawk (sub. for NWA US Champion Lex Luger, out with a staph infection) defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair via disqualification

(Interesting to see Hawk getting a world title shot within a very short time before he and Animal leave for the WWF)

1995

WWF presented A Night to Rememeber from the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. This would be the final show at the long-time home of the Boston Celtics, who would move to the FleetCenter in the fall. Many WWF dignitaries were there, including Vince McMahon, Gorilla Monsoon, Arnold Skaaland, George "The Animal" Steele, Pat Patterson, Tony Garea, Chief Jay Strongbow, and Killer Kowalski.

• The Heavenly Bodies (Jimmy del Ray & Tom Prichard) (w/Tony Garea) defeated The Bushwhackers (Butch & Luke) (7:32)
• Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Phil Apollo (6:38)
• Man Mountain Rock defeated Kwang (w/Harvey Wippleman) (1:39)
• The Roadie defeated Bob Holly
• Bret Hart & The British Bulldog defeated Hakushi & Jerry Lawler (11:36)
• Jeff Jarrett (w/The Roadie) (c) defeated Razor Ramon in a Ladder Match to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship (10:32)
• The Blu Twins (Eli Blu & Jacob Blu) (w/Uncle Zebekiah) defeated The Headshrinkers (Fatu & Sionne) (w/Captain Lou Albano) (11:15)
• The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) defeated Kama (w/Ted DiBiase) (13:25)
• Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Chief Jay Strongbow) defeated Tatanka (w/Ted DiBiase) (10:09)
• Diesel (c) defeated Sid (w/Ted DiBiase) to retain the WWF Championship (6:25)

2002 RAW

2007 TNA Sacrifice: Orlando, Florida:
TNA X Division Champion Chris Sabin defeated Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt in a triple threat match to retain the title
Robert Roode (with Ms. Brooks) pinned Jeff Jarrett
Christopher Daniels pinned Rhino
Basham and Damaja (with Christy Hemme) defeated Kip James in a handicap match
Chris Harris defeated James Storm in a Texas death match
Jerry Lynn defeated Senshi, Alex Shelley and Tiger Mask IV in a four corners match
TNA World Tag Team Champions Team 3D (Brother Ray & Brother Devon) defeated Scott Steiner & Tomko and The Latin American Exchange (Homicide & Hernandez) in a triple threat match to retain the titles
Kurt Angle defeated TNA World Heavyweight Champion Christian Cage and Sting in a three-way match to win the title

 

[Fall of Epic]

Raw in 2002 from Wrestlemania until the build to Summerslam was such a dark period for WWE. It wasn't as bad as it is now but thank goodness for Smackdown around that time. Hogan as Champion and that embarrassing feud with Undertaker were pain-inducing.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Raw in 2002 from Wrestlemania until the build to Summerslam was such a dark period for WWE. It wasn't as bad as it is now but thank goodness for Smackdown around that time. Hogan as Champion and that embarrassing feud with Undertaker were pain-inducing.

That's kind of funny as I read the line up (Hogan/Flair, Austin/Booker, Hardys vs Brock and thought it sounded fun and I remembered 2/3rds of the matches 19 years later.

But yeah the Roided up HHH - Nostalgia Hogan - BikerTaker was a rough patch as RAW searched for its footing.

 

[tekcop]

*** True story, when this was announced as Hogan vs Lawler, I looked into possibly flying into Memphis to see Hogan live for the first time. After Lawler was forced to drop out, I believe the cost and effort didn't seem as worthwhile. More details I've since forgotten are probably in the TSM archives.

Imagine how great the post-show tekcop/Brody hangout would have been.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Big birthday wishes to 3 dead hosses as VADER, Dr. Death and Butcher Vachon were all born today~! The giant penis of Robert Fuller also came into the world on this day in 1951.

1973 Moline, Illinois:
Wahoo McDaniel & Billy Robinson & Ken Patera beat Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens & Superstar Billy Graham
- Horst Hoffman went to a draw with Ric Flair
- Geoff Portz beat Greg Gagne

1974 Tokyo, Japan:
Giant Baba won the 2nd All Japan Champion Carnival tournament by defeating Mr. Wrestling in the finals of the elimination tournament

1981 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
Mad Dog Vachon & Baron Von Raschke beat Jerry Blackwell & John Studd
- Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens
- Tito Santana went to a no contest with Sheik Adnan
- Brad Rheingans beat Jesse Ventura
- Adrian Adonis beat Curt Hennig

1982 St. Louis, Missouri:
- Andre the Giant and Dick the Bruiser defeated Dick Murdoch and Crusher Blackwell in 2 out of 3 falls
- Dewey Robertson defeated Ray Hernandez (sub for Jack Brisco)
- David and Kerry Von Erich defeated Ken Patera and Roger Kirby

Houston, Texas:
Junkyard Dog beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel on a 3rd fall dq
- Gino Hernandez beat Tommy Rich
- Wahoo McDaniel beat Tully Blanchard
- Manny Fernandez ddq Mil Mascaras
- Jimmy Golden & Ken Lucas & Ricky Morton & Scott Casey beat Billy Graham & Bob Sweetan & Killer Brooks & Hacksaw Duggan
- Bob Sweetan beat Ken Lucas
- Billy Graham beat Jimmy Golden
- Scott Casey beat Killer Brooks
- Hacksaw Duggan beat Ricky Morton

83
San Juan, Puerto Rico:
Carlos Colon defeated Ox Baker to win the WWC World Heavyweight Title

Portland, Oregon
- Roddy Piper & Billy Jack Haynes defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair & Rip Oliver

1984 Memphis, Tennessee:
- CWA International Champ Randy Savage pinned Austin Idol
- Southern Tag Champs Tommy Rich & Eddie Gilbert beat The Zambuie Express via DQ
- Rick Rude pinned Dutch Mantel
- Southern Champ Lord Humongous beat Mid-America Champ Jerry Lawler via DQ
- Jerry Lawler & Eddie Marlin beat Ox Baker & Jimmy Hart (Tommy Marlin was the referee)

Ft. Myers, Florida:
- NWA World champion Kerry Von Erich defeated Superstar Billy Graham

Montreal, Quebec, Canada:
- AWA Champion Rick Martel beat Nick Bockwinkel
- Texas Tornado Match: Frenchy Martin & Mad Dog Lefebvre beat Gino Brito Sr. & Dominic DeNucci (sub Tony Parisi)

1987 Kansas City, Kansas:
- Rufus Jones beat Bulldog Bob Brown to win Central States Title
- AWA Tag Team Champions Midnight Rockers beat Pork Chop Cash & Warlord
- Dave DJ Peterson beat Rip Rogers

89

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1393170882571407365

1990 – Ole Anderson replaced Ric Flair as head booker of WCW after Flair repeatedly clashed with executive vice-president Jim Herd.

Prime Time Wrestling:

1992 Savannah, Georgia:
- Big Josh pinned Richard Morton
- The Patriots (Firebreaker Chip & Todd Champion) defeated Thomas Rich & Tracy Smothers
- Nikita Koloff pinned Steve Austin
- Ron Simmons pinned Diamond Dallas Page
- WCW U.S. Tag Team Champions Greg Valentine & Terry Taylor defeated Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin
- WCW World Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko
- WCW U.S. Champion Rick Rude pinned Ricky Steamboat

1993 Alexandria, Louisiana:
- Davey Boy Smith defeated the Barbarian
- Arn Anderson pinned Erik Watts
- Rick Rude defeated Kensuke Sasaki
- WCW U.S. Champion Dustin Rhodes defeated WCW World TV Champion Paul Orndorff
- NWA World Champion Barry Windham defeated Ricky Steamboat
- Sting defeated WCW World Champion Big Van Vader in a non-title strap match

1994 – ECW ‘When Worlds Collide’ took place at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the main event, Sabu and Bobby Eaton defeated Terry Funk and Arn Anderson.

Dailymotion

www.dailymotion.com

95

https://twitter.com/ovppodcast/status/1393181805394595849

The very first WWF In Your House pay-per-view took place in Syracuse, New York. This event marked the start of WWE moving to a monthly PPV schedule
In the main event of the show Diesel retained the WWF Championship by disqualification against Sycho Sid after a run-in from fellow Million Dollar Corporation member Tatanka. Diesel’s originally booked opponent for this event was Shawn Michaels, however he was legitimately injured the night after Wrestlemania XI. Diesel also picked up an injury in this match, and required surgery on his right elbow. Also on the card, Bret Hart competed twice at the event scoring a victory over Hakushi in the opening televised match and losing to Jerry “The King” Lawler later on in the show. Also, Razor Ramon defeated Jeff Jarrett & The Roadie in 2-on-1 handicap match and Owen Hart & Yokozuna retained the WWF Tag Team titles against The Smoking Gunns. Mabel defeated Adam Bomb in a King of the Ring qualifying match.

1998 – ECW presented an event titled ‘It Ain’t Seinfeld from the Elks Lodge in Queens, New York. The event was notable as the night when Taz introduced the world to the FTW Championship, proclaiming himself as the champion.

2000 – At ECW Hardcore Heaven from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Justin Credible retained the ECW World Heavyweight Championship against his former Impact Players partner Lance Storm in the main event. This was Storm’s last ECW match before he left for ECW. Rhino also retained the ECW World TV Championship against The Sandman. Also Jerry Lynn pinned Rob Van Dam, Kid Kash defeated C.W. Anderson, Yoshihiro Tajiri beat Steve Carino. Also Super Nova & Chris Chetti defeated Angel & Tony DeVito, and Danny Doring & Amish Roadkill in a Three Way Dance.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

2000 – At ECW Hardcore Heaven from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Justin Credible retained the ECW World Heavyweight Championship against his former Impact Players partner Lance Storm in the main event. This was Storm’s last ECW match before he left for ECW. Rhino also retained the ECW World TV Championship against The Sandman. Also Jerry Lynn pinned Rob Van Dam, Kid Kash defeated C.W. Anderson, Yoshihiro Tajiri beat Steve Carino. Also Super Nova & Chris Chetti defeated Angel & Tony DeVito, and Danny Doring & Amish Roadkill in a Three Way Dance.

Three quick notes on this show.
1. The ME was originally a 3-Way Dance also involving Tommy Dreamer, but Credible threatened to walk and take the belt with him if Paul E. didn't change it to a 1v1 with Storm. Dreamer wanted to rush the ring, but Paul E. begged him not to, repeatedly screaming "he has us by the balls." (Nevermind that it's ECW and Credible won the belt in an impromptu match minutes after Dreamer won it, and the same scenario could've played out again.)
2. THIS is probably the best of the Lynn/RVD series, and would be looked at more favorably if not for the dirty finish (Scotty Anton turning on RVD to join the Network).
3. Tajiri/Corino is possibly the greatest squash match in wrestling history, and is one of the most disgusting blade jobs ever.

 

[alkeiper]

Butcher Vachon is still alive!

 

[snuffbox]

What a birthday gift!

 

[Mickey Massuco]

That's kind of funny as I read the line up (Hogan/Flair, Austin/Booker, Hardys vs Brock and thought it sounded fun and I remembered 2/3rds of the matches 19 years later.

But yeah the Roided up HHH - Nostalgia Hogan - BikerTaker was a rough patch as RAW searched for its footing.

haters

 

[BruiserBrody]

1971 Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
Red Bastien and Hercules Cortez defeated Butcher and Mad Dog Vachon to win the AWA World Tag Team Titles
The Crusher beat Larry Hennig
Bull Bullinski beat Nick Bockwinkel via DQ

1975 Greensboro, North Carolina:
Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniel defeated Gene and Ole Anderson to win the NWA World Tag Team Titles

1976 Chicago, Illinois:
Dick the Bruiser beat Ox Baker in a Chain Match
In a Loser Leaves Town Match, Larry Hennig & Jos Leduc beat Jimmy Valiant & Johnny Valiant
Greg Gagne beat Mad Dog Vachon via DQ

Detroit, Michigan:
The Sheik defeated Bobo Brazil for the Detroit NWA United States Heavyweight Title

San Francisco, California:
Tony Garea and Pat Patterson defeated Invader I and Don Muraco to win the San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Titles

1978 Toronto, Ontario, Canada @ the Maple Leaf Gardens
WWWF Champion Bob Backlund defeated Billy Graham via count out
AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel double DQ against Jim Brunzell
Billy Robinson defeated Angelo Mosca via DQ
Billy Red Lyons & Rufus R. Jones (subs for Crusher & George Gadaski) defeated Lord Alfred Hayes & Super Destroyer Mark II

1983 Toronto, Ontario - Maple Leaf Garden -
Rocky Johnson defeated WWF IC Champion Don Muraco via count-out at 11:21
Roddy Piper defeated Terry Funk via count-out at 11:14
Canadian Champion Angelo Mosca defeated Bob Orton Jr. at 10:12

1984 Kummamoto, Japan:
The Masked Superstar, Ken Patera, & WWF Tag Team Champion Dick Murdoch defeated Animal Hamaguchi, Yoshikai Yatsu, & Kuniaki Kobayashi
Mr. Saito defeated Otto Wanz
Andre The Giant & WWF Tag Team Champion Adrian Adonis defeated Seigi Sakaguchi & Tatsumi Fujinami
WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Riki Choshu via count-out
Antonio Inoki defeated Big John Studd

1993

SMW The Last Tango in Tennessee: Johnson City, Tennessee:
Killer Kyle pinned Bobby Blaze
Tim Horner & Brian Lee beat Dutch Mantell & Jimmy Golden when Horner pinned Golden.
Brian Lee pinned Kevin Sullivan in a "Singapore spike" match.
The Dirty White Boy (with Don Wright) beat Tracy Smothers (with Tim Horner) in a coward waves the flag match (the title was held-up)
The Rock-n-Roll Express beat The Heavenly Bodies (Pritchard & Lane) to win the SMW Tag Title in a loser of the fall leaves SMW match

2000 Biloxi, Mississippi:
Ric Flair defeated WCW World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett to win the title

2005
TNA Hard Justice was held at the Impact Zone, in Orlando, Florida. The event opened with a tribute to Chris Candido, who had died around 2 weeks earlier. With an attendance of 775:
Raven defeated Sean Waltman in a Clockwork Orange House of Fun Match
– Monty Brown & The Outlaw (Billy Gunn) defeated Diamond Dallas Page & Ron Killings
– The Naturals (Chase Stevens & Andy Douglas) defeated America’s Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) to retain the NWA World Tag Team Titles
– Christopher Daniels defeated Shocker to retain the TNA X-Division Title
– Abyss won a 20-Man Gauntlet For The Gold Match, last eliminating BG James (also in the match was: Eric Young, Mikey Batts, The Outlaw, Jerrelle Clark, Elix Skipper, Cassidy Riley, Zach Gowen, Apolo, Trytan, A-1, Shark Boy, Ron Killings, Michael Shane, Lance Hoyt, Petey Williams, Bobby Roode, Sonny Siaki, & Chris Sabin)
– AJ Styles defeated Jeff Jarrett with Tito Ortiz as special guest referee to win the NWA World Title

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1393570493010268160

I honestly totally forgot Chyna's cup of coffee in TNA. It was really odd for her to pop up suddenly after a decade away from North American wrestling. Tbh, she looks better than I expected 2011 Chyna to look in this clip. So sad how her life post WWE was. Have they done a Dark Side of the Ring on her?

 

[BruiserBrody]

Russo went on WCW Live around this time in 2000 and put over how the crowd actually cared that Ric Flair won the title. He defended his hot shot booking by saying something like "Wait until someone hangs onto the title, imagine how dominant the fans will think that champion is after seeing so many quick title changes!"
IIRC this would be the reign where Flair loses it/or its held up within a week or so, then Nash wins the title and hands it back to Flair or some trash like that?
I watched and enjoyed some aspects of the crash TV Russo WCW. War Games 2000 for instance. And I think we just passed the 40 man "Countdown to the Apocalypse" Royal Rumble Russo had on a random Thunder to determine a number one contender.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Russo WCW IS better than late era Bischoff WCW and that weird awful interim period between Russo runs with Kevin Sullivan booking. But it was literally the opposite of what diehard WCW fans wanted and diehards were pretty much all that WCW had left by October '99.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Butcher Vachon is still alive!

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/fighting/article244623222.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSimpsons/comments/9yssvd

 

[BruiserBrody]

1964 – Verne Gagne became a seven-time AWA World Heavyweight Champion when he defeated Mad Dog Vachon in Omaha, Nebraska.

1969 Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
Archie Gouldie (The Mongolian Stomper) defeated Angelo Mosca for the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title

1970 St. Paul, Minnesota:
- No Time Limit: The Crusher beat Mad Dog Vachon

1973 Honolulu, Hawaii:
Wahoo McDaniel beat Billy Graham in an Indian Death Match
North American Champion Dusty Rhodes beat Billy Robinson via DQ
Ivan Koloff ddq Ken Patera
Sam Steamboat & Jimmy Snuka beat Mad Dog Vachon (sub Tarzan Tyler) & Lars Anderson

1975 – Antonio Inoki wins the NJPW World League, defeating Killer Karl Krupp in the final

1976 Tampa, Florida:
Boris Malenko defeated Wahoo McDaniel for the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title

1977 – Giant Baba wins the AJPW Champion’s Carnival, defeating Jumbo Tsuruta in the final

1980 St. Louis, Missouri:
Missouri Champion Ken Patera defeated Kevin Von Erich in 2 out of 3 falls
King Kong Brody and Dick Murdoch ruled a draw
Dick the Bruiser and Rocky Johnson defeated Takachiho and Lord Alfred Hayes
WWF Champion Bob Backlund defeated Roger Kirby
Pat O’Connor defeated Bobby Jaggers

1983 Memphis
- Ken Patera pinned Jerry Lawler to win the CWA International Title

1984 – Comedian Andy Kaufman, who along with Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler, took part in one of the most famous wrestling angles of all time, died of lung cancer aged just 35.

1986 Green Bay, Wisconsin:
Nick Bockwinkel beat AWA Champion Stan Hansen by DQ
Scott LeDoux beat Larry Zbyszko
Midnight Rockers beat Boris Zhukov & Colonel DeBeers (sub Nord the Barbarian)
Scott Hall beat Doug Somers
Curt Hennig beat Buddy Rose

1987 – The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) won the recently vacated NWA United States Tag Team Champions with a win over Ronnie Garvin and Barry Windham in Atlanta, Georgia.

1988 Memphis, Tennessee:
AWA Champion Jerry Lawler beat Bill Dundee
Robert Fuller beat Jeff Jarrett
CWA Champion Max Pain beat Curt Hennig via DQ

1991 Richmond, Virginia:
- Stan Hansen pinned Ricky Morton
- Ron Simmons defeated Butch Reed via disqualification
- WCW Tag Team Champion Rick Steiner & Ranger Ross (sub. for WCW Tag Team Champion Scott Steiner) defeated Michael Hayes & the Angel of Death (sub. for Jimmy Garvin)
- WCW US Champion Lex Luger fought Nikita Koloff to a no contest

1993

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1393906579116789761

1998 – ECW A Matter of Respect was held at the ECW Arena, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With an attendance of 2,000:
– Justin Credible (with Chasity & Jason) defeated Jerry Lynn in a 2 out 3 Falls Match
– Chris Chetti defeated Jamie Dundee
– Mikey Whipwreck defeated Mike Lozansky
– Kronus defeated Danny Doring (with The Equalizer)
– The Blue Meanie & Super Nova fought The Full Blooded Italians (Little Guido & Tracy Smothers) (with Tommy Rich) to a no contest
– Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Al Snow
– Axl Rotten & Balls Mahoney defeated Tracey Smothers & Little Guido
– Rob Van Dam & Lance Storm defeated Chris Candido & Sabu (RVD’s ECW Television title, and Storm & Candido’s ECW Tag Team Titles were not on the line)
– The Sandman, Spike Dudley, & Tommy Dreamer defeated The Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray, D-Von, & Big Dick Dudley) in a 6-way Stairway To Hell Ladder Match

1999 –
WWF No Mercy was a UK-exclusive PPV, held at the Manchester Evening News Arena, in Manchester, England. With an attendance of 18,107:
– Tiger Ali Singh defeated Gillberg
– The Ministry Of Darkness (Viscera, Faarooq & Bradshaw) defeated The Brood (Gangrel, Edge, & Christian) in a 6-man tag team match
– Steve Blackman defeated Droz
– Kane defeated Mideon
– Nicole Bass defeated Tori
– Shane McMahon defeated X-Pac to retain the WWF European Title
– Mr. Ass defeated Mankind
– Steve Austin defeated The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) & Triple H (with Chyna) in an Anything Goes Triangle Match to retain the WWF Title

1999 – Taz defended the ECW World Heavyweight Championship twice at ECW Hardcore Heaven from Poughkeepsie, New York. He defeated “No Gimmicks Needed” Chris Candido in the opening match of the pay-per-view, and against Buh Buh Ray Dudley in a Falls Count Anywhere match in the main event. Also Rob Van Dam retained the ECW World Television Championship against Jerry Lynn in a No Time Limit match and Lance Storm pinned Tommy Dreamer. The Dudley Boyz retained the ECW Tag Team Titles against Balls Mahoney & Spike Dudley.

2000 – Gerald Brisco pinned Crash Holly for the WWF Hardcore Championship taping at the SmackDown taping in Detroit, Michigan.

2002 – Alexander Rizzo AKA Big Dick Dudley passed away aged 34 in Copiague, New York from kidney failure. Rizzo was best known his appearances in ECW as a member of The Dudley Brothers.

2004 – In the main event of WWE Judgement Day from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, JBL picked up a disqualification victory over WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero in their main event WWE Title match when Guerrero hit JBL with the belt. During the match Guerrero bleed profusely after being hit in the head with a steel-chair, and due to the amount of blood loss from Guerrero during this match is event is rated as TV-MA on the WWE Network which suggests programming is not suitable for under-17s. Also on the card, The Undertaker defeated Booker T, John Cena retained the United States Championship against Rene Dupree and Chavo Guerrero defeated Jacqueline for the WWE Cruiserweight Title.

2005 – Lita turned heel on her kayfabe husband Kane who was defeated by The “Money In The Bank” briefcase holder Edge in the main event on Raw from Omaha in the finals of the Gold Rush Tournament to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship.

2010 – Rob Van Dam retained the TNA World Heavyweight Title against A.J. Styles in the main event of TNA Sacrifice from Orlando. Also, Douglas Williams defeated Kazarian to win the TNA X-Division Title, Sting defeated Jeff Jarrett, Jeff Hardy pinned Mr Anderson and Scott Hall & Kevin Nash retained the TNA World Tag Team Titles against Jesse Neal & Shannon Moore.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1394013455477260289

 

[BruiserBrody]

1938 - Memphis legend Jackie Fargo is born.

1949 - Dave and Earl Hebner are born.

1963 Madison Square Garden:
Bruno Sammartino defeated WWWF World Champion Buddy Rogers in 47 seconds to win the championship

1965 - WWWF ran at Madison Square Garden in New York City, headlined by WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Bill Watts when Watts was unable to continue in 22:08 in a Best of Three Falls match

1966
Moline, Illinois:
- The Crusher & Ernie Ladd & Verne Gagne beat Larry Hennig & Harley Race & The Alaskan
- Reggie Parks beat Angelo Poffo
- Ernie Ladd beat Larry Hennig

Kansas City, Missouri:
- Dick the Bruiser & Bob Ellis defeated Bob Geigel & Bob Brown
- World Heavyweight Champion Gene Kiniski defeated The Mongolian Stomper in three falls

1967 - The AWA World title was defended in Denver, Colorado as champion Verne Gagne defeated Larry Hennig in a bout with no time limit. Other results from the event saw:
Johnny Powers beat Ernie Ladd in a Best of Three Falls bout.
Danny Hodge beat Johnny Valentine in a Best of Three Falls, winning the final fall by DQ. (This intrigues me greatly. One would think it would define stiff work)

1974 - A Georgia Championship Wrestling event at the Omni in Atlanta, GA saw the following live results:
In a Lights Out Match, Andre The Giant & Mr. Wrestling II beat Bill Watts & Big Bad John
NWA World Champion Jack Brisco beat Dusty Rhodes via DQ
Georgia Tag Team Champions Ronnie Garvin & Terry Garvin beat Bob Armstrong & Haystack Calhoun
Southern States Champion Jerry Brisco beat Bobby Duncum
Gene Anderson & Ole Anderson beat Steve Keirn & Dennis Stamp

1976 - WWWF ran at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The scheduled main event was to be WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino vs. Stan Hansen, but Hansen had broken Sammartino's neck at the previous MSG show. Instead Hansen wrestled Ivan Putski in the main event, defeating him via countout. Undercard results for the show saw:
Skandor Akbar defeated Louis Cerdan at 5:09.
-Billy White Wolf defeated Crusher Blackwell at 8:46. (Sheik Adnan vs his future charge and tag partner!)
-The Executioners defeated Pat Barrett & Kevin Sullivan at 11:43.
-Gorilla Monsoon, Haystacks Calhoun, & Bobo Brazil defeated Superstar Billy Graham, Ivan Koloff, & Ernie Ladd.

1978 - A live event at Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii saw the following results:
John Tolos defeated Chris Markoff by disqualification
Buddy Rose and Big John Studd defeated Bill and Russ Francis
Nick Bockwinkel defeated Rick Martel in a bout that saw Bobby Heenan locked in a cage at ringside

1981 - Tommy Rich won a tournament for the Georgia Heavyweight championship at the Omni in Atlanta, GA. The full results of the event saw:

In a No Time Limit, No DQ Match, Ted Dibiase & Junkyard Dog beat The Freebirds' Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts

Round One:
Tommy Rich beat Bill Irwin
Ken Patera beat Ray Candy
Dusty Rhodes beat French Angel
Greg Valentine beat Mr. Wrestling II
Mike Sharpe beat Jim Duggan
Nikolai Volkoff received a bye.

Semi Finals:
Tommy Rich beat Nikolai Volkoff
Dusty Rhodes went to a double DQ against Ken Patera
Greg Valentine beat Mike Sharpe

Finals
Tommy Rich beat Greg Valentine to win the Georgia Heavyweight title.

1982 - NWA World champion Ric Flair defeated Terry Gordy in the main event of an event in Birmingham, Alabama.

1984 - New Japan Pro Wrestling ran Nagasaki, Japan with the following results:
-Dick Murdoch defeated Ken Patera.
-Andre The Giant defeated Mr. Saito via disqualification.
-Antonio Inoki, Seigi Sakaguchi, & Tatsumi Fujinami defeated WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan, the Masked Superstar, & John Quinn.

1986 - Playboy Buddy Rose & Doug Somers defeat Scott Hall & Curt Hennig in Hammond, Indiana, to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship. The finish of the match saw Col. DeBeers (who Hall had run off during an interview segment where DeBeers was ripping on Americans) come to ringside and ram Hall headfirst into the steel ringpost. A bloodied Hall was then counted out of the ring, and for some reason, the referee gave the tag team championship belts to Rose & Somers. It was later explained that for this one match, titles could change hands on a countout (although they never gave a reason why).

1986 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Baltimore, MD at the Civic Center with the following results:
-The Rock N' Roll Express,Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated NWA World Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express, Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey in a non-title match; Jim Cornette was held in a cage for the duration of the match.
-Ron Garvin defeated Arn Anderson.
-NWA US Champion Magnum TA fought NWA National Heavyweight Champion Tully Blanchard to a no contest.
-Dusty Rhodes & the Road Warriors defeated NWA Six Man Tag Team Champions Baron Von Raschke, Ivan & Nikita Koloff to win the titles.

1992 - WCW held their "WrestleWar" Pay-per-view at the Jacksonville Coliseum in Jacksonville, Florida. Here are the results:
- Dark match: Diamond Dallas Page & Tommy Rich defeated Bob Cook & Firebreaker Chip.
- The Freebirds (Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin) defeated Terry Taylor & Greg Valentine to win the United States Tag Team Championship.
- Johnny B. Badd defeated Tracey Smothers.
- Scotty Flamingo defeated Marcus Bagwell.
- Ron Simmons defeated Mr. Hughes.
- Super Invader defeated Todd Champion.
- Big Josh defeated Richard Morton.
- WCW World Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Tatsumi Fujinami & Takayuki Iizuka.
- WCW Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Pillman defeated Tom Zenk.
- Sting, Nikita Koloff, Dustin Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat & Barry Windham defeated Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Rick Rude, Steve Austin & Larry Zbyszko in a War Games match. The finish saw Zbyszko accidentally hit Bobby Eaton in the arm with a steel connecting pole from the turnbuckle that Eaton had taken apart during the match. Sting then put Eaton in an armbar for the submission win.

1993 - Monday Night Raw was broadcast live from the Manhattan Center in New York City, and provided one of the more memorable one-hour shows in the history of the program.
- The Kid pinned Razor Ramon with a top rope moonsault on a standing Ramon. This was the match where the 1-2-3 Kid gimmick for Sean Waltman was created. The Kid, who had wrestled as "Lightning Kid", "Cannonball Kid", and "Kamikaze Kid" over the previous weeks on WWF television (and lost to the likes of Doink The Clown and Mr. Hughes) scored the huge upset. After the match, color commentator Randy Savage led the crowd in a chant of "1-2-3" to infuriate Ramon.
- Yokozuna defeated Kamala.
- Marty Jannetty defeated Shawn Michaels to win the Intercontinental Title. Earlier in the show Jannetty, who had not been seen in months, came in from the crowd in street clothes, his face hidden by a hood and sunglasses, to accept an open challenge Michaels had made to anyone who wanted a shot at the Intercontinental Title. Curt Hennig came to ringside during the bout to prevent Michaels from walking out.

1998 - WCW ran their Slamboree '98 PPV in Worcester, MA at the Centrum before 11,592 fans with the following results:
-WCW World TV Champion Fit Finlay pinned Chris Benoit with the tombstone.
-Lex Luger defeated Brian Adams via submission with the Torture Rack.
-Ciclope won a cruiserweight battle royal; due to pre-match stipulations, he earned an immediate WCW Cruiserweight Title match; other participants included Evan Karagias, Damien, El Dandy, El Grio, Juventud Guerrera, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Marty Jannetty, Kidman, Lenny Lane, Psychosis, Super Calo, Johnny Swinger, and Villano IV; After the match, Ciclope unmasked to reveal himself as Dean Malenko.
Dean Malenko defeated WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho to win the title via submission with the Texas Cloverleaf.
-Eddie Guerrero (with Chavo Guerrero Jr.) pinned Ultimo Dragon at 11:10 with a brainbuster and the frog splash after Dragon accidentally knocked Chavo off the ring apron when Eddie moved out of the way; stipulations stated Chavo would win his freedom from Eddie if Dragon won; after the contest, Chavo cornered Eddie and acted as though he was going to attack him but then attacked Dragon instead, with Chavo shoving Eddie away when Eddie tried to stop him.
-Diamond Dallas Page pinned Raven in a Bowery Death Match.
-WCW U.S. Champion Bill Goldberg pinned Perry Saturn.
-Bret Hart defeated Randy Savage. Roddy Piper was the guest referee.
-Sting & the Giant defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions Scott Hall & Kevin Nash (with Dusty Rhodes) to win the titles.

2009
WWF Judgement Day: Chicago, Illinois:
- Mickie James defeated Beth Phoenix (with Rosa Mendes)
- Umaga defeated CM Punk
- Christian defeated Jack Swagger to retain the ECW Championship
- John Morrison defeated Shelton Benjamin (with Charlie Haas)
- Rey Mysterio defeated Chris Jericho to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship
- Batista defeated Randy Orton by disqualification, Orton retained the WWE Championship
- John Cena defeated Big Show
- Edge defeated Jeff Hardy to retain the World Heavyweight Championship

 

[alkeiper]

-Billy White Wolf defeated Crusher Blackwell at 8:46. (Sheik Adnan vs his future charge and tag partner!)

Matches I never knew existed

 

[Hawk 34]

WrestleWar 92 tape was worn the fuck out in my youth.

Everyone rightfully talks about the war games classic but don’t sleep on the criminally underrated Zenk Pillman clash.

 

[strummer]

Meltz has said he and Pillman put that match together the night before that show

 

[Hawk 34]

Also Freebirds got such a insane pop for beating the iconic Taylor and Hammer tandem, even Hayes seemed perplexed by it.

 

[Brocklock]

That Steiners match too is incredibly unprofessional, but also incredibly entertaining. Also Todd Champion vs Super Invader.

 

[Hawk 34]

Big Josh was Matt Bourne’s best gimmick and I’ll fight anyone on that.

 

[strummer]

I was kinda shocked that when Austin did a re-watch of that Wargames match that he didn't like it. It's probably my favorite Wargames of all time

 

[Brocklock]

Yeah that tripped my head up. It's probably one of my favorite matches period. They wove together so many storylines and the action was so heated and exciting. They kept the intensity throughout the entire match. I love that Nikita/Sting moment so much too.

 

[Fall of Epic]

-WCW U.S. Champion Bill Goldberg pinned Perry Saturn.

This was originally supposed to be Goldberg facing the Flock in a gauntlet match but was changed to just Saturn. They were playing up that Saturn was Goldberg's toughest opponent at the time (along with "Lighting Foot" Jerry Flynn).

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

1998 - WCW ran their Slamboree '98 PPV in Worcester, MA at the Centrum before 11,592 fans with the following results:
-WCW World TV Champion Fit Finlay pinned Chris Benoit with the tombstone.
-Ciclope won a cruiserweight battle royal; due to pre-match stipulations, he earned an immediate WCW Cruiserweight Title match; other participants included Evan Karagias, Damien, El Dandy, El Grio, Juventud Guerrera, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Marty Jannetty, Kidman, Lenny Lane, Psychosis, Super Calo, Johnny Swinger, and Villano IV; After the match, Ciclope unmasked to reveal himself as Dean Malenko.
Dean Malenko defeated WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho to win the title via submission with the Texas Cloverleaf.
-Diamond Dallas Page pinned Raven in a Bowery Death Match.
-WCW U.S. Champion Bill Goldberg pinned Perry Saturn.

Oh man, still one of my favorite shows for these reasons

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

This was originally supposed to be Goldberg facing the Flock in a gauntlet match but was changed to just Saturn. They were playing up that Saturn was Goldberg's toughest opponent at the time (along with "Lighting Foot" Jerry Flynn).

The Saturn matches are, IMO, just below the DDP classic and the Steiner brawls for me.