1917 - Wladek Zbyszko defeats Ed "Strangler" Lewis in a tournament final to stake his unrightful claim as the World Heavyweight Champion in New York City, New York. He would lose to the rightful champion, Earl Caddock on February 8, 1918 in Des Moines, Iowa. 1954 - Rikidozan becomes the first and only Japanese Heavyweight Champion in Tokyo, Japan, defeating Masahiko Kimura. The title would be abandoned on August 27, 1958 when Rikidozan defeats Lou Thesz for the NWA International Heavyweight Title in Los Angeles, California.
1997 - Long before Kevin Nash let Hulk Hogan pin him with the push of a finger, WWF did a similar angle during an edition of Raw (show was taped on December 11th). Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter, at the start of the show, ordered Shawn Michaels to defend the WWF European Title against DX partner Triple H. During the show, tensions seemed to rise between the two, with Michaels calling Helmsley a loser and saying he could never beat him in a match. When the bout took place at the end of the show, Michaels simply laid down in the ring and let Triple H pin him for the title, showing the argument to all be an act.
The rest of the show, which scored a 3.1 rating, saw the following results: The Headbangers defeated The Godwinns via DQ. ... Undertaker defeated Intercontinental Champion Rocky Maivia via DQ. ... Marc Mero defeated Scott Taylor. ... Kurrgan defeated Eight Ball. ... Ken Shamrock defeated D'Lo Brown.
However, Nitro beat out Raw, scoring a 3.5 for a show that featured the following: Randy Savage defeated Lex Luger. ... Buff Bagwell defeated Chris Jericho. ... Harlem Heat defeated Scotty Riggs & Lodi. ... U.S. Champion Curt Hennig defeated Television Champion Disco Inferno. The TV belt was not on the line. ... Rick Steiner defeated Scott Norton via DQ. ... Chris Benoit defeated Van Hammer via DQ. ... Rey Mysterio Jr., Juventud Guerrera & Hector Garza defeated La Parka, Psicosis & Silver King. ... Steve McMichael defeated Meng. ... Fit Finlay defeated Cruiserweight Champion Eddie Guerrero via countout.
2000 - A Christmas Day edition of Raw was taped in Chattanooga, Tennessee, featuring Raven winning the Hardcore Title. Champion Steve Blackman pinned Hardcore Holly on the hood of a car in a three way match with Raven to retain the title, but Raven then hit him with a 2x4 and pinned him for the belt, taking advantage of the "24/7" rule for the belt. This was the first of an eventual 27 Hardcore Title wins for Raven and ended Blackman's fourth reign.
2008 - WWE broadcast Raw
Match Number One: Kane with Kelly Kelly versus Shawn Michaels in a Four Corners of Christmas Road to The Royal Rumble Number One Contender to face John Cena Qualifying Match
Rey Mysterio versus John Bradshaw Layfield in a Four Corners of Christmas Road to The Royal Rumble Number One Contender to face John Cena Qualifying Match
Randy Orton comes to the ring and Justin Roberts announces that Batista is unable to appear and Randy Orton wins by forfeit.
Randy gets on the mic and he says that he has had many great moments in his career. Being the youngest World Champion and winning the main event at Wrestlemania, but nothing was as satisfying as kicking Batista in the head. Randy points out that he won his first World Title in this building, but he was ambushed by Batista the next day.
Randy says that he has been dreaming about kicking Batista in the skull for four years. Randy says that he has had the same dream every night for four straight years.
Then last week, it finally happened. Christmas came early. Randy asks Batista how it feels that he won’t be meeting John Cena at the Royal Rumble and that his career might be cut short.
Batista has come full circle to the same place he started, taking a back seat to him. Randy says that Batista did it to himself and he had his time, but his time is over. The next time Batista will see him, Randy will be the
World Champion
From Indianapolis in the Mid 70s, this is why I fell in love with wrestling. Watching All Star Championship Wrestling with Sam Mennaker.
Great legends like we see here along with Bruno Sammartino, The Valiant Brothers, Dick The Bruiser, Ox Baker, Baron Von Raschke, Ernie Ladd, Pretty Boy Bobby Hennan and the list goes on...it was a great time to be a kid and watching wrestling on TV.
"The World's Most Scientific Wrestler" Wilbur Snyder
Here courtesy of the Wrestling Channel is a great interview with one of if not the biggest legend in 20th wrestling, Lou Thesz.
He was a 6 time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and one of the last men known as "shooters" or "hookers", wrestlers who could legitimately wrestle another man into submission in the old catch style.
It has been announced that TNA is going to hold its 2013 Lockdown PPV at the Alamodome in San Antonio TX. A risky move by going to an arena that can hold 70,000 but it may payoff.....or blow up in their face.
Visit TNA's website for the full announcement... CLICK HERE
Sad news today as Buddy Roberts (real name Dale Hey) member of the legendary Fabulous Freebird, has passed away at age 65. Good article from "The Bleacher Report" click here
Along with Michael "P.S." Hayes and Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy they formed one of the greatest tag teams in wrestling history. Their feud with Von Erichs in Texas in the 1980s hey days of World Class Championship Wrestling is thing of legend.
Roberts retired from the ring in 1990 with the closing of WCCW but he lives on in the memories of fans who saw him and the other Freebirds spread havoc through the 80s.
MAIN EVENT FOR TLC ANNOUNCED - The main event for TLC: Tables, Ladders, & Chairs has been set after Ryback threatened to take over RAW yesterday. The Las Vegas native demanded that he gets CM Punk at the TLC pay-per-view in a tables,ladders, and chairs match or else he would not leave the ring. RAWSupervising Manager Vickie Guerrero granted his request in return for his departure from the ring. The match joins Big Show vs Sheamus for the World Heavyweight title in a chairs match and Kofi Kingston vs Wade Barrett for the Intercontinental title on the card so far.
CM PUNK SURPASSES RANDY SAVAGE's UNINTERRUPTED TITLE REIGN - CM Punk is a big fan of Macho Man Randy Savage as often noted by either his ring attire or else the flying elbow. The current WWE champion yesterday marked 372 days as the king of the jungle, surpassing the late Randy Savage who held the title for 371 days between WrestleMania IV and V. "Randy Savage. #respect," tweeted Punk, marking this special occasion. Next in line to pass is John Cena, who currently stands in at 380 days and Punk is surely going to surpass that one and go on even longer most probably till at least the Royal Rumble.
This is the Jimmy Valiant I loved from the 70s, the handsome one and after watching this I am sure its one of Jerry's works that only he and Jimmy were in on to make it really come off good.
To top it off some of what Jerry says would get him fired today but even back then brought a strong reaction from the crowd.
I love the old school, today can never compare or even come close to this fun.
1979- Tito Santana and Ivan Putski defeat Johnny and Jerry Valiant for the WWF Tag Team Titles in Madison Square Garden, New York City.
1984 - The Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn & Stan Lane) defeat Rick Rude and King Kong Bundy to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning Keirn and Lane's eighth of 14 reigns as champions 1994 - Toshiaki Kawada defeats "Dr. Death" Steve Williams for the AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight in Tokyo, Japan.
1995 - WWF held their fourth In Your House Pay-per-view in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada at the Winnipeg Arena. Here are the results:
- Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Fatu. WWF World Tag Team Champions The Smoking Gunns defeated The 1-2-3 Kid & Razor Ramon when Billy pinned The Kid.
- Goldust, in his WWF debut, defeated Marty Janetty. Yokozuna vs. Mabel ended in a double disqualification. Shawn Michaels, who had been beaten up outside of a bar (legitimately) and was unable to wrestle, forfeited the WWF Intercontinental Title to Dean (Shane) Douglas. Razor Ramon defeated Dean Douglas to win the WWF Intercontinental Title. Davey Boy Smith defeated WWF World Heavyweight Champion Diesel via disqualification.
1983 - its the AWA Tag Team Champions, The Sheiks (Jerry Blackwell and Ken Patera) managed by Sheik Adnan Al Kassie defending against the team of Mad Dog Vachon and Dick the Bruiser.
Minneapolis Minnesota
(this is near the end but its still fun to watch to crazies like Bruiser and Vachon tag together. What are the odds a match involving those 2 would end in a double DQ with them just beating the daylights out of Blackwell and Patera, such good stuff.
The first ever World Title Unification Match between the NWA and AWA World Heavyweight Singles Champions
October 21st 1985
Japan
Ric Flair
NWA World Champion
vs
Rick Martel
AWA World Champion
its so nice to see champions show class and come to the ring with no loud music or explosions and not grabbing a microphone to run his mouth for 20 minutes before the match starts.
From the 1993/94/95 WCW PPV the "inductions" of wrestling legends into the"WCW Hall of Fame". I dont know if they even have these plaques up anywhere anymore, if they ever did. Its a shame because they were doing it right by getting "ALL" of the legends induction as soon as possible and giving them the respect they so deserved.
You cant really argue with any of the inductees of any of classes. I was kind of surprised how nervous and sloppily Gordon Solie handled the first year...maybe he wasn't used to being live on tv in front of that size of crowd or maybe WCW just threw him out there and just wanted it fast and over.
1995 clip starts at about 3:50.
This ended after 1995 when Gordon Solie resigned from WCW in protest over the induction of Angelo Poffo. Gordon felt he was unqualified for the Hall of Fame and was only inducted as a favor to one WCW top draws Randy Savage, since Angelo was his father.
1960 - Hard Boiled Haggerty & Len Montana defeated Murder Inc. (Tiny Mills & Stan Kowalski) to win the AWA World Tag Team Title in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This ended Murder Inc.'s second run with the belt. 1972 - Antonio Inoki defeats Karl Gotch for the New Japan Real World Heavyweight Title in Tokyo, Japan. This would be one of two title changes (Gotch wins the belt back later in the month) for the belt, which pretty much existed solely for the purpose of the Gotch-Inoki matches.
1975 - Tosh Togo defeats Jose Miguel Perez in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, to wint he WWC Puerto Rican Heavyweight Title, and ending Perez' third reign with the title.
1979 - Tatsumi Fujinami ends Ryuma Go's two-day reign as WWF Junior Heavyweight Champion by defeating him in Tokyo, Japan and regaining the title. Fujinami's second reign with the gold would end when he vacates the title and moves into the heavyweight division.
1981 - The NWA held a tournament to determine a new United States Champion. The previous champion, Wahoo McDaniel, was forced to vacate the title after being injured by Abdullah The Butcher.
The tournament was held in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here are the results:
First Round:
- Pat Patterson defeated Mike David.
- Ricky Steamboat defeated Nikolai Volkoff.
- Leroy Brown defeated Super Destroyer.
- Ivan Koloff defeated Ron Bass.
- Sgt. Slaughter defeated Johnny Weaver.
- Jay Youngblood defeated Steve Muslin.
- Jacques Goulet defeated Dusty Rhodes.
- Ole Anderson defeated Ron Ritchie.
Quarterfinals:
- Ricky Steamboat defeated Pat Patterson.
- Leroy Brown defeated Ivan Koloff.
- Sgt. Slaughter defeated Jay Youngblood.
- Jacques Goulet vs. Ole Anderson went to a double countout.
Semifinals:
- Ricky Steamboat defeated Leroy Brown.
- Sgt. Slaughter received a bye.
Finals:
- Sgt. Slaughter defeated Ricky Steamboat.
1992 - El Canek defeats Dos Caras to retain the UWA World Heavyweight Title in the main event of a show in Mexico City that draws over 28,000 fans.
1993 - Marcus Alexander Bagwell & 2 Cold Scorpio defeat The Nasty Boys to win the WCW World Tag Team Title in Columbus, Georgia. 1993 - A battle royal was held on Monday Night Raw to fill the vacant WWF Intercontinental Title (champion Shawn Michaels temporarily split with WWF over a contract dispute) with the rules being that the final two participants would meet in a singles match the following week for the title. Razor Ramon and Rick Martel were the co-winners, and would meet the following week, with Ramon winning the belt.
1937 - John Pesek was awarded the NWA (National Wrestling Association) World Heavyweight Title when the NWA decided that a $1000 bond would have to be posted by the champion for the title belt. Everett Marshall had been the recognized champion until the meeting where this decision was made, however, when the NWA announced this decision, Pesek was the only contender willing to post the bond (Marshall refused), so he was made the champion! The NWA later reconsidered their decision, and awarded the title to Lou Thesz when he defeated Marshall for the Midwest Association Heavyweight Title three months late 1977 - Peter Miavia (grandfather of The Rock) defeats WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via pinfall in a non-title match in Portland, Maine. The two would feud for several months, trading wins via countout, before Graham would pin Miavia in a title match in December in Bangor, Maine. 1980 - Andre The Giant defeated Hulk Hogan in Landover, Maryland when Hogan attempted to slam Andre and fell back with Andre landing on top of him for the pin. The same sequence would become a memorable moment in the opening seconds of their famous Wrestlemania 3 encounter (except in that case, the referee would rule that Hogan kicked out before the three count). 1986 - WWF tapes the seventh edition of Saturday Night's Main Event at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio. The show would air on NBC on October 4th, earning a 9.4 rating. Here are the results of the show: Aired on SNME: . - Ricky Steamboat defeated Jake Roberts with a cradle. After the match, Jake Roberts went for his snake, but Steamboat pulled out a kimono dragon and scared off Roberts. -
Roddy Piper defeated The Iron Sheik with a small package in under a minute. Pedro Morales was going to substitute for the injured Piper, but Piper threatened to hit Morales with his crutch if he didn't leave the ring. -
World Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Paul Orndorff via DQ when Adrian Adonis attacked Hogan. Roddy Piper, who had an injured leg, made the save, attacking Adonis with his crutch, then leaving the ring after a stare down with Hogan.
1993 - The Quebecers defeat the Steiner Brothers for the WWF Tag Team Title in New York City, ending the Steiners second, and final WWF Tag Title run, at a Monday Night Raw taping at the Manhattan Center. The match was held under "Providence Of Quebec Rules", which allowed the belt to change hands on a DQ. Other results from that show: Mr. Perfect pinned Tony DeVito, Razor Ramon pinned the Executioner, Doink (Matt Borne) pinned Rich Myers. In other matches held, with some airing the following week, Mr. Perfect pinned Mike Bell, PJ Walker (a rookie Justin Credible) pinned Irwin R. Shyster after Razor Ramon distracted IRS, Scott Steiner pinned Quebecer Pierre Oulette, Bret Hart & Randy Savage defeated WWF champion Yokozuna & Bam Bam Bigelow via DQ.
(courtesy Online Wrestling Network)
LAWLER SHOCKED 7 TIMES BEFORE BEING BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE
- Brian Christopher, the son of WWE Hall of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler,
wrote a message with an update regarding his father who yesterday
underwent angioplasty following his heart attack during the live RAW
broadcast. The former Too Cool member said that Lawler was shocked 7 times
backstage by EMTs using a defibrillator before being brought back to life,
raising concerns that there might be a possibility of brain damage due to
lack of oxygen to the brain when he was clinically dead. "Everyone out
there needs to say a special prayer for his brain at this point, please.
Tests on his brain will not be available until the morning," he wrote. On
a more positive outlook, he wrote that Jerry is being responsive to
questions and sedation and breathing support are being lowered slowly
which is a good sign.
NO BRAIN DAMAGE FOR JERRY LAWLER
- WMC-TV is reporting that Jerry Lawler's CT scan results do not show any
signs of brain damage following the heart attack on Monday. Lawler was
clinically dead backstage as EMTs and WWE's medical team did their best to
revive him. It took 7 shocks to get his heart beating again and it was
feared that the time it took would have resulted in some sort of brain
damage. The news was revealed by Joe Cooper, Lawler's best friend and
business partner. Several family members are in Montreal to stay close to
the WWE Hall of Famer but others are still behind trying to get a passport
quickly. His son Brian Christopher later updated his Facebook page with
the good news. "The CT scan of my dad's brain came back good! With his
brain not receiving oxygen for as long as it did there was a chance he
could have had brain damage. I truly believe everyone's prayers are
working and the Lord is holding him in the palm of his hand," he wrote.
Lawler is stabilized at a Montreal hospital and while still sedated, he is
responding to his family members including squeezing his girlfriend's hand
according to WMC-TV.
ROSS WRITES BLOG ABOUT HIS FRIEND JERRY LAWLER
- Jim Ross wrote a long and heart-warming blog about his good friend and
former broadcast partner Jerry Lawler on his JRsBBQ.com website, detailing
the moments he realized that King was in trouble and mentioning that both
of his parents died of heart attacks at the age of 64. Ross spoke highly
of the EMTs and the WWE medical team that attended to the fellow Hall of
Famer on Monday, saying that if Lawler was somewhere else - restaurant,
driving, or even wrestling at an indy show - the outcome would have been
different due to the lack of immediate help. JR also said that he doesn't
think he and King are over and can still see a road trip and calling more
matches together, describing him as his favorite broadcast partner of all
time. Ross also had words of praise for Michael Cole and how he handled
the situation on live television. "There aren't adequate words to express
the stellar job that Michael Cole did sitting at the broadcast desk," Ross
noted. Cole had to sit at the table for another hour, giving updates and
looking like an emotional wreck in the process. JR closed his blog by
calling the work of Punk, Cena, and Hart, "nothing short of extraordinary"
considering the circumstances. "I am proud of each man and the entire WWE
team for responding in the face of immense adversity that faced them in
Montreal."