PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

 
 

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: CHRISTIAN QUITS WWE, ANDERSON & BLANCHARD TEAM FOR THE LAST TIME, WWE TRIES TO REPLACE STEVE AUSTIN AND MORE

By Buck Woodward on 2007-10-31 08:00:00

October 31st

On this day in history in ....

1979 - Giant Baba defeats Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Title in Nagoya, Japan, ending Race's third reign with the belt, and starting Baba's second run as champion.

1989 - WWF's Saturday Night's Main Event was taped in Topeka, Kansas at the Kansas Coliseum. The show aired on NBC on November 25, 1989, doing a 8.7 rating. Interesting to note, by the time the show aired, Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson were already gone from the company (Anderson wrestled his last match at Survivor Series a few days before the SNME broadcast and went to WCW, Blanchard was suspended on November 2nd for failing a cocaine test). Here are the results from the show:
- The Ultimate Warrior defeated Andre The Giant via disqualification.
- Lanny Poffo defeated WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan via countout. After the match, Mr. Perfect destroyed the WWF Title belt with a hammer.
- Dusty Rhodes defeated Big Bossman.
- Mr. Perfect defeated Red Rooster.
- The Rockers (Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels) defeated The Brain Busters (Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson) in a three falls match. Jannetty pinned Blanchard in the first fall, Blanchard pinned Michaels in the second fall, and Michaels pinned Anderson in the third and final fall. This would be the last match Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson ever wrestled together as a tag team.

1997 - Joe Rules wins a battle royal in Bayonne, New Jersey, to become the first Jersey All-Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Champion, then loses the belt on the same night to Pitbull #2.

1998 - Mitsuharu Misawa defeats Kenta Kobashi for the All Japan Triple Crown in Tokyo, Japan. With this win, Misawa tied Stan Hansen's record for most Triple Crown title reigns at four (Misawa would go on to have five, which has since been tied by Toshiaki Kawada).

2000 - Ivory defeats champion Lita, Trish Stratus and Jacqueline for the WWF Women's Title in Rochester, New York, in a four way match. This would begin Ivory's third (and to date, final) run with the belt.

2005 - Former Intercontinental Champion Christian quits World Wrestling Entertainent, becoming (arguably) the first major star to make the decision to leave WWE for TNA.  Christian would fulfill his remaining appearance (the Taboo Tuesday PPV) before leaving WWE.

2005 - On an edition of Raw from the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California, WWE made a huge change to the Taboo Tuesday PPV. Steve Austin, scheduled to wrestle Jonathan Coachman at the event with the stipulation that Jim Ross would be rehired as the announcer on Raw if Austin won, had balked at WWE's plans for the event (they wanted Coachman to defeat Austin in Austin's first match in years).  During Raw, Vince McMahon announced that Austin was in "an accident" and that Coachman would now face someone from Smackdown instead (with the Jim Ross stipulation being forgotten). Out came Smackdown's Sho Funaki, who was then beat up by Goldust (making his return to WWE after two years).  Coach then called out anyone from Smackdown, and World Champion Batista came out, but was attacked by Vader (making his return to WWE after seven years).  This would set up Coach, with Vader & Goldust, vs. Batista at Taboo Tuesday, hardly a substitute for Steve Austin's return to wrestling.

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!