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THIS DAY IN HISTORY: LAWLER WINS THE AWA TITLE, THE FIRST WWWF TITLE MATCH IN JAPAN, SLAMBOREE IN ST. LOUIS AND MORE

By Ryan Martinez on 2008-05-09 08:00:00

May 9th

On this day in history in ....

1931 - Jim Deakin defeats Jack Haymon in Sydney, Australia to become the first Australian Middleweight Champion.

1940 - Herb Parks defeats Prince Ilaki for the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Title in Eugene, Oregon.

1950 - Ben and Mike Sharpe defeat Ray Eckert and Hard Boiled Haggerty to win the San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Title.

1951 - Buddy Rogers defeats Bobby Managoff to win the Montreal Athletic Commission's World Heavyweight Title in Montreal, Quebec.

1957 - Mike Shaw is born in Skandia, Michigan. Shaw is better known for his many gimmicks in different promotions in North America. Those include Klondike Mike (Vancouver), Makhan Singh (Stampede and GWF), Norman the Lunatic (WCW), Aaron Grundy (CMLL), Friar Ferguson (WWF), and perhaps his most memorable, also in the WWF, Bastion Booger.

1957 - Ben and Mike Sharpe defeat Leo Nomellini and Enrique Torres for the San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Title in Stockton, California, ending Nomellini and Torres' second reign and beginning the Sharpes' 14th reign.

1957 - Bob Geigel defeats Don Curtis to win the Amarillo NWA North American Heavyweight Title in Amarillo, Texas.

1957 - Pat O'Connor and Whipper Billy Watson defeat Bill and Ed Miller for the NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Title in Toronto, Ontario.

1958 - El Medico defeats Pepper Gomez to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title in Houston, Texas, ending Gomez's eighth reign and beginning Medico's fifth.

1961 - Guy Mitchell and Bob Rasmussen defeat Gypsy Joe and Skull Murphy to win the Georgia NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Macon, Georgia. This match was actually a repeat of the title change between them four days earlier in Atlanta.

1961 - John DePaulo and Stan Mykietowich defeat Frenchy Champagne and Ole Olsen in Winnipeg, Manitoba to win the Madison Wrestling Club Tag Team Title.

1966 - Tony Borne and John Tolos defeat Paddy Barrett and Tom Geohagen for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title in Vancouver, British Columbia, ending Barrett and Geohagen's second reign.

1967 - Jack Brisco and Gorgeous George, Jr. defeat The Assassins to win the Tri-State NWA United States Tag Team Title in Little Rock, Arkansas, ending the Assassins' second reign.

1967 - Jose Lothario and Wahoo McDaniel defeat Rocket and Sputnik Monroe for the Florida NWA World Tag Team Title, beginning their second reign.

1968 - Ron Etchison and Sonny Myers defeat Bob Brown and Bob Geigel to win the Central States NWA North American Tag Team Title in Kansas City, Kansas. This began Etchison and Myers' second reign and ended Brown and Geigel's fourth.

1969 - Mario Milano defeats The Spoiler (Don Jardine) for the International Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Title in Sydney, Australia, to begin his fourth reign.

1971 - Future six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tatsumi Fujinami makes his pro debut for the Japan Wrestling Association.

1972 - Boris Malenko and Bob Roop defeat Bobby Shane and Bearcat Wright for the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in Tampa, Florida.

1972 - Georgia Championship Wrestling held an event at the Macon Coliseum in Macon, Georgia. The results were:
- Buddy Colt and Karl Von Stroheim defeated Cisco Grimaldo and Koa Tiki.
- Vicky Williams defeated NWA World Women's Champion The Fabulous Moolah by disqualification. Moolah retained the title.
- Roberto Soto defeated Billy Spears in a taped fist match.
- The Assassins (Jody Hamilton and Tom Renesto) defeated NWA Macon Tag Team Champions Bob Armstrong and Bill Dromo to win the title, ending Armstrong and Dromo's second reign.

1972 - The Royal Kangaroos (Jonathan Boyd and Norman Frederick Charles) win their fourth NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title, by ending the 11th reign of Tony Borne and Moondog Mayne.

1973 - Jerry Lawler and Jim White defeats Jackie Fargo and Jerry Jarrett for the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Nashville, Tennessee. This began Lawler and White's second reign and ended Fargo and Jarrett's second reign.

1975 - PWF Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba and WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino face off in Tokyo, Japan with both titles on the line, with the match ending in a no-contest. It was the first WWWF title match ever held in Japan.

1975 - Georgia Championship Wrestling held an event at the Municipal Auditorium in Atlanta, Georgia. The results:
- Ken Dillinger defeated Dennis Hall.
- Tommy Gilbert defeated Cowboy Parker.
- Bob Armstrong and Robert Fuller defeated NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions Assassin #2 and Toru Tanaka (with Rock Hunter) to win the title.
- Dory Funk, Jr., defeated Jerry Lawler.
- Chris Taylor defeated Abdullah the Butcher (with Rock Hunter).
- Mr. Wrestling II defeated Rock Hunter in a steel cage match.

1975 - J.C. Dykes defeats Dick Dunn for the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title in Dothan, Alabama, ending Dunn's fifth reign.

1975 - Big Bad John defeats Rip Tyler to win the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title in Meridian, Mississippi.

1975 - The Missouri Mauler and Steve Rackman defeat Ron Miller and Larry O'Day for the NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Title in Sydney, Australia, ending their third reign.

1981 - Carlos Colón defeats Killer Karl Krupp to win his sixth WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title and eighth WWC North American Heavyweight Title in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. This a rematch from their May 2 meeting in San Juan.

1981 - Devil Masami defeats Tomoko Kitamura (Lioness Asuka) for the vacant AJW Singles Title in Omiya, Japan.

1983 - Dutch Mantel defeats Bill Dundee to win the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee, ending Dundee's sixth reign and beginning Mantel's fourth.

1984 - Championship Wrestling from Florida held an event at the Convention Hall in Miami Beach, Florida before 4,545 fans. The results:
- Dennis Brown defeated Mike Fever in a $2,000 bonus match.
- Kevin Sullivan defeated Mike Davis.
- Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Joe Lightfoot in a no-disqualification match.
- Mike Graham and Mike Rotundo defeated Chavo and Hector Guerrero in a best-of-three falls match.
- Kevin Sullivan defeated Dennis Brown. This replaced the scheduled match between NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion Billy Jack (Haynes) and Molokai.
- Blackjack Mulligan and Barry Windham defeated NWA Florida United States Tag Team Champions - NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Champion Ron Bass and NWA Florida Brass Knuckles Champion Black Bart.
- Dusty Rhodes defeated The Purple Haze in 14 seconds in a loser leaves town match.

1987 - The WWF held an event at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The results:
- Pedro Morales pinned Steve Lombardi after a backbreaker. This match aired on the June 17 Prime Time Wrestling.
- The Young Stallions (Jim Powers and Paul Roma) defeated The Shadows, when Powers got the pin after a crossbody. This match aired on the June 8 Prime Time Wrestling.
- Kamala (with Mr. Fuji and Kimchee) defeated George Steele by countout after Steele chased Kimchee backstage with Fuji's cane. This match aired on the June 17 Prime Time Wrestling.
- WWF Champion Hulk Hogan pinned King Harley Race with a roll-up. After the match, Race wanted to keep fighting, and they did so until Hercules ran in and choked Hogan with his chain. Hogan ended up clearing the ring. Later on in the event, Hogan announced that a tag team match had been signed for the next Spectrum event on June 20, against Hercules and Race in a tag team match, and that they would be surprised at who his partner will be. Hogan's partner at the June 20 show turned out to be Ken Patera.
- Billy Jack Haynes (subbing for Jake Roberts) pinned The Honky Tonk Man (with Jimmy Hart) after Honky Tonk Man collided with Hart, who was on the ring apron. This match aired on the June 8 Prime Time Wrestling.
- Nikolai Volkoff pinned Corporal Kirchner after a backbreaker. This match aired on the June 17 Prime Time Wrestling.
- Danny Davis (with Jimmy Hart) pinned Koko B. Ware after hitting him with a foreign object.
- The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers (Jacques and Raymond) defeated Dino Bravo and Greg Valentine (with Johnny V), when Jacques pinned Valentine with a small package.

1987 - Badd Company (Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka) defeat Steve Keirn and Mark Starr for the CWA/AWA International Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

1987 - J.R. Bundy and Rick Davis defeats Timothy Flowers and Jonathan Sayers to win the Universal Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Title in Cloverdale, British Columbia.

1988 - The Championship (formerly Continental) Wrestling Association held an event at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee. The results were:
- Brickhouse Brown defeated The Nightmare.
- Mark Starr and Scott Steiner defeated Doug and Tommy Gilbert.
- AWA World Tag Team Champions Badd Company (Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka) defeated Tom Brandi and Billy Travis.
- The Cuban Assassins defeated The Bruise Brothers (Don and Ron Harris).
- Mike Graham and Steve Keirn defeated CWA Heavyweight Champion Max Pain and Gary Young.
- Jerry Jarrett and Robert Fuller fought to a double-disqualification.
- Bill Dundee defeated Eddie Gilbert.
- Jerry Lawler defeated AWA World Heavyweight Champion Curt Hennig to win the title.

1989 - Mike Graham and Dustin Rhodes defeat Southern Force (Black Bart and Bobby Jaggers) for the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in Tampa, Florida.

1992 - The Sioux War Party (Dancing Wolf and White Cloud) defeat The Canadians in the finals of an eight-team tournament in Hamburg, Pennsylvania to win the vacant IWCCW Tag Team Title.

1992 - Ole Olson defeats Moondog Moretti to win the West Coast Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title in Cloverdale, British Columbia, beginning and ended each man's second reigns.

1993 - Smoky Mountain Wrestling held Volunteer Slam II at the Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. The results were:
- Robert Gibson defeated The Tazmaniac.
- Killer Kyle defeated Robert Fuller by disqualification.
- SMW Television Champion Brian Lee defeated SMW Tag Team Champion Stan Lane.
- Kevin Sullivan defeated Jimmy Golden.
- SMW Tag Team Champion Tom Prichard defeated Ricky Morton.
- SMW Heavyweight Champion Tracy Smothers defeated The Dirty White Boy in a "coward waves the flag" match to retain the title.
- Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden, SMW Television Champion Brian Lee and The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) defeated SMW Tag Team Champions The Heavenly Bodies (Stan Lane and Tom Prichard), Killer Kyle, Kevin Sullivan and The Tazmaniac in a steel cage match, when Morton made Lane submit.

1993 - The Head Hunters defeat Yukihiro Kanemura and Miguel Pérez, Jr. in the finals of a four-team tournament in Saitama, Japan to win the vacant W*ING World Tag Team Title. They were the last champions, as W*ING closed in March 1994. At the same event, El Texano won the WWC/W*ING World Junior Heavyweight Title from Masayoshi Motegi, ending his second reign.

1994 - Brian Christopher defeats Doug Gilbert in a hair vs. title match to win the USWA Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning Christopher's 13th reign and ending Gilbert's third.

1996 - Malia Hosaka defeats Debbie Combs for the NWA World Women's Title in Johnson City, Tennessee.

1998 - Tre defeats Millennium to win the NWA New England Cruiserweight Title in Somerville, Massachusetts.

1998 - Magic defeats Matthew T. Storm for the NWA New York Heavyweight Title in Staten Island, New York, to begin his second reign. At the same event, Lord Zieg defeats Eclipse, Chris Michaels and Mr. Motion in a four-way match to become the first NWA New York Television Champion.

1999 - WCW held its seventh-annual Slamboree pay-per-view event at the Trans World Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. 20,516 fans attended the show, which got a 0.45 buyrate. The results were:
- In a dark match, Dale Torborg pinned Johnny Swinger.
- Raven and Saturn defeated Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko (with Arn Anderson) and WCW World Tag Team Champions Billy Kidman & Rey Mysterio in a three-way match, when Raven pinned Kidman after an Evenflow DDT off the top rope following interference from Chris Kanyon, to win the title.
- Konnan pinned Stevie Ray (with Horace Hogan and Vincent) with a roll-up after Rey Misterio, Jr. interfered.
- Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Brian Knobbs in a hardcore match, after a suplex through a souvenir stand.
- Rick Steiner pinned WCW World Television Champion Booker T after a diving bulldog to win the title, beginning Steiner's second reign and ending Booker's sixth.
- Gorgeous George (with Madusa, Miss Madness and Randy Savage) pinned Charles Robinson (with Asya and Ric Flair) after a flying elbowdrop.
- WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Scott Steiner defeated Buff Bagwell by submission with the Steiner Recliner to retain the title. After the match, Rick Steiner came out and helped Scott attack Bagwell.
- Roddy Piper defeated Ric Flair (with Arn Anderson and Asya) by disqualification. Flair had originally won by pinning Piper, but Eric Bischoff came out and disqualified Flair for hitting Piper with a foreign object.
- Sting fought Goldberg to a no-contest after Bret Hart came out and attacked the referee. After the match, The Steiner Brothers came out and attacked Sting and Goldberg.
- Kevin Nash pinned WCW World Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page after a Jackknife powerbomb to win the title.

2000 - The WWF taped May 11 and May 14's respective editions of SmackDown! and Sunday Night Heat at the New Haven Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut. SmackDown! got a 5.0 rating on UPN. The results were:
- In a dark match, The Dupps (Bo and Jack) defeated The Mean Street Posse (Pete Gas and Rodney).
Heat:
- Val Venis defeated Matt Hardy.
- Hardcore Holly defeated D'Lo Brown.
- Steve Blackman and Al Snow defeated Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn.
- Jeff Hardy defeated Essa Rios (with Lita).
- Too Cool (Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian by disqualification. Edge and Christian retained the title.
SmackDown!:
- T&A (Test and Albert) (with Gerald Brisco, Shane McMahon and Trish Stratus) defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von).
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Chris Benoit defeated The Godfather to retain the title.
- WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Dean Malenko defeated Chyna to retain the title.
- Kurt Angle and WWF Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian defeated Chris Jericho and The Hardy Boyz (Jeff and Matt).
- WWF Hardcore Champion The British Bulldog fought Hardcore Holly to a no-contest when Crash Holly interfered, and defeated the Bulldog to win the title. This began Crash's seventh reign as champion and ended Bulldog's second.
- The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) defeated The Big Show in a handicap tables match.
- WWF European Champion Eddie Guerrero (with Chyna) defeated Perry Saturn (with WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Dean Malenko) to retain the title.
- D-Generation X (Road Dogg, WWF Champion Triple H (with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) and X-Pac (with Tori)) defeated Too Cool (Grandmaster Sexay, Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty) in an elimination match.

2000 - WCW taped the May 10 edition of Thunder at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield, Illinois, which got a 2.5 rating on TBS. The results:
- WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chris Candido (with Tammy) defeated Crowbar (with Daffney) to retain the title.
- WCW Hardcore Champion Terry Funk defeated Harlem Heat 2000 (Big T and Stevie Ray (with J. Biggs and Kash)) in a handicap hardcore match to retain the title.
- Shawn Stasiak defeated Lash LeRoux.
- Rhonda Singh defeated Elizabeth by disqualification.
- WCW Hardcore Champion Terry Funk defeated Chuck Palumbo in a hardcore match to retain the title.
- Juventud Guerrera, Billy Kidman, Konnan and Rey Mysterio, Jr. defeated Horace in a handicap falls count anywhere Texas Death I Quit match. As a result of the loss, Horace was fired.
- David Flair (with Daffney) defeated Arn Anderson.
- KroniK (Brian Adams and Bryan Clark) fought Tank Abbott and Rick Steiner to a no-contest.
- Mike Awesome defeated Sting in an ambulance match.

2004 - Kenichiro Arai, Dragon Kid and Second (Naruki) Doi defeat Touru Owashi, Condotti Shuji (Shuji Kondo) and YASSINI in Shimonoseki, Japan to win the UWA World Trios Title.

2006 - WWE taped the May 11 SmackDown! and May 12 Velocity at the iPayOne Center in San Diego, California. The results:
Velocity:
- Funaki defeated Sylvan.
- Matt Hardy defeated Simon Dean
- Chris Benoit defeated William Regal by submission.
- Gunner Scott defeated Orlando Jordan.
SmackDown!:
- Super Crazy defeated Kid Kash and Nunzio in a triple threat match by pinning Nunzio to earn a shot at Gregory Helms' WWE Cruiserweight Title at May 20's Judgment Day.
- The Gymini (Jake and Jesse) defeated Joey Ryan and Mike Wellington, when Ryan was pinned following a double throw into the air.
- Bobby Lashley pinned Finlay after a spear to advance to the King of the Ring Tournament finals at Judgment Day.
- Mark Henry pinned Paul Birchill after a powerslam.
- The Great Khali (with Daivari) pinned World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio after a double choke throw.
- In a dark match after the show, World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio defeated WWE United States Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Mark Henry in a triple threat match by pinning JBL after a frog splash.

2006 - Jon Moxley defeats Pepper Parks for the Heartland Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title in Cincinnati, Ohio.

2007 - OVW held its weekly television taping at Davis Arena in Louisville, Kentucky. The results were:
Dark matches:
- Maryse defeated Victoria Crawford.
- Dan Rodman defeated Andrew Vain.
- Jay Bradley defeated Chris Cage.
- Seth Skyfire defeated Del Electrico.
- Antoni Polaski defeated Mike Hutter.
- Mike Mondo defeated Boris Alexiev.
- Atlas DaBone, Johnny Jeter, ODB and She Nay Nay defeated Vladimir Kozlov, Beth Phoenix, Roucka and Mr. Strongko.
Televised matches, which aired May 12:
- OVW Television Champion Shawn Spears defeated Chet the Jett.
- The Major Brothers (Brett and Brian) defeated Los Locos (Ramón and Raúl).
- Michael W. Kruel defeated Steve Lewington.
- Jamin Olivencia defeated OVW Southern Tag Team Champion Justin LaRouche.
- The James Boys (Kassidy and K.C. James) defeated Jake Hager and Dirty Money.
- OVW Women's Champion Katie Lea defeated Serena.
- Paul Burchill defeated OVW Heavyweight Champion Idol Stevens to win the title, beginning his third reign.

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