PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

 
 

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: WWF AIRS THE WRESTLING CLASSIC ON PPV, RHODES & MURDOCH WIN GOLD AND MORE

By Buck Woodward on 2008-11-07 08:00:00

November 7th

On this day in history in ....

1901 - Tom Jenkins defeats Don McLeod to win the American Heavyweight Title. 

1968 - Dick Murdoch & Dusty Rhodes defeat Tommy & Terry Martin to win the NWA North American Tag Team Title in Kansas City, Kansas.

1984 - Bill Dundee defeats Adrian Street in Shreveport, Louisiana to win the Mid-South Wrestling Association Television Title. 

1985 - WWF's first full fledged Pay-per-view, The Wrestling Classic, was held at the Rosemont Horizon in Illinois. While Wrestlemania and Wrestlemania 2 had been available in a few markets (in most cases test markets for PPV), the majority of their penetration was via closed-circuit television, which had been used for many years in wrestling. This was the start of WWF (now WWE) changing the way wrestling is presented, with Pay-per-view events eventually becoming an integral part of wrestling. Here are the results of the show, which was built around a one-night tournament. 
First Round:
- Adrian Adonis defeated Cpl. Kirschner with a DDT.
- Dynamite Kid defeated Nikolai Volkoff when he dropkicked Volkoff from the top rope as Volkoff finished singing the Russian national anthem and pinned him in less than ten seconds.
- Randy Savage defeated Ivan Putski by cradling him and putting his feet on the ropes for leverage.
- Ricky Steamboat defeated Davey Boy Smith when Smith missed a dropkick and crotched himself on the top rope, and was unable to continue.
- Junkyard Dog defeated The Iron Sheik with a headbutt in under two minutes. 
- Moondog Spot defeated Terry Funk via countout in less than 30 seconds. Funk claimed he didn't want to wrestle Spot, and convinced Spot they should just go to the back and both be counted out. Spot agreed, then Funk hit him in the aisle and tried to run back into the ring. Spot stopped him on the floor, and Funk lifted him for a slam, but Spot floated over him, onto the ring apron, and rolled into the ring as the referee reached ten, giving Spot the countout win.
- Tito Santana defeated Magnificent Muraco. Muraco scored a pin, but Santana's foot was on the ropes, which the referee saw as he counted three. Santana then rolled up Muraco for the pin.
- Paul Orndorff defeated Cowboy Bob Orton via DQ when Orton hit Orndorff with his cast.
Quarterfinals:
- Dynamite Kid defeated Adrian Adonis after ramming Adonis into Jimmy Hart, and Hart's megaphone, as Hart was on the apron trying to help Adonis.
- Randy Savage defeated Ricky Steamboat when Savage hit Steamboat with a foreign object as Steamboat went for a back suplex. 
- Junkyard Dog defeated Moondog Spot in under a minute. They started fighting before a referee even got to the ring for the match, so JYD counted his own pin on Spot after a headbutt.
- Tito Santana vs. Paul Orndorff ended in a double countout as the two brawled outside the ring.
Semifinals:
- Randy Savage defeated Dynamite Kid when Dynamite hit a top rope superplex, but Savage swung his legs up from the mat as Dynamite rolled over, getting the pin with a small package.
- Junkyard Dog received a bye to the finals.
Finals: 
- Junkyard Dog defeated Randy Savage via countout to win the Wrestling Classic tournament after hitting some headbutts and throwing Savage to the floor.
- In a non-tournament match, WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Roddy Piper via disqualification when Bob Orton interfered. Paul Orndorff made the save. 

1997 - Buddy Landell defeats Bull Pain in Lexington, Kentucky to win the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title. 

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!