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THIS DAY IN HISTORY: PUBLIC ENEMY SAYS GOODBYE TO ECW, ROB VAN DAM SAYS HELLO TO ECW

By Buck Woodward on 2011-01-05 08:00:00

January 5th

On this day in history in ....

1948 - Orville Brown defeats Sonny Myers in Des Moines, Iowa to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title for the second time. The current National Wrestling Alliance would be founded in July of that year, with Brown recognized as the champion.

1950 - Frankie Talaber wins his seventh Midwest Wrestling Association World Junior Heavyweight Title in Columbus, Ohio, defeating Cyclone Anaya.

1951 - Danny Savich defeats Danny McShain to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title in Houston, Texas, ending McShain's fifth reign.

1956 - Zack Melkov and Tony Toss defeat Jack Allen and Jerry Woods for the NWA Illinois Midwest Tag Team Title in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1957 - Mick McManus defeats Jack Dempsey to win the British Welterweight Title in London, England, ending and beginning each man's second reign.

1958 - Yvon Robert and Billy Wicks defeat Don and Jackie Fargo for the Mid-America version of the NWA World Tag Team Title in Mobile, Alabama, ending the Fargos' third reign.

1962 - Dory Dixon wins the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title for the second time, defeating Jack Dalton (Don Fargo) in Houston, Texas.

1965 - Fritz Von Erich defeats Pepper Gomez for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title.

1966 - Nick Kozak defeats Killer Kowalski to win the Hawaii version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Title. At the same event, Ron Reed defeats Luther Lindsay for the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title.

1967 - Tony Borne wins the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title for the eighth time, ending the second reign of Paul Jones.

1968 - Stan Stasiak defeats Moondog Mayne to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title, beginning his third reign and ending Mayne's second.

1968 - Alberto and Enrique Torres defeat Butcher and Stan Vachon for the Georgia version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Atlanta, Georgia. This ended the Vachons' third reign and began the Torres' second.

1968 - Frank and Jack Dalton defeat Don Carson and Dick Dunn to win the vacant NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Title in Dothan, Alabama. The title was held up after a match between then-champions Randy and Rip Tyler and Ramon Perez and Eddie Sullivan in Mobile on November 2, and vacated when the champions no-showed a scheduled November 8 rematch.

1970 - Former nWo girl, WCW interviewer and 2000 Miss WCW, Pamela Paulshock, is born in Baltimore, Maryland.

1973 - Kurt Von Hess and Karl Von Shotz defeat Fred Curry and Tony Marino in Detroit, Michigan, to win the Detroit version of the NWA World Tag Team Title for the second time.

1974 - Jimmy and Johnny Valiant defeat Dick the Bruiser and WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino for the World Wrestling Association World Tag Team Title in Indianapolis, Indiana.

1974 - John Quinn is awarded the Superstar Championship Wrestling Western States Heavyweight Title, after previous champion Bob Mongol (Bull Johnson) left the promotion.

1976 - Don Leo Jonathan defeats Gene Kiniski in Vancouver, British Columbia for the Vancouver version of the NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title, ending Kiniski's fifth reign and beginning Jonathan's fourth.

1978 - The Samoans (Afa and Sika) defeat Animal Hamaguchi and Great Kusatsu to win the International Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Title in Osaka, Japan.

1980 - Steve Travis defeats Austin Idol to win the NWA Georgia Television Title.

1983 - The Fabulous Kangaroos (Johnny Heffernan and Don Kent) defeat Ron Bass and Barry Windham for the NWA Florida Global Tag Team Title in Miami, Florida.

1984 - Adrian Street defeats Relampago Leon to win the Southwest Championship Wrestling Southwest Junior Heavyweight Title in Beaumont, Texas.

1986 - Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura, who had defeated Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi in the finals of the 1985 IWGP Tag League in Sendai, Japan, are officially recognized as the first IWGP World Tag Team Champions, with the reign beginning with the victory over Inoki and Sakaguchi on December 12.

1986 - The Jumping Bomb Angels (Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki) defeat Bull Nakano and Condor Saito in Tokyo, Japan to wint he vacant WWWA World Tag Team Title.

1987 - Soul Train Jones defeats Big Bubba for the CWA/AWA International Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

1988 - Jack Victory and John Tatum defeat Skip Young in a handicap match to win Young and Tony Atlas' World Class Texas Tag Team Title in Fort Worth, Texas. Atlas no-showed the event.

1988 - Hurricane Castillo, Jr. defeats Galan Mendoza in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico to win the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title for the second time, ending Mendoza's second reign.

1989 - The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) defeat Johnny Ace and The Terminator for the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in Nassau, Bahamas.

1989 - In Tokyo, Japan, Chigusa Nagayo wins her second International Wrestling Association of Japan Women's Title from Madusa Miceli, just one day after Miceli won the title from Nagayo.

1990 - Kerry Von Erich defeats Jerry Lawler to win the World Class Texas Heavyweight Title in Dallas, Texas, beginning his second reign.

1991 - The WWF runs an event at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. The results:
- Jimmy Snuka pinned Greg Valentine.
- WWF Tag Team Champions The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) defeated Power and Glory (Hercules and Paul Roma) to retain the titles.
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Kerry Von Erich pinned Virgil to retain the title.
- Jake Roberts defeated Rick Martel by disqualification.
- The Legion of Doom (Animal and Hawk) defeated The Orient Express (Kato and Tanaka).
- Hulk Hogan and Tugboat defeated Dino Bravo and Earthquake.

1992 - Sakie Hasegawa and Debbie Malenko defeat Takako Inoue and Mariko Yoshida for the AJW World Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan.

1994 - Kouji Ishinriki defeats Ultimo Dragon to win the UWA World Middleweight Title in Osaka, Japan, ending Dragon's fourth reign.

1996 - ECW holds "House Party '96" at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The results:
- 911 and Rey Misterio, Jr. defeated The Eliminators (Kronus and Saturn), when Misterio pinned Saturn.
- Rob Van Dam pinned Axl Rotten in his ECW Arena debut.
- 2 Cold Scorpio pinned ECW World Television and World Tag Team Champion Mikey Whipwreck to win the Television title, ending Whipwreck's second reign and beginning his fourth.
- Taz defeated Hack Myers by submission.
- Buh Buh Ray Dudley pinned Jimmy Del Ray.
- The Bad Crew and J.T. Smith & Tony Stetson fought to a no contest.
- ECW World Heavyweight Champion The Sandman defeated Konnan by TKO.
- Sabu pinned Stevie Richards.
- The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock) defeated The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustapha Saed), when Rock pinned Saed.  This was Public Enemy's last ECW match before leaving for WCW.

1996 - Jason the Terrible and Super Leather defeat Horace Boulder and Hisakatsu Ooya for the FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan.

1996 - D'Lo Brown defeats Bobby Blaze in a tournament final to become the first Heartland Wrestling Association Heavyweight Champion in Fort Wright, Kentucky.

1998 - The Monday Night War continued, with WCW Monday Nitro's 4.3 rating defeating WWF RAW is WAR's 3.3 rating.

WCW Monday Nitro's results from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia:
- WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page defeated Chris Jericho.
- Goldberg defeated Stevie Ray.
- John Nord defeated The Barbarian.
- Juventud Guerrera defeated Psychosis.
- WCW World Television Champion Booker T defeated Prince Iaukea.
- Ray Traylor and WCW World Tag Team Champions The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) defeated Buff Bagwell, Konnan and Scott Norton.
- Rick Martel defeated Brad Armstrong.
- Scotty Riggs and Perry Saturn defeated Chris Benoit and Steve McMichael.
- Lex Luger defeated Randy Savage.

WWF RAW is WAR's results from the New Haven Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut, taped December 30, which featured many Stone Cold Stunners:
- Ken Shamrock defeated Faarooq by submission, after The Nation's interference backfired. Steve Austin came out and gave both The Rock and Shamrock Stone Cold Stunners.
- Jeff Jarrett pinned Barry Windham to win the vacant NWA North American Heavyweight Title. Austin again came out and gave Jarrett a Stunner after the match. Before the match Jim Cornette came to the ring with NWA President and Vice President Howard Brodie and Dennis Corraluzzo to announce the match was for the title. This began the "NWA Invasion" angle.
- The Disciples of Apocalypse (8-Ball and Skull) defeats The Truth Commission (Recon and Sniper).
- Owen Hart pinned Savio Vega.
- Marc Mero defeated Tom Brandi by disqualification when Austin interfered and Stunnered Mero.
- Flash Funk defeated The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust by disqualification after Luna pushed Funk off the top rope.
- WWF Tag Team Champions The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg) defeated The Headbangers (Mosh and Thrasher) in a non-title match, when Gunn pinned Mosh.
- The show closed with The Undertaker popping out of a DX-graffitied casket and stuffing WWF Champion Shawn Michaels inside.

2000 - Tetsuhiro Kuroda defeats Masato Tanaka for the WEW Heavyweight Title in Tokyo, Japan.

2001 - Damien Steele defeats Eddie Colon, Richie Santiago, Black Boy and Rockero in a five-way match in Ponce, Puerto Rico to win the vacant WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title.

2005 - Eddie Colon defeats Titus (Ryan Wilson) for the vacant WWC Universal Heavyweight Title, beginning his second reign.

2006 - Cerebro Negro, Scorpio, Jr. and El Veneno defeat Negro Casas, Felino and Heavy Metal in Naucalpan, Mexico for the IWRG Intercontinental Trios Title.

2007 - Mr. Big wins his second IWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Title in Isabela, Puerto Rico, defeating Chicano, ending his third reign.

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