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THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DINO BRAVO MURDERED, STING, SNOW, STEVENS, AND EVEN A LADDER WIN GOLD AND MORE

March 11th

On this day in history in ....

1935 - Pat Newman defeats Jack Ross for the Georgia Southern Lightweight Title in Augusta, Georgia. This began Newman's second reign and ended Ross' third reign.

1936 - Tarzan Lopez defeats Mario Nuñez to win the Mexican National Welterweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico.

1941 - Bronko Nagurski wins his second National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title in Minneapolis, Minnesota, defeating Ray Steele. Nagurski was also recognized as champion in Toronto.

1946 - Ken Fenelon becomes the first two-time NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, by defeating Larry Tillman in Des Moines, Iowa.

1952 - Hombre Montana defeats Mike Sharpe in San Francisco, California to win the San Francisco NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title, ending Sharpe's second reign and beginning his second.

1961 - Danny Ferraza defeats Dick Garza for the Wolverine Wrestling Midwest Heavyweight Title in Flint, Michigan.

1963 - Mitsu Arakawa defeat Kinji Shibuya defeats Gene Kiniski and Mr. X for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title in Vancouver, British Columbia.

1964 - Antonio Inoki made his wrestling debut in Honolulu, Hawaii.

1967 - Rey Mendoza defeats Rene Guajardo for the NWA World Middleweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico, ending Guajardo's fourth reign.

1967 - Ray Stevens wins the San Francisco NWA United States Heavyweight Title for the sixth time, defeating Bill Watts in San Francisco, California.

1968 - Aldo Bogni and Bronko Lubich defeat Eddie Graham and Lester Welch to win the Florida NWA Southern Tag Team Title in West Palm Beach, Florida, beginning their third reign.

1971 - Ken Lucas and Johnny West defeat Jack Morrell and Eddie Sullivan for the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Title in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

1972 - Masa Saito defeats Dory Dixon for the NWA Beat the Champ Television Title in Los Angeles, California.

1972 - Yasu Fuji and Chati Yokouchi win their third Central States NWA North American Tag Team Title in Wichita, Kansas, from Omar Atlas and Daniel Little Bear, ending their second reign.

1977 - Perro Aguayo wins his second NWA World Middleweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico, defeating El Faraon. As a result, Aguayo's Mexican National Middleweight Title was vacated.

1977 - Sonny King defeats Rip Tyler for the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title in Dothan, Alabama, ending Tyler's second reign.

1978 - Pierre Martel defeats Invader I to win the WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Title in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.

1980 - Paul Ellering and Sheik Ali Hassan defeat Ken Lucas and Billy Robinson to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Title in Louisville, Kentucky, ending Lucas and Robinson's second reign.

1989 - The WWF's 20th edition of Saturday Night's Main Event airs on NBC, earning a 10.0 rating. The show was taped on February 16 at the Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The results:
- Brutus Beefcake defeated Rick Rude (with Bobby Heenan) by disqualification, when André the Giant interfered and attacked Beefcake on the floor, with Jake Roberts making the save. Roberts was then attacked by both André and Rude in the ring, with Beefcake trying to make the save for Jake. Beefcake threw Rude out of the ring but was taken out by André. Big John Studd then came out and had a staredown with André, until Jake threw his snake, Damien, in the ring and scared André away.
- Hulk Hogan (with Miss Elizabeth) pinned Bad News Brown after the legdrop.
- Ted DiBiase (with Virgil) pinned The Blue Blazer with a powerslam. This was DiBiase's first in-ring appearance with his Million Dollar Belt.
- The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard (with Bobby Heenan)) and The Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels) fought to a double-countout.
- The Red Rooster pinned The Brooklyn Brawler with an inside cradle.

1989 - Al Perez defeats Mike Graham for the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title in Tampa, Florida, ending Graham's second reign.

1989 - Jeff Jarrett defeats Dutch Mantel to win the Championship (formerly Continental) Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

1989 - Jason the Terrible and Steve Strong defeat The Batten Twins (Bart and Brad) to win the WWC World Tag Team Title in Caguas, Puerto Rico, ending the Battens' third reign.

1991 - Jerry Lawler defeats Terry Funk for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee, to begin his eighth reign.

1993 - Adolfo Bresciano, better known to fans as "Canada's Strongest Man" Dino Bravo, was shot to death in his home in Saint-Léonard (now part of Montreal), Quebec. Rumors circled that he was then making his living as part of a cigarette smuggling ring, run by elements of organized crime in the city. He had retired from the ring in 1992, after a 22-year career. Dino Bravo was 43 years old, and his assailants have never been found.

1993 - WCW held an event at Wembley Arena in London, England. The results were:
- WCW Television Champion Paul Orndorff defeated Michael Hayes to retain the title.
- NWA World Heavyweight Champion Barry Windham and WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Dustin Rhodes fought to a double-countout.
- Maxx Payne defeated Cactus Jack.
- Johnny B. Badd defeated Vinnie Vegas.
- Van Hammer defeated Scotty Flamingo.
- The British Bulldog defeated Rick Rude by disqualification.
- Sting pinned WCW World Heavyweight Champion Big Van Vader to win the title. This began Sting's second reign and ended Vader's second.

1994 - The Ultimate Fighting Championship held UFC 2: No Way Out, at the Mammoth Gardens in Denver, Colorado. The event began referee "Big" John McCarthy's 13-year tenure with the company. UFC 2 featured a 16-man tournament, the first and only one in UFC's history, with the winner receiving $60,000. The results were:
First round, of which only the final match was shown on the broadcast:
- Scott Morris defeated Sean Daugherty by submission (guillotine choke) at 0:20.
- Patrick Smith defeated Ray Wizard by submission (guillotine choke) at 0:58.
- Johnny Rhodes defeated David Levicki by submission (strikes) at 12:13.
- Frank Hamaker defeated Thaddeus Luster by submission at 4:52.
- Orlando Weit defeated Robert Lucarelli by TKO (knees) at 2:50.
- Remco Pardoel defeated Alberta Cerra Leon by submission (armlock) at 9:51.
- Jason Delucia defeated Scott Baker by submission (strikes) at 6:41.
- Royce Gracie defeated Minoki Ichihara by submission (collar choke) at 5:08.
Quarterfinals:
- Patrick Smith defeated Scott Morris by knockout at 0:30.
- Johnny Rhodes defeated Fred Ettish (replacing the injured Frank Hamaker) by submission (rear naked choke) at 3:07.
- Remco Pardoel defeated Orlando Weit by knockout (elbows) at 1:29.
- Royce Gracie defeated Jason Delucia by submission (armlock) at 1:07.
Semifinals:
- Patrick Smith defeated Johnny Rhodes by submission (guillotine choke) at 1:07.
- Royce Gracie defeated Remco Pardoel by submission (lapel choke) at 1:31.
Finals:
- Royce Gracie defeated Patrick Smith by submission (strikes) at 1:17 to win the tournament.

1996 - The Monday Night War continued, with WCW Monday Nitro's 3.2 rating beating WWF Monday Night RAW's 2.9. rating.

The 27th edition of WCW Monday Nitro was live from the Memorial Auditorium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The results:
Dark matches:
- Diamond Dallas Page defeated Joey Maggs.
- Meng defeated Dave Sullivan.
- WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Konnan defeated Earl Robert Eaton to retain the title.
Nitro:
- The Giant defeated Jim Duggan.
- The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk) defeated The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott), who made their surprise return to WCW.
- WCW World Television Champion Lex Luger defeated Alex Wright to retain the title.
- Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and The Booty Man defeated Arn Anderson, Ric Flair and Kevin Sullivan (with Miss Elizabeth and Woman) in a Lumberjack Strap match.

The 149th WWF Monday Night RAW was live from the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas. The results were:
Dark matches:
- Skip defeated Dwayne Johnson (The Rock).
- Ahmed Johnson and Jake Roberts defeated The British Bulldog and Owen Hart.
- Shawn Michaels defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
- WWF Champion Bret Hart defeated The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) by countout.
RAW:
- Steve Austin (with Ted DiBiase) and Savio Vega fought to a double-countout.
- The Godwinns (Henry and Phineas (with Hillbilly Jim)) defeated Jerry Meade and Alex Porteau, when Henry pinned Porteau after the Slop Drop.
- Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Vin Grier after the Pedigree.
- The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) and Yokozuna defeated The British Bulldog and Owen Hart by disqualification when Vader interfered.
- Also during the show, a pre-taped segment aired, in which Mark Henry made his television debut. He gorilla-press slammed Jerry Lawler, who was interviewing him.

1999 - The Samoan Death Squad (Faku and Spade) defeat Silky Boom Boom and Frenchy Riviera to win the NWA Wildside Tag Team Title in Loganville, Georgia.

2000 - The second Rikidozan Memorial Show was held at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan, featuring wrestlers from several of Japan's promotions. The previous Rikidozan Memorial was held in 1996. The results were:
- Gran Hamada (Michinoku Pro) and Magnum TOKYO (Toryumon) defeated CIMA and Sumo Fuji (Toryumon), when TOKYO pinned Fuji.
- Naoki Sano (Takada Dojo) pinned Yuki Ishikawa (BattlARTS).
- Yuki Kondo (Pancrase) defeated Kan Tenjun by submission.
- Commando Boirshoi (Japan Women's Project) and Yumiko Hotta (All Japan Women's) defeated Kayoko Haruyama and Ran Yuyu (JWP), when Borishoi pinned Haruyama.
- Kyoko Inoue, Yuka Nakamura and Yoshiko Tamura (New Ladies) defeated Azumi Hyuga, Dynamite Kansai and Tsubasa Kuragaki (JWP), when Tamura made Kuragaki submit.
- Yoshiaki Fujiwara defeated Satoru Sayama by submission.
- Ryuma Go (Go Gudan) and Junji Hirata (New Japan) defeated Osamu Kido and Tadao Yasuda (New Japan), when Hirata pinned Yasuda.
- Hideki Takizawa, a teen pop star, pinned Antonio Inoki in an exhibition match.
- Tomoaki Honma and Ryuji Yamikawa (Big Japan) defeated Hayabusa and Naoki Yamazaki (FMW), when Yamikawa pinned Yamazaki.
- Yoji Anjoh defeated Tarzan Goto by disqualification.
- B.B. Jones (Ron Reis) and Genichiro Tenryu (WAR) defeated Shinya Hashimoto (New Japan) and Naoya Ogawa (Universal Fighting-Arts)

2000 - CZW held "March Violence" at Champs Soccer Arena in Sewell, New Jersey. The results were:
- Nick Berk and Ty Street vs. The Kashmerino Brothers (Johnny Kashmere and Robby Mireno) ended in a no-contest.
- Trent Acid defeated White Lotus.
- Dallas vs. Natasha ended in a double-disqualification.
- Mercury defeated TCK.
- Mad Man Pondo defeated Mitch Page in a Staplegun match.
- CZW Tag Team Champions The Haas Brothers (Charlie and Russ) defeated The Shane Brothers to retain the title.
- CZW Heavyweight Champion Zandig vs. Kronus ended in a no-contest. Zandig retained the title.
- Nick Gage defeated Justice Pain.
- Wifebeater defeated CZW Iron Man Champion Lobo to win the title, ending Lobo's second reign.

2000 - Shane Hill defeats Mikami for the IWA World Junior Heavyweight Title in Arroyo, Puerto Rico.

2000 - Luis Ortiz defeats Jason Rage to win the vacant NWA New England Junior Heavyweight Title in Southbridge, Massachusetts, beginning his second reign.

2000 - Kip Morris defeats Bulldog Raines to win the NWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title in Trenton, Tennessee.

2000 - Bobby Collins defeats Caveman Broda to win the Canadian Wrestling Federation Junior Heavyweight Title in Fort Garry, Manitoba, beginning his second reign. At the same event, Brian Jewel and Alex Rain defeat Darren Dalton and Robby Royce for the CWF Tag Team Title. In that match, Robby Royce got the pin on CWF Heavyweight Champion Brian Jewel to also win that title, ending Jewel's second reign and beginning Royce's third.

2002 - The WWF held the live 459th edition of RAW and taped the 133rd Jakked at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. RAW earned a 4.5 rating on Spike TV. The results were:
Dark matches:
- Albert and Scotty 2 Hotty defeated Johnny Destiny and ???
- Brock Lesnar defeated Spike Dudley.
Jakked:
- The Hurricane pinned Funaki after a flying neckbreaker.
- Lance Storm pinned The Godfather after a superkick.
- Val Venis defeated Perry Saturn by submission with a reverse Figure Four Leglock.
- WWF Cruiserweight Champion Tajiri pinned Crash Holly after the Buzzsaw Kick.
RAW:
- The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) and Rob Van Dam defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) and WWF Intercontinental Champion William Regal, when RVD pinned Regal.
- Test pinned Rikishi.
- Al Snow pinned WWF Hardcore Champion Goldust to win the title, and begin his sixth reign.
- Kurt Angle and Booker T defeated Big Show and Edge, when Angle made Show submit with the Ankle Lock.
- Christian pinned WWF Tag Team Champion Billy, after Diamond Dallas Page interfered and hit the Diamond Cutter on Billy. After the match, Christian attacked Page, which set up their match at WrestleMania for Page's European Title.
- Stacy Keibler and WWF Women's Champion Jazz defeated Lita and Trish Stratus, when Jazz pinned Lita.
- The nWo (Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash) defeated Steve Austin and The Rock in a handicap match, when Hogan pinned Rock after the legdrop.

2003 - Kintaro Kanemura and Tetsuhiro Kuroda defeat GENTARO and Takashi Sasaki to win the WEW Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan. They were the last champions before the promotion closed in May.

2003 - Dr. X defeats Tigre Blanco to win the Mexican National Welterweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico.

2006 - The Ring of Honor vs. Combat Zone Wrestling war intensified during both promotions' events at the New Alhambra Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

CZW held "When 2 Worlds Collide". The results:
- Pandora's Box (B-Boy, Sonjay Dutt and Adam Flash (with Pandora)) defeated Sexxxy Eddy, The Messiah and Nate Webb.
- Hallowicked defeated Jigsaw, Andy Sumner and Larry Sweeney in a four-way match.
- Justice Pain defeated El Generico.
- CZW Ultraviolent Underground Champion Nick Gage defeated Danny Havoc and DJ Hyde in a three-way Panes of Glass match to retain the title.
- CZW Iron Man Champion Kevin Steen defeated Super Dragon to retain the title.
- Niles Young defeated Cheech, Cloudy, CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion Derek Frazier, The Heretic and Sabian in a six-way Ladder match win the title.
- Generation Next (Austin Aries, Roderick Strong and Matt Sydal) (ROH) defeated Necro Butcher and The BLKOUT (Eddie Kingston and Ruckus) (CZW).

ROH held "Arena Warfare". The results were:
- Homicide & Ricky Reyes defeated The Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos), Jason Blade & Kid Mikaze and The Briscoe Brothers (Mark and Jay) in a Tag Team Scramble match, when Homicide pinned Marcos.
- ROH Tag Team Champion Roderick Strong defeated Jimmy Yang.
- ROH Tag Team Champion Austin Aries defeated Matt Sydal.
- The Dempsey Brothers (Bobby and Derrick) defeated Shane Hagadorn and Pelle Primeau.
- The Irish Airborne (Dave and Jake Crist) defeated Tony Mamaluke and Sal Rinauro.
- ROH World Heavyweight Champion Bryan Danielson defeated Alex Shelley to retain the title.
- Colt Cabana defeated Christopher Daniels. Samoa Joe came out and challenged the winner.
- Samoa Joe defeated Colt Cabana. After the match, a huge brawl between the ROH and CZW rosters broke out.

2006 - In a tag team match with NWA Midwest Tag Team Champions Tyler Black and Marek Brave one on side, and NWA Iowa Heavyweight Champion Ryan Boz and NWA Heartland States Heavyweight Champion Danny Daniels on the other, with all three titles on the line, Brave pins Boz to retain he and Black's Midwest Tag Team title and win the Iowa Heavyweight title. This ended Boz's second reign.

2006 - Hayden Young defeats Jeff Lewis in Cornelia, Georgia for the NWA Anarchy Television Title, ending Lewis' second reign.

2006 - Stan Lee defeats Jerry Lawler for the NWA All-Star Wrestling Heavyweight Title in Norton, Virginia, beginning his second reign.

2006 - JT Wolfen wins a battle royal to win the Hawaii Championship Wrestling  Kamehameha Heritage Heavyweight Title in Wahaiwa, Hawaii.

2006 - Dave Holiday defeats Matt Kuma to win the Pro Wrestling WORLD-1 Southern Heavyweight Title in Valdosta, Georgia.

2007 - TNA held the second-annual Destination X pay-per-view at the iMPACT! Zone in Orlando, Florida. The results:
- NWA World Tag Team Champions The Latin American Exchange (Homicide and Hernandez (with Konnan)) defeated Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon (with Johnny Rodz)) in a Ghetto Brawl, when Homicide pinned Devon after Alex Shelley hit Devon with his video camera, and Homicide frog splashed Devon through a table.
- James Storm and Jacqueline Moore defeated Petey Williams and Gail Kim in a Double Bullrope match, when Storm pinned Williams after a superkick.
- Senshi defeated Austin Starr in a Crossface Chickenwing match. After the match, Starr attacked Bob Backlund, who had come to ringside during the match, and put him in the Crossface Chickenwing.
- The Voodoo Kin Mafia (B.G. and Kip James) defeated The Heartbreakers (Romeo Roselli and Antonio Thomas (with Christy Hemme)), when B.G. pinned Antonio after a Pumphandle Slam.
- TNA X Division Champion Chris Sabin defeated Jerry Lynn in a two-out-of-three falls match to retain the title. Lynn pinned Sabin after a Tornado DDT to win the first fall, Sabin pinned Lynn while holding the ropes in the second, and Sabin pinned Lynn with a roll-up after the distraction of a masked man to win. After the match, the masked man hit the Angel's Wings on Sabin, hit Lynn with the X Division Title belt, and revealed himself to be Christopher Daniels.
- Rhino defeated A.J. Styles in a Elevation X match, by knocking Styles off the Elevation X structure above the ring.
- Kurt Angle pinned Scott Steiner after a Sunset Flip off the top rope.
- Sting defeated Abyss in a Last Rites (casket) match.
- NWA World Heavyweight Champion Christian Cage pinned Samoa Joe, after flipping over while in the Coquina Clutch and holding the ropes, to retain the title.

2007 - Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko defeat Manabu Nakanishi and Takao Omori for the IWGP World Tag Team Title in Nagoya, Japan.

2007 - A battle royal in Tokyo, Japan sees multiple changes of the Dramatic Dream Team Ironman Heavymetalweight Title. Sempai was the champion coming into the match. The title then went through Naoshi Sano six times, Yuki Miyazaki six times, Taneichi Kacho three, Kikutaro four, Naomi Susan once, and Exciting Yoshida twice, with Yoshida emerging the winner. A short time later, a ladder fell on top of Exciting Yoshida, with a referee counting three, making the ladder the DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Champion. This was the third such instance of this occuring, with it previously happening to Yoshihiro Sakai and Sanshiro Takagi in 2003.

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