Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
On this day in history in ....
1944 - Yaqui Joe defeats Gus Wisbar for the Tennessee and Alabama version of the World Middleweight Title in Nashville, Tennessee.
1957 - Verne Gagne and Bronko Nagurski defeat The Atomic Blonds (Chet Wallich and Johnny Valentine) for the Minneapolis version of the NWA World Tag Team Title in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
1960 - Lorne Corlett and Orest Antonation defeat Al Torres and Joe Fiorino in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to become the first Madison Wrestling Club Middleweight Tag Team Champions.
1963 - Jackie Fargo and Mario Milano defeat Tojo Yamamoto and Ivan Malenkov in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the Mid-America version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Title.
1963 - "Gorgeous" George Wagner, one of the most famous wrestlers of all time, dies of a heart attack at the age of 48.
1969 - Danny Lynch defeats Dave Ruhl in Calgary, Alberta, Canada to win the Calgary version of the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Title, ending Ruhl's fourth reign.
1969 - King Curtis Iaukea and Buddy Austin defeat Mario Milano and Spiros Arion in Sydney, Australia to win the International Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Title.
1970 - Wilbur Snyder and Moose Cholak defeat The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Don Kent) to win the World Wrestling Association (Indiana) Tag Team Title in Indianapolis, Indiana.
1973 - Gene and Ole Anderson defeat Brute Bernard and Jay York for the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Title in Columbia, South Carolina.
1974 - Paul Jones defeats Ivan Koloff to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Title in Greensboro, North Carolina, ending and beginning both men's second reigns.
1975 - Ed and Jerry Morrow defeat Mr. Hito and Gil Hayes for the Stampede International Tag Team Title in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
1976 - Ric Flair and Greg Valentine defeat Gene and Ole Anderson for the Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA World Tag Team Title in Greensboro, North Carolina, ending the Andersons' fourth reign.
1976 - The Sheik defeats Thunderbolt Patterson in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to win the Toronto version o f the NWA United States Heavyweight Title for the third time.
1976 - Ricky Gibson and Bill Dundee defeat Phil Hickerson and Dennis Condrey for the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Title in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
1981 - Eric Embry wins a tournament final in St. Petersburg, Florida to win the vacant Florida Television Title.
1981 - David Von Erich defeats Jack Brisco to win the Florida version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Title in St. Petersburg, Florida, ending Brisco's fourth reign.
1981 - Bugsy McGraw defeats The Great Kabuki for the NWA American Heavyweight Title in Columbus, Ohio.
1982 - NWA Hollywood Wrestling, promoted by Gene and Mike LeBell, in operation since 1968, closes.
1982 - Terry Kay defeats Private Nelson for the NWA Canadian Television Title in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
1983 - The WWF ran at Madison Square Garden before a sell-out crowd of 24,592 fans. The results:
- Jose Luis Rivera pinned Rene Goulet.
- Salvatore Bellomo fought Tiger Chung Lee to a time-limit draw.
- Jimmy Snuka and Arnold Skaaland defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Don Muraco and Lou Albano when Snuka pinned Muraco.
- Sgt. Slaughter pinned Chief Jay Strongbow.
- The Masked Superstar defeated Ivan Putski by disqualification.
- The Iron Sheik defeated Bob Backlund to win the WWF World Title when Backlund's manager Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel as Backlund was locked in Sheik's camel clutch.
- The Wild Samoans (Afa, Sika and Samula) defeated Special Delivery Jones and WWF Tag Team Champions Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas in a two out of three falls match.
- Tito Santana pinned Ivan Koloff.
- The Invaders defeated Iron Mike Sharpe and Butcher Vachon.
1987 - Abbuda Dein (Rocky Iaukea) defeats Art Barr in Portland, Oregon to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Television Title.
1987 - Mika Suzuki defeats Kaoru Maeda in a tournament final to win the vacant All-Japan Women's Junior Title in Tokyo, Japan. The title was vacated two months earlier, when champion Kyoko Asoh retired.
1988 - Starrcade, nicknamed "True Gritt" is held at the Scope in Norfolk, Virginia. This is the first Starrcade to not be held on Thanksgiving, as WWF had successfully bumped them out of the spot with the Survivor Series. Cable providers would not allow the companies to have head-to-head Pay-per-view events again (like in 1987), so the proven PPV commodity (WWF) won out, forcing the change. Here are the results:
- Kevin Sullivan & Steve Williams defeated The Fantastics when Williams pinned Fulton after catching a leapfrog attempt and giving Fulton a Hot Shot to win the United States Tag Team Title. The Fantastics were originally going to be facing the Sheepherders, but WWF signed them and turned them into the Bushwhackers.
- The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane, managed by Jim Cornette) defeated The Original Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey & Randy Rose, managed by Paul E. Dangerously) when Lane pinned Rose after a Double Goozle (legsweep and clothesline combination).
- The Russian Assassins (Angel Of Death & Jack Victory) defeated Junkyard Dog & Ivan Koloff with Assassin #1 pinned Koloff after headbutting him with a loaded mask.
- Rick Steiner defeated Mike Rotundo to win the NWA World Television Title. During the match, Steve Williams came out and rang the bell as Steiner had Rotundo beat, to make the referee think the time limit had expired. Confusion ensued, and Steiner rammed Rotundo into Williams and Kevin Sullivan, then rolled him up for the pin.
- United States Champion Barry Windham defeated Bam Bam Bigelow via countout. The two were brawling outside when Bigelow missed a charge and ran into the ringpost, as Windham rolled back into the ring for the win.
- Dusty Rhodes & Sting defeated NWA World Tag Team Champions The Road Warriors via disqualification when manager Paul Ellering pulled the referee out of the ring as Sting had Animal pinned with a flying bodypress.
- NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair defeated Lex Luger when Luger went for a torture rack but his leg (which Flair had been working on) gave out, allowing Flair to fall on top of Luger and get the pin with his feet on the ropes.
- In a match that aired after the PPV broadcast ended, Junkyard Dog won a Bunkhouse Stampede battle royal, last eliminating Abdullah The Butcher. The battle royal had been hyped in advance for the show, but for some reason was not included on the PPV, annoying many fans. To make matters worse, you could hear the introductions for the battle royal during post-match interviews following the Flair-Luger match, then the PPV ended.
1990 - Tatsumi Fujinami defeats long-time rival Riki Choshu for the IWGP Heavyweight Title in Hamamatsu, Japan. This marks Fujinami's third reign, the first time any wrestler had held New Japan's top title three separate times. On the same card, Super Strong Machine & Hiro Saito defeat Kensuke Sasaki & Hiroshi Hase for the IWGP Tag Team Title.
1991 - Joe Savoldi defeats The Tazmanic in Monticello, New York to win the IWCCW Light Heavyweight Title. The same day, Tom Brandi is awarded as the first IWCCW Television Champion.
1993 - Terry Funk defeats Sabu to win the ECW (at the time Eastern Championship Wrestling) Heavyweight Title for the first time at the very first "Holiday Hell" card at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The results:
- Chad Austin pinned Pitbull #1.
- Mike Awesome pinned Randy Starr.
- Kevin Sullivan and The Tazmaniac defeated J.T. Smith and Tommy Cairo, when Taz pinned Cairo, to retain the ECW Tag Team Title.
- Shane Douglas pinned Tommy Dreamer.
- Mr. Hughes defeated The Sandman by knockout.
- The Rockin' Rebel defeated Don E. Allen.
- Terry Funk pinned Sabu in a no disqualification match to win the ECW Heavyweight Title.
- Pat Tanaka pinned Rocco Rock in a Body Count match.
- Tommy Dreamer won a Lights Out Battle Royal.
1993 - Rocky Dellaserra defeats Billy Two Eagles for the West Coast Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title in Cloverdale, British Columbia, Canada, ending Two Eagles' second reign.
1994 - The USWA Tag Team Title switches twice in the same day in Memphis, Tennessee. Ron and Jimmy Harris defeat The Moondogs (Spot and Rex), ending their third reign. Then, PG-13 (J.C. Ice and Wolfie D.) defeat Ron and Jimmy Harris to win their fourth title.
1995 - The Samoan Gangsters win the vacant IWCCW Tag Team Title in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.
1995 - Jerry Lawler defeats Tommy Rich in Louisville, Kentucky to win the Smoky Mountain Wrestling Heavyweight Title for the second time. Lawler would be the last man to hold the title, as the company folded in 1996.
1997 - The Army Of Darkness (Dr. Luther and Incubus) defeat The BBC (Randy Tyler and Mike Rosselli) to win the Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling Tag Team Title in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.
1998 - Chris Michaels defeats Colorado Kid (Mike Rapada) for the Music City Wrestling and NWA North American Heavyweight Titles in Nashville, Tennessee, ending Colorado Kid's fifth MCW reign.
1999 - Flash Flanagan defeats Rico Constantino for the OVW Heavyweight Title in Louisville, Kentucky.
1999 - Mr. Pogo, Shouji Nakamaki and Ichiro Yaguchi defeat Atsushi Ohnita, Shigeo Okumura and Mitsunobu Kikuzawa to become the first World Barbed-Wire Street Fight Six-Man Tag Team Champions in Kobe, Japan.
1999 - Ladies' Choice defeats Moondog Manson to win the ECCW Hardcore Title in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.
2001 - Disco Fury defeats American Dragon for the NWA Canadian Junior Heavyweight Title in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, beginning his fourth reign.
2002 - CIMA defeats Milano Collection A.T. to win the Toryumon Japan International Light Heavyweight Title in Tokyo, Japan.
2003 - The Far East Connection (Dick Togo and Ikuto Hidaka) defeat Tatsuhito Takaiwa and Naohiro Hoshikawa in a tournament final to become the first NWA (now ZERO1-MAX) International Lightweight Tag Team Champions in Tokyo, Japan.
2004 - Austin Aries defeats Samoa Joe to win the ROH World Heavyweight Title in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ending Joe's 21-month-long (since March 22, 2003) reign.
2004 - Vance Desmond defeats Rocky Reynolds to win the NWA Tri-State X Division Title in Parkersburg, West Virginia.
2005 - Chris Khan defeats Johnny Lightning for the NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Title in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Khan had another title win on the same show, as he and Vance Desmond defeated J.D. Escalade and The Juggulator to win the vacant NWA Tri-State Tag Team Title.
Thanks to Ryan Martinez for his help with the above.
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!
Bang On Casino
