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On this day in history in ....
1946 - Joe Lynam defeats Jack Lipscomb for the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Title in Portland, Oregon, ending Lipscomb's fifth reign and beginning Lynam's second.
1953 - Kurt Von Poppenheim and Johnny Cretorian defeat Frank Stojack and Carl Engstrom to win the Northwest Tag Team Title in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, beginning their second reign.
1958 - Johnny Valentine defeats Bill Melby for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title in Dallas, Texas, beginning his second reign.
1959 - Mr. Moto defeats Reggie Siki to win the NWA Los Angeles International Television Title in Los Angeles, California, beginning his second reign.
1960 - Sonny Myers defeats Rock Hunter for the Amarillo version of the NWA North American Heavyweight Title in Amarillo, Texas.
1963 - The Medics (Tony Gonzales and Donald Lortie) defeat Eric Pomeroy (Stan Pulaski) and Ray Andrews to win the Mid-America version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning their fourth reign.
1963 - Bull Curry defeats Tony Borne in Fort Worth, Texas to win the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Title, ending Borne's second reign and beginning Curry's 11th.
1965 - Ken Lucas and Sputnik Monroe defeat Art Nielson and The Red Raider to win the Amarillo version of the NWA North American Tag Team Title in Amarillo, Texas.
1967 - Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher defeat The Devil's Duo (Angelo Poffo and Chris Markoff) for the World Wrestling Association (Indiana) World Tag Team Title.
1967 - Ray Stevens and Pat Patterson defeat Ciclon Negro and The Mongolian Stomper to win the American Wrestling Alliance (San Francisco) World Tag Team Title in San Francisco, California.
1971 - The Texas Outlaws (Dick Murdoch and Dusty Rhodes) defeat Mark Lewin and Mario Milano in Sydney, Australia to win the IWA (Australia) World Tag Team Title.
1971 - Bobby Fields wins his third NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title, ending the fourth reign of Rocket Monroe in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
1972 - Don and Al Greene defeat The Avengers for the NWA Tennessee Tag Team Title in Knoxville, Tennessee.
1977 - Victor Rivera and Cien Caras defeat Roddy Piper and The Hangman to win the NWA Americas Tag Team Title.
1979 - The Yamaha Brothers (Kotetsu Yamamoto and Kantaro Hoshino) defeat The Great Kusatsu and Animal Hamaguchi to win the IWA (Japan) World Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan.
1980 - The WWF runs at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York with the following results:
- Davey O'Hannon defated Angelo Gomez.
- Rene Goulet defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna.
- Bobby Duncum defeated Mike Masters.
- Tony Atlas defeated Swede Hanson.
- Kevin Von Erich pinned Johnny Rodz.
- Larry Zbyszko defeated Hussein Arab by disqualification.
- Hulk Hogan defeated Dominic DeNucci.
- The Wild Samoans defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Ivan Putski and Tito Santana by countout.
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Pat Patterson defeated Lou Albano by countout.
- WWF World Champion Bob Backlund fought Ken Patera to a curfew draw.
1983 - Terry Gordy defeats Kerry Von Erich in Dallas, Texas for the WCCW American Heavyweight Title, ending Von Erich's fourth reign.
1985 - The WWF runs at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, featuring the MSG debuts of the men who would become The Hart Foundation, Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart. The results:
- Moondog Rex pinned Terry Gibbs.
- Bret Hart defeated Rene Goulet by submission.
- Jim Neidhart pinned Tony Garea.
- Don Muraco pinned Swede Hanson.
- Blackjack Mulligan pinned Moondog Spot.
- Andre the Giant defeated Ken Patera by disqualification.
- Big John Studd pinned George Wells.
- Roddy Piper and Bob Orton, Jr. defeated Jimmy Snuka and The Junkyard Dog (subbing for The Tonga Kid) in a Texas Tornado match.
- The Spoiler pinned Rick McGraw.
- Tito Santana defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Greg Valentine by countout.
1985 - Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo defeat Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch for the WWF World Tag Team Championship in Hartford, Connecticut.
1985 - Legendary wrestler and Florida promoter Eddie Graham commits suicide at the age of 55. He was reportedly very despondent about financial problems (the territory was not doing well) when he suffered of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
1986 - Tom Zenk defeats Bobby Jaggers for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title in Portland, Oregon, ending Jaggers' third reign.
1986 - Buddy Landel defeats Koko Ware in Louisville, Kentucky to win the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title, ending Ware's sixth reign and beginning Landel's third.
1990 - The Royal Rumble is held in Orlando, Florida at the Orlando Arena. Here are the results:
- In a dark match, Paul Roma defeated The Brooklyn Brawler.
- The Bushwhackers defeated Jacques & Raymond Rougeau when Butch pinned Jacques with the Battering Ram.
- Lanny Poffo vs. Brutus Beefcake ended in a double DQ. After the match, Curt Hennig joins Poffo to beat down Beefcake.
- Ronnie Garvin defeated Greg Valentine via submission in an I Quit match with a Scorpion Deathlock.
- Hacksaw Jim Duggan defeated Big Bossman via DQ when Bossman used his nightstick on Duggan.
- Hulk Hogan won the Royal Rumble, last eliminating Curt Hennig with a clothesline. Ted DiBiase was the ironman of the bout, lasting 48 minutes. Also in the match: Akeem, Andre the Giant, The Barbarian, Dino Bravo, Bad News Brown, Demolition, Earthquake, Haku, Bret Hart, Hercules Hernandez, Honky Tonk Man, Marty Jannetty, Rick Martel, Shawn Michaels, Jim Neidhart, Roddy Piper, Red Rooster, Dusty Rhodes, Jake Roberts, Rick Rude, Tito Santana, Randy Savage, Jimmy Snuka, Ultimate Warrior, Koko B. Ware, and Warlord.
1990 - Los Arqueros del Espacio (Laser, Danny Boy and El Arquero) defeat Black Terry, Jose Ruiz Feliciano and Shu El Guerrero for the Mexico National Trios Title in Mexico City, Mexico.
1991 - The WWF runs at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, just two nights after the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. The results:
- Paul Roma pinned Shane Douglas.
- Tito Santana pinned Koko B. Ware.
- The Undertaker pinned Jimmy Snuka.
- The British Bulldog defeated The Warlord by disqualification.
- The Legion of Doom defeated Demolition when Animal pinned Smash.
- The Big Boss Man defeated Hercules by disqualification.
- Greg Valentine pinned Dino Bravo.
- The Nasty Boys defeated the Bushwhackers.
- Randy Savage defeated The Ultimate Warrior in a steel cage match.
1992 - Clash of the Champions 18 is held in Topeka, Kansas at the Expocenter and broadcast live on TBS. Here are the results:
- In a dark match, Todd Champion & Firebreaker Chip defeated Buddy Lee Parker & Bob Cook.
- Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Big Van Vader & Mr. Hughes when Rick pinned Hughes.
- Brian Pillman & Marcus Alexander Bagwell defeated Terry Taylor & Tracey Smothers when Bagwell pinned Smothers.
- Johnny B. Badd defeated Richard Morton.
- PN Newz defeated Diamond Dallas Page.
- Cactus Jack defeated Van Hammer in a Falls Count Anywhere match.
- The Freebirds (Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin) defeated Brad Armstrong & Big Josh when Hays pinned Armstrong.
- Vinnie Vegas (Kevin Nash) pinned Tommy Rich in under a minute.
- Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham & Ron Simmons defeated Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyszko & Bobby Eaton when Windham pinned Eaton.
- Sting & Ricky Steamboat defeated Rick Rude & Steve Austin when Sting pinned Austin.
1995 - Mr. Pogo defeats Atsushi Onita in Miyagi, Japan for the FMW World Brass Knuckles Title, ending Onita's third reign and starting the third run with the belt for Pogo.
1996 - The Royal Rumble is held in Fresno, California at the Selland Arena. Here are the results:
- In a Free-For-All match, Duke Droese defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley via disqualification. As a result, Droese became number 30 in the Royal Rumble, while Triple H became number 1.
- Ahmed Johnson defeated Jeff Jarrett via DQ after Jarrett used a guitar.
- WWF Tag Team Champions The Smoking Gunns defeated The Bodydonnas when Bart pinned Zip.
- Goldust defeated Razor Ramon to win the WWF Intercontinental Title after the 1-2-3 Kid gave Ramon a top rope spinkick.
- Shawn Michaels won the Royal Rumble, last eliminating Diesel. Also in the match were: The 1-2-3 Kid, Bob Backlund, Duke Droese, Fatu, Dory Funk Jr, Doug Gilbert, Henry Godwinn, Hakushi, Owen Hart, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Bob Holly, Barry Horowitz, Marty Jannetty, Kama, Jerry Lawler, Mabel, Aldo Montoya, Takao Omori, Steve Austin, Jake Roberts, Davey Boy Smith, Squat Team (Headhunters), Tatanka, Vader, Savio Vega, Isaac Yankem, and Yokozuna.
- The Undertaker defeated WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart via DQ when Diesel interfered, pulling the referee out of the ring as Undertaker was giving Hart a tombstone.
1996 - Bodyguard becomes the first ECCW Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Champion in Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada.
1997 - Dean Malenko defeats Ultimo Dragon in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to become a three-time WCW World Cruiserweight Champion.
1997 - The Royal Rumble is held in San Antonio, Texas at the AlamoDome, drawing over 60,000 fans. Here are the results of the show:
Dark matches:
- Venum & Perro Aguayo Jr. defeated Maniaco & Mosco de la Merced.
- Octagon, Blue Demon Jr. & Tinieblas Jr. defeated Heavy Metal, Abismo Negro & Histeria.
- Mascarita Sagrada Jr. & La Parkita defeated Mini Mankind & Mini Vader.
- Intercontinental Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Goldust with a Pedigree.
- Ahmed Johnson defeated Faarooq via DQ when the Nation Of Domination interfered.
- Vader defeated The Undertaker with a Vader Bomb after Paul Bearer hit Undertaker with the urn.
- Hector Garza, Perro Aguayo & El Canek defeated Jerry Estrada, Heavy Metal & Fuerza Guerrera when Aguayo pinned Metal with a double stomp off the top rope.
- Steve Austin won the Royal Rumble when he eliminated Bret Hart from behind. Austin had been previously eliminated, but reentered the match as the referees were distracted when he was thrown out. Other participants in the match: Cibernetico, Crush, Fake Diesel, Faarooq, Flash Funk, Terry Funk, Goldust, Henry & Phineas Godwinn, Bart Gunn, Owen Hart, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Jesse Jammes, Ahmed Johnson, Latin Lover, Jerry Lawler, Rocky Maivia, Mankind, Marc Mero, Mil Mascaras, Pierroth Jr, Fake Razor Ramon, Jake Roberts, Davey Boy Smith, The Sultan, The Undertaker, Vader, and Savio Vega.
- Shawn Michaels defeated Sid Vicious to win the WWF World Heavyweight Title with a superkick.
1999 - Chip Fairway defeats The Suicide Kid for the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title in Louisville, Kentucky.
2001 - Wifebeater becomes the CZW Ironman Champion for the fourth, and last time, in Smyrna, Delaware, by defeating Nate Hatred.
2001 - Masked Angel Rosetta and Masked Angel Fleia defeat Drake Morimatsu and Fang Suzuki to win the Trans-world Wrestling Federation World Women's Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan.
2001 - Roman defeats Kevin Knight to win the Independent Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Title in West Orange, New Jersey.
2001 - The Royal Rumble was held in New Orleans, Louisiana at the New Orleans Arena. Here is Tim Whitehead's original report on the show:
WWF's Royal Rumble (1/21 from New Orleans) was a clear thumb's up show. The undercard was great overall, with just about everyone working hard and the crowd into most everything. The Rumble itself was mostly strong, although the first twenty minutes or so turned into a mess at times. Steve Austin going over to win the Rumble was not unexpected, but was done in a suitably dramatic fashion. There were a few surprise entrants in the Rumble. Commentary from Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler was great.
The broadcast opened with an excellent Rumble promo.
THE DUDLEY BOYZ beat EDGE & CHRISTIAN in 9:58 to capture the WWF World Tag Titles. Edge & Christian bailed out early and tried to leave, but the Dudleys dragged them back. The were doing a gimmick where the Dudleys were wrestling despite having "concussions" from the chairshots E & C gave them on Raw last week. Whenever they took a head blow they'd sell it big. Lawler didn't believe they had concussions because that's a bruised brain and he said the Dudleys don't have brains. The Dudleys doubled on Christian. E & C then worked over D-Von. Christian went to the top rope but D-Von catapulted Edge into him. E & C missed the "concerto" when D-Von ducked and he made the hot tag. Buh Buh Ray mopped up the floor on E & C. Christian took a high backdrop. Edge received the wazzup. Christian tried to use one of the title belts but missed. The Dudleys were about to 3D Christian but Edge speared Buh Buh. E & C tried to do the wazzup but it backfired and Christian took the blow. Edge was then 3D'ed and D-Von pinned him. Good opener. The fans were probably disappointed that no tables were used but it's best not to do the same thing every match.
Drew Carey arrived in a limo.
Vince McMahon said that despite the altercation between Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Steve Austin on Smackdown, neither man will be penalized.
HHH was worried that Stephanie and Trish Stratus might get into it during his match and cost him the World Title. Carey then walked in and was unaware of the current storylines as he was surprised to find out that HHH and Steph have been married over a year. He started talking about Kamala. Steph noted that Carey is supposedly a ladies' man, and sent him to Trish's dressing room, presumably hoping Trish would fall for him and drop Vince.
The Acolytes were playing cards and dinking beer, as usual. They showed each other their Rumble entry number. Bradshaw told Faarooq he'd better have another beer. Crash Holly barged in and said that even though they're friends, he'd be forced to eliminate either Acolyte if they got in his way in the Rumble. Faarooq remarked that Crash must be drunk, which was an inside joke since Crash got reprimanded recently for showing up drunk.
CHRIS JERICHO beat CHRIS BENOIT in 18:42 in a ladder match to capture the IC Title. Benoit quickly went after Jericho's arm that was "injured" on Smackdown. Jericho went for a springboard move but Benoit ducked and Jericho hit the floor. Benoit worked over Jericho on the floor and then got the ladder. They did some standard spots hitting each other with the ladder. Jericho bumped out and Benoit went for a tope but Jericho, in a sicko spot, knocked him out of the air with a hard chairshot to the head. Back in the ring they did some more ladder spots and bumps. Benoit took a teeter-totter ladder shot to the face. They did a neat spot where Jericho hooked an octupus hold on Benoit on top of the ladder. Benoit hooked the crossface. Jericho tapped but it didn't count under the ladder match rules. After a few more ladder spots, Benoit went up and tried for the diving headbutt off the ladder top but Jericho rolled clear and Benoit crashed hard. Jericho went up but Benoit tipped the ladder over. Benoit went up but Jericho tipped it and Benoit went out of the ring and Jericho made it up to get the belt. Real good match!
Carey made a few passes at Trish but she told him she was currently involved with someone. Vince came in and got real protective of Trish. Carey said that he has his own comedy PPV coming up and wondered if Vince had any advice on how to promote it. Vince, to get even with Carey for wanting Trish, recommended that Carey enter the Rumble, assuring Carey it would be perfectly safe. Carey nervously accepted.
Billy Gunn tried to talk Chyna out of wrestling since her neck isn't 100%, but she wouldn't listen.
Jericho did an interview as new IC Champ and said Benoit was a tough bastard but he proved Benoit wrong.
IVORY beat CHYNA by ref stoppage in 3:31 to retain the WWF Women's Title. Not much to the actual match. Chyna weakly tossed Ivory around a little. She also beat up Steven Richards. Chyna did the handspring elbow but both she and Ivory went down, with everyone selling it like the impact damaged Chyna's weak vertebrae. The ref stopped the match with Chyna lying motionless like she was paralyzed below the neck. JR & Lawler sold it as legit, with Lawler actually going in the ring to check on her. Gunn also came out. The EMT's put a neck brace on her and she was stretchered out. Angles like these are a dime a dozen nowadays but this one was handled well and looked very legit (though it wasn't).
Steph went to get her haired fixed and ecountered Trish there. Trish agreed to give Steph her spot since Steph, after all, needed her hair done more. Steph warned Trish not to interfere in HHH's match, and Trish said she has her own "affairs" to worry about.
Harvey Whippleman brought Carey some wrestling gear. Kane walked in and just stared at Carey in an intimidating manner.
Tiger Ali Singh was trying to decide which of his men (D-Lo Brown or Chaz) would get their team's spot in the Rumble. But Vince arrived and cancelled their participation, giving the spot to Carey. Singh didn't know who Carey is.
They did a fan comment segment from WWF New York over who would win the Kurt Angle vs. HHH match. These segments are very good.
KURT ANGLE defeated HUNTER HEARST HELMSLEY in 24:12 to retain the WWF World Title. Trish came out in the fur coat & diamonds Vince bought for her. JR wondered what poor Linda thinks seeing that, and Lawler replied that vegetables don't think. Lawler said Trish is a baseball girl, meaning she won't play without diamonds. The match started off with some standard wrestling. Very good stuff with Angle dominating early as they are trying to push him as tougher than before. HHH sold for him and even bailed out after a suplex. They brawled on the floor. HHH hooked a grapevine hold and JR said it reminded him of Buddy Rogers. Lawler said no one today knows who Rogers is, which sadly is mostly true. They got off on Carey for a minute and Lawler mentioned piledriving Andy Kaufman many years sgo, with JR noting that eight people saw the movie about it. Low blow! Stephanie distracted the ref and HHH used a chair on Angle's knee. He went to work on the knee, including an old-fashioned Indian death lock. When HHH put the figure four on Angle, Trish helped Angle to the ropes, which led Steph to attack Trish for a heated catfight spot. They actually brawled across the announcers' desk and were clawing away when Vince arrived. It took him forever to separate them as they kept fighting with him trapped in the middle. He finally dragged both of them out. This was great! HHH and Angle continued on in the ring with some near falls. Angle did a moonsault but sold his knee. Angle has really become great and his moonsault is in Kenta Kobashi's league. The ref got bumped. Angle slammed HHH off the top but there was no ref to count the pin. The ref revived but was bumped again as HHH and Angle brawled. Angle blocked a belt shot from HHH and hit a suplex. HHH then blocked Angle's belt shot and hit the Pedigree but the ref was still out. Steve Austin ran in and juiced HHH with the belt, and then stunnered him. Angle crawled on top of HHH as the ref revived to count the pin. Great match!
Rock did a Rumble promo, wondering if Undertaker and Kane are now back together as a team.
STEVE AUSTIN won the Royal Rumble at the 1:01:52 mark. The intervals were announced as 2:00 but they were actually 1:45. Jeff Hardy (1) and Bull Buchanan (2) started off. Matt Hardy (3) came in and joined his brother to eliminate Buchanan. They then went at each other. Faarooq (4) arrived but the Hardys quickly eliminated him. Jeff had an off night as he was missing some key spots. Drew Carey (5) waltzed in, wearing glasses and not treating this seriously at all. He lucked out as both Hardys simultaneously eliminated each other. Kane (6) arrived and Carey tried to offer him money. Kane just stared. Raven (7) came in and went after Kane. Carey then eliminated himself, which was super lame. The match became a mess for a while as Raven brought in garbage cans, pans, and other hardcore match gimmicks. Al Snow (8) made his return and went after Raven, hitting him in the crotch with a bowling ball. Perry Saturn (9) went in. Kane was doing a superman act as all three opponents kept trying to eliminate him. Steve Blackman (10) showed up with his martial arts sticks for still more objects in the ring. Grandmaster Sexay (11) went in. Kane then went nuts and eliminated everyone else, leaving only himself in the ring. Honky Tonk Man (12) arrived as a surprise entry. He wanted to sing but Kane broke his guitar over his head and eliminated him. Rock (13) arrived and went after Kane and the match turned serious again. Goodfather (14) went in but was immediately dumped. The same thing happened to Tazz (15). Rock and Kane kept brawling, with their longevity (especially Kane's) one of the stories of the match. Bradshaw (16) went in and lariated the hell out of both Rock and Kane. Over the next few minutes the ring filled up as Albert (17), Hardcore Holly (18), K-Kwik (19), Val Venis (20), William Regal (21), and Test (22) arrived. Regal got eliminated. Up next was another surprise as Big Show (23) came in. He eliminated Test and Kwik and chokeslammed everyone else, including Kane, except Rock. Rock blocked the slam with a low blow and lariated Show over the top to eliminate him. Show was furious and dragged Rock out (through the ropes so it wasn't an elimination). Show pulverized Rock and left him laying. Crash Holly (24) arrived. Undertaker (25) then went in and joined forces with Kane to eliminate every other wrestler except Rock, who was still out on the floor. Scotty 2 Hotty (26) went in looking worried, as he should have been as UT & Kane quickly eliminated him. UT & Kane kept staring at one another. Steve Austin (27) came out to a big pop but before he reached the ring he was ambushed by HHH, who mauled Austin, leaving him literally a bloody mess before a ton of referees dragged HHH away. Rock recovered from his beating and went back in. Rock went at it with UT & Kane. Billy Gunn (28) and Haku (29) arrived. Haku, the former Meng in WCW, was probably a mystery to most of the live fans. Finally, Rikishi (30) went in. Haku got eliminated. Rikishi kicked UT in the chops and he went over for an elimination. Rock evaded Rikishi's ass drop and eliminated him. Austin recovered, and though bloody, went in and eliminated Gunn. Austin and Rock went at it, slugging it out. Austin blocked a Rock Bottom and gave Rock a stunner. Austin tried to throw Rock over. Kane came up behind and dumped both over but only Rock hit the floor for an elimination. Austin held on. Kane chokeslammed Austin. Kane brought in a chair but Austin blocked the blow, hit a stunner, and then sent Kane over the top with some hard chairshots for the win. Overall a solid Rumble, to set Austin us as the WWF Title challenger at WrestleMania.
2003 - Steve White wins a battle royal in Hanceville, Alabama to become the first Ultimate NWA Heavyweight Champion.
2005 - Chris Sabin defeats Alex Shelley in Oldcastle, Ontario, Canada for the BCW Can-Am Television Title, beginning his second reign.
2005 - Porkchop Cash defeats The Psycho to win the NWA Battle Zone Cruiserweight Title in Magee, Mississippi, ending Psycho's fourth reign.
2006 - Rocky Romero defeats Tommy Williams for the CMLL Super Lightweight Title in City of Industry, California, beginning his third reign.
2006 - Dean Allmark defeats Robbie Dynamite to win the British Mid-Heavyweight Title in Hanley, England.
2006 - Arik Cannon defeats Jimmy Jacobs to win the IWA-Mid-South Heavyweight Title in Midlothian, Illinois, beginning his second reign.
2006 - Pepper Parks defeats Jon Moxley in a tournament final for the vacant Heartland Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title in Cincinnati, Ohio.
2006 - Chris Cline defeats Blackhawk to win the National Wrestling League Cruiserweight Title in Hagerstown, Maryland.
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