On this day in history in ....
1931 - Former World Heavyweight Champion Wayne Munn dies from kidney
problems at age 35. Munn held the title for three months in 1925.
1945 - Gus Wisbar defeats Yaqui Joe for the Tennessee World Middleweight
Title in Nashville, Tennessee, beginning his second reign.
1953 - Harold Sakata and Toi Yamamoto defeat John Cretorian and Kurt Von
Poppenheim to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title, beginning their
second reign.
1957 - Al Kashey defeats Lord James Blears for the vacant NWA Beat the
Champ International Television Title in Los Angeles, California.
1958 - Ben and Mike Sharpe defeat Ciclon Anaya and Ramon Torres in
Stockton, California to win the San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Title for the
16th time.
1959 - Pat O'Connor defeats Dick Hutton in St. Louis, Missouri to win the
NWA World Heavyweight Title. O'Connor was also recognized as the first AWA World
Heavyweight Champion in May 1960, but was stripped of that title in August of
that year for not defending against Verne Gagne.
1962 - Mister M (Bill Miller) defeats Verne Gagne to win the AWA World
Heavyweight Title in Minneapolis, Minnesota, ending Gagne's second reign. As a
result, Mister M's AWA United States Heavyweight Title was vacated. He was the
last to hold the title, which had began as the Chicago and Minneapolis versions
of the NWA United States Heavyweight Title before the AWA was founded. It was
held by Wilbur Snyder four times, twice by Gene Kiniski and Verne Gagne, and
once each by Hans Schmidt, Dick the Bruiser, Hard Boiled Haggerty and Mister M.
1965 - Don Leo Jonathan and Whipper Billy Watson defeat The Fabulous
Kangaroos (Al Costello and Roy Heffernan) for the Winnipeg NWA International Tag
Team Title in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
1968 - Butcher Vachon and Stan Vachon (Stan Pulaski) defeat Enrique and
Ramon Torres for the Georgia NWA World Tag Team Title in Macon, Georgia, ending
the Torres' third reign.
1969 - Danny Hodge and Wilbur Snyder defeat Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki
to win the NWA International Tag Team Title in Hiroshima, Japan, ending Baba and
Inoki's second reign.
1969 - Buddy Colt defeats Ricky Romero for the Amarillo NWA North
American Heavyweight Title.
1970 - Dave Ruhl wins his fifth Calgary NWA Canadian Heavyweight Title in
Calgary, Alberta, defeating Danny Lynch.
1971 - Curtis Iaukea defeats Bill Robinson for the Hawaii NWA North
American Heavyweight Title, beginning his second reign.
1971 - Jerry Jarrett and Tojo Yamamoto defeat The Heavenly Bodies (Al and
Don Greene) to win the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Chattanooga,
Tennessee. This ended the The Heavenly Bodies' fifth reign and began Jarrett and
Yamamoto's second.
1973 - Mark Lewin defeats Buddy Colt for the Florida NWA Southern
Heavyweight Title in Tampa, Florida, ending Colt's third reign.
1974 - Billy Graham defeats Ed Francis to win the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight
Title in Honolulu, Hawaii, ending Francis' third reign.
1978 - Norvell Austin and Bill Dundee defeat Dennis Condrey and Phil
Hickerson for the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee,
ending Austin and Dundee's sixth reign.
1979 - Jimmy Garvin defeats Dick Slater to win the NWA Florida
Heavyweight Title in Tampa, Florida.
1982 - Dory Funk, Jr. and Terry Funk defeat Jack and Jerry Brisco for the
Florida NWA North American Tag Team Title in Tampa, Florida.
1983 - Luis Arizona defeats Centurion Negro to win the UWA World
Middleweight Title in Reynosa, Mexico.
1984 - Super Destroyer (Scott Irwin) wins his second World Class
Television Title in Fort Worth, Texas, ending the second reign for Brian Adias.
1984 - Charlie Cook defeats Jerry Stubbs for the NWA Alabama Heavyweight
Title in Birmingham, Alabama, ending Stubbs' third reign.
1987 - Larry Hamilton defeats Tom Prichard in Birmingham, Alabama to win
the Southeast NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Title. This began Hamilton's
second reign and ended Prichard's fourth.
1989 - Wendell Cooley defeats Sid Vicious in Memphis, Tennessee for the
Championship (formerly Continental) Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title. The
title would be awarded to Dutch Mantel later in the month when Cooley left the
promotion.
1993 - The WWF holds an afternoon event at the Boston Garden in Boston,
Massachusetts. The results were:
- Crush defeated Skinner.
- Terry Taylor defeated Jason Knight (subbing for Lance Cassidy).
- WWF Tag Team Champions Money, Inc. (Ted DiBiase and IRS) defeated The Nasty
Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) to retain the title, when IRS pinned Sags
after hitting him with hier briefcase. The Nastys won the match originally after
DiBiase collided with Sags and Knobbs pinned DiBiase, but the match was
restarted due to Knobbs not being the legal man in the ring.
- The Undertaker pinned Papa Shango after a chokeslam.
- Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Typhoon after a diving headbutt.
- WWF Champion Bret Hart defeated Ric Flair in a 60-minute Iron Man Match, three
falls to two, to retain the title. Hart pinned Flair with a roll up, Flair then
made Hart submit twice with the Figure-Four Leglock while holding a rope for
leverage, first the top then the bottom rope. Hart won the fourth fall by
submission with the Sharpshooter, and won the fifth fall with 18 seconds
remaining, reversing the Figure-Four into an inside cradle.
1993 - Bart Sawyer defeated John Rambo in Portland, Oregon to win the
Championship Wrestling USA Television Title, ending Rambo's second reign and
beginning Sawyer's second.
1994 - The WWF held an event at Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. The
results:
- Men on a Mission (Mo and Mabel) defeated The Headshrinkers by
disqualification.
- Marty Jannetty defeated Rick Martel by disqualification.
- Doink the Clown defeated Bam Bam Bigelow.
- Crush defeated Randy Savage in a two out of three falls, falls count anywhere
match.
- WWF Tag Team Champions The Quebecers (Jacques and Pierre) defeated The Smoking
Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn).
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon defeated Shawn Michaels in a ladder
match.
- Lex Luger and Tatanka defeated WWF Champion Yokozuna and Ludvig Borga.
1995 - The USWA Tag Team Title changes hands twice in Memphis, Tennessee.
Doug Gilbert and Tommy Rich defeat PG-13 (JC Ice and Wolfie D) for the title,
ending their fourth reign. Immediately afterwards, PG-13 won them back, to begin
their fifth reign. At the same show, Sweet Georgia Brown wins her second USWA
Women's Title, defeating Miss Texas (Jackie Moore), ending her eighth reign.
1997 - Flash Flanagan and Steven Dunn defeat Mike Samples and Sir Mo to
win the held up USWA Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee. The title was held up
after a match between the teams of Flanagan & Dunn and Samples & Vic the
Bruiser on December 27 in Memphis.
1998 - Wolf Hawkfield and Johnny Smith defeat Jun Akiyama and Takao Omori
for the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Title in Kagoshima, Japan.
1999 - Ray Gonzalez is awarded the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title,
beginning his seventh reign. This was due to Carlos Colón using a foreign
object on the referee and Gonzalez to win a match for the title three days
earlier in Caguas, Puerto Rico. This ended Colón's short-lived 23rd reign.
1999 - Mike Rapada defeats Chris Michaels in Nashville, Tennessee to win
the NWA North American Heavyweight Title for the second time.
1999 - Two Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance titles change
hands in Chincoteague Island, Virginia. Joey Matthews defeats Christian York to
win the IPWA Light Heavyweight Title. Big Slam and Chris Stephenson win the IPWA
Tag Team Title from Cueball Carmichael and Jimmy Cicero, and Tom Brandi defeats
Corporal Punishment for the vacant IPWA Heavyweight Title, beginning his third
reign. Buddy Landel was stripped of the title for no-showing.
1999 - Magic defeats Chino Martinez to become the first Bloody Rage
Wrestling League American Heavyweight Champion in Edison, New Jersey.
1999 - Bam Bam and Danny Christian win their fourth Southern States
Wrestling Tag Team Title in Mountain City, Tennessee, defeating The Brooklyn Bad
Boys.
2000 - ECW holds the second-annual "Guilty as Charged"
pay-per-view at the Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham, Alabama. The results:
- Bill Whiles defeated Tom Marquez in a dark match.
- C.W. Anderson pinned Mikey Whipwreck after an Anderson Spinebuster.
- Simon Diamond, Danny Doring and Roadkill defeated Jazz, Kid Kash and Nova,
when Roadkill pinned Chris Chetti after an Amish Splash. Chetti had come out to
help Nova after Jazz, Diamond and Kash fought out of the arena.
- Super Crazy and Yoshihiro Tajiri defeated Little Guido and Jerry Lynn, after
Tajiri pinned Lynn after a Brainbuster.
- Angel pinned New Jack after hitting him with a shovel.
- ECW World Television Champion Rob Van Dam pinned Sabu after a Five-Star Frog
Splash to retain the title.
- The Impact Players (Justin Credible and Lance Storm) defeated ECW World Tag
Team Champions Tommy Dreamer and Raven, after Credible pinned Raven after That's
Incredible, to win the title.
- ECW World Heavyweight Champion Mike Awesome pinned Spike Dudley to retain the
title, after a top-rope Awesome Bomb through a table.
2000 - Black Dragon defeats Ultimo Vampiro for the IWRG Intercontinental
Middleweight Title in Naucalpan, Mexico.
2001 - World Xtreme Wrestling sees four titles switch in Allentown,
Pennsylvania. Low Ki ended Mason Cage's third reign as WXW Cruiserweight
Champion, Afa, Jr. won the WXW Television Title from Shane Black, The Latin Hit
Squad (Nuisance and Puerto Rican Chile) win their fifth WXW Tag Team Title from
Moondogs 2000 (Wenzel and Molsonn) and Samu defeats Salvatore Bellomo to win his
second WXW Heavyweight Title.
2002 - At a Heartland Wrestling Association show in Dayton, Ohio, Charlie
Haas and The Island Boyz (Ekmo and Kimo) defeat HWA Heavyweight Champion EZ
Money and HWA Tag Team Champions Steve Bradley and Val Venis, when Haas pinned
Venis, in a match with both titles on the line. As a result, Haas won the
Heavyweight title, as he was a singles wrestler. Also, Shannon Moore defeated
Jamie Knoble for the HWA Cruiserweight Title.
2004 - Christie Ricci defeats Craziness to win the United States
Wrestling Organization Television Title in Madison, Tennessee.
2005 - WWE holds the first-annual "New Year's Revolution"
pay-per-view at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico,
the company's first pay-per-view held outside North America since 1992's "SummerSlam",
which was held in London, England. A full report from the show can be
found on Page 2!
2005 - Steve Jaworski and Roadbock Jones defeat Shane Holmes & The
Super Ninja, The Trailer Park Boyz and The Office in a four-way match for the
vacant Canadian Wrestling Federation Tag Team Title in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The
previous champions, Dusty Dumont and Jean LaVernmay had left the promotion. At
the same event, Kerry Brown defeats Steve Jaworski to win the CWF Heavyweight
Title.
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