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THIS DAY IN HISTORY: THE MOUNTIE BEATS BRET HART, TEST WINS A CHAMPIONSHIP, BRISCO LOSES AND WINS A TITLE IN THE SAME MATCH

January 17th

On this day in history in ....

1952 - Art Bull defeats Milt Olsen in a tournament final for the vacant Wisconsin Junior Heavyweight Title in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1953 - Alan Pinfold defeats Bern Tamprine in Leichhardt, Australia to win the Australian Light Heavyweight Title.

1967 - Louie Tillet defeats Bobby Hart for the Georgia NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Title in Macon, Georgia, to begin his second reign.

1971 - Jack Brisco won and lost a title in the same match in Tampa, Florida. Brisco, the NWA Florida Television Champion, faced Tarzan Tyler, the NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion, in a two-out-of three falls match. The rules for the match stipulated that the Television Title was on the line in the first fall only, while the Heavyweight Title would go to the winner of the match. Tyler pinned Brisco in the first fall to win the Television Title. However, Brisco won the second and third falls to win the match, and claim the Heavyweight Title. So, both men went into the match with a belt, and left with a belt, but it was a different title!

1972 - Mark Lewin defeats Bob Brown to win the Vancouver NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title in Vancouver, British Columbia, ending Brown's second reign and beginning Lewin's second as well.

1973 - Big Bad John and Tim Woods defeat Chris Markoff and Bobby Shane for the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in Miami, Florida.

1973 - Ed Francis defeats The Sheik in Honolulu, Hawaii to win his third NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title.

1974 - Lord Alfred Hayes and Roger Kirby defeat Jim Brunzell and Mike George to win the Central States NWA World Tag Team Title in Kansas City, Kansas.

1974 - Bob Kelly defeats Duke Miller for the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, beginning his 12th reign.

1974 - Mariko Akagi and Peggy Kuroda win their third WWWA World Tag Team Title in Kagoshima, Japan, defeating Sharon Lee and Jackie West.

1975 - Porkchop Cash and Special Delivery Jones defeat The Hollywood Blonds (Jerry Brown and Buddy Roberts) to win the NWA Americas Heavyweight Title in Los Angeles, California.

1976 - The WWWF runs an event at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The results were:
- Baron Mikel Scicluna defeated Pat McGinness.
- Kevin Sullivan defeated Pete Sanchez.
- Pat Barrett defeated Frank Monte.
- Jerry Blackwell defeated Francisco Flores.
- Ernie Ladd defeated Dominic DeNucci.
- WWWF World Tag Team Champions Louis Cerdan and Tony Parisi defeated Spiros Arion and Bugsy McGraw.
- Superstar Billy Graham and Ivan Koloff defeated Gorilla Monsoon and WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino, when Koloff pinned Sammartino.

1976 - Jesse Ventura defeats Jimmy Snuka for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title in Portland, Oregon, ending Snuka's fifth reign.

1976 - The Infernos defeat The Interns to win the WWC North American Tag Team Title in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

1977 - Kevin Fertig, better known as WWE's Kevin Thorn, is born in Memphis, Tennessee.

1977 - The WWWF holds an event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The results:
- Jose Gonzalez and Pete Sanchez fought to a draw.
- Doug Gilbert defeated Don Serrano.
- Greg Gagne defeated Johnny Rodz.
- Tor Kamata and Nikolai Volkoff defeated Dominic DeNucci and Manuel Soto.
- Pat Patterson, billed as "North American Heavyweight Champion" (the WWF had no such title until 1979) defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna.
- Bobo Brazil defeated Stan Stasiak by disqualification.
- WWWF Tag Team Champions Chief Jay Strongbow and Billy White Wolf defeated The Executioners.
- Ivan Putski vs. Bruiser Brody ended in a double disqualification.
- Ken Patera defeated WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino by countout.

1977 - Don Leo Jonathan and Dutch Savage defeat John Quinn and Kurt Von Hess for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title in Vancouver, British Columbia.

1977 - The Hollywood Blonds (Jerry Brown and Buddy Roberts) defeat Dino Bravo and Tim Woods to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Title in Greenville, South Carolina.

1980 - Tiger Jeet Singh defeats El Canek for the UWA World Heavyweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico.

1980 - Mike Sharpe defeats Mike George to win the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title in Greenville, Mississippi. This ended George's second reign and began Sharpe's second.

1981 - Jimmy Valiant wins his sixth AWA Southern Heavyweight Title by defeating Hector Guerrero in a tournament final in Memphis, Tennessee.

1981 - The Destroyer and Rip Oliver defeat Joe Lightfoot and Jay Youngblood for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title.

1982 - The WWF holds an event at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario. The results:
- John Bonello and Tim Gerard fought to a 15-minute time-limit draw.
- Pat Patterson defeated Kurt Von Hess.
- Dino Bravo defeated Frankie Lane.
- The East-West Connection (Adrian Adonis and Jesse Ventura) defeated Dominic DeNucci and Tony Parisi.
- WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund defeated Greg Valentine.
- Johnny Weaver defeated Lord Alfred Hayes in a steel cage match.
- Angelo Mosca defeated Toronto NWA Canadian Heavyweight Champion Big John Studd in a steel cage match to win the title, beginning his fourth reign.

1982 - Tommy Rich defeats The Masked Superstar for the NWA National Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia, ending the Superstar's second reign and beginning Rich's second.

1984 - Mal Sanders wins his fourth European Middleweight Title in Croydon, England, ending the second reign of Keith Haward.

1986 - Ron Bass defeats Black Bart to win the Mid-Atlantic NWA Brass Knuckles Title in Richmond, Virginia.

1987 - Jason the Terrible defeats Invader I in Caguas, Puerto Rico for the WWC Television Title.

1987 - Zandokan defeats Villano I to win the UWA World Light Heavyweight Title in Naucalpan, Mexico.

1989 - Jake Murdock defeats Steve Gatorwolf for the Western States Wrestling Alliance Western States Heavyweight Title in Safford, Arizona. This ended Gatorwolf's second reign and began Murdock's second.

1990 - Atsushi Onita defeats Beast the Barbarian (who had been declared the first champion two weeks prior) to win the World Wrestling Association World Brass Knuckles Title in Tokyo, Japan. He would hold the title until the WWA World Martial Arts Title replaced it in February. The World Brass Knuckles Title was revived by FMW in 1993.

1991 - Big Van Vader defeats Tatsumi Fujinami for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title in Yokohama, Japan, ending and beginning both men's third reign.

1992 - At a house show in Springfield, Massachusetts, The Mountie defeats Bret Hart for the WWF Intercontinental Title. The storyline reason for Hart's loss was that he had a high fever, but it actually took place due to contract negotiations. After the match, The Mountie attacked Hart with the title belt, before Roddy Piper made the save.

1994 - The WWF holds an event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The results were:
- Scott Putski pinned Iron Mike Sharpe after the Polish Hammer.
- Rick Steiner and Ludvig Borga fought to a double countout. This would be Borga's last match in the WWF as he suffered an serious ankle injury during, which ultimately led to his release from the company. It has been rumored that Borga was possibly in line for a WWF Title run in the future.
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon defeated Jeff Jarrett by disqualification after Shawn Michaels interfered.
- WWF Champion Yokozuna pinned Tatanka with the Banzai Drop.
- The Quebecers (Jacques and Pierre) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions The 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty, after the Kid was pinned after the Tower of Quebec, to win the title, beginning their second reign.
- Owen Hart won a 30-man Royal Rumble match, last eliminating Fatu.

1997 - Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue defeat Johnny Ace and Steve Williams to win the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Title in Matsumoto, Japan, beginning their fourth reign.

1997 - Beau James defeats The War Machine by forfeit for the Southern States Wrestling Appalachian Heavyweight Title in Fall Branch, Tennessee.

1998 - Erich Sbraccia defeats Vic Steamboat in a tournament final to become the first NWA New England Heavyweight Champion.

1998 - Miss Britannia defeats Julie Starr for the British Women's Title in Norwich, England.

1999 - WCW holds the third-annual Souled Out pay-per-view at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia. The results were:
- Chris Benoit defeated Mike Enos by submission with the Crippler Crossface.
- Norman Smiley defeated Chavo Guerrero, Jr. by submission with the Norman Conquest.
- Fit Finlay pinned Van Hammer after a Tombstone Piledriver.
- Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Wrath after Greetings from Asbury Park.
- Lex Luger defeated Konnan by submission with the Torture Rack.
- Chris Jericho pinned Saturn with a small package. As a result, Saturn had to wear a dress for 30 days.
- WCW Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman defeated Rey Misterio, Jr., Juventud Guerrera and Psicosis in a four-way match to retain the title, when he pinned Guerrera.
- David and Ric Flair defeated Curt Hennig and Barry Windham, after David pinned Hennig after Arn Anderson hit Hennig with a tire iron.
- Goldberg defeated Scott Hall in a Ladder Stun Gun match, in which the only way to win was to use the stun gun on your opponent. The match came about from Scott Hall costing Goldberg the WCW World Title at Starrcade in December. Hall hit Goldberg with a stun gun as he had Kevin Nash up for the Jackhammer, after which Nash hit the Jackknife Powerbomb and won the title, giving Goldberg his first loss in WCW.

2000 - The Monday Night War continued, with WWF RAW is WAR doubling up WCW Monday Nitro in the ratings, 6.0 to 3.0.

WCW Monday Nitro came live from Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The results were:
- Billy Kidman pinned Psychosis.
- Big T (Ahmed Johnson) pinned Booker T.
- Vampiro pinned Disco Inferno.
- WCW World Tag Team Champions Crowbar and David Flair defeated 3 Count (Shane Helms and Shannon Moore).
- Tank Abbott defeated The Maestro in a shootfight rules match.
- Masahiro Chono and Super J (Jeff Farmer) defeated Rick Steiner and Mike Rotunda.
- Sid Vicious pinned The Wall.
- Lex Luger defeated Bam Bam Bigelow.
- Diamond Dallas Page pinned Buff Bagwell.
- Also, Jeff Jarrett was awarded the WCW United States Heavyweight Title by Commissioner Kevin Nash, one day after he was stripped of the title due to a concussion, This began Jarrett's third reign.

WWF RAW is WAR was live from the New Haven Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut. The event also featured a taping of the coming weekend's Jakked. The results:
Jakked:
- Crash and Hardcore Holly defeated The Mean Street Posse (Joey Abs and Pete Gas)
- Too Cool (Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty) defeated Kaientai (Funaki and Taka Michinoku).
- Gangrel vs. Viscera ended in a double countout.
- The British Bulldog defeated Kevin Landry.
RAW is WAR:
- Test pinned WWF Hardcore Champion The Big Bossman, after a flying elbow drop, to win the title, ending Bossman's fourth reign.
- Kurt Angle pinned Steve Blackman, after The British Bulldog interfered and hit Blackman with Blackman's own kendo stick.
- The Acolytes (Bradshaw and Faarooq) defeated WWF Champion Triple H and X-Pac by disqualification when The New Age Outlaws interfered.
- Jeff Hardy pinned Bubba Ray Dudley after the Swanton. After the match, both Hardys got hit with the 3D and put through tables by the Dudleys.
- Rikishi defeated WWF Intercontinental Co-Champion Chris Jericho by disqualification, after the other co-Champion, Chyna, and Crash and Hardcore Holly interfered, and Hardcore hit Rikishi with a chair.
- Kane pinned Albert after the chokeslam.
- WWF Tag Team Champions The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg) defeated Big Show and The Rock, after Rock hit Show with a chair.

2000 - Steve Austin undergoes neck surgery to remove a bone spur that was touching his spinal cord. He had written off television with an attack at the Survivor Series in November, with Austin being hit by a car in the parking lot of the arena upon arrival. Austin's surgery was performed by Dr. Lloyd Youngblood in San Antonio, Texas. Youngblood has done surgery on several other WWE performers as well.

2001 - WCW holds a live Thunder at the Allen County War Memorial Fieldhouse in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The show earned a rating of 2.2 on TBS. The results were:
- Rick Steiner pinned Kwee Wee.
- WCW Hardcore Champion Meng pinned Bam Bam Bigelow.
- Big Ron pinned Norman Smiley.
- Totally Buff (Buff Bagwell and Lex Luger) defeated Kronik (Brian Adams and Bryan Clark).
- Mike Awesome pinned Billy Kidman.
- WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero, Jr. pinned General Rection.
- Diamond Dallas Page and Jeff Jarrett fought to a no contest.

2002 - Jonny Storm defeats Joey Fleisch to win the British Welterweight Title in Southampton, England.

2003 - XPW holds an event at Viking Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The results were:
- Pogo the Clown defeated Simon Diamond.
- Mexico's Most Wanted (Damien 666 and Halloween) defeated XPW Tag Team Champions Youthanazia (M-Dogg 20 and Josh Prohibition) to win the title.
- Psicosis defeated Chris Chetti, Sonny Siaki and Christian York in a four-way match.
- Julio Dinero defeated Chris Candido.
- XPW King of the Deathmatch Champion Supreme defeated Justice Pain to retain the title.
- Vic Grimes and Lucy defeated Shane Douglas and Lizzy Borden.
- Super Crazy defeated Malice.
- Chris Hamrick and Tracy Smothers defeated Angel and Shark Boy.
- Juventud Guerrera defeated Danny Doring.
- Jonny Storm defeated Jerry Lynn in a XPW Television Title contender's match.

2003 - El Tornado and Tyson Dux defeat Hacker and Gutter for the Border City Wrestling Can-Am Tag Team Title in Ottawa, Ontario.

2004 - Adam Evans defeats Eric Priest and Chris Jordan in a three-way match to win the vacant NWA Midwest Heavyweight Title in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Previous champion, Danny Dominion, failed to appear.

2004 - Matt Sydal defeats JC Bailey for the IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Title in Highland, Indiana, ending Bailey's third reign.

2004 - Derek Frazier and Greg Matthews defeat Nick Gage and Nate Hatred to win the CZW World Tag Team Title in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ending Gage and Hatred's second reign.

2004 - Kenjiro Katahira and Kensuke Sasaki defeat Ahuna and Kaniela for the Hawai'i Championship Wrestling  Kekaulike Heritage Tag Team Title in Kaneohe, Hawaii.

2005 - WWE airs a live RAW and tapes the upcoming weekend's WWE.com Heat at Toronto, Ontario's Air Canada Centre. RAW earned a 3.8 rating on USA. The results were:
- In a dark match, Chris Masters pinned Tyson Dux.
Heat:
- Rhyno pinned Steven Richards after the Gore.
- Tajiri pinned Wavell Starr after the Buzzsaw Kick.
- Simon Dean pinned Val Venis after punching Venis as he attempted a Blue Thunder Bomb.
RAW:
- Maven and WWE World Tag Team Champions La Résistance (Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier) defeated The Hurricane, Rosey and WWE Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjamin, when Conway pinned Rosey after the Au Revoir.
- Shawn Michaels pinned Christian after the Sweet Chin Music.
- Batista pinned Viscera after a spinebuster.
- Chris Jericho pinned Chris Benoit by reversing a Sharpshooter attempt into a cradle.
- Gene Snitsky vs. Kane in a No Holds Barred match ended in a no contest after Kane chokeslammed Snitsky off the stage through several tables.
- In a dark match after the show, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton defeated Batista, Edge and World Heavyweight Champion Triple H, when Orton pinned Triple H after the RKO.

2007 - Vic Viper defeats The Ballymun Bruiser, Kid Kash and Mad Man Manson to win the vacant Irish Whip Wrestling International Heavyweight Title in Dublin, Ireland. The title had been stripped from Drew Galloway for missing several title defenses due to booking conflicts.

You can write Ryan Martinez at freshprinceofatlanta@gmail.com.

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