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February 8th
On this day in history in ....
1917 - World Heavyweight Champion Earl Caddock defeats title claimant Wladek Zbyszko in Des Moines, Iowa.
1940 - Gil Knutsen defeats Billy Weidner for the Midwest Wrestling Association World Junior Heavyweight Title in Dayton, Ohio.
1954 - Fred Blassie defeats Don McIntyre in Birmingham, Alabama to win the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title, ending McIntyre's second reign.
1955 - Mario Galento and Red Roberts defeat Lee Fields and Herb Welch by forfeit for the Gulf Coast NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Mobile, Alabama, due to Lee Fields being injured.
1957 - Don and Mark Lewin defeat Chief Big Heart and Red McIntyre for the Georgia NWA International Tag Team Title in Atlanta, Georgia.
1958 - Sherri Martel is born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1963 - Eddie Graham defeats Fred Blassie in Atlanta, Georgia to win Georgia's version of the World Heavyweight Title, ending Blassie's second reign.
1965 - Alex Perez defeats Rocky Smith in Memphis, Tennessee for the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee, to begin his second reign.
1966 - The Destroyer (Dick Beyer) and The Golden Terror defeat Kanji (Antonio) Inoki and Duke Keomuka to win the Texas NWA World Tag Team Title in Dallas, Texas.
1967 - Dennis Hall and Roger Kirby defeat Frank and Jack Dalton for the Gulf Coast NWA United States Tag Team Title in Mobile, Alabama, ending the Daltons' second reign.
1971 - The WWWF held an event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The results were:
- Vincenti Pometti defeated Lee Wong.
- Jack Evans defeated Jean DuBois.
- Little Brutus and Sky Low Low defeated Little Joey and Frenchy Landau.
- Blackjack Mulligan defeated Tony Marino.
- Gorilla Monsoon vs. WWWF International Tag Team Champion Bepo Mongol ended in a double-countout.
- The Canadian Wolfman and Manuel Soto fought to a 20-minute time-limit draw.
- Bruno Sammartino (with Arnold Skaaland) defeated WWWF International Tag Team Champion Geto Mongol by submission with a backbreaker.
- WWWF United States Heavyweight Champion Pedro Morales pinned WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff to win the title. Koloff had Morales in a waistlock, with Morales kicking off the top turnbuckle and falling on top of Koloff with both of their shoulders down. The referee began counting, with Morales lifting a shoulder after the two-count. Bruno Sammartino, whom Koloff had defeated three weeks earlier for the title, came out and congratulated Morales after the match. As a result of his winning the World title, Morales' United States title was vacated.
1973 - Bob Kelly defeats The Mysterious Medic for the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This ended the Medic's second reign and began Kelly's 11th.
1974 - Ron Miller and Larry O'Day defeat Hiro and Hito Tojo (The Great Kabuki) to win the NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Title in Sydney, Australia, beginning their second reign.
1975 - Ric Flair defeats Paul Jones for the NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Title in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, ending Jones' second reign. This was Flair's second-ever pro wrestling title.
1975 - Abdullah the Butcher defeats Bobo Brazil for the Detroit NWA United States Heavyweight Title in Detroit, Michigan, ending Brazil's seventh reign.
1978 - Mal Sanders defeats Mick McManus in Huddersfield, England to win the European Middleweight Title, ending McManus' second reign.
1980 - Stan Hansen defeats Antonio Inoki for the National Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Title in Tokyo, Japan, ending Inoki's second reign.
1981 - Bob Yuma defeats Lumberjack #1 to win the Western States Wrestling Alliance Western States Heavyweight Title in Guadalupe, Arizona, beginning and ending both men's second reigns.
1982 - Dean Ho and Sonny Myers defeat Tiny Anderson (subbing for Ricky Torres) and Ramon Torres for the Vancouver NWA International Tag Team Title.
1983 - Victor Jovica defeats Ric Flair in Couva, Trinidad to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title. This title change is not recognized by the NWA.
1984 - Marty Jones wins his third British Light Heavyweight Title in Leamington, England, ending Dave Finlay's second reign.
1985 - Chris Adams wins the World Class American Heavyweight Title from Kerry Von Erich in Dallas, Texas, ending Kerry's fifth reign and beginning Adams' fourth.
1986 - The WWF held an event at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The results were:
- George Skaaland pinned Ron Shaw with a sunset flip.
- Pedro Morales pinned René Goulet with a reverse roll-up.
- Hercules pinned Scott McGhee after a backbreaker.
- Corporal Kirchner pinned The Iron Sheik after reversing an attempted suplex into an inside cradle.
- Adrian Adonis (with Jimmy Hart) pinned George Wells after a DDT.
- The Junkyard Dog pinned Terry Funk (with Jimmy Hart) with a small package.
- WWF Tag Team Champions Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine (with Johnny V) defeated The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid), when Beefcake pinned Dynamite.
- Dan Spivey pinned Iron Mike Sharpe after a bulldog.
- WWF Champion Hulk Hogan defeated King Kong Bundy (with Bobby Heenan) by disqualification after Heenan interfered.
1986 - The WWF held an event at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The results:
- Lanny Poffo pinned Paul Christy with a moonsault.
- Sivi Afi pinned Barry O with a flying bodypress.
- George Steele pinned Tiger Chung Lee after ramming him into the exposed middle turnbuckle.
- Hillbilly Jim defeated Big John Studd by countout after Studd hit the ringpost.
- Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) pinned WWF Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana to win the title, after Savage hit Santana in the head with a foreign object while Santana had him up for a suplex. Santana continued to defend the title until it aired on television on February 24's Prime Time Wrestling.
1987 - Dan Kroffat and Armand Rougeau defeat Richard Charland and Sheik Ali to win the International Wrestling International Tag Team Title in Montreal, Quebec.
1988 - Max Pain (Daryl Peterson) defeats Jerry Lawler for the Continental Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee.
1988 - Blue Panther defeats Solar I in Puebla, Mexico to win the UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Title.
1992 - Kerry Von Erich was arrested in Richardson, Texas for attempting to falsify two drug prescriptions. He was released on $6,000 bond.
1992 - Jushin Liger wins his fifth IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title by defeating Norio Honaga in Sapporo, Japan, ending Honaga's second reign.
1992 - Tom Prichard defeats Eric Embry in Memphis, Tennessee for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee. This ended Embry's fourth reign and began Prichard's fourth.
1993 - The SMW Television Title changes hands twice during a television taping in Jellico, Tennessee. Tracy Smothers lost the title to The Nightstalker (Bryan Clark), who then lost to Tim Horner.
1997 - Tully Blanchard defeats Lady Killer in a tournament final in Norfolk, Virginia for the vacant NWA United States Heavyweight Title, beginning his second reign. The title had been vacant since September 1993, when WCW, who had control of the title, left the NWA.
1997 - Tommy Starr defeats Johnny Paradise for the Championship Wrestling Federation Television Title in Warren, Michigan.
1998 - The Carolina Kid defeats Preston Quinn to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title in Norfolk, Virginia.
1998 - Matthew T. Storm defeats Magic for the NWA New York Heavyweight Title in Staten Island, New York.
1999 - The WWF taped RAW is WAR at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, which aired on February 13 as RAW Saturday Night, due to USA Network's coverage of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, however the show aired live as usual in Canada on TSN. The Saturday 13 edition of Shotgun Saturday Night was taped as well. RAW got a 4.3 rating on USA. 41,432 fans attended the event, the company's largest Raw attendance in history. The results were:
In dark matches:
- John D'Silva defeated Joe E. Legend.
- The Acolytes (Bradshaw and Faarooq) defeated Larry Brun and Scott D'Amore.
RAW Saturday Night:
- D'Lo Brown pinned WWF Tag Team Champion Jeff Jarrett.
- WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Gillberg pinned Goldust, after The Blue Meanie distracted him.
- The Godfather defeated Viscera by disqualification.
- X-Pac defeated Kane
- The Rock pinned Steve Blackman.
- The Corporation (The Big Bossman, Chyna, Kane, Vince McMahon, WWF Intercontinental Champion Ken Shamrock and Test) defeated Steve Austin in a gauntlet match. Austin defeated Shamrock, Test, Kane, Chyna and Bossman all by disqualification before being pinned by McMahon.
Shotgun Saturday Night:
- Edge and Gangrel defeated The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff Hardy).
- Mideon defeated Tiger Ali Singh.
- Triple H defeated Droz.
- WWF Tag Team Champion Owen Hart pinned Billy Gunn.
1999 - The Monday Night War took a break, as WCW Monday Nitro aired unopposed due to the USA Network coverage of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The show got a 5.7 rating on TNT, which was its highest rating since August 1998, and up a full point from the previous week. Nitro was live from Pepsi Arena in Buffalo, New York. The results were:
- Rey Mysterio, Jr. (with Konnan) pinned Blitzkrieg.
- Booker T pinned Fit Finlay.
- Curt Hennig and Barry Windham defeated Brian Adams and Horace Hogan.
- Diamond Dallas Page pinned Kenny Kaos.
- Vincent pinned Ernest Miller.
- Roddy Piper pinned WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart to win the title, beginning his third reign and ending Hart's third.
- WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash defeated Chris Benoit, Ric Flair and Steve McMichael.
2000 - The WWF taped the February 10 edition of SmackDown! and February 13 Sunday Night Heat at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The results:
Sunday Night Heat:
- D'Lo Brown (with The Godfather) defeated Mosh (with Thrasher) by pinning Thrasher with the Sky High after catching him coming off the top rope, after The Headbangers had switched places illegally.
- Viscera pinned Funaki with a splash.
- The Big Bossman pinned Mark Henry (with Mae Young), after Mae threw Bossman's nightstick into the ring and Bossman picked it up and hit Henry in the head with it.
- Essa Rios (with Lita, in her debut) pinned WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Gillberg with a moonsault to win the title. Before the match, Gillberg said that he had been champion for 15 months (since November 17, 1998) and wanted to prove that he wasn't a "closet champion" and challenged any light heavyweight to face him for the title. After the match, Lita hit a moonsault on Gillberg as well, with Rios counting three for Lita.
- Tazz defeated Joey Abs (with Pete Gas and Rodney) by submission with the Tazzmission.
SmackDown!:
- Kurt Angle pinned WWF European Champion Val Venis after the Olympic Slam to win the title.
- Perry Saturn defeated Grandmaster Sexay by submission with the Rings of Saturn, although Sexay had his foot under the ropes.
- Edge and Christian defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von), when Christian pinned D-Von with a sunset flip after a missile dropkick from Edge.
- Dean Malenko defeated Scotty 2 Hotty by submission with the Texas Cloverleaf.
- Cactus Jack and The Rock defeated WWF Tag Team Champions The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg).
- Gangrel and Luna defeated Albert and WWF Women's Champion Jacqueline, when Luna pinned Jacqueline after a DDT.
- Rikishi defeated Chris Benoit by disqualification after the rest of The Radicalz interfered, with Too Cool making the save.
- Steve Blackman and Al Snow defeated The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) after a double-team legdrop on Jeff after Bubba Ray Dudley had hit Jeff with a chair.
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho defeated The Hollys (Crash and Hardcore) in a no-disqualification handicap match after The Acolytes (Bradshaw and Faarooq) interfered.
- Kane defeated WWF Champion Triple H (with Stephanie McMahon) and X-Pac (with Tori) by disqualification in a handicap match, after Triple H hit Kane with a chair. After the match, Kane got revenge on Tori for dumping him, giving her a Tombstone piledriver.
2002 - Wrongful Death (Dagon Briggs and Naphtali) defeat champions Quickiemart (Agent Steele and Yaz) and Joey Matthews & Christian York in a three-way match to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in St. Petersburg, Florida.
2002 - Ace Steel defeats Kurt Krueger for the IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Title in Indianapolis, Indiana.
2002 - J.P. Black and Mike Thunder win their second NWA Texas Tag Team Title, defeating The Black Attack (Mike Anthony and Al Jackson) in North Richland Hills, Texas, ending their third reign.
2003 - Ring of Honor held its One-Year Anniversary Show at the Elk's Lodge in Queens, New York. The results were:
- E.Z. Money defeated Colt Cabana and Chad Collyer and Michael Shane in a Four Corners Survival match.
- The Texas Wrestling Academy (Don Juan, Fast Eddie and Hotstuff Hernandez) defeated The Carnage Crew (DeVito, Loc and Masada)
- Jay Briscoe defeated Mark Briscoe.
- Steve Corino defeated Homicide.
- CM Punk defeated C.W. Anderson.
- Steve Corino defeated Homicide.
- Paul London defeated Low Ki and ROH Tag Team Champion A.J. Styles in a three-way match to become #1 contender to the ROH Heavyweight Title.
- ROH Heavyweight Champion Xavier defeated Paul London to retain the title.
- Da Hit Squad (Mafia and Monsta Mack), Divine Storm (Chris Divine and Quiet Storm), The S.A.T. (Joél and José Maximo) and Mikey Whipwreck defeated Special K (Angel Dust, Brian XL, Deranged, Dixie, Jody Fleisch, Hydro, Izzy, Slim J, Slugger and Yeyo) in a Handicap Tag Team Scramble match.
2003 - Nick Mondo defeats The Messiah for the CZW Ironman Title in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2003 - Haku defeats Superstar Steve in El Dorado Springs, Missouri to win the World League Wrestling Heavyweight Title for a third time.
2003 - The Heartbreakers (John Caesar and Larry Valentine) Chris Gatlin & Steve Lane and Dante & Tim Renesto in a three-way match for the vacant NWA Mid-America Tag Team Title in Columbia, Tennessee.
2003 - The Shane Twins (Mike and Todd) win their third NWA Florida Tag Team Title in St. Petersburg, Florida, from Scoot Andrews and Mikey Tenderfoot (subbing for Mike Sullivan).
2004 - Low Ki defeats Justin Credible to win the Premier Wrestling Federation Universal Heavyweight Title in Fall River, Massachusetts, ending Credible's second reign.
2004 - The Backseat Boyz (Trent Acid and Johnny Kashmere) defeat Derek Frazier and Greg Matthews for the CZW World Tag Team Title in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, beginning their second reign.
2004 - SUWA defeats Magnum TOKYO for the Toryumon Ultimo Dragon Gym Title in Fukuoka, Japan.
2004 - The Central Wrestling Federation saw both its titles go to new champions in Lafayette, Indiana. Quicksilver won the CWF Heavyweight Title for the second time by defeating Guy Lombardo, and Simply Marvelous defeated Shawn Cook and Billy Roc to become the first-ever CWF Tag Team Champions. In 2006, the CWF became an member of the National Wrestling Alliance and became NWA Indiana.
2006 - OVW held their weekly television taping at Davis Arena in Louisville, Kentucky. The results were:
- OVW Southern Tag Team Champion Chet the Jett (with OVW Southern Tag Team Champion Seth Skyfire) and The Miz (with Chris Cage) fought to a double disqualification.
- Chris Cage and The Miz defeated OVW Southern Tag Team Champions Chet the Jett and Seth Skyfire to win the title.
- Elijah Burke defeated James Dick (with Chad Dick).
- The Spirit Squad (Johnny, Kenny, Mikey, Mitch and Nicky) defeated Mikey Batts, Danny Inferno, The Riggs Brothers (Jason and Johnny) and Russell Simpson.
- The show closed with WWE Tough Enough III winner and OVW Heavyweight Champion Matt Cappotelli coming to the ring and announcing that he had a malignant brain tumor and would need surgery to remove it, thus surrendering the title to OVW owner Danny Davis, and thanked the fans and his peers for their support. Cappotelli underwent surgery on May 1, 2007 in Boston, Massachusetts, which was successful, with the tumor being fully removed.
You can write Ryan Martinez at freshprinceofatlanta@gmail.com.
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