PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: WRESTLEMANIA IV, THE FIRST CLASH, BRODY WINS HIS LAST MAJOR TITLE AND MORE

March 27th

This week in wrestling in ....

1944 - Gray Mask defeats Gorilla Ramos to win the World Light Heavyweight Title in Hollywood, California, ending Ramos' second reign and beginning Gray Mask's second reign.

1953 - Ed Francis defeats Lou Klein in Columbus, Ohio for the Midwest Wrestling Association World Junior Heavyweight Title, ending and beginning each man's second reign.

1959 - Mighty Ursus and Shag Thomas defeat Maurice and Paul Vachon for the Stampede International Tag Team Title in Calgary, Alberta, ending the Vachons' second reign.

1961 - Guy and Joe Brunetti defeat Mitsu Arakawa and Mr. Moto to win the Vancouver NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Title in Vancouver, British Columbia, beginning their second reign.

1967 - Fritz Von Erich wins his third NWA American Heavyweight Title in Fort Worth, Texas, by defeating Brute Bernard. As a result, his NWA Texas Heavyweight Title was vacated, ending that third reign.

1970 - Bill Ross defeats Jim Breaks for the European Lightweight Title in Stirling, England, ending Breaks' second reign.

1970 - Frankie Laine and Moondog Mayne defeats Karl and Kurt Von Steiger to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title, ending the Von Steigers' fifth reign.

1971 - Stan Stasiak wins his fifth NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title from Dutch Savage.

1971 - The Avengers (Jimmy Golden and Dennis Hall) defeat Bobby Hart and Lorenzo Parente for the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Title in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This began the Avengers' second reign and ended Hart and Parente's third reign.

1971 - Billy Joyce wins the British Light Heavyweight Title in Blackburn, England, defeating Tony Charles. The title had been vacated in December 1969 when champion Ernie Riley retired. Joyce held the title until his own 1976 retirement.

1973 - The Mongol and The Rugged Russian (Pedro Godoy) defeat Bob Kelly and Ken Lucas to win the Gulf Coast NWA United States Tag Team Title in Mobile, Alabama.

1982 - Invader I wins the WWC North American Heavyweight Title for the third time in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, defeating Bobby Jaggers.

1983 - Roddy Piper defeats Dick Slater in Asheville, North Carolina to win the NWA Television Title, beginning his second reign.

1983 - Private Nelson defeats Terry Kay for the NWA Canadian Television Title in Toronto, Ontario, beginning his second reign.

1988 - The WWF held WrestleMania IV at Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with 18,165 fans attending. The event featured, among other things, a 14-man tournament for the WWF World Title which was vacated after a controversial match between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant on February 5. On pay-per-view, WrestleMania IV got a 6.5 buyrate. The results were:
- Bad News Brown won a 20-man battle royal, last eliminating Bret Hart. Brown and Hart cooperated to eliminate The Junkyard Dog. Brown then eliminated Hart to win after hitting him from behind with a Ghetto Blaster. Bret attacked Bad News after the match and destroyed the winner's trophy. The other participants in the match were: Ron Bass, B. Brian Blair, Jim Brunzell, Danny Davis, Sam Houston, Hillbilly Jim, The Junkyard Dog, Jim Neidhart, Ken Patera, Jim Powers, Harley Race, Paul Roma, Jacques Rougeau, Raymond Rougeau, Sika, George Steele, Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov.
- Ted DiBiase (with Virgil and André the Giant) pinned Jim Duggan in a WWF Title tournament first round match, after André tripped Duggan and hit him, and DiBiase hit Duggan with a fist drop.
- Don Muraco (with Superstar Billy Graham) defeated Dino Bravo (with Frenchy Martin) by disqualification in a WWF Title tournament first round match, after Bravo attempted to shield himself with the referee from a Muraco forearm.
- Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) pinned Butch Reed (with Slick) in a WWF Title tournament first round match, after a flying elbow drop.
- Greg Valentine pinned Ricky Steamboat in a WWF Title tournament first round match, by rolling through a flying crossbody.
- The One Man Gang (with Slick) defeated Bam Bam Bigelow (with Oliver Humperdink) by countout in a WWF Title tournament first round match, after Slick pulled the top rope down when Bigelow hit the ropes.
- Rick Rude (with Bobby Heenan) and Jake Roberts fought to a 15-minute time-limit draw in a WWF Title tournament first round match. Both were eliminated as a result of the draw.
- The Ultimate Warrior pinned Hercules (with Bobby Heenan), when Warrior raised his shoulder out of a half nelson suplex.
- In the first match of the quarterfinals of the WWF Title tournament, Hulk Hogan and André the Giant (with Ted DiBiase and Virgil), who had received first round byes, were both disqualified for using chairs. Both men were eliminated from the tournament.
- Ted DiBiase pinned Don Muraco (with Superstar Billy Graham) after a hot shot.
- The One Man Gang received a bye to the semifinals as a results of the Roberts-Rude draw.
- Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) pinned Greg Valentine in a WWF Title tournament quarterfinal match, with a roll-up after Savage countered Valentine's Figure Four leglock.
- Brutus Beefcake defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion The Honky Tonk Man (with Jimmy Hart) by disqualification after Hart hit the referee with his megaphone. Honky Tonk Man retained the title.
- Bobby Heenan and The Islanders (Haku and Tama) defeated Koko B. Ware and The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid), when Heenan pinned Ware after The Islanders dropped Heenan onto him.
- Ted DiBiase received a bye to the championship match due to the André-Hogan double-disqualification.
- Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated One Man Gang (with Slick) by disqualification in a WWF Title tournament semifinal match, after the Gang tried to hit Savage with Slick's cane.
- Demolition (Ax and Smash (with Mr. Fuji)) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Strike Force (Rick Martel and Tito Santana), when Ax pinned Martel after hitting him with Mr. Fuji's cane, to win the title.
- In the tournament final match, Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth and Hulk Hogan) pinned Ted DiBiase (with André the Giant) to win the vacant WWF World Title after a flying elbow drop, after Hogan hit DiBiase in the back with a chair. During the match, Savage had Elizabeth go to the locker room to bring Hogan to the ring after André had been interfering.

1988 - Up against the WWF's WrestleMania IV pay-per-view, TBS aired the very first NWA Clash of the Champions. The show got a 5.8 rating live from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. The results were:
- NWA World Television Champion Mike Rotunda (with Kevin Sullivan) pinned Jimmy Garvin (with Precious) at 1:10 in the second round of an "College Rules" match with a cradle.
- NWA United States Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) defeated The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers) by reverse decision to retain the title. Fulton had originally pinned Eaton, but the decision was reversed because Fulton had thrown the referee over the top rope before the pin.
- The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk (with Paul Ellering)) and Dusty Rhodes defeated Ivan Koloff and The Powers of Pain (The Barbarian and The Warlord) (with Paul Jones in a Barbed Wire match, when The Warlord was pinned after The Barbarian accidentally headbutted him.
- Lex Luger and Barry Windham defeated NWA World Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard (with J.J. Dillon), when Luger pinned Anderson after throwing him into Dillon, who was on the apron.
- NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair fought Sting to a 45-minute time-limit draw. Ringside judges for the match were Gary Juster, Sandy Scott and January 1988 Penthouse Pet of the month Patty Mullen. The judges couldn't come to a decision on who won, and Flair retained the title.

1988 - All Japan Pro Wrestling also held an event at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. The results were:
- Mitsuo Momota pinned Tsuyoshi Kikuchi.
- Akira Taue and Isamu Teranishi defeated Haruka Eigen and Mighty Inoue, when Taue pinned Eigan.
- Masa Fuchi pinned George Skaaland.
- Samson Fuyuki, Ashura Hara and Toshiaki Kawada defeated Takashi Ishikawa, Shinichi Nakano and Motoshi Okuma, when Hara pinned Okuma.
- Tom McGee defeated Isao Takagi by submission.
- The Great Kabuki and Tiger Mask (Mistuharu Misawa) defeated Austin Idol and Tommy Rich.
- Big Bubba Rogers pinned Shunji Takano.
- Giant Baba and Hiroshi Wajima defeated Rusher Kimura and Goro Tsurumi, when Tsurumi was pinned.
- Abdullah the Butcher and Tiger Jeet Singh defeated John Tenta and Yoshiaki Yatsu, when Abdullah pinned Tenta.
- NWA United National and PWF World Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu defeated Stan Hansen by disqualification to retain the titles.
- Bruiser Brody pinned NWA International Heavyweight Champion Jumbo Tsuruta to win the title, ending Tsuruta's second reign and beginning Brody's third. It would be the final major title Brody would hold before his death four months later.

1992 - Eddie Gilbert defeats The Dark Patriot (Doug Gilbert) for the Global Wrestling Federation North American Heavyweight Title in Dallas, Texas.

1994 - All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling held its second-annual Wrestling Queendom event at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. The results:
- AJW Junior Champion Candy Okutsu pinned Rie Tamada to retain the title.
- Little Great Muta defeated Little Abdullah the Butcher.
- AJW Tag Team Champions Miki Handa and Yasha Kurenai defeated Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe, when Kurenai pinned Watanabe, to retain the title.
- Hikari Fukuoka pinned Chaparita Asari.
- Megumi Kido and Nurse Nakamura defeated Suzuka Minami and Chikako Shiratori, when Kido made Shiratori submit.
- IWA World Women's Champion Manami Toyota pinned Plum Mariko to retain the title.
- Reggie Bennett and Eagle Sawai defeated Takako Inoue and UWA World Women's Tag Team Champion Yumiko Hotta, when Bennett made Inoue submit.
- Etsuko Mita and AJW Singles Champion Mima Shimoda defeated JWP Tag Team Champions Mayumi Ozaki and Cutie Suzuki, when Mita pinned Suzuki. This ended Ozaki and Suzuki's second reign.
- Dynamite Kansai pinned Sakie Hasegawa.
- UWA World Women's Tag Team Champion Kyoko Inoue defeated All Pacific Champion Toshiyo Yamada by submission to win the title, beginning her second.
- Akira Hokuto and Shinobu Kandori defeated WWWA World Singles Champion Aja Kong and Bull Nakano, when Hokuto pinned Kong.

1995 - Miss Texas (Jacqueline Moore) wins her 10th of 14 USWA Women's Titles in Memphis, Tennessee, ending Sweet Georgia Brown's third reign.

1997 - Danny Dee defeats Tarek the Great to win the IWA Mid-South Lightweight Title in Louisville, Kentucky. The title had been stripped that same day from The American Kickboxer.

1998 - Doug Gilbert wins the NWA National Heavyweight Title in Mount Holly, New Jersey, by winning a three-way match against Rocco Rock and Barry Windham. Salvatore Sincere had vacated the title on October 11.

2000 - Juggernaut and Dr. Luther win the NWA/ECCW Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title from the Glamour Order of Discipline (Johnny Canuck and Michelle Starr) in New Westminster, British Columbia, ending their fourth reign. The Glamour Order of Discipline won the title back the same day, beginning their fifth reign.

2001 - Chotaro Kamoi defeats Shark Tsuchiya for the DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Title, beginning his eighth reign.

2002 - Red defeats Qenaan Creed to win the Maryland Championship Wrestling Cruiserweight Title in Glen Burnie, Maryland, ending Creed's second reign.

2004 - After losing the title the previous day, Takeshi Morishima begins his second World League Wrestling Heavyweight Title reign, by defeating Rick Steiner in Bolivar, Missouri.

2004 - American Steel Ninja and Brass Munkey win the Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Title from Brad Attitude and Brad Rainz in Ramseur, North Carolina, ending their second reign.

2004 - El Rockero wins the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title for the seventh time, ending Pablo Marquez's third reign in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

2004 - Sammy Ray defeats Ross Jordan in London, England to win the British Welterweight Title.

2004 - Shane Somers defeats Ricky Murdoch for the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title in Plato, Missouri, beginning his third reign.

2004 - Mad Mike defeats Nikita Allanov to win the NWA East Heavyweight Title in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, ending Allanov's second reign.

2005 - Ricky Banderas wins his second IWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Title in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, defeating Kasey James.

2005 - Kenshin defeats Riki Senshu to win the DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Title in Tokyo, Japan.

2005 - Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX held the fifth event of its Strong Wind and Thunder tour at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The results:
- Hachimaki No Tetsu defeated Rikiya Fudo after a Twisting Mark.
- Ryouji Sai and Masato Tanaka defeated Tomoaki Honma and Osamu Namiguchi, when Sai pinned Namiguchi after a low kick.
- Sonjay Dutt pinned Tatsuhito Takaiwa after a Phoenix Splash in an AWA World Junior Heavyweight Title tournament qualifying match.
- C.W. Anderson defeated Kohei Sato to win the vacant NWA United National Heavyweight Title. The title had been stripped from Takao Ōmori on February 28 due to a lack of title defenses.
- Minoru Fujita and Ikuto Hidaka defeated Alex Shelley and Spanky (Brian Kendrick), when Hidaka pinned Spanky after a tornado DDT, to win the vacant NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Title. The title had been stripped from Kaz Hayashi and Spanky on February 28 due to a lack of title defenses.
- AWA World Heavyweight Champion Takao Ōmori defeated Steve Corino and Shinjiro Otani in a three-way elimination match to retain the title. Otani made Corino submit with the King Cobra Clutch, and Omori pinned Ōmori after the Axe Bomber.

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!

• Tweet