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THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JERICHO WINS THE WWF TITLE (FOR A FEW MINUTES), THE FIRST SPRING STAMPEDE AND MORE

April 17th

On this day in history in ....

1938 - Dientes Hernández defeats Jack O'Brien for the Mexican National Lightweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico.

1941 - Lee Wyckoff defeats Orville Brown in Kansas City, Kansas to win the Midwest Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title.

1952 - Golden Hawk and Johnny Kostas defeat Henry Harrell and Rex Mobley for the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

1954 - Roddy Piper is born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

1955 - Azumafuji and Rikidozan defeat Bobby Bruns and Lucky Simunovich to win the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Title in Honolulu, Hawaii, ending Bruns and Simunovich's third reign.

1958 - Kevin Wacholz, best known as Kevin Kelly in the AWA, and in the WWF as Nailz, is born in Bloomington, Minnesota.

1959 - Gene Kiniski defeats Whipper Billy Watson for the Toronto NWA British Empire Heavyweight Title in Toronto, Ontario, ending Watson's 10th reign and beginning Kiniski's second.

1959 - Dick Gunkel (Dick Steinborn) defeats Fred Blassie in Atlanta, Georgia to win the Georgia NWA Southern Heavyweight Title, ending Blassie's eighth reign.

1965 - Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens defeat The Destroyer and Billy Red Lyons to win the American Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Title in San Francisco, California.

1969 - Boris Malenko defeats The Gladiator (Rick Hunter) for the NWA Florida Brass Knuckles Title in Jacksonville, Florida.

1969 - Mitsu Sito defeats Bob Kelly to win the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, ending Kelly's second reign.

1970 - Nick Bockwinkel defeats Assassin #1 (Tom Renesto) for the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia.

1971 - The WWWF held an event at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The results were:
- Sonny Boy Hayes and The Tahiti Kid defeated Little Brutus and Sky Low Low.
- Joe Crugnale fought Mike Conrad to a draw.
- Johnny Rodz fought Lee Wong to a draw.
- Juan Caruso defeated Manuka Akim.
- Manuel Soto defeated Vincente Pommetti.
- Beautiful Bobby defeated Pete Sanchez.
- Blackjack Mulligan defeated Tony Marino.
- WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Pedro Morales defeated Bulldog Brower.

1972 - The WWWF held an event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The results were:
- Little Brutus and Sky Low Low defeated Sonny Boy Hayes and The Tahiti Kid.
- Manuel Soto defeated The Black Demon.
- Don Curtis defeated Mike Padiousis.
- Baron Mikel Scicluna defeated René Goulet.
- Sonny King defeated Smasher Sloan.
- Ernie Ladd pinned Jimmy Valiant.
- Pampero Firpo defeated Chief Jay Strongbow by countout.
- Victor Rivera fought Prof. Toru Tanaka to a draw.
- WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Pedro Morales pinned King Curtis to retain the title.

1972 - Jackie Fargo and Jerry Jarrett defeat The Interns in a hair vs. title match to win the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

1972 - Tony Borne and Moondog Mayne win their 11th NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title, ending the third reign for The Royal Kangaroos (Jonathan Boyd and Norman Frederick Charles).

1974 - Gene Kiniski and Mr. X (Guy Mitchell) defeat Flash Gordon (George Gordienko) and Leo Madril in Vancouver, British Columbia to win the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title.

1974 - Mr. Kamikaze and Tojo Yamamoto defeat Nick DeCarlo and Frank Monte for the NWA Southeastern Tag Team Title in Nashville, Tennessee.

1976 - Carlos Colón defeats Bob Ellis to win the WWC North American Heavyweight Title in Caguas, Puerto Rico, beginning his fifth reign.

1976 - Jack Brisco defeats Pak Song for the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title in St. Petersburg, Florida. This began Brisco's fourth reign and ended Song's second.

1976 - Mike George defeats Bob Brown in Wichita, Kansas for the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title, ending Brown's sixth reign and beginning George's third.

1976 - Jumbo Miyamoto wins her fifth WWWA World Singles Title by defeating Mariko Akagi in Toyokawa, Japan.

1979 - Chris Colt, Dennis Condrey and Tojo Yamamoto defeat Bobby Eaton, George Gulas and Mexican Angel for the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Title.

1980 - Cachorro Mendoza defeats Satánico to win the NWA World Middleweight Title in Monterrey, Mexico.

1980 - Pak Song and Takachiho (The Great Kabuki) defeat Bob Brown and Dick Murdoch for the NWA Central States Tag Team Title in Kansas City, Kansas.

1982 - The WWF held an event at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The results:
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Pedro Morales pinned Adrian Adonis to retain the title.
- Larry Sharpe defeated José Estrada by countout.
- Greg Valentine pinned Steve Travis.
- Bob Orton, Jr. pinned Special Delivery Jones.
- Jesse Ventura defeated Tony Atlas by countout.
- Andre the Giant and Rick McGraw defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito by disqualification in a best-of-three falls match, 2-1. Fuji and Saito retained the title.
- Ivan Putski pinned The Black Demon.
- Tony Garea pinned Johnny Rodz.
- WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund defeated Blackjack Mulligan by disqualification to retain the title.

1983 - Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta win their fifth NWA International Tag Team Title from Ron Bass and Stan Hansen in Nagasaki, Japan.

1984 - The North-South Connection (Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch) defeat Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson to win the WWF Tag Team Title in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

1984 - Gran Hamada defeats Perro Aguayo in Tokyo, Japan for the WWF World Light Heavyweight Title, ending Aguayo's fifth reign and beginning Hamada's second.

1985 - Savannah Jack and Ed Roberts defeat The Terminators (Rigs and Wolf) to win the Pro Wrestling America Tag Team Title in Barron, Winsconsin.

1987 - Owen Hart defeated Mahkan Singh (Mike Shaw) to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title in Calgary, Alberta, ending Singh's second reign and beginning Hart's second. This was Owen's fourth and final title win in Stampede Wrestling (he had also won the Stampede International Tag Team and British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight titles once each) before moving on to work in New Japan and signing with the WWF in 1988.

1987 - Invader I defeats Jason the Terrible for the WWC Television Title in San Juan, Puerto Rico, beginning his second reign.

1987 - Mike Graham and Steve Keirn defeat The MOD Squad (Basher and Spike) in Daytona Beach, Florida to win their seventh NWA Florida Tag Team Title.

1989 - Villano II (real name José Alfredo Díaz Mendoza) passes away in Naucalpan, Mexico.

1992 - The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) defeat George and Shunji Takano for the Super World of Sports Tag Team Title in Yokohama, Japan.

1992 - Stan Hansen defeats Mitsuharu Misawa to win the annual AJPW's Champion's Carnival tournament.

1993 - La Tigresa wins her third WWC Women's Title in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, ending Sasha's fourth reign.

1994 - WCW held the first Spring Stampede pay-per-view at the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois, which got a 0.53 buyrate. The results:
Dark matches:
- In a match pitting former child stars against eachother, Danny Bonaduce (Danny Patridge) defeated Christopher Knight (Peter Brady).
- Haito (Paul Diamond) and Pat Tanaka defeated Dave and Kevin Sullivan.
Pay-per-view matches:
- Johnny B. Badd pinned Diamond Dallas Page (with The Diamond Doll) with a sunset flip.
- WCW World Television Champion Lord Steven Regal (with Sir William) fought Brian Pillman to a 15-minute time-limit draw to retain the title.
- WCW World Tag Team Champions The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) defeated Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne in a Chicago Street Fight, when Sags pinned Jack after hitting him with a shovel, to retain the title.
- WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Steve Austin (with Col. Robert Parker) defeated The Great Muta by disqualification to retain the title, after Muta threw Austin over the top rope.
- Sting pinned WCW International World Heavyweight Champion Rick Rude to win the title, after Harley Race accidentally hit Rude with a chair. This ended Rude's second reign.
- Bunkhouse Buck (with Col. Robert Parker) pinned Dustin Rhodes in a Bunkhouse match after hitting him with brass knuckles.
- Vader (with Harley Race) pinned The Boss.
- WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat fought to a no-contest due to a double-pin. The title was vacated due to the finish, ending Flair's second reign.

1995 - Brian Lee defeats Brian Christopher in Memphis, Tennessee to win the USWA Heavyweight Title. The title had been held up after their match a week earlier.

1997 - Mitsu Arakawa, former AWA World Tag Team Title holder with Tor Kamata, dies at age 69.

1998 - Hayabusa and Masato Tanaka defeat Hido and Kodo Fuyuki for the FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Title in Sapporo, Japan.

1998 - Jimmy Jannetty and Rich Myers defeat The Bad Crew to win the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation Tag Team Title in Baltimore, Maryland.

1998 - Spymaster defeats Barfly Mike for the Mid-American Wrestling Heavyweight Title in West Allis, Wisconsin, beginning his second reign.

1998 - Boogie Woogie Brown, Inferno Kid, and Mike Quackenbush defeat The Rulebreakers (Jihad Hussein, Chris Krueger and Joe Rules) in Reading, Pennsylvania to win the vacant Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling Six-Man Tag Team Title.

1998 - Ricky Harrison defeats Beau James for the Southern States Wrestling Heavyweight Title in Fall Branch, Tennessee, beginning his second reign.

1999 - D-Von Dudley defeats ECW World Tag Team and Television Champion Rob Van Dam in Buffalo, New York, to win RVD and Sabu's ECW World Tag Team Title for he and Bubba Ray Dudley. This began the Dudleys' sixth reign and ended RVD and Sabu's second reign.

1999 - Ray González defeats Pierroth, Jr. for the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, beginning his ninth reign.

1999 - Jerry Lawler defeats Derrick King and Kid Wikkid in a handicap match in Memphis, Tennessee to win the PPW Tag Team Title for he and Bill Dundee, who no-showed the event. This ended King and Wikkid's second reign.

1999 - Mark Schrader and Christian York win the ECWA Tag Team Title from Ace Darling and Devon Storm in Newport, Delaware.

1999 - The Original Mercury and Flex Wheeler defeats D-Generation Sex (Shane Golden and Hunk Hesler) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the Pennsylvania Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Title, beginning their second reign.

1999 - Derek Stone defeats Steve Sharp to win the World League Wrestling Heavyweight Title in Quincy, Illinois.

2000 - The Monday Night War continued, with WWF RAW is WAR solidly winning the night with its 6.7 rating, over WCW Monday Nitro's 2.5 rating. RAW featured Chris Jericho winning (at least for a few minutes) the WWF Title from Triple H.

WCW Monday Nitro was live from the MetroCenter in Rockford, Illinois. The results were:
- Shawn Stasiak defeated Curt Hennig.
- WCW Hardcore Champion Terry Funk defeated The Wall to retain the title.
- Mike Awesome defeated Diamond Dallas Page by disqualification.
- Shane Douglas defeated Lex Luger (with Elizabeth) by disqualification.
- WCW World Heavyweight Champion Scott Steiner defeated Jeff Jarrett by disqualification.

WWF RAW is WAR was live from the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania. The results:
- Chris Jericho pinned WWF Champion Triple H (with WWF Women's Champion Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) with the Lionsault to win the title. Referee Earl Hebner, who ran down to replace the incapacitated Mike Chioda, fast-counted the pin due to Triple H shoving Hebner down just seconds prior, in response to Triple H's continued abuse of him over the weeks. Jericho ran away, while The Acolytes, who Jericho had in his corner, held back HHH from reaching Jericho and Hebner, who went after Jericho to award him the title belt. After the commercial break, Triple H, along with Stephanie and Shane McMahon, dragged Hebner to the ring and demanded that he reverse the decision because of the fast-count. Hebner said he would, provided that nobody puts their hands on him again as long as he is a WWF official, with Triple H agreeing. Jericho came out on the stage, Hebner went and got the belt from him and brought it to Triple H, who said that just bringing the belt to him wasn't good enough, instructing Hebner to put the belt around his waist. Hebner did so, before being fired and assaulted by Triple H and Shane McMahon. Of the match, Triple H said that the match never happened, was stricken from the record, and the fans didn't see a thing.
- The Hardy Boyz (Jeff and Matt) defeated WWF European Champion Eddie Guerrero (with Chyna) and Essa Rios (with Lita), when Matt pinned Guerrero after the Twist of Fate.
- WWF Hardcore Champion Crash Holly defeated Perry Saturn and ECW World Heavyweight Champion Tazz in a triple threat match to retain his title, by pinning Saturn after dropkicking Hardcore Holly, who interfered and attacked Saturn just before. This was Tazz' first appearance on WWF television as ECW champion, just three days after winning it from WCW's Mike Awesome.
- Steve Blackman and Al Snow defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von), when Snow pinned D-Von after Test interfered and elbowdropped D-Von while Albert and Trish Stratus distracted the referee.
- Scotty 2 Hotty pinned WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Dean Malenko with a cradle to win the title.
- The Big Show defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Chris Benoit by disqualification after Benoit kicked Show in the groin to avoid the chokeslam.
- Road Dogg, WWF Champion Triple H and X-Pac (with Shane McMahon and WWF Women's Champion Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) defeated The Acolytes (Bradshaw and Faarooq) and Chris Jericho, when Triple H pinned Jericho after the Pedigree.

2000 - Big Bubba Bain and L.A. Stephens defeat The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) in Osan, South Korea to win the NWA World Tag Team Title, ending the Express' third reign.

2001 - The WWF taped the April 20 SmackDown! and April 23 Sunday Night Heat at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Dark matches:
- Rico Constantino defeated Scott Vick.
- Randy Orton defeated Steve Bradley.
- The Minnesota Stretching Crew (Brock Lesnar and Shelton Benjamin) defeated B.J. Payne and Shooter Schultz.
Heat:
- K-Kwik defeated Haku.
- The Hollys (Crash and Hardcore (with Molly Holly)) defeated X-Factor (Justin Credible and X-Pac (with Albert)).
- Perry Saturn (with Terri) defeated Raven.
SmackDown!:
- Rhyno pinned WWF Hardcore Champion Kane to win the title after Steve Austin and Triple H beat Kane down with chairs.
- The Acolytes (Bradshaw and Faarooq) and Kaientai (Funaki and Taka Michinoku) defeated The Right to Censor (Bull Buchanan, The Goodfather, Steven Richards and Val Venis), when Michinoku pinned Buchanan after a double-spinebuster from the Acolytes.
- WWF European Champion Eddie Guerrero pinned Grandmaster Sexay.
- The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) defeated Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho in a tables match, when Kurt Angle pushed Benoit off the top rope through a table.
- WWF Women's Champion Chyna pinned Molly Holly after a powerbomb.
- Kane and The Undertaker defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian (with WWF Hardcore Champion Rhyno) in a no-disqualification match, when Undertaker pinned Christian, to win the title.

2001 - Tigre Blanco defeats Karloff Lagarde, Jr. to win the Mexican National Welterweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico.

2002 - The New Heavenly Bodies (Casanova Chris and Vivacious Vito) defeat Jeff Daniels and Tim Renesto for the NWA World Tag Team Title in Winter Haven, Florida, beginning their third reign.

2003 - Border City Wrestling Can-Am Heavyweight Champion D'Lo Brown defeats Maximum Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Champion Gangrel in Oldcastle, Ontario to unify the titles.

2004 - Tommy Diablo wins his fourth IWA World Junior Heavyweight Title in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, ending Blitz's third reign.

2004 - 3PW held The Future is Now at Viking Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The results:
- Slyck Wagner Brown (with April Hunter) defeated Ricky Vega.
- Gary Wolfe defeated Ron Zombie.
- C.J. O'Doyle defeated N8 Mattson.
- Rob Eckos and Striker (with Talia) fought to a no-contest.
- Rockin' Rebel and Jack Victory defeated The Blue Meanie and Roadkill.
- Mike Kruel defeated Monsta Mack.
- Ruckus defeated Damian Adams.
- Jerry Lynn defeated Sabu.
- Joey Matthews defeated 3PW Heavyweight Champion Raven to win the title.

2004 - Justice and Mikey Tenderfoot defeat David Mercury and Stash for the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in Brandon, Florida.

2004 - GeeStar defeats Xsiris in Burlington, North Carolina to win the Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic Cruiserweight Title.

2004 - OGB defeats Jake Davis for the House of Pain Wrestling Federation Hardcore Title in Newville, Pennsylvania.

2004 - Tan the Man defeats John Saxon to win the NWA Southern Television Title in Magee, Mississippi, ending Saxon's third reign.

2004 - Daioh QUALLT defeats Takehiro Murahama for the Osaka Pro Wrestling Title in Osaka, Japan, ending Murahama's second reign.

2005 - Dr. Wagner, Jr. defeats Último Guerrero for the NWA World Light Heavyweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico. Shocker was originally scheduled to defend the title against Guerrero, but he did not appear at the event.

2005 - Petey Williams defeats champion Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley in a three-way match in Belleville, Michigan to win the Border City Wrestling Can-Am Television Title, ending Sabin's second reign.

2005 - Cerebro Negro defeats Avisman for the IWRG Intercontinental Welterweight Title in Naucalpan, Mexico, beginning his third reign.

2006 - WWE held a live RAW and taped the April 21 SmackDown!, at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Missouri. RAW got a 4.3 rating on USA Network, and SmackDown! got a 2.1 on UPN. The results:
- In a dark match, Scotty 2 Hotty pinned Vito.
RAW:
- Kane pinned Rob Conway after a chokeslam.
- Charlie Haas pinned WWE Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjamin with a roll-over. Benjamin's loss put his title on the line against Rob Van Dam at April 30's Backlash.
- Shawn Michaels defeated Umaga (with Armando Allejandro Estrada) by disqualification after Umaga shoved the referee, trying to stop Umaga from assaulting Michaels while he was hung in the Tree of Woe. Umaga gave Michaels a Samoan Spike, before Vince McMahon told Umaga to tie Michaels up in the ropes. McMahon got a chair and tried to get in the ring, but pyro explosions prevented him from doing so.
- World Tag Team Champions The Spirit Squad (Johnny, Kenny, Mikey, Mitch and Nicky) defeated Rob Van Dam in a handicap match, when Kenny got the pin after a legdrop off the top rope, while the rest of the Squad held RVD in the air. RVD's loss made his Backlash match with Shelton Benjamin be for both Benjamin's title and RVD's Money in the Bank contract.
- Edge (with Lita) and WWE Champion John Cena defeated Triple H in a handicap match, when Edge got the pin just after Triple H hit Cena with his sledgehammer.
SmackDown!:
- In a King of the Ring tournament quarterfinal match, Booker T (with Sharmell) pinned Matt Hardy with the scissors kick after low-blowing Hardy to avoid the Twist of Fate as Sharmell had the referee distracted.
- Paul London (with Brian Kendrick) pinned WWE Tag Team Champion Joey Mercury (with Melina and WWE Tag Team Champion Johnny Nitro) with a cradle.
- Chris Benoit and Bobby Lashley defeated Finlay and Orlando Jordan, when Lashley pinned Jordan after the Dominator.
- The Great Khali (with Daivari), in his in-ring debut, pinned Funaki after a choke throw.
- The Gymini (Jake and Jesse (with Simon Dean)) defeated Paul Birchill and William Regal, when Regal was pinned after the Cross-Trainer after Burchill refused Regal's tag.
- In a dark match after the show, WWE Champion John Cena and The Undertaker fought to a no-contest after The Great Khali interfered.

2007 - WWE taped the April 20 SmackDown! and that night's ECW at the Datchforum in Milan, Italy. SmackDown! got a 2.4 on UPN, with ECW getting a 1.5 rating on SciFi. The results:
ECW:
- Snitsky pinned Little Guido after a big boot.
- Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman defeated Marcus Cor Von and Kevin Thorn (with Ariel), when Dreamer pinned Thorn with a sunset flip out of the corner and holding the bottom rope.
- Rob Van Dam pinned Elijah Burke with the Five-Star Frog Splash.
SmackDown!:
- Batista defeated Finlay by disqualification after Mr. Kennedy interfered.
- WWE United States Champion Chris Benoit and World Tag Team Champions The Hardys (Jeff and Matt) defeated WWE Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero, Gregory Helms and Montel Vontavious Porter, when Benoit made Helms submit with the Sharpshooter.
- Deuce and Domino (with Cherry) defeated WWE Tag Team Champions Brian Kendrick and Paul London, when Deuce pinned Kendrick after the Crack 'em in the Mouth, to win the title.
- Kane defeated William Regal and Dave Taylor in a handicap match by countout.
- World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker defeated Mr. Kennedy by disqualification after Finlay interfered.

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