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THIS DAY IN HISTORY: HULK HOGAN BECOMES THE UNDISPUTED CHAMPION

April 21st

On this day in history in ....

1973 - Giant Baba defeats Mark Lewin in the finals of the first ever All Japan Pro Wrestling Champion Carnival tournament. 

1979 - Mike George defeats Jerry Stubbs in New Orleans, Louisiana for the Mid-South Wrestling Louisiana Heavyweight Title. 

1980 - Ken Patera defeats Pat Patterson for the WWF Intercontinental Title in Madison Square Garden in New York City. This is the first time the IC Title is decided in the ring, as Patterson, the first champion, "won" the belt in a fictitious tournament in Rio De Janeiro.

1984 - Ricky Steamboat defeats Dick Slater for the United States Heavyweight Title in Greensboro, North Carolina, starting his third title reign. It would be over a decade before Steamboat wins this title again.

1998 - Scott Steiner was arrested for threatening an Atlanta Department Of Transportation Worker and then hitting him twice with his Ford pickup truck when the worker, who was directing traffic, wouldn't let Steiner drive down a lane that was being worked on in Cherokee County. The worker was not seriously injured. 

2002 - WWF Backlash was held, headlined by Hulk Hogan winning his sixth WWF World Championship over nine years after his fifth reign had ended. Tim Whitehead wrote the following report:

WWF's Backlash turned out to be a disappointing show, at least to me. It came off almost like a WCW PPV, with a much stronger undercard and weaker top matches. Up until the Steve Austin vs. Undertaker match I would have given the show a clear thumb's up. But Austin vs. UT was ridiculously long to the point it became boring. The Hulk Hogan vs. Triple H main event also left a lot to be desired. Having Hogan win is an interesting experiment, but the match itself was very weak by WWF main event standards and, while there was great heat at first, and also at the end, the middle of the match saw the heat die. It's pretty clear that Vince McMahon wants to take advantage of the revived Hulkamania while it's still hot, which makes some sense, but only if they get the belt off Hogan the moment the nostalgia starts to fade. 

This was the first WWF PPV in Kansas City since the death of Owen Hart. The only hint made was when Jim Ross noted that there were a lot of emotions in the building for a variety of reasons. Overall, JR & Jerry Lawler's commentary was average. Crowd heat was mostly okay. 

TAJIRI beat BILLY KIDMAN to regain the Cruiserweight Title in 9:08. Torrie Wilson wore the geisha outfit again. They opened with some good stuff. Kidman hit a dropkick off the second rope for the first near fall. Tajiri took control on the floor and laid in the kicks. Kidman got tied up in the tree of woe and hit with a baseball slide. The pace slowed a little. Tajiri did the tarantula. In a neat move, Tajiri went for the handspring elbow and Kidman caught him with a dropkick. They went to a series of good near falls. Kidman missed on the shooting star press when Tajiri rolled clear. Lots of crowd heat by this point. Kidman hit a powerbomb off the second rope. Kidman got Tajiri up for another powerbomb but Tajiri misted him and scored the pin to regain the title. Afterward, Tajiri did an interview in Japanese and led Torrie off. Good opener. They're saving the Torrie turn for later. 

SCOTT HALL beat BRADSHAW in 5:43. They did a deal before the match where Bradshaw and Faarooq saw each other for the first time since the split. X-Pac came out wearing Kane's mask. Hall & X-Pac were about to double on Bradshaw when Faarooq came out for the save. The match was mainly sluggish brawling. Hall looked pretty bad. Bradshaw hit his lariat and went for the pin but X-Pac helped Hall reach the ropes. Faarooq posted X-Pac. Hall then hit Bradshaw with the weakest low blow of all time and scored the pin using the tights. This one sucked. 

Vince barged into Ric Flair's office with a smirk on his face. Vince remarked that Flair was now learning what it's like to be an owner, noting that whatever you do the wrestlers aren't satisfied, they're ungrateful, and distrustful. He said by making himself the special ref for the Austin vs. Undertaker match, Flair was either a fool or a genius. Vince sarcastically said he was beginning to relate to Flair. Flair said he'd never be like Vince, to which Vince responded that Flair could at least try. Flair refused to shake Vince's hand. 

JAZZ beat TRISH STRATUS in 4:28 to retain the Women's Title. Molly Holly came out and said the fans want a champ who is pure and wholesome, not one like Trish who cheats and flaunts her body. Molly then walloped Trish with the microphone, threw her from the ring, and rammed her back into the stairs. Jazz arrived and dominated the wounded Trish. Trish made a comeback and scored a two with a neckbreaker. Jazz regained control and scored several near falls before finally forcing Trish to tap out to an STF. Of course, it was sold that Trish's back was injured from Molly's assault. Decent WWF women's match. 

BROCK LESNAR defeated JEFF HARDY in 5:31 by TKO. Jeff replaced brother Matt, who was "still injured" from Lesnar's assault on RAW. Lita came out and looked totally helpless. Paul Heyman kept saying that it was Lita's fault that the Hardys were being mauled. Jeff dropkicked Lesnar off the apron at the start and did a crossbody off the top but Lesnar simply caught him. Lesnar pounded Jeff and tossed him across the ring with released suplexes. He gave Jeff three backbreakers. Jeff mounted a comeback with a corkscrew moonsault which surprised Lesnar. He gave Lesnar a low blow and hit the swanton but Lesnar kicked out. Jeff swung a chair and missed. Lesnar then did his trademark drop on Jeff on the chair. He gave Jeff three powerbombs and the ref stopped the match. JR & Lawler agreed that Heyman may be right when he says Lesnar is the next big thing. This was an effective match to put Lesnar over. 

KURT ANGLE beat EDGE in 13:23. This was the best match on the show. Good crowd heat, too, including the requisite "Angle sucks" chants. Edge hit some lariats that had Angle reeling. Angle bumped out. After returning to the ring, Angle hit a suplex. They traded chops. Angle hit some more suplexes and scored some twos. Angle hooked a sleeper. Edge came back with a big suplex. Edge did some good stuff and got some near falls. Angle hit a killer released German suplex. Edge blocked an ankle lock attempt. Angle hit the repeat German suplexes. Angle got vaulted out and Edge hit him with a crossbody on the floor. Edge hit a missile kick for a near fall. Angle scored two with his Olympic slam. Edge did a great reversal to escape an ankle lock, getting a near fall. Angle got a chair. He swung at Edge but hit the ropes and the chair bounced back into his own face. Edge slammed Angle but only scored two. Edge went for the spear but Angle kicked the hell out of him and won clean with the Olympic slam. Great match, and probably Edge's best showing ever as a single. 

Tazz polled six fans at WWF New York, who split three-three over who would win the HHH vs. Hogan main event. 

Chris Jericho came out. He bitterly complained that only a month ago he was the Undisputed Champion, headlining Wrestlemania XVIII. Yet tonight, he didn't even have a match on the card and was reduced to being a common spectator like the jackasses in the audience. He noted that even Kidman, Trish, and Maven were given matches, but he wasn't. He said he was offended and insulted, and his feelings were hurt. He told the fans they would be disappointed later when Hogan fails to win the title, insisting that Hulk wouldn't be a worthy champion. Jericho then said he was leaving the arena, which guaranteed he wasn't. 

Undertaker visited Flair. He didn't say a word. He just glared at him menacingly and shook his finger in his face. 

EDDIE GUERRERO beat ROB VAN DAM to capture the IC Title in 11:42. Lawler asked JR who the first guy was in the WWF to use the frog splash, and he said D-Lo Brown. RVD flipped Guerrero across the ring and hit a kick. Guerrero came back with fists. RVD scored some twos with kicks and the rolling thunder. Guerrero did a neat roll-up for a near pin. RVD hit a moonsault off the apron and dropped his leg on Guerrero on the security rail. Guerrero did a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and locked RVD in some nice submission holds. Guerrero hit a huracanrana. He also did a lightning fast sunset flip spot that really sent RVD hard to the mat. There was a ref bump. Guerrero took advantage by giving RVD a neckbreaker on the title belt and then frog splashing him. The ref revived and Guerrero got the pin. Good match, though somewhat in the shadow of the Angle vs. Edge bout. The show sort of went downhill after this. 

A Scorpion King promo aired. JR & Lawler reported that the film had a huge opening weekend, breaking the record for an April release. 

UNDERTAKER defeated STEVE AUSTIN to become the #1 contender to the Undisputed WWF World Heavyweight Title in 26:57. They should have shortened this by half and given the time to Bubba Ray Dudley, Booker T, Chavo Guerrero Jr., or, for that matter, anybody. Flair came out in red shoes like legendary referee Johnny "Red Shoes" Dugan. They opened with a lot of spots where they were supposedly playing mind games, but were actually stalling to stretch the match out. You know, spots where they would act like they were about to tie up, and then didn't. Austin got in some decent offense for a few minutes after the stalling stopped. They went to the floor where they brawled around slowly and then went into the crowd. Austin took a backdrop on the floor. Flair was pretty non-descript as a referee. Hall & X-Pac (in the Kane mask) came out and watched from the ramp. That was pointless. UT did the long, slow offense on Austin. UT blocked a stunner and hit a lariat. UT also did his flying clothesline. There were flurries of action here and there but overall it was just twice as long as it should have been. Austin got a big bruise on his thigh, apparently from a bump into the stairs. The crowd heat began fading and didn't revive until the closing sequence. Flair got bumped and naturally Austin then hit the stunner on UT. There was no ref to count Austin's pin. UT recovered and chokeslammed Austin but only scored two when Flair revived. UT got a chair but Flair took it from him. Flair then got bumped again when UT blocked a stunner. UT got the chair and walloped Austin with it. Flair revived and started counting but Austin kicked out at two. This drew a pop and revived the crowd. Austin got the chair but UT kicked it into his face. He then covered Austin for the pin. Austin got his boot up on the rope but Flair did the three count anyway, giving UT the win. JR & Lawler debated whether or not Flair saw Austin's boot on the ropes. Austin gave UT a stunner afterward but Flair got out of there. Backstage, Jonathan Coachman showed Flair a replay of the ending, and when Flair saw that Austin's boot had been on the ropes he acted upset that he had made the wrong call, and said, "Oh sh*t!" 

BILLY & CHUCK defeated AL SNOW & MAVEN to retain the WWF World Tag Titles in 5:57. The champs doubled on Maven until he hit an enzugiri and tagged Snow in. Lawler said Billy & Chuck go to Victoria's Secret stores and ask, "Do you have this in my size?" Snow did a little offense and then tagged Maven back in. The crowd did a "you suck" chant aimed at Billy & Chuck, in which they specified what it is that they allegedly suck. Rico kept interfering. Snow chased him off and, guess what? Maven got doubled on and pinned. Not much to the match. 

HULK HOGAN defeated TRIPLE H in 22:01 to capture the Undisputed WWF World Heavyweight Title. Both guys got big pops and there was a Wrestlemania style "Hogan" chant at the start. But unlike at 'Mania, the heat didn't hold up after the first few minutes. They did the spots early where they traded power moves and tests of strength. These came off okay as long as the crowd was alive. But it soon became a slow and plodding match. And at 22:01, that wasn't good. HHH slapped Hogan, causing him to lose his cool and go on a slow offensive. HHH bumped out and Hogan suplexed him on the floor. With no crowd heat by this point, this came off looking bad. Hogan scored some twos. HHH clipped Hogan's knee and worked on it for a few minutes. HHH put Hogan in a figure four and used the ropes for leverage until Hulk reversed it. HHH quickly made the ropes. HHH hooked a sleeper but Hogan made a lukewarm comeback, hitting the boot to the face and legdrop. But as the ref started the count, Jericho ran in and walloped him. Jericho then hit Hogan with a chair. HHH didn't appreciate Jericho's "help", so he beat him up and threw him from the ring. Hogan made another Hulkamania comeback but this time missed on the legdrop. HHH hit a pedigree where he protected Hogan big time. Undertaker then ran in and walloped the ref. UT hit HHH with a chair and rolled Hogan on top. Hogan didn't go for the pin, but instead beat UT up and disposed of him over the ropes. Hogan hit the legdrop on HHH, who was still down, and scored the three count for the title change. HHH, who was bleeding, shook Hulk's hand afterward. There was a big pop at the end but overall this match couldn't even come close to the Hulk vs. Rock bout at Wrestlemania. So we now have Hogan vs. UT, which will have nostalgia interest and some heat as long as Hogan stays over, but it won't produce a good match.

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