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THIS DAY IN HISTORY: THESZ-ROGERS REMATCH, ZBYSZKO WINS AWA TITLE, WWF TAG CHAMPS ARE MONEY, HERO-PUNK MARATHON AND MORE

February 7th

On this day in history in ....

1925 - Hans Schmidt is born in Joliette, Quebec.

1939 - Dick Raines defeats Dean Detton for the Hawaii Heavyweight Title in Honolulu, Hawaii.

1948 - Tiger Chung Lee is born in Seoul, South Korea.

1950 - Leroy McGuirk is in a car accident in Little Rock, Arkansas. Bob Clay, at the time being trained by McGuirk, was driving to a restaurant with McGuirk riding along. Trying to keep from hitting another vehicle, Clay slammed on the brakes, causing McGuirk to hit the windshield, shattering his glasses. McGuirk had already lost sight in one eye when he was young, and the glasses breaking caused him to lose the sight in the other. McGuirk's 16-year career was ended. His NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title was vacated as a result, opening the door for another of McGuirk's trainees, Danny Hodge, to take the reins as the leader in junior heavyweight wrestling years later. Hodge would win the title eight times from 1960 to 1976.

1953 - Enrique Torres ends Ray Eckert's fourth reign as San Francisco's NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Champion in Fresno, California. This began his second reign.

1955 - Johnny Barend and Bill Melby defeat The Great Bolo and Tom Rice in Hollywood, California to win the NWA International Television Tag Team Title.

1956 - Pepper Gomez and Luigi Macera defeat Duke Keomuka and Tiny Mills in Dallas, Texas for the NWA Texas Tag Team Title.

1957 - The Great Bolo defeats Dory Funk to win the Amarillo NWA North American Heavyweight Title.

1963 - Maple Leaf Wrestling held an event at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario. The results:
- Jim Hady defeated Buddy Austin.
- John Paul Henning defeated Stan Stasiak.
- Billy Red Lyons and Hans Schmidt fought to a 15-minute time limit draw.
- The Beast defeated Fred Atkins.
- NWA Toronto United States Heavyweight and International Tag Team Champion Johnny Valentine defeated Sam Steamboat.
- Gorilla Monsoon and Bruno Sammartino defeated Bulldog Brower and Taro Sukura.
- NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz defeated WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Buddy Rogers in a Best-of-Three Falls match, 2-1, to retain his title. This was the rematch of their previous meeting in Toronto two weeks earlier, which saw Thesz defeat Rogers in one fall. Dispute over the result of that match resulted in the creation of the World Wide Wrestling Federation, now known of course, as WWE.

1969 - El Mongol wins his fifth NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia, defeating Dale Lewis.

1969 - Bob Ellis ends Skull Murphy's third IWA (WCW Australia) World Heavyweight Title reign in Sydney, Australia.

1969 - Pepper Gomez and Black Gordman defeat Paul Jones and Nelson Royal for the NWA Americas Tag Team Title in Los Angeles, California.

1970 - Johnny Barend ends Pedro Morales' second NWA Hawaii North American Heavyweight Title reign.

1972 - Bob Brown defeats Mark Lewin for the Vancouver NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title in Vancouver, British Columbia. This began Brown's third reign and ended Lewin's second.

1973 - Championship Wrestling from Florida held an event at the Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida. The results were:
- Edmund Francis defeated Gordon Nelson.
- Jimmy Snuka defeated Benito Castro.
- Bulldog Brower fought Sam Steamboat to a draw.
- Roberto Soto and Kevin Sullivan defeated Ron Ritchie and Wolfman Smith.
- Frankie Hester and L.D. Lewis besiegt Blackjack Slade and Dick Slater.
- NWA Florida Tag Team Champions Big Bad John and Tim Woods defeated NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Champion Buddy Colt and Chris Markoff to retain the title.
- WWWF Heavyweight Champion Pedro Morales defeated Hans Schmidt to retain the title.
- NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dory Funk, Jr. defeated Mark Lewin to retain the title.

1973 - Dutch Savage wins his fourth NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title and ends Bull Ramos' second reign in Medford, Oregon.

1974 - The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy and Johnny) defeat Dick the Bruiser and Bruno Sammartino to win their second WWA World Tag Team Title in Indianapolis, Indiana. This was a rematch from January 25.

1975 - Jerry Oates defeats Terry Martin for the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title in St. Joseph, Missouri.

1976 - Mr. Fuji defeats Pat Patterson to win the San Francisco NWA United States Heavyweight Title in San Francisco, California, ending Patterson's fifth reign.

1977 - The WWWF held an event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The results:
- Mil Máscaras defeated Doug Gilbert.
- Larry Zbyszko defeated Executioner #1 (Killer Kowalski).
- WWWF Tag Team Champions Billy White Wolf and Chief Jay Strongbow defeated Tor Kamata and Nikolai Volkoff to retain the title.
- Carlos Rocha defeated Frank Monroe.
- Stan Stasiak defeated Manuel Soto.
- José Gonzales defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna by disqualification.
- Johnny Rodz and Pete Sanchez fought to a draw.
- WWWF Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino fought Ken Patera to a draw in a Texas Death match to retain the title.

1977 - Porkchop Cash and Gorgeous George, Jr. defeat Bill Dundee and Ricky Gibson in Memphis, Tennessee for the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title.

1978 - Américo Rocca defeats Kung Fu in Mexico City, Mexico to win the Mexican National Welterweight Title.

1979 - Ringo Mendoza defeats Tony Salazar for the NWA World Middleweight Title in Acapulco, Mexico, to begin his fourth reign.

1981 - The WWF held an event at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The results were:
- Joe Crugnale defeated Pete Doherty.
- Manuel Soto defeated Mike Striker.
- Angelo Gomez defeated Fred Marzino.
- Stan Hansen and Bruno Sammartino fought to a double-disqualification.
- Dominic DeNucci defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna.
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Pedro Morales defeated Larry Zbyszko to retain the title.
- Steve King defeated The Black Demon.
- Rick McGraw defeated José Estrada.

1981 - Mr. Fuji and Tenryu defeat Dewey Robertson and George Wells in Greensboro, North Carolina to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Title.

1982 - Dutch Mantel defeats Jerry Lawler for the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

1983 - The Sheepherders (Jonathan Boyd and Luke Williams) defeat The Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn and Stan Lane) to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Title in Louisville, Kentucky. Keirn and Lane had just been awarded the title the previous day in Memphis, Tennessee after Williams had missed some scheduled defenses. This began the Sheepherders' second reign and ended the Fabulous Ones' third.

1984 - The Dynamite Kid defeats The Cobra (George Takano) in the finals of a month-long eight-man round-robin tournament to win the vacant WWF Junior Heavyweight Title.

1984 - Wayne Ferris wins a tournament final in Mobile, Alabama for the vacant NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title.

1986 - Leo Burke and Ron Ritchie defeat Wayne Ferris and Ron Starr in Calgary, Alberta to win the Stampede International Tag Team Title. Ferris and Starr took off with the belts, causing the title to immediately be held up.

1987 - Bill Watts' UWF held an eight-team tournament in Fort Worth, Texas to fill the UWF World Tag Team Title vacancy left by Jim Duggan and Terry Taylor. Duggan lost a Loser Leaves Town match to One Man Gang on January 23, which was actually Duggan's out from the UWF to move on to the WWF. The results were:
Quarterfinals:
- Rick Steiner and Sting defeated Chavo Guerrero and The Missing Link.
- Sam Houston and Terry Taylor defeated The Angel of Death and Terry Gordy.
- Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams defeated Eli the Eliminator and Bill Irwin.
- Chris Adams and Iceman Parsons defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts).
Semifinals:
- Rick Steiner and Sting defeated Sam Houston and Terry Taylor.
- Chris Adams and Iceman Parsons defeated Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams. After the match, Adams and Parsons split up and a coin toss was held to determine who would go to the final match with a new partner. Adams won the toss and chose Terry Taylor as his partner.
Final:
- Chris Adams and Terry Taylor defeated Rick Steiner and Sting to win the vacant UWF World Tag Team Title.

1988 - Sátanico wins his third Mexican National Middleweight Title, defeating Mogur in Mexico City, Mexico.

1989 - The AWA held an event at the Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The results:
- The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) defeated The Top Guns (Derrick Dukes and Ricky Rice).
- Ken Patera and Tom Zenk defeated AWA World Tag Team Champions Badd Company (Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka (with Diamond Dallas Page)) by disqualification. Badd Company retained the title.
- Wahoo McDaniel and Tom Zenk defeated Manny Fernandez and Larry Zbyszko.
- Larry Zbyszko won a battle royal to win the vacant AWA World Heavyweight Title. The title was left vacant after the AWA stripped Jerry Lawler of the title after the AWA and Continental Wrestling Association ended their working relationship.

1990 - The Marine Wolves (Akira Hokuto and Suzuka Minami) defeat Grizzly Iwamoto and Aja Kong for their second WWWA World Tag Team Title in Osaka, Japan.

1991 - Kim Duk defeats El Bronco to win the WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Title in Humacao, Puerto Rico, beginning his second reign.

1991 - Charlie Norris defeats Terminator Rigs in Minneapolis, Minnesota to win the Pro Wrestling America Heavyweight Title. This began Norris' second reign.

1991 - El Signo defeats Gran Hamada for the UWA World Light Heavyweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico, ending Hamada's second reign.

1992 - Money, Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster) defeat The Legion of Doom (Animal and Hawk) for the WWF Tag Team Title in Denver, Colorado. The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) proved that it was not smart to make them angry, as they cost LOD the title. Typhoon hit Hawk with a chair as Hawk was set up to deliver the Doomsday Device on DiBiase, knocking him from the top rope, and I.R.S. knocked Animal from the ring as well. All this happened while Sensational Sherri distracted the referee, allowing DiBiase to get the pin on the downed Hawk. The Disasters beat The Big Boss Man and Tito Santana earlier on in the show, and were originally scheduled to face LOD for the title, but the matches were switched by WWF President Jack Tunney. Tunney claimed The Natural Disasters had had enough unsuccessful attempts at winning the title.

1992 - Steve Doll defeats Ron Harris to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title in Eugene, Oregon, beginning his third reign.

1994 - The 51st edition of the WWF's "Monday Night Raw", taped the previous Monday at the Fernwood Resort in Bushkill, Pennsylvania, airs on USA. Commentary was handled by the odd pairing of Vince McMahon and Bastion Booger. The results were:
- The Smoking Gunns (Bart and Billy) defeated Barry Horowitz and Reno Riggins, when Riggins was pinned.
- Owen Hart defeated John Paul by submission with the Sharpshooter.
- Irwin R. Schyster pinned Marty Jannetty after Johnny Polo tripped Jannetty while the referee was distracted.
- Sparky Plugg pinned Duane Gill after a kneedrop from the top rope.
- Crush pinned Todd Mata after a legdrop.

1994 - Two USWA titles change hands at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee, both involving the Gilbert brothers. Doug Gilbert defeats Brian Christopher in a Title vs. Hair match to keep his hair and end Christopher's ninth USWA Heavyweight Title reign, and Jerry Lawler takes the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title from Doug's older brother, Eddie Gilbert. This ended Gilbert's third reign and began Lawler's 18th.

1994 - The SMW Television Title changes hands twice at a television taping in Jellico, Tennessee. The Hornet defeats Robbie Eagle and Killer Kyle defeats The Hornet.

1996 - Karloff Lagarde, Jr. defeats El Pantera for the UWF Super Welterweight Title, ending Pantera's second reign.

1997 - The Ultimate Fighting Championship held "UFC 12: Judgement Day" before 3,100 fans at the Civic Center in Dothan, Alabama. UFC 12 featured four-man lightweight and heavyweight tournaments. The results:
Alternate bouts:
- Lightweight: Nick Sanzo defeated Jackie Lee by TKO (strikes) at 0:48.
- Heavyweight: Justin Martin defeated Eric Martin by submission (heel hook) at 0:14.
Lightweight semifinals:
- Jerry Bohlander defeated Rainy Martinez by submission (rear naked choke) at 1:18.
- Yoshiki Takahashi defeated Wallid Ismail by unanimous decision after 15:00. Takahashi was unable to continue in the tournament due to a broken hand.
Heavyweight semifinals:
- Scott Ferrozzo defeated Jim Mullen by TKO (strikes) at 8:02.
- Vitor Belfort defeated Tra Telligman by TKO (cut) at 1:17.
Lightweight final:
- Jerry Bohlander defeated Nick Sanzo by submission (choke) at 0:39. Sanzo replaced Yoshiki Takahashi, who broke his hand in his earlier fight with Wallid Ismail.
Heavyweight final:
- Vitor Belfort defeated Scott Ferrozzo by TKO (strikes) at 0:43.
Non-tournament:
- Mark Coleman defeated Dan Severn by submission (choke) at 2:57 to become the first UFC Heavyweight Champion.

1998 - Jushin Liger defeats Shinjiro Otani in Sapporo, Japan to win his ninth IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title.

1998 - C.W. and Pat Anderson defeat Big Slam and Slash Walker in Fayetteville, North Carolina for the NWA 2000 Tag Team Title.

1998 - The Misfits (Derek Domino and Harley Lewis) defeat Twiggy Ramirez and Devon Storm for the vacant NWA United States Tag Team Title in Somerdale, New Jersey, beginning the Misfits' second reign.

1998 - Bull Pain ends Chip Fairway's second IWA Mid-South Television Title reign in New Albany, Indiana.

1998 - Mr. Main Event defeats champion Brian Ireland and Jimi V in a three-way match in Lima, Ohio for the Global Wrestling Alliance Light Heavyweight Title.

1999 - Toryumon Japan held a tournament for the NWA World Middleweight Title, left vacant by Ultimo Dragon due to an arm injury, and subsequent botched surgery for said injury. Dragon had held the tournament since winning it in November 1994 from Corazón de León (Chris Jericho). The results:
First round:
- Magnum TOKYO defeated Judo SUWA.
- Gran Naniwa defeated The Great Sasuke.
- Shiima Nobunga defeated Sasuke the Great. Nobunaga was injured in this match and was unable to continue.
Final:
- Magnum TOKYO defeated Gran Naniwa to win the NWA World Middleweight Title.

1999 - The Ghetto Mafia (2-Dope and Sydeswype) defeat champions Earl the Pearl & Stevie Richards and Joey Matthews & Quinn Nash in a three-way match in Dundalk, Maryland to win the Maryland Championship Wrestling Tag Team Title.

2000 - "RAW is WAR" nearly triples "Monday Nitro"'s in this week of the Monday Night War, 6.5 to 2.7 in the ratings.

WCW was live from Tulsa, Oklahoma at the Convention Center. The results:
- Norman Smiley defeated Evan Karagias (with Shane Helms and Shannon Moore).
- The Wall defeated Booker T (with Midnight).
- Tank Abbott defeated The Barbarian in a Shootfight Rules match.
- David Flair (with Crowbar and Daffney) defeated Terry Funk in an I Quit match.
- Stevie Ray (with Big T and J. Biggs) defeated Disco Inferno (with Big Vito and Johnny The Bull).
- Bam Bam Bigelow defeated WCW Hardcore Champion Brian Knobbs to win the title.
- Billy Kidman (with Torrie Wilson) defeated The Demon.
- WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sid Vicious defeated Scott Hall to retain the title.

The WWF was live just one state and 258 miles south at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas. The results were:
- WWF Tag Team Champions The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg) defeated Edge and Christian to retain the title, when Road Dogg pinned Christian after the Dudley Boyz interfered. Angle gave Mae an Olympic Slam after the match.
- Kurt Angle defeated Mark Henry by disqualification when Mae Young interfered.
- Crash and Hardcore Holly defeated The Acolytes (Bradshaw and Faarooq) in a Hardcore match after Viscera interfered.
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho defeated Viscera by disqualification to retain the title after Crash and Hardcore Holly interfered. The Acolytes made the save.
- WWF Women's Champion Jacqueline pinned Luna (with Gangrel) with a German suplex to retain the title. Gangrel gave Jacqueline an Impaler DDT after the match.
- The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) defeated D-Lo Brown and The Godfather when D-Von pinned D-Lo after the 3D.
- The Radicalz (Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn (with Eddie Guerrero)), WWF Champion Triple H (with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) and X-Pac (with Tori) defeated Cactus Jack, Rikishi, The Rock and Too Cool (Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty), when Benoit pinned Grandmaster Sexay after a diving headbutt following a Pedigree from Triple H. The New Age Outlaws came to the ring and joined the victors in attacking their opponents. The save was made by the returning Kane, who hadn't been seen since finding out Tori had left him for X-Pac two weeks earlier on "SmackDown!".

2001 - WCW's 149th episode of "Thunder" gets a 1.95 rating on TBS. The show was taped two days earlier at the Civic Auditorium in Tupelo, Mississippi. The results were:
- Kaz Hayashi defeated Shane Helms.
- Sean O'Haire defeated Norman Smiley.
- Ernest Miller (with Ms. Jones) defeated Elix Skipper.
- Brian Adams defeated Lex Luger.
- Rey Misterio, Jr. defeated The Wall (with Chavo Guerrero, Jr.).
- Kwee Wee defeated Johnny Dotson.
- Konnan defeated Mike Sanders.
- The Insiders (Kevin Nash and Diamond Dallas Page) defeated Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner.

2001 - Blaze wins his second IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title, defeating Cash Flo in Charlestown, Indiana.

2003 - IWA Mid-South held "When Hero Met Punk" at the IWA Arena in Clarksville, Indiana. The results:
- Simon Sezz defeated Shark Boy to earn an IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Title shot later in the show.
- Mitch Page defeated Jimmy Jacobs.
- Steve Stone defeated Alex Shelley.
- JC Bailey defeated Adam Gooch.
- Danny Daniels defeated Drake Younger.
- Michael Todd Stratton defeated Mark Wolf.
- Michael Todd Stratton defeated KO.
- IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Champion Nate Webb defeated Simon Sezz to retain the title.
- 2 Tuff Tony and Bull Pain defeated Corporal Robinson and Ian Rotten.
- Chris Hero defeated IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion CM Punk in a Two out of Three Falls match, 2-1, to win the title. The first fall was a double pin at the 89-minute mark, before the 90-minute time limit expired. Hero got the deciding fall on Punk in overtime, making the total time 92 minutes and 15 seconds. This began Hero's third reign and ended Punk's fourth.

2004 - CZW held its "5th Anniversary Show" at Viking Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The results were:
- Scotty Matthews defeated Jon Dahmer, The Bounty Hunter and DJ Hyde in a four-way match.
- The Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz (EC Negro and KC Blade) defeated All Money is Legal (K-Murda and K-Pusha) and CKNY (Cory Kastle and Niles Young) in a three-way elimination match.
- Mercedes Martinez defeated Sumie Sakai.
- CZW World Tag Team Champions Rebel's Army (Greg Matthews and Rockin' Rebel) fought Nick Berk and Z-Barr to a no-contest.
- CZW Iron Man Champion Jimmy Rave defeated Jimmy Jacobs and Joey Ryan in a three-way match to retain the title.
- CZW World Junior Heavyweight Champion Sonjay Dutt defeated Grim Reefer to retain the title.
- Ruckus and Sabian defeated Chris Cash and Joker.
- B-Boy defeated Excalibur in an Xtreme Strong Style Tournament first-round match.
- The H8 Club (Nick Gage and Nate Hatred) defeated Dan Maff and Homicide.
- New Jack defeated Necro Butcher and Mad Man Pondo in a three-way Fans Bring the Weapons match.

2004 - Masato Tanaka defeats Jerry Lynn in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to become the first WORLD-1 Heavyweight Champion.

2004 - José Rivera, Jr. defeats Vengador Boricua in Caguas, Puerto Rico for the vacant WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title, beginning his seventh reign.

2004 - Jimmy Olsen defeats Chip Stetson to win the vacant NWA Upstate Kayfabe Dojo Title in Rochester, New York.

2007 - IWA East Coast held its second-annual "A Need to Bleed" at the Community Center in South Charleston, West Virginia. The results were:
- Zac Vincent defeated Scotty Vortekz.
- Danshoku Dino defeated Aaron Draven.
- The Hane Brothers (Koke and Sam) defeated Six Feet Under (Freak Show and Insane Lane) in a Hardcore match.
- KUDO defeated Chris Hero.
- The Midnight Rider (Ian Rotten) defeated The Juggulator in a Bullrope match.
- IWA East Coast Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lynn defeated Mike Quackenbush to retain the title.
- Drake Younger defeated Fighting Ultimate Crazy Kings Champion Mad Man Pondo in a Lighttube match to win the title.
- The Hane Brothers, The Juggulator and Warpig defeated Baka Gaijin (2 Tuff Tony and Mad Man Pondo), Gypsy Joe and Mickie Knuckles in a Barbed Wire Steel Cage Handcuffs match.

2007 - Mike Kruel defeats Boris Alexiev (Santino Marella) for the OVW Television Title in Louisville, Kentucky.

2008 - Kengo Mashimo and Madoka defeated Omega (KAZMA and Yuji Hino) in Tokyo, Japan to win the Kaientai Dojo Tag League.

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