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May 4th
On this day in history in ....
1963 - The WWWF ran Baltimore, Maryland, headlined by Eduard Carpentier defeating Pedro Rodriguez.
1980 - Blackjack Mulligan & Dewey Robertson defeated Masked Superstar #1 & #2 in the main event of a live card held at the Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens.
1980 - Georgia Championship Wrestling returning to the Omni in Atlanta, featuring:
-Lars Anderson defeated Rocket Monroe.
-Leroy Brown defeated Bill Dromo.
-Bob Sweetan defeated Eddie Gilbert.
-Iron Mike Sharpe defeated the French Angel.
-Chief Jay Strongbow defeated Ernie Ladd via disqualification.
-Georgia Tag Team Champions Ivan Koloff & Alexis Smirnoff (with Rock Hunter) defeated Tony Atlas & Kevin Sullivan.
-Georgia TV Champion Tommy Rich defeated Baron Von Raschke.
-NWA World Champion Harley Race defeated Georgia Heavyweight Champion Austin Idol.
-Mr. Wrestling #2 defeated Dory Funk Jr.
-Mr. Wrestling #2 defeated NWA World Champion Harley Race in a non-title lights out match.
1981 - WWF ran Madison Square Garden featuring:
-SD Jones defeated Johnny Rodz at 15:36
-The Great Yatsu defeated the Hangman at 10:31; the bout was originally scheduled for Yatsu & Antonio Inoki vs. Hangman & Frank Savage.
-WWF Intercontinental Champion Pedro Morales defeated Killer Khan at 4:26
-Dominic DeNucci pinned Baron Mikel Scicluna at 6:53 with a backslide
-Peter Miavia pinned Rick McGraw at 7:08 with a backbreaker
-In his Garden debut, Angelo Mosca defeated WWF World Champion Bob Backlund via disqualification at 13:51 when Backlund accidentally punched the referee when Mosca ducked the blow; after the bout, Mosca ran backstage with the title belt.
-Pat Patterson defeated Sgt. Slaugther in an alley fight at 14:25 when the Grand Wizard, who escorted Slaughter to the ring before the match, returned ringside and threw in the towel after Slaughter had been beaten a bloody mess.
-The Carolina Kid & Farmer Jerome defeated Sky Low Low & Kid Chocolate
-Tony Garea, Rick Martel, & Gorilla Monsoon (sub. for Andre the Giant) defeated Stan Hansen, Moondog Rex, & Cpt. Lou Albano (sub. for Moondog King) in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match at 14:01, 2-0; fall #1: Monsoon's team won via disqualification at 11:39 when all three heels began attacking Martel; fall #2: Monsoon pinned Rex at 2:22 with a splash.
-The Carolina Kid & Farmer Jerome defeated Sky Low Low & Kid Chocolate when Carolina pinned Chocolate.
1981 - It was announced by Vince McMahon that Andre the Giant had suffered a broken ankle. The injury was blamed on Killer Khan, setting up a series of grudge matches after Andre recovered. WWE maintained ownership of the giant cast used to set the ankle and often displays it at their annual AXXESS events.
1983 - Tony Atlas defeated NWA champion Ric Flair in a non-title match in the main event of a GCW event in Akron, Ohio. The undercard featured:
-Matt Borne & Arn Anderson (with Paul Ellering) defeated Tito Santana & Brian Blair.
-Paul Ellering defeated Joe Lightfoot.
-Ron Garvin defeated the Iron Sheik (with Paul Ellering).
-Dick Murdoch defeated Killer Brooks.
-Tommy Rich defeated Larry Zbyszko.
1984 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Hampton, Virginia, featuring:
-Barry Hart (the future Barry Horowitz) defeated Jeff Sword.
-Jesse Barr defeated Bobby Bass.
-Brian Adidas defeated Doug Vines.
-The Junkyard Dog defeated Gary Hart.
-Ernie Ladd defeated Rufus R. Jones.
-The Junkyard Dog defeated Adrian Street.
-Dick Slater defeated Jay Youngblood.
-Wahoo McDaniel & Mark Youngblood defeated Jack & Jerry Brisco.
1985 - The WWF ran Baltimore, Maryland, featuring the following results:
-Tony Atlas defeated Bob Bradley.
-David Sammartino defeated Matt Borne.
-King Kong Bundy defeated Salvatore Bellomo.
-Ricky Steamboat defeated Steve Lombardi.
-WWF Women's Champion Wendi Richter defeated Lelani Kai.
-Ken Patera defeated Ivan Putski.
-WWF Champion Hulk Hogan & Jimmy Snuka defeated Roddy Piper & Bob Orton Jr.
1987 - The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers) defeated The RPMs in a tournament final in Lubbock, Texas to win the World Class Tag Team Title.
1987 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Fayetteville, NC, headlined by The Road Warriors beating the New Breed, Dusty Rhodes defeating Dick Murdoch and Lex Luger wrestling Barry Windham to a no contest. The same evening, at the same time, the promotion ran Greenville, SC, headlined by the Rock N' Roll Express defeating The Midnight Express combination of Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane.
1990 - The NWA ran Boston, MA, drawing 1,500 fans to the Walter Brown Arena featuring:
-Johnny Ace pinned Bobby Eaton
-Stan Lane pinned Dutch Mantell
-Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Mike Rotunda
-NWA World Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Doom via disqualification
-NWA U.S. Champion Lex Luger defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair via disqualification at the 18-minute mark. Luger, who had travel problems, didn't arrive at the show until 10 PM, well after it was announced that Rick Steiner would substitute.
1991 - WCW ran Charleston, West Virginia, headlined by Sting & Brian Pillman defeating the One Man Gang & the Angel of Death and Vader defeating Stan Hansen by DQ.
1994 - New Japan Pro Wrestling holds their "Wrestling Dontaku" at the Fukuoka Dome in Fukuoka, Japan, drawing 53,500 fans. Results of the show:
- Satoshi Kojima defeated Yuji Nagata.
- Tokimitsu Ishizawa & El Samurai defeated Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa when Samurai pinned Takaiwa.
- Akira Nogami, Takayuki Iizuka, & Osamu Kido defeated Akitoshi Saito, Michiyoshi Ohara, & Tatsutoshi Goto when Kido forced Ohara to submit.
- Kuniaki Kobayashi, The Great Kabuki, & Kengo Kimura defeated Norio Honaga, Hiro Saito, & Shinichi Nakano when Kimura pinned Honaga.
- El Gigante defeated Tadao Yasuda.
- Jushin Liger vs. Satoru Sayama (the original Tiger Mash) fought to a ten-minute draw.
- Shiro Koshinaka defeated Yoshiaki Yatsu.
- IWGP World Tag Team Champions The Hellraisers (Road Warrior Hawk & Power Warrior Kensuke Sasaki) defeated Rick & Scott Steiner when Hawk pinned Scott.
- Rick Rude defeated Sting to win the WCW International World Heavyweight Title (the big gold belt). This would be Rick Rude's final match, as Rude severely injured his neck during the bout, ending his in-ring career. Rude would be stripped of the title on a technicality, and Rude would disappear from the wrestling scene until resurfacing in ECW in 1997.
- Masahiro Chono defeated Yoshiaki Fujiwara.
- Riki Choshu defeated Hiroshi Hase.
- Shinya Hashimoto defeated Tatsumi Fujinami to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Title.
- Antonio Inoki defeated The Great Muta.
1995 - Atsushi Onita defeats Mr. Pogo in Nagoya, Japan to win the FMW World Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Title for the fourth time. Onita would vacate the title the next day after defeating Hayabusa in his retirement match. The retirement didn't last, with Onita coining the nickname "Mr. Liar" for breaking his vows to retire.
1998 - WCW held a Nitro taping in Indianapolis featuring: Fit Finlay winning the WCW World TV championship from Booker T after Booker was distracted by Chris Benoit. Other results from the taping saw:
-Scott Norton defeated Chavo Guerrero Jr.
-Scott Putski defeated Billy Kidman via disqualification
-WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho defeated "Bore Us Malenko" via submission
-Public Enemy defeated the Barbarian, Hugh Morrus, & Jimmy Hart in a handicap streetfight at 2:57 when Johnny Grunge pinned Hart
-Hammer defeated Perry Saturn in a Loser Leaves the Flock match
-Juventud Guerrera defeated Sick Boy via disqualification
-Brian Adams defeated Konnan via disqualification
-Lex Luger defeated WCW World Tag Team Champion Kevin Nash via disqualification
2001 - John Zandig defeats Kintaro Kanemura in a tournament final to win the Big Japan Pro Wrestling Death Match Heavyweight Title in Sapporo, Japan. The belt had been vacated when Tomokai Honma walked out of the promotion.
2004 - During an edition of Smackdown in Tucson, Arizona, Jacquelyn (aka Jackie Moore) answered an open challenge from WWE Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero, defeating him with a low blow inside of three minutes to win the Cruiserweight Title, the first woman to do so since the belt became a WWE property.
2005 - The Jeremy Borash promoted Hardcore Homecoming event, set for June 2005 at the ECW Arena, sold out nearly a month in advance. The show, headlined by Terry Funk vs. Shane Douglas vs. Sabu in a no ropes barbed wire match, set the venue record with a $100,000 plus gate as the event was timed to take place the same weekend at the first-ever ECW One Night Stand PPV.
2006 - WWE publicly confirmed they were bringing the ECW brand back as a full-time entity and were signing talents to deals with the brand slated to debut at the June 2006 One Night Stand PPV.
2007 - Ring of Honor publicly confirmed that The Briscoes, Nigel McGuinness, Bryan Danielson, Roderick Strong, Rocky Romero, and Davey Richards had been signed to contracts in anticipation of their debut PPV taping.
2008 - In a column on WWE's ECW website, Tommy Dreamer addressed criticism of the new brand, writing, "There are many armchair critics of the show. Hell, I am one of them of every show. The Sopranos ending was the worst ever. The ending of Seinfeld, horrible. Those two examples made the ECW Zombie seem like a good idea. (OK, maybe not.) I watch a lot of TV and wish the writers did other things, but guess what: It is their show and they can do as they please. I, as the viewer, have two choices: Watch or change the channel. The Original ECW is still held dear in so many people's hearts, myself included. That is why the new ECW is so critiqued. The best part about sports-entertainment is things can change in a heartbeat. I would never have been in WrestleMania 23 standing with Rob Van Dam, Sandman and Sabu if it wasn't for the new ECW. The rematch against the New Breed was a great match. Remember Hardcore Holly and RVD matches? Or how about the rise of CM Punk, John Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, Elijah Burke, Big Daddy V ... hell even The Miz got better on ECW, and he sucked. Kofi Kingston will be a force in WWE because he is talented. I am sure Kelly Kelly will be the first ECW Diva on the cover of Playboy. I enjoy the Colin Delaney struggle for a contract and really loved our Extreme Rules Match in Chicago against The Miz & John Morrison. Bottom line is there are some great things about ECW and it is still a work in progress. I am happy to still be representing as the OG of ECW. You, the viewer, have two options: One, watch and don't give up, or two, change the channel. I will never stop trying to fight. I won't give up on you, the viewer, so please don't give up on me."
2009 - The Necro Butcher's scene with Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" where they brandish a staple gun in the midst of their hardcore CZW match was nominated for the very dignified "WTF Moment" MTV Movie Award. The scene did not win, but was one of many notable mainstream media mentions for Butcher that year, including a shout-out during the Academy Awards.
2009 - WWE Monday Night Raw aired live from Buffalo, NY. Ed Sherriffs filed the following report:
The date is May 4, 2009 and it's the "Go Capitals!" edition of Monday Night Raw. There's a lot going on heading into Judgment Day, and the big news tonight is that Randy Orton will be taking on Shane McMahon. And it's kicking the show off!
Randy Orton vs. Shane McMahon
Randy Orton is caught off guard when Shane McMahon sneaks up in the ring. They spill out to the floor and fight up the aisle. Shane with some punches to Orton. As they go through the crowd, Orton regains control. Shane punches back and kicks Orton in the stomach. Shane throws Orton back to ringside, then leaps off the barricade with a clothesline. Orton is put on the announcer's table and Shane goes to the top rope, but Legacy strikes and all three of them beat up on Shane. MVP runs out to make the save, but Legacy is able to overwhelm him, too. They dump him from the ring and focus on Shane. Batista runs out and makes the save, chasing Legacy off.
Vickie Guerrero comes out to restore some order. She mixes it up a bit. Ted DiBiase will fight Batista. Cody Rhodes will face MVP. Win and you're in the main event and you get to join Shane or Randy Orton. So potentially, it could be a tag team match, or it could be a 3 on 1 beatdown.
Matt Hardy vs. Kofi Kingston
Kofi and Matt trade hammerlocks. Kofi goes after the injured hand. He knocks Matt to the mat. Kofi misses a springboard crossbody out of the corner. Matt pounces and kicks Kofi in the stomach, then he drops him stomach first on the top rope. Hardy with a vertical suplex. He goes for another, but Kofi escapes and hits a neckbreaker. Kofi back with a big drop kick. Cross body connects, but Kofi looks hurt, too. Kofi with his leg drop across Hardy's chest for two. Kofi avoids a back body drop and wins with a kick to Hardy's head.
Your winner, Kofi Kingston!
After the match, Kofi goes down when Matt hits him with the cast.
Santino is in the back with Kelly Kelly calling Vickie Guerrero pig like and making a swine flu joke. Chavo walks up and doesn't like that. He warns Santino not to make fun of his family. Santino agrees, then squeals like a pig.
Recap of John Cena costing Big Show the match for the number one contendership last week. Big Show walks into Vickie's office and says he wants to end Cena's career. Vickie says he is physically unable to compete, and he won't be cleared for two weeks. She offers to make the match at Judgment Day.
The Bella Twins walk up to MVP to find out about his View appearance tomorrow, then ask him out.
William Regal joins Cole and Lawler on commentary.
MVP vs. Cody Rhodes
They lock up and MVP gets the advantage with a side headlock. Rhodes with headscissors. MVP with a side headlock on the mat. MVP gets some early covers and knocks Rhodes down. Cody with a drop toe hold. MVP with a side headlock and shoulderblock. Rhodes attacks MVP's leg, then punches him in the head. Leg lock by Cody.
MVP with some crossfaces. MVP blocks a charge. Belly to belly suplex by MVP. MVP is Ballin'. Rhodes gets out of the ring as Regal offers Rhodes some assistance by taking out MVP's bad leg. MVP can't make it back in the ring, so Cody wins by count out. It goes without saying that he will pick Randy Orton's side.
Your winner, Cody Rhodes!
Jerry the King Lawler is in the middle of the ring. Tonight, there will be a sing off instead of a dance off. It's Jillian Hall vs. Festus, who looks spiffy in a bow tie. I'm sure Jillian is singing a song that's on the charts right now, but I don't listen to the radio. It's terrible, though. Festus does his best Chief imitation until Lawler has the bell rung. Festus sings "Tomorrow" from Annie. For whatever reason, Buffalo seems really into it. The bell rings and Festus stops. Festus is the winner by an overwhelming margin.
The Miz comes out as Jillian pleads for another shot. He takes the mic out of Festus' hand and tosses him out of the ring. He orders them to take the fat, bald virgin out of his ring (he's already out at this point). He recalls that Cena didn't come out to the ring last week, so he surmises that Cena is afraid of him. He asks him where his Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect is. While we ponder that, someone find out where Larry David's Judaism is. He says if he was being called out, he would come to the ring. Cena appears on the Titantron and walks towards the ring. Commercial.
Back from the break, Miz has been killing time waiting for the commercials to end and he is asking where Cena is. Maybe he is looking for his next movie script. Too late, Miz mailed it to the Rock, who needed more toilet paper. He is packaged for the kiddies and their Cougar moms. Miz calls himself the most talented Raw Superstar there is. He continues to ask Cena to come out. He wants the whole dame thing, not just some. Since Cena didn't show up again, he calls the score Miz 2, Cena 0. Lillian again refuses to count the "win", so he goes to do it himself.
Before he can, Cena slowly walks out from behind the curtain. He makes it to the ring, but just then Big Show comes out. Cena puts his hands up as if ready to fight, but he's in no condition and Show easily kicks him to the mat. Show kicks Cena and keeps him from getting up. He sits on Cena and stretches back with a Camel Clutch. Cena is face down on the mat as Show gets up and glares at him. It lasted longer than it looks when you read about it here, but I covered all the action.
Jared the Subway Guy of all people is the guest ring announcer. I hope Subway is giving WWE a lot of money.
Mickie James vs. Maryse
Mickie James wastes no time in attacking Maryse. Mickie with a Lou Thesz Press. Maryse gets the advantage and a two count with a weak cover. She applies a Camel Clutch. Mickie gets up, but Maryse keeps her on the mat. James fights back and kicks Maryse. Mickie blocks a charge, but is thrown off the top turnbuckle. Mickie comes back with a DDT for the win.
Your winner, Mickie James!
Batista vs. Ted DiBiase
They lock up and Batista pushes him off. DiBiase bails from the ring, then gets back in and stomps Batista. Batista is unfazed and he slams DiBiase on the mat. DiBiase floats over and tries to attack, but he is clotheslined to the mat. Batista with an elbow to DiBiase's back. DiBiase back with some punches to Batista's head. Dibiase scores with a neckbreaker, but Batista kicks out at two.
DiBiase with a chinlock. Batista gets him off and charges in the corner. DiBiase comes off the second rope, but Batista gets his foot up, then spears DiBiase in the corner. DiBiase with a slap to Batista, so he gets more spears in the corner. Batista doesn't listen to the ref count to five, so he gets disqualified. What a lousy finish.
Your winner, Ted DiBiase!
So Shane McMahon is on his own against Legacy.
In the back, Chavo reassures Vickie about taking care of Santino. He then says she has to make sure that MVP and Batista stay out of the main event tonight. If HE were GM, he would threaten to strip MVP of his title and Batista of his title shot. Chavo is clearly playing the role of GM by proxy now, or a less subtle Jeeves.
The Brian Kendrick vs. Carlito
Kendrick gets an early advantage. He whips Carlito in the corner, but Carlito comes out with a clothesline, back body drop, and a sit out spinebuster for two. Kendrick kicks Carlito in the head for two. Kendrick goes for Sliced Bread #2, but Carlito shoves him into the corner and gives him a backcracker for the win.
Your winner, Carlito!
Recap of Jeff Hardy becoming the number one contender on Smackdown.
Another Smackdown recap, this time it's how Sherri Shepherd came to be on Smackdown and how MVP will be on the View tomorrow morning. Will any of the View's viewers know who he is? Michael Cole claims to love it.
Batista apologizes to Shane in the back for messing up. He says Shane can count on him taking the title from Orton in two weeks. Well, Shane's got that going for him, then.
Legacy (Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase & Randy Orton) vs. Shane McMahon
Shane peppers Cody with punches to start. He clotheslines Rhodes to the mat, but Cody gets Shane into his corner. Shane quickly gets out. Cody tags Orton in. Orton punches Shane in the head. Shane back with some lefts and DiBiase tags in. DiBiase stomps Shane. Shane takes over and knees DiBiase in the back. Shane with a neckbreaker. He goes to the top rope and hits a top rope elbow drop and slowly covers for two when Cody breaks the pin up.
On the floor, Cody is thrown into steps and so is DiBiase. Shane gets a chair, but he is blindsided by Orton. Orton tags in and kicks Shane in the stomach, then stomps him. Orton with a knee drop to McMahon's chest. Cody tags in and stomps Shane. Cody goes for a moonsault, but Shane rolls out of the way. DiBiase tags in and punches Shane. Shane blocks a charge and clotheslines DiBiase.
Orton tags in. Shane tees off on Orton. Shane with a back elbow and he clotheslines Orton out of the ring, then knocks the rest of Legacy out. Shane takes the monitors out of the table and puts Orton on it. Shane goes to the top rope and jumps off, but Orton moves.
Legacy put Shane's leg on the steel ring steps. Orton smacks it against the steel with a chair. Orton takes the top step and drops it right on the foot that he had hit with the chair. The camera's catch it missing Shane's foot by accident. Orton admires his handiwork. Batista comes out to make sure no further damage comes to Shane. At the top of the stage, Orton tells Batista his Judgment Day is coming. Batista sets up for the post RAW dark match by saying the don't have to wait. Awful main event. Shane was beating three guys on his own for about ten minutes. A 20 minute segment that should have been done in five. Orton stares at Batista to end the show.
2010 - Following a less than stellar run on Monday Nights, SpikeTV issued a press release that TNA Impact would be returning to Thursdays on 5/13/10. “The fans have spoken and with their input we have determined the best timeslot to maximize the TNA audience is on Thursday nights where we are confident it will be among the most-watched shows with young men,” said Brian J. Diamond, senior vice president, sports and specials for Spike TV, in the release, which also announced the addition of Reaction, a well produced series that followed up on Impact's developments. Reaction ended up running several months and in some weeks, was better than Impact.
2010 - It was announced that WWE Celebrity Hall of Famer and Major League baseball legend Bob Uecker's heart surgery the previous week was a "complete success." Doctors replaced Uecker's aortic valve, aortic root and part of his ascending aorta. Uecker also underwent a coronary bypass.
2010 - A fan who threatened to bomb WWE Headquarters because they released Mickie James was banned from going to WWE events. CTPost.com has reported that Zavr Peygumbari of Brooklyn, New York, described as an "emotionally disturbed" man was ordered by Judge William Wenzel was not to contact WWE employees, go near the Stamford offices or attend WWE events following his arrest the previous Friday following after making a series of threats against WWE employees. He called the offices more than 20 times, "making threats to blow up the company's offices and saying he would visit the building with a machete and a machine gun." This resulted in him being charged with four counts of fourth-degree threatening, one count of second-degree harassment and two counts of second-degree threatening. Currently out on bond, he is due in court to face the charges on May 25th. His attorney, in responding to the charges, stated "It's a testament to the WWE that they get people so psyched up in the story lines." The release of James was not a storyline.
Thanks to www.thehistoryofwwe.com for their assistance with archival results.
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