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January 22nd
On this day in history in ....
1941 - Ben Pilar defeats Tetsuo Higami in Honolulu, Hawaii to win the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title and the NWA Hawaii Junior Heavyweight Title.
1979 - Robert Fuller & Toru Tanaka defeat Dennis Condrey & Don Carson in a tournament final for the AWA Southern Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee. During the match, Tanaka leaves the ring, forcing Fuller to wrestle on his own.
1981 - Jumbo Tsuruta defeats Abdullah The Butcher in Nirasaki, Japan to win the NWA United National Heavyweight Title for the fourth time. That belt is now part of the All Japan Triple Crown.
1984 - Angelo Mosca defeats Sgt. Slaughter in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to win the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Title for the fifth time.
1993 - Alex Porteau defeats Mike Dahl in Dallas, Texas to win the Global Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Title for the second time.
1994 - The Royal Rumble was held in Providence, Rhode Island at the Civic Center. Here are the results:
- In a dark match, The Brooklyn Brawler defeated Jim Powers.
- Tatanka defeated Bam Bam Bigelow.
- WWF World Tag Team Champions The Quebecers defeated Bret & Owen Hart when the referee stopped the match due to Bret being unable to continue due to a knee injury. After the match, Owen turned on Bret.
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon defeated Irwin R. Schyster.
- WWF World Heavyweight Champion Yokozuna defeated The Undertaker in a casket match.
- Bret Hart and Lex Luger won the Royal Rumble when both men fell out of the ring at the same time at the end of the match and were both declared winners. This would result in both men challenging for the WWF World Title at Wrestlemania X. Others in the match included: Bob Backlund, Bam Bam Bigelow, Adam Bomb, Crush, Doink, Diesel, Fatu, Great Kabuki, Owen Hart, Marty Jannetty, Jeff Jarrett, Kwang, Rick Martel, Men on a Mission, Shawn Michaels, Sparky Plugg, Samu, Randy Savage, The Smoking Gunns, Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, Tatanka, Genichiro Tenryu, Greg Valentine, and Virgil.
1995 - The Royal Rumble was held in Tampa, Florida at the Sundome. Here are the results of the show:
- In a dark match, Buck Quartermaine defeated the Brooklyn Brawler.
- Jeff Jarrett defeated Razor Ramon to win the WWF Intercontinental Title.
- The Undertaker defeated Irwin R. Schyster.
- WWF World Champion Diesel vs. Bret Hart ended in a no-contest.
- The 123 Kid & Bob Holly defeated Bam Bam Bigelow & Tantanka in a tournament final to win the WWF World Tag Team Title when Kid pinned Bigelow. After the match, Bigelow confronted former New York Giants star (and arguably the greatest defensive player in the history of professional football) Lawrence Taylor, who was at ringside enjoying the show. Bigelow yelled at Taylor for laughing at him, and when Taylor stood up and tried to shake hands with Bigelow, Bigelow shoved him down. The incident received mainstream sports media coverage, and was the beginning of the storyline that led to Taylor vs. Bigelow at Wrestlemania XI.
- Shawn Michaels won the Royal Rumble, last eliminating Davey Boy Smith. Michaels and Smith were the first two participants in the match, and lasted the entire 38:41 of the match (intervals were only one minute this year, making the match much shorter and killing any chance of a new longevity record being set). Others in the match were: Bob Backlund, Eli & Jacob Blu, Adam Bomb, King Kong Bundy, The Bushwhackers, Crush, Doink, Duke Droese, The Headshrinkers, Henry Godwinn, Owen Hart, The Heavenly Bodies (Pritchard & Del Rey), Kwang, Lex Luger, Mantaur, Rick Martel, Men on a Mission, Aldo Montoya, Dick Murdoch, The Smoking Gunns, and Well Dunn.
1996 - Sting & Lex Luger defeat Harlem Heat in Las Vegas, Nevada to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship, ending Booker T & Stevie Ray's fourth reign as champions.
2000 - Ali defeats Steve Bradley in Memphis, Tennessee to win the Memphis Power Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title in a "Loser Leaves Power Pro Wrestling" match. Bradley was leaving for Puerto Rico, but would be back less than a year later.
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