TWIWH: May 14 – May 20

Written by Cory Morrow

A few notable events from This Week in Wrestling History

May 14, 1955 – Big Van Vader was born Leon White in Lynwood, California.

May 14, 1985 – Matthew Cardona, aka Zack Ryder, was born in Merrick, New York.

May 14, 1990 – During a match in Tokyo, the second wrestler to play the Tiger Mask character Mitsuharu Misawa was unmasked. The Tiger Mask character was put on the shelf for a time, as Misawa began his rise toward the top of Japanese pro wrestling.

May 15, 1958 – Ron Simmons was born in Perry, Georgia.

May 16, 1999 – WWF No Mercy took place in Manchester, England. Steve Austin defeated Triple H and the Undertaker in a No DQ Triple Threat match to retain his WWF Championship.

May 16, 2004 – At WWE Judgment Day ’04, John Bradshaw Layfield defeated Eddie Guerrero for the WWE Championship in a bloody bout.

May 17, 1949 – Earl Hebner was born in Richmond, Virginia.

May 17, 1992 – WCW WrestleWar ’92 took place in Jacksonville, Florida. The team of Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, Ricky Steamboat and Sting defeated Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyszko, Rick Rude, Bobby Eaton and Steve Austin in a War Games match.

May 17, 1998 – WCW held Slamboree ’98 in Worcester, Massachusetts. In the main event, the team of Sting and The Giant defeated The Outsiders for the WCW Tag Team Championships.

May 18, 1943 – Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka was born James William Reiher.

May 18, 2002 – “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith, passed away at the age of 39 due to heart failure.

May 19, 1946 – One of pro wrestlings most beloved stars, the legendary Andre the Giant, was born Andre Roussimoff in Coulommiers, France.

May 19, 1991 – The first WCW Superbrawl took place in St. Petersburg, Florida. The main event, Tatsumi Fujinami defended his NWA World Heavyweight title against Ric Flair in a Title vs. Title re-match after a controversial match in Japan that March. Flair retained his WCW Championship and regained Fujinami’s NWA title by a school boy pin with a handful of tights.

May 19, 1999 – The second annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show took place in Pillman’s home town of Cincinnati, Ohio.

May 19, 2011 – Randy Savage passed away at the age of 58 after suffering a heart attack while driving with his wife Barbara.

May 20, 2001 – WWF held Judgment Day ’01 in Sacramento, California. In the shows main event, Steve Austin defended his WWF Championship against The Undertaker.

Sources: multiple websites

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TWIWH: May 7 – May 13

Written by Cory Morrow

A few notable events from This Week in Wrestling History:

May 7, 1965 – Owen Hart was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

May 7, 1989 – NWA held WrestleWar ’89 in Nashville, Tennessee. In the shows main event, Ric Flair captured the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Ricky Steamboat.

May 7, 2000 – WCW held Slamboree 2000 in Kansas City, Missouri. In one of the promotions now most infamous matches, Jeff Jarrett captured the WCW Championship, after defeating Diamond Dallas Page and Champion David Arquette in a “Ready to Rumble Triple Cage Match”.

May 8,1988 – WCCW Parade of Champions V took place in Irving, Texas. In the main event, Kerry Von Erich defeated Iceman Parsons for the WCWA (World Class Championship Wrestling) World Heavyweight Championship.

May 9, 1987 – NWA held the Eddie Graham Memorial Show in St. Petersburg, Florida. In the main event, Dusty Rhodes retained his NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Ric Flair.

May 9, 1999 – WCW held Slamboree ’99 in St. Louis, Missouri. Kevin Nash defeated Diamond Dallas Page in the main event for the WCW Championship.

May 10, 1953 – Tito Santana was born Merced Solis, in Mission, Texas.

May 10, 1968 – William Regal was born Darren Matthews, in Codsall Wood, England.

May 10, 2001 – Vince McMahon’s XFL (Xtreme Football League) closed down after NBC cut the show due to low ratings. McMahon tried to get the show on UPN, but the network demanded that SmackDown! had to be cut from their lineup in exchange.

May 11, 1987 – Kevin Von Erich collapsed in the middle of the ring during a match in WCCW. Fantastic Tommy Rogers, seeing Von Erich turning blue, broke character and administered CPR, reviving him.

May 11, 2008 – Judy Grable passed away at the age of 72 after battling several health issues.

May 12, 1932 – Danny Hodge was born in Noble County, Oklahoma.

May 13, 1980 – Hulk Hogan made his very first appearance in Japan, wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Sources: multiple websites

Discuss This Week In Wrestling History live every Tuesday night on “Gorilla Blood” on PW 24/7 Radio!

TWIWH: April 30 – May 6

Written by Cory Morrow

A few notable events from This Week In Wrestling History:

Apr 30, 1977 – Bruno Sammartino’s record 4 year WWWF Heavyweight Championship reign came to a shocking end, when he was pinned by “Superstar” Billy Graham, albeit with Graham’s foot on the ropes.

Apr 30, 1993 – The inaugural AAA TripleMania took place in front of 48,000 fans in Mexico City. In the shows main event, Cien Caras defeated Konnan in a Best 2 Out of 3 “Retirement” Match, after interference by Jake Roberts.

Apr 30, 2000 – WWF held Backlash ’00 in Washington, DC. In the main event, The Rock defeated Triple H for the WWF Championship.

May 1, 1994 – At a New Japan Pro Wrestling show in Fukuoka, Japan, Ravishing Rick Rude took on Sting for the newly formed WCW International Championship. During the match, Sting dove to the outside onto Rude, who landed back first on a step located on the arena floor, causing him a career-ending injury in his back and neck.

May 1, 1998 – All Japan Pro Wrestling promoted their first event at the hallowed Tokyo Dome.

May 1, 2003 – Miss Elizabeth passed away at the age of 42 due to a drug overdose.

May 2, 1951 – Japanese hardcore legend Mr. Pogo was born Tetsuo Sekigawa in Isezaki, Japan.

May 2, 1963 – Raymond W. Traylor, Jr., aka The Big Boss Man, was born in Marietta, Georgia.

May 2, 1972 – Dwayne Johnson, better know to wrestling fans as The Rock, was born in Hayward, California.

May 2, 1987 – AWA held SuperClash II in San Francisco, California. In the main event, Curt Hennig lifted the AWA Heavyweight Championship off long-time champion Nick Bockwinkel.

May 3, 1915 – Canadian wrestling legend Stu Hart was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

May 3, 1998 – ECW held Wrestlepalooza ’98 in Marietta, Georgia. Matches on the card included The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer defeating The Dudley’s, and Rob Van Dam wrestling Sabu to a 30 minute draw.

May 4, 1935 – Mr. Fuji was born Harry Fujiwara in Honolulu, Hawaii.

May 4, 2002 – WWE held Insurrextion ’02 at Wembley Arena in London.In the double main events, Steve Austin defeated The Big Show and Triple H defeated The Undertaker.

May 5, 2001 – WWF held Insurrextion ’01 at Earls Court in London. In the shows main event, The Undertaker defeated Triple H and WWF Champion Steve Austin in a Handicap Tag Match, but did not capture the Championship as per the stipulation of the match when he pinned Triple H.

May 6, 1980 – Former NWA Champion Scott Colton, aka Colt Cabana, was born in Deerfield, Illinois.

May 6, 1984 – World Class Championship Wrestling held its biggest card ever – Parade of Champions – to celebrate the life of the late David Von Erich. A reported crowd of 43,517 fans filled Texas Stadium to watch the Von Erich’s capture the NWA 6 Man Tag Team Championships from The Freebirds, and Kerry Von Erich defeat Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

May 6, 2002 – The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) officially becomes World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Sources: multiple websites

Discuss This Week In Wrestling History live every Tuesday night on “Gorilla Blood” on PW 24/7 Radio!

TWIWH: April 23 – April 29

Written by Cory Morrow

A few notable events from This Week In Wrestling History:

Apr 23, 1954 – Tony Atlas was born Anthony White in Roanoke, Virginia.

Apr 23, 1961 – Terry Gordy was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He joined the pro wrestling ranks at the young age of 15.

Apr 23, 1977 – John Cena was born in West Newbury, Massachusetts.

Apr 23, 1981 – A popular Japanese cartoon series called Tiger Mask , which aired in the sixties and seventies and featured many wrestling villains and heroes in the show, was brought to life in New Japan Pro Wrestling. The promotion bought the rights to the series and created the Tiger Mask gimmick, using agile wrestler Satoru Sayama to fill the role.

Apr 24, 1916 – Legend of the “Golden Age of Professional Wrestling”, Lou Thesz was born in Banat, Michigan.

Apr 24, 1989 – Jushin “Thunder” Liger debuted in NJPW at the world famous Tokyo Dome. He defeated Kuniaki Kobayashi in his debut match.

Apr 24, 2005 – TNA held Lockdown in Orlando, Florida. AJ Styles defeated Abyss in a memorable match to end the show.

Apr 25, 1999 – WWF held Backlash ’99 in Providence, Rhode Island. In the main event, Steve Austin defended his WWF Championship against The Rock in a return bout from their WrestleMania XV encounter.

Apr 26, 1967 – Glen Jacobs, better known to fans as Kane, was born in Madrid Spain.

Apr 26, 1982 – Jonathan Figueroa, aka Amazing Red, was born in New York, New York.

Apr 27, 1878 – Mat legend Frank Gotch was born in Humboldt, Iowa.

Apr 27, 1981 – “Wildfire” Tommy Rich became one of the youngest NWA World Heavyweight Champions in pro wrestling history by defeating Harley Race.

Apr 27, 2003 – WWE held Backlash ’03 in Worcester, Massachusetts. In the main event Goldberg defeated The Rock.

Apr 27, 2008 – Shinsuke Nakamura lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to All Japan Pro Wrestling representative Keiji Mutoh in Osaka, Japan.

Apr 28, 2002 – Lou Thesz, regarded by many as the greatest wrestler of all time, died at age 86 in Winter Garden, Florida.

Apr 28, 2005 – Chris Candido passed away at the age of 33, after developing a blood clot due to complications from a surgery to repair a broken leg.

Apr 29, 1994 – Charles Austin, a preliminary wrestler left paralyzed after a 1990 match against The Rockers, is awarded $26.7 million.

Apr 29, 1996 – Nobuhiko Takada defeated Keiji Mutoh before 64,000 fans to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship – becoming the only wrestler to hold all three major New Japan Titles – in one of the biggest money-making feuds in Japanese pro wrestling history.

Sources: multiple websites

Discuss This Week In Wrestling History live every Tuesday night on “Gorilla Blood” on PW 24/7 Radio!

TWIWH: May 14 – May 20

TWIWH: May 7 – May 13

TWIWH: April 30 – May 6

TWIWH: April 23 – April 29

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