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ProWrestling.com › Almanac › Historical Dates
1873 - The first masked wrestler, appropriately named "The Masked Wrestler,"
debuts in Paris.
1878 - Frank Gotch is born in Homboldt, Iowa.
September 26, 1885 - Australia's first professional wrestling bout, William
Miller vs. Clarence Whistler, is staged at Melbourne's Theatre Royal. Whistler
won, but died afterward. The cause of death was internal bleeding caused
by eating a champagne glass after the match.
September 1896 - George Hackenschmidt, 18, makes his wrestling debut.
April 2, 1899 - Gotch, trained by Martin Burns, makes his wrestling debut
by defeating Marshall Green.
1901 - San Francisco hosts wrestling's first tag team matches.
February 22, 1903 - Tom Jenkins defeats Frank Gotch in Cleveland in the first
meeting of the dominant American wrestlers of the era.
May 5, 1905 - Hackenschmidt defeats Tom Jenkins for the Catch-as-Catch-Can
championship. The title is later re-named the NWA World Heavyweight title.
April 3, 1908 - Hackenschmidt and Gotch do battle at Chicago's Dexter Park.
The match ended when a frustrated Hackenschmidt leaves the ring, leaving
Gotch with the World title.
1911 - The Hackenschmidt/Gotch rematch draws 33,000 fans to Comiskey Park,
drawing a $87,000 gate.
April 1, 1913 - Gotch announces his retirement from wrestling in Kansas City,
Missouri.
1916 - A battle between Ed "Stranger" Lewis and Joe Stecher ends in a five-hour
draw.
July 18, 1916 - Gotch returns to wrestling and fractures his leg in an exhibition
match against Bob Managoff, Sr. in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Gotch would never
wrestle again.
1917 - Gotch passes away.
December 13, 1920 - "Stranger" Lewis becomes World champion by beating Stetcher.
1925 - Jess McMahon, grandfather of Vince McMahon Jr., promotes his first
boxing card in the "old" Madison Square Garden in New York City.
October 25, 1932 - Paul Boesch makes his professional wrestling debut against
Benny Ginsburg in Staten Island, New York.
September 20, 1934 - A match between Jim Londos and "Stranger" Lewis at Wrigley
Field is refereed by former Boxing champion Jack Dempsey.
1935 - Jim Crockett Sr. forms Jim Crockett Promotions. In the same year,
Vince McMahon Sr. promotes his first wrestling card.
September 14, 1938 - Everett Marshall is awarded the National Wrestling
Association's version of the World Title.
May 19, 1946 - Andre The Giant is born in Grenoble, France.
1947 - A New York match between Buddy Rogers and Billy Darnell is such a
wild brawl, a ringside fan dies of a heart attack. Both wrestlers are
disqualified from New York competition for two years.
Fred Blassie suffers a head injury that places him on the verge of retirement
when he is bounced out of the ring by Rudy Dusek.
1948 - The National Wrestling Alliance is first formed in Waterloo, Iowa.
The first NWA President was P.L. "Pinkie" George.
July 30, 1948 - Pro wrestling debuts on the Dumont Network.
February 22, 1949 - Gorgeous George headlines the first Madison Square Garden
wrestling card in 12 years, against Ernie Dusek. Gorgeous George won the
match in front of 4,197 fans.
October 4, 1949 - Lillian Ellison (later known as Fabulous Moolah) defeated
Cecilia Blevins in Kansas City, Missouri.
November 25, 1949 - Lou Thesz is awarded his first of six NWA World titles
after Orville Brown's career is ending by a car accident.
1951 - Japan's first post-war professional wrestling card is held ... Verne
Gagne moves up to the heavyweight division.
1952 - The Sheik makes his professional wrestling debut.
1953 - Captain Lou Albano makes his professional wrestling debut by defeating
Bob Lazaro in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
April 1, 1957 - Wrestler Danny Hodge appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated
magazine.
1959 - Bruno Sammartino makes his professional wrestling debut.
August 1960 - The American Wrestling Association (AWA) is formed.
1962 - Gorgeous George loses his hair, after dropping his match with the
Destroyer in L.A.
April 1963 - The World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) recognizes its first
champion, Buddy Rogers.
1964 - Andre Rene Rousimoff (later known as Andre the Giant) debuts at the
Butcher.
May 17, 1964 - Sammartino defeats Buddy Rogers for the WWWF title. He retains
the title until January 1971 when Ivan Koloff relieves him of the gold.
March 1972 - New Japan Pro Wrestling is formed.
October 1972 - Shohei "Giant" Baba forms All Japan Pro Wrestling.
1973 - Jim Crockett Jr. takes over Crockett promotions.
May 9, 1975 - WWWF champion Sammartino defends the title against PWF Giant
Baba in Japan. The match ends in a no decision.
October 4, 1975 - Ric Flair is involved in a plane crash in Wilmington, North
Carolina. "The Nature Boy" breaks his back in three different places.
November 8, 1975 - Nick Bockwinkel ends Verne Gagne's seven year plus AWA
title reign.
April 1979 - Vince McMahon Sr. renames the WWWF the World Wrestling Federation
(WWF).
July 18, 1980 - Verne Gagne wins his tenth AWA title by defeating Nick Bockwinkel
in Chicago, IL. Bockwinkel had been champion since 1975.
August 2, 1980 - Hulk Hogan wrestles Andre the Giant to a time limit draw
before 26,000 fans on a Bill Watts' show at the Superdome in New Orleans,
LA.
August 9, 1980 - Bruno Sammartino defeats his protege Larry Zbyszko in a
steel cage match at Shea Stadium in New York. The semi-main event saw Andre
the Giant beat Hulk Hogan.
September 17, 1981 - Flair captures his first World title from Dusty Rhodes.
June 1982 - Vince McMahon Jr. purchases the WWF from his father.
November 24, 1983 - The first Starrcade is staged in Greensboro, North Carolina.
1984 - McMahon purchases Georgia Championship Wrestling for $1,000,000 and
closes the promotion.
January 24, 1984 - Hulk Hogan pins The Iron Sheik at Madison Square Garden
for the WWF title. Hogan begins a four year title reign.
February 21, 1985 - ABC airs an installment of "20/20" during which Dr. D
David Shultz hits reporter John Stossel in the ears; Stossel later sued and
received a $280,000 settlement from the WWF.
March 31, 1985 - Vince McMahon Jr. stages the first WrestleMania on closed
circuit television.
May 10, 1985 - NBC airs the first episode of "Saturday Night's Main Event."
The show features Hogan defeating "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Jr. to retain the WWF
title.
May 1986 - The Four Horsemen are formed, a quartet consisting of Ric Flair,
Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson and Ole Anderson, with management by James
J. Dillon.
1987 - Jim Crockett purchases Mid South Sports (UWF) from Bill Watts for
$4 million.
March 29, 1987 - Wrestlemania III is hosted by the Pontiac Silverdome in
Pontiac, Michigan. A crowd of over 78,000 fans witnesses Hogan successfully
defending the WWF title against Andre the Giant in the main event.
May 26, 1987 - "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and The Iron Sheik are arrested by New
Jersey state police. Duggan is charged with possession of marijuana and drinking
alcohol while driving; Sheik is charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana.
Duggan receives a conditional discharge; Sheik receives a year probation.
January 24, 1988 - WWF airs its first "Royal Rumble" on the USA Network.
February 5, 1988 - Andre the Giant ends Hulk Hogan's four year WWF title
reign. He later gives the title to the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase,
until the title is held up by WWF President Jack Tunney.
March 27, 1988 - The first "Clash of the Champions" air on WTBS, airing head
to head with Wrestlemania IV. In the main event, Ric Flair and Sting wrestled
to a 45 minute time limit draw.
November 1988 - Ted Turner buys out Jim Crockett Jr. for $9 million, and
later renames his promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
January 1993 - "Raw" debuts on the USA Network.
November 1993 - Vince McMahon is charged with steroid possession.
June 11, 1994 - Hogan signs with World Championship Wrestling.
July 22, 1994 - The Ultimate Warrior wrestles his first match in more than
two years before 2,000 fans in Las Vegas. He defeats the Honky Tonk Man.
August 27, 1994 - Shane Douglas defeats 2 Cold Scorpio for the NWA World
Heavyweight Title, but then dumps the belt and proclaims himself the first
Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion.
May 13, 1995 - Big Van Vader beats El Canek in Mexico City to win the UWA
heavyweight title. With the win, Vader simultaneously holds major titles
in Asia (New Japan's IWGP title), Europe (CWA title) and North America (UWA
title).
September 4, 1995 - "Nitro" debuts on TNT.
1996 - Paul Heyman purchases ECW from Tod Gordon.
1996 - The WWF lost a state supreme court appeal of a court's decision that
awarded Jesse "The Body" Ventura $800,000 in past royalties.
May 19, 1996 - After a steel cage match between Shawn Michaels and Diesel
(Kevin Nash) at Madison Square Garden, "The Kliq" (Hall, Nash, HBK, and Triple
H) embrace, breaking tradition "kayfabe." Hall and Nash had already signed
with WCW.
June 23, 1996 - Austin wins the King of the Ring tournament, and starts his
Austin 3:16 gimmick.
July 7, 1996 - Hogan turns heel at Bash at the Beach, joining Hall and Nash
in the New World Order (NWO).
November 17, 1996 - Rocky Maivia (The Rock) debuts at the Survivor Series.
November 9, 1997 - McMahon cheats Bret Hart out of the WWF title at the Survivor
Series in Montreal.
November 1997 - Rick Rude becomes the only wrestler to appear on "Raw" and
"Nitro" on the same night.
November 1998 - Former wrestler and announcer Jesse "The Body" Ventura is
elected Governor of Minnesota.
May 23, 1999 - Owen Hart, 34, dressed as the Blue Blazer, falls to his death
during the Over the Edge PPV in Kansas City, Missouri. The Hart family filed
a wrongful death lawsuit against the WWF, and settled out of court for $18
million in November 2000.
September 1999 - WCW hires WWF writers Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara.
2000 - WCW loses $62 million.
September 25, 2000 - The WWF moves "Raw" to TNN.
March 23, 2001 - The WWF purchases World Championship Wrestling (WCW) for
a mere $4.3 million.
March 26, 2001 - The final "Nitro" airs on TNT.
April 4, 2001 - HHG Corporation, the owners of Extreme Championship Wrestling,
filed for bankruptcy. In their filing, HHG Corp. claimed assets of $1,385,500
and listed debts of $8,881,435, leaving them with about $7.5 million in debt
when they ceased operations.
April 22, 2001 - Johnny Valentine passes
away.
October 22, 2001 - FMW star Hayabusa
is paralyzed in the ring after landing on his head.
October 7, 2001 - Chris Adams, 46, shot to
death.
November 9, 2001 - WWF lays off 9% of
employees; President and COO Stuart Snyder resigns.
2001 - 2002 - WWF reports $42,233,000
million in profits. In 2002, WWF averages 5,625 fans
to live events.
March 17, 2002 - The WWF
draws 68,237 at the Skydome in Toronto for
Wrestlemania XVIII.
March 25, 2002 - The WWF
conducts a brand extention draft on "Raw."
April 18, 2002 - Ed "Wahoo" McDaniel, veteran
wrestler and former pro football player, dies from a
stroke in Houston, TX, at the age of 63.
April 28, 2002 - Wrestling legend Lou Thesz, 86,
passes away following heart surgery.
May 6,
2002 - The WWF officially becomes World Wrestling
Entertainment (WWE).
May 16, 2002 - Shoichi
Arai, the former president of Japan's FMW, hangs
himself in Toyko. He was 36.
May 18, 2002 -
"The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, 39, dies
while on vacation in Invermere, British Columbia,
Canada of a heart attack.
June 10, 2002 -
Steve Austin leaves the Georgia Dome in Atlanta
prior to a live "Raw," resulting in WWE announcing
three days later that "Stone Cold" had been removed
from the active roster.
June 19, 2002 -
Jerry Jarrett's NWA TNA promotion runs its first
weekly PPV in Huntsville, AL. The company was
eventually purchased by the Carter Family (Panda
Energy) for $250,000. Health South, which was
helping fund the project, had lost $1.6 million.
August 10, 2002 - WWE draws 56,734 fans at the
Melbourne Colonial Stadium during the promotion's
Global Warning Australian event.
August 25,
2002 - Brock Lesnar, 25, defeats The Rock at
Summerslam to capture the WWE title, making him the
youngest WWE champion of all time.
August
27, 2002 - Steve Austin and Debra announce that they
are getting divorced.
2002 - 2003 - WWE
reports $19,455,000 million in losses due to the
failure of The World.
2003 - WWE averages
4,537 fans to live events.
January 18, 2003
- The Sheik (real name Edward Farhat) passes away in
a Williamstown, MI hospital from heart failure. The
Sheik was 78.
February 10, 2003 - "Mr.
Perfect" Curt Hennig is found dead in a Brandon, FL
motel room. He was scheduled to wrestle later in the
day for Jimmy Hart's All-Star Wrestling in Tampa.
Hennig was 44. The official cause of death was
determined as "acute cocaine intoxication."
April 13, 2003 - Masked superstar the Great Sasuke
(Masanori Murakawa) wins election to the Japanese
Diet.
May 1, 2003 - Miss Elizabeth, 42, is
found dead at the condo of Lex Luger in Cobb County,
GA, following a 911 call placed by the former WCW
and WWF grappler. The couple had been dating for a
couple of years.
May 31, 2003 - WWE promotes
its first house show since 1993 in the state of
Oregon at the Rose Garden in Portland. The show
draws 14,394 paid for a gate of $463,550.
June 2, 2003 - "Classy" Freddie Blassie, 85, passes
away due to heart and kidney failure.
June
15, 2003 - WWE promotes its first "Raw" brand
exclusive PPV called "Bad Blood" in Houston, TX.
June 17, 2003 - World Wrestling Entertainment
acquires the assets of ECW for $1.28 million.
July 12, 2003 - IWA promotes a card that draws a
sellout 11,000 paid for a $138,000 gate at the
Roberto Clemete Stadium in San Jaun, Puerto Rico. An
estimated 6,000 fans had to be turned away. The
event featured a Ray Gonazalez vs. Apolo match on
top (Invader I served as the special guest referee).
August 8, 2003 - Japanese wrestler Takayuki
Okada (Giant Ochiai), 30, dies after suffering a
brain injury in a training accident.
October
16, 2003 - Stu Hart, patriarch of Canada's famous
wrestling family and the founder of Stampede
Wrestling, dies at age 88.
October 19, 2003
- Road Warrior Hawk, 45, dies in his sleep at his
Florida residence. His death was caused by
hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
November 6, 2003 - Michael "Crash Holly" Lockwood is
found dead at the age of the 32 in the home of
Steven Richards in Navarre, FL.
November 29,
2003 - Veteran wrestler Moondog Spot (real name
Larry Booker), 51, collapsed and passed away in
Memphis, TN during the "Birthday Bash for Jerry
Lawler" event.
December 2003 - Former ECW
wrestler William "Chilly Willy" Jones receives a
purple heart military award for his service in Iraq.
He was wounded in action.
December 6, 2003 -
Jerry Tuite, 35, who had wrestled as Gigantes for
All Japan, is found dead in a hotel room in Narita,
Japan.
For more 2003-2004 dates, visit
Sister Midnight's Monthly Updates.
2004 -
WWE averages 3,862 fans to live events.
January 24, 2004 - Jack Tunney (real name John
Tunney Jr.), 68, dies of a heart attack in Lindsay,
Ontario, Canada. Tunney had served as the figure
head WWF president during the 1980s.
January
27, 2004 - Don "Hard Boiled" Haggery (Don Stansauk),
78, a former AWA World Tag Team champion and actor
passes away in his Malibu, CA home.
January
25, 2004 - The Royal Rumble PPV draws about 530,000
buys, or a 0.98 buy rate.
January 30, 2004 -
The Castaways Hotel & Casino, formerly known as the
Showboat - which hosted many famous 80's AWA matches
- closed down.
February 7, 2004 - WWE sells
out the Saitama Super Arena (20,002 in attendance)
in Japan earning approximately 200 million yen (just
shy of $2 million).
February 15, 2004 - The
No Way Out PPV featuring Eddy Guerrero beating Brock
Lesnar for the WWE title becomes the first Smackdown
brand PPV to sell out.
February 21, 2004 -
Naomichi Marufuji beat Takehiro Murahama in Osaka,
Japan to win the Osaka Pro Wrestling sponsored Super
J Cup tournament.
March 7, 2004 - Ray
Constantine "Hercules Hernandez" Fernandez dies in
his sleep at the age of 47.
April 3, 2004 -
WWE runs its first ever show in Mexico at Arena
Monterrey, drawing 10,850 fans paying $443,207. In
the main event, Chris Benoit defeats Triple H to
retain the World Heavyweight title.
June 4,
2004 - TNA debuts "Impact" on Fox Sports Net,
scoring a 0.22 rating.
June 2004 - WWE
announces profits of $48,192,000 for fiscal year
2003-2004.
June 13, 2004 - The fourth Tiger
Mask wins the parity-based New Japan Best of the
Super Juniors tournament.
August 15, 2004 -
Randy Orton beats Chris Benoit to become the
youngest WWE champion of all time at Summerslam in
Toronto. The PPV draws about 387,000 PPV buys.
September 12, 2004 - Mexican legend Dr. Wagner
dies at age 68 from a heart attack.
September 17, 2004 - Long time wrestling promoter
Jim Barnett, 80, passes away.
September 22,
2004 - Ray Traylor (Big Bossman) dies at age 42 from
a massive heart attack.
September 26, 2004 -
Former WWF manager/valet Marianna Komlos, 35, passes
away from breast cancer.
November 2, 2004 -
Former WWF tag team wrestler B. Brian Blair (of the
Killer Bees) wins election for the District 6 slot
on the Hillsborough County Commission (Tampa area),
running as a Republican.
January 9, 2005 -
WWE stages the New Year's Revolution PPV in San
Juan, Puerto Rico at the Agrilot Coliseum de Puerto
Rico before a sellout crowd of 15,764, and a
$825,000 gate. The PPV draws about 367,000 buys.
Three weeks later, the annual Royal Rumble show
draws about 570,000 PPV buys.
January 18,
2005 - "Pistol" Pez Whatley (Pezavan Peter Whatley)
dies from heart problems at the age of 54 in
Chattanooga, TN.
January 24, 2005 - Oklahoma
Governor Brad Henry declared it "Jim Ross day."
February 4 & 5, 2005 - WWE holds "Raw" and
"Smackdown" tapings at the Saitama Super Arena in
Japan. The "Raw" show drew 16,657 fans and the
"Smackdown" taping drew 18,757. WWE grossed in
excess of $3.5 millions for the shows.
February 20, 2005 - Satoshi Kojima defeats Hiroyoshi
Tenzan in Tokyo, Japan in a Triple Crown (All Japan)
vs. IWGP (New Japan) match to capture the IWGP
title.
April 3, 2005 - Wrestlemania XXI
draws 20,193 fans to the Staples Arena in Los
Angeles, CA. The show draws a live gate of $2.1
million. The PPV draws about 985,000 buys.
April 28, 2005 - Chris Candido, 33, passes away from
a blood clot caused by complications from ankle
surgery.
June 10, 2005 - Shane Douglas
promotes an ECW style reunion show called Hardcore
Homecoming at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, before
a 1,200 sell out crowd. The live gate draws $135,000
plus another $34,000 in merchandise.
June
12, 2005 - WWE promotes ECW's One Night Stand PPV
before a sellout crowd of 2,500 at the Hammerstein
Ballroom in New York, for a $464,000 live gate plus
$50,000 in merchandise. The show draws about 335,000
PPV buys.
June 16, 2005 - Former AWA and WWF
announcer Rod Trongard, 72, dies after a battle with
liver cancer.
June 18, 2005 - Despite
signing with WWE, CM Punk defeats Austin Aries in
Morristown, NJ to capture the Ring of Honor title.
June 26, 2005 - The Vengeance PPV featuring
a Triple H vs. Batista hell in the cell match draws
about 427,000 PPV buys.
July 7, 2005 - WWE
fires Jim Cornette, who had been working for years
as an Ohio Valley Wrestling commentator and booker,
after the legendary manager slapped OVW student
Johnny GeoBasco.
July 11, 2005 - Shinya
Hashimoto, 40, passes away.
July 18, 2005 -
WWE fires long time referee Earl Hebner, and later
fired his twin brother Dave for improperly selling
WWE merchandise ... Pro Wrestling NOAH's draws
52,000 for a show at the Tokyo Dome featuring Misawa
vs. Kawada and Kobashi vs. Sasaki.
July 21,
2005 - TNA announces a television deal with Spike
TV.
August 1, 2005 - WWE airs the 636th
episode of "Raw."
August 21, 2005 - WWE
stages Summerslam in Washington, D.C. before 15,700
fans drawing a $834,000 gate. In the main event, a
bloodied Hulk Hogan defeated Shawn Michaels. The PPV
draws about 636,000 pay-per-view buys.
September 27, 2005 - TNA runs its first Impact
taping for Spike TV in Orlando, FL. The first
episode of Impact on Spike TV scores a 0.78 rating.
October 3, 2005 - Raw moves back to the USA
Network with a 3-hour broadcast that draws a 4.4
rating.
October 8, 2005 - Brock Lesnar
becomes only the fifth American in the 21 year
history of the IWGP championship to claim the title
by beating Kazuyuki Fujita and Masa Chono in Tokyo,
Japan.
October 22, 2005 - Reggie "The
Crusher" Lisowski, 79, passes away.
November
13, 2005 - Eddie Guerrero, 38, is found dead in his
Minneapolis, MN hotel room. According to reports,
Guerrero was scheduled to win the World Heavyweight
title that night.
November 14, 2005 - Simon
Inoki announces that New Japan Pro Wrestling had
been sold to Yukus, an Osaka based company that
markets home videos and video games. The Yukes
purchased 51.5% of the company's stock (27,800 of
the 54,000 shares) at a cost of $1.7 million. In
April 2006, The Yukes announced that New Japan was
1.4 billion yen in debut (roughly $12.5 million).
November 21, 2005 - Vince McMahon informs
the WWE locker room in Sheffield, England of a new
company drug testing policy.
December 9,
2005 - WWE tapes a special "Raw" tribute to the
troops at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Taping
results saw The Big Show d. Carlito, Mick Foley d.
JBL, John Cena d. Chris Masters, Ric Flair d. The
coach, Gene Snitsky d. Shelton Benjamin, Candice
Michelle and Maria d. Trish Stratus and Ashley,
Shawn Michaels d. Triple H in a "boot camp" match.
December 18, 2005 - WWE runs its final '05
PPV called "Armageddon" at the Dunkin Donuts Center
in Providence, RI. During the broadcast, WWE stages
a "suicide" angle featuring former WWF referee Tim
White.
January 10, 2006 - Two days after
Edge defeated Cena at the New Year's Revolution PPV
to win the WWE title, Kurt Angle jumps to Smackdown
and wins a battle royal to claim the World
Heavyweight title in Philadelphia, PA.
January 24, 2006 - The television world is shocked
when WWE's TV partner for Smackdown, UPN, announces
plans to merge with Warner Brother's WB Network,
creating the new CW Network.
January 26,
2006 - Victor "Latin Lover" Resendiz, 38, announces
his retirement from pro wrestling to pursue other
interests in the entertainment field.
February 5, 2006 - Spike TV announces that TNA
Impact will move to Thursday nights @ 9PM ET (later
changed to 11PM) starting April 13. The first
Thursday night show posts a 1.1 rating.
February 16, 2006 - Mike "Johnny Grunge" Durham, 39,
of the Public Enemy fame, dies in the Atlanta, GA
area.
March 18, 2006 - NBC's "Saturday
Night's Main Event" returned to network television
with a prime time special from Detroit. In the main,
Shane McMahon defeated Shawn Michaels via Vince's
"screw job" ending.
April 2, 2006 -
Wrestlemania 22 is held at the All-State Arena in
Chicago before 17,155 fans, for a $2.5 million gate
.. IWA Puerto Rico owner and promoter Victor
Quiñones, 46, is found dead in his home.
April 20, 2006 - Vince McMahon makes the decision to
bring back ECW, five years after the promotion
folded, as a third brand.
May 2, 2006 - WWE
purchases the Ohio Valley Wrestling video library ..
Sammy "Steamboat" Mokuahi Jr., 71, passes away from
Alzheimer's Disease.
May 12, 2006 - Ultimo
Guerrero wins CMLL's Grand Pix Tournament in Mexico
City, Mexico.
May 17, 2006 - The newly
formed CW Network (a UPN/WB merger) announced
"Smackdown" would remain a two hour program on
Friday nights.
May 25, 2006 - WWE announces
a TV deal with the Sci-Fi Channel to debut ECW on
6/13 @ 10PM ET. The debut show scored a 2.79 cable
rating with a 4.0 share.
June 7, 2006 - John
"Earthquake" Tenta, 42, passes away following a long
battle with cancer.
June 18, 2006 - Minoru
defeated Tiger Mask, at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, to
win New Japan's annual Best of the Juniors
tournament.
June 23, 2006 - "Crazy" Luke
Graham (James Grady Johnson), 66, passes away.
July 16, 2006 - Bob Orton Sr., four days shy of
his 77th birthday, passes away from a series of
heart attacks.
July 24, 2006 - Stephanie
McMahon-Levesque gave birth to a 8 lbs. and 7 oz.,
baby Aurora Rose Levesque.
August 13, 2006 -
A fire breaks out at Universal Studios Soundstage
21, delaying the Hard Justice PPV for 40 minutes.
August 25, 2006 - WWE releases Kurt Angle
from his contract. At TNA's September 24th PPV No
Surrender, Angle signing with TNA turned out to be
the company's major announcement. In addition, TNA
announced "Impact" was moving to 9PM Eastern weekly
on Thursday nights on Spike TV.
October 5,
2006 - AAA owner/promoter Antonio Pena died from a
massive heart.
December 4, 2006 - The day
after the ECW December to Dismember PPV, WWE sent
Paul Heyman home.
December 16, 2006 - Don
"The Spoiler" Jardine, 66, passes away following a
four-year battle with leukemia.
January 1,
2007 - Kevin Federline pins WWE champion John Cena
on "Raw." The following week, WWE stages the "Rosie
O'Donnell vs. Donald Trump" match.
January
19, 2007 - Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow, 45, was found
dead in his Hudson, FL home. Bigelow died of an
accidental drug overdose.
January 26, 2007 -
Former Ring of Honor President Doug Gentry, 34,
passes away due to complications from a bacterial
infection in his heart.
February 15, 2007 -
Going head to head on a Thursday night, WWE's Raw
posts a 3.04 rating and 4.18 millions viewers while
TNA's Impact posts a 0.59 rating and 726,000
viewers.
February 17, 2007 - Former ECW
World champion Mike Awesome is found hanged in this
Tampa area home. He was 42 ... Takeshi Morishima
defeated Homicide in Philadelphia, PA to capture the
Ring of Honor heavyweight title.
March 6,
2007 - Bad News Brown, 63, died in his hometown of
Calgary at Rockyview Hospital, having been rushed to
the hospital after complaining of chest pains.
March 10, 2007 - Football and wrestling great
Ernie Ladd, 68, passes away after a four year battle
with cancer.
March 13, 2007 - Arnold
Skaaland, 82, passes away.
April 1, 2007 -
74,687 fans attend Wrestlemania 23 at Ford Field in
Detroit, MI for a $5,380,000. The show closes with
John Cena defeating Shawn Michaels, but the Donald
Trump-Vince McMahon battle of the billionaires hair
vs. hair match draws the most media attention.
April 18, 2007, WWE dissolves its relationship
with Jody Hamilton’s Deep South Wrestling as a
developmental territory.
April 27, 2007 -
Memphis Championship Wrestling runs a show at the
Fed Ex Ed Forum headlined by Hulk Hogan vs. Paul
"Big Show" Wight. The show draws 2,200 paid.
May 7, 2007 - Sonny Myers, 83, passes away.
June 25, 2007 - Chris Benoit, 40, his wife
Nancy, 43, and their 7-year-old son Daniel are found
dead in their Fayetteville, GA home. It is believed
Benoit killed his wife on June 22nd, his son on June
23rd, and hung himself on June 24th.
July 8,
2007 - Dos Caras Jr. defeated Universo 2000 at Arena
Coliseo to capture the CMLL Heavyweight title.
July 18, 2007 - Former ECW star John Kronus, 38,
passes away.
August 13, 2007 - Brian Adams,
44, is found dead in his Tampa area home. Adams was
best known as Demolition Crush in the WWF.
November 2, 2007 - The Fabulous Moolah, 84, passed
away in Columbia, SC.
December 2, 2007 -
After a 18-month battle with cancer, Kenta Kobashi
made his return to the ring at Pro Wrestling NOAH's
Budokan Hall show.
December 8, 2007 - Nuevo
Empressa de Lucha Libre (NELL) debuts before 12,700
fans at El Toreo in Naucalpan.
February 17,
2008 - Shinsuke Nakaruma unified the two versions of
the IWGP heavyweight title, beating Kurt Angle at
the Sumo Hall in Tokyo before 7,000 fans.
February 26, 2008 - After CW dropped Friday Night
Smackdown, WWE announced a new TV deal with
MyNetwork TV.
March 16, 2008 - Wrestling
manager, Gary Hart (real name Gary Richard
Williams), 66, passed away from heart disease.
May 12, 2008 - Penny Banner (born Mary Ann
Kostecki), 73, passed away in Mint Hill, NC, after a
two-and-a-half year battle with cancer.
June
23 & 25, 2008 - WWE Draft Lottery and Supplemental
Draft results:
DRAFTED TO RAW Rey
Mysterio CM Punk Batista Kane Michael
Cole Kofi Kingston Layla Matt Striker
Chuck Palumbo Deuce Jamie Noble
DRAFTED TO SMACKDOWN Jeff Hardy Umaga
Jim Ross Mr. Kennedy Triple H Carlito
Shelton Benjamin Maria Brian Kendrick
DH Smith Big Daddy V Trevor Murdoch
DRAFTED TO ECW Matt Hardy Finlay
Super Crazy Hornswaggle Mark Henry
August 30, 2008 - Walter "Killer" Kowalski, 81,
passed away.
September 19, 2008 - Villano V
defeated Blue Panther by reversing out of a Fujiwara
armbar into a cradle to win the mask vs. mask main
event on the CMLL 75th anniversary show at Arena
Mexico before a sellout crowd of 17,100 fans.
October 25, 2008 - In a move that caught
virtually everyone by surprise, Ring of Honor owner
Cary Silkin fired booker Gabe Sapolsky after show in
Edison, NJ, and replaced him with Adam Pearce.
October 26, 2008 - S.D. Jones (Conrad Efraim)
passed away at his home in Antigua at the age of 63,
two days after suffering a stroke.
January
9, 2010 - Tony Halme, who wrestled for WWE under the
name of Ludwig Borga, passed away at the age of 46.
Halme had several issues over the past years and in
March of 2006 was admitted to a mental hospital
following several bouts with alcohol related
problems. He was also suffering from short term
memory. Halme wrestled for New Japan between 1990
and 1993 and then went on to wrestle for the then
WWF between mid 1993 and beginning of 1994, ending
Tatanka's two year undefeated streak. He left the
company in February 1994 after an injury. In 2003 in
his homeland of Finland, he entered the political
world and the populist party of True Finns took him
as an independent candidate. He was elected to the
parliament with the 7th highest vote in the Helsinki
parliamentary district. Halme was also a boxer
holding a record of 13 wins and 6 losses and an MMA
record of 0 wins and 1 loss to the UFC's Randy
Couture.
February 1, 2010 - WWE Hall of
Famer Jack Brisco passed away at the age of 68. He
had been in poor health for some time although his
family had asked for his ailments to be kept
private. He died due to complications from heart
surgery that he underwent two week's ago.
