This Day In Wrestling History – May 9th

Trivia

1971 – Future 6-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tatsumi Fujinami made his pro debut for the Japan Wrestling Association

1975 – PWF Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba & WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino faced off in Tokyo, Japan with both titles on the line, with the match ending in a no-contest. It was the 1st WWWF title match ever held in Japan

1980 – Hulk Hogan defeated Gorilla Monsoon at a WWF house show in Glens Falls, NY

Events

In 1987, The Eddie Graham Memorial was held at The Bayfront Center, St. Petersburg, FL:

– Jimmy Valiant defeated Colt Steele
– Bob & Brad Armstrong defeated the MOD Squad
– Mike Graham defeated Dory Funk Jr.
– Florida Heavyweight Champion Mike Rotundo defeated Kevin Sullivan
– Jimmy Garvin defeated Teijo Khan
– NWA Florida Tag Team Champions Steve Keirn & Stan Lane defeated the MOD Squad
– Barry Windham & Ed Gantner defeated Dory Funk Jr. & the Tahitian Prince
– The Road Warriors  fought NWA World Tag Team Champions Rick Rude & Manny Fernandez (w/ Paul Jones) to a double DQ
– Dusty Rhodes defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair via DQ

In 1993, Smokey Mountain Wrestling’s “Volunteer Slam II” was held at the Knoxville City Coliseum, in Knoxville, Tennessee with an attendance of 1,100:

– Robert Gibson defeated The Tazmaniac
– Killer Kyle defeated Robert Fuller via DQ
– Brian Lee defeated Stan Lane
– Kevin Sullivan defeated Jimmy Golden
– Tom Pritchard defeated Ricky Morton
– Tracy Smothers defeated “Dirty White Boy” Tony Anthony to retain the SMW Heavyweight Title in a Coward Waves The Flag Match
– Brian Lee, The Stud Stable (Jimmy Golden & Robert Fuller), & The Rock N Roll Express defeated Kevin Sullivan, Killer Kyle, The Tazmaniac, & The Heavenly Bodies (Stan Lane & Dr. Tom Pritchard) in a Rage In A Cage Match

In 1999, WCW Slamboree was held at the TWA Dome,  in St Louis, Missouri. With an attendance of 20,516:

Dark Match:
– Dale Torborg defeated Johnny Swinger
PPV:
– Raven & Saturn defeated Dean Malenko & Chris Benoit (with Arn Anderson), & The Filthy Animals (Rey Misterio Jr & Billy Kidman) in a Triangle Match to win the WCW World Tag Team Titles
– Konnan defeated Stevie Ray (with Vincent & Horace Hogan)
– Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Brian Knobbs in a Hardcore Match to become ‘King of Hardcore’
– Rick Steiner defeated Booker T to win the WCW Television Title
– Gorgeous George (with Miss Madness (Molly Holly), Randy Savage, & Madusa) defeated Charles Robinson. As a result, Randy Savage is reinstated to WCW
– Scott Steiner defeated Buff Bagwell to retain the WCW United States Title
– Roddy Piper defeated Ric Flair (with Arn Anderson & The Head Nurse) via DQ to gain control of WCW. Piper’s 1st act as boss was to fire Flair
– Sting fought Goldberg to a no-contest after Bret Hart attacked the referee
– Kevin Nash defeated Diamond Dallas Page to win the WCW World Title

In 2014, TNA Impact Wrestling’s One Night Only: Joker’s Wild II was aired on ppv. It had been taped at the National Indoor Arena, in Birmingham, England. On February 2nd, 2014.With an attendance of 3,000. The concept is 24 men are paired up into tag teams with random partners by way of lottery picks. The winning teams would advance onto the main event battle royal. Where the sole winner would receive $100,000:

– The British Invasion (Douglas Williams & Magnus) defeated Gunner & Chris Sabin
– Bad Bones & Samoa Joe defeated Christopher Daniels & Robbie E.
– Rockstar Spud & Bully Ray defeated Austin Aries & Mr. Anderson
– Ethan Carter III & Eric Young defeated Kazarian & Curry Man (Christopher Daniels)
– The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) defeated Beer Money Inc. (James Storm & Bobby Roode)
– Samuel Shaw & Abyss defeated Zema Ion & Jesse Godderz
– ODB, Madison Rayne, & Velvet Sky defeated Gail Kim, Lei’D Tapa, & Alpha Female in a 6-Knockout Elimination Tag Team Match
– Ethan Carter III defeated Abyss, Douglas Williams, Bad Bones, Bully Ray, Rockstar Spud, Magnus, Eric Young, The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards), Samuel Shaw, & Samoa Joe in a Joker’s Wild Gauntlet Battle Royal Match to win $100,000

Title Changes

1931 – Jim Deakin defeated Jack Haymon to win the Australian Middleweight title in Sydney, Australia

1951 – Buddy Rogers defeated Bobby Managoff to win the Montreal Athletic Commission’s World Heavyweight Title in Montreal, Quebec

1957 – Bob Geigel defeated Don Curtis to win the Amarillo NWA North American Heavyweight Title in Amarillo, Texas

1957 – Pat O’Connor & Whipper Billy Watson defeated Bill & Ed Miller to win the NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Title in Toronto, Ontario

1958 – El Medico defeated Pepper Gomez to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title in Houston, Texas

1967 – Gorgeous George Jr & Jack Brisco defeated The Assassins (1 & 2) to win the TSW United States Tag Team Titles

1972 – Boris Malenko & Bob Roop defeated Bobby Shane & Bearcat Wright to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in Tampa, Florida

1973 – Jerry Lawler & Jim White defeated Jackie Fargo & Jerry Jarrett to win the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Nashville, Tennessee

1983 – Dutch Mantel defeated Bill Dundee to win the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee

1988 – Jerry Lawler defeated Curt Hennig to win the AWA World Title

1994 – Brian Christopher defeated Doug Gilbert in a hair vs. title match to win the USWA Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee

2000 – on Smackdown, Crash Holly defeated The British Bulldog to win the WWF Hardcore Title

2006 – Jon Moxley defeated Pepper Parks to win the Heartland Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title in Cincinnati, Ohio

2012 – Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Title

Birthdays

Happy birthday to former WWE and current ROH announcer Kevin Kelly (47), indy regular Billy Fives (45), & 3-time CMLL Tag Team Champion and TNA World X Cup winner Averno (37)

Also, today would have been the birthday of former WWF/E talents Shawn Osbourne (37) and Mike ‘Bastion Booger’ Shaw (57)