This Day In Wrestling History – March 6th

Trivia

2000 – The Monday Night War continued: WWF Raw defeated WCW Nitro: 6.4 to 2.7 in the ratings

2008 – TNA announced that Judas Mesias would be leaving the company once he finished his booking commitments

2008 – Ken “Mr. Kennedy” Anderson booked a lead role in the WWE Studios film “Behind Enemy Lines – Colombia”, which was released direct to DVD

Events

In 2000, The 233rd WCW Monday Nitro was live from the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina:

– Kaz Hayashi defeated Psychosis (with Juventud Guerrera)
– Big Ron (with Heavy D) defeated Big Vito (with Disco Inferno & Johnny the Bull)
– David Flair (with Daffney) defeated The Wall via DQ
– The Dog (with Fit Finlay & Brian Knobbs) defeated Evan Karagias (with Shane Helms & Shannon Moore)
– Curt Hennig defeated Ric Flair
– Norman Smiley defeated Lenny Lane (with Lodi)
– Stevie Ray (with J. Biggs) defeated Billy Kidman (with Torrie Wilson)
– Jeff Jarrett & The Wall defeated Vampiro & Sid Vicious

The 354th edition of WWF RAW is WAR was also live, at the Civic Center in Springfield, Massachusetts:

Jakked:
– The Godfather defeated Mideon
– Tazz & Test vs. Prince Albert & The Big Bossman ended in a double countout
– WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Essa Rios (with Lita) defeated D’Lo Brown
– Funaki defeated Thrasher (with Mosh)
RAW:
– Big Show (with Shane McMahon) defeated Kane (with Paul Bearer) via DQ after The Rock interfered
– Mark Henry (with Mae Young) defeated WWF Tag Team Champion D-Von Dudley (with WWF Tag Team Champion Bubba Ray Dudley). After the match, Mae was superbombed through a table
– Road Dogg & X-Pac (with Tori) defeated Too Cool (Grandmaster Sexay & Scotty 2 Hotty) via DQ
– Chris Jericho defeated WWF European & Intercontinental Champion Kurt Angle via DQ, after Bob Backlund interfered. Angle retained his Intercontinental Title
– Rikishi defeated WWF Champion Triple H (with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) via DQ
– Steve Blackman (with Al Snow) defeated Matt Hardy (with Jeff Hardy)
– Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn (with Eddie Guerrero) defeated Edge & Christian
– WWF Hardcore Champion Crash Holly defeated Viscera to retain the title, after Faarooq hit Viscera with his chair because the match broke up the A.P.A.’s poker game
– The Rock defeated Chris Benoit in a Steel Cage match

In 2004, CZW held “Overdrive” at Viking Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

– DJ Hyde vs. Gutter vs. Merc ended in a no-contest
– Jon Dahmer defeated GQ & Jude in a three-way Ladder match
– Rockin’ Rebel defeated Rob Hartog in an Arm Wrestling match
– All Money is Legal (K-Kash & K-Murder) defeated CKNY (Cory Kastle & Niles Young) and Nick Berk & Z-Barr in a three-way match to earn an immediate Tag Team Title match
– CZW World Tag Team Champions The Rebel’s Army (Greg Matthews & Rockin’ Rebel) defeated All Money is Legal (K-Kash & K-Murder) to retain the title
– Gran Akuma, Icarus & Mike Quackenbush defeated Hallowicked & The Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston & Jack Marciano).
– The BLKOUT (Joker, Ruckus & Sabian) defeated Chris Ca$h, CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion Sonjay Dutt and Jimmy Jacobs in a Tables match
– Nick Gage defeated Roderick Strong in a CZW Xtreme Strong Style Tournament match
– Jack Evans and Petey Williams defeated Teddy Hart in a three-way match
– B-Boy defeated Adam Flash
– The Messiah defeated CZW World Heavyweight Champion John Zandig in a Taipei Bed of Nails Deathmatch to win the title

Title Changes

1939 – Jesse James defeated Danny McShain by disqualification in the third of three falls to become recognized as World Light Heavyweight Champion by the California State Athletic Commission, however the National Wrestling Association retained its recognition of McShain in Hollywood, California

1951 – Al Mills defeated Sky-Hi Lee to win the Calgary NWA Canadian Heavyweight Title in Edmonton, Alberta

1953 – Bull Curry defeated Danny McShain to become the 1st Texas Brass Knuckles Champion

1959 – Angelo Savoldi defeated Ivan the Terrible to win the NWA Junior Heavyweight Title

1970 – Fred Blassie defeated Rocky Johnson to win the NWA Americas Heavyweight Title in Los Angeles, California

1971 – Irma Asebedo & Masked Killer defeated Miyoko Hoshino & Jumbo Miyamoto to win the American Girls’ Wrestling Association International Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan

1979 – Jerry & Johnny Valiant defeated Tony Garea & Larry Zbyszko to win the WWWF Tag Team Titles

1986 – The Long Riders (Bill & Scott Irwin) defeated Alofa (Rikishi) & Dan Kroffat to win the International Wrestling International Tag Team Title in Sudbury, Ontario. The title had been vacated in January when then-champions Jacques & Raymond Rougeau left for the WWF.

1987 – Mike Miller & Rip Oliver defeated Coco Samoa & Ricky Santana to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title in Portland, Oregon

1988 – Kerry von Erich defeated Al Perez to win the WCCW World Heavyweight Title

1989 – Gary Young defeated Brickhouse Brown to win the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title

1990 – The Miracle Violence Connection (Terry Gordy & Steve Williams) defeated Stan Hansen & Genichiro Tenryu to win the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Titles

1991 – Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki defeated Hiro Saito & Super Strong Machine to win the IWGP Tag Team Titles

1994 – The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge & Rocco Rock) defeated Kevin Sullivan & The Tazmaniac to win the ECW Tag Team Titles

1994 – Danny Collins defeated Mal Sanders to win the European Middleweight Title in Hove, England

1995 – Killer Kyle defeated Boo Bradley to win the vacant SMW Television Title

1996 – Lex Luger defeated Johnny B Badd to win the WCW Television Title

1997 – Kid Dynamo (Shannon Moore) defeated Will O’ the Wisp (Jeff Hardy) to win the National Championship Wrestling Light Heavyweight Title in Asheville, North Carolina. NCW merged with NWA Georgia in 1998 to create NWA Wildside

1999 – Vader defeated Akira Taue to win the vacant AJPW Triple Crown Title

2001 – El Samurai & Jushin Liger defeated Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles

2003 – Chris Sabin defeated Frankie Kazarian & Jerry Lynn in a 3-way match to win the vacant Border City Wrestling Television Title. At the same show, D’Lo Brown defeats Johnny Swinger for the BCW Can-Am Heavyweight Title in Oldcastle, Ontario

2011 – Colt Cabana defeated Adam Pearce to win the NWA World Title

Birthdays

Happy birthday to former WCW United States and Tag Team Champion David Flair (36), 2-time WWF Intercontinental Champion Sean ‘Val Venis’ Morley (44), 2-time TNA World Champion Mr. Anderson (39), former WWE wrestler Chad Wicks (37), current WWE superstar Santino Marella (41), & one-time World Class Television Champion Killer Khan (68)

Also, today would have been the birthday of 2-time World Heavyweight Champion Gus Sonnenberg (117)

In Memoriam

On this day in 2004, Ray Fernandez, better known as Hercules Hernandez, dies in his sleep at his home in Tampa, Florida due to heart disease. Fernandez made his debut in the early 1980s in Florida & Texas before moving to Central States & later to Jim Crockett Promotions, where he was known as The Masked Assassin II. After this, he moved to Mid-South Wrestling where he was the first of many to be known as Mr. Wrestling III, before moving back to Florida. He got his first national exposure in 1985 when Hercules dropped his last name in the WWF, where he was until 1992. Fernandez was 46 years old

Secondly on this day in 2007, Allen Coage, better known to fans as Bad News Allen and Bad News Brown, dies at Rockyview Hospital in Calgary, Alberta of a heart attack. Coage was 63 years old. He was trained by two of the all-time greats, Antonio Inoki and Stu Hart, and wrestled for many years in Hart’s Stampede Wrestling before moving on to the WWF in 1988, where he remained until 1990. After leaving the WWF, Coage worked in many independent promotions, as well as in Nobuhiko Takada’s UWF International until his 1998 retirement. Prior to his pro wrestling days, Coage was an accomplished heavyweight judoka, winning gold medals in the 1967 & 1975 Pan-American Games, as well as a bronze in the 1976 Olympics, & is the only American heavyweight, & 1 of only 8 Americans overall to earn an Olympic judo medal since it became an Olympic sport in 1964

Thirdly on this day in 2008, the wrestling world lost NWA Tag Team star Don Curtis at the age of 80. Curtis was introduced to wrestling by the legendary Lou Thesz, & after touring the world to hone his craft, began competing for Eddie Graham’s Florida territory. Here, he was paired with Mark Lewin for the first time, a now-famed partnership. By the early 60′s, Curtis had established himself as a tag team specialist, winning championships with 6 different partners, but finding most of his fame & success alongside Lewin. Curtis later took a promoting role, managing the Jacksonville Coliseum. He retired from wrestling in 1981, but continued with his role at the Coliseum for another few years before turning to real estate. He suffered a stroke on February 26 and was admitted to a hospice, which he wouldn’t leave. One year later, he was posthumously inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, along with Lewin, who accepted the honor on their behalf.