This Day In Wrestling History – December 13th

1988 – AWA SuperClash III is held in Chicago in front of 1,672 fans.  This was the only SuperClash event to air on pay-per-view.  Jeff Jarrett defeats Eric Embry, to win the WCWA World Light Heavyweight Championship.  In a Title-Unification Match, AWA World Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler defeats WCWA World Heavyweight Champion Kerry Von Erich, to unify both titles.  This title unification results in the creation of the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) Unified World Heavyweight Championship.

1989 – Starrcade ’89 is held in Atlanta in front of 10,000 fans (reported as 6,000 in other databases).  No titles were on the line.  Sting wins the Iron Man Tournament over Lex Luger, Ric Flair, and The Great Muta.  The Road Warriors win the Iron Team Tournament over The Steiner Brothers, The New Wild Samoans, and Doom.

1989 – On WWF Superstars, The Colossal Connection (Andre the Giant and Haku) defeat Demolition (Ax and Smash), to win the WWF Tag Team Championship.

1993 – The WWF Women’s Championship is reactivated, on a taping of All American Wrestling. The title had been deactivated on February 21, 1990.  Alundra Blayze defeats Heidi Lee Morgan, in a tournament final, to become the new Women’s Champion.  The match would air on TV December 26, 1993.

1998 – WWF Rock Bottom: In Your House is held in Vancouver in front of 20,042 fans.  Mankind becomes the new WWF Champion, after defeating The Rock via knockout.  Stone Cold Steve Austin wins a Buried Alive Match against The Undertaker, to earn the right to compete in the 1999 Royal Rumble Match.

1999 – In the Monday Night Wars, WWF Raw Is War (6.1 TV rating) beats WCW Monday Nitro (2.8 rating).  On Nitro, The Outsiders (Scott Hall and Kevin Nash) become the new WCW World Tag Team Champions after defeating Bill Goldberg and Bret Hart.  It’s the 6th time The Outsiders win the Tag Titles.

Over on RAW, the McMahon-Helmsley Era officially begins;  one night earlier at the Armageddon pay-per-view, after Triple H defeated Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred Match, Stephanie McMahon turned heel and hugged Triple H in the middle of the ring.  This was after Stephanie was to marry Test a few weeks earlier, only to be drugged and married by Triple H in Las Vegas.  The Vegas wedding is revealed to have been a setup, as Stephanie addresses Vince on RAW.  After the encounter, Vince leaves the arena and disappears from TV until March 2000.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9f_0iFsbvg

In the main event, Stephanie arranges a match for the WWF Tag Team Championship between champions The New Age Outlaws, and the team of Triple H and Test.  This proves to be a setup as well;  Triple H would turn on Test and attack him, and soon Stephanie, Road Dogg, and Billy Gunn would join in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt5D-iYNb8o

2008 – On this evening’s OVW TV, Totally Awesome (Sucio and Kamikaze Kid) defeat Scott Cardinal and Dirty Money, to win the Ohio Valley Wrestling Southern Tag Team Championship.

2008 – At a WWE house show in Hamilton, Ontario, John Morrison and The Miz win the World Tag Team Championship for the first time, defeating CM Punk and Kofi Kingston.

2009 – WWE’s inaugural TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs pay-per-view is held in San Antonio, Texas in front of 15,226 fans.  Drew McIntyre becomes the new Intercontinental Champion after defeating John Morrison.  D-Generation X (Shawn Michaels and Triple H) become the new Tag Team Champions after defeating Jeri-Show (Chris Jericho and Big Show), in a Tables, Ladders, & Chairs Match.  The biggest surprise is Sheamus defeating John Cena, in Tables Match, to become the new WWE Champion.

2009 – On this evening’s FCW TV, The Dude Busters (Caylen Croft and Curt Hawkins) defeat The Rotundos, to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship.

2010 – The annual WWE Slammy Awards are held on this evening’s episode of RAW.

-John Cena won Superstar of the Year.
-The debut of The Nexus won Shocker of the Year.
-Michelle McCool won Diva of the Year, which was determined by a Divas Battle Royal.
-The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels, in what was Michaels’ final wrestling match, won WWE Moment of the Year.
-Edge destroying the RAW GM’s computer won “Oh Snap” Meltdown of the Year. (Video is below)
–Layla & Michelle McCool losing to Mae Young won Knucklehead Moment of the Year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odAp8kifzfY

2014 – At Combat Zone Wrestling’s Cage of Death 16, BLK Jeez becomes the new CZW World Heavyweight Champion, after winning a 4-way Elimination Cage of Death Match.  The other participants were Biff Busick, Drew Gulak, and previous CZW Heavyweight Champion Sozio.  At the same event, Joe Gacy defeats Shane Strickland, to win the CZW Wired Television Championship.

2015 – WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders, & Chairs is held in Boston in front of 14,903 fans.  Dean Ambrose defeats Kevin Owens, to become the new Intercontinental Champion.  The New Day win a Triple Threat Ladder Match, to retain the Tag Team Championship.  Alberto Del Rio retains the United States Championship, after defeating Jack Swagger in a Chairs Match.  And Sheamus retains the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, after defeating Roman Reigns in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: Indy wrestler Missy Sampson (38 years old);  former ROH World Champion Michael Elgin (30 years old);  and 2-time NWA World Welterweight Champion Fuerza Guerrera (63 years old).

Today would’ve been the 64th birthday for WWE Hall of Fame 2004 Inductee The Junkyard Dog.  Today would’ve been the 33rd birthday for indy wrestler Kris Travis;  Kris passed away earlier this year after battling stomach cancer.  Today would’ve been the 47th birthday for former WCW wrestler Emory Hale.

SOURCES: wrestlingdata.com, Gerweck Archives, The Internet Wrestling Database