This Day In Wrestling History – February 25th
Happy birthday to The Nature Boy!
1963 – Bull Curry defeats Rock Hunter, to win the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Championship.
1990 – NWA / WCW WrestleWar ’90: Wild Thing is held in Greensboro, NC in front of 7,894 fans. In a tag team match, Kevin Sullivan & Buzz Sawyer defeat The Dynamic Dudes (Shane Douglas & Johnny Ace); this marks the final time that Douglas and Ace worked together ever again. In the main event, Ric Flair defeats Lex Luger, via countout, to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Luger replaced Sting in this match, as Sting suffered an injury a few weeks earlier at Clash of the Champions X: Texas Shootout.
1992 – Stevie Richards makes his professional wrestling debut, competing in the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance in New Jersey. His first match, against his trainer Jimmy Jannetty, ends in a 20-minute time limit draw.
1995 – At ECW’s Return of the Funker supercard event, The Triple Threat (Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko) defeat Sabu & Tazmaniac, to win the ECW World Tag Team Championship. This event marked Terry Funk’s return to ECW after a five-month absence.
1995 – In the United States Wrestling Association, Bill Dundee defeats Jerry Lawler, to win the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship.
2001 – WWF No Way Out is held in Las Vegas in front of 15,223 fans. With the 24/7 Rule in effect the Hardcore Championship changes hands three times; Raven (the champion) gets pinned by Billy Gunn, Gunn would later get pinned by Raven. Big Show chokeslams Raven onto a trash can, to get the pin and become new Hardcore Champion. In a Three Stages of Hell Match, Triple H defeats Stone Cold Steve Austin 2 falls to one; Austin wins the first fall (traditional singles match), but Triple H wins the next two falls (a Street Fight & a Steel Cage Match). In the main event, The Rock defeats Kurt Angle, to win the WWF Championship for the 6th time.
2008 – On this evening’s RAW, it is announced that Rocky Johnson and “High Chief” Peter Maivia would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. They’ll be inducted by The Rock (Johnson’s son & Maivia’s grandson). Peter Maivia’s induction is posthumous, as he passed away in 1982.
2012 – In a 3-on-2 Handicap Match on OVW TV, the team of Jesse Godderz, Rudy Switchblade, & Rob Terry defeat Jason Wayne & Shiloh Jonze, to become the new OVW Southern Tag Team Champions. Wayne subbed for Johnny Spade. Godderz, Switchblade, & Terry would defend the titles under the “Family Rule” (similar to the “Freebird Rule”).
2012 – In Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling, Cole Bishop wins the ECCW Pacific Cup AND the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship, after defeating Artemis Spencer. Spencer had been forced to put the title on the line in each of his Pacific Cup tournament matches, and had successfully defended it three times earlier in the tournament, before Bishop defeated him.
2013 – On this evening’s Monday Night RAW, President Donald Trump is announced as the celebrity inductee, for the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2013. Also, John Cena defeats CM Punk, for the right to face WWE Champion The Rock, at WrestleMania 29.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: former WWE RAW guest host (and current Entertainment Tonight co-anchor) Nancy O’Dell (51 years old); 2-time ECW World Tag Team Champion Doug “Super Destroyer #2” Stahl (54 years old); former ECW (WWE brand) wrestler DJ Gabriel (34 years old); 2009 WWE Diva of the Year & former TNA Knockouts Champion Maria Kanellis-Bennett (35 years old); and 2-time WWE Hall of Fame Inductee Ric Flair (68 years old).
Today would’ve been the 46th birthday for 3-time WCW World Tag Team Champion Sean O’Haire.
SOURCES: WrestleWar 1990 on Wikipedia, wrestlingdata.com, gerweck.net, WrestleView
