This Day In Wrestling History – April 5th

Happy birthday to Charlotte Flair!

1968 – The Spoiler defeats Fritz Von Erich, to win the NWA (Texas) United States Championship.

1978 – The Assassin & Ernie Ladd defeat Ray Candy & Steven Little Bear, to win the NWA (Tri-State) Tag Team Championship.

1982 – In their famous match at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Andy Kaufman defeats AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler via disqualification.  Lawler had hit Kaufman with a piledriver, which was a banned move.  After the match, Lawler gave Kaufman a second piledriver, and Kaufman gets wheeled out on a stretcher.

1986 – Riki Chosu defeats Stan Hansen, to win the AJPW/PWF Heavyweight Championship.

1992 – WrestleMania VIII is held at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, in front of 62,167 fans.  This is the second WrestleMania, where the main event was not a title match (WrestleMania I being the other).  Original plans were for Ric Flair to face Hulk Hogan, one-on-one, for the WWF Championship, but the plan was scrapped a month earlier.  Flair and Hogan would eventually have their dream matchup……at Bash at the Beach in July 1994, for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

Dark Match:
– The Bushwhackers (Butch & Luke) defeat The Beverly Brothers (Beau & Blake).
PPV:
– Shawn Michaels (with Sensational Sherri) defeats Tito Santana.
– The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeats Jake Roberts.
– Bret Hart defeats Roddy Piper, to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship.
– In an eight-man tag team match, the team of The Big Bossman, Virgil, Jim Duggan, & Sgt. Slaughter defeated The Repo Man, The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerrys Sags), & The Mountie.
– Randy Savage defeats Ric Flair (with Mr. Perfect) to win the WWF Championship.  Miss Elizabeth was not at ringside with Macho Man, as she was kept away from ringside by backstage officials (one of which was a 22-year old Shane McMahon).
– Tatanka defeats Rick Martel.
– In a match for the WWF Tag Team Championship, The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon) defeat champions Money Inc (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R Schyster) (with Jimmy Hart), via countout.  Money Inc. retain the tag team titles.
– Owen Hart defeats Skinner.
– Hulk Hogan defeats Sid Justice (with Harvey Wippleman) via disqualification.  Sid was disqualified when Wippleman interfered.  The original plan was for Papa Shango to run in and cause the disqualification.  However, Shango missed his mark, allowing Sid to kick out of a Hogan leg drop.

1996 – Jerry Lawler defeats Bill Dundee, to win the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship.  It’s the 23rd time Lawler has won the title.

1999 – In the Monday Night Wars, WWF RAW IS WAR (5.8 TV rating) beats WCW Monday Nitro (4.3 rating).  On RAW, Kane & X-Pac defeat Jeff Jarrett & Owen Hart, to win the WWF Tag Team Championship.

2001 – On this evening’s SmackDown, Vince McMahon announces he has indefinitely suspended The Rock “in the interest of fairness,” to prevent The Rock from being destroyed by Triple H and Stone Cold Steve Austin every night.  The suspension comes at a good time for The Rock;  he goes off to begin filming The Scorpion King.  Later in the show, Jim Ross interviews Stone Cold in the middle of the ring, and things get ugly between the two (2-part video below).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_FNVVoH7B4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s_1xrUUST4

In the evening’s main event, Triple H (with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) defeats Chris Jericho, to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship.

2002 – Yuji Nagata defeats Tadao Yasuda, to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

2009 – WrestleMania XXV is held at Reliant Stadium in Houston, in front of 72,774 fans.

Dark Match:
–In a Title Unification Lumberjack Match, The Colons (Carlito & Primo) defeat John Morrison & The Miz, to unify the World Tag Team Championship AND the WWE Tag Team Championship.
PPV:
– CM Punk wins the Money In The Bank Ladder Match for the consecutive year;  Punk defeats MVP, Mark Henry,  Finlay, Kofi Kingston, Kane, Christian, and Shelton Benjamin.
– Santina Marella (Santino Marella in drag) becomes Miss WrestleMania by winning a 25-Diva Battle Royal (last eliminating Beth Phoenix).
– Chris Jericho defeats Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, and Ricky Steamboat (with Ric Flair) in a Handicap Elimination Match.
– Matt Hardy defeats Jeff Hardy, in an Extreme Rules Match.
– Rey Mysterio defeats John Bradshaw Layfield, to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship.  After the match, which lasted only 21 seconds, JBL grabs a microphone and proclaimed, “I Quit.”  He would officially retire the next day.
– The Undertaker defeats Shawn Michaels, to go to 17-0 at WrestleMania.
– In a Triple Threat Match, John Cena defeats Edge and The Big Show, to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
– Triple H defeats Randy Orton, to retain the WWE Championship.

2010 – In the Monday Night Wars between WWE and TNA, RAW (3.2 TV rating) beats Impact! (0.9 rating).  The Impact! episode, airing an hour earlier than RAW, received a 33% gain in viewership from the March 29th episode.  With the increase in viewership, TNA opts to continue airing the show at 8pm ET.  As for in-ring action, tag team champion Matt Morgan injures his own tag team partner, Hernandez.  Morgan declares himself the sole tag team champion, as Hernandez is out of action indefinitely.  In a Lockbox 8-Knockout Tag Team Elimination Match, Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Daffney, and Tara each win a key to one of four lockboxes.  Angelina’s key unlocks a box containing the Knockouts Championship, making her a 3-time champion.

Over on RAW (guest-hosted by NXT’s David Otunga), Ted DiBiase, Sr. revives the Million Dollar Championship and gives it to his son, Ted Jr.  It had been 14 years since the Million Dollar Championship had been used;  The Ringmaster was the last wrestler to hold it, from December 1995 – May 1996.

2013 – At Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor VII, Jay Briscoe defeats Kevin Steen, to become the new ROH World Champion.  Elsewhere, at CZW @ WrestleCon, The BLKOUT (BLK Jeez & Ruckus) defeat The Catalyst (Dustin Rayz & Eric Ryan), to win the CZW World Tag Team Championship.

2014 – The annual WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony is held at the Smoothie King Center, in New Orleans.  The Class of 2014 is listed below.

– Lita (inducted by Trish Stratus)
– Mr. T (inducted by his son along with Gene Okerlund)
– Paul Bearer (inducted by his 2 sons along with Kane)
– Carlos Colon (inducted by his son Carlito & Primo, and his nephew Epico)
– Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) (inducted by Kevin Nash)
– Jake Roberts (inducted by Diamond Dallas Page)
– The Ultimate Warrior (inducted by Linda McMahon)

2015 – The Kingdom (Matt Tavern & Michael Bennett) defeat The Bullet Club (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson), to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship.  Also, Trent Baretta  & Rocky Romero defeat The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

2016 – Atsushi Kotege & Daisuke Harada defeat Hajime Ohara & Kenoh, to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: 4-time RAW Women’s Champion & former NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair (31 years old);  and WWE Hall of Famers Diamond Dallas Page (61 years old) & Sika Anoa’i (72 years old).