This Day In Wrestling History – April 11th
Happy birthday to Goldust! (Photo credit: World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.)
1963 – In Washington, D.C., Buddy Rogers is officially presented the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship, after his having won a fictitious tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
1976 – Dr. Wagner defeats Alfonso Dantes, to win the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship.
1977 – Jerry Lawler defeats Rocky Johnson, to win the NWA Mid-Southern Heavyweight Championship.
1981 – Jay Youngblood defeats Buddy Rose, to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship.
1982 – King Kong Bundy & Bugsy McGraw defeat Kerry Von Erich & Al Madril, to win the WCCW American Tag Team Championship.
1987 – The Super Powers (Nikita Koloff & Dusty Rhodes) win the Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament, defeating Lex Luger & Tully Blanchard in the final.
1995 – Eddie Guerrero defeats 2 Cold Scorpio, to win the ECW World Television Championship.
1995 – In Dallas, the NWA holds an 8-team tournament, to crown new World Tag Team Champions. The titles had been vacant since September 1993, since Arn Anderson & Paul Roma were stripped of the titles, after WCW withdrew from the NWA.
First round:
– The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Robert Gibson & Ricky Morton) defeat The Interns
– Chavo & Hector Guerrero defeat Black Bart & The Scorpion.
– Al Perez & Greg Valentine defeat Killer Tim Brooks & Hercules.
– Dick Murdoch & Randy Rhodes defeat Sam Houston & The Masked Marvel.
Semifinals:
– The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express defeat Chavo & Hector Guerrero.
– Dick Murdoch & Randy Rhodes defeat Al Perez & Greg Valentine.
Finals:
– The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express defeat Dick Murdoch & Randy Rhodes, to win the vacant NWA World Tag Team Championship.
1997 – During a WWF overseas tour, Big Van Vader is detained in Kuwait after assaulting Bossam Al Otham, host of Good Morning Kuwait. Otham was attacked after asking Vader if pro wrestling was fake.
1999 – WCW’s Spring Stampede is held in Tacoma, Washington in front of 17,690 fans.
– Juventud Guerrera defeats Blitzkrieg.
– Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Hak (with Chasity), in a Hardcore Match.
– Scotty Riggs defeats Mikey Whipwreck.
– Konnan defeats Disco Inferno.
– Rey Mysterio, Jr. defeats Billy Kidman, to retain the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.
– Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko (with Arn Anderson) defeat Raven & Perry Saturn.
– Scott Steiner defeats Booker T, in the finals of a tournament, to win the vacant WCW United States Championship.
– Goldberg defeats Kevin Nash (with Lex Luger & Miss Elizabeth).
– In a Four Corners Match, Diamond Dallas Page defeats Hollywood Hogan, Sting, and Ric Flair, to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Randy Savage served as special guest referee.
2001 – A week after the company ceases operations, all ECW championships are deactivated.
2001 – Genichiro Tenryu defeats Taiyo Kea, to win the AJPW Champion Carnival tournament.
2010 – Minoru Suzuki wins the AJPW Champion Carnival tournament for the second time; Suzuki defeats Masakatsu Funaki in the finals of the tournament.
2010 – At SHIMMER 31, Madison Eagles defeats MsChif, to win the SHIMMER Championship.
2011 – After recently feeling numbness and trembling in his arms & hands, and being told he would never be medically cleared to compete again, Edge announces his retirement on this evening’s Monday Night RAW. Eight years earlier, Edge had surgery after suffering a broken neck, and had been wrestling on “borrowed time,” according to doctors. Edge retires as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He would officially vacate the championship on the April 15th SmackDown.
Also on RAW, Brie Bella defeats Eve Torres, to win the WWE Divas Championship.
2013 – On this evening’s live Impact Wrestling, Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez defeat Austin Aries & Bobby Roode, to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship (Two-out-of-Three Falls Match).
2015 – Mike Bailey defeats Jonathan Gresham, to win Combat Zone Wrestling’s Best of the Best tournament.
2015 – At SHIMMER 72, The Kimber Bombs (Kimber Lee & Cherry Bomb) defeat Kellie Skater & Tomoka Nakagawa, to win the SHIMMER Tag Team Championship.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: WWE Hall of Famer Harley Race (74 years old); 9-time WWF Hardcore Champion, 3-time Intercontinental Champion, & 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion Goldust (48 years old); 2-time CWF Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champion Xsiris (33 years old); and former WCW Nitro Girl Fyre (45 years old).
Today would’ve been the 45th birthday for 3-time ECW World Tag Team Champion Balls Mahoney.
SOURCES: SLAM! Sports, The Internet Wrestling Database, wrestlingdata.com, gerweck.net
