This Day In Wrestling History – May 10th
Happy birthday to William Regal!
1946 – Buddy Rogers defeats Lou Thesz, to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship.
1968 – The Big O defeats Mr. Wrestling (Tim Woods), to win the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship.
1980 – Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood defeat Ray Stevens & Greg Valentine, to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship.
1981 – Verne Gagne announces his retirement from pro wrestling, while still holding the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. Gagne vacates the title (it was his 9th or 10th reign, depending on what records you use), and it would later be awarded to #1 contender Nick Bockwinkel, on May 19, 1980.
1985 – WWF’s first edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event is held in Long Island, New York. It would be televised the next night on NBC, in the late-night time slot usually occupied by Saturday Night Live.
1999 – On this evening’s RAW IS WAR, Debra defeats Sable, in an Evening Gown Match, to win the WWF Women’s Championship. Even though it was Debra whom actually lost her dress, she is awarded the victory (and the title) by Commissioner Shawn Michaels. With an 8.1 TV rating, this is the highest-rated RAW in history; WCW Nitro was preempted on this night (I’m guessing it was due to NBA playoff coverage).
1999 – Atlantis defeats Dr. Wagner, Jr., to win the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship.
2001 – After NBC and the WWF each lose a reported $35 million, Vince McMahon announces the closure of the XFL.
2005 – The Amazing Red receives a tryout with WWE, taking on CM Punk in a dark match prior to a SmackDown taping. Red wasn’t signed but would find his niche nationally in TNA’s X Division soon enough. The same taping featured future ROH star Jimmy Jacobs wrestling Eddie Guerrero; the match was part of the televised card, and Jacobs would win via disqualification.
2008 – Sabian defeats Chuck Taylor, to win the annual Combat Zone Wrestling Best of the Best Tournament.
2010 – Flavor Flav guest hosts this evening’s WWE RAW.
2014 – Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling holds their Global Wars pay-per-view event, from Ted Reeve Arena, in Toronto, in front of 1,500 fans. The event was originally billed as Border Wars, as it had been in 2012 and 2013. With the exception of one inter-promotional match, wrestlers from NJPW & ROH were kept separated from each other, with the bookers from each promotion handling their own half of the show.
Pre-Show:
– TaDarius Thomas (with Jimmy Jacobs) defeats The Romantic Touch.
PPV:
– Michael Bennett (with Maria Kanellis) defeats ACH.
– Michael Elgin defeats Takaaki Watanabe.
– In a Three-Way Tag Team Match, The Briscoe Brothers (Jay & Mark Briscoe) defeat The Decade (Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer), and reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish).
– Cedric Alexander defeats Roderick Strong (The Decade was banned from ringside).
– In a Three-Way Tag Team Match, The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) defeat The Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero), and Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & Kushida), to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
– Jushin Thunder Liger & Hiroshi Tanahashi defeat CHAOS (Jado & Shinsuke Nakamura).
– In a Four-Corner Survival Match, Jay Lethal (with Truth Martini) defeats Silas Young, Matt Taven, and Tommaso Ciampa, to retain the ROH World Television Championship.
– Bullet Club (AJ Styles & Karl Anderson) defeat CHAOS (Gedo & Kazuchika Okada).
– Adam Cole defeats Kevin Steen, to retain the ROH World Championship.
2014 – At CZW Proving Grounds, Biff Busick defeats Drew Gulak, to win the CZW World Heavyweight Championship.
2014 – At WSU’s Queen & King Tournament, LuFisto defeats Athena, to win the vacant WSU Championship (Two-out-of-Three Falls Match). Also, Mickie Knuckles & Matt Tremont defeat Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan, to win the Queen & King Tournament.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: Former GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Makato Hashi (40 years old); WWE Hall of Famer Tito Santana (64 years old); and 4-time WWF/E European Champion, 2-time Intercontinental Champion, & current NXT General Manager William Regal (49 years old).
