This Day In Wrestling History – June 17th

1934 – Mario Nuez defeats Tony Canales, to become the inaugural holder of the Mexico National Welterweight Championship.

1964 – Pat Patterson & Tony Borne defeat Nick Bockwinkel & Buddy Mareno (Omar Atlas), to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship.

1965 – Bob Orton wins a tournament for the vacant NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship.  The title had been stripped from Tarzan Tyler in April.

1977 – In Sydney, Australia, Butcher Brannigan & Killer Karl Krupp defeat Larry O’Day & Ron Miller, to win the NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship.

1983 – WCCW’s Wrestling Star Wars ’83 is held at Reunion Arena in Dallas, in front of 21,000 fans.

– Genichiro Tenryu defeats Johnny Mantell.
– Vicki Carranza defeats Lola Gonzales, to win the Mexican National Women’s Championship.
– In a Six Man Tag Team Match, Al Madril, Jose Lothario, & Sal Lothario defeat Fishman, Bill Irwin, & The Mongol.  Some records actually indicate that Chavo Guerrero teamed with the Lotharios.
– Iceman King Parsons defeats Buddy Roberts, in a Hair vs Hair Match.
– Jimmy Garvin defeats David Von Erich, to win the vacant WCCW Texas Heavyweight Championship.  The title is immediately held up due to interference from Sunshine.
– Jumbo Tsuruta and Ted DiBiase wrestle to a time-limit draw.
– Giant Baba defeats King Kong Bundy, to retain the PWF Heavyweight Championship.
– Kamala defeats Mike Bond, Armand Hussein, and Tola Yatsu, in a Three-on-One Handicap Match.
– Harley Race defeats Kevin Von Erich, via disqualification, to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
– Bruiser Brody & Kerry Von Erich defeat The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy), to win the WCCW American Tag Team Championship.

1983 – The Dynamite Girls (Jumbo Hori & Yukari Ohmori) defeat Devil Masami & Tarantula, to win the World Women’s Wrestling Association Tag Team Championship.

1984 – Jake Roberts defeats Ron Garvin, to win the NWA National Television Championship.   However the title was immediately held up, upon the discovery that Roberts used a foreign object during the match.

1985 – In a tournament final, The Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn & Stan Lane) defeat Ron Sexton & Billy Travis, to win the vacant AWA Southern Tag Team Championship.

1985 – On a taping of Championship Wrestling, The US Express (Mike Rotunda & Barry Windham) defeat The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff, to win the WWF Tag Team Championship.

1987 – Villano III defeats Perro Aguayo, to win the vacant WWF Light Heavyweight Championship.

1988 – Chris Benoit defeats Johnny Smith, to win Stampede Wrestling’s British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship.

1989 – TNT defeats Abudda Dein, to win the vacant WWC Television Championship.  The title had been vacated on May 22nd, when Steve Strong injured then-champion Carlos Colon.

1995 – ECW’s Barbed Wire, Hoodies & Chokeslams event is held at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, in front of 1,150 fans.

– Broad Street Bully defeats The New Jersey Devil.
– Mikey Whipwreck defeats Big Val Puccio.
– Vampire Warrior defeats Hack Meyers.
– Tommy Dreamer defeats Vampire Warrior.
– 911 defeats Jim Steele.
– Beulah McGillicutty defeats Luna Vachon.
– In a Three-On-Two Handicap Match, 2 Cold Scorpio & Taz defeat The Pitbulls & Raven.
– ECW World Tag Team Champions The Public Enemy (Rocco Rock & Johnny Grunge) were scheduled to face Axl & Ian Rotten, the reunited Bad Breed.  Bill Alfonso would not allow the Bad Breed to team (they had lost a match to The Pitbulls where the losing team had to split up forever).  So, Axl and Ian instead brawled out of the building.  The Gangstas (New Jack & Mustafa Saed), making their ECW debut, attacked the Public Enemy and were arrested.
– The Sandman defeats Cactus Jack, in a Barbed Wire match to retain the ECW World Heavyweight Championship.  This was the second of only five barbed wire matches in ECW history.

1996 – In the Monday Night Wars, WCW Monday Nitro (3.4 TV rating) beats WWF Monday Night RAW (2.3 rating).  This begins the streak of 84 consecutive weeks that Nitro would top RAW in the ratings.

1996 – In a tournament final, Flex Kavana & Bart Sawyer defeated Brickhouse Brown & Reggie B. Fine, to win the USWA Tag Team Championship.  Kavana would have his debut match in the WWF, as Rocky Maivia, exactly five months later, at Survivor Series.

1999 – Sherri Martel defeats Miss Manners, to win the AWA Superstars of Wrestling Women’s Championship.  Elsewhere, The Public Enemy (Rocco Rock & Johnny Grunge) defeat The Brotherhood (Knuckles Nelson & Eric Sbraccia) to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship.  And Mascara Sagrada, Jr. defeats Espectro Jr. (II), to win the Mexican National Middleweight Championship.

2002 – Britain’s highest court, the House of Lords, ruled that the World Wildlife Fund, not WWE, owns the rights to the “WWF” initials.  The ruling came down upholding the 2001 ruling from a British High Court, that prevented the company now known as WWE from using the “WWF” initials after the Fund claimed sole ownership to them.

2004 – On SmackDown, The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & Devon) defeat Charlie Haas & Rico, to win the WWE Tag Team Championship.  Also, Rey Mysterio defeats Chavo Classic, to win the Cruiserweight Championship.

2007 – WWE holds its Supplemental Draft Lottery on WWE.com.  The live first half of the draft had taken place Monday June 11th, live on RAW.

– Scotty 2 Hotty was drafted to RAW.
– Kenny Dykstra was drafted to SmackDown.
– Viscera was drafted to ECW;  he would debut on ECW on Sci Fi on July 10th under the new name Big Daddy V).
– The Sandman was drafted to RAW.
– Hardcore Holly was drafted to RAW.
– The Miz was drafted to ECW.
– Daivari was drafted to RAW.
– The Major Brothers (Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins) were drafted to SmackDown.
– William Regal was drafted to RAW.
– Victoria was drafted to SmackDown.
– Jillian Hall was drafted to RAW.
– Eugene was drafted to SmackDown.
– Johnny Nitro was drafted to ECW;  he would change his name to John Morrison a few weeks after debuting on ECW.

2007 – TNA Slammiversary is held at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium, in Nashville, TN, in front of 3,500 fans.  It marked the approximate fifth anniversary of TNA Wrestling, and was the first major TNA event in Nashville since the Asylum days.  The event also featured a shoot interview with Jeff Jarrett, discussing his recently-deceased wife Jill;  Jill had succumbed to breast cancer three and a half weeks earlier.

– Senshi & Rhino (with Hector Guerrero) defeat The Latin American Xchange (Homicide & Hernandez) (with Konnan).
– Jay Lethal defeats Chris Sabin, to win the TNA X Division Championship.
– Frank Wycheck & Jerry Lynn (with Kyle Vanden Bosch) defeat Ron Killings & James Storm (with Jackie Moore).
– Bob Backlund defeats Alex Shelley.
– The Voodoo Kin Mafia (Kip James & B.G. James) defeat Basham & Damaja (with Christy Hemme).
– Eric Young defeats Robert Roode (with Ms. Brooks)
– Team 3D (Brother Ray & Brother Devon) defeated Rick Steiner & Road Warrior Animal, to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship.
– Sting defeats Christopher Daniels.
– Abyss defeats Tomko, in a No Disqualification Match.
– In a King of the Mountain Match, Kurt Angle defeats Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Christian Cage, and Chris Harris, to become the official, inaugural, TNA World Heavyweight Champion.

2007 – Milano Collection AT wins the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Tournament, defeating Wataru Inoue in the final.

2011 – TNA releases Desmond Wolfe (aka Nigel McGuinness);  at the time of his release Wolfe was commissioner and a commentator for Xplosion.

2011 – A jury voted to penalize Hustler magazine by awarding nearly $20 million to the family of Nancy Benoit.  This comes after Hustler had published nude photographs of Benoit in its March 2008 issue, following her murder at the hands of Chris Benoit in June 2007.   The photos were originally taken in the 1980s, and Benoit had requested the photos and video be immediately destroyed afterwards, and believed the photographer had done so.  However the stills from the video were actually sold to Hustler and its founder, Larry Flynt.

Right after the 20 million verdict against Hustler was announced, the judge in the case, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr., ruled that the magazine would be liable for only $250,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.  The lawyer for Nancy’s family said he would appeal the ruling, stating that Georgia law allows a jury to exceed the $250,000 cap, if it’s proven the defendant “acted with intent to harm.”  The case went to appeals, and in 2012, the entire case was thrown out.

2012 – Manabu Soya & Takao Omori defeat Joe Doering & Seiya Sanada, to win the AJPW World Tag Team Championship.

2012 – WWE No Way Out is held at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ,  in front of 10,000 fans.  This was the first No Way Out since 2009, having been replaced by Elimination Chamber in 2010 and 2011.

Pre-Show Match:
– Brodus Clay (with Cameron & Naomi) defeats David Otunga via countout.
PPV:
– Sheamus defeats Dolph Ziggler (with Vickie Guerrero) to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.
– Santino Marella defeats Ricardo Rodriguez, in a Tuxedo Match.
– Christian defeats Cody Rhodes, to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
– In a Fatal 4-Way Match, The Prime Time Players (Titus O’Neil & Darren Young) defeat The Usos (Jimmy & Jey), Primo & Epico and Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd, to become the #1 contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship.
– Layla defeats Beth Phoenix, to retain the WWE Divas Championship.
– Sin Cara defeated Hunico (with Camacho)
– In a Triple Threat Match, CM Punk defeats Kane and Daniel Bryan, to retain the WWE Championship.
– Ryback defeats Dan Delaney & Rob Grymes, in a Handicap Match
– John Cena (with Vince McMahon) defeats The Big Show (with John Laurinaitis) in a Steel Cage Match.  As per the pre-match stipulation, John Laurinaitis is fired.  Had Big Show won, Cena would’ve been fired.

2016 – In a Four-Way Match, Ivelisse defeats Taylor Made (SHINE Champion), Madison Eagles (SHIMMER Champion), and Allysin Kay (TNA Knockouts Champion).  The loser of the fall would lose her title.  Ivelisse makes Taylor Made submit, making her the new SHINE Champion.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:  2-time AJPW Triple Crown Champion & current NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki (49 years old);  former WWF/WCW manager Clarence Mason/J. Biggs (52 years old);  former DREAMWAVE Alternative Champion Steve Boz (43 years old);  and former ECWA Heavyweight Champion Josh Daniels (37 years old).

SOURCES:  Family of Slain Wrestler Loses Privacy Appeal Over Nude Pictures