This Day In Wrestling History – June 25th
Happy birthday Layla!
1934 – Jim Londos defeats Jim Browning, to unify the New York-recognized World Heavyweight Title with the NWA (National Wrestling Association) World Heavyweight Championship.
1968 – Bobo Brazil defeats Giant Baba, to win the NWA International Heavyweight Championship.
1976 – Antonio Inoki and Muhammad Ali fought to a 15-round draw in Tokyo, Japan. The rules of the match stated that Inoki could not use any suplexes, throws, or submission moves. Due to a misunderstanding about the finish of the bout, the entire match ended up consisting of Inoki lying on his back (so Ali could not knock him out), and kicking at Ali’s legs, while Ali would back away from the kicks as neither man trusted the other. The fight was seen in the U.S. on closed circuit television.
1978 – Al Madril defeats Chavo Guerrero, Sr., to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
1992 – On a taping of WCW Main Event, The Barbarian & Dick Slater defeat The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin & Michael Hayes), to win the WCW United States Tag Team Championship. This would be the final reign before the titles were retired on July 31, 1992.
1995 – WWF King of the Ring is held in Philadelphia, in front of 16,590 fans.
Match airing on Free For All:
– Savio Vega (with Razor Ramon) defeats Irwin R. Schyster (with Ted DiBiase), in a King of the Ring Tournament Qualifying Match
PPV:
– Savio Vega (with Razor Ramon) defeats Yokozuna (with Mr. Fuji & Jim Cornette), via countout, in a King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Match.
– The Roadie (with Jeff Jarrett) defeats Bob Holly, in a King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Match.
– Shawn Michaels fought Kama (with Ted DiBiase) to a time-limit draw in a King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Match.
– Mabel (with Mo) defeats The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer), in a King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Match.
– Savio Vega (with Razor Ramon) defeats The Roadie (with Jeff Jarrett), in a King of the Ring Tournament Semifinal Match.
– Bret Hart defeats Jerry Lawler in a Kiss My Foot Match.
– Mabel (with Mo) defeats Savio Vega, to win the 1995 King of the Ring Tournament.
– Diesel & Bam Bam Bigelow defeat Tatanka & Sycho Sid (with Ted DiBiase).
2000 – WWF King of the Ring is held in Boston in front of 17,651 fans. The 2000 edition featured the largest ever King of the Ring Tournament, with 32 wrestlers vying for the crown. Only the final eight were featured on pay-per-view.
Sunday Night Heat Matches:
– Hardcore Holly defeats Gangrel.
– Mideon defeats Mosh.
– Essa Rios defeats Stevie Richards.
– The Acolytes (Bradshaw & Faarooq) defeat D’Lo Brown & Perry Saturn.
PPV:
– Rikishi defeats Chris Benoit, via disqualification, in a King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Match.
– Val Venis (with Trish Stratus) defeats Eddie Guerrero (with Chyna), in a King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Match.
– Crash Holly defeats Bull Buchanan, in a King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Match.
– Kurt Angle (with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) defeats Chris Jericho, in a King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Match.
– In a Four Corners Elimination Match, Edge & Christian defeat Too Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty & Grandmaster Sexay), T&A (Test & Albert) (with Trish Stratus), and The Hardy Boyz (Matt & Jeff), to win the WWF Tag Team Championship.
– Rikishi defeats Val Venis (with Trish Stratus), in a King of the Ring Tournament Semifinal Match.
– Kurt Angle defeats Crash Holly, in a King of the Ring Tournament Semifinal Match.
– Pat Patterson fought Gerald Brisco to a no-contest, in a Hardcore Evening Gown Match. Crash Holly pinned Patterson, to win the WWF Hardcore Championship, under the 24/7 Rule.
– Tori, along with D-Generation X (Road Dogg & X-Pac) defeat The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D-Von), in a Handicap Tables Dumpster Match.
– Kurt Angle wins the 2000 King of the Ring Tournament, defeating Rikishi in the tournament final.
– In a Six Man Tag Team Match, The Rock, Kane, and The Undertaker defeat Triple H, Vince McMahon, and Shane McMahon (with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley). The stipulation was that whoever got the pinfall at the end of the match would be the WWF Champion. The Rock pins Vince, to win the WWF Championship for the second time in three months.
2000 – Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka defeat Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa, to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
2001 – On RAW IS WAR, X-Pac defeats Jeff Hardy, to win the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. Also, Rhyno defeats Test, to win the WWF Hardcore Championship; Rhyno quickly loses the belt to Mike Awesome.
2003 – On the weekly NWA-TNA pay-per-view, America’s Most Wanted (James Storm & Chris Harris) defeat Triple X (Elix Skipper & Christopher Daniels), to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship.
2006 – WWE Vengeance, a RAW-exclusive pay-per-view, is held in Charlotte, NC in front of 6,800 fans.
Dark Match:
– Val Venis defeats Rob Conway.
PPV:
– Randy Orton defeats Kurt Angle.
– Umaga (with Armando Alejandro Estrada) defeats Eugene (with Doink the Clown, Kamala, & Jim Duggan).
– In a Two-out-of-Three Falls Match, Ric Flair defeats Mick Foley, two falls to none.
– In a Triple Threat Match, Johnny Nitro (with Melina) defeats Shelton Benjamin and Carlito, to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
– Rob Van Dam defeats Edge (with Lita), to retain the WWE Championship.
– Imposter Kane (Luke Gallows) defeats Kane.
– John Cena defeats Sabu, via submission, in an Extreme Rules Lumberjack Match.
– In a Two-on-Four Handicap Match, D-Generation X (Triple H & Shawn Michaels) defeat The Spirit Squad (Johnny, Mikey, Mitch, Nicky, & Kenny).
2007 – The bodies of WWE star Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy (known for her run as “Woman” in professional wrestling), and their son Daniel were discovered in the Benoit home in Atlanta, Georgia. WWE releases the following statement that afternoon:
“WWE is sad to report that Chris Benoit & his family have been found dead in their home. Police are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths. Tonight’s Raw will be a tribute to Chris & his family.”
Later that night, while the RAW Tribute was still airing, Lt. Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department in Georgia, told ABC News that the Benoit deaths are being investigated as what would end up being a “double murder, suicide.” Upon learning details of the Benoit deaths, the Tribute Show was pulled from international markets that aired RAW on a tape delay basis. In the RAW Replays section on WWE Network, the June 25, 2007 episode is a special RAW featuring title matches involving John Cena, Undertaker, Batista, and others.
2008 – The Ultimate Warrior returns to wrestling for Nu-Wrestling Evolution. In his first wrestling match since 1999, he defeats Orlando Jordan, to win the NWE World Heavyweight Title in Barcelona, Spain. This would be Ultimate Warrior’s final match ever; he would vacate the NWE World Title immediately after winning it.
2011 – WWE announces that Chavo Guerrero, Jr. had been released from the company, per his request.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: Former WWF wrestler Damien Demento (59 years old); one-time WWE Divas & Women’s Champion Layla (40 years old); former TNA wrestler Mark Haskins (29 years old); and two-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto (38 years old).
