This Day In Wrestling History – July 29th
Happy birthday to Big Poppa Pump!!
1967 – The WWWF United States Tag Team Championship is retired. The final champions were Bruno Sammartino & Spiros Arion.
1977 – Ric Flair defeats Bobo Brazil, to win the NWA (Mid-Atlantic) United States Heavyweight Championship.
1978 – Paul Orndorff defeats Stan Hansen, to win the NWA (Tri-State) North American Heavyweight Championship.
1979 – Bruiser Brody defeats Mark Lewin, to win the NWA (Texas) Brass Knuckles Championship.
1980 – Bill Dundee defeats Paul Ellering, to win the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship.
1985 – Brian Adias defeats Gino Hernandez, to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship. Elsewhere, Jerry Lawler defeats Bota the Witch Doctor, to win the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship for the 42nd time.
1988 – Terry Gordy & Stan Hansen defeat Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu, to win the AJPW World Tag Team Championship.
1989 – Super Medico I defeats Chicky Starr, to win the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
1991 – Awesome Kong defeats Jerry Lawler, to win the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship.
1991 – At a TV taping in Worcester, Mass., Bobby Heenan, holding the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt, announces that Ric Flair, the “Real World’s champion” was coming to the WWF.
1996 – In the Monday Night Wars, WCW Monday Nitro (3.1 TV rating) beats WWF Monday Night RAW (2.1 rating).
2002 – On RAW, Chris Benoit defeats Rob Van Dam, to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Also, the 24/7 Rule sees the Hardcore Championship pass from Bradshaw to Jeff hardy, to Johnny Stamboli, to Tommy Dreamer.
2004 – On SmackDown, Spike Dudley defeats Rey Mysterio, to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Also, Booker T wins an 8-Way Elimination Match, to win the vacant United States Championship.
2006 – Nick Gage wins CZW’s Tournament of Death V; Gage defeats Brain Damage, Drake Younger, and JC Bailey in a 4-Way Light Tubes, Panes of Glass, & Fans Bring The Weapons Death Match.
2010 – The TNA Global Championship is renamed the TNA Television Championship, by titleholder AJ Styles.
2012 – Hiroshi Yamato wins the AJPW Junior League (dubbed the ‘Junior Hyper League’ this year), defeating Shuji Kondo, in the tournament final.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: WCW Triple Crown Champion Scott Steiner (55 years old); Mexico wrestling star Pirata Morgan (55 years old); former TNA backstage interviewer Lauren Brooke Thompson (35 years old); and indy wrestler Melissa Stripes (29 years old).
Also, today would have been the birthday of WWE Hall of Famers ‘Baron’ Mikel Scicluna (88) and Captain Lou Albano (84).
