This Day In Wrestling History – August 6th
Happy birthday, Reby!!
1963 – Ali Bey defeats Gory Guerrero, to win EMLL’s NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship.
1968 – Boris Malenko & Johnny Valentine defeat Jose Lothario & Joe Scarpa, to win the NWA (Florida) Southern Tag Team Championship.
1973 – Tommy Gilbert & Eddie Marlin defeat Jerry Lawler and Scorpio, to win the vacant Mid-Southern Tag Team Championship.
1973 – Black Gordman & Goliath defeat Jose Lothario & Ivan Putski, to win the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship.
1981 – Bob Orton, Jr. defeats Don Diamond, to win the Mid-South Wrestling Mississippi Heavyweight Championship.
1987 – Brad Batten defeats former tag team partner Bobby Jaggers, to win sole possession the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship. Batten decides to share the title with his brother, Bart. It’s the fifth title reign for both brothers.
1988 – Ricky Santana defeats Super Black Ninja, to win the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship. On the same card, The Batten Twins (Bart & Brad) defeat Kendo Nagasaki & Mr. Pogo, to win the WWC World Tag Team Championship.
1994 – Smoky Mountain Wrestling’s Fire on the Mountain event is held in Johnson City, TN, in front of 1,800 fans.
– The Gangstas (New Jack & Mustafa Saed) defeat Skyfire & Anthony Michaels.
– Doug Furnas defeats Bob Orton, Jr.
– Dirty White Boy defeats Dick Slater, to retain the SMW Heavyweight Championship.
– Lance Storm & Tracy Smothers defeat The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard & Jimmy Del Ray).
– One night after losing the SMW Tag Team Championship, Brian Lee & Chris Candido (with Tammy Fytch) defeat The Rock n Roll Express (Robert Gibson & Ricky Morton), to reclaim the titles. The rematch was also a Hair vs Hair Match; per match stipulation, Ricky Morton lost his hair while Tammy Fytch kept hers.
– In a Six-Man Tag Team Texas Death Match, Bob Armstrong, Tracy Smothers, & Road Warrior Hawk defeat Terry Funk, Bruiser Bedlam, & Dory Funk Jr.
1995 – WCW Clash of the Champions XXXI is held in Daytona Beach, FL, in front of 4,059 fans.
Dark Matches:
– Johnny B. Badd defeats Big Bubba Rogers.
– The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags) defeat Ricky Santana & Fidel Sierra.
– Brian Pillman defeats Marcus Alexander Bagwell.
– Hulk Hogan defeats Kamala via disqualification.
Clash of the Champions:
– Sting & Road Warrior Hawk defeat The Stud Stable (Meng & Kurasawa).
– Diamond Dallas Page defeats Alex Wright.
– The Renegade defeats Paul Orndorff, to retain the WCW World Television Championship.
– Sister Sherri and Harlem Heat (Booker T & Stevie Ray) defeat Bunkhouse Buck, Dick Slater, & Col. Robert Parker. As a result of the victory, Harlem Heat receives a WCW Tag Team Championship Match at Fall Brawl.
– Big Van Vader defeats Arn Anderson & Ric Flair, in a Handicap Match.
1996 – La Nueva Ola Blanca (Gran Markus Jr. & El Hijo del Gladiador) defeat Atlantis & Rayo de Jalisco Jr, to win the CMLL World Tag Team Championship. Over in New Japan Pro Wrestling, Riki Choshu wins the NJPW G1 Climax Tournament, defeating Masahiro Chono in the tournament final.
2001 – On RAW, Tajiri defeats X-Pac, to win the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship.
2005 – At Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s Zombies (Shouldn’t Run) event in Los Angeles, Kevin Steen defeats AJ Styles, to win the PWG World Championship.
2007 – Vince McMahon appears on WWE RAW for the first time since Chris Benoit’s double murder-suicide in June. McMahon announces a 20-man Over the Top Rope Battle Royal, with the winner becoming the new RAW General Manager. William Regal wins the Battle Royal and GM position.
2010 – On Friday Night SmackDown, Dolph Ziggler defeats Kofi Kingston, to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
2016 – At DREAMWAVE’s Summer Spectacular, the DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship changes hands from Joey Ryan, to Suge D., to Santino Marella, and back to Joey Ryan. Mick Foley served as referee for all three title changes. The title is property of the Dramatic Dream Team Pro-Wrestling promotion from Japan. The Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship is essentially a Hardcore Championship that can be defended under 24/7 Rules (similar to WWE’s retired Hardcore Championship). Joey Ryan winning the title back from Santino Marella, at this DREAMWAVE event, was the 1,128th title change since its inception in June 2000. As of August 6, 2017 there have been 1,272 title changes.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: Glasgow Pro Wrestling Asylum’s Molly Spartan (28 years old); UK wrestler Kelly Adams (29 years old); indy wrestlers Alex Payne (30 years old) & Stefan Weiss (27 years old); current Dragon Pro Wrestling Celtic Crown Women’s Champion Jetta (30 years old); former TNA King of the Mountain Champion Bram (31 years old); WWE Cruiserweight Tony Nese (32 years old); WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Valiant (75 years old); and former SHINE & TNA performer Reby Hardy (formerly Reby Sky) (31 years old).
Today would’ve been the 69th birthday for former WWWF Tag Team Champion Dino Bravo, and the 85th birthday for NWA regular Grizzly Smith.
