This Day In Wrestling History – July 14th

Happy birthday to WWE Hall of Famer, Bubba Ray Dudley!!
(Photo credit: World Wrestling Entertainment)

1958 – Stu Gibson defeats Bull Curry, to win the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Championship.

1966 – Jack Donovan & The Viking defeat Bob Ellis & The Stomper, to win the NWA (Central States) North American Tag Team Championship.

1972 – Red Bastien & Billy Red Lyons defeat The Alaskans (Franke Monte & Mike York), to win the vacant NWA Texas Tag Team Championship.  On the same day, Stan Stasiak defeats Jose Lothario, to win the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Championship.

1978 – Dick the Bruiser defeats Dick Murdoch, to win the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship.

1984 – On what has been referred to as “Black Saturday,” World Championship Wrestling begins airing content from the WWF.  The program and timeslot (6:05pm ET on SuperStation WTBS) had been bought out from Georgia Championship Wrestling, which had aired World Championship Wrestling since 1972.  On the July 14th episode, Freddie Miller introduces Vince McMahon & the World Wrestling Federation to WTBS.  McMahon promised GCW fans that they would enjoy the new WWF program just as much as they enjoyed the GCW.  But McMahon reneged on a promise made when he bought GCW’s program and timeslot;  he had promised that original programming would be produced for WTBS.  Instead, highlights from his USA Network shows and clips from WWF house shows were aired.  The WWF-produced version of World Championship Wrestling was a ratings disaster from the start.

1984 – The NWA-sanctioned Championship Wrestling from Georgia (not to be confused with Georgia Championship Wrestling) awards Ted DiBiase with the NWA National Heavyweight Championship.  The title was previously held by The Spoiler, who went to the WWF and was briefly recognized by that company as the National Heavyweight Champion.

1986 – WWF’s second annual King of the Ring Tournament is held at Sullivan Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.  There were 12,000 fans in attendance, almost 50 percent less than the 23,000 on hand for the 1985 tournament.

First Round Matches:
– Don Muraco fought Roddy Piper to a 20-minute time-limit draw.
– Harley Race defeats George Steele via disqualification.
– Billy Jack Haynes defeats The Iron Sheik.
– Nikolai Volkoff defeats Danny Spivey
– The Junkyard Dog defeats Paul Orndorff via disqualification.
– Pedro Morales defeats Rudy Diamond.  Diamond was subbing for Bob Orton, Jr.
Quarterfinal Matches:
– Billy Jack Haynes defeats Mr. X, who was subbing for Hercules.
– Nikolai Volkoff defeats The Junkyard Dog, via submission.
– Pedro Morales defeats Mike Rotunda.
Semifinal Matches:
–Harley Race defeats Billy Jack Haynes, via count-out.
–Pedro Morales defeats Nikolai Volkoff.

– In a non-tournament match, Bruno Sammartino defeats The Designated Hitman (replacing Eddie Andelmann).
King of The Ring Tournament Final:
– Harley Race defeats Pedro Morales, to win the King Of The Ring Tournament.
– In the main event, The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & The Dynamite Kid) defeat The Dream Team (Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake), in a Tag Team Steel Cage Match, to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship.

1991 – WCW’s Great American Bash is held in Baltimore, MD, in front of 9,320 fans.  This was the first Bash produced solely by WCW with no NWA involvement.  The main event of the pay-per-view was supposed to feature Ric Flair.  But Flair was fired over a contract dispute days before the event, and he took his WCW World Heavyweight Championship with him.  WCW was forced to use a makeshift belt (a former belt used in Championship Wrestling from Florida) with a temporary plate on the front.

Dark Match:
– The Junkyard Dog defeats Black Bart.
PPV:
– In a Capture-The-Flag Scaffold Match, PN News & Bobby Eaton defeat Steve Austin & Terrance Taylor (with Lady Blossom).
– The Diamond Studd (with Diamond Dallas Page) defeats Tom Zenk.
– Ron Simmons defeats Oz (with Merlin The Wizard).
– Richard Morton (with Alexandra York) defeats Robert Gibson.
– In a Six-Man Tag Team Elimination Match, Dustin Rhodes and The Southern Boys (Tracy Smothers & Steve Armstrong) defeat The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin, Michael Hayes, & Badstreet).
– The Yellow Dog defeats Johnny B. Badd (with Teddy Long), via disqualification.
– Big Josh defeats Black Blood (with Kevin Sullivan), in a Lumberjack Match.
– El Gigante defeats One Man Gang (with Kevin Sullivan).
– Nikita Koloff defeats Sting in a Russian Chain Match.
– In a Steel Cage Match, United States Champion Lex Luger defeats Barry Windham, to win the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship.  Luger is presented with the makeshift belt from Championship Wrestling from Florida, which had a gold-colored plate tacked on with the words “WCW World Heavyweight Champion.”  Shortly after the Great American Bash, a new, original, WCW World Heavyweight Championship would be created.  NOTE:  as a result of his winning the World Heavyweight Championship, Luger vacates the United States Championship.
– In what turned out to be a Handicap Steel Cage Match, Rick Steiner defeats Arn Anderson & Paul E. Dangerously.  This was supposed to be an Inter-gender Match, with Steiner’s partner being Missy Hyatt;  but Hyatt was forcibly taken backstage by Dick Murdoch and Dick Slater, leaving Steiner by himself.  Hyatt was unable to compete because the Maryland State Athletic Commission did not allow Inter-gender Matches.

1992 – Tod Gordon’s Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) holds an event at The Original Sports Bar, in Philadelphia, PA, in front of 275 fans.

– Mr. Perez defeats Jimmy Jannetty.
– Scott Summers & King Kaluha defeat JT Smith & Hurricane Curry.
– The Samoan Warrior defeats Jack Hammer via disqualification.
– Salvatore Bellomo fought Tony Stetson to a double disqualification.
– ECW Tag Team Champions The Super Destroyers defeat Max Thrasher & Glenn Osbourne, to retain the titles.
– Tony Cairo defeats Damien Stone
– Vladimir Markoff & The Super Ninja defeat Chris Michaels & Nikolai Volkoff
– Mr. Sandman defeats Larry Winters
– Jimmy Snuka defeats Johnny Hotbody, to win the ECW Heavyweight Championship.

1997 – In the Monday Night Wars, WCW Monday Nitro (3.5 TV rating) beats WWF RAW IS WAR (2.6 rating).  On RAW, Stone Cold Steve Austin & Dude Love defeat The British Bulldog & Owen Hart, to win the vacant WWF Tag Team Championship.  The titles had been vacated after previous champion, Shawn Michaels, was suspended for a backstage fight with Bret Hart.  Austin was Michaels’ tag team partner.  Since Austin won the titles with Dude Love, he’s credited with his second time as tag team champion.

2001 – Yoji Ano & Genichiro Tenryu defeat Taiyo Kea & Johnny Smith, to win the AJPW World Tag Team Championship.

2002 – At a house show in Bethlehem, PA, the 24/7 Rule on the WWE Hardcore Championship sees the title pass from Bradshaw to Justin Credible, to Shawn Stasiak, and back to Bradshaw.

2006 – On Friday Night SmackDown, Finlay defeats Bobby Lashley, to win the WWE United States Championship for the first time.

2006 – Rey Bucanero defeats Ultimo Guerrero, to win the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship.  This ends Ultimo Guerrero’s three & a half year run as Light Heavyweight Champion, dating back to December 13, 2002, a span of 1,309 days.

2007 – In a No Disqualification, Falls Count Anywhere, Four-Way Tournament Final, Alicia defeats Nikki Rox, Luna Vachon, and Amy Lee, to become the inaugural Women Superstars Uncensored Champion.

2009 – To help pay for medical bills, Superstar Billy Graham sells his WWE Hall of Fame ring, on ebay.  Graham also requested to be entirely removed from the Hall of Fame (he was inducted in 2004), after Abdullah the Butcher was inducted.  Graham’s reasoning was that Abdullah had never competed in WWF/E.  Graham went on to call the WWE Hall of Fame “worthless and embarrassing.”  Despite his request, Graham remains part of the Hall of Fame.

2011 – On Impact Wrestling, Sting defeats Mr. Anderson, to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the 4th time.

2012 – At Combat Zone Wrestling’s New Heights event, Sami Callihan defeats Drake Younger, to win the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship (this was a 60-minute Ultraviolent Iron Man Match).  Callihan’s title reign is short-lived;  AR Fox cashes in his title opportunity, and pins Callihan, to become the new World Junior Heavyweight Championship.  AR Fox  had won the Best of the Best 11 People’s Choice Award, granting him the right to challenge for any CZW championship he wanted.

2016 – WWE airs its final tape-delayed Thursday edition of SmackDown on USA Network, averaging 2.068 million viewers.  SmackDown plans to go live every Tuesday beginning July 19th;  only episodes airing from overseas would be aired via tape delay in the United States.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:  WWE Hall of Famers Bubba Ray Dudley (47 years old) and Jeff Jarrett (51 years old);  3-time WWC Universal World Heavyweight Champion Hercules Ayala (68 years old);  former Mexican National Middleweight Champion Ultraman (71 years old);  and former ECW, WWE, & EVOLVE commentator, Joey Styles (47 years old)