This Day In Wrestling History – September 1st
Photo credit: The Associated Press
1923 – Clarence Weber defeats Billy Meeske, to win the Australian Heavyweight Championship.
1941 – In the National Wrestling Association, Wild Red Berry defeats Danny McShain, to win the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship.
1946 – In Pacific Northwest Wrestling, George Becker defeats Babe Sharkey, to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
1972 – In the National Wrestling Federation, Johnny Valentine defeats Johnny Powers, to win the NWF North American Heavyweight Championship.
1978 – Pak Choo & Roddy Piper defeat Black Gordman & Ryuma Go, to win the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship.
1979 – Pat Patterson is named the inaugural WWF Intercontinental Champion; Patterson had defeated Ted DiBiase for the North American Heavyweight Championship. Despite the South American Championship never existing, records show Patterson defeated Johnny Rods in a tournament final (which actually never occurred). The North and South American Heavyweight titles are unified to become the Intercontinental Championship.
1980 – Tommy Rich defeats Jimmy Valiant, to win the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship.
1981 – Dory Funk, Jr. defeats Charlie Cook, to win the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship. Elsewhere, Paul Jones defeats Jack Brisco, to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship.
1986 – In Greenville, South Carolina, Denny Brown defeats Steve Regal, to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. In Forth Worth, Texas, Matt Borne & Buzz Sawyer defeat Chris Adams & Lance Von Erich, to win the vacant WCWA World Tag Team Championship.
1986 – Tarzan Goto & Akio Sato defeat Jeff Jarrett & Pat Tanaka, to win the CWA / AWA International Tag Team Championship. Also, Don Bass and Dirty Rhodes defeat Giant Hillbilly Elmer and Cousin Junior, to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship.
1986 – Championship Wrestling from Florida’s (CWF) Battle of the Belts III, is held in Daytona Beach in front of 8,000 fans.
– Jimmy Backlund defeats Bob Cook.
– The Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn & Stan Lane) defeat The Sheepherders (Butch & Luke) to retain the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship.
– The White Ninja defeats Tim Horner, to win the NWA Southeastern United States Junior Heavyweight Championship. However, the title would be awarded back to Horner later that night, due to outside interference that allowed White Ninja to pin Horner.
– Nick Bockwinkel defeats Kendo Nagaski, via disqualification, to retain the AWA World Heavyweight Championship.
– A tag team match between The Road Warriors and Ed Ganter & Kareem Muhammad ends in a double-disqualification.
– Kendall Windham defeats Chris Champion, via disqualification, to retains the NWA Florida Bahamian Championship.
– In a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, Ric Flair and Lex Luger battle to a time limit draw. This was a two-out-of-three falls match; Flair and Luger were tied at one fall each when the draw was announced. Flair retains the title.
– Barry Windham defeats Ron Bass, to win the NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion.
1987 – Kazuo Yamazaki & Yoshiaki Fujiwara defeat Akira Maeda & Nobuhiko Takada, to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship.
1990 – Dick Slater wins a tournament final, to win the USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship.
1991 – The Grappler & Don Harris defeat Steve Doll & Demolition Crush, to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship.
1992 – In a match taped for an upcoming episode of Prime Time Wrestling, Ric Flair defeats ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage, to win the WWF Championship. This match would air on TV September 14, 1992.
1993 – WCW withdraws their membership from the NWA; WCW is allowed to keep the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (renaming it the WCW International Heavyweight Championship), while continuing to use the WCW World Heavyweight Championship that was created in 1991. The two titles would be unified by Ric Flair at Clash of The Champions XXVII on June 23, 1994.
2000 – The American Dragon (Bryan Danielson) defeats Pokerface, to win the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship.
2000 – In a Three-Way Elimination Tag Team Match, Yoshihiro Tajiri & Mikey Whipwreck defeat Tommy Dreamer & Jerry Lynn, and Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger, to win the vacant ECW World Tag Team Championship.
2005 – A new WWE developmental territory, Deep South Wrestling, holds it’s inaugural show. The partnership with WWE would last until April 18, 2007.
2006 – In a triple threat match, on SmackDown, Mr. Kennedy defeats Bobby Lashley and Finlay, to win the WWE United States Championship.
2007 – Adam Pearce defeats Brent Albright, to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Pearce is the first champion since NWA and TNA Wrestling ended their partnership May 13, 2007.
2011 – On Impact Wrestling, Mickie James defeats Winter, to win the TNA Knockouts Championship.
2016 – Two titles change hands on Impact Wrestling. Maria Kanellis-Bennett defeats Allie, to win the TNA Knockouts Championship; Maria only won because she forced Allie to lie down on the mat and allow Maria to pin her. Also, in an Ultimate X Gauntlet Match, DJ Z defeats Braxton Sutter, Trevor Lee, Mandrews, Rockstar Spud, and Andrew Everett, to win the TNA X Division Championship.
2018 – ALL IN, an indie wrestling pay-per-view, is held at the Sears Centre outside Chicago, with a sold-out crowd of 10,411 in attendance. The event was promoted by Cody (Rhodes) and The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson). The event featured talent from Impact Wrestling, ROH, CMLL, NWA, AAA, and NJPW. ALL IN was the first non-WWE or WCW-promoted pro wrestling event in the United States, to draw more than 10,000 fans, since 1993.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: current Lucha Underground Trios Champion, Sami Callihan (31 years old); former WWE Tag Team Champion, Jimmy ‘Deuce’ Snuka Jr. (47 years old); 5-time Southern States Wrestling Tag Team Champion, K.C. Thunder (53 years old); and former TNA X Division, Television, & Tag Team Champion, Doug Williams (46 years old)
Today would’ve been the 65th birthday for former ECW & WCW Tag Team champion, Rocco Rock. Today would’ve also been the 57th birthday for former WCW Hardcore & Tag Team Champion, Bam Bam Bigelow (pictured above).
