This Day In Wrestling History – April 29th
1949 – Gory Guerrero defeats Jack O’Brien, to win the NWA World Welterweight Championship.
1981 – Sweet Ebony Diamond wins the vacant NWA Television Championship (opponent unknown).
1996 – On this evening’s Nitro (taped after the live April 22nd show went off the air), The Giant defeats Ric Flair, to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
1996 – Shinya Hashimoto defeats Nobuhiko Takada, to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
1998 – The first annual Brian Pillman Memorial event, featuring talent from all major pro wrestling companies, was held at Norwood Middle School just north of Cincinnati, in front of 1,002 fans. The show featured talent from all major pro wrestling companies to help raise money for Pillman’s family, following his death in October 1997. Promoted by Les Thatcher’s HWA, the event was hosted by WWF’s Stone Cold Steve Austin and Sunny, and also featured signings and auctions designed to raise money. The show raised $23,500.
– Nick Dinsmore defeated Trailer Park Trash.
– Reno Riggins & Steve Dunn defeated Brian Taylor & The Bounty Hunter.
– Flash Flanagan defeated Bull Pain.
– Chip Fairway & Shark Boy defeated Sean Casey & Terik The Great.
– In a match sent by ECW, Al Snow defeated Chris Candido.
– In a match sent by WCW, Chris Benoit defeated Chris Jericho.
1999 – WWF SmackDown airs its pilot episode on UPN, earning a 5.8 TV rating.
2000 – Sabu defeats The Messiah, to win the vacant Xtreme Pro Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship. Chris Candido had vacated the title, after signing with World Championship Wrestling.
2001 – WWF Backlash is held in Rosemont, IL outside Chicago, in front of 15,592 fans.
Sunday Night Heat:
– Jerry Lynn defeats Crash Holly, to win the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship.
– Lita defeats Molly Holly.
PPV:
– In a six-man tag team match, X-Factor (Justin Credible, X-Pac, & Albert) defeat The Dudley Boyz (Spike, Bubba Ray, & D-Von Dudley).
– Rhyno defeats Raven, to retain the WWF Hardcore Championship.
– William Regal defeats Chris Jericho, in a ‘Duchess of Queensbury’ Rules Match.
– Chris Benoit defeats Kurt Angle 4-falls-to-3, in a 30-minute Ultimate Submission Match.
– Shane McMahon defeats The Big Show in a Last Man Standing Match
– In a Triple Threat Match, Matt Hardy defeats Christian and Eddie Guerrero, to retain the WWF European Championship.
– In a Winner-Take-All Tag Team Match, The 2-Man Power Trip (Stone Cold Steve Austin & Triple H) defeat WWF Tag Team Champions Brothers Of Destruction (Kane & The Undertaker). Austin & Triple H become new tag champs while Austin also retains the WWF Championship, and Triple H retains the Intercontinental Championship.
2002 – On RAW, Steven Richards pins Bubba Ray Dudley, to win the WWF Hardcore Championship. The pinfall came while Bubba Ray was in the middle of a title defense against Jazz.
2005 – On TNA Impact!, The Naturals (Andy Douglas & Chase Stevens) defeat America’s Most Wanted (James Storm & Chris Harris), to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship.
2006 – World Wrestling Legends held their first and only pay-per-view, the ‘6:05 Reunion,‘ which was actually taped March 5th at Hard Rock Live in Orlando. Dave Penzer handled ring announcing, Dave, Earl, and Brian Hebner were the referees for the night. Jim Cornette, Lance Russell, Ron Neimi, and Corey Maclin were on commentary, with Maclin also handling backstage interviews.
*The show began with the former Nitro Girls from WCW, dancing inside the ring.
– ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan defeated Nikolai Volkoff (with The Iron Sheik).
– Rick Steiner defeated Virgil.
– Koko B. Ware defeated Disco Inferno.
– Jimmy Snuka defeated Greg Valentine (with Jimmy Hart) via disqualification.
– Vampiro defeated Eddie Colon (aka WWE’s Primo) (with his father Carlos Colon).
– Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts defeated Kamala via disqualification.
– Dory Funk, Jr. & Mike Graham (with Bruno Sammartino) defeated David Flair & Tully Blanchard (with JJ Dillion).
– Diamond Dallas Page defeats Kanyon. After the match DDP talks about being friends with Kanyon for over ten years and the rumors about Kanyon being gay. DDP then asks Kanyon if it’s just a character or if the person behind the character is gay? Kanyon then announces that he is in fact, gay.
– In a six-man tag team match, Scott, Bob, & Brad Armstrong (with Bobby Heenan) defeated The Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey, Bobby Eaton, & Stan Lane) (with Jim Cornette).
– Scott Steiner defeated Buff Bagwell.
– Marc Mero & Russ Rollins defeated The Blue Meanie & Norman Smiley.
2007 – WWE Backlash is held in Atlanta in front of 14,500 fans.
Dark Match:
– Carlito defeated Johnny Nitro.
PPV:
– The Hardy Boyz (Matt & Jeff) defeated Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch, to retain the World Tag Team Championship.
– Melina defeated Mickie James, to retain the WWE Women’s Championship.
– Chris Benoit defeated MVP, to retain the WWE United States Championship.
– In a 3-on-1 Handicap Title Match, Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, and Umaga defeated ECW Champion Bobby Lashley. Vince wins the ECW Championship by pinning Lashley.
– World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker fought Batista to a no-contest in a Last Man Standing Match, when neither could answer the 10-count. As a result, Undertaker retains his title.
– In a Fatal 4-Way Match, John Cena defeated Edge, Randy Orton, and Shawn Michaels, to retain the WWE Championship.
2008 – Suwama defeats Kensuke Sasaki, to win the AJPW Triple Crown Championship. And Ryuji Hijikata defeats Silver King, to win the AJPW Junior Heavyweight Championship.
2008 – During this evening’s SmackDown taping (to be televised May 2nd), Vickie Guerrero strips The Undertaker of the World Heavyweight Championship, for using the supposedly too dangerous ‘Hell’s Gate’ submission hold.
2009 – Former AWA World Tag Team Champion ‘Playboy’ Buddy Rose passes away at age 56 due to natural causes. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame earlier this month.
2010 – Super Crazy & BUSHI defeat Shuji Kondo & Hiroshi Yamato, to win the AJPW Junior Tag League. And TARU & Big Daddy Voodoo defeat Akebono & Ryota Hama, to win the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship.
2011 – Combat Zone Wrestling’s Nick Gage is sentenced to five years in prison in the State Superior Court of Camden, New Jersey, after having plead guilty to one second-degree count of bank robbery. Gage wouldn’t be eligible for parole until serving 85% of that sentence, according to the Camden Prosecutor’s Office. Gage was also ruled to be responsible for paying restitution of $3,095 to the PNC Bank branch in Collingswood, NJ that he robbed as well as $150 in lost wages to the bank teller, who later left her position with the branch after the robbery. Gage was released on parole in April 2015, but after violating his parole was reincarcerated until November 2016.
2011 – WWE announces the launching of its ‘Be A Starr’ anti-bullying campaign.
2012 – WWE Extreme Rules is held in Rosemont, IL outside Chicago, in front of 14,817 fans.
Pre-Show:
– Santino Marella defeated The Miz, to retain the WWE United States Championship.
PPV:
– Randy Orton defeated Kane in a Falls Count Anywhere Match.
– Brodus Clay (with Cameron, Hornswoggle, & Naomi) defeated Dolph Ziggler (with Vickie Guerrero, & Jack Swagger)
– Cody Rhodes defeated The Big Show in a Tables Match, to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
– Sheamus defeated Daniel Bryan in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match, to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.
– Ryback defeated local competitors Aaron Relic & Jay Hatton, in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match.
– CM Punk defeated Chris Jericho in a Chicago Street Fight, to retain the WWE Championship.
– Layla defeated Nikki Bella (though actually pins her twin sister Brie), to win the WWE Divas Championship. Layla replaced Beth Phoenix in this match, after Beth was declared not medically fit to wrestle.
– John Cena defeated Brock Lesnar in an Extreme Rules Match. It was Lesnar’s first WWE match since facing Goldberg at WrestleMania XX in 2004.
2013 – Jun Akiyama defeats KAI, to win the AJPW Champion Carnival.
2014 – Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeat Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru, to win the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship.
2015 – Togi Makabe defeats Tomohiro Ishii, to win the NEVER Openweight Championship.
2018 – Go Shiozaki & Kaito Kiyomiya defeat Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya, to win the GHC Tag Team Championship. Elsewhere, Tetsuya Naito defeats Minoru Suzuki, to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
2019 – Kento Miyahara defeats Jake Lee, to win the AJPW Champion Carnival.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: 4-time OVW Southern Tag Team Champion, Seth Skyfire (40 years old); former WWE Diva & FCW Divas Champion, Aksana (37 years old), former AJPW All Asia Tag Team Champion, Masahito Kakihara (47 years old); 2-time GHC Openweight/Hardcore Champion, Kishin Kiwibata (54 years old); 3-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, Paul Roma (59 years old); and former WWE Tag Team Champion, Titus O’Neil (42 years old).
Today would’ve been the 88th birthday for wrestling legend, Don Leo Jonathan.
