The presser, held in advance of the promotion’s True Destiny iPPV at the venue, was hosted by Jim Ross, the ambassador for the competition, who will also call the action with Matt Striker, who put over the importance of UK wrestling history, name checking Johnny Saint, Marty Jones, and the Knight family. Interestingly, Paige was present at the press conference, though very much off camera, and jokingly pushed to get her brothers included.
The competition will feature 64 wrestlers, divided into eight geographical groups of eight, who will compete in a single-elimination tournament over the next five months, with two men from each qualifier progressing to the finals in August. That event, a four-day affair from August 23-26, will be held in the UK, with the final two days at the Sports Centre in Newcastle-upon-Tyne shown live.
All the action will be available to watch for free on WCPW’s YouTube channel, with the aim of creating what Ross called a “truly fan friendly” tournament. Ross declared his love for tournaments of this kind — “an old concept that is new again” — stating that anything that moves professional wrestling closer to mainstream sports in structure is a good thing.
Zack Sabre Jr. — announced as being part of the UK qualifiers — claimed tournaments are good because they have a definite ending, unlike most pro wrestling open-ended storylines, and that — much like with the Olympics every four years — non-fans can be drawn into the action.
Several of the qualifying rounds were announced, with only the US, Japanese, and Rest of the World groups to be revealed at a later date.
The first so far announced is the English qualifying round, at the Harvey Haddon Sports Village in Nottingham on March 21st, and will feature Sabre Jr. alongside Nick Aldis, Rampage Brown, Zack Gibson (interestingly both men contracted to ITV’s World of Sport), Marty Scurll, Will Ospreay (likewise with Ring of Honor), Martin Kirby, and Jimmy Havoc. The presence of talent contracted to other promotions backs up WCPW’s claim that they, as far as possible, want it to be a truly encompassing series.
Next on the docket is Scotland, at the Motherwell Concert Hall on March 23rd, with Drew Galloway, Joe Coffey, Lewis Girvan, Kenny Williams, Joe Hendry, Mark Coffey, BT Gunn, and Liam Thomson, promoted in conjunction with the Scottish Wrestling Alliance.
Canada’s SMASH Wrestling will host the Canadian qualifier, at the Phoenix Concert Hall in Toronto, with the date and competitors to be announced.
Interestingly, the Mexican round will be held in the UK, at Coventry’s SkyDome — an arena used in the past for Pro Wrestling NOAH and other large-scale events under the auspices of WCPW commentator Alex Shane — on April 30th, and will include Rey Mysterio Jr., Alberto El Patron, Caristico, Penta El 0M, Rey Fenix, El Hijo del Dos Caras, Drago, and — humorously but kayfabe accurate — El Ligero.
The last scheduled to be announced was the German qualifier, hosted by Ahmed Chaer’s German Wrestling Federation at Berlin’s Huxley’s Neue Welt on July 2nd, which will include wXw’s Bad Bones and Axel Dieter Jr., alongside Alex Wright trainee Juvenile X, and GWF regulars Crazy Sexy Mike, Cash Money Erkan, Lucky Kid, Tarkan Aslan, and Pascal Spalter.
More information — regarding the remaining qualifying rounds and the format for the final four days — will be announced in due course, and the best place to find it is at WCPW’s website, as well as on their social media.
WCPW have as many critics as fans — although their YouTube channel does have over 1 million subscribers — but this looks to be something ambitious and innovative which is deserving of attention, and has star power as well as local favorites involved to keep the interest through to the finals.
I’ll be covering the iPPV in my regular column — The Week In British Wrestling — later this week.
Mexico City, Mexico:
– Tarzan Lopez defeated Black Guzman to win the NWA World Middleweight Title
1969
Tampa, Florida:
– Dory Funk, Jr. defeated Gene Kiniski for the NWA World Heavyweight Title
1973
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– NWA Title: Dory Funk Jr defeated Johnny Valentine
– The Sheik no contest Tony Marino
– Bulldog Brower defeated Big Mike Loren
– Pampero Firpo defeated Ivan Kalmikoff
– Tony Parisi/Dominic Denucci defeated Killer Brooks/Great Kabooki by DQ
– Lord Athol Layton/The Beast beat Eric the Red/Big Brutus by DQ
– Tex McKenzie/Luis Martinez beat Butcher Vachon/Bull Gregory
– Haystack Calhoun/Fred Curry wrestled Lee Henning/Dandy Dan Miller to a draw
– Kurt Von Hess/Karl Von Schotz wrestled Sweet Daddy Siki/Mighty Igor to a draw
1975
Fort Myers, Florida:
– Bob Roop defeated Jos LeDuc
– Lights Out Match: The Patriots defeated Frank Hester & Tony Charles
– Mitsu Yoshida & Hiro Matsuda defeated The Red Shadows
– Ricky Fields drew The Spider
– The Great Malenko defeated George McCreary
1977
St. Louis, Missouri:
– NWA Champion Harley Race beat Superstar Billy Graham by DQ
– Dory Funk Jr & Pat O’Connor beat Shohei Giant Baba & Genichiro Tenyru
– Dick the Bruiser beat Roger Kirby & Ivan Koloff
– Ernie Ladd beat Guy Mitchell
– Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Moose Morowski & Bennie Ramirez
– Akio Sato beat Paul Christy
1979
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Shohei Giant Baba beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel by DQ
– Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu
– The Crusher no contest Super Destroyer Mark II
– Billy Robinson beat Cecil Dubois
– Iron Sheik beat Caesar Pabon
– Juan Valez beat Fernando Torres
1983
St. Louis, Missouri:
– Giant Baba defeated Harley Race to win the Pacific Wrestling Federation World Heavyweight Title
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
– WWF World Champion Bob Backlund defeated Intercontinental Champion Magnificent Muraco in a Texas Death Match
1984
Boston, Massachusetts:
– Tito Santana defeated the Magnificent Muraco to win the WWF Intercontinental Title
1985
Montreal, Quebec, Canada:
– Dino Bravo beat King Tonga to regain the International Title
– AWA Tag Team Champions Road Warriors beat Jos Leduc & Gino Brito Sr
1993
Beckley, West Virginia:
– Killer Kyle defeated Robbie Eagle
– Tim Horner defeated the Nightstalker
– SMW Heavyweight Champion The Dirty White Boy defeated Tracy Smothers via disqualification
– Bobby Eaton & SMW Tag Team Champion Tom Prichard fought Robert Fuller & Jimmy Golden to a double disqualification
– SMW Tag Team Champions Stan Lane & Tom Prichard defeated Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson
1996
WCW WCW SuperBrawl: St. Petersburg, Florida:
– Ric Flair defeated Randy Savage in a steel cage match to win the WCW World Title
– Hulk Hogan defeated The Giant (Big Show) in a steel cage match
– World Tag Team Champions Sting & Lex Luger defeated The Road Warriors
2015
NJPW The New Beginning: Osaka, Japan:
– IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Kenny Omega defeated Ryusuke Taguchi to retain the title
– IWGP Junior Heavyweight TagTeam Championship: The Young Bucks defeated Time Splitters and ReDRagon to retain the titles
– IWGP Tag Team Championship: Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson defeated Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto to retain the titles
– IWGP Heavyweight Championship: AJ Styles defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the title
WWE NXT Takeover: Rivals: Winter Park, Florida:
– Hideo Itami defeated Tyler Breeze
– WWE NXT Tag Team champions Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy defeated The Lucha Dragons to retain the titles
– WWE NXT Women’s championship: Sasha Banks became new champion by defeating Charlotte, Bayley and Becky Lynch
– WWE NXT championhip: Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn to become new champion
Salvador “Chavo” Guerrero III, also known as Chavo Sr. and Chavo Classic, passed away today after an illness at the age of 68.
Guerrero was believed to have been suffering from liver cancer and had entered hospice care more than a week ago.
Chavo Guerrero was the son of Mexican wrestling legend Gori Guerrero, and nephew of Enrique Llanes, another 1950s legend. He started his career in 1970 as Gori Guerrero Jr., working for his father in El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. He also worked as a wrestling coach. His first full-time territory was Florida in 1974, and although talented, was buried under the incredible talent in the promotion.
He came to California in 1975 as an unknown, but was pushed quickly as a top babyface and immediately became one of the biggest stars in wrestling due to hie exposure on the Spanish International Network (now Univision). Soon, brothers Mando and Hector and father Gori were working regularly in the promotion and were the dominant bnbyfaces. Youngest brother Eddy started wrestling in the late 80s. No matter how much Eddy was praised, he would always insist that Chavo was the best wrestler in the family.
In the mid-to-late 1970s, Chavo Guerrero was best known for a lengthy feud with Roddy Piper that put both men on the map as major wrestling stars. He was also the booker at times, and the Guerreros were the stars of the promotion,
He held the Americas title roughly 15 times and in his prime was one of the best in-ring performers in the world. While he remained a star wrestler, particularly in Japan for his matches with the likes of Tatsumi Fujinami and Atsushi Onita, he never achieved the stardom after leaving Los Angeles. At the 1980 Shea Stadium show headlined by Bruno Sammartino vs. Larry Zbyszko, a match with Fujinami vs. Guerrero was the best match on the card.
A former college wrestler at the University of Texas at El Paso, he was small and acrobatic based on his time period, and developed the moonsault block as one of his trademark moves, perhaps the first wrestler who worked on top in the U.S. to use it.
He had a run as Chavo Classic in the WWE in 2004, which ended due to him having several issues.
Guerrero was on the Hall of Fame ballot for several years before dropping off. The musical group The Mountain Goats, who grew up as wrestling fans, idolized him and he was the subject of the 2015 song “The Legend of Chavo Guerrero.”
He was wrestling as late as the end of November in Japan, including appearing on the November 27th All Japan show at Sumo Hall in Tokyo.
Only a few people were aware of his illness and he did not want sympathy from anyone at the end and asked that it be kept quiet.
St. Louis, Missouri:
– World Heavyweight Champion Joe Stecher beat Jim Londos in 2 out of 3 falls
– Stanislaus Zbyszko beat Jack Brissler
1955
Columbus, Ohio:
– Buddy Rogers and Great Scott defeated Stan Holek and Bill Miller for the Midwest Wrestling Association American Tag Team Titles
1965
Lubbock, Texas:
– Johnny Valentine defeated Dory Funk, Sr. to win the Amarillo NWA North American Heavyweight Title
1967
Los Angeles, California:
– Pedro Morales and Ricky Romero defeated Hard Boiled Haggerty and El Shereef to win the World Wrestling Association World Tag Team Titles
1968
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Harley Race
– Dr X beat Luke Brown
– Mad Dog Vachon no contest Bill Watts
– Rene Goulet & Eddie Sharkey beat Mark Starr & George Gadaski
– Kenny Jay beat Guy Taylor
1970
Orlando, Florida:
– Jack Brisco defeated Mr. Saito for the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title
– Dante and The Great Mephisto defeated Sailor Art Thomas and Thunderbolt Patterson to win the Florida NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1973
St. Louis, Missouri:
– Terry Funk defeated Johnny Valentine to win the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title
Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Billy Robinson & Don Muraco
– Superstar Billy Graham beat Bill Watts
– Rene Goulet beat George Scott
– Reggie Parks beat Lord Blears
– Ken Patera beat Johnny Heidman
1978
Los Angeles, California:
– Hector Guerrero defeated The Canadian (Roddy Piper) for the NWA Americas Heavyweight Title
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Georgia Champion Stan Hansen drew Dick Slater
– AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Tommy Rich
– Ole Anderson beat Bob Armstrong
– Dusty Rhodes beat Abdullah The Butcher
– Mr Wrestling II & Tony Atlas beat Bounty Hunter & Jacques Goulet
– Adrian Adonis beat The Invader
1979
Chicago, Illinois:
– Giant Baba defeated Abdullah the Butcher for the AJPW PWF Heavyweight Title
1980
Knoxville, Tennessee:
– The Matador (Jerry Stubbs) and Mike Stallings defeated Dennis Condrey and David Schultz in a rematch for the held-up NWA Southeastern
Tag Team Titles
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Dewey Robertson retained The Canadian title pinning The Sensational Intelligent Destroyer
– Ric Flair won by disqualification over U.S. champion Jimmy Snuka
– Texas Street Fight: Black Jack Mulligan won over Big John Studd
– Pedro Morales defeated Brute Bernard
– The Blue Demons defeated Klondike Bill and Nick DeCarlo
1982
Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
– Greg Gagne beat AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkel by DQ
– Ken Patera & Bobby Duncum beat Tito Santana & Hulk Hogan
– Weasel Suit Match: Buck Zumhofe beat Bobby Heenan
– Jerry Blackwell beat Jim Brunzell
– Brad Rheingans drew Sheik Adnan El Kassie
– Baron Von Raschke beat Sgt. Jacques Goulet
1985
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Jimmy Snuka defeated Rowdy Roddy Piper on a count out
– W.W.F. world tag team champions Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham and the team of Nikola Volkoff and the Iron Sheik were both disqualified
– Hillbilly Jim defeated Rex Moondog
– Cowboy Bob Orton defeated George Wells
– Brutus Beefcake defeated SD Jones
– Dick Murdoch defeated Nick DeCarlo
– Black Jack Mulligan defeated Goldie Rogers
1990
Tokyo Dome: Tokyo, Japan:
– Masa Saito defeated AWA World Heavyweight Champion Larry Zbyszko to win the title
– Special referee: Lou Thesz: Antonio Inoki & Seiji Sakaguchi beat Shinya Hashimoto & Masa Chono
– Koji Kitao beat Bam Bam Bigelow
– IWGP Champion Big Van Vader dcor Stan Hansen
– Genichiro Tenryu & Tiger Mask beat Riki Choshu & George Takano
– Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu beat Kengo Kimura & Osamu Kido
– Steve Williams beat Salman Hashimikov
– Brad Rheingans beat Victor Zangiev
1991
Richmond, Virginia:
– Tim Horner defeated Bob Morgan
– Tom Zenk defeated Rip Rogers
– The Junkyard Dog defeated Buddy Landel
– WCW US Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated the Master Blasters
– Danny Spivey defeated Brad Armstrong
– WCW US Champion Lex Luger defeated Stan Hansen via count-out
– WCW Tag Team Champions Doom defeated Barry Windham & the Big Cat (sub. for WCW TV Champion Arn Anderson)
– Sting defeated WCW World Champion Ric Flair via disqualification
1992
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Kamala defeated Koko B. Ware for the held-up USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title
– Brian Christopher defeated Tom Prichard for the USWA Texas Heavyweight Title
1996
Caguas, Puerto Rico:
– Abdullah the Butcher defeated Mabel to win the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title
2008
TNA Against All Odds: Orlando, Florida:
– TNA Knockouts champion, Awesome Kong defeated ODB to retain the title
– TNA champion, Kurt Angle defeated Christian Cage to retain the title
We have finally launched our Pro Wrestling Tees store, with four different designs currently available. If we sell enough shirts, we will be allowed to offer more designs.
Check out the shirts below, and pick up one today to show your support~!
Des Moines, Iowa:
– World Heavyweight Champion Earl Caddock defeated Wladek Zbyszko
1954
Birmingham, Alabama:
– Fred Blassie defeated Don McIntyre to win the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1957
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Don and Mark Lewin defeated Chief Big Heart and Red McIntyre for the Georgia NWA International Tag Team Title
1962
Rochester, Minnesota:
– Death Match: Verne Gagne beat Bob Geigel
– AWA Champion Mr. M beat Tiny Mills by DQ
– Joe Scarpello drew Nikita Kalmikoff
1963
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Eddie Graham defeated Fred Blassie to win the Georgia version of the NWA World Heavyweight Title
1966
Dallas, Texas:
– The Destroyer (Dick Beyer) and The Golden Terror defeated Kanji (Antonio) Inoki and Duke Keomuka to win the Texas NWA World Tag Team
Title
1967
Mobile, Alabama:
– Dennis Hall and Roger Kirby defeated Frank and Jack Dalton for the Gulf Coast NWA United States Tag Team Titles
1971
Madison Square Garden, New York:
– WWWF United States Heavyweight Champion Pedro Morales pinned WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff to win the title
1973
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
– Bob Kelly defeated The Mysterious Medic for the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title
1975
Winston-Salem, North Carolina:
– Ric Flair defeated Paul Jones for the NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Title (Flair’s first pro wrestling title)
Detroit, Michigan:
– Abdullah the Butcher defeated Bobo Brazil to win the Detroit NWA United States Heavyweight Title
1978
Honolulu, Hawaii:
– AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat John Tolos
– North American Champion Rick Martel beat Tor Kamata by DQ
– Hawaiian Tag Team Champions Steve Strong & Chris Markoff beat Russ & Bill Francis
– Rocky Tomayo beat Tosh Togo by countout
– Billy Whitewolf beat Duke Savage
– Sam Steamboat beat Bruce Brown
1980
Tokyo, Japan:
– Stan Hansen defeated Antonio Inoki for the National Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Title
1985
Dallas, Texas:
– Chris Adams defeated Kerry Von Erich to win the World Class American Heavyweight Title
1986
Boston, Massachusetts:
-Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) pinned WWF Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana to win the title
1987
Shawano, Wisconsin:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Midnight Rockers beat Buddy Rose & Doug Somers
– Non Title: AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Larry Zbyszko dq
– Mr. Saito beat Buck Zumhofe
– Super Ninja beat Earthquake Ferris
– Colonel DeBeers beat Steve Olsonoski
1988
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Max Pain (Daryl Peterson) defeated Jerry Lawler for the Continental Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title
1991
Nashville, Tennessee:
– Dutch Mantel pinned Joe Cazana
– The Royal Family defeated Ricky Morton & Tommy Rich
– Brian Pillman pinned Jim Corbett
– WCW US Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Jimmy Garvin & Dutch Mantel
– Terry Taylor pinned Larry Zbyszko
– WCW US Champion Lex Luger pinned Stan Hansen in a Texas Death match
Roanoke, Virginia:
– Tim Horner pinned Scott Sandlin
– Tracey Smothers & Steve Armstrong defeated Rip Rogers & Mike Graham
– Dan Spivey pinned Brad Armstrong
– The Junkyard Dog pinned Rob Morgan
– Tom Zenk pinned Buddy Landel
– Big Cat (sub. for WCW Tag Team Champion Butch Reed) & WCW Tag Team Champion Ron Simmons defeated Barry Windham & Dan Spivey (sub. for WCW TV Champion Arn Anderson)
– WCW World Champion Ric Flair defeated Sting via disqualification
1992
Sapporo, Japan:
– Jushin Liger won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title from Norio Honaga
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Tom Prichard defeated Eric Embry for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1999
Buffalo, New York:
– Roddy Piper pinned WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart to win the title
2000
Austin, Texas:
– Kurt Angle pinned WWF European Champion Val Venis to win the title
2002
Indianapolis, Indiana:
– Ace Steel defeated Kurt Krueger for the IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Title
2004
Falls River, Massachusetts:
– Low Ki defeated Justin Credible to win the Premier Wrestling Federation Universal Heavyweight Title
2009
TNA Against All Odds: Orlando, Florida:
– TNA Tag Team Champions Beer Money Inc. defeated Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed
– TNA World Champion Sting defeated Kurt Angle, Brother Ray and Brother Devon to retain the title
Des Moines, Iowa:
– World Heavyweight Champion Frank Gotch beat Fred Beell 2 falls to 0
1952
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Heart of America Champion Bob Orton Sr. beat Enrique Torres in 2 out of 3 falls
– Jack Kennedy and Sonny Myers beat Ray Eckert and Babe Zaharias
1956
Dallas, Texas:
– Pepper Gomez and Luigi Macera defeated Duke Keomuka and Tiny Mills to win the NWA Texas Tag Team Titles
1957
Amarillo, Texas:
– The Great Bolo defeated Dory Funk to win the Amarillo NWA North American Heavyweight Title
Toronto, Ontario, California:
– Billy Watson and Yukon Eric wrestled Dick Hutton and Gene Kiniski to a draw
– Pat O’Connor beat Guy Brunetti
– The Miller Brothers, Bill and Ed, beat Timothy Geohagen and Red Lyons
– Hard boiled Haggerty beat Joe Brunetti
– The Mighty Ursus beat Mike Gallagher
1963
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz defeated WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Buddy Rogers in a Best-of-Three Falls match, 2-1, to retain the title
– Bulldog Brower and Tara Sakuri beat Gino Morella and Bruno Sammartino
– Johnny Valentine beat Sam Steamboat
– The Beast beat Fred Atkins
– Billy Red Lyons and Hans Schmidt went to a 15:00 draw
1969
Los Angeles, California:
– Pepper Gomez and Black Gordman defeated Paul Jones and Nelson Royal for the NWA Americas Tag Team Titles
1970
Honolulu, Hawaii:
– Johnny Barend defeated Pedro Morales to win the NWA Hawaii North American Heavyweight Title
1972
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:
– Bob Brown defeated Mark Lewin for the Vancouver NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title
1973
Honolulu, Hawaii:
– Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch beat Billy Robinson & Don Muraco
– Ripper Collins ddq Neff Maiava in 3rd fall
– Ken Patera beat Tapia
– Paul Jones beat Harley Race by DQ
– Ed Francis beat Lord Nelson
– Jimmy Snuka beat Pepto Castro
– Bulldog Bob Brown drew Sam Steamboat
1974
Indianapolis, Indiana:
– The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy and Johnny) defeated Dick the Bruiser and Bruno Sammartino to win the WWA World Tag Team Titles
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Baron Scicluna & Bob Orton defeated Jim Brunzell & Mike George
– Omar Atlas defeated Taro Kabayoshi
– Bull Bullinski defeated Frank Valois
– Don Fargo fought The Viking to a draw
– Handicap Match: Andre the Giant defeated Tokyo Joe & Percy Pringle
– Jack Brisco defeated Roger Kirby
1975
St. Joseph, Missouri:
– Jerry Oates defeated Terry Martin to win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title
1976
San Francisco, California:
– Mr. Fuji defeated Pat Patterson to win the San Francisco NWA United States Heavyweight Title
Chicago, Illinois:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Dick the Bruiser & the Crusher no contest Jimmy Valiant & Johnny Valiant
– Bobby Duncum beat Verne Gagne by DQ
– Wilbur Snyder beat Sgt. Jacques Goulet
– Bobby Heenan drew Jim Brunzell
– Jos LeDuc beat Soldier LeBoeuf
– Larry Hennig drew Chuck O’Connor (Big John Studd)
– Sailor Art Thomas beat Kim Duk
1977
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Porkchop Cash and Gorgeous George, Jr. defeated Bill Dundee and Ricky Gibson to win the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1979
Portland, Oregon:
– Roddy Piper defeated Jonathon Boyd to win the NWA Pacific Title
1981
Greensboro, North Carolina:
– Mr. Fuji and Tenryu defeated Dewey Robertson and George Wells to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Title
1982
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Dutch Mantel defeated Jerry Lawler for the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan by countout
– Ken Patera beat Hulk Hogan by DQ
– Tito Santana beat Bobby Duncum
– Baron Von Raschke beat Sgt. Goulet
– Brad Rheingans beat Bobby Heenan by countout
– Buck Zumhofe beat Ricky Hunter
1983
Louisville, Kentucky:
– The Sheepherders (Jonathan Boyd and Luke Williams) defeated The Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn and Stan Lane) to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1984
– The Dynamite Kid defeated The Cobra (George Takano) in the finals of a month-long eight-man round-robin tournament to win the vacant WWF Junior Heavyweight Title
Mobile, Alabama:
– Wayne Ferris (Honky Tonk Man) won a tournament final to win the vacant NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title
1985
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
– Blackjack Lanza (sub Jerry Blackwell) & Sgt. Slaughter beat Masked Superstar & King Tonga (sub King Kong Brody) by DQ
– Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat AWA Tag Team Champions Road Warriors by DQ
– Jim Garvin beat Baron Von Raschke
– Tom Zenk drew Steve Regal
– Nick Bockwinkel beat Curt Hennig
– Buddy Lane beat Rick Renslow
– John Nord beat Drew Tossell
1986
Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
– Leo Burke and Ron Ritchie defeated Wayne Ferris and Ron Starr to win the Stampede International Tag Team Titles
1987
Fort Worth, Texas:
– Chris Adams and Terry Taylor defeated Rick Steiner and Sting to win the vacant UWF World Tag Team Titles in a tournament final
1989
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Larry Zbyszko won a battle royal to win the vacant AWA World Heavyweight Title
– Tom Zenk & Wahoo McDaniel beat Manny Fernandez & Larry Zbyszko
– Tom Zenk & Ken Patera beat AWA Tag Team Champions Badd Company Pat Tanaka & Paul Diamond by DQ
– Destruction Crew Mike Enos & Wayne Bloom beat Top Guns Ricky Rice & Derrick Dukes
1991
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Charlie Norris defeated Terminator Rigs to win the Pro Wrestling America Heavyweight Title
1992
Jacksonville, Florida:
– Terrance Taylor defeated Marcus Alexander Bagwell
– Johnny B. Badd pinned Richard Morton
– Ron Simmons pinned Diamond Dallas Page
– Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Tracy Smothers & Steve Armstrong
– Abdullah the Butcher pinned Cactus Jack
– Barry Windham pinned Larry Zbyzsko in a bullrope match
– Sting, Ricky Steamboat, & Dustin Rhodes defeated WCW US Champion Rick Rude, WCW Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton in a steel cage match
Eugene, Oregon:
– Steve Doll defeated Ron Harris to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title
Denver, Colorado:
– Money, Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster) defeated The Legion of Doom (Animal and Hawk) for the WWF Tag Team Titles
1993
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Steve Regal pinned Tex Slazenger
– The Wrecking Crew defeated Joey Maggs & Marcus Alexander Bagwell
– 2 Cold Scorpio pinned Scotty Flamingo
– Chris Benoit pinned Tom Zenk
– Vinnie Vegas pinned Johnny Gunn
– Paul Orndorff pinned Cactus Jack
– WCW World Champion Big Van Vader defeated Sting via disqualification
– WCW US Champion Dustin Rhodes, WCW/NWA Tag Team Champions Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas defeated Barry Windham, Steve Austin & Brian Pillman in an elimination match
1994
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Doug Gilbert defeated Brian Christopher in a hair vs. title match to win the USWA Title
– Jerry Lawler defeated Eddie Gilbert to win the USWA Unified World Title
1998
Sapporo, Japan:
– Jushin Liger defeated Shinjiro Otani to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
2003
Clarksville, Indiana:
– Chris Hero defeated IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion CM Punk in a Two out of Three Falls match, 2-1, to win the title
2004
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– Masato Tanaka defeated Jerry Lynn to become the first WORLD-1 Heavyweight Champion
2013
TNA Impact:
– Bobby Roode & Austin Aries defeated Chavo Guerrero, Jr & Hernandez to win the TNA World Tag Team Titles
Boston, Massachusetts:
– William Muldoon defeated American Collar-and-Elbow Champion James Owens to win the title
1911
Sioux City, Iowa:
– World Heavyweight Champion Frank Gotch beat Kara Osman 2 falls to 0
1930
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– World Heavyweight Champion Gus Sonnenberg beat John Freberg 2 falls to 0
1958
Hattiesburg, Mississippi:
– Lee Fields and Lester Welch defeated The Corsicans (Jean and Joe) to win the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Titles
1964
Honolulu, Hawaii:
– Hard Boiled Haggerty defeated Neff Maivia to win the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title
1965
Detroit, Michigan:
– The Sheik defeated Johnny Valentine for the Detroit NWA United States Heavyweight Title
St. Paul, Minnesota:
– Verne Gagne beat AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon by DQ
– The Crusher beat Tiny Mills
– Junior Heavyweight Champion Danny Hodge beat Bob Boyer
– Reggie Parks beat Nicoli Volkoff
1967
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:
– Don Jardine and Dutch Savage defeated Chris and John Tolos to win the Vancouver NWA World Tag Team Titles
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Professor Ito and Tojo Yamamoto defeated Jackie Fargo and Herb Welch for the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Titles
1968
Baton Rouge, Louisiana:
– Bobby Fields won the NWA Louisiana Heavyweight Title from defeating Frank Dalton
1970
Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
– Abdullah the Butcher defeated Billy Robinson to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title
Tokyo, Japan:
– AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Shozo “Strong” Kobayashi 2 out of 3 falls
– Great Kusatsu & Thunder Sukiyama beat Quasimodo & Monster Roussimoff (Andre the Giant)
– Michael Nador beat Mighty Inoue
– Bad Boy Shields beat Tadaharu Tanaka
Denver, Colorado:
– The Crusher beat Mad Dog Vachon 2 out of 3 falls
– Pepper Gomez beat Butcher Vachon 2 out of 3 falls
– Harley Race beat Reggie Parks
– Bob Windham beat Buddy Smith
– Joe Scarpello drew Jack Pesek
1971
Honolulu, Hawaii:
– King Curtis drew AWA Champion Verne Gagne
– Frankie Laine beat Ripper Collins to win NWA Hawaiian Title
– Lonnie Mayne beat Beauregard
– Don Muraco beat Mr. Fujiwara
– Dale Lewis beat Pierre Duranton
1973
Tampa, Florida:
– Buddy Colt defeated Mark Lewin to win the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1975
Kansas City, Kansas
– Rufus R. Jones & Haystack Calhoun & The Viking defeated Lord Alfred Hayes & Oki Shikina & Billy Howard
– Terry Martin defeated Bobby Jaggers
– Jerry Oates defeated Tommy Martin
– Mike George defeated Chuck O’Connor (Big John Studd) via DQ
– The Interns defeated Tony Russo & Ted Oates
– PWF Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba defeated Dick the Bruiser via DQ
– World Heavyweight Champion Jack Brisco defeated Omar Atlas in three falls
1977
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Harley Race defeated Terry Funk to win the NWA World Title
– Bobo Brazil defeated The Sheik to win the Toronto NWA United States Heavyweight Title
– Chief Jay Strongbow and Stan Stasiak defeated Ivan Koloff and The Wolfman
– Edouard Carpentier and Gino Brito won by disqualification over Tarzan Tyler and Reginald Love
1981
Denver, Colorado:
– Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat AWA Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura by DQ
– Nick Bockwinkel beat Tito Santana
– Bobby Heenan beat Buck Zumhofe
– Jerry Blackwell drew Billy Robinson
– Brad Rheingans beat Steve Regal
1983
Memphis, Tennessee:
– The Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn and Stan Lane) are awarded the AWA Southern Tag Team Title after the title was stripped from The Sheepherders (Jonathan Boyd and Luke Williams)
1984
Fort Worth, Texas:
– Iceman King Parsons defeated The Super Destroyer (Scott Irwin) to win the World Class Television Title
West Palm Beach, Florida:
– Black Bart and Ron Bass defeated Mike Davis and Mike Rotundo for the Florida NWA United States Tag Team Titles
Memphis, Tennessee:
– The Pretty Young Things (Norvell Austin and Sweet Brown Sugar) defeated The Zambuie Express (Elijah Akeem and Kareem Muhammad) for the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1985
Tampa, Florida:
– Norvell Austin defeated Jay Youngblood
– Koko Ware defeated Mark Youngblood
– Brian Blair defeated Jesse Barr
– Dutch Mantell defeated Missing Link by disqualification
– Pez Whatley defeated Southern champ Rick Rude by countout
– Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy defeated the Assassins
1988
St. Joseph, Missouri:
– Bob Brown and The Cuban Assassin defeated Rick Patterson and Stevie Ray in a tournament final to win the vacant NWA Central States Tag Team Titles
1990
WCW Clash of Champions: Corpus Christi, Texas:
– NWA World Tag Team Champions The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) defeated Doom (Butch Reed and Ron Simmons) in a Title vs. Masks match to retain the titles
– The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk) defeated The Skyscrapers (Dan Spivey and Mark Callous) by disqualification
– The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Ole Anderson, and Arn Anderson) defeated Gary Hart International (The Dragonmaster, Buzz Sawyer, and The Great Muta) (with Gary Hart)
Louisville, Kentucky:
– Robert Fuller and Brian Lee won the USWA Tag Team Titles from The Southern Rockers (Steve Doll and Rex King)
1991
Augusta, Georgia:
– Moondog Rex defeated Mike Winner
– Terry Taylor fought Bobby Eaton to a draw
– Ricky Morton defeated Michael Hayes
– Dan Spivey defeated Tom Zenk
– Brian Pillman defeated Buddy Landel
– Sting, WCW US Champion Lex Luger, WCW US Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated WCW World Champion Ric Flair, Sid Vicious, Barry Windham, & the Big Cat
1993
Morristown, Tennessee:
– Tim Horner defeated Killer Kyle
– The Dirty White Boy defeated Reno Riggins
– Brian Lee defeated Kevin Sullivan in a falls count anywhere match
– Bobby Eaton, SMW Tag Team Champions Stan Lane & Tom Prichard, & Bobby Eaton fought Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden, & Dutch Mantell to a double disqualification
– SMW Tag Team Champions Stan Lane & Tom Prichard defeated Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson
1994
Beckley, West Virginia:
– Robbie Eagle defeated Brad Batten
– Prince Kharis defeated Bart Batten via disqualification
– Bobby Blaze defeated Killer Kyle
– The Dirty White Boy & Tracy Smothers defeated SMW Heavyweight Champion Brian Lee & Chris Candido via disqualification
– SMW Tag Team Champions Tom Prichard & Jimmy Del Ray defeated Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson via count-out
1995
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Jerry Lawler defeated Sid Vicious to win the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title
1999
Nashville, Tennessee:
– The Tennessee Volunteerz (Steven Dunn and Reno Riggins) defeated The Australians (Bill Dundee and Ashley Hudson) to win the held-up NWA North American Tag Team Titles
2002
Jeffersonville, Indiana:
– Doug Basham and Damaja defeated The Lords of the Ring (Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore) for the OVW Southern Tag Team Titles
Wichita, Kansas:
– World Heavyweight Champion Joe Stecher beat Paul Martinson 2 falls to 0
1961
Omaha, Nebraska:
– Dr. X (Bill Miller) defeated Don Leo Jonathan for the Omaha World Heavyweight Title
1964
Tampa, Florida:
– World Tag Titles: Duke Keomuka & Hiro Matsuda defeated Brute Bernard & Skull Murphy by DQ to retain titles
– Tim Woods defeated Frank Valois
1965
Washington, DC:
– Dr. Bill and Dan Miller defeated Gorilla Monsoon and Bill Watts to win the WWWF United States Tag Team Titles
1967
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat The Alaskan & Killer Kowalski
– Doug Gilbert & Reggie Parks beat Bob Boyer & Eddie Sharkey
– Billy Red Cloud beat George Gadaski
– Steve Druk beat Great Dane
1969
Sapporo, Japan:
– Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki defeated Danny Hodge and Wilbur Snyder for the NWA International Tag Team Titles
Tampa, Florida:
– Hans Mortier defeated The Gladiator (Rick Hunter) to win the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title
1970
Honolulu, Hawaii:
– Ripper Collins defeated The Missing Link (Pampero Firpo) for the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title
Miami, Florida:
– NWA World Title: Jack Brisco (sub for Cyclon Negro) defeated Dory Funk, Jr.
– Florida Tag Titles: Bronko Lubich & Chris Markoff defeated Danny Miller & Sailor Art Thomas
– Southern Title: Missouri Mauler defeated Bob Roop
– Sailor Art Thomas (sub for Jack Brisco) & Sam Steamboat & Louie Tillet defeated Mephisto & Dante & Dr. Blood
– Bob Orton defeated Duke Savage
1973
Green Bay, Wisconsin:
– Dick the Bruiser & the Crusher no contest Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch in 3rd fall
– Wahoo McDaniel beat Larry Hennig
– Superstar Billy Graham beat Reggie Parks
– Nick Bockwinkel (sub Don Muraco) beat George Scott
– Jim Brunzell beat Johnny Heidman
1975
Macon, Georgia:
– Ron Garvin and Roger Kirby defeated Robert Fuller and Jimmy Golden to win the NWA Macon Tag Team Titles
Mobile, Alabama:
– Bobby Fields and Bob Kelly defeated The Hell’s Angels for the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Titles
1976
Miami, Florida:
– Thunderbolt Patterson defeated Frank Goodish (Bruiser Brody) to win the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title
– Bounty Match: Jack Brisco defeated Missouri Mauler
– Bob Roop & Bob Orton, Jr. defeated Dusty Rhodes & Eddie Graham
– Jerry Brisco & Dino Bravo defeated Mike York & the Outlaw (sub for George McCreary)
– King Curtis defeated Roosevelt Jones (sub for Billy Robinson)
– Steve Keirn defeated Karl Von Steiger
1977
Los Angeles, California:
– Chavo Guerrero defeated Dory Funk, Jr. to win the NWA Americas Heavyweight Title
St. Joseph, Missouri:
– Ted Oates defeated Bob (Sgt.) Slaughter to win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title
1979
Knoxville, Tennessee:
– Bob Armstrong and Ken Lucas defeated Jerry Blackwell and The Invader (Bob Orton, Jr.) for the NWA Southeastern Tag Team Titles
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Tiger Jeet Singh was disqualified against A.W.A. champion Nick Bockwinkle
– Ricky Steamboat retained the U.S. championship over Greg Valentine by DQ
– Dino Bravo retained the Canadian championship over Ric Flair at
– Dewey Robertson and Johnny Weaver defeated Swede Hanson and Len Denton at 9:51
1982
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
– Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan no contest Mad Dog Vachon & Baron Von Raschke
– Ken Patera & Bobby Duncum beat Hulk Hogan & Tito Santana
– Buck Zumhofe beat Bobby Heenan
– Greg Gagne drew Brad Rheingans
– Jim Brunzell beat Rene Goulet
1985
Fort Worth, Texas:
– Rip Oliver defeated Buck Zum Hoffe for the vacant World Class Television Title
1988
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Cage Match, Special referee: Leo Nomellini: Greg Gagne beat AWA Champion Curt Hennig (AWA belt held up)
– AWA Tag Team Champions Midnight Rockers beat Kevin Kelly & Mr. Go
– Dick The Bruiser beat Sheik Adnan by DQ (Hard Boiled Haggerty Referee)
– Wahoo McDaniel & Baron Von Raschke beat Nasty Boys
– Billy Robinson drew Tom Zenk
– Ray Stevens beat Soldat Ustinov
1991
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Lawler defeated The Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn and Stan Lane) to win the USWA Tag Team Titles
1992
Norfolk, Virginia:
– WCW US Tag Team Champions Terrence Taylor & Greg Valentine defeated Tom Zenk & Marcus Alexander Bagwell
1994
Appalachia, Virginia:
– Tracy Smothers defeated Chris Candido
– The Dirty White Boy defeated Brian Lee via disqualification
– SMW Tag Team Champions Tom Prichard & Jimmy Del Ray defeated Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson via disqualification
– Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson co-won a battle royal
1995
ECW Double Tables: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– Sabu and The Tazmaniac defeated ECW World Tag Team Champions The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock) in a Double Tables match
to win the tag team titles
– Chris Benoit defeated Al Snow
– ECW World Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas defeated Tully Blanchard to retain the title
– Cactus Jack defeated The Sandman in a Texas Death match
2002
WWE Monday Night Raw: Las Vegas, Nevada:
– WWF Tag Team Champions Spike Dudley & Tazz defeated The A.P.A. (Bradshaw & Faarooq) and Billy & Chuck in a Triple Threat Elimination match to retain the title
– WWF Intercontinental Champion William Regal defeated Rikishi by disqualification to retain the title
– Jazz pinned WWF Women’s Champion Trish Stratus to win the title
– WWF Undisputed Champion Chris Jericho and The Undertaker defeated Steve Austin and The Rock
2003
Nashville, Tennessee:
– Abyss and A.J. Styles defeated NWA World Tag Team Champions Red Shirt Security (Joe E. Legend and Kevin Northcutt) to win the tag team titles
– NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett defeated Dustin Rhodes to retain the title
2005
Samita, Japan:
– William Regal and Tajiri defeated World Tag Team Champions La Résistance (Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier) to win the title
– Shawn Michaels pinned Ric Flair
– World Heavyweight Champion Triple H pinned Edge to retain the title
Ivan Koloff, 74, one of pro wrestling’s leading heels of the 70s and 80s, is battling liver cancer.
Koloff is best known for his January 18th, 1971, win over Bruno Sammartino in Madison Square Garden which ended up being Sammartino’s only pinfall loss in that building in his entire career. The win ended Sammartino’s nearly eight year run as WWWF champion.
Koloff had already established himself as a major star years earlier by dropping his Irish gimmick as Red McNulty, and becoming the Russian Bear in Montreal, where he headlined a number of big drawing shows against Jacques Rougeau Sr. and others.
He was a top heel everywhere for more than 20 years, headlining at one point or another in almost every major territory and all over the world. In the early 70s, he and The Sheik were the two top heels in the U.S., and he remains to this day the only heel ever to leave the WWWF because he was so over they were afraid to keep him there for fear of a bad incident, because of the emotion caused by his win over Sammartino.
He left the WWWF only a few weeks after the win, dropping the title three weeks later to Pedro Morales, and not even having one rematch in Madison Square Garden, nor did he feud with Sammartino outside of Pittsburgh, which was a different territory at the time run by Sammartino and not Vince McMahon Sr.
He had a run on top during the second hottest period in AWA history, where he was a longtime top contender for Verne Gagne and wrestled him in the main event of a 1972 show at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Just as cable television was taking off, the tag team of Ole Anderson & Ivan Koloff were the headliners in Georgia, with a long program against Dusty Rhodes and a revolving set of partners.
He settled in the Carolinas in the 80s, forming a strong tag team with Don Kernodle, and more famously, the Russian trio with his so-called nephew, Nikita Koloff, and Krusher Khrushev, who later became Demolition Smash, Barry Darsow.
Koloff’s career on a major league level ended in 1989 after Crockett Promotions was purchased by Turner Broadcasting. He had a babyface turn, that worked for a short period of time but was clearly not going to suit him in the long run. He worked regularly for years doing independent shows and was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.
Koloff was known in his heyday for his conditioning in the ring and being a top level worker. While the Sammartino win was big, the reality is he got over everywhere he went at the top level, in places where the fan base didn’t even know Sammartino, but it did make him a larger-than-life heel when he would return to the WWWF going after titles, and was one of the best drawing challengers that would be brought in during the 70s and early 80s.
Tokyo, Japan:
– Luther Lindsay and Ricky Waldo defeated Rikidozan and Toyonobori to win the JWA All Asia Tag Team Titles
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– AWA Champion Mr. M beat Larry Hennig 2 out of 3 falls
– Duke Hoffman beat Karl Von Schober by DQ
– Tiny Mills beat Don Kramer
– Don Jardine (The Spoiler) beat Strangler Jackie O’Dell
1965
Mobile, Alabama:
– Bobby and Lee Fields defeated Terry Garvin and Chin Lee to win the Gulf Coast NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1967
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Enrique and Ramón Torres won the Georgia NWA World Tag Team Titles from Butcher and Mad Dog Vachon
Lafayette, Louisiana:
– Danny Little Bear defeated Jack Dalton for the NWA Gulf Coast Louisiana Heavyweight Title
1968
Tokyo, Japan:
– Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki defeated Crusher Lisowski and Dr. Bill Miller to win the NWA International Tag Team Titles
1970
Tampa, Florida:
– NWA World Title: Dory Funk, Jr. defeated Missouri Mauler
– Brass Knuckles Title: Danny Miller defeated Mr. Saito
– Bronko Lubich & Chris Markoff defeated Sam Steamboat & Louie Tillet
– Jack Brisco & Sailor Art Thomas defeated Mephisto & Dante by DQ
– Bob Orton defeated Cyclon Negro
– Buddy Fuller & Bob Roop defeated Duke Keomuka & Skull Von Stroheim
Hiroshima, Japan:
– AWA Champion Verne Gagne drew Strong Kobayashi
– Great Kusatsu & Thunder Sukiyama beat Michael Nador & Monster Rousimoff (Andre the Giant) to win IWA World Tag Titles
1972
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Bob Orton & Benny Ramirez fought The Viking & Steve Bolus to a draw
– Rufus R. Jones defeated Blackjack Black
– Black Angus defeated Terry Martin
– Danny Little Bear & Baron Von Raschke defeated Chati Yokuchi & Yasu Fuji in three falls
– Harley Race defeated Omar Atlas in three falls
1973
– Johnny Powers defeated Karl Von Krupp to win the NWF North American Heavyweight Title
Sarasota, Florida:
– Southern Title: Mark Lewin defeated Buddy Colt
– Florida Title: Jack Brisco defeated Gorgeous George, Jr.
– Florida Tag Titles: Big Bad John & Tim Woods defeated Chris Markoff & Blackjack Slade
– Phil Robley & Dick Slater drew Roberto Soto & Kevin Sullivan
1976
Raleigh, North Carolina:
– The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Gene and Ole Anderson) defeated Rufus R. Jones and Wahoo McDaniel to win the NWA World Tag Team Titles
Mobile, Alabama;
– Eddie Sullivan defeated Bob Sweetan to win the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title
1977
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Giant Baba & Tenyru drew with Pat O’Conner & Akio Sato
– Bulldog Bob Brown defeated “DI” Bob Slaughter (Sgt.)
– Ernie Ladd beat Ted Oates
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
– The Crusher beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel by DQ
– Non Title: Larry Hennig & Ray Stevens beat AWA Tag Team Champions Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum
– Peter Maivia beat Angelo Mosca
– Jim Brunzell double count out Pedro Morales
– Greg Gagne beat Roger Kirby
– Super Destroyer beat Billy Francis
– Moose Morowski beat Iron Sheik
1980
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Bruiser Brody and Ernie Ladd defeated Jerry and Ted Oates to win the vacant NWA Central States Tag Team Title in a one night tournament final
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Non Title Cage match: The Crusher beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel
– Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura beat Mad Dog Vachon & Greg Gagne
– Steve Olsonoski beat Jerry Blackwell by DQ
– Super Destroyer Mark II beat Super Destroyer Mark III
– Chris Markoff drew Buck Zumhofe
1983
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
– Cage match: AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan
– AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Rick Martel
– Ken Patera beat Steve O
– Wahoo McDaniel beat Bobby Duncum
– Jesse Ventura beat Buck Zumhofe
– Baron Von Raschke beat Rene Goulet
1984
Dallas, Texas:
– David Von Erich defeated Michael Hayes to win the NWA United National Heavyweight Title
1989
WWF Main Event: Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
– The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and WWF Champion Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth)) defeated The Twin Towers (Akeem and The Big Boss Man) (with Slick),
– Ted DiBiase (with Virgil) defeated Hercules
Dallas, Texas:
– Brickhouse Brown defeated Iceman Parsons to win the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Title
1990
Portland, Oregon:
– Curtis Thompson (Firebreaker Chip) defeated Scotty the Body (Raven) for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title
Memphis, Tennessee:
– The Southern Rockers (Steve Doll and Rex King) defeated Robert Fuller and Brian Lee to win the USWA Tag Team Titles
1991
Dallas, Texas:
– Kevin Von Erich defeated The Angel of Death to win the Texas Wrestling Federation Texas Heavyweight Title
Bayamon, Puerto Rico:
– El Bronco and Invader I defeat The Texas Hangmen (Killer and Psycho) to win the WWC World Tag Team Titles
Landover, Maryland:
– The Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels) defeated Demolition (Smash and Crush)
– Roddy Piper defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect (with Bobby Heenan) by countout
– WWF Champion Sgt. Slaughter (subbing for Randy Savage) defeated The Ultimate Warrior in a Steel Cage match
1996
ECW Big Apple Blizzard Blast: Queens, New York:
– The Eliminators (Kronus and Saturn) defeated Cactus Jack and Mikey Whipwreck for the ECW World Tag Team Titles
1998
Tokyo, Japan:
– Yoshihiro Tajiri defeated Gedo in the finals of a eight-man one-night tournament to become the first BJW Junior Heavyweight Champion
2004
Cleveland, Ohio:
– Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty defeated WWE Tag Team Champions The Basham Brothers to win the titles
– Kurt Angle defeated Hardcore Holly
– The World’s Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) defeated Funaki and Ultimo Dragon
It’s been just over six months since the WWE draft. Since that time, WWE has had three of their big four pay-per-views of the year and we’re now on the Road to WrestleMania. I thought it might be a good time to go back and look at the draft in retrospect.
I will look at all 30 individuals drafted on the live special and assign a letter grade based on their draft position and how their career has gone since then. Then I’ll look at the people who were drafted on the post-show special on the Network and identify sleeper picks.
The final pieces are the wrestlers who have been added since the brand split and their impact on their brand and WWE as a whole.
2016 WWE Draft —
Raw’s picks —
1. Seth Rollins — B-
Rollins returned from injury shortly before he was drafted but came back to be part of the focal point of Raw storylines during a period when ratings were declining. He just recently suffered another injury which puts his WrestleMania status in doubt.
2. Charlotte — A
She’s been the focal point of the women’s division and part of the first ever women’s match to headline a WWE PPV.
3. Finn Balor — B
Really, this should be “incomplete” but I think he made enough of an impact in the short time before getting injured to warrant a letter grade.
4. Roman Reigns — B
Very similar to Rollins, except he managed to stay healthy through the time frame.
5. Brock Lesnar — A-
Very good use of him, especially considering the draft position. When he’s there, he’s generally the focus of the show and will almost certainly be a part of the closing match at Mania.
6. The New Day — B-
They held the tag team titles for most of the time period, setting the all-time WWE/WWF record for the longest reign. They feel colder now than they did before the brand split, though.
7. Sami Zayn — C-
He’s definitely in a worse spot now than when he was drafted. It will be interesting to see what plans, if any, there are for him at Mania.
8. Sasha Banks — B+
She’s been right alongside Charlotte as the focus of the women’s division, although she’s taking a step back now to feud with Nia Jax.
9. Chris Jericho — A
The second biggest steal of the draft given that he’s been one of the four main people focused on for his brand for most of the time period.
10. Rusev w/ Lana —B-
They’re consistently one of the most entertaining acts on the show. Rusev has been kept out of the title picture for the most part or he’d have a higher grade.
11. Kevin Owens — A+
The steal of the draft for either side. With the injury to Balor, he essentially took the ball and ran with it. He will likely take a step back during Mania season as most expect him to lose the Universal title at Fast Lane.
12. Enzo Amore & Big Cass — B
Maybe the best pure babyfaces on the Raw roster as they consistently get the biggest reactions coming out. They’re nowhere close to title contention but not everyone can be.
13. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson — C+
They just recently won the tag team titles, which saved them from a failing grade. They floundered for much of the year.
14. Big Show — C-
Given how often he’s used, he shouldn’t have been drafted on the main show. He’s supposed to have a featured Mania match with Shaquille O’Neal but really has only appeared on Raw a handful of times.
15. Nia Jax — B-
Jax pushed hard out of the gate, getting squash wins for months. Since then, she’s been just outside the fringe of title contention. Should have a big year after Mania.
16. Neville — B
Neville was wasted for most of the time period but has rejuvenated the cruiserweight division since returning.
17. Cesaro — B
He feuded with New Day for most of the time period after being put in a tag team with rival Sheamus and ending their record title reign.
18. Sheamus — B
See Cesaro.
Overall grade for Raw’s main draft — B-
SmackDown’s picks —
1. Dean Ambrose — A-
Ambrose was the World Champion at the time of the draft and carried it to SmackDown. He feuded with AJ Styles over the championship and then moved on to feud with The Miz over the IC title, eventually winning that belt.
2. AJ Styles — A+
Styles has been the World Champion for most of the time period and carried the brand. Yes, he had a high draft position but he performed far better than most thought he would.
3. John Cena — B+
Would be higher if he were more active. Cena feuded almost exclusively with AJ Styles, having excellent matches every time out before winning his 16th World title.
4. Randy Orton — B-
Orton has taken a back seat to Bray Wyatt as part of the Wyatt Family but is coming off winning the Royal Rumble, so obviously he will be a key focus of WrestleMania.
5. Bray Wyatt — B-
Similar to Orton, he hasn’t been close to the title picture at all but was part of the tag champions for a short time.
6. Becky Lynch — B+
While the SmackDown women’s division hasn’t been quite the focus it has been on the Raw side, it’s not that far off and she was champion for much of the time since the draft.
7. The Miz w/ Maryse — A
Other than Kevin Owens, and perhaps AJ Styles, no one on either brand has improved their stock more than he has. Miz almost single-handedly made Talking Smack a must-watch show early on.
8. Baron Corbin — B
Corbin is just outside the World title picture and may be in for something big at Mania. Other than Orton, he was probably the most impressive SmackDown wrestler at the Royal Rumble.
9. American Alpha — B-
Chad Gable & Jason Jordan came in with a lot of hype but fell off quite a bit. They have started to regain steam after winning the tag titles, but they’re hurt because of the lack of quality teams on this brand.
10. Dolph Ziggler — B
Given his draft slot, he’s been more of a focus than you would’ve expected. His feud with Miz resulted in some of the more entertaining stuff of the latter half of the year on SmackDown.
11. Natalya — C+
The second highest drafted woman on the brand, and for most of the time period she may not even been top five in terms of focus. She looks to be involved with Nikki Bella in the near future, which should improve her slot.
12. Alberto Del Rio — D
A complete waste of a pick, especially in hindsight.
Overall grade for SmackDown’s main draft — B
Secondary Draft —
Raw picked up Braun Strowman with their 28th pick (48th overall), but other than that, there’s not a single person they drafted that even came close to making an impact.
Raw’s grade — C
SmackDown got current Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss with the pick before Strowman. They also got the Usos, who were tag team contenders, and Carmella with the last pick of the draft.
SmackDown’s grade — B-
Free Agents (additions since the draft) —
On the Raw side, obviously the biggest addition has been Goldberg, who alone would win them this category. Dragging them down somewhat would be the addition of all the cruiserweights who thus far would have to be considered a disappointment with the exception of Neville, who was drafted. They also added Bayley, who has done very well.
Raw’s grade — B+
SmackDown got the first free agent, Heath Slater, who won the tag team titles and has improved his stock quite a bit in the last six months. They also added jobber James Ellsworth, who ended up a World title challenger on TV for a few months.
Rhyno was added as Slater’s partner and the Spirit Squad were even brought in for a short run. Curt Hawkins has floundered. On the women’s side, Nikki Bella is always going to be a focus and Mickie James has not been around long enough to give a proper valuation.
SmackDown’s grade — B
Based on these letter grades, SmackDown would be the higher ranked show which seems to coincide with popular opinion. SmackDown’s TV ratings are way up since the brand extension while Raw’s have fallen, although most of the time period happened during football season when ratings always drop.
SmackDown only had 11 wrestlers in the Royal Rumble, though, as opposed to 18 Raw wrestlers (and one NXT superstar). Those numbers are almost the same as the advantage Raw had going into the draft (18 picks to 12) so that shouldn’t be a surprise.
More concerning, if you’re a SmackDown fan, would be the fact that of the other four main card matches at the Royal Rumble, only one was a SmackDown match. They did have two of the three pre-show matches, so that would be three out of seven overall which again is the same ratio as the draft picks.
Looking ahead to Mania, it does seem that most of the big matches would be on the Raw side with Goldberg/Lesnar, Undertaker/Reigns, Triple H/Rollins (if Rollins gets cleared in time), and matches involving Owens and Charlotte. On the SmackDown side, it looks to be Wyatt/Orton and whatever John Cena and AJ Styles are doing.
Overall, it does appear that the brand split has been a positive for the most part. Raw ratings have been down, though that was going to happen anyway. The increased main event slots on both sides have allowed wrestlers like Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Charlotte, and The Miz, among others, to improve their position in the company.
With SmackDown ratings showing a considerable increase at a time when TV ratings as a whole are trending downward, it has to help WWE as they attempt to negotiate a new television deal over the next couple of years.
St. Joseph, Missouri:
– George Hackenschmidt beat Leo Pardello 2 falls to 0
1914
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Charlie Cutler defeated Henry Ordemann to win the American Heavyweight Championship
1928
Michigan City, Indiana:
– Ed “Strangler” Lewis defeated Wayne Munn to win the Illinois and Michigan version of the World Heavyweight Title and unify it with his undisputed title
1934
St. Louis, Missouri:
– World Heavyweight Champion Jim Londos beat Gus Sonnenberg
– Ernie Dusek beat Sol Slagel
– Abe Coleman beat Dick Raines (countout)
1957
Seattle, Washington:
– Ed Francis and Henry Lenz defeated Red Bastien and Roy Heffernan to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
1963
Omaha, Nebraska:
– AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat The Sheik
– Fritz Von Erich beat Crusher
– Waldo Von Erich beat Gordy Nelson
1970
Orlando, Florida:
– NWA World Title: Dory Funk, Jr. defeated Bob Orton by countout
– Sailor Art Thomas & Louie Tillet defeated Mephisto & Dante by DQ
– Sam Steamboat drew Hiro Matsuda
– Vivian Vachon defeated Paula Kaye
– Missouri Mauler defeated Jack Brisco
1976
Omaha, Nebraska:
– Texas Death Match: Baron Von Raschke beat Pampero Firpo
– Larry Hennig & Jos Leduc beat Jimmy Valiant & Johnny Valiant
– Jean Antone beat Betty Niccoli
– Bob Backlund drew Harley Race
– Khosrow Vaziri beat Buddy Wolff
1977
Miami Beach, Florida:
– Texas Bullrope Match: Dusty Rhodes defeated Ox Baker
– Lights Out Match: The Assassin defeated Superstar Billy Graham (Jos LeDuc special ref)
– Jack & Jerry Brisco defeated Buddy Wolff & Steve Strong by DQ
– Mike Graham beat Bob Orton, Jr.
– Zeigfreid Stanke defeated Tully Blanchard
San Antonio, Texas:
– Ivan Putski beat Black Gordman
– AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Les Thornton
– Great Goliath beat Lord Alfred Hayes
– Moondog Mayne beat Dan Burdick
1978
Amarillo, Texas:
– Dory Funk, Jr. and Larry Lane defeated Brute Bernard and Frank Morrell to win the NWA Western States Tag Team Titles
1981
Memphis, Tennessee:
– The Bounty Hunters (David and Jerry Novak) defeated Bill Dundee and Tommy Rich in a no-disqualification Title vs. Hair match for the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1986
Atlanta, Georgia:
– The Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton) defeated The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) to win the NWA World Tag Team Titles
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Dirty Rhodes (Roger Smith) defeated Buddy Landel for the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title
– Rick Casey (Wendell Cooley) defeated Dutch Mantel to win the CWA International Heavyweight
1987
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Austin Idol defeated CWA International Heavyweight Champion Soul Train Jones to win the vacant AWA Southern Heavyweight Title
– CWA International Heavyweight Champion Soul Train Jones defeated Tommy Rich.
– The Hunter defeated CWA International Tag Team Champion Paul Diamond.
WCCW Star Wars: Fort Worth, Texas:
– The Dingo Warrior defeated WCWA Texas Heavyweight Champion Bob Bradley to win the title
– WCWA World Heavyweight Champion Kevin Von Erich defeated WCWA World Tag Team Champion Al Madril to retain the title
– Abdullah the Butcher defeated Tony Atlas by countout
– The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers) and The Rock ‘n’ Roll RPM’s (Mike Davis and Tommy Lane) fought to a double-countout
– Kerry Von Erich defeated WCWA World Tag Team Champion Brian Adias
1989
International Bash: Kansas City, Kansas:
– Rick McCord defeated Bobby Jaggers
– Tiger Mask defeated Tommy Sharpe
– Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk defeated Doug Somers & Gary Young
– Tenryu defeated Bill Irwin
– Akio Sato defeated Curtis Hughes
– (Special Referee: Pat O’Connor): The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & The Dynamite Kid) wrestled The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) to a time limit draw (30 minutes)
– AJPW World Tag Team Title Match: Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu defeated Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy to win the titles
– WWA World Heavyweight Title Title Match: Mike George defeated Steve Ray by countout
1991
Portland, Oregon:
– Brad Anderson and The Hood (Ricky Santana) defeated The Wrecking Crew (The Equalizer and The Grappler) for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
Bayamon, Puerto Rico:
– Carlos Colón defeated Greg Valentine to win the vacant WWC Universal Heavyweight Title
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– WCW US Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Barry Windham & Terry Taylor (sub. for WCW TV Champion Arn Anderson)
– Brad Armstrong defeated Moondog Rex
– Bobby Eaton fought Tom Zenk to a draw
– WCW Tag Team Champions Doom defeated Tracey Smothers & Steve Armstrong
– Brian Pillman defeated the Big Cat
– WCW US Champion Lex Luger & Sting defeated WCW World Champion Ric Flair & Sid Vicious via disqualification
1992
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– Ron Simmons pinned Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker
– Terrance Taylor pinned Tom Zenk
– Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Diamond Dallas Page & Vinnie Vegas
– Larry Zbyzsko pinned Marcus Alexander Bagwell
– Brian Pillman pinned Richard Morton
– Sting, Dustin Rhodes, & Ricky Steamboat defeated WCW US Champion Rick Rude, Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton
– Abdullah the Butcher pinned Cactus Jack in a steel cage match
Naucalpan, Mexico:
– Dos Caras defeated El Canek to win the UWA World Heavyweight Title
1997
Cape Girardeau, Missouri:
– The Renegade defeated Terry Taylor
– Syxx & Vincent defeated High Voltage
– WCW TV Champion Lord Steven Regal defeated Alex Wright
– Jeff Jarrett defeated Syxx
– Lex Luger & the Giant defeated Meng & the Barbarian
Montreal, Quebec, Canada:
– Bobby Managoff won the Montreal World Heavyweight Title by defeating Yvon Roberts
Des Moines, Iowa:
– NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Leroy McGuirk beat Billy Goelz 2 out of 3 falls
– Farmer Jones beat Jack Hader
– Lee Henning beat Vic Christy
1952
Houston, Texas:
– Ray Gunkel and Miguel Guzman defeated Ivan Kalmikoff and Duke Keomuka to win the NWA Texas Tag Team Titles
Vancouver, British Columbia
– The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Roy Heffernan) defeated Don Leo Jonathan and Gene Kiniski for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Titles
1966
Orlando, Florida:
– NWA World Title: Gene Kiniski defeated Klondike Bill in 2 out of 3 falls
– The Medics defeated Eddie Graham & Sam Steamboat in 2 out of 3 falls
– Jesse James defeated Red Roberts
– Jose Lothario defeated Tom Bradley
1968
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Bob Brown and Bob Geigel won the NWA North American Tag Team Titles by defeating Ron Etchison and Klondike Bill in a Texas Death Match
– Pat O’Connor defeated Pedro Valdez
– Stan the Moose defeated Steve Bolus
1969
Omaha, Nebraska:
– Stan Pulaski defeated Mike DiBiase to win the AWA Midwest Heavyweight Title
1972
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– King Curtis Iaukea and Baron Mikel Scicluna defeated Karl Gotch and Rene Goulet to win the WWWF World Tag Team Titles
1973
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Bob Geigel and Rufus R. Jones defeated Roger Kirby and Harley Race to win the NWA North American Tag Team Titles
1974
Portland, Oregon:
– Killer Karl Krupp and Kurt Von Steiger defeated Dutch Savage and Jimmy Snuka for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
1977
Tampa, Florida:
– Dusty Rhodes & The Assassin defeated Steve Strong & Superstar Billy Graham
– Buddy Wolff defeated Steve Keirn
– Jack & Jerry Brisco & Jos LeDuc defeated Pat McGinnis & Seigfried Stanke & Ox Baker
– Mike Graham defeated Bob Orton, Jr.
– Mr. X drew Skip Young
– Kevin Sullivan defeated Angelo Poffo
1980
Sapporo, Japan:
– Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Steve Keirn to win the NWA International Junior Heavyweight Title
Shreveport, Louisiana:
– Ted DiBiase defeated Mike George to win the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Title
1981
Lake Charles, Louisiana:
– Leroy Brown and Ernie Ladd defeated The Junkyard Dog and Killer Karl Kox for the Mid-South Tag Team Titles
1988
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Max Pain (Daryl Peterson) and Gary Young defeated Manny Fernandez and Jeff Jarrett in a tournament final to win the Continental Wrestling Association Tag Team Titles
– Jeff Jarrett & Manny Fernandez beat AWA Tag Team Champions Midnight Rockers by DQ
1991
WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event: Macon, Georgia:
– Hulk Hogan and Tugboat defeated Dino Bravo and Earthquake (with Jimmy Hart)
– Jim Duggan defeated WWF Champion Sgt. Slaughter (with General Adnan) by disqualification
– The Legion of Doom (Animal and Hawk) defeated The Orient Express (Kato and Tanaka) (with Mr. Fuji)
1992
Caguas, Puerto Rico:
– Ron Garvin defeated Carlos Colon for the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title
1993
Memphis, Tennessee:
– The Moondogs (Splat and Spot) defeated The Harris Brothers (Ron and Don) to win the USWA Tag Team Titles
1997
ECW Crossing the Line: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– ECW World Heavyweight Champion Raven pinned Steve Williams to retain the title
– ECW Tag Team Champions The Eliminators (Kronus and Saturn) defeated Sabu and Rob Van Dam to retain the title
– Terry Funk pinned Tommy Rich
– Tommy Dreamer and The Pitbulls defeated The Triple Threat (Chris Candido, Shane Douglas and Brian Lee)
2003
Osaka, Japan:
– Jushin Liger and Takehiro Murahama defeated Black Buffalo and Tsubasa for the Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Titles
Humacao, Puerto Rico:
– Carly Colon won the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title from Chicky Starr
2004
Sapporo, Japan:
– Minoru Suzuki and Yoshihiro Takayama defeated Osamu Nishimura and Hiroyoshi Tenzan for the IWGP World Tag Team Titles
St. Louis, Missouri:
– Jim Londos beat Ed “Strangler” Lewis
– Ray Steele and Mehmet Yousoff wrestled to a draw
– Bronko Nagurski defeated Sol Slagel
– Orville Brown beat George Tragos
1945
Des Moines, Iowa:
– World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown beat Lord Albert Mills in 2 out of 3 falls
1955
Abilene, Texas:
– Bob Geigel and Boris Kalmikoff defeated Jesse and Johnny James in a tournament final for the vacant NWA Southwest Tag Team Titles
1957
Amarillo, Texas:
– Dory Funk, Sr. defeated Dizzy Davis to win the Amarillo NWA North American Heavyweight Title
1961
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– AWA Champion Verne Gagne drew Gene Kiniski (60 minute time limit)
– Wilbur Snyder beat Len Montana
– Hard Boiled Haggerty beat Joe Scarpello
– Jim Hady beat George Drake
1964
St. Joseph, Missouri:
– Rocky (Larry) Hamilton defeated The Stomper to win the Central States NWA United States Heavyweight Title
Omaha, Nebraska:
– AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Mitsu Arakawa
– Pat O’Connor (sub Reggie Parks) beat Larry Hennig
– Mad Dog Vachon beat Doug Gilbert
– Jack Pesek beat Jim Grabmire
1965
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher in 2 out of 3 falls to win the AWA tag team titles
– Wilbur Snyder beat Iron Mike DiBiase
– Bob Boyer beat Eddie Sharkey
– Billy Red Cloud beat Black Bart
1966
Vancouver, British Columbia:
– Black Terror (Bobby Graham) and John Tolos defeated Paddy Barrett and Tom Geohagen for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Titles
Tampa, Florida:
– NWA World Title: Gene Kiniski defeated Eddie Graham in 2 out of 3 falls
– Missouri Mauler defeated Danny Miller
– Sputnik Monroe defeated Tony Martin
– Jose Lothario & Tito Carreon defeated Tom Bradley & George “Two Ton” Harris
– Buddy Fuller defeated Roger Kirby
Portland, Oregon:
– Tony Borne and Jay York defeated Shag Thomas and Bearcat Wright to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
1976
Sarasota, Florida:
– Texas Bullrope Match: Dusty Rhodes defeated King Curtis
– Thunderbolt Patterson defeated Missouri Mauler by dq
– Southern Title: Billy Robinson defeated Frank Goodish
– Florida Tag Titles: Eddie Graham & Jerry Brisco defeated Bob Roop & Bob Orton, Jr. by dq
1978
Tampa, Florida:
– NWA World Title: Harley Race defeated Steve Keirn
– Ivan Putski defeated Ivan Koloff
– Killer Karl Kox & Bobby Duncum defeated Rocky Johnson & Pedro Morales
– Mike Graham defeated Mr. Saito
– Jack & Jerry Brisco defeated Tank Patton & Randy Brewer
1981
Atlanta, Georgia:
– The Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Michael Hayes) defeated Ted DiBiase and Stan Frazier to win the NWA National Tag Team Titles
Dothan, Alabama:
– Les Thornton won the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title from Jerry Stubbs
Greenwood, Mississippi:
– The Grappler defeated Killer Karl Kox for the Mid-South Mississippi Heavyweight Title
1984
Memphis, Tennessee:
– The Zambuie Express (Elijah Akeem and Kareem Muhammad) defeated Norvell Austin and Sweet Brown Sugar for the vacant AWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1986
Rockford, Illinois:
– AWA Champion Stan Hansen beat Leon White (Vader)
– No dq match: Nick Bockwinkel beat Larry Zbyszko
– Non Title: Nord The Barbarian & Mongolian Stomper beat AWA Tag Team Champions Curt Hennig & Scott Hall
– Jerry Blackwell beat Boris Zhukov
– Buck Zumhofe beat Earthquake Ferris
– Marty Jannetty beat Doug Somers
1987
Fort Lauderdale, Florida:
– Bad News Allen defeated Kevin Sullivan for the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1990
Osaka, Japan:
– Jushin Liger defeated Naoki Sano to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
1991
Norfolk, Virginia:
– Tim Horner defeated Bill Irwin
– Brad Armstrong defeated Moondog Rex
– Tom Zenk defeated Bobby Eaton
– WCW US Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin
– WCW US Champion Lex Luger defeated Sid Vicious
– WCW Tag Team Champions Doom defeated WCW TV Champion Arn Anderson & Barry Windham
1992
Washington, DC:
– Joey Maggs defeated Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker
– Big Josh defeated Tracy Smothers
– Johnny B. Badd defeated Richard Morton
– Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Cactus Jack & Diamond Dallas Page
– El Gigante fought Big Van Vader to a double count-out
– Dustin Rhodes & Ricky Steamboat defeated Larry Zbyzsko & WCW Tag Team Champion Arn Anderson
– WCW US Champion Rick Rude defeated Sting via disqualification
Dallas, Texas:
– The Dark Patriot (Doug Gilbert) defeated The Patriot to win the Global Wrestling Federation North American Heavyweight Title
1994
Memphis, Tennessee:
– The Moondogs (Rex and Spot) defeated The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) to win the USWA Tag Team Titles
– Eddie Gilbert defeated Jerry Lawler to win the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title
1998
WCW Boston Brawl: Boston, Massachusetts:
– Chris Benoit defeated Eddie Guerrero
– WCW World Television Champion Booker T pinned V.K. Wallstreet to retain the title
– WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho defeated Dean Malenko to retain the title
– Bret Hart defeated Ric Flair
– Lex Luger, WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page, and Larry Zbyszko defeated Randy Savage and WCW World Tag Team Champions The Outsiders (Scott Hall and Kevin Nash)
– Sting pinned Hulk Hogan in a steel cage match
ECW Hostile City Showdown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– The Triple Threat (ECW World Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas and ECW World Tag Team Champions Chris Candido and Lance Storm) fought Bam Bam Bigelow and ECW World Television Champion Taz to a no contest
– Al Snow pinned Doug Furnas
– In a four-way dance, Rob Van Dam & Sabu defeated The Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray & D-Von), The Gangstanators (Kronus & New Jack) and Tommy Dreamer & The Sandman
2001
OVW Christmas Chaos: Louisville, Kentucky:
– The Minnesota Stretching Crew (Shelton Benjamin and Brock Lesnar) defeated Sly Skraper and Johnny Spade
– Team Xtreme (Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy and Lita) defeated The Disciples of Synn (Synn and OVW Southern Tag Team Champions Damian and Payne)
– OVW Heavyweight Champion Nick Dinsmore defeated Chris Benoit by disqualification to retain the title
– Kane pinned Leviathan (Batista)
2010
WWE Royal Rumble: Atlanta, Georgia:
– Edge won the Royal Rumble
– Undertaker defeated Rey Mysterio to retain the World Title
– Mickie James defeated Michelle McCool to win the Divas Title
– Christian defeated Ezekial Jackson to retain the ECW Title
2016
Birmingham, United Kingdom:
– Beer Money (James Storm & Bobby Roode) defeated the American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) to win the TNA World Tag Team Titles
