Oakland, California:
– Sandor Szabo defeated Billy Hanson to win the San Francisco Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title
1948
Eugene, Oregon:
– Gypsy Joe Dorsetti defeated Billy Hickson for the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Title
1949
Kansas City, Kansas:
– NWA World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown beat Tarzan Kowalski (Killer Kowalski) 2 out of 3 falls to retain title
– Bobby Bruns and Don Eagle beat Jack McDonald and Bob Wagner
1955
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Al and Tiny Mills won the NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Title defeating Paul Baillargeon and Whipper Billy Watson
1959
Dallas, Texas:
– Joe Christie defeated Pepper Gomez to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title
1961
Houston, Texas:
– Pepper Gomez and Hogan Wharton defeated Jet Monroe (subbing for Rocket Monroe) and Sputnik Monroe for the NWA Texas Tag Team Title – – Dan Manoukian won the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title from Ciclon Negro
1962
Portland, Oregon:
– Fritz Von Goering defeated Billy White Wolf for the NWA PAcific Northwest Heavyweight Title
1963
St. Paul, Minnesota:
– No DQ, No Time Limit Match: AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Crusher
– AWA Tag Team Champions Ivan Kalmikoff & Karol Kalmikoff beat Doug Gilbert & Moose Evans
– Rocky Hamilton beat Gordon Nelson
– Dick Steinborn beat Stan Kowalski
1964
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:
– Don Leo Jonathan and Kinji Shibuya defeated Dory Funk, Sr. and Dory Funk, Jr. to win the vacant Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Titles
1966
St. Paul, Minnesota:
– AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon beat Mighty Igor Vodik in 2 out of 3 falls
– Fence Match: The Crusher beat Chris Markoff & Professor Steve Druk
– AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat Dale Lewis & Larry Heiniemi 2 out of 3 falls
– Chris Tolos beat John Zendejas
– Eddie Sharkey beat Bob Morgan
Tampa, Florida:
– Eddie Graham and El Gran Lothario beat Sputnik Monroe and Don McClarity
– Lou Thesz and Les Welch beat Kurt and Skull Von Braunner
– Dick Steinborn and Sam Steamboat lost to Masked Interns
– Argentina Zuma beat the Mummy
– Hiro Matsuda beat Silento Rodriquez
1972
Denver, Colorado:
– Nick Bockwinkel and Ray Stevens defeated Red Bastien and Crusher Lisowski for the AWA World Tag Team Titles
– Pepper Gomez beat Blackjack Lanza 2 out of 3 falls
– Don Muraco beat Bobby Heenan 2 out of 3 falls
1973
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:
– Lennie Hurst and Dan Kroffat defeated Danny Babich and Michel Martel to win the Stampede International Tag Team Title
– Earl Maynard won the NWA Beat the Champ Television Title by defeating Ripper Collins
1975
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:
– Guy Mitchell defeated Gene Kiniski to win the Vancouver NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title
1976
Mobile, Alabama:
– Lanny and Randy Poffo defeated The British Bulldogs (Jonathan Foley and Edward Heath) for the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Titles
1978
Uniondale, New York:
– Carlos Jose Estrada (Jose Estrada, Sr.) defeated Tony Gara to win the vacant WWF Junior Heavyweight Title
Tokyo, Japan:
– Animal Hamaguchi and Great Kusatsu won the International Pro Wrestling World Tag Team Title, defeating The Samoans (Afa and Sika)
Obihiro, Japan
– NWA Title: Harley Race went to a 60 minute draw with Jumbo Tsuruta
– Giant Baba and Rocky Hata beat Bull Ramos and King Curtis!
– Mark Lewin beat Takachiho
– The Destroyer and Great Kojika beat Johnny Rodz and Kim Duk
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Dick Slater beat Stan Hanson
– Bob Armstrong beat Mongolian Stromper
– Tony Atlas and Bobo Brazil beat Ole Anderson and Sgt Goulet
– Mr. Wrestling #2 beat Georgeous George Jr.
– Bounty Hunter beat Charlie Cook
– Mighty Zulu beat Intern #1
1979
St. Petersburg, Florida:
– Thor the Viking (Scott Irwin) defeated Terry Funk for the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1980
Guadalajara, Mexico:
– Raul Mata defeated Alfonso Dantes to win the NWA World Light Heavyweight Title
1981
Mobile, Alabama:
– Brad Armstrong won a tournament for the vacant Southeast NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Title
Tampa, Florida:
– Special Challenge Match: Dusty Rhodes defeated The Assassin by DQ
– Sweet Brown Sugar Won Battle Royal
– Mike Graham & Barry Windham defeated R.T. Tyler & Bobby Jaggers
– Nikolai Volkoff defeated Scott McGhee
– Reggie Parks defeated Hans Schroeder
– Chris Markoff defeated Mike Davis
1984
Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
– Killer Khan defeated Archie Gouldie (Mongolian Stomper) to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title
1985
San Antonio, Texas:
– The Maoris (Tudui and Wakahi) defeated Rick Casey (Wendell Cooley) and Jerry Oske for the Southwest Championship Wrestling Southwest Tag Team Titles
1987
Tampa, Florida:
– Bad News Allen won the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title from Ron Simmons
Memphis, Tennessee:
– The Rock ‘n’ Roll RPM’s (Mike Davis and Tommy Lane) defeated Jeff Jarrett and Billy Travis for the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1989
– Unified World Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler, who held the AWA, CWA and World Class Titles, is stripped of the AWA title when CWA and the AWA ended their relationship
1991
Chicago, Illinois:
– Tim Horner defeated Bill Irwin
– Brad Armstrong defeated Moondog Rex
– WCW TV Champion Tom Zenk fought Bobby Eaton to a time-limit draw
– Michael Wallstreet defeated Terry Taylor
– WCW US Champion Lex Luger defeated Sid Vicious via count-out
– WCW Tag Team Champions Doom defeated Arn Anderson & Barry Windham in a streetfight
– WCW World Champion Ric Flair defeated Sting via reverse decision
1992
St. Joseph, Missouri:
– Richard Morton pinned Johnny B. Badd
– Brian Pillman pinned Tracy Smothers
– Big Van Vader fought El Gigante to a double disqualification
– Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Abdullah the Butcher & Larry Zbyszko
– Mr. Hughes pinned Marcus Alexander Bagwell (sub. for Barry Windham)
– Ron Simmons defeated Cactus Jack
– Ricky Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes defeated WCW Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton via disqualification
– WCW US Champion Rick Rude defeated Sting via reverse decision
1995
Newport, Tennessee:
– Tracy Smothers defeated Bryant Anderson
– Boo Bradley defeated Chris Candido
– SMW Heavyweight Champion the Dirty White Boy defeated Buddy Landel via disqualification
– SMW Tag Team Champions Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated New Jack & Mustafa
Cleveland, Ohio:
– Alex Wright defeated Bobby Eaton
– Johnny B. Badd defeated Jean Paul Levesque
– Marcus Alexander Bagwell & the Patriot defeated Paul Orndorff & Paul Roma
– The Nasty Boys defeated WCW Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat via disqualification
– WCW US Champion Vader defeated Jim Duggan
– Sting defeated Avalanche via disqualification
1997
Osaka, Japan:
– Mitsuharu Misawa won the AJPW Triple Crown Title from Kenta Kobashi
Tokyo, Japan:
– WWWA World Champion Kyoko Inoue defeated International Wrestling Association and AJW All Pacific Champion Takako Inoue to unify the three titles
– Kumiko Maekawa and Tomoko Watanabe won the WWWA World Tag Team Titles from Mima Shimoda and Manami Toyota
1998
Davis, California:
– Owen Hart defeated Goldust, who was dressed as Triple H, to win the WWF European Title
2002
WWF Royal Rumble: Atlanta, Georgia:
– William Regal defeated Edge to win the WWF Intercontinental Title
– Ric Flair defeated Vince McMahon in a street fight
– Chris Jericho defeated the Rock to retain the Undisputed WWF World Title
– Triple H won the 30 man Royal Rumble
New York City:
– William Muldoon defeated Thiebaud Bauer to become the first American Greco-Roman Heavyweight Champion
1940
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Bobby Bruns defeated Orville Brown to become the first Kansas City Midwest Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Champion
1960
Nashville, Tennessee:
– Tex Riley and Len Rossi defeated Don and Jackie Fargo to win the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Titles
Tampa, Florida:
– Mike DiBiase defeated The Red Raider (Pedro Godoy) for the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
– Prince Neff Maiava defeated Danny McShain
– Don Curtis (sub Eddie Graham) defeated Marco Polo
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
– George Eakin defeated John DePaulo to win the Madison Wrestling Club Heavyweight Title
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– NWA World heavyweight champion Lou Thesz beat Billy Watson on a count out
– Bob Wagner beat Johnny Barend
1961
Kansas City, Kansas:
– The Medics (Tony Gonzales and Donald Lortie) defeated John Paul Henning and Sonny Myers in a tournament final to become the first NWA Central States Tag Team Champions
1962
Portland, Oregon:
– King Curtis and Haru Sasaki defeated Herb and Seymour Freeman to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title
1966
Honolulu, Hawaii:
– Ripper Collins defeated Ron Reed to win the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title
1968
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Ray Gunkel and Buddy Fuller defeated Butcher Vachon and Stan Vachon (Stan Pulaski) for the Georgia NWA World Tag Team Title
1970
Portland, Oregon:
– Karl and Kurt Von Steiger defeated Tony Borne and Moondog Maybe for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Dennis Hall and Johnny Walker defeated Al and Don Greene to win the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1972
Buffalo, New York:
– Mitsu Arakawa and Yoshino Sato defeated Dominic DeNucci and Tony Parisi in a tournament final for the vacant National Wrestling Federation World Tag Team Title
Mobile, Alabama:
– Bob Kelly defeated Donnie Fargo to win the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title
1973
St. Louis, Missouri:
– Johnny Valentine defeated Harley Race for the held up NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title
Dotham, Alabama:
– Ken Lucas defeated The Wrestling Pro to win the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title
1976
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Jerry Lawler defeated Ricky Gibson for the held up Mid-America NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1977
Raleigh, North Carolina:
– Greg Valentine defeated Rufus R. Jones for the NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Title
Miami Beach, Florida:
– Superstar Billy Graham defeated Dusty Rhodes by dq
– Ox Baker defeated Jos LeDuc
– The Assassin defeatd Steve Strong
– Mike Graham & Jack & Jerry Brisco defeated Buddy Wolff & Bob Roop & Bob Orton, Sr.
– Steve Keirn defeated Angelo Poffo
Omaha, Nebraska:
– Cage match: The Crusher beat Mad Dog Vachon
– AWA Tag Team Champions Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum beat Peter Maivia & Billy Francis
– Greg Gagne beat Roger Kirby
– Jim Brunzell beat Angelo Mosca dq
– Super Destroyer beat Jan Nelson (sub Bull Bullinski)
1979
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Ole Anderson and Ivan Koloff won the NWA Georgia Tag Team Title from Jack and Jerry Brisco
Denver, Colorado:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens beat Billy Robinson & Verne Gagne
– Terry Funk beat Blackjack Lanza
– Mighty Igor Vodik beat Iron Sheik
1980
Mexico City, Mexico:
– Kato Kung Lee defeated Americo Rocca to win the NWA World Welterweight Title
1981
San Juan, Puerto Rico:
– Carlos Colon and Invader I defeated Danny (Dennis) Condrey and Dutch Mantel for the WWC North American Tag Team Titles
1982
Tampa, Florida:
– Florida Title No DQ Match: Killer Karl Kox defeated The Spoiler to retain the title
– Dory Funk, Jr. & David Von Erich defeated Mike Graham & Mr. Wrestling 2
– Hacksaw Reed & Jack & Jerry Brisco defeated Chan Chung & Mr. Fuchi & Mr. Onita
– Iron Mike Sharpe drew Eric Embry
1983
Tampa, Florida:
– Kevin Sullivan and Jake the Snake Roberts vs Barry Windham and the Midnight Rider ended in double count out
– Florida heavyweight title: Mike Graham defeated Jimmy Gravin to retain the title
– Terry Allen and Scott McGhee won the Global tag team title from the Fabulous Kangaroos
– Rufus R. Jones defeated Angelo Mosca
– Ron Bass defeated Bad Leroy Brown
– Charlie Cook defeated Raul Mata
1987
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada:
– Owen Hart defeated Makhan Singh (Mike Shaw) for the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title
Montreal, Quebec, Canada:
– Hercules Ayala defeated David Schultz to win the International Wrestling International Heavyweight Title
1991
WWF Royal Rumble: Miami, Florida:
– Sgt. Slaughter pinned WWF Champion The Ultimate Warrior to win the title
– The Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels) defeated The Orient Express (Tanaka and Kato)
– Hulk Hogan won the Royal Rumble Match
Matsumoto, Japan:
– Jumbo Tsuruta won the AJPW Triple Crown Title from Stan Hansen
1992
WWF Royal Rumble: Albany, New York:
– Ric Flair won the Royal Rumble match and won the vacant WWF World Title
– The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) by countout
– Roddy Piper defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion The Mountie to win the title
Vancouver, Washington:
– Art and Jesse Barr defeated The Bruise Brothers (Ron and Don Harris) for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
1997
WWF Royal Rumble: San Antonio, Texas:
– Shawn Michaels pinned WWF Champion Sycho Sid to win the title
– Steve Austin won the Royal Rumble
2003
WWF Royal Rumble: Boston, Massachusetts:
– The Dudleys defeated William Regal & Lance Storm to capture the Raw Tag Team Titles
– Brock Lesnar won the 30 man Royal Rumble
2005
Louisville, Kentucky:
– The Thrillseekers (Matt Cappotelli and Johnny Jeter) defeated MNM (Joey Matthews and Johnny Nitro) to win the OVW Southern Tag Team Titles
Kansas City, Kansas:
– World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Bruns beat Orville Brown in 2 out of 3 falls
1944
Nashville, Tennessee:
– Herb Welch defeated The Yellow Scorpion for the Tennessee World Junior Heavyweight Title
1957
– Kurt Von Poppenheim defeated Red Bastien to win the Pacific Coast Junior Heavyweight Title
1961
Honolulu, Hawaii:
– Dick Hutton defeated Al Lolotai for the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title
1962
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Bill Soloweyko and Whipper Billy Watson defeated Chris and John Tolos to win the Toronto NWA International Tag Team Titles
– Raphael Halpern beat Bulldog Brower by decision
– Jim Hady beat Doc Gallagher via disqualification
– Billy Red Lyons beat Marquis de Paree
1963
Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
– Dominic Bravo and Ron Etchison defeateded Mike Sharpe and Jim Wright for the Stampede International Tag Team Titles
1966
Nashville, Tennessee
– Alex Perez defeated Rocky Smith for the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Title
1967
Manchester, England:
– Billy Robinson defeated Billy Joyce to win the British Heavyweight Title
Denver, Colorado:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat Dick The Bruiser & Mighty Igor Vodik in 2 out of 3 falls
– Verne Gagne beat Killer Kowalski by DQ
– Wilbur Snyder beat The Alaskan
– Terry Funk (sub Dory Funk Jr) drew Chris Markoff
1969
Detroit, Michigan:
– Ben Justice and Rocky Johnson defeated The Hell’s Angels (Paul and Ron Dupree) to win the Detroit NWA World Tag Team Titles
Chattanooga, Tennessee:
– Dennis Hall and Ken Lucas won the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title, defeating The Mighty Yankees
1970
Fukuoka, Japan:
– Monster Rousimoff (Andre the Giant) and Michael Nader defeated Great Kusatsu and Thunder Sugiyama to win the vacant International Pro Wrestling World Tag Team Titles
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– NWA World heavyweight champion Dory Funk Jr. defeated Gene Kinski
– The Sheik defeated Dewey Robertson by DQ
– Whipper Billy Watson and Bulldog Bower beat The Fabulous Kangaroos, Al Costello and Ray Kent, in a 2 out of 3 falls match
– Chris and John Tolos took 2 of 3 falls from Haystack Calhoun and Gino Brito
– The Love Brothers, Reginald and Hartford beat The Mighty Iggor and Murray Cummings
1971
New York City:
– Ivan Koloff pinned WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino to win the title
1973
Hattiesburg, Mississippi:
– The Mysterious Medic defeated Bob Kelly for the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Mike Boyette & Mickey Doyle defeated Omar Atlas & The Viking
– Roger Kirby defeated Stan Pulaski in three falls
– World Heavyweight Champion Dory Funk, Jr. fought Harley Race to a draw in three falls (60 minutes)
1974
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Ron and Terry Garvin defeated Bob Armstrong and Robert Fuller to win the vacant NWA Georgia Tag Team Titles
– Black Gordman and Goliath defeated Raul Mata and Victor Rivera for the NWA Americas Tag Team Titles
1980
Houston, Texas:
– Superstar Billy Graham won the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Title from Mark Lewin
Shreveport, Louisiana:
– Ernie Ladd defeated Mike Sharpe for the Mid-South Louisiana Heavyweight Title
1981
Monterrey, Mexico:
– Tony Salazar defeated Sangre Chicana to win the NWA World Middleweight Title
1982
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Jerry Lawler won the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title, defeating Dutch Mantel
1983
Tampa, Florida:
– Terry Allen and Scott McGhee defeated The Fabulous Kangaroos (Johnny Heffernan and Don Kent) to win the NWA Florida Global Tag Team Titles
– Rufus Jones defeated Angelo Mosca by DQ
– Mike Graham defeated Jim Garvin by DQ
– Leroy Brown defeated Ron Bass
– The Midnight Rider & Barry Windham defeated Kevin Sullivan & Jake Roberts
1985
Denver, Colorado:
– Lights Out match: Jerry Blackwell beat Masked Superstar (sub King Kong Brody)
– AWA Champion Rick Martel beat Jim Garvin by DQ
– AWA Tag Team Champions Road Warriors beat Larry Hennig & Curt Hennig (subs for Fabulous Ones)
– Baron Von Raschke beat Billy Robinson
– Jim Brunzell drew Nick Bockwinkel
– Brad Rheingans beat Steve Regal
1986
Albuquerque, New Mexico:
– Scott Hall and Curt Hennig defeated Jimmy Garvin and Steve Regal to win the AWA World Tag Team Titles
San Juan, Puerto Rico:
– Invader III defeated Eric Embry for the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title
1987
Green Bay, Wisconsin:
– Cage Match: Midnight Rockers beat Doug Somers & Buddy Rose
– No DQ Match: Jimmy Snuka beat Colonel DeBeers
– Super Ninja beat AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkel by DQ
– AWA Ladies Champion Sherri Martel beat Candi Divine
– Scott Hall beat Buddy Wolff by DQ
– Mr. Saito beat Buck Zumhofe
1988
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Hennig’s Title vs Lawler’s Ring: AWA Champion Curt Hennig beat Jerry Lawler
– No DQ Match: AWA Tag Team Champions Midnight Rockers beat Ken Wayne & Scott Hall
– Jeff Jarrett & Manny Fernandez beat Teijo Kahn & Jimmy Jack Funk by DQ
– Bill Dundee beat Terry Taylor
– Loser Leaves town: Billy Travis & Rikki Nelson beat Rock & Roll RPMs
Takuyama, Japan:
– Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura defeated Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Kazuo Yamazaki to win the IWGP World Tag Team Titles
1992
Houston, Texas:
– Marcus Alexander Bagwell pinned Tracy Smothers
– Richard Morton pinned Johnny B. Badd
– PN News defeated Mr. Hughes
– Big Van Vader fought El Gigante to a double count-out
– Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Abdullah the Butcher & Larry Zbyszko
– Ron Simmons defeated Cactus Jack
– Ricky Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes defeated WCW Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton in a non-title match
– WCW US Champion Rick Rude defeated Sting via disqualification
Portland, Oregon:
– Ron Harris defeated Demolition Crush to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title
1993
Altoona, Pennsylvania:
– Johnny B. Badd defeated Scotty Flamingo
– Erik Watts defeated the Barbarian
– Chris Benoit fought 2 Cold Scorpio to a 20-minute time-limit draw
– Barry Windham defeated WCW US Champion Dustin Rhodes in a non-title match
– Sting defeated Cactus Jack
– WCW World Champion Big Van Vader defeated Ron Simmons
– WCW/NWA Tag Team Champions Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas defeated Steve Austin & Brian Pillman via disqualification
1994
Saitama, Japan:
– Big Titan (Rick Bogner) and The Gladiator (Mike Awesome) defeated Katsutoshi Niiyama and Atsushi Onita to become the first FMW World Brass Knuckles Tag Team Champions
1996
Tijuana, Mexico:
– Ultraman 2000 defeated Psicosis for the Mexican National Welterweight Title
1998
San Jose, California:
– Steve Austin wins the Royal Rumble
– The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) by disqualification
– WWF Champion Shawn Michaels defeated The Undertaker in a Casket match to retain the title
2003
San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico:
– Chicky Starr defeated Carly Colon to win the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title
Wilmington, Delaware:
– Christopher Daniels defeated champion Mike Kruel, The Amazing Red, Low Ki, American Dragon and Amazing Red to win the ECWA Heavyweight Title
2004
Osaka, Japan:
– Kaz Hayashi and Satoshi Kojima defeated Arashi and Keiji Muto to win the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Title
St. Paul, Minnesota:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher beat Larry Hennig & Harley Race 2 out of 3 falls
– Wilbur Snyder beat Moose Cholak
– Bob Boyer drew Eddie Sharkey
– Mighty Igor Vodik beat Pedro Santos
1971
Tampa, Florida:
– Jack Brisco, the NWA Florida Television Champion, faced Tarzan Tyler, the NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion, in a two-out-of three falls match. The rules for the match stipulated that the Television Title was on the line in the first fall only, while the Heavyweight Title would go to the winner of the match. Tyler pinned Brisco in the first fall to win the Television Title. However, Brisco won the second and third falls to win the match, and claimed the Heavyweight Title.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– The Sheik defeated Tex McKenzie in death match
– Whipper Watson and Haystack Calhoun beat Man Mountain Cannon and The Mighty Urus
– The Love Brothers, Hartford and Reginald won over The Mighty Igor and Ivan Kalmikoff
– The Fabulous Kangaroos drew with Luis Martínez and Sweet Daddy Siki
– Tiger Jeet Singh beat Tim Brooks
– Fred Atkins downed Lou Kleins
– Luis Martinez won over Joe Killer Christie
1972
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:
– Mark Lewin defeated Bob Brown to win the Vancouver NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title
1973
Miami, Florida:
– Big Bad John and Tim Woods defeated Chris Markoff and Bobby Shane for the NWA Florida Tag Team Title
– Southern Title: Mark Lewin defeated Paul Jones to retain the title
– Florida Title: Jack Brisco defeated Buddy Colt to retain the title
– Gorgeous George, Jr. defeated Jack Welch
– Dick Slater & Phil Robley defeated Kevin Sullivan & Frank Hester
Honolulu, Hawaii:
– NWA Champion Dory Funk Jr drew Billy Robinson
– North American Champion Dusty Rhodes beat Don Muraco
– Ed Francis beat The Sheik to win Hawaiian Title
– Ripper Collins beat Rick Drasin
– Tony Borne drew Sam Steamboat
1974
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Lord Alfred Hayes and Roger Kirby defeated Jim Brunzell and Mike George to win the Central States NWA World Tag Team Title in 3 falls
– Bob Brown defeated Harley Race in three falls
Hattiesburg, Mississippi:
– Bob Kelly defeated Duke Miller for the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title
Denver, Colorado:
– AWA Champion Verne Gagne dcor Billy Robinson
– Nick Bockwinkel beat Red Bastien
– Larry Heiniemi & Buddy Wolff beat Ricky Romero & Luis Martinez 2 out of 3 falls
– Greg Gagne beat Ric Flair
1975
Los Angeles, California:
– Porkchop Cash and Special Delivery Jones defeated The Hollywood Blonds (Jerry Brown and Buddy Roberts) to win the NWA Americas Heavyweight Title
1976
Portland, Oregon:
– Jesse Ventura defeated Jimmy Snuka for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title
Caguas, Puerto Rico:
– The Infernos defeated The Interns to win the WWC North American Tag Team Title
1977
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:
– Don Leo Jonathan and Dutch Savage defeated John Quinn and Kurt Von Hess for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title
Greenville, South Carolina:
– The Hollywood Blonds (Jerry Brown and Buddy Roberts) defeated Dino Bravo and Tim Woods to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Titles
1979
Miami, Florida:
– NWA World Title: Harley Race defeated Mike Graham
– Florida Tag Titles: Pak Song & Mr. Uganda defeated Dusty Rhodes & Louie Tillet (sub Jos Leduc)
– Brass Knuckles Match: Killer Karl Kox defeated Sonny King
– Thor The Viking defeated Raul Mata (sub Florida Champion Jimmy Garvin)
– Mr. Saito & Mr. Sato defeated Rocky Johnson & Prince Tonga
1980
Mexico City, Mexico:
– Tiger Jeet Singh defeated El Canek for the UWA World Heavyweight Title
Greenville, Mississippi:
– Mike Sharpe defeated Mike George to win the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title
1981
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Jimmy Valiant won the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title by defeating Hector Guerrero in a tournament final
Portland, Oregon:
– The Destroyer and Rip Oliver defeated Joe Lightfoot and Jay Youngblood for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
1982
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Angelo Mosca defeated Toronto NWA Canadian Heavyweight Champion Big John Studd in a steel cage match to win the title
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Tommy Rich defeated The Masked Superstar for the NWA National Heavyweight Title
1985
Las Vegas, Nevada:
– Lights Out match: Jerry Blackwell beat Masked Superstar (sub King Kong Brody)
– Jimmy Garvin beat AWA Champion Rick Martel by DQ
– Non title: Larry Hennig & Curt Hennig (subs for Fabulous Ones) beat AWA Tag Team Champions Road Warriors
– Nick Bockwinkel beat Brad Rheingans
– Jim Brunzell beat Steve Regal
1986
Richmond, Virginia:
– Ron Bass defeated Black Bart to win the Mid-Atlantic NWA Brass Knuckles Title
1991
Yokahama, Japan:
– Big Van Vader defeated Tatsumi Fujinami for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title
1992
Springfield, Massachusetts:
– The Mountie defeated Bret Hart for the WWF Intercontinental Title
1994
New York City:
– The Quebecers (Jacques and Pierre) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions The 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty to win the title
1997
Matsumoto, Japan:
– Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue defeated Johnny Ace and Steve Williams to win the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Titles
1999
Charleston, West Virginia:
– Goldberg defeated Scott Hall in a Ladder Stun Gun match
– David and Ric Flair defeated Curt Hennig and Barry Windham
2000
Columbus, Ohio:
– Jeff Jarrett was awarded the WCW United States Heavyweight Title by Commissioner Kevin Nash
– WCW World Tag Team Champions Crowbar and David Flair defeated 3 Count (Shane Helms and Shannon Moore)
New Haven, Connecticut:
– WWF Tag Team Champions The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg) defeated Big Show and The Rock
– Rikishi defeated WWF Intercontinental Co-Champion Chris Jericho by DQ
2004
Kaneohe, Hawaii:
– Kenjiro Katahira and Kensuke Sasaki defeated Ahuna and Kaniela for the Hawai’i Championship Wrestling Kekaulike Heritage Tag Team Title
2010
Orlando, Florida:
– Tara defeated ODB in a 2 of 3 falls match to win the TNA Knockouts Title
– Matt Morgan & Hernandez defeated The British Invasion to win the TNA Tag Team Championship
St. Louis, Missouri:
– Ed “Strangler” Lewis beat George Zaharias
– Everette Marshall and Mehmet Yousoff drew
– Bronko Nagurski beat Dick Raines
1947
Kansas City, Kansas:
– MWA World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown defeated Everette Marshall
1963
Lubbock, Texas:
– Dory Funk defeated Gene Kiniski for the Amarillo NWA North American Heavyweight Title
Mobile, Alabama:
– Al and Don Greene defeated Jack Curtis, Jr. and Jan Madrid to win the Gulf Coast NWA Southern Tag Team Title
1964
Chattanooga, Tennessee:
– Karl and Skull Von Stroheim won the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title
1967
Fort Worth, Texas:
– Fritz Von Erich defeated Joe Blanchard to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title
Vancouver, British Columbia:
– Chris and John Tolos defeated Don Leo Jonathan and Dominic DeNucci for both the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title and Vancouver NWA World Tag Team Titles
1968
Tampa, Florida:
– Paul DeMarco and Lorenzo Parente defeated Ron and Terry Garvin to win the Florida NWA World Tag Team Titles
1970
Los Angeles, California:
– Fred Blassie and Don Carson defeated Pepe Lopez and El Medico to win the NWA Americas Tag Team Titles
– Rocky Johnson defeated Great Kojika for the NWA Americas Heavyweight Title
Dothan, Alabama:
– Dick Dunn and Ken Lucas defeated Flash and Rocket Monroe for the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Title
1976
Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
– Gilles Poisson defeated Frankie Laine to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title
1978
West Palm Beach, Florida:
– Ivan Putski & Rocky Johnson defeated Ivan Koloff & Mr. Saito
– Killer Karl Kox defeated Jack Brisco
– Steve Keirn & Mike Graham defeated Tank Patton & Randy Brewer
– Jerry Brisco defeated Dan Burdick
1981
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Steve O defeated Kevin Sullivan for the NWA National Television Title
Shreveport, Louisiana:
– Ernie Ladd won the second Mid-South Louisiana Heavyweight Title, defeating Jake Roberts
Denver, Colorado:
– Buck Zumhofe & Crusher & Mad Dog Vachon beat Nick Bockwinkel & Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens
– Dino Bravo drew Jesse Ventura
– Tito Santana beat Jerry Blackwell DQ
– Brad Rheingans beat Adrian Adonis
– John Studd beat Steve Regal
1982
St. Petersburg, Florida:
– Jack and Jerry Brisco won the Florida NWA North American Tag Team Title by defeating Dory Funk, Jr. and Terry Funk
– Ray Stevens defeated Eric Embry for the NWA Florida Television Title
– NWA World Title: “Nature Boy” Ric Flair double count out Mr. Wrestling II
– Southern Title: David Von Erich defeated Mike Graham to retain title
– Texas Death Match- Killer Karl Kox defeated The Spoiler
– Iron Mike Sharpe defeated Ron Ritchie
– Jerry Lawler defeated Mr. Fuchi
Portland, Oregon:
– Matt Borne and Rip Oliver defeated Rocky Johnson and Iceman King Parsons to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title
1983
San Antonio, Texas:
– The Grapplers defeated Ken Lucas and Ricky Morton to win the Southwest Championship Wrestling Southwest Tag Team Title
St. Paul, Minnesota:
– Ken Patera & Jesse Ventura beat Hulk Hogan & Mad Dog Vachon
– AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Rick Martel by DQ
– Wahoo McDaniel beat Bobby Duncum
– Sgt. Goulet beat Baron Von Raschke
– Jerry Blackwell beat Steve O
– Buck Zumhofe drew Bobby Heenan
1985
Tampa, Florida:
– Rick Rude defeated Pez Whatley for the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
Shreveport, Louisiana:
– Ted DiBiase defeated Brad Armstrong to win the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Title
1986
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
– Candi Devine defeated Sherri Martel to win the AWA World Women’s Title
– Nick Bockwinkel no contest NWA Champion Ric Flair
– Non Title: Road Warriors beat AWA Tag Team Champions Steve Regal & Jim Garvin
– AWA Champion Stan Hansen beat Rick Martel
– Jerry Blackwell beat Boris Zhukov
– Mongolian Stomper & Nord the Barbarian beat the Alaskans
– Scott Hall beat Earthquake Ferris
1987
Daytona, Florida:
– Kevin Sullivan won the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title from Lex Luger
1988
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico:
– Kendo Nagasaki and Mr. Pogo defeated Invaders I and III for the WWC World Tag Team Title
1992
Jacksonville, Florida:
– Richard Morton pinned Johnny B. Badd
– Marcus Alexander Bagwell pinned Mike Thor
– El Gigante fought Big Van Vader to a double count-out
– Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton defeated WCW Tag Team Champions Ricky Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match to win the titles
– Brian Pillman pinned Terrance Taylor
– Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Mr. Hughes & Abdullah the Butcher (sub. for Larry Zbyszko & WCW TV Champion Steve Austin)
– WCW US Champion Rick Rude defeated Sting via reverse decision DQ
1993
Detroit, Michigan:
– Johnny B. Badd defeated Scotty Flamingo
– Erik Watts defeated Vinnie Vegas
– The Barbarian defeated Hubert Simpson
– Chris Benoit fought 2 Cold Scorpio to a 20-minute time-limit draw
– WCW/NWA Tag Team Champions Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas defeated Steve Austin & Brian Pillman
– WCW World Champion Big Van Vader defeated Ron Simmons
– Sting, WCW US Champion Dustin Rhodes, & Cactus Jack defeated Barry Windham, & Steve Austin & Brian Pillman in a streetfight
Morristown, Tennessee:
– The Nightstalker pinned Reno Riggins
– SMW Heavyweight Champion the Dirty White Boy fought Tracy Smothers to a 20-minute time-limit draw
– Tim Horner defeated Paul Orndorff
– Kevin Sullivan defeated Brian Lee
– SMW Tag Team Champions Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated Stan Lane & Tom Prichard
– SMW Tag Team Champions Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated Jim Cornette via disqualification in a handicap match
1995
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Miss Texas (Jackie Moore) defeated Sweet Georgia Brown for the USWA Women’s Title
2000
WCW Souled Out: Cincinnati, Ohio:
– Chris Benoit defeated Sid Vicious to win the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Title
– Buff Bagwell defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a Last Man Standing match
– The Wall (with Shane Douglas) defeated Billy Kidman in a Cage Heat match
– Kevin Nash defeated Terry Funk in a Hardcore match
2004
Oolitic, Indiana:
– Jerry Lynn defeated Danny Daniels for the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title
Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
– Harry Smith defeated Karnage to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title
2005
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
– La Resistance (Rob Conway and Sylvain Grenier) defeated William Regal and Jonathan Coachman (subbing for Eugene) to win the WWE World Tag Team Title
TNA Final Resolution: Orlando, Florida:
– America’s Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) defeated Team Canada (Bobby Roode & Eric Young) to win the NWA Tag Team Championship
– AJ Styles defeated Petey Williams and Chris Sabin to win the TNA X Division Title
2014
TNA Impact: Orlando, Florida:
– Ethan Carter III defeated Sting to retain the TNA Title
– Madison Rayne defeated Gail Kim to win the Knockouts Title
Duluth, Minnesota:
– American Heavyweight Title: Stanislaus Zbyszko beat Jess Westergaard by DQ (Westergaard retained title)
1953
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Dave Sims defeated Bobby Lane to win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title
1954
Waterloo, Iowa:
– US Heavyweight Title match: Verne Gagne beat Bob Orton 2 falls to 1 to retain the title
1959
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Herb and Seymour Freeman defeated Reggie and Stan Lisowski for the Minneapolis NWA World Tag Team Title
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Bobby Bruns, Bob Ellis and Billy McDaniel beat Lee Henning, Bill Longson and Mighty Atlas in 2 out of 3 falls
– Thor Hagen beat Bob Orton by DQ
– Joe Hamilton beat Rip Hawk
– Mighty Atlas b. Bobby Bruns by DQ
1962
St. Paul, Minnesota:
– Larry Hennig and Duke Hoffman defeated Ivan and Nikita Kalmikoff in a tournament final for the vacant AWA World Tag Team Title
1964
Salem, Oregon:
– Luther Lindsay and Shag Thomas defeated The Destroyer and Art Michalik to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
1967
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Bulldog Brower beat Edouard Carpentier
– Fred Atkins and Tiger Jeet Singh beat Ivan Kalmikoff and “Whipper” Billy Watson
– Sweet Daddy Siki beat Dutch Momberg
– Rocky Johnson beat Stamford Murphy
– Johnny Kostas beat Joe Christie
– Billy “Red” Lyons and Hans Schmidt went to a 20:00 draw
1969
Mobile, Alabama:
– Don Carson and Dick Dunn defeated Flash and Rocket Monroe for the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Title
1971
Tokuyama, Japan:
– Bill Dromo defeated Kintaro Ohki to win the Japan Wrestling Association All Asia Heavyweight Title
1972
– Dory Dixon defeated Kinji Shibuya for the NWA Beat the Champ Television Title
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– The Crusher beat Nick Bockwinkel
– Billy Robinson beat Red Bastien
– Ivan Koloff & Big K beat Andre Rousimoff & Bull Bullinski on a 3rd fall DQ
– Larry Hennig beat Joe Scarpello
– Dusty Rhodes beat Billy Howard
1974
Long Beach, California:
– John Tolos defeated Pak Song to win the NWA Americas Heavyweight Title
Dallas, Texas:
– The Great Mephisto defeated Jose Lothario for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title
Mobile, Alabama:
– Norvell Austin and Rocket Monroe defeated Gunga Din and Kubla Khan to win the Gulf Coast NWA United States Tag Team Titles
1975
San Francisco, California:
– The Brute defeated Peter Maivia to win the San Francisco NWA United States Heavyweight Title
1976
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Ripper Collins (w/ Percival A. Friend) defeated Bob Geigel
– Bob Brown & Ed Wiskoski defeated Ray Candy & Mike George
– Fence Match: Jerry Oates & Ted Oates defeated Ron Bass & Dutch Mantell
1977
Portland, Oregon:
– Buddy Rose and Jesse Ventura won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title from Dutch Savage and Jimmy Snuka
1978
Mexico City, Mexico:
– Canek defeated Dr. Wagner for the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Title
1979
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Ron Fuller defeated Austin Idol to win the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1980
Tampa, Florida:
– Lumberjack Match: Mike Graham defeated Bugsy McGraw
– Florida Title: Manny Fernandez defeated Leroy Brown by DQ
– $5,000 Challenge: Uvalde Slim defeated Super Destroyer
– Bryan St John & Stan Lane & Johnny Valiant defeated Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco & Don Diamond
1981
Oakland, California:
– Andre The Giant beat Jerry Blackwell
– Nick Bockwinkel beat Tito Santana
– Non Title: Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens beat AWA Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura
– John Studd drew Dino Bravo
– Greg Gagne beat Bobby Heenan
– Jerry Blackwell won a battle royal
1983
Miami, Florida:
– Mike Graham defeated Kevin Sullivan to win the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title
San Juan, Puerto Rico:
– King Tonga (Haku) defeated Invader I for the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title
Guadalajara, Mexico:
– Ringo Mendoza defeated El Faraon to win the NWA World Light Heavyweight Title
1984
Montgomery, Alabama:
– Arn Anderson and Jerry Stubbs defeated Jimmy Golden and Jacques Rougeau in a tournament final for the vacant NWA Southeastern Tag Team Titles
1985
Anoka, Minnesota:
– The Terminators (Rigs and Wolf) were billed as the PWA Tag Team Champions
– Mad Dog Vachon defeated “Mr. Electricity” Steve Regal to become the first the first PWA Heavyweight Champion
– Danny Gage defeated Mohammed Abass to become the first PWA Iron Horse Television Champion
1986
Tampa, Florid:
– Jesse Barr defeated Lex Luger to win the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1989
WWF Royal Rumble: Houston, Texas:
– Haku defeated Harley Race to win the unofficial title of “King Of Wrestling”
– The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) and Jim Duggan defeated The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques and Raymond) and Dino Bravo (with Frenchy Martin and Jimmy Hart) in 2 out of 3 falls
– Big John Studd won the Royal Rumble
1992
Kobe, Japan:
– Big Titan defeated Atsushi Onita to win the WWA World Martial Arts Title
1993
Bluff City, Tennessee:
– Jimmy Golden defeated Reno Riggins
– Tracy Smothers defeated Killer Kyle
– Tim Horner defeated SMW Heavyweight Champion the Dirty White Boy via disqualification
– SMW Tag Team Champions Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated Stan Lane & Tom Prichard
– Tracy Smothers won a battle royal
1995
Dallas, Texas:
– John Hawk (John Layfield) defeated Kevin Von Erich to win the NWA North American Heavyweight Title
1996
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Miss Texas (Jackie Moore) defeated Lady Satan (Debbie Combs) for the USWA Women’s Title
1998
Lakeland, Florida:
– Rey Misterio Jr. defeated WCW Cruiserweight Champion Juventud Guerrera to win the title
– Chris Jericho defeated Eddie Guerrero
– Lex Luger and Diamond Dallas Page defeated Kevin Nash and Randy Savage by disqualification
2006
TNA Final Resolution: Orlando, Florida:
– Alex Shelley & Roderick Strong & Austin Aries defeated Matt Bentley (with Tracy Brooks) & Sonjay Dutt & Chris Sabin
– AJ Styles defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi
– NWA Tag Team champions, America’s Most Wanted (James Storm & Chris Harris) (with Gail Kim) defeated Team 3D to retian the titles
– TNA X-Division champion Samoa Joe defeated Christopher Daniels to retain the title
Following a battle with stomach cancer and a myriad of other health issues, Jimmy Snuka has died at 73 years old.
Snuka’s death comes nearly two weeks after Judge Kelly L. Banach of Lehigh County cited Snuka’s deteriorating health when dismissing third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter charges that had been leveled against him in the 1983 death of Nancy Argentino.
Judge Banach previously ruled last year that Snuka wasn’t mentally competent enough to stand trial.
Snuka’s potential involvement in Argentino’s death had been openly speculated about for decades before reporting done by the Allentown Morning Call contributed to the case being reopened. The two had been romantically involved prior to Argentino’s death, which Snuka claimed was the result of a fall.
The Morning Call uncovered an autopsy report that concluded that the case should have been investigated as a homicide until proven otherwise because of signs of “mate abuse” on Argentino. Snuka was officially charged in September 2015.
At a hearing in the case last December, Snuka’s attorney stated that his client’s cancer was terminal and that he may only have six months to live.
Snuka’s daughter Sarona — who wrestles in WWE as Tamina — posted the news on Instagram on Sunday. It was also confirmed by Dwayne Johnson (better known as The Rock) on his Twitter account.
During his career, Snuka started out in Hawaii before becoming one of the WWF’s biggest stars of the 1980s prior to the Hulk Hogan era. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996.
Thought the show was okay. Found it rather underwhelming, but didn’t think it was bad. Seen over half the participants wrestle before, four of them are based and wrestle local to me (Seven, Bate, Dunne, and Moloney), and no one showed their full capabilities.
Everyone looked severely handcuffed. They were clearly instructed/under the impression they were to wrestle WWE style matches, which of course meant certain moves and sequences were banned, and a particular structure was adhered to, which in the case of the style, to a degree I expected and is fine, and I understand the thinking, with the thought that theirs is “a style for the masses” and they want you to wrestle in a manner that is fairly simple, understandable, and easily digestible, and not overwhelm or ostracize any of the potential audience, and make it accessible. Plus, of course, they feel some of what they ask is simply the right way to do things, as well they’re other aspects to it, but I digress.
However, what we saw for the most part was a greater degree of simplicity, slower (which isn’t necessarily bad), less spotty, and more low-impact with a steep curve than you’re accustomed to on WWE TV, when they were capable of far more. Excluding a few matches, they seemed to just want guys to try and have what they saw as good solid matches, and leave plenty in the tank for tomorrow, and to be fair — perhaps some adhered to instructions a little too much and/or were afraid of getting in trouble, either way the action was disappointing.
Also in the case Tyler and Trent (Seven), their full level of showmanship/charisma didn’t come across, I feel. In the case of Trent, I’m suspicious this was down to what they like, in the sense of they like you to keep the action moving, and they also don’t like too much playing to the crowd.
In the case of Tyler, as well as the playing to the crowd aspect, some of his showmanship spots they might see as hokey, and some are comedy driven, neither of which they really like, and also some are implemented during his scientific/technical work, which they don’t like a lot of with their guidelines of keeping the action moving — excluding the obvious exceptions, and some of it may’ve been a personal choice, to not invite further comparisons to Jack Gallagher, as they’re similar in that regard.
With all that said, I’m delighted they clearly like him (Tyler), wanted to showcase him and have the best match. In addition, I was surprised how much Pete Dunne got out of Roy Johnson. That may not be fair because I don’t see a lot of Johnson’s work, but he’s pretty green and limited, and that match exceeded my expectations. On other matters, I thought the presentation was good & Cole and McGuinness did well.
Best Match: Bate vs. Tucker
Worst Match: Huxley vs. Gradwell
– Tom
**********
Thumbs down
Best: Tyler Bate vs. Tucker
Worst: Trent Seven vs. HC Dyer
If the cruiserweight title tournament was 31 flavors then this show was one big ol’ scoop of vanilla. The action was fine but completely forgettable in every way. No one stood out as ready for a big stage, although I could see Sam Gradwell being a star if he improves his in ring skills. Tomorrow’s show should be better as much of the fat has been trimmed, but these local tournaments aren’t going to work if they don’t have the talent to back it up. Revolution Pro Wrestling has never seemed so professional.
Side note: Michael Cole was the best on commentary he’s been in ages. I don’t know if it was being paired with Nigel or being away from Vince producing him but it reminded me of how much promise he had back during his first big run on SmackDown with Tazz.
– Nick Randall
**********
Thumbs down.
Nothing stood out. Felt like watching SmackDown midcard matches.
Can’t spend another show listening to Michael Cole. The guy just has zero instinct for this. Since he’s been lead Raw announcer how far have the ratings gone down? Who wants to spend three hours listening to Michael Cole? Does Vince listen back to the show? It defies all logic he’s lead announcer.
– Yale Hannon
**********
I’ve just finished watching the first night of the UK tournament show. I thought on the whole it was pretty good, but not a great show. There was no one on the show who blew me away in their matches or who I thought could be a major superstar in WWE. I liked Michael Cole a lot more on tonight’s show than usual and he gelled fairly well with Nigel McGuinness on commentary.
Of the matches, I liked Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate, and Mark Andrews on the show. I’m hoping for Tyler Bate vs. Trent Seven and Mark Andrews vs. Pete Dunne in the semifinals culminating with Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne in the final match.
I have to say that I was not all that impressed by Jordan Devlin and Joseph Conners. Michael Cole described Conners as a “legit main eventer.” I really didn’t think there was much to him or his performance, but maybe he’ll be better tomorrow. During Jordan Devlin’s match, the crowd sang “you’re just a sh*t Finn Balor.” That pretty much tells you about everything about him and his performance. I don’t think either guy should get anywhere near the final tomorrow. It should be Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne.
Overall, I’d give the show a 6/10, maybe a 7/10
– Kevin Timmins
**********
Just thought I’d pass along some thoughts on last night’s WWE UK Title tournament night one show. I was there live and have also since seen the whole thing again on the Network, and I also have a ticket for tonight’s show too. I heard your analysis of night one on Observer Radio and I think you were very fair. I agreed with pretty much everything you said about the show.
I enjoyed it, probably more being there live than watching it back, although I also thought it was good watching it back. It was an easy thumbs up for me. Match of the night was definitely Tyler Bate vs. Tucker. Worst match was Saxon Huxley vs. Sam Gradwell. I think Saxon got the Jesus chants not only because of the way he looked, but because very few knew in attendance knew him, and this was clearly a very smart UK crowd with many attending UK shows all the time.
There were virtually no children there at all. It was really astonishing how few there were, even compared to NXT shows I’ve been to in the past. The atmosphere was fantastic, up there with the very best shows in a small venue that I’ve ever attended. The setting and the building was great, probably the best small building I’ve ever watched wrestling in, and I’ve been to quite a few in the US such as the Manhattan Center, Hammerstein Ballroom, and Center Stage.
One weird thing was when I got to the building, I had East Balcony seats right in the centre, and there were no seats there, with a hard camera situated there instead. The building manager profusely apologised, said it had been a late decision by WWE to situate the camera there, and upgraded us (I was with seven others) to fifth row ringside, in the centre directly opposite the ring and big screen entrance. So none of us were disappointed.
As mentioned, the atmosphere was great. People leaving the building afterwards all seemed very pleased with the show and there didn’t seem to be any complaints. You were correct in saying that certain guys perhaps were being held back, but then again it was night one and in WWE’s eyes maybe they want to build to night two and save all the good stuff for tonight.
I don’t know if you saw the post show angle with Pete Dunne but it was terrific. He continued to attack Gradwell and threw him off the stage. Then WWE released a backstage video on YouTube with everyone disgusted with Dunne’s actions including Nigel McGuinness. Triple H sort of shrugged and said “Make a name for yourself kid.” Regal was absolutely furious, after helping Gradwell backstage he launched into a tirade at Dunne warning him not to mess this up (shades of Vince with Steve Austin immediately after the Tyson angle in 1998, trying to play it off as a bit of shoot that Dunne went too far).
They then showed Regal and HHH going into HHH’s office, with Regal demanding that Dunne be disqualified from the tournament and Triple H calming him down. I thought it was really effective.
There was a dark match before last night’s show, with Chris Tyler & Jack Starz beating Ringo Ryan & Prince Ali. Standard opener, babyfaces going over. At the same level of the most of the other matches on the card.
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Lee Wyckoff defeated Ed “Strangler” Lewis for the Kansas City Midwest Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title
1946
Hollywood, California:
– Ernie Piluso defeated Red Berry to win the World Light Heavyweight Title
1958
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
– John DePaulo and Bobby Jones defeated Stan Mykietowich and Ted Stefanyk for the Madison Wrestling Club Tag Team Title
1959
Watsonville, California:
– The Red Hangman (Tom Rice) defeated Ramon Torres to win the San Francisco NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title
1960
Mobile, Alabama:
– Yvon Robert defeated Billy Wicks for the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title
1965
Denver, Colorado:
– AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon beat Verne Gagne
– Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat Mighty Igor Vodik & Ivan Kalmikoff
1966
Tulsa, Oklahoma:
– Lorenzo Parente defeated Danny Hodge to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title
1967
Omaha, Nebraska:
– Dale Lewis defeated Tim Woods for the AWA Nebraska Heavyweight Title
1970
Honolulu, Hawaii:
– The Missing Link defeated Ripper Collins to win the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title
1974
Orlando, Florida:
– Texas Death Match: Dusty Rhodes defeated Jack Brisco (non-title match) Special Referee: Haystack Calhoun
– Florida Tag Titles: Jos & Paul LeDuc defeated Mad Dog & Stan Vachon
– Florida Title: Buddy Colt defeated Mike Graham
– Paul Jones & Tom Jones defeated Rip Hawk & Red Shadow
– Tex McKenzie DDQ Dick Slater
– Danny Hodge defeated Big Mac
– Kevin Sullivan defeated George McCreary
1975
Tampa, Florida:
– Florida Title: Buddy Colt defeated “Cowboy” Bill Watts by DQ
– No DQ Match: Eddie & Mike Graham defeated Bob Roop & Dick Murdoch
– North American Title: Bob Armstrong defeated Professor Toru Tanaka
– Southern Title: Mongolian Stomper defeated Jos LeDuc by DQ
– Terry Funk defeated The Great Malenko
– Pat Barrett defeated George McCreary
– Dick Slater defeated Tony Parisi
– Dominic DeNucci defeated Iron Mike McCord
– Johnny Weaver defeated Baron Scicluna
1976
Miami, Florida:
– Lights Out Match: Big Bad John defeated Bob Roop
– Southern Title: Billy Robinson defeated King Curtis
– Florida Title: Frank Goodish (Bruiser Brody) defeated Rocky Johnson
– US Jr. Title: Mike Graham defeated Bob Orton, Jr.
– Thunderbolt Patterson defeated Killer Kowalski
1977
Los Angeles, California:
– Dory Funk Jr. defeated Chavo Guerrero for the NWA Americas Heavyweight Title
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Mr. Wrestling and Mr. Wrestling II won the NWA Georgia Tag Team Title from Gene and Ole Anderson
1979
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– US Champion Ricky Steamboat (sub NWA Champion Harley Race) beat John Studd
– Dino Bravo beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel by DQ
– Tiger Jeet Singh beat Ric Flair
– Mid Atlantic Tag Team Champions Ken Patera & John Studd beat Tony Atlas & Jay Youngblood
– Dewey Robertson beat Jacques Goulet
– Waldo Von Erich beat Nick DeCarlo
Orlando, Florida:
– Korean Assassin match: Dusty Rhodes defeated Pak Song
– Eddie & Mike Graham & Hiro Matsuda defeated Mr. Saito & Mr. Sato & Rising Sun
– Brass Knuckles Title: Killer Karl Kox defeated Herb Calvert
– Florida Title: Jim Garvin defeated Ali Bey
– Thor The Viking defeated Jos LeDuc
– Mr. Uganda defeated Rocky Johnson
1982
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Eddie Gilbert and Ricky Romero defeated Jerry Brown and Ron McFarlane to win the NWA Central States Tag Team Titles
1982
Payson, Arizona:
– The All-American and Lumberjack #1 defeated Jody Arnold and Pedro el Grande to win the Western States Wrestling Alliance Western States Tag Team Titles
1983
Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
– Leo Burke defeated Bret Hart to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title
Denver, Colorado:
– Cage match: AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan
– Hulk Hogan beat Jesse Ventura by DQ
– Rick Martel beat Ken Patera
– Wahoo McDaniel beat Sgt. Goulet
– Bobby Heenan drew Buck Zumhofe
1989
Caguas, Puerto Rico:
– Ricky Santana defeated Profe for the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title
– The Ninja Express (Mr. Pogo and Kensuke Sasaki) defeated Huracaun Castillo, Jr. and Miguel Perez, Jr. to win the WWC Caribbean Tag Team Titles
Portland, Oregon:
– Abbuda Dein defeated Top Gun (David Sierra) to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Television Title
1991
Marietta, Georgia:
– Arn Anderson defeated Tom Zenk for the WCW World Television Title
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Jeff Jarrett won a tournament to win the vacant USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion defeating Brian Lee in the finals of the tournament
Fridley, Minnesota:
– Jerry Lynn defeated The Lightning Kid (Sean Waltman) for the vacant Pro Wrestling America Light Heavyweight Title
Winnipeg, Manitoba:
– E.Z. Ryder defeated The Natural (Don Callis) to win the West Four Wrestling Alliance Canadian Heavyweight Title
1992
Columbus, Georgia:
– Ron Simmons and Big Josh (Matt Borne) defeated The Young Pistols (Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers) for the WCW United States Tag Team Titles
1995
Dallas, Texas:
– John Hawk defeated Kevin Von Erich for the NWA North American Heavyweight Title
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Tommy Rich and Doug Gilbert won the USWA Tag Team Title by defeating PG-13 (JC Ice and Wolfie D)
1998
Tokyo, Japan:
– Genichiro Tenryu defeated Nobutaka Araya in a tournament final to become the War J-1 Heavyweight Champion
1999
Louisville, Kentucky:
– The Suicide Kid defeated Ian Rotten for the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title
2001
Indianapolis, Indiana:
– Chuck Palumbo & Shawn O’Haire defeated Kevin Nash and Dallas page to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship
– Shane Douglas defeated General Reaction to win the US Title
2006
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson defeated FIP Heavyweight Champion Homicide and Roderick Strong to win the FIP title
– Christopher Daniels defeated Jay Lethal
– Samoa Joe defeated B.J. Whitmere
– A.J. Styles defeated Matt Sydal
– ROH and FIP Champion Bryan Danielson defeated Chris Hero to retain the ROH title
2007
TNA Final Resolution: Orlando, Florida:
– Christian Cage defeated Sting and Abyss to win the TNA/NWA World Championship
– Chris Sabin won the TNA X Division title over Christopher Daniels and Jerry Lynn
Tokyo, Japan:
– Amazing Kong defeated Nanae Takahashi to win the AWA World Women’s Title
Chris Hero returned to NXT as Kassius Ohno last week after a little over three years away from WWE developmental. All that happened in between is that he became arguably the best professional wrestler in the world.
It’s not that Hero didn’t enter developmental in 2012 as an excellent performer. He was a genuine independent wrestling star even then, having worked for Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling NOAH, and seemingly everywhere else across the globe. He had developed as an elite in-ring talent by utilizing a unique style that was shaped by those experiences and his knowledge of pro wrestling history.
But Hero reenters WWE better than he has ever been because of how he has further dedicated himself in the ring since being released. And he does so after having had more outstanding matches than anyone else did in 2016.
A lot of that is because of opportunity. By not getting locked down with any one company, Hero was given the opportunity to work almost anywhere he wanted against such different opponents. He worked across the United States indie scene while finding homes in its most popular promotions. He went overseas and toured Europe while being just as welcomed in their top companies.
That led to Hero working more diverse matches than anyone else did last year. He elevated every EVOLVE card that he was on while giving many of his peers their best match of the year. He was Timothy Thatcher’s opponent in his best title defense of the year, along with being involved in the promotion’s best tag match of 2016 as he teamed with regular partner Tommy End against frequent rival Zack Sabre Jr. and Sami Callihan.
Hero’s two matches against “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams brought out the best in Williams, and his trilogy with Matt Riddle helped cement the former UFC fighter as the clear top star in EVOLVE as it enters a new era.
Hero teamed with End against Pentagon Jr. and Fenix in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla over Battle of Los Angeles weekend, with the contrasting styles of the teams (even though Hero did show that he’s adept at lucha in the match) producing one of the best tag matches of the year.
Across the pond, Hero had stellar matches in PROGRESS with Marty Scurll and Mark Andrews, along with another great match with Scurll in Revolution Pro Wrestling. Hero’s involvement with RevPro led to him getting to wrestle in two dream matches at their co-promoted shows with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He faced off against Tomohiro Ishii and Katsuyori Shibata on the two shows, with the Ishii match especially showing that Hero is the best in the world at his bruising, strike-heavy style.
And that brief list doesn’t even come close to doing justice to the year that Hero had. He was the top star on the indies and made every show that he was on — regardless of size — feel like a big deal.
Other capable indie workers will be given the chance to step up as we get deeper into 2017, but no one person will be able to fill Hero’s spot. No one else has the combination of longevity, knowledge, and experience working so many different styles that Hero has.
But the indie scene’s loss will be NXT’s gain. And NXT has never needed Hero more than they do right now.
As NXT has strived to become a brand, it feels like it has lost an identity. The need to fill moderately sized buildings on the road and the reliance on stars who have already made their names on bigger stages elsewhere has made NXT feel less like the distinct product that it used to be.
Of course, NXT has always relied on already established talent. It’s never going to be a promotion that solely features developing wrestlers. Finn Balor was a ready-made star when he stepped foot into developmental. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were stars in ROH, PWG, and many other promotions before coming to WWE. But those three wrestlers fit into the product that NXT was trying to produce far more seamlessly than Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, and Bobby Roode have. They were talents obviously motivated for the opportunity ahead of them and out to prove themselves.
Established stars will always be needed in NXT. They’ll help sell tickets, draw viewers to the WWE Network, and work with younger talents. But Nakamura, Joe, and Roode as the top male stars seems to have fundamentally changed what NXT is.
Nakamura has seen far bigger stages than Full Sail University. And he was a legitimate top star in NJPW in a way that Balor never was. He’s 36 years old with a lifetime of pro wrestling wear and tear on his body. Even in NJPW, he got by on charisma and only gave everything he had when it mattered most. He’s had a couple of standout matches since signing with WWE, but it shouldn’t be surprising that he’s picked his spots up to this point.
Joe and Roode are even older with just as much mileage on their bodies. And both former TNA stars have already experienced what it’s like to work on television.
Some of the identity that NXT lost was inevitable. They’ve understandably been unable to adequately replace Sasha Banks, Bayley, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch. And with WWE now a legitimate place to watch high-end women’s wrestling, NXT has lost a lot of what made it special.
SmackDown has also made NXT’s place in the weekly WWE product less clear. NXT used to exist as a shorter and easier to watch alternative to Raw that had logical booking and storytelling that built to their big shows, but SmackDown has done all of that better than NXT has since the brand split.
Adding another star well into his 30s shouldn’t feel like something that will rejuvenate the brand, but Chris Hero has proved in his three-plus years outside of the company that no one is more motivated than he is to consistently put on great wrestling matches. He also comes back to NXT with something to prove after previously being released.
Whether Hero ultimately has main roster success remains to be seen. There are obvious obstacles that stand in his way, with his physique always going to be a talking point. But he was released when he was near the best shape of his life and comes back to the company with officials obviously knowing what he looks like.
Hero is getting an unlikely second shot at wrestling for the biggest company and on the biggest stage possible. If he does eventually find success in WWE, it will be because of how he dedicated himself to becoming maybe the best in-ring wrestler in the world during his time away.
Hollywood, California:
– Ted Christy defeated Leroy McGuirk to win the World Light Heavyweight Title
1948
San Francisco, California:
– Ray Eckert defeated Billy Hanson to win the San Francisco NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title
1949
Kansas City, Kansas:
– “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers beat Tarzan Kowalski in 2 out of 3 falls
– Bobby Bruns and Bob Wagner drew 1 fall a piece
1950
Houston, Texas:
– Danny McShain defeated Verne Gagne to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title
1951
Houston, Texas:
– Danny McShain won the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title, defeating Danny Savich
1959
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:
– Chico Garcia and Chet Wallick defeated George and Sandy Scott for the Calgary NWA Canadian Tag Team Title
1960
Montreal, Quebec, Canada:
– Buddy Rogers beat Wladek Kowalski to capture the World Heavyweight Title in 2 out of 3 falls
– The Kalmikoff Brothers (Ivan and Karol Kalmikoff) beat Mark Lewin and Sweet Daddy Siki in 2 out of 3 falls
– Mark Lewin beat Chet Wallick
– Eddie Auger and Claude St. Jean drew
1965
Mexico City, Mexico:
– Rodolfo Ruiz defeated Chanoc for the Mexican National Lightweight Title
– Raul Reyes won the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Title from Rey Mendoza
Mobile, Alabama:
– Dick Dunn defeated The Mighty Yankee for the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title
1966
Portland, Oregon:
– Shag Thomas and Bearcat Wright defeated Stan Stasiak and Mighty Ursus to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title
1967
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Butcher and Mad Dog Vachon defeated Enrique and Ramon Torres to win the Georgia NWA World Tag Team Titles
St. Joseph, Missouri:
– Sonny Myers won the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title from Mike DiBiase
1968
Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
– AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Harley Race
– Wilbur Snyder beat Hard Boiled Haggerty by DQ
– Bill Watts beat Jose Bentancourt
– Dale Lewis beat Black Bart
1970
Tampa, Florida:
– The Missouri Mauler defeated Danny Miller for the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
Macon, Georgia:
– Buddy Colt and Homer O’Dell defeated Cyclone Soto and Roberto Soto to win the NWA Macon Tag Team Titles
1971
Mobile, Alabama:
– Bob Kelly defeated Mike Boyette for the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title
1973
Detroit, Michigan:
– Bobo Brazil defeated The Sheik to win the Detroit NWA United States Heavyweight Title
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Superstar Billy Graham beat Wahoo McDaniel
– Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch beat Danny Hodge & Bill Miller 2 out of 3 falls
– Ivan Koloff beat George Scott
– Reggie Parks beat Big K
– Bob Bruggers beat Johnny Heidman
– Jim Brunzell beat Tinker Todd
1977
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
– Cage match: The Crusher beat Mad Dog Vachon
– Billy Francis & Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum & Ray Stevens
– Pedro Morales beat Baron Von Raschke
– Angelo Mosca beat Peter Maivia
– Roger Kirby beat Buck Zumhofe
– Super Destroyer beat Moose Morowski
Jacksonville, Florida:
– Lumberjack Match: Dusty Rhodes defeated Superstar Billy Graham
– Jos LeDuc defeated Steve Strong
– Bob Roop & Bob Orton, Jr. defeated Jack & Jerry Brisco
– Buddy Wolff defeated Tommy Seigler
– Steve Keirn defeated Hans Schroeder
– Kevin Sullivan defeated Rock Hunter
1978
– Chavo and Hector Guerrero defeated Black Gordman and Goliath to win the NWA Americas Tag Team Title
1980
St. Paul, Minnesota:
– AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat The Crusher
– Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura beat Dino Bravo & Greg Gagne by DQ
– Lord Alfred Hayes beat Bobby Heenan
– Steve Olsonoski beat Super Destroyer Mark II
– Super Destroyer Mark III beat Buck Zumhofe
– Jerry Blackwell beat Ron Ritchie
1983
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Roger Kirby defeated Mark Romero for the NWA Central States Television Title
1985
Memphis, Tennessee:
– The Interns (Don Bass and Roger Smith) defeated The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) to win the vacant AWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1986
Memphis, Tennessee:
– The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers) defeated The Sheepherders (Jonathan Boyd and Bigfoot) for the vacant AWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1987
Tampa, Florida:
– Lumberjack Match: Kevin Sullivan defeated Lex Luger
– Florida Title: Bad News Allen defeated Ron Simmons to retain title
– Florida Tag Titles: Stan Lane & Mike Graham defeated New Breed by DQ to retain title
– Jack “The Stretcher” Hart defeated Mark Starr
– Jerry Gray drew Jim Backlund
1989
Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
– Chris Benoit defeated Johnny Smith to win the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Title
1990
Bayamon, Puerto Rico:
– Manny Fernandez defeated Invader I to win the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title
1991
Charleston, West Virginia:
– Allen Iron Eagle pinned Moondog Rex
– The Junkyard Dog pinned Minotaur
– Tracey Smothers & Steve Armstrong defeated the Master Blasters
– Michael Wallstreet pinned Terry Taylor with a roll up
– WCW US Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin
– Sting defeated NWA & WCW World Champion Ric Flair via disqualification
1993
WCW Clash of the Champions: Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
– Cactus Jack pinned Johnny B. Badd (sub. for Erik Watts)
– 2 Cold Scorpio pinned Scotty Flamingo
– Chris Benoit pinned Brad Armstrong (Benoit’s singles debut)
– Vinnie Vegas defeated Tony Atlas (sub. for Van Hammer) in an arm wrestling contest
– The Wrecking Crew defeated Johnny Gunn & Tom Zenk
– NWA and WCW World Tag Team Champions, Shane Douglas and Ricky Steamboat, defeated The Hollywood Blondes (Steve Austin and Brian Pillman) by DQ to retain the titles
– Cactus Jack, Dustin Rhodes and Sting defeated Paul Orndorff, Big Van Vader and Barry Windham in a Thundercage match
1995
Williamsburg, Kentucky:
– Tracy Smothers defeated Bryant Anderson
– Boo Bradley defeated Chris Candido
– Buddy Landel defeated SMW Heavyweight Champion the Dirty White Boy via disqualification
– SMW Tag Team Champions Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated New Jack & Mustafa
1996
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Tommy Rich defeated Jerry Lawler to win the USWA Heavyweight Title
– PG-13 (JC Ice and Wolfie D) won the USWA Tag Team Title, defeating Doug Gilbert and Tommy Rich
1998
Tokyo, Japan:
– Doug Gilbert last eliminated Keisuke Yamada in a 15-man deathmatch battle royal to win the vacant IWA Japan World Heavyweight Title
2013
TNA Genesis: Orlando, Florida:
– TNA Champion Jeff Hardy defeated Austin Aires and Bobby Roode to retain the title
– Christopher Daniels defeated James Storm
– TNA X Division Champion Rob Van Dam defeated Christian York to retain the title
The Twitter bio of Aristidis Marousas, aka Andros the Greek, says it all.
“Corporate Analyst by day. Professional wrestler, aspiring actor/filmmaker/entrepreneur, blogger, bookworm, and overall renaissance man by night.”
That’s a lot to fit into 24 hours a day, but Andros, who returns to the ring this Saturday for the Warriors of Wrestling show in Staten Island, New York, makes it happen. It’s a tribute to parents who instilled in him the value of hard work, even if having a son pursuing a professional wrestling career wasn’t exactly top on their priority list.
In fact, it wasn’t on the list at all.
“Both of my parents are immigrants,” Marousas said. “My dad’s from Greece, my mom’s from Wales, and they never grew up with wrestling, football or any of that stuff. My dad was kind of strict when we were younger, where we could only watch educational programming. So things like wrestling weren’t really allowed.”
Fate had a way of making it all come together though, with the young Marousas accidentally finding a SmackDown event while flipping through channels.
“I still remember it,” he laughs. “It was a fatal four-way on SmackDown. We didn’t have cable, so all I had was UPN and it was Booker T, Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero, and I think JBL. It was the first time I had seen anything like it. I didn’t even know what it was but I was instantly hooked to it.”
From there, Marousas would MacGyver his way around an old television to find any wrestling he could at night, while days in biology class were often spent thinking about storylines and walking down the WWE ramp himself. That hasn’t happened yet, but the rest began taking form years later when, as a college student, he met Will Ferrara through a mutual friend on Facebook, with the Ring of Honor vet recommending the aspiring wrestler look up the Warriors of Wrestling training center.
It was 2012, and Marousas was on his way to fulfilling his dream, even if his parents didn’t know what he was up to.
“The first couple months, I didn’t tell anyone,” he said. “I told my mom first because she’s the most understanding. I don’t even remember how long it took me to finally break it to my dad what I was doing.”
And when he did?
“I think he was shocked,” Marousas said. “It wasn’t something that even registered on his mind. He didn’t even know I liked wrestling. (Laughs) He still isn’t a huge fan of the idea of me doing this, but at the same time, the few times he’s been able to come to the show, he’s always been one of the loudest ones. He gets sucked into it really quickly.”
It’s hard not to, whether you’re eight or 80. And despite school and his other interests, Marousas was determined to ride this until the wheels came off.
“I was the only student for a while and it was me and James (Rudeboy) Riley,” he said. “He really taught me the basics, taught me everything before I had to take a year and a half off (due to work and summer classes). When I came back, Jake (‘Logan Black’ Gomez) had more control of the school. J. George was teaching classes on Wednesday, Jake was teaching on Thursday, Riley was doing Tuesday. Jake has put so much time and effort into making Warriors the school it is today. We have so many students coming in to train now and Jake, (WOW founder) Joey (Bellini), and everybody involved really do a great job. For a school our size, we have such a great education program. It’s really a great environment.”
Yet while most who fall in love with wrestling are content to keep it to a level where they watch all the televised shows, go to matches and read whatever they can about it, there is that segment of the fan base that want to take it further like Marousas did. Why?
“Someone else said this, but I think anyone in this business, and not to get too deep, is broken on some level,” he said. “There’s something wrong with a person who wants to do what we’re doing, whatever it might be.”
“For me, I love storytelling and I always wanted to be a storyteller/entertainer, but it was always suppressed in the house because my parents didn’t come from that background. They came here with $150 between them, and they worked really hard. They had the whole immigrant mentality of you work hard, you go to school, you become a doctor, lawyer or businessman and you do what you can to make enough money that your children can do even better. So the arts were never really fully supported in the house, and I think there was a lot of suppression in myself because of that, but I was always drawn to it. So finally, when I had little glimpses of it, I would try my best to follow it as much as I could, and this avenue really opened for me once my family left down to Virginia.”
With his parents and brother in Virginia while Marousas stayed in New Jersey while attending Rutgers, it was the opportunity he needed to learn the ropes and pay his dues. Today, he’s a rising star in the WOW promotion, with much of his work coming in his tag team with Marcus Marquee, The Perfect Strangers. This avenue has allowed Marousas to stretch out his creative muscles in order to pull off that toughest of tasks — building a connection and creating storylines while not having weekly television spots to do so.
“We decided to make Facebook skits to try to get our characters over,” he said. “We’re serious in the ring but a bit comedic outside, just because of the way our characters interact. We do these sketches so that the Warriors fans and even beyond can get a glimpse of what we’re doing. Plus, you don’t really see that many guys taking advantage of social media in this way. I try to present content that fans will want to watch. And it’s slowly starting to work.”
So now, he’s that guy he wanted to be when he first saw SmackDown. Not bad, Mr. Marousas, not bad at all.
“When that music hits and we pop out of that curtain, it’s hard to believe sometimes,” he said. “I feel like all of us as wrestlers, we get to a point where we sort of take it for granted. But if 12-year-old me would see me right now, he’d slap the crap out of me. It’s a great feeling.”
After making our choices for the first half of the major category Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards yesterday, our team is back today to make our picks for Match of the Year, Fight of the Year, Promotion of the Year, and the rest of the awards. Our participants are:
Alan4L (Dr. Keith Presents host and Figure Four Weekly writer)
Alan Boon (British wrestling expert and columnist)
Joseph Currier(F4WOnline editor and Figure Four Weekly writer)
This is for the wrestler who does the most innovative and solidly executed flying maneuvers within the context of putting together great wrestling matches. This is not for simply the hottest daredevil moves, which are sometimes hit and sometimes miss.
Bryan Rose: Will Ospreay owns this category. Just a tremendous high flying wrestler in an era where there are many insane high flyers.
Paul Fontaine: Will Ospreay. I’ve been watching wrestling since the mid-70s and I’ve never seen anyone do the things I’ve seen him do in just a few matches.
Mike DellaCamera: With Ricochet toning down the flying a bit, this is very clearly Will Ospreay. A spectacular flyer in every sense, he makes the incredible look routine.
Ryan Frederick: Will Ospreay. It’s him or Ricochet, but Osprey has been flying more and it has been really fun this year watching him move.
Joseph Currier: There are other high flyers at least close to being as athletic and talented as Will Ospreay is, but no one is as willing to consistently do as many mind-blowing moves. He’ll likely have to slow down at some point before his ambition catches up with him, but he had one of the best years that a high flyer has ever had.
Kyle S. Johnson: Will Ospreay, and it isn’t even that close.
Brian Hoops: Ricochet. Will Ospreay was close in an era of some amazing high flyers.
Most Overrated
The wrestler who gets the biggest push, despite lacking ring ability or charisma.
Kyle S. Johnson: My immediate inclination is to say Roman Reigns because he is not even remotely over to the level of his push, but I’m also inclined to go with Nia Jax because she is nowhere near ready enough for the main roster.
I’ll stick with my gut and go with Reigns because his WWE Championship runs in the voting period completely fizzled out, he briefly lost his main event push not for bombing with audiences but by virtue of failing a drug test, and he has since done absolutely nothing to improve the value of the United States Championship.
Mike DellaCamera: Cody Rhodes. Cody Rhodes is fine, which is really all I can say about him. None of his matches since leaving WWE have lived up to the hype, and he’s worked with some of the best in the world. Hopefully Cody in NJPW can make me care in 2017.
Brian Hoops: Sheamus. I can’t change the channel fast enough when he is on TV. Sad, as he is paired with Cesaro.
Paul Fontaine: I have to go with Reigns here. It’s not even that he’s that bad, it’s just that he’s not near good enough to justify the amount of juice WWE is putting behind him.
Joseph Currier: I thought that Cody Rhodes got too big of a push before he even left WWE, where he seemed to think that he was underutilized. He’s had a few good matches since leaving the company, but he’s been treated as a star that is far above his ability. His work at Final Battle was promising after the voting period was over, and hopefully he can excel in ROH and NJPW, but his indie run has almost always been disappointing.
Ryan Frederick: Sheamus. I really don’t know with this one. I’m going against the grain and not picking Roman Reigns. Sheamus has been fine but they push him more than his ability deserves.
Bryan Rose: Baron Corbin has potential but still has a long way to go to be where WWE wants him. I kind of feel bad voting for him as I think he’s improved a lot in the last year, and seems to be finding a better role on SmackDown in the last few weeks but still isn’t what I’d call great or anything yet, especially when he’s now being put in main events.
Most Underrated
The wrestler with the most ability, who, for whatever reason, doesn’t get a push commensurate with their ability. This should be based on this past year, and not a business reputation earned in prior years.
Joseph Currier: Cesaro may win this category for the rest of his career if he never gets a legitimate run at the top. It’s probably worth trying him at that level, but I didn’t have much of a problem with how he was booked last year.
Neville’s extended absence from TV in 2016 even after returning from injury should win him this award. He’s been one of the best parts of WWE programming since coming back while elevating the cruiserweight division with his presence. There’s no valid reason that he shouldn’t have been part of the introduction of the division.
Bryan Rose: They finally seem to be doing something with Neville, but he’s done nothing for the majority of this year. Granted, he was out a few months with an ankle injury but he had been cleared forever and did so little. Given his immense talent, it’s just downright silly they couldn’t find a role for him until the cruiserweight division began. And even then, they waited three months before actually putting him there.
Kyle S. Johnson: Neville. Like gravity, WWE seemed to have forgotten Neville’s existence in 2016, leaving him almost entirely out of the mix during the early going of the brand split where talent was so desperately needed.
This seems to be getting reversed at last with his thus-far incredibly fun positioning as the monster heel of the cruiserweight division, but for having been wasted or ignored for so long after returning from injury, Neville gets it this year. Cesaro is always a top contender because he’s a bona fide main eventer, but 2016 was quite frankly the closest WWE has been to actually recognizing his talents, so perhaps there’s hope for 2017.
Brian Hoops: Neville. Granted he was injured for part of the year, but was largely not pushed or squashed when he did wrestle.
Paul Fontaine: Yes, he just won a tag team title, but that was not in the voting period for the awards and they could have done so much more with Cesaro. Until he gets a main event program, he will always have my vote.
Mike DellaCamera: Unfortunately Cesaro will probably win this category as long as he is in the WWE.
Ryan Frederick: Cesaro. He should be in world title contention but they never pull the trigger. He’s a top five worker in the WWE.
Promotion of the Year
Should be based on which group put together the best live and television product on a consistent basis, and secondarily, the ability to sell that product at a high level. This means box office and marketing combined with product quality. Theoretically, the top pick should be a company at or near the top on both categories.
Paul Fontaine: It’s not just that they drew more money, the UFC consistently put on good to great shows and managed to increase their TV ratings during a period when ratings are on the decline in general.
Ryan Frederick: UFC. It’s hard to pick against them especially since Zuffa sold them to WME-IMG for $4.2 billion. They’ve also had a really good year of fights and events.
Kyle S. Johnson: UFC. 2016 was a year of monster shows, monster buyrates, monster gates, and a monster sale to WME-IMG.
Brian Hoops: Hard to argue with the monster PPV year the UFC has had. NJPW was best wrestling promotion.
Bryan Rose: New Japan Pro Wrestling continues to be a hotbed of great pro wrestling action and storytelling. It’s not perfect, but it does a better job than any promotion out there. It also continues to thrive economically despite the departures of AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura earlier in the year.
Joseph Currier: It’s been a year of highs and lows, but no promotion had as good of a year overall as WWE did. There are obviously still plenty of issues, and the company probably won’t win this category until three-hour Raws somehow become less of a chore. But they diversified their product greatly while putting out a variety of quality content. SmackDown and Talking Smack became must-watch shows every week, while the Cruiserweight Classic provided a few months of some of the best WWE programming ever.
Best Weekly TV Show
Weekly television shows are the only ones eligible, not monthly shows, specials or individual episodes of a specific program. This is for the best consistent program. The shows have to be produced with the idea they are a weekly ongoing show and not a short-term mini-series.
Kyle S. Johnson: SmackDown Live with Talking Smack a close second. The brand split could have been a disastrous thing, but it has led to a creative resurgence for SmackDown, which has consistently had the most compelling storylines and best writing of any WWE product. With Raw, you can get the gist of things from a quick recap or a condensed version of the show; more often, SmackDown tends to feel like must-watch stuff.
Joseph Currier: SmackDown was too mediocre for too much of the voting period prior to the brand split to get my vote. But Talking Smack has been incredible for nearly the entirety of its run. It’s hard to consider a show that doesn’t feature any in-ring action as the best weekly TV show of the year, but it’s really provided a fresh spin on using talking to advance character development.
For too long, we’ve heard the same overly scripted in-ring promos used to eat up TV segments. Talking Smack should have given WWE a look at what would be the best way to present their characters going forward.
Bryan Rose: SmackDown has been consistently good since the brand split, so it gets my vote. Maybe it’s the two-hour thing, but it seems way more cohesive than Raw, which does a great job of dragging things out and making everything feel sterile and bland. SmackDown is on point, usually has a good match or two, and most segments are pretty fun to watch. NXT has felt way too bland this year to be considered for this award, and I think Lucha Underground is too stuck in its own lore to be considered anymore.
Paul Fontaine: If I could only watch one show a week, it would be Talking Smack so that gets my vote.
Mike DellaCamera: SmackDown Live. As the year progressed, I found myself caring more about what happens on SmackDown than I do Raw. The stories make sense, are logical, and are capped off with good wrestling. It’s Raw with all the fat trimmed off.
Ryan Frederick: Talking Smack. It has no in-ring action but it is far and away the most entertaining wrestling show put on, and it does so much for the characters. Not to mention that it had some of the best promos of the year. Really, the Cruiserweight Classic should win this award but the voting rules make it ineligible.
Alan4L: CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide. The best thing in wrestling that nobody realizes. Brad Stutts and his crew put together the most well thought out, easy to digest, wrestling television I’ve seen in years. The show has also been home to three of the best matches of 2016 in Trevor Lee’s title bouts with Roy Wilkins, Andrew Everett, and Cedric Alexander.
Brian Hoops: ROH. Consistent wrestling and good TV angles each and every week.
Pro Wrestling Match of the Year
Remember, matches from last December are eligible, but nothing after November 30th from this year is eligible.
Mike DellaCamera: The Revival vs. DIY from NXT TakeOver: Toronto for me is the match of the year, and one of the best tag team matches in recent memory. The two-out-of-three falls stipulation was perfect here, as it completely raised the stakes of even the slightest in-ring movement. A spectacularly wrestled match that could have only been better if The Revival retained, because The Revival should always be the champs.
Kyle S. Johnson: Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito on August 13th in the B Block Finals of the 2016 G1 Climax. It was a close call between this and the exceptional story told between Okada and Tanahashi at WK 10, but Omega and Naito turned it up to a completely different level here. I went back and watched this match twice after seeing it for the first time, and it’s pretty likely that I’ll be returning to it again with a great degree of regularity in the future.
Joseph Currier: This was maybe the most difficult choice for me of any category. I ultimately went with Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada from the Tokyo Dome show. I’m not sure that I liked it better than their match the year prior, but it was at least on par with the unreal standard that the two have set.
There’s nothing I enjoy more in wrestling than Tanahashi in a big match spot, but I also heavily considered DIY vs. The Revival from TakeOver: Toronto and Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll from PROGRESS Chapter 25.
Ryan Frederick: Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito. Just a fantastic all-around match in the B Block Finals of the G1, and both men had great matches this year. A real hard selection in a year of a lot of great matches.
Alan4L: Okada vs. Tanahashi from the Dome. An amazing, incredible final chapter to the best rivalry of the era.
Brian Hoops: The Revival vs. DIY from NXT TakeOver: Toronto. Loved the two-out-of-three falls concept and the old school way it was worked. Reminded me of the Eddie Guerrero/Love Machine match from When Worlds Collide. Nakamura vs. Styles at Wrestle Kingdom 10 is a close second.
Bryan Rose: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii was a stupendous match in a year where there were a ton of stupendous matches. But there is something about the way Ishii works a match that just makes it so compelling to watch. I think it is the way he sells; he may be proof that even though people sell, no one sells like they should…except for Tomohiro Ishii. The match had everything, from great wrestling to a hot crowd. What more could you ask for?
Paul Fontaine: Volador Jr. vs Cavernario from the finals of CMLL’s Reyes Del Aire tournament takes this for me. This match had everything and had me on the edge of my seat throughout. I don’t watch as much CMLL as I’d like to but this made me seek out more matches involving both of these guys.
MMA Match of the Year
Remember, matches from last December are eligible, but nothing after November 30th from this year is eligible.
Paul Fontaine: Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II was an awesome fight where both guys left everything they had in the cage. McGregor squeaked out a win in what will set up a third fight that will likely draw even more money down the road. Pro wrestling wishes they could book something this good.
Brian Hoops: Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II was the best MMA match in a year of several great matches.
Ryan Frederick: Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit. It was two men known for exciting fights delivering a hard-hitting slugfest with a title on the line. The fifth round of that fight was epic and exciting. It was such a fantastic fight.
Kyle S. Johnson: Dong Hyun Kim vs. Marco Polo Reyes on June 4th on the UFC 199 Prelims. This was close for me, just narrowly edging out Lawler vs. Condit by the slightest of margins. Man, what a fight this was.
Rookie of the Year
This is based on ring performance, not how someone is pushed or necessarily even long-term star potential. By the standards of the category, a rookie is someone who hasn’t had a regular job with a full-time wrestling company before September 1st, 2015.
Alan Boon: Matt Riddle has “it.” I’m not sure what “it” is but you know it when you see it, and Matt Riddle is in secure possession of the intangible. For someone with so little time in the professional game, he shows an astonishing level of comfort between the ropes, and has been able to parlay his MMA background into a realistic style, something that has evaded many similar athletes. If there are issues preventing him finding a spot in WWE or Japan then that’s just what it is, because there’s a realness to him that’s part of the appeal.
Joseph Currier: It’s impossible to understate what a special talent Matt Riddle already is at this point in his career. He has seemed to grasp the fundamentals effortlessly, while also knowing how to present himself as a character and personality. He has everything it takes to be a legitimate top star wherever he goes.
Mike DellaCamera: Matt Riddle. Already an absolute star. There is no realistic limit to his ceiling as a wrestler, Bro.
Bryan Rose: Matt Riddle is really, really good one year into his career. I’d love to see where he goes from here as he can go anywhere and be a star at this point.
Paul Fontaine: Matt Riddle.
Ryan Frederick: Matt Riddle. He has made such a great transition from MMA to wrestling, and he’s such a natural. He’s already a star. He’s only going to get better too.
Kyle S. Johnson: Matt Riddle. In such a finite amount of time, this guy has already become a must-see star. He’s someone you look at and can almost immediately envision walking down the aisle at a WrestleMania.
Brian Hoops: Matt Riddle. It’s almost ridiculous how good this guy has become this quickly.
Best Non-Wrestler Performer
For the best performer on a television show who isn’t a traditional wrestler, whether they be a management figure or a traditional manager.
Joseph Currier: Daniel Bryan again finding a regular role on WWE TV has been one of the best parts about SmackDown since the brand split. Having a face authority presence has really helped differentiate SmackDown from Raw, while Bryan’s honesty on Talking Smack is vital to making that show work.
Ryan Frederick: Daniel Bryan. It’s hard seeing him not wrestle, but he’s been good in the GM role on SmackDown, and has been fantastic on Talking Smack.
Kyle S. Johnson: I’ll go with Daniel Bryan for his phenomenal work on Talking Smack and his contribution to making The Miz one of 2016’s most surprising success stories.
Paul Fontaine: Dario Cueto is in a class by himself, in my opinion.
Brian Hoops: Dario Cueto. Very good for his role.
Best Television Announcer
Bryan Rose: I get some of the criticism people throw at Mauro Ranallo when it comes to his announcing, and they are pretty warranted, but he’s still the best announcer WWE has and it’s not even close. I’ll go with constant Japanese references over the inhumanely robotic Michael Cole any day.
Ryan Frederick: Mauro Ranallo. He’s very good and was great on the Cruiserweight Classic shows. He’s also very different from the typical WWE announcer, and a very good different.
Kyle S. Johnson: Mauro Ranallo. From the Cruiserweight Classic to SmackDown, this guy exudes a level of knowledge, class, and intelligence that WWE programming has been sorely missing at the commentary table since the departure of Jim Ross.
Brian Hoops: Mauro Ranallo is simply the best in the business.
Paul Fontaine: Mauro Ranallo. It’s so nice to see him finally get his dream job and he delivered in a big way.
Mike DellaCamera: Corey Graves. He works three shows, (Raw, NXT, 205 Live) and makes each one of them exponentially better. It’s a testament to his skill that he has tremendous chemistry with such a diverse set of broadcast partners. And I know it’s technically outside of the timeframe for the awards, but his reaction to Sami Zayn being “traded straight up for Eva Marie” was the commentary moment of the year.
Alan4L: Brad Stutts. Legitimately one of the best wrestling commentators I’ve ever heard. A modern take on old school 80s announcing and it’s so good. Brad enhances great matches and makes them classics.
Joseph Currier: Lenny Leonard’s professionalism helps make every EVOLVE show feel like a big deal. He’s done a great job of always putting the product first and elevating what’s going on in the ring. He’s especially worked well when put in the tough position of being the only voice on EVOLVE’s broadcast team.
Worst Television Announcer
Bryan Rose: There are so many different definitions of bad in this category. You can go with grating (JBL), robotically sterilized (Michael Cole), or bland as all hell (Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, David Otunga). But I think I will go with Matt Striker, who by now I think is not only self aware that he’s pretty bad, but has responded by becoming a parody of himself, going out of his way to be amazingly awful in every capacity when it comes to being an announcer. At least with others I can tune them out; I can’t with Matt Striker.
Brian Hoops: So many to choose from. Matt Striker is a guy who I loved to listen to eight years ago and is now the worst in the business.
Kyle S. Johnson: Perhaps the most hotly-contested award of the bunch, I’m almost inclined to call this a tie between David Otunga and Matt Striker, who both narrowly beat out Josh Mathews, JBL, Byron Saxton, and Michael Cole. All six of these guys have been infuriating at some point or another throughout the year, though Otunga seems to be on a completely different level of ineptitude.
His commentary is like what I would imagine it might sound like if you gave a headset and microphone to the yawning void of the furthest, emptiest reaches of space and asked for its opinion on AJ Styles’ strategy in a triple threat match, only I suspect that the cold and insentient vacuum at the fringe of our solar system might possess more knowledge about professional wrestling than David.
Still, Striker’s grating commentary for Lucha Underground would be enough to pull him into a close race with Otunga on its own merits, but his abysmal and embarrassing performance at Triplemania alone — including the call of “doing it for Benghazi” on a tope con giro and a prolonged segment where he ranted insipidly at Twitter — blows away even Otunga’s hair-tearing cluelessness. We’re talking Lou Albano at Heroes of Wrestling levels of bad.
Paul Fontaine: Striker is annoying. David Otunga is useless. Byron Saxton is just plain horrible. It’s close but I think it has to be Saxton.
Ryan Frederick: Byron Saxton. It’s rough listening to him for over three hours several times a month. He tries too hard to be funny and it’s amazing how bad he is when he has someone next to him who is so good in Corey Graves.
Mike DellaCamera: David Otunga. There are no shortage of candidates, but Otunga is just abysmal. He has no character, no charisma, and weirdly bashes people with infinitely more talent than he will ever have. All due respect to Byron Saxton, who would win this in any other year, but no one is in Otunga’s league.
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Best Major Show
This should be a major show, as opposed to a TV taping or house show, although TV specials like Saturday Night’s Main Event or Ultimate Fight Night are eligible.
Kyle S. Johnson: Wrestle Kingdom 10 on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome. UFC 199 is a very close second, so much so that I started writing it up as my selection before having a change of heart. NXT TakeOver: Dallas and UFC 202 are right there as well, but nothing quite tops the 2016 Dome show for me. The final three matches on the card were all heavy contenders for my personal match of the year with each bringing something different to the table.
Shibata vs. Ishii was a violent war that left me cringing more than once, Nakamura vs. Styles could not have been a more perfect send-off for two guys who wound up successfully making the leap to WWE soon thereafter, and Okada vs. Tanahashi told an amazing story that rewarded fans for being familiar with the history between two of New Japan’s modern-day greats. Really, the thing separating WK 10 and UFC 199 in the end was the completely insane Doraemon skit during the pre-show, which deserves some sort of special distinction itself for fueling many of my waking nightmares in the months that followed.
Brian Hoops: Wrestle Kingdom 10 on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome. There were several NXT TakeOver shows that were close.
Ryan Frederick: UFC 199 in June. It started with one of the best fights of the year with Polo Reyes against Dong Hyun Kim. It ended up with a lot of incredible moments, from Dan Henderson scoring the final win of his career in spectacular fashion, to Max Holloway and Ricardo Lamas throwing down in the final seconds of their fight, capped off with Michael Bisping capturing the UFC Middleweight Championship after a long career by knocking out Luke Rockhold. A fantastic event all around.
Joseph Currier: Wrestle Kingdom 10 was the weakest of the past three Tokyo Dome shows, but the quality of the top matches and it taking place on the biggest stage possible will likely deliver a fairly safe win. But I’m going with NJPW’s King of Pro Wrestling show from October, which I felt was more complete than WK and was similarly topped by three great matches.
Paul Fontaine: I was there live so this may have influenced my vote but it’s really tough to top NXT TakeOver: Dallas. A packed house, a rabid crowd, and matches that were great on paper and even better in execution. I’ve been a wrestling fan my whole life and have never had more fun at a show.
Columbus, Ohio:
– The Great Mephisto defeated Billy Widener to win the Midwest Wrestling Association World Light Heavyweight Title
1953
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Yvon Robert and Whipper Billy Watson defeated Al and Tiny Mills to win the NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Titles
1958
Memphis, Tennessee:
– The Corsicans (Jean and Joe) defeated Yvon Robert and Billy Wicks to win the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Titles
1959
Albuquerque, New Mexico:
– The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Roy Heffernan) defeated Juan Garcia and Miguel Lopez (Mike DiBiase) for the Rocky Mountain Tag Team Titles
Birmingham, Alabama:
– Jesse James defeated Yvon Robert to win the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Title
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
– Frenchy Champagne defeated Bobby Jones to become the first Madison Wrestling Club Heavyweight Champion
1968
Los Angeles, California:
– Bobo Brazil defeated Buddy Austin for the World Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title
1968
Dothan, Alabama:
– Bobby and Lee Fields defeated Frank and Jack Dalton for the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Title
1971
Macon, Georgia:
– Bob Armstrong and El Mongol defeated The Assassins (Jody Hamilton and Tom Renesto) to win the NWA Macon Tag Team Titles
Honolulu, Hawaii:
– Ripper Collins and Mad Dog Mayne defeated Ed Francis and Johnny Barend and Billy Robinson for the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Titles
Tampa, Florida:
– Jack Brisco (sub Tarzan Tyler) defeated Dory Funk, Jr. in a non-title match in 2 out of 3 falls
– Lumberjack match: Jack Brisco defeated Great Malenko by DQ
– Jose Lothario & Danny Miller defeated The Infernos by DQ
– Hiro Matsuda defeated Super Inferno
1972
Miami, Florida:
– Dory Funk, Jr. defeated Bobby Shane
– Jack Brisco defeated Bobby Duncum
– Bob Roop defeated Dick Murdoch
– Mr. Wrestling defeated Gary Fulton
– Robert Fuller drew Ole Anderson
1973
Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
– Abdullah the Butcher won the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title from Geoff Portz
Dothan, Alabama:
– The Wrestling Pro won the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title from Ricky Gibson
1974
Chattanooga, Tennessee:
– The Interns (Tom Andrews and Jim Starr) defeated Bearcat Brown and Don Greene to win the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Titles
1976
Vancouver, British Columbia:
– Dean Higuchi and George Wells defeated Dale Lewis and Siegfried Steinke for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Titles
1977
Miami, Florida:
– Dusty Rhodes & Jack & Jerry Brisco defeated Superstar Billy Graham & Buddy Wolff & Steve Strong
– Jos LeDuc defeated Bob Roop
– Bob Orton, Jr. defeated Rick McGraw
– Tommy Seigler defeated Miguel Feliciano
– Steve Keirn defeated Hans Schroeder
– Kevin Sullivan defeated Mike Hammer
– Tully Blanchard drew Mr X
1978
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
– Cage Match: AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Ray Stevens
– Larry Hennig & The Crusher beat Super Destroyer & Angelo Mosca
– Verne Gagne beat Blackjack Lanza
– Rufus R Jones beat Jan Nelson
– Bob Orton Jr drew Evan Johnson
– Pat Patterson beat Chris Pepper
1979
Austin, Texas:
– Tully Blanchard won the Southwest Championship Wrestling Southwest Television Title from Dale Valentine (Buddy Roberts)
Los Angeles, California:
– Twin Devil #1 defeated Chavo Guerrero to win the NWA Americas Heavyweight Title
1980
Dallas, Texas:
– Kevin Von Erich defeated Ox Baker for the World Class American Heavyweight Title
Bayamon, Puerto Rico:
– Carlos Colon defeated Abdullah the Butcher to win the held-up WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Austin Idol won the NWA Georgia Television Title from Steve Travis
1981
West Palm Beach, Florida:
– Barry Windham defeated Dory Funk, Jr. to win the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title
Fort Worth, Texas:
– Raul Mata and Billy White Cloud defeated Raul Castro and Killer Tim Brooks for the World Class Texas Tag Team Titles
Vancouver, British Columbia:
– Rip Oliver and Buddy Rose defeated Joe Ventura and Jay Youngblood to win the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Titles
1982
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada:
– Bruce Hart defeated The Great Gama to win the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Title
1986
St. Paul, Minnesota:
– Sgt. Slaughter beat AWA Champion Stan Hansen by DQ
– Road Warriors beat Mongolian Stomper & Nord The Barbarian by DQ
– AWA Tag Team Champions Jim Garvin & Steve Regal beat Curt Hennig & Scott Hall
– Nick Bockwinkel beat Larry Zbyszko
– Curt Hennig beat Earthquake Ferris
– Marty Jannetty drew Steve Regal
– Bill Irwin & Scott Irwin beat Baron Von Raschke & Buck Zumhofe
1987
Fort Worth, Texas:
– Bob Bradley defeated The Dingo Warrior for the vacant World Class Texas Heavyweight Title
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Jerry Blackwell defeated Goliath to win the Continental Wrestling Association Super Heavyweight Title
Birmingham, Alabama:
– Wendell Cooley defeated Tony Anthony for the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title
1992
Chicago, Illinois:
– Big Josh defeated Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker
– Johnny B. Badd defeated Diamond Dallas Page
– Terrence Taylor defeated Richard Morton
– Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Larry Zbyszko & Abdullah the Butcher (sub. for WCW TV Champion Steve Austin)
– El Gigante fought Big Van Vader to a double-count-out
– WCW World Tag Team Champions Ricky Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes defeated Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton
– WCW US Champion Rick Rude defeated Sting via reverse decision
1998
WCW Monday Nitro: Jacksonville, Florida:
– Bill Goldberg defeated Jerry Flynn
– Marty Jannetty defeated Black Cat
– Chris Benoit defeated Dean Malenko via submission
– WCW TV Champion Booker T defeated Perry Saturn
– Lex Luger defeated Hugh Morrus
– Steve McMichael defeated Chris Jericho
– WCW Cruiserweight Champion Juventud Guerrera defeated Rey Mysterio Jr.
– Jim Neidhart fought Ric Flair to a double disqualification
– The Outsiders (Scott Hall and Kevin Nash) defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) to win the tag team titles
In combat sports like boxing and mixed martial arts, Saturday night is the big one for a fighter, the moment he or she has been waiting for weeks or months to see. For a professional wrestler, especially one working multiple times a month on the indie circuit, the trips to the ring can often blend into one another, making it just Saturday.
That’s not the case for Nikki Addams, whose Saturday night this week is booked for a match against former WWE/TNA star Lisa Marie Varon that doubles as the first women’s main event ever presented by New York promotion Warriors of Wrestling.
So yeah, it’s not just Saturday.
“Actually, none of my matches are just a Saturday, Friday or whatever day they land on,” Addams said. “They’re always a big deal to me, no matter who I’m working with, because it’s another opportunity for me to get out there, show people your talent, what you’re made of, and earn their respect.”
This one does have a little extra on it though, considering that one of the Long Islander’s wrestling heroes was Varon, best known to WWE fans as Victoria during her long stint with the promotion.
“It obviously has a special place in my heart,” Addams said of this week’s match. “One, to earn the main event spot as a woman, and not only that, but to work with Lisa Marie, who I’ve been watching and following for her entire career. She’s definitely one of my inspirations, and in some ways I’ve patterned myself after her, so this is a very, very big deal to me.”
In a perfect world, this will be a turning point in Addams’ career, one she’s been diligently pursuing for seven years she says, “Went by in a blur.”
That’s usually the case in the wrestling business, with the shows, road trips, matches, and training sessions adding up and before you know it, seven years are gone. Addams is no less enthusiastic about this gig than she was when she began. In fact, as she’s making her name outside of the local scene, she’s starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. So she’s not stopping now.
“To do this and to stick with it, you have to be in love with wrestling,” she said. “Wrestling has to almost be the love of your life. I’m not saying you can’t love a person or something else, but it has to be your passion. It’s not for everybody. But if you truly love it and want to succeed and make yourself better, even though there are negatives, you kind of view it as paying your dues and getting to the next step. You’re doing it because you really want to be there. And you hope that another opportunity comes your way.”
For Addams, that means wrestling as much as she can, getting in as many training sessions as possible, staying active on social media, and networking when the chance comes up.
“I’ve always looked for whatever I could do to challenge myself and move to the next step,” Addams said. “I learn new techniques, I go to the gym regularly, and I try to do the best I can do for myself, so that way when opportunities to meet people or to do a seminar or a class or have matches presented to me, I am ready to go. That could be the only shot you have, you don’t know.”
Unfortunately, there is no blueprint to success in this game, and making it to a big show is often a product of being at the right place at the right time. For a woman, it may be even tougher, with fewer spots available at the elite level. Addams doesn’t necessarily agree, as she believes it’s tough all over, male or female.
“There are going to be different opinions on this, but my personal opinion is that it’s equally difficult, just because there are some perks and there are some setbacks as well,” she said of being a woman in the pro wrestling biz.
“I know guys have their setbacks. For every ten male wrestlers, there’s one female, so an opportunity might present itself more readily for a female, but it’s very hard for a female to get respect and to build her credibility. You want people to say, ‘She’s really good, and it’s not because she’s a female; she’s just a good wrestler.’ No labels, male or female. That is a tough thing for a female to achieve, where she’s one of them, just like the rest, male or female, it doesn’t matter.”
Addams has earned that respect among her east coast peers, now it’s time to take it to the rest of the country and beyond. Luckily, women’s wrestling is seemingly entering a golden age at the moment, with WWE putting their muscle behind wrestlers like Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Asuka, among others, on the main roster and through NXT.
“It’s on the rise and it’s taking off,” Addams said of women’s wrestling. “Look at what WWE has been doing in NXT and on the main roster. It’s incredible. I think overall, this is a great time for women, and even if it wasn’t, I was going to make it a good time. I definitely have the heart and passion, and when you want something bad enough, the only thing that’s gonna stop you is yourself.”
And Addams has no intentions of doing that.
“This is gonna be the year of Nikki Addams,” she said. “I’m gonna be in your face and if you don’t like it, you’re gonna learn to like it. I’m gonna earn your respect, whether you like me or not. You can’t knock me for not trying, for not putting in the effort. I work hard, I’m not gonna go out there and half-ass it and think I’m entitled to something. Anything I do get, I earn. I love wrestling so much. Even with the negatives, they are so miniscule on the scale for me. I look forward to it and there’s not much time in the day when it’s not on my mind.”
“I know that I’m not sitting on my couch right now saying, ‘Man, what if I tried?’”
