This day in history - 10th April

10th April

On this day in history in ....

1956 - Richard Brown defeats Iron Mike DiBiase in Topeka, Kansas for the Central States Title.

1987 - Day One of the second Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup took place in Baltimore, Maryland at the Baltimore Arena, drawing 9,300 fans. Here are the matches that took place on that day:

First Round:
- Bob and Brad Armstrong defeated Arn Anderson and Kevin Sullivan.
- MOD Squad (Spike and Basher) defeated Wahoo McDaniel and Baron Von Raschke.
- Denny Brown and Chris Champion defeated Randy and Bill Mulkey.
- Steve Keirn and George South drew with Mike Graham and Nelson Royal.
- Shaska Whatley and Tiger Conway, Jr. defeated Jimmy Valiant and Lazor-Tron.
- Ronnie and Jimmy Garvin defeated Ricky Lee Jones and Italian Stallion.
- Thunderfoots (1 and 2) defeated Rocky King and Bobby Jaggers.
- Bill Dundee and Barbarian defeated Tim Horner and Mike Rotunda.

Quarter Finals:
- Bob and Brad Armstrong defeated Ivan Koloff and Vladimir Petrov.
- Lex Luger and Tully Blanchard defeated MOD Squad (Spike and Basher).
- Giant Baba and Isao Takagi defeated Denny Brown and Chris Champion.
- The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal) defeated Shaska Whatley and Tiger Conway, Jr.
- The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) defeated Ronnie and Jimmy Garvin.
- Rick Rude and Manny Fernandez defeated Thunderfoots (1 and 2).
- Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff defeated Bill Dundee and Barbarian
- The Rock N' Roll Express received a bye (in truth, Ricky Morton was hurt, and the Express would forfeit their match the next night)

In a non-tournament match, Ole Anderson pinned Big Bubba Rogers in a cage match.

1987 - Owen Hart defeats Makhan Signh in Calgary, Alberta, Canada to win the Stampede North American Title for the second time.

2000 - With much fanfare, Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo return to WCW, presumably to take control of the company and help bring it back to prominence. They make their return on a live edition of Nitro from Denver Colorado. Here is a recap of their big angle:

With wrestlers in the ring, Jeff Jarrett talked about how Vince Russo was responsible for turning the WWF around. He said that the "Old Boys Network" couldn't handle Russo's plans to bring success to WCW. Russo came out and said he had come to WCW just to beat Vince McMahon at his own game, but said that there were people in WCW that were afraid of change. Russo blamed the "Old Boys Network" for the departure of Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero and Perry Saturn. Eric Bischoff then joined him, and also complained about the established stars, saying he was wrong when he tried to keep them at the top of the cards. They essentially cut a promo to set up a "New Blood" vs. established stars feud. Russo and Bischoff then had all the titles vacated (Jarrett's U.S. belt, Brian Knobbs Hardcore belt, The Harris Brothers tag belts, and Sid's World Title) and announced tournaments for the belts, as a way of "starting fresh".

The show also saw the surprise debut of ECW World Champion Mike Awesome, who attacked Kevin Nash. Here is the fascinating story behind that jump:

Sometime at the beginning of the month, either WCW sent feelers to ECW World Champion Mike Awesome, or Awesome got word to them that he was interested in coming there. It had been suggested that the connection was Awesome's cousin, Horace Hogan, who was with WCW. Awesome apparently made it clear to WCW that he was not under ECW contract, and plans were put into motion. This was all to remain secret until the big Nitro on 4/10, where Awesome would appear. However, on 4/6, it was mentioned on the "Bubba The Love Sponge" radio show in Florida that Awesome was about to sign a deal with WCW. While Bubba was hardly a reliable source, this statement seemed so unusual that people started digging for facts. This is where things started getting crazy.

Mike Awesome missed the ECW shows that weekend, due to what was believed to be transportation problems. By Saturday morning, word was spreading about Awesome showing up on Nitro, with rumors flying that he was going to throw the ECW World title belt in a trash can, ala Madusa with the WWF Woman's title several years earlier. Whether or not that would have happened will never be known, because ECW found out about the plan, and went on the defensive.

Paul Heyman, at the ECW show in Buffalo Saturday night, informed his locker room of Awesome's planned jump. He also produced a signed three year contract that Awesome had with ECW. Awesome has stated in several interviews that he had a three year contract (including one that I had conducted with him) and this led to speculation that he was going to claim some type of breach in order to open negotiations with WCW.

At the Buffalo show, Heyman made sure the rest of his house was in order, with several wrestlers signing new contracts or extensions.

Sunday before Nitro was a day of heavy speculation, as rumors flew left and right, and ECW's legal team prepared to take on WCW. All the way up until Monday night, fax machines worked overtime, with copies of Awesome's contract being sent to every member of WCW's staff, including Brad Siegel. Rumor has it a copy was even faxed to the attention of Ted Turner at CNN Center. Two hours before Nitro went on, Eric Bischoff said in an AOL chat that Mike Awesome had a contract with WCW. Awesome did arrive in Denver for Nitro, but his appearance was scratched, fearing the validity of the contract with ECW and the threat of legal action. Still, WCW had not given up on Awesome being on the show, and began to negotiate with ECW for Awesome.

Amazingly, an agreement was reached that would allow Awesome to appear. A substantial sum of cash would be given to ECW, and there were conditions placed on Awesome's appearance. Awesome was not to speak on Nitro. He was to be referred to as the ECW World Heavyweight Champion. The ECW title belt, which Awesome was in possession of, would not be seen. Also, his title defense on Thursday night in Indianapolis would be plugged, and he would appear on that show to lose the title.

Well, Awesome did appear, and two conditions were violated, as he did speak, and the Thursday match was not plugged (Scott Hudson began to comment that Awesome had a title defense, but it was not followed up on). This set up some more negotiating, and Awesome did not appear on Thunder the next night, despite being backstage at the show. A new settlement was reached where Awesome would have to drop the title on 4/13 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The match would be filmed, then rushed to Nashville, so it could be voiced over and edited into Friday's TNN show. Of course, ECW had one more big move to make, and that was decide who Awesome would drop the title to.

Their choice? Former ECW World Champion, and at the time new WWF star, Tazz.

2001 - Jeff Hardy defeats Triple H for the WWF Intercontinental Title in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ending HHH's third run with the title.

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