This Day In History - 24th, Sept

On this day in history in ....


1963 - Gory Guerrero, father of Eddie, Hector, Chavo and Mando Guerrero, and grandfather of Kerwin White, defeats Ali Bey in El Paso, Texas to win the NWA World Light Heavyweight Title for a second time.

1984 - Greg Valentine defeats Tito Santana in London, Ontario, Canada to win the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Title. Santana, who was wrestling with an injured leg, hit Valentine with a flying forearm and scored the pin, but Valentine's foot was out of the ring. Before Santana realized the pinfall didn't count, Valentine kneed Santana from behind and hooked the injured leg for the pin and the title. After the match, Valentine put Santana in the figure four leglock, and Santana had to be stretchered from the ring. The Santana-Valentine feud would rage on for almost a full year, with Santana winning back the belt on July 7, 1985 in a cage match.

2000 - WWF held their Unforgiven Pay-per-view at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here is Tim Whitehead's original report on the show:

WWF's Unforgiven PPV, 9/24 from the First Union Center in Philadelphia, was a decent but also disappointing show. Part of the problem was the lack of crowd heat for some of the big matches. The highly anticipated Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Kurt Angle showdown was a good match but the crowd was amazingly unresponsive. The cage match for the WWF Tag Titles was great, and so was the X-Pac vs. Chris Jericho match. The main event was okay, but these four way (or three way) matches for titles are starting to wear thin. Steve Austin's return ended up getting a huge pop but ended flatly since we still didn't learn who it was who ran him down last year. Commentary on the show was good.

RIGHT TO CENSOR defeated THE DUDLEYS & THE ACOLYTES in 6:03. Pretty much a standard eight man, with no crowd heat. Bull Buchanan successfully pulled off his springboard move. D-Von lariated Val Venis off Buh Buh Ray's shoulder for a near fall. Steven Richards kept avoiding going in. Finally, he gave the Stevenkick (though it missed) to Buh Buh and Venis pinned him. Afterward, there was a brawl and Richards took the D-Von diving headbutt to the balls and got put through a table by Buh Buh, which did get a pop.

HHH was backstage vowing to destroy Kurt Angle. His ribs were taped to sell the sledgehammer assault from Smackdown. Stephanie said she was sorry she ever befriended Kurt and said maybe she was wrong about him. She then clarified and agreed with HHH that definitely she had been wrong. HHH kept up the pressure, asking Steph if her friendship with Kurt was worth all the trouble it had caused.

TAZZ defeated JERRY LAWLER in a strap match in 5:04. Tazz immediately began pounding Lawler and choking him with the strap. Tazz stopped to boast to Jim Ross, allowing Lawler to come back. Lawler gave Tazz three piledrivers. He no-sold the first two. On the third, he popped back up but then fell down. Lawler dragged him to three corners but as they struggled over the fourth, the ref got bumped. Raven then arrived, getting a pop, and DDT'd Lawler. Tazz choked Lawler into unconsciousness to win as the ref revived. JR sold Raven's arrival big, with the old "What's he doing here...he's not on the WWF roster" routine. The match was entertaining, and Raven's debut was neat. Since Lawler had to be helped to the back, Michael Cole temporarily joined JR on commentary.

Steve Austin arrived at the arena and slammed Kevin Kelly into a door when he tried to interview him.

STEVE BLACKMAN emerged the final winner in 10:00 in a free-for-all match for the Hardcore Title. Other participants were AL SNOW, CRASH HOLLY, TEST, PERRY SATURN, and SHO FUNAKI. This was billed as an "invitational" match since all participants were former Hardcore champs, even if only for a few moments. Snow was an Italian this week, dressed like a godfather and carrying a pizza box, a dead fish, and a photo of Tony Danza. Basically it was the usual stuff, with a lot of garbage can shots and some martial arts sticks involved. There was no crowd heat. Terri and Trish Stratus tried to interfere, using Head, but both ended up taking bumps with JR & Cole making double entendres about each getting head. Saturn did some nice dives. Crash pinned Blackman to get the title after Test hit him with a garbage can. Saturn then pinned Crash with a can shot. Blackman pinned Saturn after a kendo stick shot to regain the belt. All the other wrestlers attacked Blackman but the 10:00 time limit ran out and Blackman retained. The 24/7 rule was suspended after the match so Blackman couldn't be pinned once the bell rang.

Angle was bragging about his gold medals backstage when Austin confronted him. Angle began kissing up to him and praising him for coming back from his injuries. He gave him a special medal, though he noted that it was smaller than his own medals since Austin didn't actually do anything to win it. Austin told Angle to shove the medal up his ass. He beat Angle up and left him laying.

CHRIS JERICHO beat X-PAC in 9:03. A real good match. Jericho laid in some chops. X-Pac hit a spinkick but when he went for a bronco, Jericho lariated him. Jericho went for a springboard move but X-Pac bumped him off. X-Pac hit a somersault plancha and threw Jericho across the announcers' desk. He also rammed Jericho into the timekeeper. X-Pac got a near fall with a spinkick. JR put it over that X-Pac had always been a sidekick to other wrestlers in the past but was breaking out on his own now, noting that there's no money in being a sidekick. Try telling that to Ed Leslie. X-Pac got another two with a suplex. Jericho scored two with a flying elbow, and then did a bronco on X-Pac. X-Pac tried to use nunchucks but the ref stopped him. X-Pac scored twos with an X-Factor and a spinkick. Jericho went for the Lionsault but X-Pac got his knees up. Finally, Jericho deflected a missile kick and hooked the Walls hold for a submission win. Afterward, X-Pac laid out Jericho with the nunchucks.

Angle whined to Mick Foley about Austin's attack on him. Foley didn't have much sympathy, noting Angle's own sledgehammer assault on HHH last week. Angle said he would still beat HHH despite being pounded by Austin, claiming that during the Olympics he won the gold even though suffering from a head cold and diarrhea.

Austin went to Rock's locker room. After a brief staredown, they shook hands. Austin said he was convinced that Rock didn't run him down, but since it was Rock's rental car he wanted to know if Rock knew anyone in particular who would have had access to the car keys. Rock said it could have been virtually anyone in the promotion who stole the keys. Joe walked in and said he had some gossip Austin might be interested in. Austin beat the hell out of him.

THE HARDY BOYZ defeated EDGE & CHRISTIAN in a cage match to capture the WWF World Tag Titles in 13:33. They started brawling immediately. Jeff went to the cage top and was threatening to do a swanton off the top. Edge caused him to drop off the outside to the floor. This was a mixed bag since the way to win was for both members of a team to escape, so Jeff was now out. But it also left Matt alone in the ring against two foes. Matt gave a twist of fate to Christian but ended up being doubled on. Matt tried to escape but got double superplexed off the top. Jeff kept trying to climb back in but got bumped off. He walloped the outside ref and stole the key, but when he tried to go in the door was slammed on his head. Edge locked the door back and put the key in his tights. Matt continued to get pounded and began juicing. Edge & Christian went for the chair sandwich (called the conchairto) but Matt ducked and lariated both of them. Christian climbed over, with Jeff hitting him with a ladder as he descended, leaving Edge and Matt inside. Edge bulldogged Matt off the cage. Jeff then climbed up and hit an amazing corkscrew moonsault into the ring on top of Edge. Christian was on the ladder outside when Lita ran in and gave him a huracanrana off it, which looked like it hurt her. Both Hardys and Edge were on the cage top and the Hardys gave Edge the chair sandwich and he crashed to the mat, with the Hardys climbing out for the win. Really good match!

Austin was looking for HHH and encountered Stephanie. She said she was so glad he was back and that she had prayed for him. She even gave him the hat he had been wearing when he was hit by the car, saying she saved it for him. Austin implied that she was trying to butter him up and throw him off track. Steph insisted that no one in her family had anything to do with the car incident and reminded him that she, Vince, and Shane all ran to his aid after he was hit, so none of them could have been driving the car. Austin said he trusts no one in the WWF.

HHH talked with Foley, and demanded that Foley call the match against Angle down the middle. He said this was business and he wanted the match to be treated as business. Foley agreed.

EDDIE GUERRERO beat RIKISHI by DQ in 6:03 to retain the IC Title. They showed a long video segment detailing the Guerrero - Chyna saga. Lawler returned to commentary for this match. Rikishi no-sold Eddie's fists and began manhandling him. When Rikishi went for the ass drop (banzai), Guerrero fled and wanted to leave and retain the belt on a count-out. Chyna confronted him and acted like he was being a wuss and threw him back in. Rikishi was about to rub his ass in Eddie's face but Chyna saved him. Eddie hit a plancha but missed a frog splash. Rikishi hit the Samoan drop and an ass drop but Chyna came in and distracted the ref. Rikishi shoved her down and gave her an ass drop. For this, the referee DQ'ed Rikishi, which made no sense. When Guerrero revived, he was more concerned about his title belt than Chyna, and only went to check on her after being sure his belt was secure.

Angle was worried about his match backstage. Trish arrived and was being flirtatious and offered to help but he ignored her.

HUNTER HEARST HELMSLEY defeated KURT ANGLE in a no-DQ match in 17:24. This was a solid match, but the lack of crowd heat was amazing. Given the popularity of the soap opera involving these guys, one would think the place would go nuts but there was very little in the way of crowd reactions. Angle tried to get back on Stephanie's good side by leading a chorus of "Happy Birthday" to her. His singing was so bad, he made David Hasselhoff sound like Pavarotti. Angle went after HHH's taped ribs. HHH retaliated with lariats. Angle took a bump over the top. There was a lot of brawling as they slugged it out. They traded some two counts. Angle got in special ref Foley's face, wanting a faster count, but Foley shoved him down. Actually, there was more heat for Foley then for either wrestler. They brawled to the floor where HHH used a chair on Angle and was about to Pedigree him through the commentary desk, but Angle blocked it and suplexed HHH through the desk instead. Angle began mauling HHH's ribs as Steph looked concerned. HHH juiced from the mouth, and also was selling his left arm. Angle missed a moonsault. HHH hit a Pedigree with one arm, since his other arm was hurt, but couldn't get the pin. Stephanie came in as both guys looked exhausted. HHH told her it was time for her to make a choice. She kicked Angle in the balls and HHH hit a full Pedigree for the pin. Afterward, Steph acted confused and was still worried about Angle, and applauded only half-heartedly when HHH was declared the winner. HHH grabbed her and gave her a very rough kiss. She stared at him afterward as if she didn't appreciate it.

Shane McMahon came out. Earlier on Heat, he had claimed to have videotape which would prove who ran down Austin in the car. The video turned out to be an old clip from last year where Steve Blackman bumped Ken Shamrock with a car during their feud. Shane said it proved Blackman had a history of running over people in cars and that Blackman was thus the one who hit Austin. Blackman came out and Shane fled from the ring. This segment was dying when Austin arrived to a major pop. He gave Blackman a stunner. Shane brought in a cooler of beer and was wanting to buddy up to Austin. Austin ended up giving three stunners to Shane. It was pretty lame that we still didn't find out who ran Austin down, but tune in to TNN and maybe we'll find out.

ROCK defeated UNDERTAKER & KANE & CHRIS BENOIT in a four way match in 16:03 to retain the WWF World Title. The match was okay but we really need to get back to old fashioned one-on-one matches for the big titles. People pop when three way dances and fatal four ways are announced but they lack the intensity of one-on-ones. In essence, they brawled for a while. Rock DDT'd Kane but the ref had been bumped so there was no count. Undertaker used a chair on Rock, but was then hit with a chair by Kane. Benoit pinned UT at 7:07. UT's leg was over the rope, but the still-dazed ref didn't see it. Foley came out and ordered a re-start. Everyone jumped Benoit and the match began anew. They then began the routine where every pin or submission attempt was broken up by someone else. Rock was going for the People's Elbow on Kane but Benoit nailed him. Undertaker gave Rock a Last Ride, but Kane stopped the pin. Benoit used chairs on UT and Kane and hooked the crossface on Rock. UT broke it up, but as he brawled out with Kane, Rock pinned Benoit with the Rock Bottom. As a match it was decent but the re-start and finish was deja vu and it didn't have much heat until the end.

2006 - At the conclusion of TNA's No Surrender Pay-per-view, a video packages announces that former WWF World Champion and Olympic Gold Medallist Kurt Angle would be coming to the company. TNA issued the following press release, announcing the signing of Angle and the fact that SpikeTV had decided to give the company a prime time slot on Thursday nights:

TNA WRESTLING MAKES TWO MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS
Signs Kurt Angle
iMPACT! Moves To 9 PM on Spike TV Starting Thursday, November 16

Nashville, TN, September 24, 2006 – Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling announced today that Olympic gold medalist and pro wrestling megastar Kurt Angle has signed exclusively with the company. It was also announced that TNA iMPACT! will move to 9:00 PM ET/PT Thursdays on Spike TV starting November 16.

“This has been a huge week in our company’s history,” said Dixie Carter, president of TNA Entertainment, LLC. “The signing of Kurt Angle and the move of iMPACT! to 9 PM are both significant benchmarks in the growth of TNA. The history of pro wrestling is marked with events that change the landscape of the industry and I believe that this week will be viewed in that context.”

Angle, a 2-time NCAA Division I champion and a 3-time NCAA Division I All-American, capped off his illustrious amateur career by winning a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Olympics, competing with two cracked vertebrae, two herniated disks and four pulled muscles.

On November 14, 1999, Angle made his on-screen debut with the World Wrestling Federation. Since then, this 5-time WWE World Champion has held every major championship belt in WWF/E. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003.

“Kurt is considered the greatest wrestler in professional wrestling,” added Carter. “His in-ring ability is matched only by his leadership and attitude. We are thrilled Kurt is joining the TNA family and we look forward to a long, successful relationship.”

“Being with TNA feels like I found my home,” Kurt Angle commented. “TNA will be the most watched show on cable TV – it’s just a matter of time. Thank you TNA for saving my career, my life and my desire to do what I love.”

TNA also announced it will premiere in primetime on Spike TV starting Thursday, November 16, kicking-off with a two-hour extravaganza from 9:00 – 11:00 PM, ET/PT to celebrate the move. The following Thursday, TNA can be seen in its regularly scheduled timeslot (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT), with encores continuing to telecast on Saturdays (11:00 PM – Midnight, ET/PT).

“We’ve been impressed by TNA’s growth and the acquisition of Kurt Angle today continues to show us that wrestling fans, as well as professional wrestlers, know that TNA is the place to be and now primetime on Spike TV is the place for them to be,” says Kevin Kay, General Manager of Spike TV.

After twenty telecasts in the Thursday 11 PM ET/PT time slot, TNA iMPACT! is averaging a 1.0 HH rating, with a 1.1 in M18-49, a 1.3 in M18-34 and an average audience of 1.1 million viewers. Compared to YAGO in that timeslot, TNA is up +137% in HH, +211% in M18-49, +244% in M18-34 and +157% in average audience. Among ad-supported cable channels in the time period (11:00 PM – Midnight, ET/PT), Spike ranks #1 in M18-49, #1 in M25-34, and #2 in M18-34. (All ratings reflect Most Current viewing levels)

The new wrestling alternative, TNA delivers a distinct brand of high-risk, athletic entertainment. TNA’s roster includes new, fresh talent like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Monty Brown and recognizable stars such as Sting, Christian Cage, Jeff Jarrett, Team 3D, and others. TNA features the innovative six-sided ring and the high-flying “X Division,” as well as concept matches such as “Ultimate X,” “King of the Mountain,” and “Six Sides of Steel.”

TNA Entertainment, LLC is a privately held company headquartered in Nashville, TN. The names of all Total Nonstop Action Wrestling televised programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans and all TNA Wrestling logos and trademarks are exclusive property of TNA Entertainment, LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information, visit www.tnawrestling.com

Spike TV is available in 90 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc.



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