This Day In History - February 18th
February 18th
On this day in history in ....
1961 - Shortly after wrestling Bruno Sammartino at Sunnyside Gardens in New York, Chick Garibaldi suffers chest pains and dies of a heart attack at the arena.
1978 - WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeats Bruno Sammartino in a steel cage match in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when Sammartino gave Graham a kick that sent him through the ropes and out the open door.
1980 - WWF ran at Madison Square Garden in New York City with the following results:
- Austin Idol defeated Jose Estrada.
- Tommy Rich defeated Johnny Rodz.
- Hulk Hogan defeated Tito Santana via countout.
- Samoan Sika defeated Ivan Putski via countout.
- Bobby Duncum defeated Dominic DeNucci.
- WWF World Champion Bob Backlund defeated Ken Patera via countout. Pat Patterson was the referee.
- Samoan Afa defeated Rene Goulet.
- Cowboy Lang & Lone Eagle defeated Little Tokyo & Dirty Morgan.
- Tony Atlas defeated Hussein Arab (The Iron Sheik).
1983 - WWF ran at Madison Square Garden in New York City with the following results:
- Jose Estrada defeated Curt Hennig.
- Johnny Rodz defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna.
- Mr. Fuji defeated Tony Garea.
- Big John Studd defeated Jules Strongbow.
- Ray Stevens defeated Chief Jay Strongbow.
- Intercontinental Champion Don Muraco defeated WWF World Champion Bob Backlund via DQ when Backlund shoved the referee down after Muraco reached the ropes and the referee forced Backlund to release the Crossface Chicken Wing.
- Rocky Johnson defeated Superstar Graham via countout.
- Andre The Giant & Jimmy Snuka defeated The Wild Samoans when Snuka pinned Sika after a Superfly Splash from off of Andre's shoulders.
- Eddie Gilbert defeated Charlie Fulton.
- Salvatore Bellomo defeated Swede Hanson.
- Pedro Morales defeated Buddy Rose.
1984 - Brad Armstrong defeated Ted DiBiase in Atlanta, Georgia to win the Georgia National Title. Armstrong was wrestling under a mask as "Mr. R". DiBiase thought it was Tommy Rich under the mask (as Rich had been wrestling as Mr. R in previous weeks). DiBiase pulled off the mask, but then was distracted by Rich, who was waving to DiBiase from the interview platform. A confused DiBiase was quickly rolled up and pinned by Armstrong.
1985 - One of the most famous matches in WWF history, "The War To Settle The Score" between WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan and Rowdy Roddy Piper took place in Madison Square Garden. The match, which saw pop star Cyndi Lauper in Hogan's corner, was aired live on MTV. The referee was knocked out during the match and Paul Orndorff joined Piper in beating down Hogan. Lauper got on the ring apron, and Piper and Orndorff were advancing on her when actor Mr. T, sitting in the crowd, came to Lauper's aid. Hogan & T went at it with Piper & Orndorff until police officers separated them. This is the match that would set up the main event of the first Wrestlemania.
Here are the results from the rest of the show:
- Rick McGraw vs. Moondog Spot ended in a draw.
- Johnny Rodz defeated Jose Luis Rivera.
- Hillbilly Jim defeated Rene Goulet. After the match, Goulet mouthed off at Mr. T, who was at ringside. T threatened to go after him and Goulet ran to the back.
- Lelani Kai defeated Wendi Richter to win the WWF Women's Title.
- David Sammartino defeated Moondog Rex.
- Nikolai Volkoff defeated Swede Hanson.
- Jimmy Snuka defeated Cowboy Bob Orton. During this match, Orton suffered the arm injury that would result in him wearing his famous cast.
- Paul Orndorff defeated Tony Atlas.
- WWF World Tag Team Champions Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo defeated The Spoiler & The Assassin in less than one minute.
- Don Muraco defeated Salvatore Bellomo.
1986 - At a television taping in Poughkeepsie, New York, Roddy Piper and Cowboy Bob Orton shave the hair of midget wrestler The Haiti Kid into a mohawk and taped his mouth shut after Kid admitted to being a friend of Mr. T and saying he hoped Mr. T would beat Piper at Wrestlemania 2.
1989 - Mildred Burke, a pioneer in women's wrestling who helped trained countless female grapplers, dies at the age of 73.
1992 - At a television taping in West Palm Beach, Florida, WWF Intercontinental Champion Roddy Piper and number-one contender Bret Hart were interviewed by Mean Gene Okerlund. Piper noted his history with the Hart family, saying he didn't want to fight Bret Hart at Wrestlemania. Hart said whether Piper wrestled him or not, he was getting the Intercontinental Title back. Piper said that if Hart insisted, then the fight was on. They shook hands, and Bret turned to leave. Piper raised the title belt above his head and stood behind Hart. When the crowd reacted, Hart turned around, and Piper said "I would have had you". This would become a storyline point in their Wrestlemania classic, as Piper would have the opportunity to cheat and win the match, but would opt not to.
1993 - Kerry Von Erich (Adkisson) committed suicide with a handgun on his father's ranch in Texas. Von Erich was 33, and had violated probation by being indicted on a cocaine possession charge and was facing the likelihood of being sent to prison. Von Erich was the fifth of six Von Erich brothers to die at a young age, and was one of only two to reach the age of thirty, the other being Kevin, the lone survivor of the brothers. Kerry had lost his foot in a motorcycle accident years earlier, but came back and wrestled with a prosthetic foot, which many did not know about until after his death.
1995 - "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert died of a heart attack at the age of 33 in his apartment in Puerto Rico. Gilbert, best known for stints in the UWF, Memphis and NWA, was in Puerto Rico as booker and wrestler for WWC after burning bridges with ECW, SMW and USWA. Gilbert's last match, the night before his death, was against a wrestling bear, a old gimmick from his childhood that Gilbert, who was the son of wrestler and referee Tommy Gilbert, brought back in Puerto Rico.
1996 - Johnny B. Badd (Marc Mero) defeated Lex Luger in Norfolk, Virginia to win back the WCW World Television Title, which he lost to Luger the night before in Baltimore, Maryland. This marked the beginning of Badd's third run with the belt.
1996 - WWF held their sixth "In Your House" Pay-per-view at the Louisville Gardens in Kentucky.? The original "In Your House" events were short, two hour PPV events at a reduced price.? Results from the show were:
- Jake Roberts defeated Tatanka with a DDT. This match aired on the "Free-For-All" pre-show.
- Razor Ramon defeated The 1-2-3 Kid in a "Crybaby" match, where the loser had to wear a diaper after kicking baby powder into Kid's face before he could use it and then hitting two Razor's Edge powerbombs.
- Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Duke Droese after hitting him with a trash can lid.
- Yokozuna defeated Davey Boy Smith via disqualification after Jim Cornette hit him with his tennis racquet.
- Shawn Michaels defeated Owen Hart with a superkick.
- WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart defeated Diesel in a steel cage match when Hart escaped the cage as Undertaker came up through the canvas and pulled Diesel into the hole.
The following matches were held after the PPV went off the air:
- Ahmed Johnson defeated Isaac Yankem.
- The Godwinns defeated the Bodydonnas.
- The Undertaker defeated Intercontinental Champion Goldust via countout.
2001 - At a WWF house show in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Steve Blackman defeats Raven to win the Hardcore Title, only to lose it right back to Raven thanks to the 24/7 rule when a masked woman ambushed Blackman from behind with a foreign object.
2006 - At a WWE house show in Long Island, New York, Tazz attempted to make a special announcement, but Matt Striker repeatedly interrupted him until Tazz choked him out with the Tazzmission. Later that night, Paul Heyman came out to make the announcement, which was that there would be a second "ECW One Night Stand" event in New York.
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