This Day In History - March 16th
March 16th
On this day in history in ....
1939 - Gus Sonnenberg defeats Marv Westenberg in Boston, Massachusetts for the American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title, beginning his second reign.
1943 - Herb Welch defeats Mike Chacoma for the Tennessee World Junior Heavyweight Title in Louisville, Kentucky, beginning his second reign.
1945 - Vincent Lopez wins the San Francisco Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title from Seelie Samara, beginning his second reign.
1960 - Joe McCarthy defeats Mario Galento for the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title in Mobile, Alabama
1961 - Dory Funk, Sr. defeats Nikita Mulkovich to win the Amarillo NWA North American Heavyweight Title in Amarillo, Texas. This began Funk's eighth reign and ended Mulkovich's second.
1964 - Mark Canterbury is born in West Virginia.
1964 - 18,717 fans attended a WWWF event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The results were:
- Hans Mortier fought Bobo Brazil to a draw.
- Ernie Ladd defeated Klondike Bill.
- Miguel Pérez defeated Lou Bastien.
- Pedro Morales defeated Bobby Davis by disqualification.
- Bill Watts defeated Luke Graham.
- Irish Jackie and Tiny Tim defeated Fuzzy Cupid and Sky Low Low in a best-of-three falls match.
- WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Dr. Jerry Graham to retain the title.
- Gorilla Monsoon vs. Killer Kowalski was to take place, but was not allowed to due to the 11pm curfew.
1965 - Steve Armstrong is born in Marietta, Georgia.
1972 - Bob Kelly wins his ninth NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title from Donnie Fargo in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
1973 - Gene Kiniski defeats Terry Funk for the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title in St. Louis, Missouri.
1973 - Dr. Wagner defeats Enrique Vera to win the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico.
1974 - The Sheik defeats Tony Marino for the Detroit NWA United States Heavyweight Title in Detroit, Michigan, beginning his seventh reign.
1977 - Tony Rocco and Bob Sweetan defeat Skandor Akbar and Choi Sun for the Tri-State NWA United States Tag Team Title in Shreveport, Louisiana.
1980 - Killer Karl Kox defeats Ole Anderson to win the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title in Knoxville, Tennessee, beginning his second reign.
1981 - The WWF held an event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The results:
- The Great Yatsu defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna.
- Special Delivery Jones defeated Johnny Rodz.
- Moondog Rex defeated Rick McGraw.
- Dominic DeNucci defeated Larry Sharpe.
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Pedro Morales defeated Moondog King to retain the title.
- André the Giant defeated Sgt. Slaughter by disqualification.
- Rick Martel defeated The Hangman.
- Tony Garea defeated Bulldog Brower.
- Tony Atlas defeated Hulk Hogan, although Hogan's foot was on the middle rope during the count. Hogan attacked the referee after the match.
1981 - Bill Dundee and Dream Machine defeat Wayne Farris and Tojo Yamamoto for the AWA Southern Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee.
1981 - Ken Lucas defeats Ron Bass to win the vacant NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title in Birmingham, Alabama.
1985 - Dusty Rhodes defeats Tully Blanchard in Greensboro, North Carolina to win the NWA Television Title. Rhodes was recognized after the win as the first NWA World Television Champion. At the same event, Buzz Tyler defeats Ron Bass for the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title.
1986 - Jim Duggan defeats Dick Slater for the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Title in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, ending Slater's second reign. He was the last champion as the title was abandoned in May. At that same event, the final Mid-South Television Champion, Dick Slater picked Sawyer to succeed him as the first Universal Wrestling Federation Television Champion. Also, The Sheepherders (Butch Miller and Luke Williams) defeat Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams for the UWF World Tag Team Title.
1986 - Robert Fuller and Jimmy Golden defeat Johnny and Tommy Rich to win the NWA Southeastern Tag Team Title in Pensacola, Florida.
1989 - Hiroshi Hase wins the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title for the second time, ending Shiro Koshinaka's third reign in Yokohama, Japan. At the same event, Super Strong Machine and George Takano defeat Riki Choshu and Masa Saito to win the IWGP World Tag Team Title.
1990 - Matt Derringer defeats Jerry Lynn to win the Pro Wrestling America Light Heavyweight Title in Hastings, Minnesota.
1991 - The WWF held an event at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The results were:
- The Barbarian defeated Koko B. Ware.
- Hercules defeated Marty Jannetty.
- Shawn Michaels fought Paul Roma to a draw.
- Davey Boy Smith defeated The Warlord.
- The Undertaker defeated Tugboat.
- Kerry Von Erich defeated Ted Dibiase.
- Greg Valentine defeated Dino Bravo.
- WWF Tag Team Champions The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) defeated Demolition (Crush and Smash).
- Hulk Hogan defeated Earthquake in a Stretcher match.
1992 - Jimmy Valiant defeats "Dr. Death" Steve Williams to win the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee. At the same show, Kamala wins his fourth USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title from Koko B. Ware.
1994 - Hiroshi Hase defeats Rick Rude for the WCW International Heavyweight Title in Tokyo, Japan.
1996 - The WWF held an event at USAir Arena in Landover, Maryland. The results:
- The Godwinns (Henry and Phineas) defeated The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip).
- The 1-2-3 Kid defeated Barry Horowitz.
- Ahmed Johnson defeated Isaac Yankem.
- Justin Bradshaw defeated Avatar (Al Snow).
- Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Duke Droese.
- Jake Roberts and Yokozuna defeated The British Bulldog and Owen Hart.
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Goldust defeated Savio Vega.
- Shawn Michaels defeated Steve Austin.
- WWF Champion Bret Hart defeated The Undertaker.
- WWF Champion Bret Hart defeated Diesel.
1996 - Mabel defeats Brian Christopher for the USWA Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee, ending Christopher's 20th reign.
1996 - D'Lo Brown defeats Bobby Blaze to win the Heartland Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title in Lima, Ohio, beginning his second reign.
1997 - WCW held the third-annual Uncensored pay-per-view event at the North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, South Carolina. The show got a 0.89 buyrate. The results were:
- In a dark match, Ice Train defeated Maxx Muscle.
- Dean Malenko defeated WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Eddie Guerrero, after hitting him with Syxx's video camera, to win the title.
- Ultimo Dragon (with Sonny Onoo) defeated Psicosis after a Tornado DDT.
- Glacier defeated Mortis after a Cryonic Kick. After the match, Wrath came out and did a Cobra Clutch Slam on Glacier.
- Buff Bagwell defeated Scotty Riggs in a Strap match.
- Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) defeated Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock) in a Texas Tornado match, when Booker defeated Rock after the Harlem Hangover.
- WCW World Television Champion Prince Iaukea defeated Rey Misterio, Jr. to retain the title.
- Team nWo (Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Hollywood Hogan and Randy Savage (with Dennis Rodman)) defeated Team Piper (Roddy Piper, Chris Benoit, Steve McMichael and Jeff Jarrett) and Team WCW (Lex Luger, The Giant and Scott Steiner) in a Triangle Elimination match.
1997 - The WWF held an event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. This was the first WWF event broadcast on the MSG Network since March 23, 1992, and the last event televised on MSG since. The results:
- The Sultan defeated Flash Funk by submission with the Camel Clutch.
- The New Blackjacks (Bradshaw and Windham) defeated The Godwinns (Henry and Phineas), when Windham defeated Henry after he switched places with Bradshaw.
- Crush defeated Aldo Montoya after a heart punch.
- Ahmed Johnson defeated Savio Vega by disqualification when The Nation of Domination interfered.
- WWF Tag Team Champions - WWF European Champion The British Bulldog and Owen Hart defeated Doug Furnas and Philip LaFon to retain the title, when Smith defeated Furnas after Hart tripped him while he tried to suplex Bulldog into the ring.
- Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Rocky Maivia by disqualification when Goldust interfered. Maivia retained the title.
- Faarooq defeated Goldust after a piledriver.
- Vader defeated The Undertaker in a casket match, after Mankind came out of the casket he and Vader double-teamed Undertaker.
- WWF Champion Sycho Sid defeated Bret Hart in a steel cage match to retain the title. This match was not televised.
1997 - Chuck Singer defeas Pablo Marquez in Caguas, Puerto Rico for the WWC Junior Heavyweight Title, beginning his second reign.
1998 - The Monday Night War continued, with WCW Monday Nitro defeating WWF RAW is WAR, 5.6 to 3.6 in the ratings.
The 131st episode of WCW Monday Nitro, the annual "Spring Breakout" edition, was held live from Club La Vela in Panama City Beach, Florida. The results:
- Bill Goldberg defeated Lodi.
- Ultimo Dragon defeated Fit Finlay.
- Scott Norton (with Buff Bagwell) defeated Chris Adams.
- Davey Boy Smith & Jim Neidhart besiegen Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom
- Raven defeated Chris Benoit to become #1 contender for the WCW United States Heavyweight Title.
- Ernest Miller defeated Yuji Nagata (with Sonny Onoo).
- Scott Steiner defeated Ray Traylor.
- WCW World Television Champion Booker T defeated Chavo Guerrero, Jr. to retain the title.
- WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page defeated Reese to retain the title.
- Juventud Guerrera defeated WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho by disqualification. Jericho retained the title.
- Lex Luger and WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting defeated Hollywood Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage (with Eric Bischoff) by disqualification.
WWF RAW is WAR, the 251st episode, was held live from America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The results were:
- Ken Shamrock defeated D'Lo Brown by disqualification.
- Jeff Jarrett (with Tennessee Lee) defeated Tom Brandi.
- NWA World Tag Team Champions The Headbangers (Mosh and Thrasher) defeated The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) to retain the title.
- Chainsaw Charlie (Terry Funk) defeated WWF Tag Team Champion Billy Gunn (with WWF Tag Team Champion Road Dogg) by disqualification.
- Triple H defeated WWF European Champion Owen Hart to win the title after the referee stopped the match. Owen had an air cast on his ankle, due to an injury two weeks earlier. He was goaded into the match by Triple H while Owen was on commentary. This began Triple H's second reign.
- Luna (with The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust) fought Sable (with Marc Mero) to a no-contest.
- In a dark match after the show, Steve Austin defeated WWF European Champion Triple H.
2001 - The A Squad (Chet and Dean Jablonski) defeat Cody Hawk and Anthony McMurphy to win the Heartland Wrestling Association Tag Team Title in Rising Sun, Indiana, beginning and ending each team's second reign. At the same event, Matt Stryker defeats Pepper Parks for the HWA Cruiserweight Title, which had been vacated when Shark Boy won the HWA Heavyweight Title on March 6.
2001 - The Blackbird Posse (Larry Green and Chris Young) defeat The Black Attack (Mike Anthony and Al Jackson) for the NWA Texas Tag Team Title in North Richland Hills, Texas, beginning their second reign. At the same event, Convict #00187 defeats Beast to win hsi second NWA Texas Hardcore Title, and Hotstuff Hernandez wins his second NWA Texas Heavyweight Title from Gary Tool.
2002 - Carly and Eddie Colón defeat Thunder and Lightning for the WWC World Tag Team Title in Caguas, Puerto Rico, ending Thunder and Lightning's fifth reign.
2002 - The Jett defeats Nemesis in a tournament final to win the NWA Hawaii Junior Heavyweight Title in Honolulu, Hawaii.
2002 - Matt Vandal defeats Mason Hunter for the NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Title in Parkersburg, West Virginia.
2002 - Ahmed Chaer and Flying Dragon defeat Crazy Sexy Mike and Wesna to win the Athletik Club Wrestling Tag Team Title in Weinheim, Germany.
2003 - PRIDE Fighting Championships held PRIDE 25: Body Blow at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. The results were:
- Antônio Rogério Nogueira defeats Kazuhiro Nakamura by submission (armbar) at 3:49 of round two.
- Akira Shoji defeated Alex Stiebling by split decision.
- Alexander Otsuka defeated Kenichi Yamamoto by unanimous decision.
- Anderson Silva defeated Carlos Newton by TKO (strikes) at 6:27 of round one.
- Dan Henderson defeats Shungo Oyama by TKO (punches) at 3:28 of round one.
- Antonio Schembri defeated Kazushi Sakuraba by TKO (knees) at 6:15 of round one.
- Quinton Jackson defeated Kevin Randleman by TKO (punches) at 6:58 of round one.
- Fedor Emelianenko defeated PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira by unanimous decision to win the title.
2003 - The Premier Wrestling Federation held its Two Year Anniversary event at Academy Hall in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. The results:
- The S.A.T. (Joél and José Maximo) defeated Brian XL and Homicide.
- Samoa Joe defeated Greg Spitz.
- Chris Hamrick defeated Dewey Cheatum.
- Chi Chi Cruz and Chris Divine defeated Da Hit Squad (Mafia and Monsta Mack).
- Mikey Whipwreck defeated The Amazing Red.
- Rockin' Rebel defeated Rapid Fire Maldonado in a Loser Waves the Flag match.
- ZERO-ONE International Junior Heavyweight Champion Low Ki defeated PWF Junior Heavyweight Champion Quiet Storm to retain his title.
- Josh Daniels and Matt Striker defeated Joey Matthews and Jack Victory (with Alexis Laree).
- PWF Television Champion C.W. Anderson defeated PWF United States Heavyweight Champion Christopher Daniels to unify the titles.
- Steve Corino defeated PWF Universal Heavyweight Champion Justin Credible to win the title, beginning his fourth reign.
2003 - Jonny Storm defeats Jerry Lynn in a tournament final at the Frontier Wrestling Alliance's "Crunch 2003" event in Broxbourne, England to become the first XPW European Champion. At the same event, The Old School (Scott Parker and Paul Travell) defeat The Showswearers (Ulf Herman and Alex Shane) for the FWA British Tag Team Title, and Jack Xavier defeats The Zebra Kid to win the FWA All England Title.
2003 - Nosawa defeats Breyer Wellington for the Juggalo Championshit Wrestling Heavyweight Title in Columbus, Ohio, ending Wellington's second reign.
2004 - Tommy Rogers defeats Yukihide Ueno for the IWA Japan World Junior Heavyweight Title in Tokyo, Japan.
2004 - Quinten Lee defeats Mike Desire in Cincinnati, Ohio to win his third HWA Cruiserweight Title in Cincinnati, Ohio.
2007 - Joe Cain defeats Steve Anthony for the NWA New South Cruiserweight Title in Greenville, Mississippi. This began and ended both men's second reign.
2007 - Damon Leigh defeats The Juggernaught in Wigan, England for the Garage Pro Wrestling British Heavyweight Title.
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