This Day In History - May 23rd
May 23rd
On this day in history in ....
1906 - Frank Gotch defeats Tom Jenkins to regain the American Heavyweight Championship in a three fall match that lasts 57 minutes.
1961 - Wilbur Snyder & Leo Nomellini defeat Hard Boiled Haggerty & Gene Kinisky in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the AWA World Tag Team Championship.
1992 - Steve Austin defeats Barry Windham for the WCW Television Title in Atlanta, Georgia.
1993 - The first ever WCW Slamboree takes place in Atlanta, Georgia at the Omni, featuring three "Legends" matches. Here are the results:
- 2 Cold Scorpio & Marcus Bagwell defeated Bobby Eaton & Chris Benoit when Scorpio hit a corkscrew legdrop on Benoit.
- Sid Vicious, in his return to WCW, defeated Van Hammer in less than a minute with a powerbomb.
- Dick Murdoch, Don Muraco & Jimmy Snuka vs. Wahoo McDaniel, Blackjack Mulligan & Jim Brunzell ended in a no-contest as both team brawled.
- Thunderbolt Patterson & Brad Armstrong (subbing for Bob Armstrong) defeated Ivan Koloff & Baron Von Raschke.
- In a special edition of "Flair For The Gold", Ric Flair introduced the new Four Horsemen: Flair, Ole Anderson, Arn Anderson, and .... Paul Roma. Tully Blanchard had been used in the advertising for the event, with the idea that it would be a reunion of the original unit, but instead, we got Paul Roma. Blanchard has stated in interviews that WCW had been in contact with him about appearing, but never sent him a contract.
- Dory Funk, Jr. (with Gene Kiniski in his corner) vs. Nick Bockwinkel (with Verne Gagne in his corner) went to a 15-minute draw.
- Rick Rude & Paul Orndorff defeated Dustin Rhodes & Kensuke Sasaki.
- Sting defeated The Prisoner (Nailz).
- Lou Thesz, Mr. Wrestling II, Verne Gagne and Eddie Graham (posthumously) were inducted into the WCW Hall Of Fame.
- WCW World Tag Team Champions Brian Pillman & Steve Austin defeated Dos Hombres in cage match. The masked Hombres were supposedly Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas, but it was actually Steamboat & Tom Zenk. Douglas was out with a shoulder injury, and the announcers pretended that Zenk was Douglas. During the match, Steamboat unmasked, but Zenk never did. Austin pinned Zenk with a Stun Gun for the win.
- NWA World Champion Barry Windham defeated Arn Anderson after hitting him with the title belt for the pin.
- Davey Boy Smith defeated WCW World Champion Big Van Vader via disqualification after use of a chair.
1994 - Ray Candy of the Zambuie Express dies of a heart attack in Georgia. He was 43.
1996 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama defeat Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue for the All Japan Tag Titles in Sapporo, Japan, ending Kawada and Taue's third reign.
1999 - Owen Hart dies of cardiac arrest after falling from the ceiling in the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri during the WWF Over The Edge Pay-per-view. The fall was not seen on television, as a pre-taped interview was being shown at the time. Owen was to have made a "Blue Blazer" entrance on a cable when his harness malfunctioned, causing the fall. Hart was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead. Owen was 34 years old. The show continued, with Jim Ross informing the home viewer later in the program that Owen had died, but the fans in the building were not told of his passing. The Undertaker defeated Steve Austin in the main event to win the WWF World Heavyweight Title. A lawsuit would later be filed by the Hart family, and WWE would settle with them for $18 million. WWE would later successfully pursue a lawsuit against the harness company for part of the settlement.
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