This Day In History - June 12th
June 12th
On this day in history in ....
1991 - WCW held Clash of the Champions XV, "Knocksville, USA" at the Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. The event aired live on TBS, doing a 3.9 rating. Here are the results from the show:
- Rikki Nelson defeated The Cuban Assassin. This match was not shown on the broadcast.
- The Young Pistols (Tracey Smothers & Steve Armstrong) & Tom Zenk defeated The Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Jimmy Garvin & Badstreet).
- Oz (Kevin Nash) defeated Johnny Rich in under two minutes.
- Danny Spivey defeated Big Josh.
- Dustin Rhodes defeated Terrence Taylor via disqualification.
- Sting defeated Nikita Koloff.
- Barry Windham & Arn Anderson defeated Brian Pillman & El Gigante in a "loser leaves town" match when Windham pinned Pillman. Pillman was forced to leave WCW for 90 days (but would return as the masked Yellow Dog).
- IWGP Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Masahiro Chono & Hiroshi Hase.
- The Diamond Stud (Scott Hall) defeated Tommy Rick in under two minutes.
- Steve Austin defeated Joey Maggs in under thirty seconds.
- WCW U.S. Champion Lex Luger defeated The Great Muta.
- WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair defeated Bobby Eaton in a two out of three falls match. Eaton won the first fall via pin, Flair won the second via countout, and Flair pinned Eaton to win the third and deciding fall. The match has been highly praised for Eaton, who was known as a tag team wrestler in the Midnight Express, breaking out and showing what he could do in a singles match.
1998 - Kenta Kobashi defeats Toshiaki Kawada for the All-Japan Triple Crown (NWA International, NWA United National and PWF Titles) in Tokyo, ending Kawada's second run with the title and beginning his own second reign with the belts.
2001 - Test defeats Rhyno for the WWF Hardcore Title in Baltimore, Maryland, ending Rhyno's second reign and starting his own second Hardcore Title run.
2007 - WWE capitalized on the mainstream press that was reporting on Vince McMahon's limo explosion on Raw the previous night, issuing the following press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BLOWN AWAY
Who Blew Up WWE® Chairman Mr. McMahon?
STAMFORD, Conn., June 12, 2007 …While some might say “The Sopranos" went out with a whimper, last night on USA Network, WWE's “Monday Night RAW" went out with a bang. At the end of his self-anointed “Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night", WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon entered his limousine when it suddenly exploded. The shocking ending raised a myriad of questions: How could Mr. McMahon have survived the fiery explosion? And who could have committed such a heinous act?
Although full details have not been disclosed, initial reports indicate that Mr. McMahon is presumed dead. An official investigation into Monday night's events is currently underway with no one being ruled out as a suspect. Throughout the night, people from Mr. McMahon's past - from Donald Trump to Snoop Dogg to Bob Costas to Stone Cold Steve Austin - had less than flattering things to say about the WWE Chairman, but would any go so far as to actually blow him up? The question of “whodunit", as well as the fate of Mr. McMahon, will be on everyone's minds as the WWE saga continues on “Monday Night RAW" on USA (9 p.m. ET/8C).
Log on to wwe.com for the latest news on Mr. McMahon. Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) can be found at corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.
PWInsider.com
