This Day In History - March 20th
March 20th
On this day in history in ....
1978 - WWWF ran at Madison Square Garden in New York City with Superstar Billy Graham defeating WWWF World Champion Bob Backlund when the match was stopped due to a cut over Backlund's eye. Because the champion wasn't pinned or forced to submit, the title did not change hands. On the undercard, the unique six-man tag team of Andre The Giant, Mil Mascaras & Dusty Rhodes defeated Mr. Fuji, Toru Tanaka & Ken Patera.
1981 - At a WWF house show in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Andre The Giant defeats Hulk Hogan.
1983 - WWF ran at Madison Square Garden in New York City in front of a sold-out crowd, with additional fans viewing the event on closed-circuit television at the adjacent Felt Forum. Here are the results:
- Jose Luis Rivera defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna.
- Tony Garea defeated Johnny Rodz.
- SD Jones defeated Jose Estrada.
- Salvatore Bellomo vs. Ray Stevens ended in a double-countout.
- Andre The Giant, Jimmy Snuka & Rocky Johnson defeated Big John Studd, Afa & Capt. Lou Albano in a three out of five falls match, with the winners taking three straight falls.
- In a midgets match, Pancho Boy & Sonny Hayes defeated Butch Cassidy & Farmer Pete.
- Superstar Billy Graham defeated Jules Strongbow.
- WWF World Champion Bob Backlund defeated Intercontinental Champion Don Muraco in a Texas Death match.
1984 - WWF ran in New York City at a sold-out Madison Square Garden, with additional fans viewing the show on closed circuit TV at the Felt Forum. Here are the results:
- SD Jones defeated Rene Goulet.
- B. Brian Blair defeated Charlie Fulton.
- Akira Maeda defeated Pierre Lefebrve.
- The Iron Sheik defeated Ivan Putski.
- Sgt. Slaughter defeated Mr. Fuji & Tiger Chung Lee in a handicap match.
- Roddy Piper & David Schultz defeated Jimmy Snuka via disqualification in a handicap match when Andre The Giant attacked Piper & Schultz. The match started as a tag team bout, but Piper used a foreign object to bloody Andre, and he was taken to the locker room for medical attention. Snuka challenged Piper & Schultz to a handicap match, and when Andre returned, his attacking Piper & Schultz was considered outside interference, resulting in the DQ.
- WWF Tag Team Champions Tony Atlas & Rocky Johnson vs. The Wild Samoans ended in a double-DQ.
- Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana vs. Paul Orndorff ended in a time limit draw.
- Bob Backlund vs. Greg Valentine ended in a double countout.
1994 - Wrestlemania X was held. Mike Johnson penned the following:
WRESTLEMANIA X
March 20, 1994
Location: New York City
Arena: Madison Square Garden
Announced Attendance: 19,444
RESULTS
*In a tremendous match, Owen Hart pinned Bret Hart with a rollup. This was designed to put Owen into main event status as a heel and had been building since November 1993. Hart would go on to main event the rest of the year against Bret on the house shows. The original plan for the brother vs. brother storyline was to bring in Bruce Hart, but Bret pushed for Owen and got his wish. Hart injured his leg hitting a plancha on Owen and sold it for the rest of the bout as well as his title match later in the night. An awesome match.
*In a mixed tag match, Bam Bam Bigelow & Luna Vachon beat Doink the Clown and Dink the Clown when Bigelow pinned Doink in a comedy bout.
*Randy Savage defeated Crush in a Falls Count Anywhere bout. The match was held under old school Texas Death match rules where after a pinfall, the wrestlers had 60 seconds to return to the ring and continue the match. Savage ended up winning by pinning Crush in the Rotunda of the building, then hogtying him upside down where he was unable to escape. This was the blowoff of their feud.
WWF Women's champion Alundra Blayze pinned Leilani Kai with a German suplex. Kai became the only performer to work both Wrestlemania 1 and 10. Blayze was in the midst of a heavy promotional push at the time, including pyro for her entrance. She would stay with the company for another year and a half before returning to WCW under her old ring name of Madusa, tossing the WWF Women's championship in the garbage on live television. In other words, don't expect her to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
*Men on A Mission, Mo and Mabel (managed by Oscar, mentioned as the fan from Wrestlemania IX) defeated WWF Tag Team champions The Quebecers, Jacques Rougeau and Pierre Oulette (managed by Johnny Polo, who would go on to greater heights elsewhere as Raven) by countout. Men on A Mission did a rap gimmick, and their Wrestlemania X rap was played endlessly in the weeks leading up to the PPV.
*WWF champion Yokozuna defeated Lex Luger by disqualification. The match featured the returning mystery guest referee Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig who had feuded with Luger just a year ago. The finish of the bout saw Luger have Yokozuna finished but be disqualified by Hennig for accidently (and it was an "error" in the storylines so Luger was screwed), hitting Hennig. As a funny aside, Luger confronted Hennig backstage where they were held back by WWF officials. When the big screen in MSG was turned off during the fracas, the crowd chanted "Bullsh-t." On camera, Vince McMahon used the chant to express how unhappy the fans were with the decision when all they wanted was the screen turned back on! Yokozuna was defending the belt twice because Luger and Bret Hart had "tied" in the Royal Rumble when both men hit the floor at the same time at the end. Jim Cornette cut an awesome interview after the match backstage.
*Earthquake pinned Adam Bomb in 30 seconds with the Earthquake squash.
*In what is one of the most talked about Wrestlemania matches of all time, WWF Intercontinental champion Razor Ramon defeated Shawn Michaels to become the undisputed IC champion. Michaels had walked out of the company during a disagreement in September 1993 and Ramon defeated Rick Martel to win the vacant belt. When Michaels returned, he claimed to be the true champion. Both belts were hung above the ring for the competitors to grab. Michaels bumped like crazy here. The finish of the bout saw Michaels climbing the ladder, and Ramon showing it down. Michaels crotched himself on the ropes and then fell into them, entangling himself. Ramon set up the ladder and climbed up. Michaels pulled himself free, only to entangle his arm in the ropes. As he helplessly reached for the ladder while trapped, Razor captured the belts and the undisputed distinction. Michaels, meanwhile, made himself a Wrestlemania legend. In the years to come, the evolution of the TLC matches during the "Attitude" era could all be pointed back to this singular starting point.
*Bret Hart pinned Yokozuna to win the WWF championship with Roddy Piper as the mystery guest referee. Hart sold his leg like a champ the entire time. The Garden erupted for the finish with all the babyfaces and the celebrities parading Hart on their shoulders. After an entire year of wanting the belt back on Bret Hart to the point a heavy Lex Luger promotional push fizzled, the fans had their wish.
Celebrities: Burt Reynolds, the famous movie star turned TV actor (at this point starring in Evening Shade) was the guest ring announcer for Bret vs. Yokozuna....Rhonda Shear, who hosted the USA Network's Up All Night program was the guest timekeeper....Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block fame was booed out of MSG as the guest ring announcer for Luger vs. Yokozuna....Jenny Garth of Beverly Hills 90210 was the guest timekeeper....Sy Sperling, president of the Hair Club for Men made an appearance, complete with giving Howard Finkel hair for the only time of his WWF tenure....Little Richard and a choir opened the show singing "America The Beautiful"
Notes: The event was billed as "Ten Years in The Making" and "Back on Broadway" in advertising....Jerry Lawler returned to the promotion with this event, commentating with Vince McMahon. Lawler's return was a surprise...This event would mark the first PPV where WWF would offer a special edition take home chair for ringside fans....Ticket prices for the show were $300, $150, $75, $50, $35, and $20....The Rotunda of the Garden was turned into the first-ever WWF Fan Fest with exhibits and autograph signings for the fans including a "Dunk Doink" tank, a setup where fans could commentate matches with each other and WWF stars ($10), sit in the Event Center for photos, exhibits for WWF licensees like Hasbro (action figures) and much more....The show was a near immediate sellout in part due to WWF doing a heavy mailing and giving away flyers for pre-show tickets. The practice was used to sell out The Boston Garden for Survivor Series months before and was used regularly until Ticketmaster.com took off....This was the final Wrestlemania appearance for former headliner Randy Savage....The Bushwhackers defeated The Heavenly Bodies in a dark match. Clips of the match including the finish were seen during the countdown show to Wrestlemania going live on PPV....The ladder match was the first ever on a PPV broadcast.....The Paramount (now known as the Theatre) in Madison Square Garden was sold out for a closed circuit broadcast. After his victory, Randy Savage went into the location to pose for the fans and thank them for coming....Wrestlemania X would prove to be the first Wrestlemania without Hulk Hogan appearing....This would prove to be Jim Cornette's first Wrestlemania.....Diesel (Kevin Nash) also made his Wrestlemania debut, in Shawn Michaels' bodyguard. Diesel would headline the following year....There was a ten man tag scheduled but it was yanked due to timing purposes. The bout would take place several weeks later on Raw. They actually did a skit backstage where none of the heels could agree on who was team captain to explain its absence....The format sheet of the show actually listed 42 minutes of ringtime for Yokozuna....The Undertaker was in the midst of a hiatus, making this the first Wrestlemania he had missed since coming to the company. He would return in August 1994 at Summerslam.
Mike Johnson: I attended this Wrestlemania live and I remember just loving the spectacle of the show. This was the highlight of the year for WWF as the workers had new outfits, some had new music (I recall Luger having much better entrance music), and there were two off the charts matches within a three hour span. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart was as perfect a wrestling match as one could have and I recall thinking it was an awesome performance for Bret, who even sold the leg greatly hours later against Yokozuna. The Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon match is often talked about influencing the next generation of talent and with good reason. Scott Hall had his career performance here and Michaels was given the ball to steal the show and made people forget that 2 hours earlier they saw a near perfect match, by giving them a Perfect match. There was some silliness underneath but between the surprises (Lawler, Piper, Hennig), two great matches, and an awesome atmosphere, this ranks alongside 3 and 17 as one of the best Mania presentations.
Jess McGrath: As far as in-ring, this was the best Wrestlemania until the most recent boom period. You had two matches that were just unbelievable, Bret vs. Owen and the ladder match. Too bad for Bret and Owen that they had to share the card, because without the ladder match, people would have remembered, and been buzzing about, their match for a long time. Instead, it's largely forgotten because of Shawn-Razor. The influence of the ladder match can't be understated. It introduced the concept of the ladder match in the U.S. While there may have been a few done on indies before this, they absolutely exploded once this match happened. And Shawn cemented his reputation as a legendary performer here. The good stuff was so good on this show, I can forgive the bad.
Buck Woodward: This was the first Wrestlemania I attended live, and was glad I did so. The Bret-Owen and Razor-Michaels matches were instant classics, and a lot of fun to watch, even now. ... Of course, on the flipside of this would be the atrocious Bigelow & Luna vs. Doink & Dink match, which was ridiculously stupid. ... Randy Savage had a fun match with Crush, and it turned out to be his swansong with the company, as he would leave a few months later. ... There was a rumor that Jennie Garth was, ahem, enjoying mother nature, prior to the show. ... I remember feeling a little ripped off that the scheduled ten-man tag was taken off the show due to time constraints. They could have put it on after the PPV ended for the fans live in attendance. ... Roddy Piper and Jim Cornette's interaction during the main event was priceless. ... I remember the Garden crowd being stunned when Owen got the clean pin on Bret. ... I still think WWE should book Lelani Kai for WMXX so she can continue her record. ... I was surprised that Undertaker, who had been out since losing a coffin match to Yokozuna at the Royal Rumble, didn't make his return on this night. ... I really was a two-match show, but those two matches were enough to make this, arguably, amongst the top three Wrestlemanias ever.
Dave Scherer: I agree with my colleagues in that this show had a lot more good wrestling on it than the previous editions. I was actually excited to watch this one. Between the battle of the Harts and the Ladder match, this was the first show, maybe in the event's history that truly lived up to the name "WrestleMania" for me. They actually added some steak to their sizzle.
1995 - John Minton, known in the ring as Big John Studd, died of Hodgkin's disease at age 46. Studd, trained by Killer Kowalski, went on to become a huge star during the WWF's national expansion in the 1980's, feuding with Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant while being managed by Bobby Heenan.
2000 - During an edition of Raw from Chicago, Illinois, WWF World Champion Triple H, accompanied by Stephanie McMahon, defeated The Rock, accompanied by Vince McMahon, and The Big Show, accompanied by Shane McMahon, in a Triple Threat match by pinning Show with a Pedigree. After the match, Linda McMahon came out and announced that the main event for Wrestlemania 2000 would be a four-way elimination match for the World Title with "a McMahon in every corner". She then introduced her participant for the match, a returning Mick Foley. Foley, who had "retired" the previous month, came out and attacked Triple H.
2003 - Sailor Art Thomas, who achieved most of his career success on the East Coast, and helped to break down the color barrier in wrestling, died of cancer at age 79.
PWI
