This Day in History - July 22nd
July 22nd
On this day in history in ....
1923 - The Fabulous Moolah is born in Columbia, South Carolina.
1937 - Hiro Matsuda is born in Yokohama, Japan.
1943 - Earl McCready wins his third Toronto British Empire Heavyweight Title in Toronto, Ontario, by ending Whipper Billy Watson's fourth reign.
1947 - Herb Welch defeats Tex Riley for the Tennessee World Junior Heavyweight Title in Nashville, Tennessee, to begin his seventh reign.
1958 - David Von Erich is born in Dallas, Texas.
1958 - Corsica Jean defeats Ray Stevens for the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Title in Nashville, Tennessee, ending Stevens' second reign.
1960 - Danny Hodge wins the first of eight NWA World Junior Heavyweight Titles, ending Angelo Savoldi's fourth reign in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
1960 - Don Leo Jonathan defeats Torbellino Blanco for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title in Houston, Texas, ending Blanco's third reign and beginning Jonathan's second.
1960 - Dick Steinborn defeats The Mighty Yankee to win the vacant Georgia NWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia, beginning his fourth reign.
1961 - Don Greene defeats Len Rossi to win the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Title in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
1963 - Ron Etchison and Dan Miller defeat Mitsu Arakawa and Kinji Shibuya for either the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title in Vancouver, British Columbia, or the Stampede International Tag Team Title in Calgary, Alberta. The title change is listed in both histories.
1963 - Gene Kiniski defeats Whipper Billy Watson in Vancouver, British Columbia for the Vancouver British Empire Heavyweight Title, beginning Kiniski's second reign and ending Watson's third.
1964 - The Destroyer defeats Dick the Bruiser to win the WWA World Heavyweight Title in Los Angeles, California, to begin his second reign.
1965 - Shawn Michaels is born in Chandler, Arizona.
1966 - Shaun Simpson is born in Johannesburg, South Africa.
1967 - The Japan Wrestling Association held an event at Kawasaki Stadium in Kawasaki, Japan. The results:
- Mitsu Hirai defeated Raizo Kojika.
- Michiaki Yoshimuta defeated George Drake.
- Antonio Pugliese defeated Umanosuke Ueda.
- Kintaro Oki fought to a no-contest Tank Morgan in a best-of-three falls match. Each man won a fall before both being counted out in the third.
- JWA All Asia and NWA International Tag Team Champions - NWA International Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki defeated Art Mahilik and Jesse Ortega in a best-of-three falls match, 2-1, to retain the JWA title.
1967 - Johnny Kostas defeats Moondog Mayne to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title.
1968 - Paddy Barrett and Don Leo Jonathan defeat Abdullah the Butcher and Armand Hussein for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title in Vancouver, British Columbia.
1969 - Jack Brisco and Ciclón Negro defeat Hiro Matsuda and The Missouri Mauler for the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in Tampa, Florida.
1972 - Tommy Gilbert and Sputnik Monroe defeat Don and Ron Wright to win the NWA Tennessee Tag Team Title in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This began Gilbert and Monroe's second reign and ended the Wrights' fifth.
1972 - Opearl Anston and Masked Lee defeat Miyoko Hoshino and Jumbo Miyamoto to win the WWWA World Tag Team Title in Irima, Japan, ending Hoshino and Miyamoto's third reign.
1974 - Tex McKenzie and Ken Patera defeat The Blackjacks (Lanza and Mulligan) for the NWA American Tag Team Title in Fort Worth, Texas.
1975 - Mr. Wrestlings I and II defeat Don Green and Jerry Lawler to win the NWA Macon Tag Team Title in Macon, Georgia.
1976 - Abdullah Kobayashi is born in Nagano, Japan.
1976 - Larry Lane wins a tournament to win the vacant Amarillo NWA International Heavyweight Title in Amarillo, Texas.
1977 - Keith Franks (Adrian Adonis) and Roddy Piper defeat Mando Guerrero and Tom Jones for the NWA Americas Tag Team Title.
1977 - Mr. Wrestling II ends Dick Slater's third NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title reign in Atlanta, Georgia.
1978 - The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy and Johnny) defeat Dominic DeNucci and Wilbur Snyder for the WWA World Tag Team Title in Indianapolis, Indiana, beginning the Valiants' fourth reign.
1978 - Jean and Pierre Martel defeat Carlos Colón and Chief Thundercloud to win the WWC North American Tag Team Title in San Juan, Puerto Rico. At the same event, Gorilla Monsoon wins his second WWC North American Heavyweight Title by defeating Bruno Sammartino.
1978 - Dutch Mantel defeats Whipper Watson, Jr. for the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to begin his third reign.
1979 - Mark Lewin defeats Bruiser Brody in Dallas, Texas to win the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Title. This began Lewin's third reign and ended Brody's second reign.
1981 - Kenny King is born in Orlando, Florida.
1981 - Bob Roop defeats The Super Destroyer for the Mid-South Louisiana Heavyweight Title in Shreveport, Louisiana. At the same event, Butch Reed wins the Mid-South Television Title from Dutch Mantel.
1985 - Akira Tozawa is born in Kobe, Japan.
1985 - Phil Hickerson defeats Terry Taylor to win the CWA/AWA International Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee, ending Taylor's second reign and beginning Hickerson's second.
1986 - The Masked Superstar defeats Lex Luger for the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Tampa, Florida, ending Luger's second reign.
1987 - Rumi Kazama defeats Esther Moreno to become the first JWP Junior Champion in Tokyo, Japan.
1988 - Scott Armstrong defeats Nelson Royal in Knoxville, Tennessee on a USA Wrestling card to win the World Junior Heavyweight Title. This was a branch of the title created in the promotion.
1988 - The Cuban Commandos (Cuban Assassin and Jerry Morrow) defeat Bad Company (Bruce Hart and Brian Pillman) for the Stampede International Tag Team Title in Calgary, Alberta, ending Bad Company's second reign.
1989 - Jumbo Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu defeats Stan Hansen and Genichiro Tenryu to win the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Title in Ishikawa, Japan, beginning Tsuruta and Yatsu's fifth reign.
1990 - Dr. Wagner, Jr. defeats Astro de Oro in Naucalpan, Mexico to win his second UWA World Junior Heavyweight Title.
1992 - La Tigresa is awarded the vacant WWC World Women's Title in Corozal, Puerto Rico, when her scheduled opponent, Sasha, no-showed.
1994 - After 16 hours of deliberation, a jury finds WWF owner Vince McMahon not guilty of conspiracy to distribute steroids to wrestlers.
1995 - The Love Brothers (Chad and Eric) defeat Frankie DeFalco and State Trooper for the Mid American Wrestling Tag Team Title in West Allis, Wisconsin. DeFalco wouldn't be without gold for long, because in the main event of the show, he won a Battle Royal for the vacant MAW Heavyweight Title. The title was vacated after Jawbreaker Jones was injured in a motorcycle accident.
1996 - In this week of the Monday Night War, "WCW Monday Nitro" won over "WWF Monday Night RAW", 2.6 to 2.2 in the ratings.
"WWF Monday Night RAW" was live from the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. The results:
- Mankind defeated Freddie Joe Floyd.
- Goldust defeated Barry Horowitz.
- Marc Mero (with Sable) defeated The Goon.
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Ahmed Johnson and WWF Champion Shawn Michaels defeated WWF Tag Team Champions The Smoking Gunns (Bart and Billy (with Sunny)) by disqualification. The Gunns retained the title. The Gunns were disqualified because a newcomer in a blue gladiator suit attacked Ahmed Johnson from behind, causing him a legit ruptured kidney. This newcomer was Faarooq Asaad.
"WCW Monday Nitro" was live from the Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. The results were:
- Squire David Taylor defeated Scott Norton by disqualification.
- Konnan defeated VK Wallstreet.
- Joe Gomez, Jim Powers and Alex Wright defeated The Barbarian, The Leprechaun (Buddy Lee Parker), Hugh Morrus and Kevin Sullivan.
- Diamond Dallas Page defeated Prince Iaukea.
- Dean Malenko defeated Chavo Guerrero, Jr.
- Meng defeated Ice Train by disqualification.
- Eddie Guerrero defeated Psychosis.
- WCW World Television Champion Lex Luger, Randy Savage and Sting defeated Arn Anderson, Chris Benoit and Steve McMichael.
1997 - Fritz Von Erich suffers a mild stroke. Upon further examination, doctors discover that he has lung cancer which was spreading to his brain and adrenal glands.
1998 - The Haas Brothers (Charlie & Russ) defeat The Nation of Immigration (Homicide & Kane D) and The Skinhead Express (Flash Wheeler & Lord Zieg) in a three-way match to win the vacant JAPW Tag Team Title in North Bergen, New Jersey.
1999 - WCW held a live "Thunder" at The MARK of the Quad Cities in Moline, Illinois, which got a 2.6 rating on TBS. The results:
- Van Hammer defeated Kaz Hayashi.
- Miss Madness (with Gorgeous George) defeated Brandi Alexander.
- Curt Hennig (with Bobby Duncum, Jr. and Barry and Kendall Windham) defeated Chase Tatum (with BA and Swoll).
- Eddie Guerrero and WCW Cruiserweight Champion Rey Misterio, Jr. defeated Juventud Guerrera and Psychosis.
- WCW World Television Champion Rick Steiner defeated Sick Boy to retain the title.
- Sid Vicious defeated Lenny Lane and Lodi in a Handicap match.
- Ric Flair (with Asya) defeated Dean Malenko.
1999 - Chris Candido defeats champion Ace Darling and 2 Cold Scorpio in three-way match in Wildwood, New Jersey to win the Independent Superstars of Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title.
1999 - Dan Denton and Spyder defeats Toxic Insanity (Biohazard and Juggernaut) for the NWA Canadian Tag Team Title in Chilliwack, British Columbia.
2000 - Rockford 2000 defeats Tony Kozina to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title in Surrey, British Columbia. At the same event, Juggernaut wins his fourth ECCW Heavyweight Title by defeating Leatherface for the vacant title.
2000 - Kenichiro Arai defeats Judo Suwa for the NWA World Welterweight Title in Tokyo, Japan.
2000 - Two titles change hands at CZW's "No Rules, No Limits" in Sewell, New Jersey. Lobo wins the CZW Heavyweight Title from Zandig, ending Zandig's second reign, and Nick Gage defeats The Wifebeater in a Fans Bring the Weapons match for the CZW Iron Man Title, ending Wifebeater's second reign. Wifebeater had won the title earlier in the show from Mad Man Pondo.
2001 - The WWF held its "Invasion" pay-per-view at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The show got a 1.43 buyrate, the company's highest since WrestleMania X-Seven, and highest non-WrestleMania buyrate since SummerSlam got a 1.71 in 1999. "Invasion" was the first pay-per-view to feature the infamous Invasion storyline, featuring wrestlers from the WWF taking on a combined force of wrestlers from WCW and ECW, later known as The Alliance. The results were:
- In a match airing on Sunday Night Heat, Chavo Guerrero, Jr. pinned Scotty 2 Hotty after a brainbuster.
- Edge and Christian defeated Mike Awesome and Lance Storm , when Edge pinned Awesome after a spear from Christian.
- Earl Hebner (with the WWF referees) pinned Nick Patrick (with the WCW referees) after a shoulder block. Mick Foley was the guest referee, and put the mandible claw on Patrick after the match, after he complained to Foley about his officiating.
- WWF Tag Team Champions The A.P.A. (Bradshaw and Faarooq) defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions Sean O'Haire and Chuck Palumbo, when Bradshaw pinned Palumbo after the Clothesline From Hell.
- WCW Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman pinned WWF Light Heavyweight Champion X-Pac after a shooting star press.
- Raven pinned WWF Commissioner William Regal after a Tazz interfered and gave Regal a T-Bone suplex, and Raven hit the Raven Effect.
- Chris Kanyon, Hugh Morrus and Shawn Stasiak defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Albert, The Big Show and Billy Gunn, when Morrus pinned Gunn after a reverse DDT from Stasiak.
- Tajiri pinned Tazz after the Buzzsaw Kick.
- Rob Van Dam pinned WWF Hardcore Champion Jeff Hardy, after a Five-Star Frog Splash with the title belt on top of Hardy, to win the title.
- Lita and Trish Stratus defeated Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson in a Bra and Panties match. Mick Foley was the guest referee.
- Team WCW/ECW (WCW United States and World Heavyweight Champion Booker T, The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von), Diamond Dallas Page and Rhyno) (with Paul Heyman, WCW owner Shane McMahon and ECW owner Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley)) defeated Team WWF (Kurt Angle, WWF Champion Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, Kane and The Undertaker (with WWF Chairman Vince McMahon)), when Booker pinned Angle after Austin gave Angle the Stone Cold Stunner, turning on the WWF and siding with WCW/ECW.
- The final "score" of the event was WCW/ECW winning with six victories to the WWF's five.
2001 - Hiroyo Muto and Sumie Sakai defeat The Bloody and Fang Suzuki for the JDStar TWF World Women's Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan.
2002 - WWE held a live "RAW" at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which got a 4.3 rating on TNN. The results:
- WWE Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated WWE European Champion Jeff Hardy in a Ladder match to unify the titles, ending the European Title's five-year run. RVD climbed and grabbed the Intercontinental Title belt after knocking Jeff off of one ladder and hitting the Five Star Frog Splash off another.
- WWE Women's Champion Molly Holly and William Regal defeated Bubba Ray Dudley and Trish Stratus, when Regal made Trish submit with the Regal Stretch.
- Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) pinned Tommy Dreamer in a Singapore Cane match after the F5.
- D'Lo Brown and Shawn Stasiak fought to a no-contest. Eric Bischoff had stopped the match after three minutes, because he felt they weren't entertaining enough. Brown and Stasiak were taken out by two debuting big men who would become known as Jamal and Rosey, 3-Minute Warning.
- Chris Benoit defeated Booker T by submission with the Crippler Crossface to become #1 contender to the WWE Intercontinental Title, earning a match with Rob Van Dam the following week.
- The Big Show pinned Spike Dudley after a chokeslam.
- WWE Undisputed Champion The Rock pinned Eddie Guerrero after the People's Elbow. After the match, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman came to the ring, with Brock having a staredown with Rock. Heyman told everyone that he and Brock had officially signed with SmackDown!.
2004 - The Night Prowlers (Mad Dog and Pitbull) defeat Iron Cross and Jimmy Valiant in Grundy, Virginia to become the first NWA Blue Ridge Tag Team Champions.
2005 - Atlantis defeats Dr. Wagner, Jr. for the NWA World Light Heavyweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico.
2005 - Bobby Roode defeats A-1 to win the Border City Wrestling Can-Am Heavyweight Title at "Wrestlefest" in Oldcastle, Ontario. At the same show, Phil Atlas and Jimmy Jacobs defeat Danny Daniels and N8 Mattson for the BCW Can-Am Tag Team Title.
2005 - Lionel Knight defeats his brother Mickey Knight in a Street Fight for the vacant UWA Light Heavyweight Title at "A Call for Blood" in Mississauga, Ontario. Josh Prohibition had refused to defend the title.
2005 - Damian and Pierre Vachon defeat The Big Islanders (Kahoku and Makua) and champions The Rough Ryders (Nyxx and Devin Raines) in a three-way match to win the NWA New England Tag Team Title in Everett, Massachusetts. At the same show, Adam Booker defeats Beau Douglas in a tournament final for the vacant NWA New England Television Title.
2006 - Eddie Kingston defeats Larry Sweeney at CHIKARA's "The Crushing Weight of Mainstream Ignorance" in Hellertown, Pennsylvania to win the ICW/ICWA Texarkana Television Title, ending Sweeney's 19th reign.
2006 - N8 Mattson defeats Colt Cabana for the WORLD-1 Great Lakes Openweight title in Bay City, Michigan at "Hostile Invasion".
2006 - Ian Rotten defeats Corporal Robinson to become the first Pro Wrestling Unplugged Hardcore Champion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at "East Meets West: Global Warming".
2006 - Bobby Sanford defeats Heath Miller by forfeit in Columbus, Georgia to win the Great Championship Wrestling Columbus Heavyweight Title.
2006 - Steve O defeats J.T. Quest to win the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight title in Columbia, Tennessee, ending Quest's second reign.
2006 - Jeff Lewis defeats Chad Parham for the NWA Anarchy Heavyweight Title at "Hostile Environment" in Cornelia, Georgia.
2006 - The Wild Boys (Billy King & Mike Lynch) defeat 2D Edge (Pat Masters & José Perez) and Scott Reed & TJ Richter in a three-way match for the vacant New England Championship Wrestling Tag Team Title in Quincy, Massachusetts.
2006 - Josh Daniels defeats Qenaan Creed, Eddie Edwards and Danny Jaxx in a four-way match to win the vacant Maryland Championship Wrestling Rage Telvision Title at "Red, White, Black & Bruised" in Laurel, Maryland.
2007 - WWE held its fourth-annual "Great American Bash" pay-per-view at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The show got a 0.58 buyrate, and 13,851 fans attended. The results were:
- In a dark match, Chuck Palumbo pinned Chris Masters.
- WWE United States Champion MVP pinned Matt Hardy after the Playmaker to retain the title.
- Hornswoggle defeated Funaki, WWE Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero, Shannon Moore, Jamie Noble and Jimmy Wang Yang in a Cruiserweight Open to win the title. Hornswoggle was not an originally scheduled participant, but was in the ring when the bell rang. The match was open to cruiserweights, so this made him officially part of the match.
- Carlito pinned The Sandman after a Back Stabber in a Singapore Cane on a Pole match.
- WWE Women's Champion Candice Michelle pinned Melina after a Candy Wrapper to retain the title.
- WWE Intercontinental Champion Umaga pinned Jeff Hardy after a Samoan Spike to retain the title.
- ECW World Champion John Morrison pinned CM Punk after a kick to the knee as Punk attempted a springboard into the ring to retain the title.
- Randy Orton pinned Dusty Rhodes in a Texas Bullrope match after hitting him in the head with the cowbell on the rope.
- World Heavyweight Champion The Great Khali defeated Kane and Batista in a Triple Threat match to retain the title, by pinning Kane after a tree slam following a Batista Bomb from Batista.
- WWE Champion John Cena pinned Bobby Lashley after an FU from the second rope to retain the title.
2007 - Naruki Doi, Magnitude Kishiwada and Masato Yoshino defeat Cyber Kong, Jack Evans and Shingo Tagaki to win the vacant Open the Triangle Gate Title in Kobe, Japan.
2007 - Darkside defeats champion Drew Galloway, Jack Jester, Liam Thompson and Wolfgang in a five-way match for the Insane Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title at "ReZerection" in Glasgow, Scotland.
2007 - Dan James defeats Dan Head in Portsmouth, England to win the Frontier Wrestling Alliance Academy Title.
2007 - Justin Corino and Frank Scoleri defeat Kevin Knight and Nick Sabre for the Independent Wrestling Federation Tag Team Title in West Paterson, New Jersey.
