Wrestling History

April 7th – On This Day In Wrestling History

April 7th - On This Day In Wrestling History

Our full On This Day In Wrestling History section can be found here.

1986 – WrestleMania 2 took place (on a Monday night) in three different locations, each presenting the PPV for an hour and watching the other two hours on big screens. A combined 40,085 fans watched in the venues at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois, and the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. On the show(s):

New York:

  • Don Muraco and Paul Orndorff fought to a double countout.
  • Randy Savage defeated George Steele to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship. At one point in the match Steele became the first man to ever kick out of Savage’s signature elbow from the top turnbuckle.
  • Jake Roberts defeated George Wells by pinfall after hitting him with the DDT.
  • Mr. T defeated Roddy Piper by disqualification in a boxing match when Piper bodyslammed Mr. T in the fourth round. This match received the dubious award of being the only WrestleMania match ever to receive a minus five star rating

Rosemont:

  • The Fabulous Moolah defeated Velvet McIntyre in just 85 seconds to retain the WWF Women’s Championship.
  • Corporal Kirchner defeated Nikolai Volkoff in a flag match after Kirchner hit Volkoff with a cane when the referee was down.
  • Andre the Giant last eliminated Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart then Bret Hart to win a WWF/NFL battle royal. Other participants were B. Brian Blair, Big John Studd, Bill Fralic, Bruno Sammartino, Danny Spivey, Ernie Holmes, Harvey Martin, Hillbilly Jim, Jimbo Covert, Jim Brunzell, King Tonga, Pedro Morales, Russ Francis, Ted Arcidi, The Iron Sheik, Tony Atlas, and William Perry.
  • The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid) defeated The Dream Team (Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine) to win the WWF Tag Team Championship with Smith getting the pin on Valentine.

Los Angeles:

  • Ricky Steamboat defeated Hercules Hernandez after he hits the flying crossbody block for the pin.
  • Adrian Adonis defeated Uncle Elmer.
  • The Funk Brothers (Hoss Funk and Terry Funk) defeated The Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana after Terry Funk hit Junkyard Dog with Jimmy Hart’s megaphone and got the pin.
  • Hulk Hogan defeated King Kong Bundy in a steel cage match to retain the WWF Championship. The match ended after Hogan ‘Hulked’ up then slammed Bundy and escaped the cage by climbing over the top to the outside.

1995 – SMW Bluegrass Brawl III took place at the Pikeville College Gym in Pikeville, Kentucky. Al Snow and Unabom (Glenn Jacobs) became the new SMW Tag Team champions after defeating Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson in a ‘Coal Miners Glove Tag Team’ match, and then in the main event The Undertaker (on loan from WWF) and Tracy Smothers beat the team of D-Lo Brown, Mustafa Saed and New Jack in a ‘Loser Salutes The Flag Handicap’ match.

1997 – On WCW Monday Nitro Ultimo Dragon became the new WCW World Television after pinning Prince Iaukea.

2001 – On the MCW (Memphis) TV Show Tyler Gates defeated Spanky (Brian Kendrick) to become the new MCW Light Heavyweight Champion.

2001 – Two titles changed hands at the IWA-MS April Bloodshowers event. Hy-Zaya took the IWA:MS Lightheavyweight Title from Paul E. Smooth then later on the show Mitch Page defeated both Rollin’ Hard and title holder 2 Tuff Tony to become the new IWA:MS Heavyweight champion.

2002 – In the main event of the WWA Sydney Show in Australia, Nathan Jones won the WWA World Heavyweight Title in a Four-Way match which also featured Brian Christopher, Jeff Jarrett, and Scott Steiner.

2013 – NJPW Invasion Attack was in Tokyo, Japan. The main event of the PPV saw Kazuchika Okada become the new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion after beating Hiroshi Tanahashi by pinfall.

2013 – WrestleMania 29 was held at the Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey in front of 80,676 fans, and just over one million homes tuning in on PPV. On the show:

  • On the Kickoff show, The Miz defeated Wade Barrett with the Figure-Four Leglock to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship for the second time.
  • The Shield (Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns) defeated Sheamus, Randy Orton, and the Big Show. The match ended with Reigns hitting Orton with a Spear and Ambrose getting the pin. After the match the Big Show knocked out both Orton and Sheamus with his K.O. Punch.
  • Mark Henry defeated Ryback by pinfall.
  • Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) defeated Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship belts with Bryan hitting Ziggler with a Diving Headbutt for the pin.
  • In his in-ring debut, Fandango defeated Chris Jericho with a roll-up pin.
  • Alberto Del Rio defeated Jack Swagger by submission to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.
  • Following a Tombstone Piledriver, The Undertaker defeated CM Punk to go 21-0 at WrestleMania. This would be the last win of the WrestleMania streak for the Deadman.
  • Triple H defeated Brock Lesnar by pinfall in a ‘No Holds Barred, Triple H’s Career On The Line’ match after a Pedigree to Lesnar on the steel steps.
  • John Cena defeated The Rock via pinfall to win the WWE Championship. They both kicked out of each others signature moves a LOT before the Rock finally stayed down for the three count following a final AA from Cena. This gave Cena his 11th world title reign.

2014 – On WWE Monday Night Raw a debuting Paige was goaded into a match against A.J. Lee after Lee told her she would put her Divas Championship on the line. Paige won the match and the title in just 89 seconds, making her the youngest female champion in WWE history (21 at the time.) Also on the show the Ultimate Warrior appeared on RAW for the first time since June 1999, but sadly it would also be his final public appearance as he collapsed the next day and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. What now seems like foreboding, part of his speech went as follows:

Every man’s heart one day beats its final beat, his lungs breathe their final breath and if what that man did in his life makes the blood pulse through the body of others and makes them believe deeper in something larger than life, then his essence, his spirit will be immortalised.

2018 – ROH Supercard of Honor XII was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. Two titles changed hands on the show with Sumie Sakai taking the ROH Women Of Honor Championship from Kelly Klein via pinfall and then later in the show Silas Young defeated Kenny King in a ‘Last Man Standing’ match to become the new ROH World Television champion.

2018 – NXT Takeover: New Orleans was held at the Smoothie King Center (Formerly New Orleans Arena), in New Orleans, Louisiana and three new champions were crowned on the show. Adam Cole became the first NXT North American Champion after outlasting EC3, Killian Dain, Lars Sullivan, Ricochet, and The Velveteen Dream in a ‘6-Way Ladder’ match. Shayna Baszler became the new NXT Women’s champion when she defeated Ember Moon via technical submission when Moon passed out to the Kirifuda Clutch. The other title to change hands was NXT Championship when Aleister Black beat Andrade “Cien” Almas by pinfall.

2018 – At the Kaiju Big Battel Live and Let Die show, Unicorn Party defeated Super Minion 13 to become the new Kaiju Grand Champion.

2018 – In the main event of House of Hardcore #40 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Willie Mack became the new HOH Television champion in a triple threat match which also featured Alex Reynolds and Sami Callihan.

2019 – WrestleMania 35 took place at the MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, New Jersey in front of 82,265 fans. There were four matches on the Kickoff show then the main PPV featured the first-ever women’s main event match in WrestleMania history. On the card:

  • Tony Nese defeated Buddy Murphy to become the new WWE Cruiserweight champion.
  • Carmella won the Women’s Battle Royal after lastly eliminating Sarah Logan.
  • Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder defeated The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson) to become the RAW Tag Team Champions. This win also ended Hawkins’ losing streak at 269 straight losses.
  • Braun Strowman won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal after lastly eliminating comedian/actor Colin Jost.
  • Following a low blow, a Superkick and three Curb Stomps Seth Rollins pinned Brock Lesnar to become the new WWE Universal Champion.
  • A.J. Styles beat Randy Orton via pinfall.
  • The Usos (Jey and Jimmy) retained the Smackdown Tag Team championships in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team match that also featured the teams of Aleister Black and Ricochet, Cesaro and Sheamus, and Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura.
  • In a ‘Falls Count Anywhere’ match Shane McMahon was victorious against The Miz. Shane got the pin after the Miz Suplexed them both from a camera staging area and Shane ended up on top for the three count.
  • The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) defended the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles against Nia Jax and Tamina, The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce), and Beth Phoenix and Natalya in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team match. Kay managed to get the pin on Bayley after Phoenix had hit Bayley with a Glam Slam.
  • Kofi Kingston defeated Daniel Bryan to become the new WWE World champion. Kingston hit Trouble in Paradise on Bryan to win his first WWE Championship, also becoming WWE’s 30th Triple Crown Champion, 20th Grand Slam Champion, and the first African-born WWE Champion.
  • Samoa Joe retained the WWE United State title against Rey Mysterio in just under one minute.
  • Roman Reigns defeated Drew McIntyre following a Superman Punch and a Spear.
  • Triple H defeated Batista in a ‘No Holds Barred, Triple H’s Career On The Line’ match. (The same stipulations as Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 29, on this date in 2013). The match ended when Ric Flair appeared and handed a Sledgehammer to Triple H who then used it on Batista before hitting his Pedigree for the pin and win.
  • Baron Corbin defeated Kurt Angle in Angle’s farewell match. After the match Angle delivered a short retirement speech to thank the WWE Universe.
  • As The Demon, Finn Bálor won the Intercontinental championship for a second time after pinning Bobby Lashley.
  • The main event of the night saw the first women’s main event match in WrestleMania history. It was a Winner Take All Triple Threat match between Becky Lynch, Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair. Lynch won the match with a Crucifix pin on Rousey to win both titles and to give Rousey her first pinfall loss in WWE.

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