Wrestling History

December 11th – On This Day In Wrestling History

December 11th - On This Day In Wrestling History

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

1975 – All Japan Pro Wrestling holds its first-ever show in the famous Budokan Hall in Tokyo. The main event sees Giant Baba and The Destroyer defeat Jumbo Tsuruta and Dory Funk Jr.

1997 – At a taping of Raw Is War in Lowell, Mass, WWE Commissioner Sgt Slaughter sets up a European Championship match between champion Shawn Michaels and his D-Generation X cohort Triple H. Rather than sew seeds of tension between the two, Michaels, who is also WWF Champion, Shawn Michaels theatrically laid down for Triple H to cover and become the new champion. Both men celebrated the title change afterwards.

2002 – At a weekly NWA-TNA PPV taping in Nashville, Tennessee, Sonny Siaki dethroned Jerry Lynn to win the NWA X-Division Championship.

2005 – TNA ‘Turning Point’ took place at the Impact Zone in Orlando. No title changes took place on the event with Jeff Jarrett retaining his NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Rhino in the main event. In the opening match, Sabu defeated Abyss in a ‘Barbed Wire Massacre’ match.

2009 – El Mesias defeated Dr. Wagner Jr. at AAA War Of The Titans to win the Mega Championship.

2010 – WWE Tribute To The Troops was taped at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. The show aired on USA Network one week later. The main event saw John Cena, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio victorious over The Miz, Wade Barrett and Alberto Del Rio.

2011 – TNA held their ‘Final Resolution’ PPV in the Impact Zone in Orlando. There were no title changes on the card. In the main event for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, champion Bobby Roode and AJ Styles went to a 3-3 draw in a 30-minute Ironman match. Earlier, Jeff Hardy defeated Jeff Jarrett in a steel cage match to become the number one contender for the Heavyweight championship. As per the stipulations of the bout, Jeff and Karen Jarrett had to leave TNA. Jeff Jarrett would not appear again on TNA PPV until June 2015.

2011 – WWE presented ‘Tribute To The Troops’ at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina. This was the first time the event had been taped in an actual arena rather than on an army base. The card aired two days later on USA Network with the opener and main event airing on NBC on December 17th. The opening match saw Wade Barrett and Randy Orton fight to a double countout. In the main event, CM Punk, John Cena and The Big Show defeated Alberto Del Rio, The Miz and Mark Henry.

2014 – NXT TakeOver 3: R-Evolution aired from Full Sail University, the opening match saw the NXT debut of Kevin Owens, defeating CJ Parker, now better known as Juice Robinson. In the main event, NXT fan favourite Sami Zayn was finally able to capture the NXT Championship, defeating fellow babyface Adrian Neville. After the match, Zayn’s best friend and former tag team partner, Owens came out to celebrate with him before turning on the new champion with a vicious attack including a powerbomb onto the ring apron.

2019 – On NXT’s weekly TV show at Full Sail University, Angel Garza defeated Lio Rush to win the NXT Cruiserweight Championship.

2019 – All Elite Wrestling held the 11th episode of AEW Dynamite in Garland, Texas. The main event saw The Young Bucks defeat Santana and Ortiz in a street fight.

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