Wrestling History

January 31st – On This Day In Wrestling History

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

1998 – WCW presented a unique event called ‘Boston Brawl’ broadcast not on PPV but on PPL – Pay Per Listen. The event took place at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts and was main evented by Sting besting Hollywood Hogan in a steel cage match.

1998 – ECW ‘Hostile City Showdown ’98’ took place at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There were no title matches on the card. The main event saw a four-way dance tag team match in which Rob Van Dam and Sabu defeated The Gangstanators (John Kronus and New Jack), Tommy Dreamer & The Sandman and The Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray and D-Von).

1999 – Japanese wrestling legend Shohei ‘Giant’ Baba died at the age of 61 in Tokyo after a bout with cancer.

2000 – One of the most jaw dropping moment in Monday Night Raw history took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the start of the show Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko appeared in the front row as ‘guests’ of WWE General Manager Mick Foley. The four superstars had recently been granted their release by WCW at their request. It marked the single biggest talent exodus at any point during the Monday Night Wars. The Radicalz (As they were soon dubbed) ran in during a match between The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg) and Head Cheese (Al Snow and Steve Blackman)

2010 – The WWE ‘Royal Rumble’ took place at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The Rumble match itself was won by Edge who made a surprise return from a five month injury absence. The 7 minute, 19 seconds appearance by Edge is the shortest any Rumble winner had spent in the match. Another noteworthy happening on the show was Christian successfully defending the ECW Championship against Ezekiel Jackson. This was the last time the title was contested on PPV as the ECW brand was shut down the following month.

2015 – At the SSE Wembley Arena in London, England, Kurt Angle made Bobby Lashley tap out to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

2016 – At an Impact Wrestling taping at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham, England, Beer Money (James Storm and Bobby Roode) captured the TNA World Tag Team Championship fro The Wolves (Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards). In the main event of the tapings, Bobby Lashley defeated Kurt Angle in Angle’s last match with TNA after just short of a decade with the company.

2020 – On an episode of Friday Night SmackDown from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Braun Strowman beat Shinsuke Nakamura to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

Notable Wrestling Birthdays: