Wrestling History

June 19th – On This Day In Wrestling History

June 19th - On This Day In Wrestling History

1948 – Six promoters from around North America founded the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Paul “Pinkie” George along with Al Haft, Tony Stecher, Harry Light, Orville Brown, and Sam Muchnick decided to consolidate the championships of their regional companies into one true world championship of professional wrestling, whose holder would be recognized worldwide. This newly formed NWA Board of Directors decided that Brown to be the first-ever NWA World Heavyweight Champion. NWA member promotions were divided up into territories that each promoter would operate and receive periodic guest visits from the NWA World Heavyweight Champion.

1979 – At a WWF House Show in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Pat Patterson defeated Ted DiBiase to win the WWF North American Championship.

1992 – At the UWF (Herb Abrams) Fury Hour Taping in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Paul Orndorff defeated Bob Orton Jr. for the UWF Southern States Title.

1994 – WWF King Of The Ring was held at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, in front of around 12,000 fans. In the tournament:

King of the Ring Quarterfinals:

  • Razor Ramon defeated Bam Bam Bigelow by pinfall.
  • Irwin R. Schyster defeated Mabel. I.R.S got the win when he shook the ropes as Mabel was about to attempt a maneuver from the top rope causing him to fall, allowing I.R.S. to cover for the pin.
  • Owen Hart pinned Tatanka to advance.
  • 1-2-3 Kid defeated Jeff Jarrett with a Small Package pin.

King of the Ring Semfiinals:

  • Razor Ramon defeated Irwin R. Schyster following the Razor’s Edge.
  • Owen Hart defeated 1-2-3 Kid by using the Sharpshooter to make him submit.

King of the Ring Final:

  • Owen Hart defeated Razor Ramon to win the King of the Ring tournament and proclaimed himself the “King of Harts” during his coronation ceremony.

Three non-tournament matches were also on the PPV:

  • Diesel defeated Bret Hart by disqualification in a WWF Championship match following interference from Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart, meaning Hart retained the title.
  • The Headshrinkers defeated Crush and Yokozuna to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship.
  • In the main event of the PPV ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper pinned Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler to get the win.

1999 – CZW Down in Flames was held at the CZW Arena in Mantua, New Jersey. The CZW Championship changed hands when Nick Gage defeated John Zandig and then in the main event Justice Pain beat Lobo to become the CZW Ironman Title holder.

2000 – on Monday Night RAW in Nashville, Tennessee, Gerald Brisco became a two-time Hardcore Champion when he defeated Crash Holly in the middle of the ring. Brisco and Pat Patterson celebrated by drinking champagne backstage until Patterson knocked Brisco out with the champagne bottle, pinned him, and became the newest Hardcore Champion.

2001 – At a taping of WWF Smackdown! in Orlando, Florida, The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley) defeated Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho to win the WWF Tag Team Championship belts for the fourth time.

2002 – The first ever NWA: Total Nonstop Action (NWA-TNA) Weekly PPV took place in Huntsville, Alabama. In a dark match just before they went live, Cheex (weight: 450lb) hit the ropes so hard that they broke, and it would take close to an hour to get them replaced. Because of this management put most of the show’s non-wrestling segments on first, including a live performance by Toby Keith. In the main event of the night Ken Shamrock defeated Malice to win the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship, with Ricky Steamboat as the special guest referee.

2002 – The second ever NWA: Total Nonstop Action (NWA-TNA) Weekly PPV was taped right after the first. A.J. Styles defeated Low Ki, Jerry Lynn, and Psicosis in a Four-Way Elimination match to be crowned the inaugural TNA X Division Champion.

2004 – At PWG Rocktoberfest in Santa Ana, California, Joey Ryan and Scott Lost defeated Excalibur and Super Dragon to win the PWG Tag Team Titles.

2005 – Day Four of AJPW Crossover was in Tokyo, Japan. “Brother” YASSHI and Shuji Kondo won the All Asia Tag Team Titles when they beat Katsuhiko Nakajima and Tomoaki Honma.

2005 – TNA Slammiversary took place in the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida. On the PPV:

  • Shark Boy defeated Delirious, Elix Skipper, Jerrelle Clark, The Amazing Red, and Zach Gowen in a six-pack challenge. Shark Boy got the pin on Delirious following the Dead Sea Drop.
  • Shocker defeated Alex Shelley with a Roll-Up pin.
  • Ron Killings defeated The Outlaw with a Roll-Up pin.
  • The Naturals (Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens) defeated Team Canada (Eric Young and Petey Williams) to retain the NWA World Tag Team Championship, after Stevens hit Williams with a megaphone and covered for the pin.
  • In his TNA debut, Samoa Joe defeated Sonjay Dutt by submission.
  • Bobby Roode defeated Lance Hoyt with a Northern Lariat.
  • America’s Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm) defeated 3Live Kru (BG James and Konnan).
  • Christopher Daniels defeated Chris Sabin and Michael Shane in a Three-Way Elimination match to retain the TNA X-Division Championship.
  • Raven defeated AJ Styles, Abyss, Monty Brown, and Sean Waltman in a King of the Mountain match to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

2006 – At a TNA Impact taping in the Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida, Senshi defeated Samoa Joe and Sonjay Dutt in a Three-Way match to win the TNA X Division Championship.

2007 – At a TNA Impact taping in the Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida, Samoa Joe defeated Jay Lethal to win the TNA X Division Championship.

2010 – NJPW Dominion 6.19 was held in Osaka, Japan. Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson) defeated Seigigun (Wataru Inoue and Yuji Nagata), and No Limit (Tetsuya Naito and Yujiro Takahashi) in a Triple-Threat Tag Team Elimination match to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship Titles. Also on the show, Prince Devitt defeated Naomichi Marufuji to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

2011 – AJPW Pro-Wrestling Love In Ryogoku Vol. 12 was held in Tokyo, Japan. KAI defeated Shuji Kondo for the AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Title and then later in the show KENSO and The Great Muta became the AJPW World Tag Team Champions after they beat Akebono and Ryota Hama.

2011 – WWE Capitol Punishment was held at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC, in front of 9,850 fans. On the PPV:

  • Dolph Ziggler defeated Kofi Kingston by Knockout (after Kingston passed out to a Sleeper Hold) to win the WWE United States Championship.
  • Alex Riley defeated The Miz by pinfall.
  • Alberto Del Rio defeated The Big Show by Technical Knockout due to Mark Henry attacking Show before the match.
  • Ezekiel Jackson defeated Wade Barrett to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship, after Jackson forced Barrett to submit to the Torture Rack.
  • CM Punk defeated Rey Mysterio by pinfall following a GTS.
  • Randy Orton defeated Christian to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.
  • Evan Bourne defeated Jack Swagger with an Inside Cradle to get the pin.
  • John Cena defeated R-Truth to retain the WWE Championship. A fan at ringside threw a drink in Truth’s face causing a distraction and giving Cena the chance to hit an Attitude Adjustment and get the pin.

2014 – At TNA IMPACT! in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Bobby Lashley defeated Eric Young to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

2015 – AAW Killers Among Us was held in Merrionette Park, Illinois. On the show Louis Lyndon defeated Christian Faith to become the AAW Heritage Champion.

2015 – ‘ROH: Best in the World’ was held in Terminal 5, New York. In the main event of the night Jay Lethal defeated Jay Briscoe in a Winner Take All match to retain the ROH World Television Championship, and win the ROH World Championship.

2016 – WWE Money In The Bank was held in the T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, in front of 14,150 fans. On the PPV:

  • The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) defeated The Club (Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows), Enzo Amore and Big Cass, and The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team match to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles.
  • Baron Corbin defeated Dolph Ziggler after Corbin hit the End of Days on Ziggler and got the pin.
  • Charlotte and Dana Brooke defeated Natalya and Becky Lynch, with Charlotte pinning Natalya.
  • Apollo Crews defeated Sheamus.
  • AJ Styles defeated John Cena after Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows interfered on Styles’ behalf.
  • Dean Ambrose defeated Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, and Alberto Del Rio in a Money in the Bank Ladder match to win the contract for a future WWE World Heavyweight Championship anytime within the next year.
  • Rusev defeated Titus O’Neil by submission to retain the WWE United States Championship.
  • Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
  • Dean Ambrose cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated Seth Rollins in just eight seconds to win the WWE Championship.

2016 – Day Two of AJPW Dynamite Series was in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. The AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Title was won by Hikaru Sato after he defeated Atsushi Aoki.

2016 – Multiple titles changed hands at NJPW Dominion 6.19 in Osaka, Japan:

  • The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) won a Four-Way Elimination Tag against the teams of Matt Sydal and Ricochet, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly, and Beretta and Rocky Romero to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship belts.
  • The Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe) defeated Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) for the IWGP World Tag Team Titles.
  • Katsuyori Shibata became the new NEVER Openweight Champion when he beat Yuji Nagata.
  • Michael Elgin defeated Kenny Omega for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in a Ladder match.
  • In the main event of the show, Kazuchika Okada beat Tetsuya Naito to become the IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

2018 – The WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament day two took place at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England. On the show Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven and Tyler Bate) defeated Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong (representing the Undisputed Era) to become the NXT Tag Team Champions.

2020 – At IWA-MS Unfinished Business in Indianapolis, Indiana, Alice Crowley and Becky Idol won the IWA:MS Tag Team Titles in a Six-Way Doors, Ladders, And Tables match after outlasting the teams of Logan James and Tyler Matrix, Ace Perry and Dale Patricks, Chris Dickinson and KTB, Hunter Drake and Tyler Franks, and Kevin Giza and Lukas Jacobs.

Notable Wrestling Birthdays:

  • Tyson Dux (1978)
  • Tod Gordon (1955)
  • El Canek (1952)
  • Wahoo McDaniel (1938)
  • Billy The Kid (1936)