June 27th – On This Day In Wrestling History
1972 – The WWWF Tag Team Championship changed hands in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when Professor Tanaka and Mr. Fuji defeated Chief Jay Strongbow and Sonny King.
1998 – Rob Van Dam and Sabu became the new ECW Tag Team Champions with a victory over Chris Candido and Lance Storm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1999 – At the WWE’s King Of The Ring PPV in Greensboro, North Carolina, Billy Gunn defeated X-Pac in the finals of the tournament to become the new King of The Ring. The Undertaker retained the WWF Championship against The Rock after outside interference from Triple H and Vince & Shane McMahon won a Handicap Ladder Match main event against ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin to regain full control of the World Wrestling Federation.
2000 – Steve Blackman became WWF Hardcore Champion for the first time with a victory over Crash Holly at a SmackDown taping in Hartford, Connecticut.
2004 – John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield became the new WWE Champion in a Texas Bullrope Match against Eddie Guerrero at The Great American Bash in Norfolk, Virginia. Guerrero was first announced as the winner, however the Smackdown General Manager Kurt Angle showed that Bradshaw had touched all four posts in succession before Guerrero, and reversed the decision. Also, The Undertaker defeated The Dudley Boys in a handicap tag-team ‘Concrete Crypt’ match. The stipulation of the match saw ‘Taker’s manager Paul Bearer placed inside a perspex box which would be filled to the brim with concrete if the Dudley Boyz won. In the event, Undertaker won but decided to bury Bearer in concrete regardless. For….reasons?
2005 – John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield defeated Booker T, Chris Benoit, Christian, Muhammad Hussain, and The Undertaker in a Six-way elimination match in the main event of the WWE SmackDown taping in Anaheim, California to crown the new Smackdown Champion, after John Cena was drafted to Raw with the WWE Championship a few weeks earlier. However after the match, Smackdown General Manager Theodore Long revealed his final draft pick from Raw which was the World Heavyweight Champion Batista. Therefore instead of becoming champion, JBL was instead made number one contender to Batista’s title.
2005 – Kurt Angle and Ric Flair competed against each other for the first time on TV on WWE Raw from Anaheim, California. In the main event Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and WWE Champion John Cena defeated Chris Jericho, Christian & Tyson Tomko in a six man tag team match.
2008 – Adam Peace defeated Nigel McGuinness by disqualification in a Champion vs Champion for the NWA and ROH World Championships in the main event of ‘ROH: Battle for Supremacy’ in Dayton, Ohio.
2009 – Austin Aires retained the ROH World Heavyweight Championship against Nigel McGuinness in the main event of ‘ROH: End of an Age’ in Chicago Ridge, Illnois.
2011 – R-Truth defeated WWE Champion John Cena in a Tables match in the main event of WWE Raw from Las Vegas. However, it was what happened after the match that will go down in wrestling history. After Cena lay in the ring, number one contender CM Punk came on to the stage in a ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin t-shirt. He sat cross-legged to announce that his contract ran out the day after his world title shot at the upcoming Money In The Bank PPV. He then began the historic promo that would soon be known as the ‘Pipebomb’ and make Punk an overnight megastar. As well as name checking former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar (‘Who split just like I’m splitting) as well as Paul Heyman and his friend Colt Cabana. He then laid waste to the business acumen of Vince McMahon and his propensity to surround himself with Yes Men. It was a truly monumental promo that set up the Money In The Bank match as arguably the most anticipated world title match since the Attitude Era ended.
2014 – At the TNA Impact taping at the Manhattan Center in New York City Samoa Joe defeated Low Ki and Sanada in a Triple Threat match for the TNA X-Division Title. Bully Ray & Devon defeated Matt & Jeff Hardy in a 2-on-2 TLC match, and Bobby Lashley, Kenny King & MVP defeated Austin Aires, Bobby Roode, and Eric Young in a six-man tag team match.
2017 – Carmella wins a Women’s Money In The Bank match against Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Natalya and Tamina on WWE Smackdown Live from San Diego, California. This was a rematch from the previous Money In The Bank PPV when Carmella’s associate James Ellsworth had intefered and grabbed the briefcase on her behalf.
Notable Wrestling Birthdays:
- Kimber Lee (1980)
- Ace Darling (1975)
- Dick The Bruiser (1929)