June 7th – On This Day In Wrestling History
1995 – The Smoky Mountain Wrestling Tag Team Championship changed hands in Jelico, Tennessee when The Thugs (Tony Anthony & Tracy Smothers) defeated The Dynamic Duo (Unabomb & Al Snow)
2003 – The UK only PPV, WWE Insurrextion took place at the Telewest Arena in Newcastle, England. In the main event, Triple H retained the World Heavyweight Championship in a Street Fight against Kevin Nash.
2005 – At a SmackDown taping in Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Benoit becomes the blue brand’s first selection in WWE’s random Draft Lottery.
2006 – Ahead of the second ECW One Night Stand PPV later than week, WWE presented ‘WWE vs. ECW: Head To Head’ from the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. On the show, Rob Van Dam defeated WWE World Heavyweight Champion in a non-title no holds barred match. John Cena also defeated Sabu by disqualification in the main event. Big Show won a Raw vs. SmackDown vs. ECW Battle Royal. Show went into the match representing Raw but during the finish was revealed to be the newest signee for ECW.
2006 – John Tenta, best known to wrestling fans as Earthquake, died at the age of 42 after contracting bladder cancer.
2009 – WWE Extreme Rules took place at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. The main event saw Jeff Hardy retain his World Heavyweight Championship over Edge in the main event ladder match. However, Hardy’s night was not over as Money In The Bank contract holder CM Punk decided to cash in his title shot and defeated Hardy to become the new champion. Multiple other titles changed hands on the show also. Batista became the first man to win the WWE Championship in a cage match when he defeated Randy Orton. Kofi Kingston won a Fatal Four-Way match against MVP, William Regal and Matt Hardy to win the WWE United States Championship and Chris Jericho won the Intercontinental Championship by defeating Rey Mysterio in a no holds barred match.
2010 – One of the most memorable conclusions to an episode of Raw in the show’s history went down in Miami, Florida. The main event of the ‘Viewer’s Choice’ special saw John Cena and CM Punk face off in a bout that ended in a no contest when the match was interrupted by the ‘rookies’ who took part in the recently concluded first series of WWE’s NXT show. Led by Wade Barrett, the gang assaulted Cena as well as various ringside employees and laid waste to ringside including half destroying the ring itself. The group would soon go on to be known as Nexus and be a fixture in the main event scene in the company for several months. During the angle, Daniel Bryan used Justin Roberts’ own tie to choke the ring announcer in a vicious looking spot. This action got Bryan immediately fired. He was brought back as a mystery partner to face Nexus in the 7 vs. 7 SummerSlam main event elimination match.
2020 – WWE taped the bulk of NXT TakeOver: In Your House at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The main event saw Io Shirai win the NXT Women’s Championship in a triple threat match against champion Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley.
2020 – WWE taped the main event of Backlash at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The match between Randy Orton and Edge was dubbed ‘The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever’ in promoting the show and blended an in ring encounter with cinematic style filming. Randy Orton won the 45-minute match that aired on Sunday June 14th.
Notable Wrestling Birthdays:
- Chris Ridgeway (1993)
- Mick Foley (1965)
- Howard Finkel (1950)
- ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham (1943)
- The Grand Wizard (1929)