Wrestling History

March 28th – On This Day In Wrestling History

March 28th - On This Day In Wrestling History

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

1999 – WWF WrestleMania XV was held at the First Union Centre (now called the Wells Fargo Centre) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in front of 20,276 fans with a further 800,000 watching on PPV. This event saw the final WWF appearance for Gorilla Monsoon, who would die in October that year. On the show:

  • Hardcore Holly defeated Billy Gunn and Al Snow in a triple-threat match to win the WWF Hardcore Championship.
  • On the Sunday Night Heat pre-show, Test and D’Lo Brown earned a Tag Team title shot after winner a multi-team Battle Royal match. Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett retained the belts after Jarrett pinned Brown following Test being distracted by Debra, Ivory, Terri Runnels and Jacqueline all fighting at ringside.
  • The boxer Butterbean defeated Bart Gunn by knockout in just 35 seconds in a Brawl for All match. Another boxer, Vinny Pazienza was the special referee. The judges were trainer Kevin Rooney, boxer Chuck Wepner, and WWF Hall of Famer Gorilla Monsoon in his final public appearance.
  • Mankind defeated The Big Show by disqualification to earn the right to referee the WWF Championship match. After the match, Vince McMahon came to the ring to berate the Big Show for losing and Show ended up punching McMahon and knocking him out.
  • Road Dogg defeated Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and Val Venis in a four corners elimination match to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship.
  • Kane defeated Triple H by disqualification after Chyna interfered and hit Kane with a chair.
  • Sable defeated Tori to retain the WWF Women’s Championship with help from a debuting Nicole Bass. With the referee down, Bass hit a Gorilla Press on Tori leaving her then prone for the Sable Bomb.
  • Following interference from Triple H, Shane McMahon defeated X-Pac to retain the WWF European Championship.
  • The Undertaker defeated The Big Boss Man in a Hell in a Cell match. After the match The Brood (Edge, Christian, and Gangrel) descended from above and passed a noose through the top of the cell which the Undertaker put around the Boss Man’s neck. In a scene that is best forgotten, the cell was raised up and the Boss Man was hung from the structure.
  • ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin defeated The Rock in a no disqualification match to win the WWF Championship. Vince McMahon tried to make himself the referee due to Mankind being injured in his earlier match but commissioner Shawn Michaels appointed a regular referee (Mike Chioda) instead. During the match Chioda was knocked out, as was his replacement Tim White, as was HIS replacement Earl Hebner. Vince McMahon tried to interfere but was taken out by the returning Mankind. Austin hit the Rock with a Stunner and Mankind counted the three count, making Austin the new WWF Champion.

2000 – At a SmackDown taping in San Antonio, Texas, Stephanie McMahon became the WWF Women’s Champion after defeating Jacqueline.

2003 – IWA-MS Quote the Raven was held in Clarksville, Indiana. In the main event Chris Hero retained the IWA:MS Heavyweight Title against Raven. Earlier in the night Mark Wolf defeated Mitch Ryder in a ‘Throw in the Towel’ match, Corporal Robinson beat Bull Pain in a ‘Fans Bring the Weapons’ match, and Spyder Nate Webb kept hold of the IWA:MS Lightheavyweight Title after beating Austin Aries.

2004 – At the NJPW Sumo Hall Show in Tokyo, Japan, Bob Sapp won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the first and only time after beating Kensuke Sasaki by pinfall.

2009 – JAPW Unfinished Business was in Rahway, New Jersey. In the opening match Chris Rockwell and Myke Quest became new JAPW Tag Team Champions after beating Azrieal and Dixie, then later in the show Flip Kendrick defeated Prince Mustafa Ali to win the JAPW Lightheavyweight Title.

2009 – In Berwyn, Illinois, AAW held their ‘5 Year Anniversary’ Show. Tyler Black (now Seth Rollins) put the AAW Heavyweight Title on the line in a four-way elimination match which also featured Jay Bradley, Chandler McClure, and Egotistico Fantastico. The match was won by Bradley, making him the new AAW Champion.

2010 – WWE WrestleMania XXVI was held at the University Of Phoenix Stadium, in Glendale, Arizona. 72,219 were in attendance, with 885,000 more watching on PPV and was the first WrestleMania since WrestleMania XI with a non-title match as a main event. On the show:

  • ShoMiz (Big Show and The Miz) defeated John Morrison and R-Truth to retain the WWE Unified Tag Team Championship. The match ended with the Big Show knocking out Morrison and then getting the pin.
  • Randy Orton defeated his former Legacy teammates Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase in a triple-threat match. The match ended when Orton punted Rhodes and hit DiBiase with an RKO to get the pin.
  • Jack Swagger won a Money in the Bank ladder match against Christian, Dolph Ziggler, Kane, Shelton Benjamin, MVP, Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne, Drew McIntyre, and Kofi Kingston. With the win Swagger earned a contract that gave him a guaranteed WWE or World Heavyweight Championship match any time he liked for the next year. Swagger cashed it in two days later against Chris Jericho and became the new World Heavyweight Champion.
  • Triple H defeated Sheamus by pinfall after hitting him with a Pedigree.
  • Rey Mysterio defeated CM Punk by pinfall.
  • In a lumberjack match, Bret Hart defeated Vince McMahon with the Sharpshooter. Bruce Hart was the special referee and the lumberjacks were all part of the Hart family, who took it in turns to beat up McMahon through the match.
  • Chris Jericho defeated Edge to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Jericho hit Edge with the championship belt and then a Codebreaker to win by pinfall. After the match, Jericho attempted to attack Edge but received a Spear by Edge through the barricade instead.
  • Michelle McCool, Layla, Maryse, Alicia Fox and Vickie Guerrero defeated Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres, Gail Kim and Beth Phoenix with Guerrero getting the pin on Kelly Kelly.
  • Batista defended the WWE Championship against John Cena. Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle off the top turnbuckle, then Batista delivered a Batista Bomb for a two-count. Cena delivered an Attitude Adjustment and also got a near fall. Cena then reversed a Batista Bomb into the STF, making Batista tap out and making Cena a nine-time champion.
  • The main event of the night was a Streak vs. Career match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. Multiple signature moves were hit by both wrestlers including The Undertaker catching Michaels mid-moonsault and hitting his Tombstone on the outside. The match ended when the Undertaker yelled at Michaels to stay down but, ever defiant, Shawn replied with the Undertaker’s own throat-slash gesture and slapped him in the face. The Undertaker then delivered a JUMPING Tombstone and got the pin on Michaels to bring his WrestleMania undefeated streak to 18-0 and ending Shawn’s career.

2014 – JCW (NJ) J-Cup Tag Team Tournament was held in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. The final match of the tournament saw Joey Janela and Rhett Titus defeat Aaron Epic and Chris Dickinson to become the new Jersey Championship Wrestling Tag Team Champions.

2014 – In Mexico City, the CMLL Super Viernes show took place in front of 4,000 fans. In the main event Euforia, Niebla Roja, and Ultimo Guerrero won the CMLL Trios Titles after beating champions Mascara Dorada, Místico II, and Valiente.

2015 – PWS Parade of Champions is in Rahway, New Jersey. In a six-way ladder match the PWS Suicidal 6-Way Title was won by Habib From The Car Wash after outlasting Bobby Wayward, Craven Varro, Matt Macintosh, Starman, and The Drunken Swashbuckler. In the main event Mario Bokara became the new PWS Heavyweight champion in a no disqualification triple-threat match against Dan Maff and Fallah.

2015 – WWNLive Supershow Mercury Rising took place in San Jose, California. In a Champion vs. Champion match, EVOLVE champion Drew Galloway (now McIntyre) defeated DGUSA Champion Johnny Gargano to become a double champion. (Note: The match wasn’t a title unification match.)

2019 – IWA-MS Legendary was held at The Arena, in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Sage Philips won the IWA:MS Junior Heavyweight Title after beating Aaron Williams, then in the main event Larry D retained the IWA:MS Heavyweight Title against SHLAK.

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