Wrestling History

May 5th – On This Day In Wrestling History

May 5th - On This Day In Wrestling History

1905 – A bout took place in New York City between the world Greco-Roman Wrestling champion George Hackenschmidt and the American Heavyweight Champion Tom Jenkins. Hackenschmidt won the bout 2-0 to be declared the World Catch-as-Catch-Can Heavyweight champion. This is thought to be the first world wrestling championship recognised in the USA.

1984 – Wahoo McDaniel and Mark Youngblood won the NWA World Tag Team Championship in a bout with Jerry and Jack Brisco in Greensboro, North Carolina.

1986 – The second ‘Von Erich Memorial Parade Of Champions’ took place under the World Class Championship Wrestling banner at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas in front of 26,153 fans. In the main event, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair and Kevin Von Erich fought to a double count-out in a bout with the title on the line. The only new champions on the night saw The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers) defeat The Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey and Boby Eaton in a two-ring no disqualification match for the vacant WCCW American Tag Team Championship.

2001 – WWE presented a UK-only PPV, Insurrextion, from Earls Court in London, England. The main event saw The Undertaker defeat ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and Triple H in a triple threat match.

2002 – World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc officially becomes World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. The new WWE branding would be officially unveiled a day later. The change came about as a result of losing a lawsuit in the United Kingdom to the World Wildlife Fund regarding usage of the WWF initials.

2002 – The infamous ‘Plane Ride From Hell’ occurs which sees a number of WWE superstars cause chaos mid-air during a flight back from a European tour. As a direct result of the incident, Scott Hall and Curt Hennig are both fired.

2002 – Longtime WCW and NWA official Randy Anderson passed away at his home in Rome, Georgia as a result of testicular cancer at the age of 42.

2009 – Ric Flair makes his Ring Of Honour debut as the ‘ROH Ambassador’.

2014 – On an episode of Raw from Albany, New York, Dean Ambrose is forced to defend his United States Championship in a 20 man battle royal. The match is won by Sheamus who last eliminates Ambrose to win the belt, ending Ambrose’s 351 day reign, the longest WWE-era US Championship reign.

Notable Wrestling Birthdays:

  • Brooke Hogan (1988)
  • Chad Patton (1976)
  • Frankie Sloan (1970)
  • Hiroshi Hase (1961)
  • Yamaguchi-San (1958)
  • Bill Watts (1939)
  • Ted Lewin (1935)