This Day In Wrestling History – March 15th

Trivia

1999 – The Monday Night War continued: WWF Raw defeated WCW Monday Nitro: 5.8 to 4.3 in the ratings

2007 – Bobby Heenan was inducted into the Gerweck.net Hall of Fame

2008 – Jeff Hardy, who was serving a 60 day suspension from WWE due to a Wellness Policy violation, lost his North Carolina home in a fire

2009 – Electroshock won the AAA Rey de Reyes Tournament, defeating La Parka, Silver King, & Latin Lover

2010 – The WWE vs.TNA Monday Night wars continued: WWE Raw defeated TNA Impact: 3.7 to 0.8 in the ratings

Events

In 1979, WWWF ran a show in Worcester, MA:

– SD Jones fought Johnny Rodz to a 20-minute time-limit draw
– Steve Travis defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna
– Jerry Valiant defeated Dominic DeNucci
– Tony Garea defeated Johnny Rodz
– Bulldog Brower defeated Larry Zbyszko
– Ivan Putski defeated Johnny Valiant
– WWWF World Champion Bob Backlund defeated Peter Maivia via count-out

In 1982, World Class Championship Wrestling held a “Wrestling Star Wars” event at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas:

– Tom Shaft defeated Carlos Zapata
– WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Champion Jose Lothario & Arman Hussein fought to a draw
– WCCW American Tag Team & Texas Heavyweight Champion Al Madril defeated Bill Irwin via DQ
– Bugsy McGraw defeated The Spoiler
– Bill Irwin defeated Frank Dusek
– Fritz Von Erich defeated The Great Kabuki
– Kevin & WCCW American Heavyweight and Tag Team Champion Kerry Von Erich fought King Kong Bundy & Gary Hart to a double-disqualification in a Texas Death Steel Cage match

In 1998, WCW Uncensored was held at the Mobile Civic Center, in Mobile, Alabama:

– Booker T defeated Eddy Guerrero (with Chavo Guerrero Jr.) to retain the WCW Television Title
– Juventud Guerrera defeated Konnan
– Chris Jericho defeated Dean Malenko to retain the WCW Cruiserweight Title
– Lex Luger defeated Scott Steiner
– Diamond Dallas Page defeated Chris Benoit & Raven in a Triple Threat Match to retain the WCW United States Title
– The Giant defeated Kevin Nash via DQ, when Brian Adams attacked The Giant
– Bret Hart defeated Curt Hennig (with Rick Rude)
– Sting defeated Scott Hall (with Dusty Rhodes) to retain the WCW World Title
– Hollywood Hogan fought Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) to a no contest in a Cage Match, when Macho Man simply walked out of the match after interference by the Disciple & Sting)

In 2009, TNA Destination X was held at the TNA Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida:

– Taylor Wilde, Roxxi, & The Governor (Daffney) defeated The Beautiful People (Angelina Love, Madison Rayne, & Velvet Sky)
– Brutus Magnus defeated Eric Young
– Matt Morgan defeated Abyss a Match of 10,000 Tacks
– Awesome Kong defeated Sojourner Bolt to retain the TNA Knockouts Title
– Scott Steiner defeated Samoa Joe via DQ
– AJ Styles defeated Booker T to win the TNA Legends Title
– Team 3D (Brother Ray & Brother Devon) defeated Beer Money Inc (James Storm & Robert Roode) via countout in a No-DQ Off The Wagon Challenge (Beer Money retain the TNA Tag Team Titles)
– Suicide defeated Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Consequences Creed & Jay Lethal in an Ultimate X Match to win the TNA X-Division Title
– Sting defeated Kurt Angle with Jeff Jarrett as special guest referee & Mick Foley as special guest enforcer to retain the TNA World Title

Title Changes

1905 – Tom Jenkins defeated Frank Gotch to win the American Heavyweight Title in New York City, New York

1951 – Roy Shire defeated Jackie Nichols to win the Midwest Wrestling Association World Junior Heavyweight Title in Columbus, Ohio

1956 – Whipper Billy Watson defeated Lou Thesz to win the NWA World Title

1968 – Bob Orton & Mad Dog Vachon defeated Doug Gilbert & Reggie Parks to win the AWA Midwest Tag Team Title in Omaha, Nebraska

1968 – Waldo Von Erich defeated Ox Baker to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title in Calgary, Alberta

1975 – WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino, Pepper Gomez, & Dick the Bruiser defeated Ox Baker & the Legionaires in Indianapolis, Indiana

1976 – Danny Hodge was forced to vacate the NWA Junior Heavyweight Title after breaking his neck in a car accident

1980 – Monster Ripper (Rhonda Singh) defeated Jackie Sato to win the WWWA World Singles Title in Kawasaki, Japan

1991 – Tom Prichard defeated Jeff Jarrett to win the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Dallas, Texas

1997 – The Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray & D-Von) defeated The Eliminators (Saturn & Kronus) to win the ECW Tag Team Titles

1997 – Tank defeated Jerry Lawler to win the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title

1999 – on Raw, Road Dogg defeats Val Venis to win the WWF Intercontinental Title. Also, Billy Gunn defeats Bob Holly to win the WWF Hardcore Title

1999 – on Nitro, Rey Misterio Jr defeats Billy Kidman to win the WCW Cruiserweight Title

2000 – Sean Casey defeated Chris Michaels for the OVW Light Heavyweight Title in Louisville, Kentucky

2000 – The Enterprise (Andy Judge) defeated Rick Bassman to win the UPW Lightweight Title in Hollywood, California

2003 – AJ Styles & The Amazing Red defeated Christopher Daniels & Xavier (subbing for Donovan Morgan) to win the ROH Tag Team Titles

Birthdays

Happy birthday to WWE Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik (72), former WWF,WCW, & TNA star Piratita Morgan (46), & one-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Masayuki Naruse (42)

In Memoriam

On this day in 1977, the wrestling world lost WWE Hall of Famer Antonino Rocca at the age of 49. Debuting in 1942 in his native Argentina (though born in Italy, he moved to Argentina at around 10 years old) Rocca was 1 of the pioneers of the high-flying, aerial style of wrestling. He began competing in America in the late 40s, winning the Texas Heavyweight Title twice in 1948, before moving on to the New York area, where he would reach the height of his success. Rocca became so popular that he is credited with ending the box office slump at Madison Square Garden that had been evident since 1938, indeed, he had a 7-year run of main event matches at the Garden. Alongside this singles success, he formed a popular tag team with Miguel Perez, winning titles in New York and Puerto Rico. By the 1960s, his star had waned, & he left the WWWF. He briefly set up a set up a competing promotion supported by Jim Crockett Sr., but it wasn’t a success, & had closed within a few years. He had a brief stint in Japan & Puerto Rico before returning to the WWWF as a color commentator. His final wrestling appearance came at Madison Square Garden, officiating a boxing match between Gorilla Monsoon & Andre The Giant. He died of complications from an unspecified infection. Notably, Rocca’s fame was such that he appeared on the cover of Superman #155 in August 1962