This Day In Wrestling History – July 7th

The nWo was born on this date in 1996.

1977 – Bobo Brazil defeats Blackjack Mulligan, to win the NWA (Mid-Atlantic) United States Championship.  Elsewhere, Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell defeat Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum, to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship.

1984 – Nancy Benoit, age 20, makes her pro wrestling debut in Florida Championship Wrestling, performing as ‘The Fallen Angel.’

1985 – In a Three-on-Two Handicap Match, Tim Brooks, Mark Lewin & One Man Gang defeat The Von Erichs (Kerry & Kevin), to win the WCCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship.

1990 – NWA’s Great American Bash is held in Baltimore, MD in front of 14,000 fans.  This was the final Bash promoted under the NWA banner;  it would be promoted and produced solely by WCW from 1991-2000.

Dark Match:
– David Sierra defeats Mr. X.
PPV:
– Brian Pillman defeats Buddy Landel.
– Mike Rotunda defeats The Iron Sheik.
– Doug Furnas defeats Dutch Mantel.
– Harley Race defeated Tommy Rich.
– The Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey & Stan Lane) defeat The Southern Boys (Tracy Smothers & Steve Armstrong), to retain the NWA United States Tag Team Championship.
– Big Van Vader, in his WCW debut, defeats Tom Zenk.
– The Steiner Brothers (Scott & Rick) defeat The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin).
– In a Six-Man Tag Team Match, The Dudes with Attitudes (Paul Orndorff, The Junkyard Dog, & El Gigante) defeat The Four Horsemen (Sid Vicious, Arn Anderson, & Barry Windham), via disqualification.
– Lex Luger defeats Mark Callous (with Paul E. Dangerously) to retain the NWA United States Championship.
– Doom (Ron Simmons & Butch Reed) (with Teddy Long) defeat The Rock ‘N’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson), to retain the NWA World Tag Team Championship.
– Sting (with The Dudes With Attitudes) defeats Ric Flair (with Ole Anderson), to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

1995 – The IWGP Tag Team Championship is vacated, after one-half of the champions, Masahiro Chono, misses a scheduled title defense, due to the death of his father.

1996 – WCW’s Bash at the Beach is held in Daytona Beach, FL in front of 8,300 fans.  It has gone down in history as the event where Hulk Hogan turned heel, and formed the nWo.

Dark Match:
– Jim Powers defeats Hugh Morrus.
Matches airing on WCW Main Event:
– Via disqualification, The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott) defeat Harlem Heat (Booker T & Stevie Ray) (with Col. Robert Parker), to retain the WCW World Tag Team Championship.
– Bobby Walker defeats Billy Kidman.
– The Rock ‘N’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) defeat Fire & Ice (Scott Norton & Ice Train)
– Eddie Guerrero defeats Lord Steven Regal.
PPV:
– Rey Misterio, Jr. defeats Psychosis.
– John Tenta defeats Big Bubba (with Jimmy Hart), in a Carson City Silver Dollar Match.
– Diamond Dallas Page defeats Jim Duggan, in a Taped Fist Match.
– The Nasty Boys (Jerry Sags & Brian Knobbs) defeat The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge & Rocco Rock), in a Dog Collar Match.
– Dean Malenko defeats Disco Inferno, to retain the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.
– Steve McMichael (with Queen Debra) defeats Joe Gomez.
– Ric Flair (with Woman & Miss Elizabeth) defeats Konnan, to win the WCW United States Championship.
– The Giant & The Taskmaster defeat Chris Benoit & Arn Anderson.
– A Six-Man Tag Team Match between Hulk Hogan and The Outsiders (Scott Hall & Kevin Nash), and the team of Randy Savage, Sting, and Lex Luger ends in a no-contest.  Hogan, the “mystery partner” for The Outsiders, came down to the ring towards the end of the match and would turn heel;  Hogan performed two Atomic Legdrops on Savage, and then threw the referee out of the ring.  Hogan then performed a third Atomic Legdrop on Savage.  The aftermath of the match saw the formation of the New World Order.

1997 – In the Monday Night Wars, WCW Monday Nitro (3.4 TV rating) beats WWF RAW IS WAR (2.5 rating).

2001 – Justice Pain defeats Wifebeater, to win the Combat Zone Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship.

2002 – With the 24/7 Rule in effect, the WWE Hardcore Championship gets passed from Bradshaw to Steven Richards, to Crash Holly, to Christopher Nowinski, and back to Bradshaw.

2003 – On RAW, Booker T defeats Christian, to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

2004 – On the weekly NWA-TNA pay-per-view, The Naturals (Chase Stevens & Andy Douglas) defeat America’s Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm), to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship.

2009 – Edge undergoes  surgery to repair his torn Achilles Tendon.  The surgery and recovery would keep him out of the ring, until the 2010 Royal Rumble.  At the time of his injury, Edge & Chris Jericho were Unified WWE Tag Team Champions.  Jericho would replace Edge with Big Show, creating the ‘Jeri-Show’ Tag Team.

2011 – Despite being the first eliminated on the revived Tough Enough series, Cameron makes her pro wrestling debut, as a ring announcer, at a Florida Championship Wrestling house show (WWE’s developmental territory).  She would make her in-ring debut two nights later, competing in a Divas Battle Royal.

2012 – In a six-way match, Adam Cole defeats Delirious, Josh Daniels, Ricky Reyes, Ruckus, and Sami Callahan, to win the Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup.

2013 – Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste defeat Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano, to win the GHC Tag Team Championship.  Elsewhere, Braun Strowman begins his WWE career, as he steps foot into a ring at the WWE Performance Center in Florida.

2017 – At a Friday night house show in New York City, AJ Styles defeats Kevin Owens, to win the WWE United States Championship.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:  Current Lucha Libre USA competitor Allan ‘Chi Chi’ Funk (47 years old);  UK wrestler Mark Sloan (40 years old);  FCW Grand Slam Champion Richie Steamboat (31 years old);  CHIKARA wrestler Oleg the Usurper (30 years old);  German Wrestling Federation Women’s Champion, Katey Harvey (29 years old);  and indy wrestler Tommy Williams (37 years old).  Today may or may not be Mando Guerrero’s birthday;  it’s either today or June 9th, and he’s either 66 or 68, depending on what you read.  Guerrero was a 7-time NWA Americas Tag Team Champion.

Today would’ve been the 83rd birthday for WWWF wrestler Smasher Sloan.