1917 – The wrestling world mourned the loss of Frank Gotch, widely considered the greatest professional wrestler of the 20th century. He passed away at the age of 39 in his home in Humboldt, Iowa. Gotch was the first American to win the World Heavyweight Championship in catch wrestling and was a massive celebrity, instrumental in popularizing the sport in the United States.
1968 – NWA Big Time Wrestling held an event in Dallas, Texas. In the main attraction, Fritz Von Erich and Dr. Dan Miller defeated The Spoilers (Don Jardine and Smasher Sloan, managed by Gary Hart) to win the NWA American Tag Team Championship.
1970 – The WWWF held a massive house show at the Boston Garden in Massachusetts. In the main event, WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino teamed with Gorilla Monsoon to defeat Ernie Ladd and Waldo Von Erich in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match.
1995 – WWF In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings took place at the Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
- In the main event, Bret Hart retained the WWF Championship against his brother-in-law The British Bulldog in a match celebrated for its storytelling and the blood spilled by Hart, which was rare for the time.
- The Undertaker defeated King Mabel in a Casket Match to end their rivalry.
- Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Henry O. Godwinn in an “Arkansas Hog Pen Match”.
2000 – WCW held its final Starrcade pay-per-view at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C.
- In the main event, Scott Steiner retained the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Sid Vicious via submission.
- The Insiders (Diamond Dallas Page and Kevin Nash) defeated The Perfect Event (Chuck Palumbo and Shawn Stasiak) to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship.
- Goldberg defeated Lex Luger in a No Holds Barred match.
2006 – WWE Armageddon was held at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia.
- The show featured a unique main event where World Heavyweight Champion Batista and WWE Champion John Cena teamed up to defeat King Booker and Finlay.
- Kane defeated MVP in an Inferno Match, setting MVP’s costume on fire.
- Paul London and Brian Kendrick retained the WWE Tag Team Championship in a Fatal 4-Way Ladder Match against The Hardys, MNM, and William Regal & Dave Taylor. During the match, Joey Mercury suffered a horrific facial injury from a ladder strike.
2017 – WWE Clash of Champions took place at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
- AJ Styles retained the WWE Championship against Jinder Mahal via submission.
- Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn defeated Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura in a match where Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan served as special guest referees. If Owens and Zayn had lost, they would have been fired.
- Dolph Ziggler won the United States Championship in a Triple Threat match against Baron Corbin and Bobby Roode.
2021 – On a pivotal episode of Friday Night SmackDown in Chicago, Universal Champion Roman Reigns sensationally fired his special counsel Paul Heyman. After questioning Heyman’s loyalty regarding Brock Lesnar, Reigns delivered a Superman Punch to his longtime advocate. Moments later, Brock Lesnar appeared and destroyed Reigns and The Usos with F-5s.
Notable Wrestling Birthdays:
- Eugene (Nick Dinsmore) (1975) – Best known for his character in WWE during the mid-2000s, he is also a highly respected trainer and technician.
- Adrian McCallum (1982) – Known as “Lionheart,” a British wrestling veteran who was a mainstay in ICW and the UK scene before his passing.
