Onwards with the history!

1993 - In what was probably a pretty entertaining match if nothing else, Jerry "The King" Lawler became a 15-time USWA heavyweight champ by defeating Owen Hart. Speaking of which, did anyone else get a kick out of "The King" getting back into action recently with the WWF? Who would've thought that he would be getting the moderate pop he gets today back in 1993 when he was the most hated man in the WWF? Just for the record, "The King" is my favorite of the wrestling broadcasters and commentators. Could you imagine if the WWF somehow got Bobby Heenan back? And how much of a tangent am I off on right now?

1992 - "Dr. Death" Steve Williams (Oklahoma's boy) and Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy won the WCW World tag belts from the Steiners in Atlanta. The two teams were in the middle of a pretty fun to watch series of matches. I think Scott Steiner was about half the size he is today, by the way. On that same card, Scotty Flamingo (what about Scotty?) lost his WCW lightheavyweight belt to Brad Armstrong. Yes, Brad Armstrong. The wrestler now known as Raven lost to the wrestler who I guess is still now known as Buzzkill.

1962 - Washington, DC, was lucky enough to see "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers & "Handsome" John Barend win the WWWF United States tag belts from Johnny Valentine & "Cowboy" Bob Ellis.

1999 - The folks at TitanSports confirmed that Vincent Kennedy McMahon suffered a cracked tailbone during the holiday weekend in Greenwich. Apparently, a motorist backed out of a driveway and into Vinnie Mac, who was riding on a beautiful Titan bike. Vince landed on his back 30 feet from the scene.

1998 - Because they were in the Georgia Dome and it was THE BIGGEST NITRO EVER, the GREATEST MATCH IN THE FINE HISTORY OF OUR SPORT saw Goldberg officially become WCW's big gun by winning the World title from 'Wood Hogan. If I remember correctly, Greenberg successfully defended his U.S. belt against Scott Hall earlier in the evening.

1997 - The WWF's "In Your House: Canadian Stampede" was broadcast live from - duh - Canada. Calgary, Alberta, to be exact. The main event was one of the high points of the whole big USA vs Canada storyline that had been brewing, and obviously the Canadians got some monster pops. That main event saw the Hart Foundation - Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, British Bulldog and Brian Pillman - defeat Steve Austin, Goldust, Ken Shamrock, and L.O.D. 1997. Also on the card: Mankind and Hunter Hearst-Helmsley went to a double DQ ... Great Sasuke d. TAKA Michinoku ... World champ The Undertaker d. Vader. In a match not shown on PPV, The Godwinns d. The New Blackjacks. Meanwhile over in Sapporo, Japan, El Samurai was busy winning the IWGP junior heavyweight belt from Jushin Liger.

1985 - Before the days of 30 or so PPVs a year, the NWA's "Great American Bash" was held in Charlotte but not broadcast on PPV. Among the matches on the card: Buddy Landell and Ron Bass went to a time limit draw ... National tag champs Ole & Arn Anderson d. Buzz Sawyer & Dick Slater ... Manny Fernandez, Buzz Tyler & Sam Houston d. Konga the Barbarian, Abdullah the Butcher & Superstar Graham ... Jimmy Valiant d. Paul Jones ... NWA World tag champs Ivan Koloff & Krusher Khrushchev went to a double-DQ with the Road Warriors ... Magnum T.A. d. Kamala ... World champ Ric Flair d. Nikita Koloff ... TV champ Dusty Rhodes d. Tully Blanchard in a cage match. Meanwhile in Baltimore, Tito Santana was busy winning the WWF I-C belt from Greg Valentine.

1996 - The event: "WCW Bash at the Beach." The place: Daytona Beach's Ocean Center. The match: Sting, Lex Luger & Randy Savage against Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and a mystery partner. You know the story... the Hulkster went heel. Also on the card: Ron Misterio, Jr. d. Psicosis ... John Tenta d. Big Bubba Rogers in a Carson City silver dollar match (r-i-i-ight) ... DDP d. Hacksaw Jim Duggan in a taped-fist match (I never figured out why Hacksaw was never disqualified for taping his fists and it was so obvious when the roll of tape was just hanging off his hand) ... The Nasty Boyz d. Public Enemy in a double-dog collar match ... Cruiserweight champ Dean Malenko d. Disco Inferno ... Steve McMichael d. Joe Gomez (that must've been a blast to watch) ... Ric Flair d. U.S. champ Konnan to win the belt ... The Giant & Kevin Sullivan d. Arn Anderson & Chris Benoit. By the way, there was no official decision in the big "nWo" birth match.

1990 - Because Baltimore loves the "Great American Bash", the NWA brought 1990's version to the city of the orange and black. The event will most be remembered for Sting coming into his own and winning his first World championship, topping Ric Flair in a little over sixteen minutes. Also on the card: Brian Pillman d. Buddy Landell ... Mike Rotundo d. The Iron Sheik ... Doug Furnas d. Dutch Mantel ... Harley Race d. Tommy Rich ... The Midnight Express d. The Southern Boyz ... Big Van Vader d. "Z-Man" Tom Zenk ... The Steiners d. the Freebirds ... Junkyard Dog, El Gigante & Paul Orndorff d. Sid Vicious, Barry Windham & Arn Anderson ... Lex Luger d. "Mean" Mark Callous, who at the time was neither a dead man or a redneck biker ... World tag champs Doom d. The Rock 'n Roll Express ... Dark match: David Sierra d. Mr. X.

1977 - Besides the coolness of the date being 7.7.77, Greg Gagne & Jumpin' Jim Brunzell became AWA World tag team champions as they defeated Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncam.

Birthdays - It's the Great Sasuke's birthday. I only know how to say "happy birthday" in English and Southern though, so I won't try any other languages.

1996 - Ron Misterio, Jr. won the WCW Cruiserweight belt from Dean Malenko in Orlando during WCW's month or so of Nitro at Disney's MGM Studios... because wrestling equals family entertainment. I believe Ron went flying like a dart the next week or the one after that.

1986 - Fabulous Moolah won the WWF Women's title back from Velvet McIntyre in Sydney, Australia. Moolah had lost the belt to her the week before in Brisbane, also part of the land down under.

1985 - The Rock 'n Roll Express won the NWA World tag team titles from Ivan Koloff & Krusher Khushchev in Shelby, NC.

1963 - The Crusher himself won the AWA World title from Verne Gagne.

Birthdays - It's Tom Brandi's birthday. You may remember him from the small push he had against Marc Mero and/or as Salvatore Sincere. Or you may not remember him at all. Speaking of the devil, it's also Marc Mero's birthday today. What's the name of that woman who was his valet? I can't seem to remember. AND it's also Kevin Nash's birthday. He'll spend the day being lazy and making jokes that are possibly not funny. It's also my sister's birthday.

1988 - The NWA's "Great American Bash" came slightly after July 4th and was broadcast from Baltimore. Cal Ripken, Jr., was in the middle of his streak, by the way. The main event saw World champ Ric Flair defeat Lex Luger when the Maryland State Athletic Commission stopped the match due to a cut on Luger. Right. Also on the card: Tag champs Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard went to a time limit draw with Sting & Nikita Koloff ... The Midnight Express d. U.S. tag champs The Fantastics and I guess won the belts ... The Road Warriors, Jim & Ron Garvin, & Steve Williams d. Russian Assassin I, Ivan Koloff, Al Perez, Mike Rotundo & Kevin Sullivan in a "Tower of Doom" match (whatever that is) ... U.S. champ Barry Windham d. Dusty Rhodes. In the famous match not aired on TV, Rick Steiner & Dick Murdoch d. Tim Horner & Kendall Windham.

1967 - Captain Lou Albano & Tony Altimore won the WWWF United States tag belts from Spiros Arion & Arnold Skaaland. Arion's original partner was Antonio Pugliese, but Antonio left the U.S. and had to be replaced.

Birthdays - It's Johnny Grunge's birthday! Yay, Public Enemy... you know, the "PWI Almanac" says that Johnny is straight out of Compton.

1999 - "WCW/nWo Bash at the Beach" was broadcast from Sunrise, Florida, and was not sponsored by Masterlock. Because it's so fun to have singles titles on the line during tag matches, Kevin Nash defended his - and lost it to Randy Savage - as Nash & Sting faced Savage & Sid Vicious. Also on the card: Ernest Miller d. Disco Inferno ... TV champ Rick Steiner d. Van Hammer ... U.S. champ David Flair d. Dean Malenko ... The greatest group of all time, the No Limit Wrestlers - Ron Misterio, Jr., Konnan, Swoll & B.A. - d. Curt Hennig, Bobby Duncam, Jr., Barry Windham & Kendall Windham - the West Texas Rednecks ... Fit Finlay won the junkyard hardcore invitational match and won that impressive trophy ... World tag champs the Triad (that's right, three guys holding two belts) d. Chris Benoit & Perry Saturn ... Buff Bagwell d. Roddy Piper in a boxing match BY PINFALL with guest referee Mills Lane. You would think that Mills Lane of all people would know that there are no pinfalls in boxing matches, but he was too busy being a judge and all I guess.

1989 - Stan Hansen & Genichiro Tenryu won the All-Japan International tag belts from Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaka Yatsu in Sapparo, Japan.

1987 - Lex Luger won the NWA U.S. belt from Nikita Koloff in Greensboro, NC. Why? Because Lex is the "All-American" and rode a bus on the roads of America to support our great country, that's why!

1961 - Gene Kiniski became the second AWA World heavyweight champion as he won the belt from Verne Gagne in Minneapolis.

Birthdays - Remember Doom? Well, it's Butch Reed's birthday... you know, the guy who's wondering why Ron Simmons is so over right now and he is sitting at home or doing the independants thing.

1999 - One night after he won it, Randy Savage lost the WCW World title to - guess - Hulk Hogan. Hey, remember when Savage won that battle royal on "Thunder"? Me too. I don't think we're supposed to, though. Meanwhile (and more interesting), Jerry Lawler announced his candidacy for the mayor's office in Memphis.

1998 - The '98 rendition of "Bash at the Beach" was live from San Diego, because WCW wasn't good enough for Florida apparently. Because it's fun to have celebrities wrestle, 'Wood Hogan & Dennis Rodman moved their team record to 1-1 as they defeated DDP & Karl Malone in the main event. Also on the card: Raven d. Perry Saturn ... Juventud Guerrera d. Billy Kidman ... Ron Misterio, Jr. d. Cruiserweight champ Chris Jericho to win the belt ... Stevie Ray d. Chavo Guerrero, Jr. ... Eddy Guerrero d. Chavo in a hair vs hair match ... Kevin Nash & Konnan (ugh) d. Disco Inferno & Alex Wright ... TV champ Booker T d. Bret Hart ... The Giant d. Kevin Greene, who also was part of Bischoff's wild celebrity ride ... World champ Greenberg d. Curt Hennig.

1992 - WCW's "Great American Bash" hit Albany, Georgia, and the Civic Center was sold out (at 8,000 fans, which might or might not mean anything). The big focus of the PPV was the tournament for the NWA World tag belts, but there was one other match... Vader winning the WCW World title belt from Sting. Let's see... in tournament semifinal matches, we had Rick Steamboat & Nikita Koloff d. Brian Pillman & Jushin Liger, Hiroshi Hase & Shinya Hashimoto d. The Freebirds, Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham d. Rick Rude & Steve Austin, and I reckon Steve Williams & Terry Gordy received a bye. In the semifinals, Williams & Gordy d. Steamboat & Koloff and Rhodes & Windham d. Hase & Hashimoto. The finals saw Williams and Gordy become champs by beating the other two. There was also a match for those in attendance not shown on PPV, and what a whopper it was... Super Invader pinning Marcus Alexander Bagwell. For those paying more attention to ECW before it was Extreme, Jimmy Snuka won the ECW heavyweight belt from Johnny Hot Body.

1989 - Riki Choshu won the IWGP heavyweight title from Salman Hashimikov.

Birthdays - He likes the Backstreet Boys, N'SYNC too... it's Shane Helms' birthday.

1998 - Kane & Mankind won the WWF World tag belts from The New Age Outlaws on "Raw."

1997 - "Bash at the Beach" was broadcast live from Daytona Beach (home of this year's event) in the Ocean Center and yes, the hype circled around Dennis Rodman's first match. How did he do? Well, "Rod the Bod" and 'Wood Hogan lost to The Giant & Lex Luger. Chris Benoit sent Kevin Sullivan into retirement in their match, which ended a great feud. Also on the card: Mortis & Wrath d. Brunswick, Georgia's very own Glacier & Ernest Miller ... Cruiserweight champ Chris Jericho d. Ultimo Dragon ... The Steiners d. The Great Muta & Masahiro Chono ... In one of those awesome luchador matches that should really be brought back to Nitro, Hector Garza, Juventud & Lizmark Jr. d. La Parka, Villano IV & Psicosis ... U.S. champ Jeff Jarrett d. Steve McMichael ... Scott Hall & Randy Savage d. Dallas Page & Curt Hennig ... Roddy Piper d. Ric Flair.

1996 - "The Franchise" Shane Douglas began his year-or-so long ECW TV title reign as he won the belt from Chris Jericho.

1982 - Mr. Fuji & Mr. Saito won the WWF World tag team titles from Jules & Chief Jay Strongbow in Allentown, PA.

1997 - In a tournament final for the vacant WWF World tag belts, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Dude Love won the belts by defeating Owen Hart & The British Bulldog. On that same show, D'Lo Brown started his big European title push by winning the belt in an upset from Triple H.

1989 - Because of the good folks at Superstation TBS, NWA "Clash of the Champions VII" was broadcast starting at five after the top of the hour from Fayetteville, NC and featured the final two round of the World tag team title tournament. In the second round, we had The Freebirds defeating the Dynamic Dudes and the Midnight Express topping the Samoan Swat Team. That led to a finals win for the 'Birds. Also on the card: The Ding Dongs (make your own joke) d. George South & Cougar Jay ... Norman the Lunatic d. Mike Justice ... The Steiners d. Kevin Sullivan & Mike Rotundo ... Sting d. Bill Irwin.

Birthdays - Break out the table... it's Buh Buh Ray Dudley's birthday. Break out the geetar too, 'cause Jeff Jarrett is celebrating. I would note the connection both have with Mae Young, but I won't.

Well, today nothing happened ever in wrestling history. Sorry.

1995 - Another year, another "Bash at the Beach"... this one actually held on Huntington Beach in California, with all fans allowed to watch for free. Besides getting an episode of "Baywatch" out of the whole shindig, we had Hulk Hogan successfully defending his World title in a cage match against Vader. Also on the card: Dick Slater & Bunkhouse Buck d. Marcus Alexander Bagwell & Alex Wright ... U.S. champ Sting d. Meng ... TV champ Renegade d. Paul Orndorff ... Kamala d. Hacksaw Jim Duggan ... DDP d. Dave Sullivan ... World tag champs Harlem Heat d. The Nasty Boys & The Bluebloods in a triangle match ... Randy Savage d. Ric Flair in a lumberjack match, except I think WCW got all fancy and called it a lifeguard match or something. In matches not shown on PPV but possibly aired on "WCW Main Event": Johnny B. Badd d. Chris Canyon ... Road Warrior Hawk d. Mark Starr.

1994 - Jerry Lawler lost the USWA heavyweight title to good' ol' Pyscho Sid by forfeit - Sid had attacked "The King" earlier in the show.

Birthdays - It's Chris Chetti's birthday. Yippee.

1994 - 1994's "Bash at the Beach" was in Orlando, Florida, in case you didn't notice Shaquille O'Neal there in his red and yellow Hulkster shirt. Anyway, in his FIRST MATCH IN THE FEDERATION, Hulk Hogan won the World belt from Ric Flair. Pretty Wonderful - Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma - won the World tag belts from Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan as well. Also on the card: TV champ Lord Steven Regal d. Johnny B. Badd ... Vader d. The Guardian Angel in his gimmick of the month ... Terry Funk & Bunkhouse Buck d. Dustin Rhodes & Arn Anderson ... U.S. champ Steve Austin d. Rick Steamboat. In a match not broadcast, Brad & Brian Armstrong overcame the curse and defeated Steve Keirn & Bobby Eaton.

1988 - Bruiser Brody was stabbed to death in Bayamon, Puerto Rico prior to a wrestling card in the dressing room. Fellow wrestler Jose Gonzales was charged on first-degree murder on November 2nd and later acquitted.

1999 - Hey, ECW! Welcome back to the column! "Heatwave '99" was broadcast live on PPV from Dayton, OH. In what must've been the main event, Rob Van Dam & Jerry Lynn defeated Lance Storm & Justin Credible. Also on the card: Chris Chetti & Nova d. Danny Doring & Amish Roadkill ... Jazz d. Jason ... Super Crazy d. Little Guido ... Spike Dudley & Balls Mahoney d. tag champs The Dudley Boyz to win the belts in a Dayton streetfight ... World champ Taz d. Yoshihiro Tajiri.

1993 - WCW gave "Beach Blast" a spot in July as well as in Biloxi, MS. The main event featured Sting and Davey Boy Smith (who was in a brief WCW sting) defeating Sid Vicious and Vader, a.k.a. "The Masters of the Powerbomb." Also on the card: TV champ Paul Orndorff d. Ron Simmons ... 2 Cold Scorpio & Marcus Alexander Bagwell d. Tex Slazenger & Shanghai Pierce ... Lord Steven Regal d. Erik Watts ... Johnny B. Badd d. Maxx Payne in a grudge match, as Maxx had shot Johnny's little confetti shooter "right in Johnny's face" weeks earlier, forcing the Baaaad Man to have to wear a mask ... World tag champs Steve Austin & Brian Pillman d. Arn Anderson & Paul Roma ... Rick Rude and Dustin Rhodes went to a 30-minute, one fall-to-one fall draw in the year's "Ironman Challenge" for the vacant U.S. belt ... Ric Flair d. Barry Windham to win the NWA World title, which immediately morphed into the WCW International title.

1989 - Worcester, MA, saw Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard become WWF World tag team champions by defeating Demolition, which I think was in the Ax & Smash phase at that point.

1980 - Verne Gagne won the AWA World title from Nick Bockwinkel in CHicago and held onto it until he retired.

Birthdays - Al Snow is taking Head back to that strip club for his birthday party. Al's party, nto Head's.