The journey through wrestling continues for October 25 and 26, dates that include the birth of CM Punk and the wedding of Stephanie McMahon and Triple H!

Born On This Date

October 25

• 1942 – Rafael Nunez Contreras (El Scorpio)
• 1957 – Atsushi Onita
• 1965 – Charles Skaggs (2 Cold Scorpio, Scorpio)
• 1966 – Perry Alfred Satullo (Perry Saturn)
• 1967 – Victor Manuel Resendiz Ruis (Latin Lover)
• 1979 –  Milena Leticia Roucka (Rosa Mendes)

October 26

• 1949 – Dennis McCord (Austin Idol)
• 1949 – Kevin Francis Sullivan
• 1964 – Nicole Bass
• 1969 – Robert Maillet
• 1973 – Takao Yoshida (TAKA Michinoku)
• 1978 – Phillip Jack Brooks (C.M. Punk)
• 1979 –  Robert Anthony Fish
• 1987 – Jen Grattan (Portia Perez)

On This Day In Wrestling History

October 25

1910 – Henry Ordemann defeats Frank Gotch for the American Heavyweight Title, ending Gotch’s third reign.

1955 – Ronnie Etchison & Ray Stern defeat Gene Kiniski & Lord James Blears to win the San Francisco version of the NWA World Tag Team Title.

1958 – Jack Dempsey defeats Alan Colbeck in Newcastle, England for the European Welterweight Title.

1961 – Lord James Blears defeats Curtis Iaukea to win the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title in Honolulu, Hawaii.

1962 – El Rayo de Jalisco defeats Rene Guajardo for the NWA World Middleweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico.

1966 – Jose Lothario & Eddie Graham defeat The Infernos (Frankie Cain & Rocky Smith) to win the Florida version of the NWA World Tag Team Title in Tampa, Florida.

1969 – Bronko Lubich & Chris Markoff defeat Ciclon Negro & Sam Steamboat in Tampa, Florida for the NWA Florida Tag Team Title.

1972 – Jose Lothario defeat Stan Stasiak to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title in San Antonio, Texas.

1973 – Mike George & Jim Brunzell defeat The Great Togo & Tokyo Joe for the Central States version of the NWA World Tag Team Title.

1974 – Victor Rivera & Dino Bravo defeat Tonny Rocco & Raul Reyes for the vacant NWA Americas Tag Team Title.

1976 – Jesse “The Body” Ventura & “Playboy” Buddy Rose defeat Dutch Savage & Jimmy Snuka to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title, ending Savage and Snuka’s fourth reign.

1978 – Ed Wiskoski & Buddy Rose defeat Dean Ho & Ron Starr to win the San Francisco version of the NWA World Tag Team Title in Sacramento, California.

1980 – Jay Youngblood & Joe Lightfoot defeat Rip Oliver & Fidel Cortez for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title.

1981 – Kerry Von Erich & Terry Orndorff win the NWA American Tag Team Title.

1982 – El Satanico defeats Cesar Curiel to win the NWA World Middleweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico, beginning his second reign.

1982 – Paul Jones defeats Jack Brisco for the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title, ending Brisco’s fourth reign and starting his second.

1982 – In Memphis, Tennessee, The Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn & Stan Lane) defeat Koko Ware & Bobby Eaton for the AWA Southern Tag Team Title.

1982 – David Schultz defeats Bob Armstrong in Birmingham, Alabama to win the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title.

1984 – Harley Race wins the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title from Hacksaw Higgins in Kansas City, Kansas, beginning his eighth reign.

1985 – Wayne Farris & Ron Starr defeat Kerry Brown and Hubert Gallant in a tournament final to win the vacant Stampede International Tag Team Title in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

1986 – Don Kent ends the fifth WWC Junior Heavyweight Title reign of Invader III in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

1992 – Dick Murdoch defeats Invader I in Bayamon, Puerto Rico to win the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title.

1992 – WCW Halloween Havoc took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1998 – WCW Halloween Havoc took place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The show ran into a problem on many cable systems, as it went longer than usual PPV events, and some systems were not aware that WCW was going long with the event. As a result, the finish of Hogan-Warrior and the Goldberg-DDP match were not seen on some systems. Goldberg-DDP would be shown on Nitro the next night.

1999 – Ivory defeated Fabulous Moolah for the WWF Women’s Title in Providence, Rhode Island, ending Moolah’s seventh and final title reign and beginning her second.

1999 – Bret Hart defeats Bill Goldberg for the United States Heavyweight Title, ending Goldberg’s second run with the title and starting Hart’s fourth reign. On the same show, Konnan & Billy Kidman (The Animals) defeat Harlem Heat to win the WCW World Tag Team Title, ending Harlem Heat’s 10th reign. It’s the second straight Monday the Animals defeated Harlem Heat for the titles. It’s the fourth tag title change in eight days (the titles were vacated at Halloween Havoc the previous night) and the seventh since August 1.

1999 – Tamon Honda & Masao Inoue defeat Johnny Smith & Maunakea Mossman in a tournament final for the vacant AJPW All-Asia Tag Team Title in Nagaoka, Japan.

2000 – Todd Morton defeats The Suicide Kid to win the held up IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title in Charlestown, Indiana.

2003 – Stephanie McMahon and Paul Levesque wed in Connecticut.

2003 – X #3 defeats Yasu Urano for the UWA World Middleweight Title in Chiba, Japan.

2003 – Eddie Colon defeated Jose Rivera, Jr. for the WWC Puerto Rican Heavyweight Title beginning his second reign and ending Rivera’s third.

2003 – Onyx defeats Hotstuff Hernandez for the NWA Wildside Heavyweight Title in Cornelia, Georgia.

2005 – MNM (Joey Mercury & Johnny Nitro) defeat Road Warrior Animal & Heidenreich to win their second WWE Tag Team Title .

2005 – Jeff Jarrett defeated Rhino to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The win came just two days after Rhino won three matches—and the NWA title—at Bound for Glory.

2008 – Blue Demon, Jr. is the first Mexican and Masked Wrestler to ever win the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship in the six decades the National Wrestling Alliance has been in business.

2009 – WWE presented the first-ever Bragging Rights PPV.

• In a preshow dark match, Christian defeated Paul Burchill to retain the ECW Championship.
• The Miz defeated John Morrison.
• Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix and Natalya defeated Melina, Kelly Kelly and Gail Kim.
• The Undertaker defeated CM Punk, Batista, and Rey Mysterio in a Fatal Four Way match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
• Team SmackDown (Chris Jericho, Kane, Finlay, R-Truth, Matt Hardy & The Hart Dynasty) defeated Team RAW (Triple H, Shawn Michaels, The Big Show, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston and Mark Henry).
• John Cena defeated Randy Orton 6-5 in an “anything goes” 60-minute Ironman match to win the WWE Championship. Cena scored the deciding fall by submission with five seconds remaining. Had Cena lost, he would have been forced to leave RAW.

2011 – WWE released Wrestling’s Greatest Grudges – Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart on DVD and Blu-Ray.

2011 – Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel defeat John Cena and David Otunga to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. David Otunga was forced by Wade Barrett to lay down for Slater and Gabriel.

2015 – WWE presented Hell in a Cell  from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

• Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, and Neville defeated Rusev, Sheamus, and King Barrett.
• Alberto Del Rio defeated John Cena to win the WWE United States Championship. This was Del Rio’s first match with WWE since August 2014 when he was fired following a confrontation with an employee who had allegedly made a racist joke.
• Roman Reigns defeated Bray Wyatt in a Hell in a Cell match.
• The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley) to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship.
• Charlotte defeated Nikki Bella by submission to retain the WWE Divas Championship.
• Seth Rollins defeated Kane to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
• Kevin Owens defeated Ryback to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
• Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match.

October 26

1959 – Don and Luke Fields defeat Don and Al Greene for the Mid-America version of the NWA World Tag Title in Birmingham, Alabama, beginning their second reign.

1960 – Al Hobman defeats John DaSilva for the vacant New Zealand Heavyweight Title in Wellington, New Zealand.

1962 – El Medico II defeats Art Thomas in Houston, Texas to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title.

1964 – Pepper Martin and Luther Lindsay win their second NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title, by defeating Pat Patterson and The Hangman.

1964 – Tony Borne defeats Killer Karl Kox for the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Title in Fort Worth, Texas, ending Kox’s second reign and beginning his own third.

1968 – Mitsu Arakawa and Dr. Moto (Tor Kamata) defeat Wilbur Snyder and Pat O’Connor for the WWA Tag Team Title in Elkhart, Indiana, beginning their second reign.

1971 – The Wrestling Pro defeats Ken Lucas for the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title in Mobile, Alabama, ending Lucas’ fourth reign and beginning his own third.

1973 – Enrique Vera defeats Angel Blanco in Mexico City, Mexico for the Mexican National Heavyweight Title.

1976 – Mr. Wrestling II defeats Dick Slater to win his sixth NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title in Columbus, Georgia.

1976 – The Executioners (Killer Kowalski & John Studd) were stripped of the WWWF World Tag Team title when they had a third member (Nikolai Volkoff) participate in a title defense against Chief Jay Strongbow & Billy White Wolf in Hamburg, Pennsylvania. Strongbow & White Wolf would go on to win the belts in a three team tournament with the Executioners and, ironically, Volkoff & Tor Kamata.

1979 – Chavo Guerrero, Sr. and Al Madril defeat Allen Coage and Victor Rivera for the NWA Americas Tag Team Title.

1979 – Sweet Brown Sugar defeats Ernie Ladd to win the Florida version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Title.

1979 – Tommy Rich defeats Killer Karl Kox for the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia.

1980 – Dusty Rhodes defeats Bobby Jaggers for the Florida State Heavyweight Title in Ft. Lauderdale. This was the start of Rhodes’ tenth, and final, reign with the belt.

1981 – Dutch Mantel defeats Dream Machine for the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

1982 – Chief Jay & Jules Strongbow defeat Mr. Fuji & Mr. Saito for the WWF World Tag Team Title, ending Fuji & Saito’s second reign, and starting the second reign for the Strongbows.

1982 – Harley Race defeats Giant Baba for the PWF Heavyweight Title in Obihiro, Japan, ending Baba’s second reign.

1983 – The Junkyard Dog defeats Butch Reed for the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Title in Shreveport, Louisiana. This ended Reed’s third reign and began JYD’s fourth.

1986 – John Tatum and Jack Victory defeat The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers) to win the UWF Tag Team Title in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

1987 – Two title changes take place on an AWA card in Memphis, Tennessee. Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee win their second AWA World Tag Team Title, defeating Hector Guerrero and “Dr. D” David Schultz. Lawler & Dundee had lost the belts only a week earlier.  Also, The Midnight Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels) defeat The RPM’s (Mike Davis and Tommy Lane) for the AWA Southern Tag Team Title, ending the RPM’s fifth reign.

1987 – Tom Prichard ends Tony Anthony’s third NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title reign in Birmingham, Alabama.

1995 – Robby Royce defeats Vance Nevada for the Canadian Junior Heavyweight Title in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

1997 – WCW Halloween Havoc was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

• Yuji Nagata defeated Ultimo Dragon via submission.
• Chris Jericho defeated Gedo via submission.
• Rey Misterio Jr. defeated Eddie Guerrero in a title versus mask match to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. Had Mysterio lost, he would have been forced to unmask.
• Alex Wright defeated Steve McMichael. Jeff Jarrett, the originally scheduled opponent, had his contract expire just before the PPV, and was not renewed. On October 20, Jarrett returned to the WWF.
• Jacqueline defeated Disco Inferno.
• Curt Hennig defeated Ric Flair by disqualification to retain the WCW United States Championship.
• Lex Luger defeated Scott Hall. Larry Zbyszko was the special referee.
• Randy Savage defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a Sudden Death match. The match was conducted under last man standing rules.
• Roddy Piper defeated Hollywood Hogan via submission in a steel cage match.

1998 – Diamond Dallas Page defeats Bret Hart for the WCW United States Heavyweight Title, ending Hart’s second run with the belt and beginning Page’s own second reign.

1999 – Davey Boy Smith defeats D’Lo Brown for the WWF European Heavyweight Title, ending Brown’s fourth reign with the belt, and starting Smith’s second reign (he was the first European champion ever in 1997).

2001 – World Wrestling All-Stars “Inception” PPV was held at the Superdome in Sydney, Australia. It was aired live on Australian Pay-per-view, and was shown in the United States on PPV on January 6, 2002. The feature attraction of the show was a tournament to determine the first WWA heavyweight champion, in which each match had a different stipulation.

2002 – WWE held their UK-only PPV, Rebellion, at the Evening News Arena in Manchester, England,

• In a preshow dark match, Bill DeMott defeated Shannon Moore.
• Booker T defeated Matt Hardy.
• Billy Kidman and Torrie Wilson defeated John Cena and Dawn Marie.
• Funaki defeated Crash Holly.
• Jamie Noble defeated Rey Mysterio and Tajiri in an elimination match to retain the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
• Reverend D-Von and Ron Simmons defeated The Big Valbowski and Chuck Palumbo.
• Rikishi defeated Albert.
• Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit defeated Los Guerreros (Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero) to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship.
• Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman defeated Edge in a handicap match to retain the WWE Championship.

2002 – The NWA 54th Anniversary Show was held in Corpus Christi, Texas

2002 – CM Punk defeats MDogg20 to win his third IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title in Clarksville, Indiana.

2008 – WWE presented Cyber Sunday  from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

• In a WWE.com preshow match, Shelton Benjamin defeated R-Truth to retain the WWE United States Championship. R-Truth won the shot with 59% of the vote. Other choices were Festus (26%) and MVP (15%).
• Rey Mysterio defeated Kane in a No Holds Barred Match. No Holds Barred was the winning choice (39%) over falls count anywhere (35%) and two out of three falls (26%).
• Matt Hardy defeated Evan Bourne to retain the ECW Championship. Evan Bourne won the title shot via fan vote with 69% over Finlay (25%) and Mark Henry (6%).
• John Morrison & The Miz defeated Cryme Tyme (JTG & Shad) (38%). Other possible tag team matches were a world tag title match between Legacy (Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase) and CM Punk and Kofi Kingston (35%) and an intergender match with William Regal & Layla vs. Jamie Noble & Mickie James (27%).
• The Honky Tonk Man defeated WWE Intercontinental Champion Santino Marella by disqualification. Other challengers for Santino were Roddy Piper (34%) and Goldust (31%).
• The Undertaker defeated The Big Show in a Last Man Standing match. Last man standing got 49%, followed by an I Quit match (42%) and a knockout match (9%).
• Mickie James won a Divas Halloween Costume Contest. Other participants were Beth Phoenix, Michelle McCool, Brie Bella, Candice Michelle, Eve, Jillian Hall, Katie Lea Burchill, Kelly Kelly, Layla, Lena Yada, Maria, Maryse, Natalya, Tiffany, and Victoria.
• Triple H defeated Jeff Hardy to retain the WWE Championship. Hardy won the right to challenge for the title alone with 57% of the vote, with a triple threat match including Vladimir Kozlov getting 38% of the vote. Kozlov alone got just 5%.
• Batista defeated Chris Jericho to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Steve Austin easily won the referee spot with 74%, followed by Shawn Michaels (22%), and Randy Orton (4%).

2011 – Bobby Roode defeated James Storm to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

2013 –Ring of Honor presented Glory by Honor XII from the Frontier Fieldhouse in Chicago Ridge, Illinois. It was the annual “champions vs. all-stars” elimination match, pitting all the ROH champions versus a team of top contenders in a two-hour time limit match. If any member of the All-Stars team defeated the world champion (at the time, Adam Cole), they would receive a future world championship match.

Notes: From 2013 thru 2018 there were an additional 23 shows ran by a variety of promotions. The last major PPV to be held on this date was the 2014 Hell In A Cell.

Died On This Date

October 26

• 2008 – Conrad Efraim (SD Jones)