This Day In History: April 1st

While April 1st is a day in which no one believes things they read or what friends tell them, there have been some notable professional wrestling moments that took place:

• WrestleMania VI: Winner Takes All: Ultimate Warrior vs Hulk Hogan (1990)

The Intercontinental Champion, Ultimate Warrior, against the WWF Heavyweight Champion, Hulk Hogan, with both belts on the line. In a match that still holds up today, Ultimate Warrior goes over, and this was supposed to be the proverbial passing of the torch. We all know how that situation played out, but that doesn’t discredit the magnitude of the match at the time. Ultimate Warrior was the new hot Superstar they wanted to push to the moon, and this was the rocket fuel…no one’s fault but his own that it burned up in the atmosphere.

• WrestleMania X-Seven: WWF Tag Team Championship – TLC II: Edge & Christian vs The Dudley Boyz (c) vs The Hardy Boyz (2001)

X-Seven could be on here by itself, since it is considered the crown jewel of Attitude Era WWF. Off the heels of buying and closing down WCW, X-Seven became a glorious victory lap. While Stone Cold versus The Rock was fantastic, TLC changed the scope of all three teams careers and redefined ladder matches. Much like the WarGames concept before it, TLC style matches will be attributed to these three teams after they’re no longer wrestling, the same way WarGames is synonymous with Dusty Rhodes.

• WrestleMania XXVIII: Once In A Lifetime: The Rock vs John Cena (2012)

In a similar vein to Warrior versus Hogan, we are all aware that mystique of “Once in a Lifetime” was sabotaged when it became “Twice in a short time” – but a generational clash is a box office attraction. It’s not many sports or many times you can get the biggest star of the previous generation, to go toe to toe with the current golden boy. In the same way Rock vs Hulk Hogan had superstar aura, this recaptured that same vibe. Regardless of how things played out afterwards, this was box office.

• NXT TakeOver: Dallas – Shinsuke Nakamura vs Sami Zayn (2016)

Heralded as one of the best debuts of the modern era, Shinsuke Nakamura brought all his swagger from New Japan, and lit up the imaginations of those in attendance and Sami Zayn’s face. Beyond the match being very good for a cold debut and no story, his debut sent a notable ripple through the American audience. When there are chants for Nakamura during the WrestleMania main event, even if Mania crowds tend to be more hardcore, that shows you the palpable aura he had right out of the gates.

• ROH Supercard of Honor XI: ROH Tag Team Championship: Ladder War VII – The Young Bucks vs The Hardyz (c) (2017)

The Broken Hardyz were enjoying their Expedition for Gold after collecting the ROH Tag Titles after their TNA run that birthed the Broken Hardyz. But like I alluded to for TLC II, the Hardyz are synonymous with Ladder matches. In a similar vein to the Generational matchup, The Young Bucks managed to beat the Hardyz at their own game. A great match, both teams had a lot of buzz and momentum, as well as being a nice capstone to the Expedition for Gold. But to most people’s surprise, it was because of a certain WWE return that the Hardyz were about to make even more history.

The last event leads nicely into tomorrow’s article. Now if only I could script every article to segue that nicely. Which significant events did I miss? Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments. And if you don’t do anything else today, remember, Always Use Your Head!