Today In Pro Wrestling History: April 12th

Well now, I had to really sift through the annals of wrestling for things that were more than just local or “Road to” shows with multiman match cards. I think I found a decent amount that qualifies as historic. Time to judge!

• Monday Night Raw: Intercontinental Championship: Goldust (c) vs Godfather (1999)

While this won’t go down as an all time classic match, the history comes from the finish. This match culminated in Godfather’s ONLY singles title reign in WWF/E. Surprising to see such a beloved performer really didn’t win many titles during his many iterations as Papa Shango, Kama, Godfather or Goodfather. The entry is done to highlight his singles title, but I think the real point here proves that number of titles or wins don’t matter in pro wrestling. Come up with a gimmick and you will be more remembered than someone who was just a “good wrestler”.

• ROH Injustice: ROH Tag Team Championship: Davey Richards & Rocky Romero (c) vs The Briscoe Brothers (2008)

The Briscoes coming out on top, solidified them as the pinnacle of the ROH tag division. This was only their 5th title reign, and there was no other team with more than 2 at this time. B.J. Whitmer had 4 title reigns between his two partners Dan Maff and Jimmy Jacobs. Even though the title reign was cut short after Mark got hurt, being the turning point for the next 15 years of Briscoe dominance is a notable moment.

• NJPW Wrestling World in Taiwan: NEVER Openweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Kushida (2014)

The original concept for the NEVER title was almost instantly ruined, but this match almost captures the original spirit of the belt while also starting to set the tone for what this belt would become. NEVER was supposed to be a belt for younger wrestlers, with specific events and the openweight distinction would allow for more experience in different styles. Two out of three ain’t bad here. Kushida was the young and burgeoning ACE of the Junior Division and the Stone Pitbull already had a reputation. We got a clash of styles, a great showing for Kushida even though Ishii retained. NEVER has lost its way and been pulled in so many different directions, its fun to see some of the older matches when they were trying to figure it out.

• Drew McIntyre Returns in NXT (2017)

After being gone for three years, changing his look, his attitude and running through WXW, TNA, AAA and smaller indies, Drew Galloway became Drew McIntyre again! The Broken Dreams were his own, but he came back with a chip on his shoulder and catapulted to the top of NXT. The fans accepted him back instantly and he’s been a pretty large influence on the upper mid card and main event scene since being called back up in 2018.

• NJPW Windy City Riot: IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Jon Moxley (2024)

The history here is simple. Mox achieved a feat that no one else has. After defeating Naito, he became the first person to ever hold the WWE, AEW and IWGP Championship. Match quality in this respect is irrelevant because the history speaks for itself. Ain’t no one did it before Mox, nor after (so far).

Yes, yes, yes, I know, this was one of the more “creative accounting” days. At least the article stuck the landing with some real historic aspects, but not every day is gonna be a home run. Days are like wrestlers, some are undercard guys, and that’s necessary so the other days can shine brighter.

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!