Connect with us

Today In Pro Wrestling History

Today In Pro Wrestling History: April 15th

Misawa and Kobashi get mentioned today! Funny how their history overlaps so often…

Published

on

You know, thankfully April is also normally Champion Carnival month. So even when there’s no Manias to come out an play, the Carnival is around, and I feel like this is gonna be a weird day. Let’s see what was found!

  • Champion Carnival: Akira Taue vs Mitsuharu Misawa (1995)

This was the finals match after the brutal Kawada vs Misawa match that was highlighted previously. Kawada broke Misawa’s orbital bone, and Taue did some of his best heel work going after it. Taue had the size advantage and Misawa was injured, so the full blown babyface underdog energy was palpable. In a fantastic match, Misawa overcomes the odds and wins his very first Champion Carnival! After failing against Stan Hansen in ’92 & ’93, Misawa finally won the trophy.

  • ECW Hostile City Showdown: Cactus Jack vs Terry Funk (1995)

This match was yet another chapter in the hardcore war saga between the Funker and Cactus. Be it in IWA Japan, Bridge of Dreams or ECW, these two found ways to either work together or try to kill each other. The match was a spectacle with interference for both men, weapons galore and even a post match brawl. While Cactus won the match, fans of wrestling got yet another treat between two legends.

  • Champion Carnival: Takao Omori vs Kenta Kobashi (2000)

It’s only fitting that an article with a solid amount of Misawa would also need some Kobashi. Those two are considered the top of the Puro Legends list. And thankfully, in the last year he could win, since he left AJPW with Misawa for the NOAH exodus. Kobashi FINALLY won the Champion Carnival. After competing in 10 straight, making 3 finals, this year, was finally his year.

  • Pro Wrestling NOAH Navigation for the Victory: Inaugural GHC Heavyweight Championship: Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa (2001)

Misawa making a lot of history that also had allusions in past articles. After overcoming the restart with Akiyama, Takayama was looking to take Misawa’s head off. Takayama is well known for his clip of him and Don Frye just punching each other in the face repeatedly for like two minutes. That PRIDE fight, actually happened after this match. This was a solid match filled with Misawa Elbows and the Emerald Flowsion, for the poetic inaugural champion to be the man who left AJPW to bet on himself, just like Giant Baba did with AJPW when he left JWA.

  • TNA Lockdown: TNA World Championship: Bobby Roode (c) vs James Storm (2012)

The break up of Beer Money was arguably a bigger deal than the break of America’s Most Wanted (plus there wasn’t a dumb blind fold match). Bobby Roode being jealous of James Storm, so he cracked him with his own beer bottle to win the title off of him. Lockdown was in Nashville this year, it was the hometown blue collar cowboy against the rich selfish backstabbing piece of…well you get it. A surprisingly clever finish caused James to connect on the Last Call Superkick, but the kick propelled Bobby out of the cage door and to the floor. So, because Bobby’s feet were outside, he retained his title. Great match, great rivalry, and still around the height of TNA’s popularity.

  • NJPW Capital Collison: NJPW Strong Tag Titles: Motor City Machine Guns (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada vs Aussie Open (2023)

There was a lot to consider history here. Tanahashi and Okada had their short lived Mega Powers moment, which was a big deal given their impact on the pro wrestling landscape the last decade. Aussie Open were the hot newer tag team at the time with a few run ins with The Guns. After some posturing, the 3 Way became a thing and Aussie Open got one hell of a feather in their cap with this win. Aussie Open were also IWGP Tag Team Champions, so this cemented reasons why they were signed to AEW a month later.


Two of the most fabled Pillars of Heaven, TNA, ECW and a little bit of modern everything with the Strong match. While WWE fans won’t care about this, I just find it neat that you can’t have significant Misawa history with Kobashi, and vice versa. Rivals even over the calendar.

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!

Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

 MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling) 

THURSDAY - Nefarious Means

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)


Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand


Powered by RedCircle


Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
Advertisement
Comments

Today In Pro Wrestling History

Today In Pro Wrestling History: April 28th

One really major historical event, one fairly modern re-establishment and some fun stuff sprinkled in between. Get your history!

Published

on

A weird group of things, but definitely fairly obvious why they’re on here. We do hit a weird choke point with this article having nothing significant in the last 6 years. Companies really need to start feeling froggy during April, mental gymnastics are exhausting. I should call a congressman or something…

  • WWF In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies (1996)

We’re starting off with the most cut and dry thing I’ve ever put on one of these article, “The Curtain Call”. We all know what that is, and with the KLIQ embracing in the cage at the end, Diesel and Razor heading to WCW, we got the inception of the Monday Night Wars, Attitude Era, peak Millennial and Gen X core memory. The title of the show was even more fitting if you think about the domino effect.

  • CMLL 50th Anniversary De Arena Mexico (2006)

The name nearly speaks for itself, but wait, there’s more. Aside from being the 50th anniversary of the largest arena for Pro Wrestling in Mexico, we saw significance in stories. The rivalry of Perros del Mal and Los Guerreros de la Atlantida hit a pivotal chapter when Ray Bucanero & Tarzan Boy defeated Damian 666 & Mr Aguila in a Lucha de Apuestas Hair vs Hair match. We also saw Mistico & Negro Casas defend their tag titles against Averno & Mephisto, during the huge wave of popularity that Mistico was garnering. The popularity eventually lead him to becoming Sin Cara in WWE and well…remember, not all history is positive, but it’s positively historic.

  • Pro Wrestling NOAH Spring Navigation: GHC Heavyweight Championship: Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs Takuma Sano (2007)

This was a tenuous period for NOAH since KENTA, Naomichi Marufuji, Go Shiozaki and Taiji Ishimori were still up and coming ready to ascend while Kenta Kobashi was on hiatus after his cancer diagnosis. Misawa was the rock and the founder, so this match was a clash of styles but also a clash of legends. Takuma Sano, used to be known as Naoki Sano, Jushin Thunder Liger’s first and greatest rival. Sano was proficient in more of a Shoot Style from his early NJPW, his UWF-I and Pride experience. Where Misawa was the classic AJPW King’s Road mixed with Junior elements from his Tiger Mask days. A great match, that continued to lay the groundwork for Kobashi’s return and the younger talent taking the reins.

  • WWE King of the Ring (2015)

King of the Ring is a special event for many wrestling fans, so while this one probably had some of the least fanfare and talked about the least, it’s proper to give it flowers. Wade Barrett won the crown and donned the cliche “King” arrogant persona for about a year prior to his retirement. Wade is probably one of the bigger “What Ifs” in WWE history. He can talk, had a look, just too injury prone and well…Corre. But let’s focus on the fact he did etch his name into the legacy of the King of the Ring, at the very least.

  • Impact Wrestling Rebellion (2019)

So this had a lot of memorable content, which is why I couldn’t just pick a match. We saw Gail Kim come out of retirement in a “passing of the torch” to Tessa Blanchard. The Lucha Bros and LAX had a Full Metal Mayhem, which is still heralded as one of the best tag team matches in TNA history and also proved to be the Lucha Bros last match before jumping to AEW. Brian Cage finally got the World title off of Johnny Impact before he was attacked by a debuting Michael Elgin, fresh off a hot NJPW run. Let’s also not overlook this was the inaugural Rebellion, which has become a tent pole PPV for TNA. Impact did a good job sustaining through COVID and it was partially because of their roster, their Twitch presence and the good faith the D’Amore and Callis combo accrued during this year.


Curtain Call, TNA coming out of the darkness, CMLL celebrating a milestone and Wade Barrett existing for more than Bad News and color commentary is all solid history. We just really need more fun stuff in April, someone tell all of wrestling to get cooler in April.

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!

Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

 MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling) 

THURSDAY - Nefarious Means

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)


Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand


Powered by RedCircle


Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
Continue Reading

Today In Pro Wrestling History

Today In Pro Wrestling History: April 27th

An article filled with history all since 2008! This may be unprecedented so far, check it out!

Published

on

Today is definitely a combination of companies I didn’t have on my BINGO card for this series of articles. Also, because I’m lazy and don’t feel like combing through my previous articles, my magical rubber ducky tells me this is the first time NWA has been on the list in their Billy Corgan era. So I believe the duck, now let’s see the list!

  • NJPW Circuit 2008 New Japan Brave: IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Keiji Mutoh (2008)

This was a turning point in New Japan, Shinsuke was the Super Rookie who just unified the new 4th Belt and the third belt after defeating Kurt Angle. Mutoh was the sitting president of AJPW, and this began the AJPW and NJPW rivalry angle that played through a few Wrestle Kingdoms and allowed for Tanahashi to eventually win back the title and begin the Tanahashi era that many of us know and love for 18 years.

  • TNA Sacrifice (2014)

This was the last monthly Sacrifice for 6 years when TNA went into their quarterly PPV era and then into the dark period once they were bouncing around Destination America and Pop TV. The Wolves won their second tag team title in a 2 on 3 Handicap match against the BroMans. We also saw another defense from Eric Young who was in the midst of his own parallel underdog Daniel Bryan-esque storyline.

  • WWE Greatest Royal Rumble (2018)

Even if people don’t care for this history, there was still a lot of moments. Daniel Bryan’s endurance record, Braun Strowman’s elimination record (at the time) and of course the largest royal rumble ever. The whole Saudi arrangement is a sticking point for many, but the fact that it counts as history can’t be avoided.

  • NWA The Crockett Cup (2019)

Billy Corgan’s NWA revived the Crockett Cup, and this was when they still had a lot of good faith from the wrestling fans. Villain Inc won this tournament, and remember it was before Marty’s scandal, so everything was looking up. We even got a showing from the Rock ‘n Roll Express and the Briscoes. While the ring work wasn’t overly significant, and many were annoyed with the Briscoes getting screwed, it’s still historic to revive a beloved tournament after 31 years.

  • STARDOM All-Star Grand Queendom (2024)

This was the first flagship event after the departure of Rossy Ogawa. The Taro Okada era began officially with a bang. Maika vs Momo Watanabe was the first ever 3 Stages of Hell match. Aja Kong made her Stardom debut. Sareee and Mayu Iwatani had a great match for the IWGP Women’s Title about a year after Sareee was released from NXT purgatory. And the most notable (for Joshi fans) was the “thawing” of the Ice Ribbon, when Tsukasa Fujimoto appeared to challenge Mayu. Ice Ribbon and Stardom have never collaborated before, so this was a big moment. Turning points and thawing tensions are always good for history.

  • TNA Rebellion (2025)

Many overlapping things helped to make this event noteworthy. The NXT involvement was pretty high on this show, where we saw Joe Hendry defend the TNA World Championship against Ethan Page and Frankie Kazarian, capped off with Trick Williams showing up at the end to lay out Hendry and stake his claim. Mustafa Ali and Mike Santana had a great match that went across the entire arena. The Nemeth Brothers defeated The Hardyz for the tag team titles, and lastly, Indi Hartwell debuted for TNA. Things have been on the rise for TNA since this event, so it deserves a little historical credit.


TNA with a bittersweet historic show and a good one helping them turn a corner. New Japan and Stardom both get pivotal shows that helped usher in a new era, WWE also ushering in a new era…too a mixed reception (I’m being generous), and NWA revived a wrasslin classic. Again, not exactly a list of companies I thought would ever occupy an article together, but I’m not too mad.

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!

Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

 MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling) 

THURSDAY - Nefarious Means

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)


Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand


Powered by RedCircle


Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
Continue Reading

Sports

Entertainment

Sports Entertainment

News2 hours ago

TNA Impact on AMC Drops to 175,000 Viewers, 0.03 18-49 Rating Amid Heavy Sports Competition

TNA Thursday Night Impact averaged 175,000 viewers on AMC last week, a 17.5% decline from the previous week’s 212,000 and...

News2 hours ago

Nick Hogan Open to Pursuing In-Ring Career After Viewing Hulk Hogan: Real American

Nick Hogan told the Bonus Edition of the 83 Weeks podcast that after watching the final version of Hulk Hogan:...

News2 hours ago

AJ Lee Thanks WWE Peers After Triumphant Return, Reflects Post–WrestleMania 42

AJ Lee’s surprise return to WWE in September after more than a decade away reignited excitement among fans and fellow...

News2 hours ago

Family of Marc Izard Launches GoFundMe to Bring Fan Home After WrestleMania Weekend Death

The family of Marc Izard has set up a GoFundMe page to bring his body back from Las Vegas to...

News2 hours ago

CM Punk Explains Why He Uses His Platform to Speak Out on Social Issues

CM Punk candidly addressed why he chooses to speak on social issues, explaining that his visibility as a high-profile wrestler...

News2 hours ago

JD McDonagh Eyes Producer Role, Mentorship and an Irish Wrestling Academy After In-Ring Career

In a recent interview with German Suplex Talk, JD McDonagh said he can’t picture life away from wrestling and hopes...

News2 hours ago

Natalya Offers Condolences Following Marc Izard’s Passing

WWE star Natalya took to social media to express her heartbreak and offer condolences to the family of Marc Izard...

News2 hours ago

Jeff Jarrett: WWE “Pulled the Rung Out From Under” Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 42

Veteran promoter and wrestler Jeff Jarrett criticized WWE’s handling of the WrestleMania 42 main event, saying the company “pulled the...

News2 hours ago

Jordynne Grace Says She Wants to Work With Paul Heyman

During an appearance on “Aussie Heat,” Jordynne Grace revealed she would like the opportunity to work with Paul Heyman. Grace...

News2 hours ago

Nikki Bella Reveals Injury, Surgery Decision Behind WrestleMania 42 Change

Nikki Bella has revealed details about the injury and the process that led her to realize she needed surgery, which...

Advertisement

Buy A Chairshot T-Shirt!

Chairshot Radio Network

Trending

WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com