Today In Pro Wrestling History: April 21st

The day after the 2026 WrestleMania, we get a very WWE heavy list of history. So the puroresu enthusiasts will have to skip this one.  Time to learn some history!

• WWF MSG Show (1980)

Let’s skip to the ancient point, Pat Patterson lost the Intercontinental Championship to Ken Patera. This was the first title change in the history of many people’s favorite little upper mid card title. So while we don’t know if the ethereal Brazilian tournament to unify the South American and North American titles actually happened, we know this change happened!

• WWF Backlash (2002)

This was a big sexy event of a lot of history. The last PPV using WWF, Hulk Hogan beat Triple H for his final World title reign and Brock’s PPV debut had him beat Jeff Hardy by TKO. One event, three fairly big things…and we still have more WWE stuff on the way.

• WWE Monday Night Raw: King of the Ring Tournament (2008)

A whole night of King of the Ring, capped off with finals! William Regal beat CM Punk with the Regal Stretch! You think I was gonna miss a chance to give William Regal his flowers?

• NXT Lowell Show: NXT Championship: Finn Balor (c) vs Samoa Joe (2016)

This was historic for a few reasons as well! It was on a live event, it was Joe’s first title in WWE, and it snapped Finn’s record 292 day reign at the time. While I can’t expand much on it since I wasn’t in Massachusetts, the fact that it happened can’t be overlooked.

• WWE The Shield’s Final Chapter (2019)

I think the title explains why it’s on here. The match is irrelevant, they are the most impactful faction of the current wrestling generation. Mox reigns supreme in AEW and Rollins and Reigns have been holding it down for WWE. None of this should be questioned.

• AEW Dynasty (2024)

This was a big deal for the landscape of wrestling last few years. Swerve Strickland became the first African American AEW World Champion. Ospreay defeats Danielson in a match that was technically good and fulfilled the Dream Match aspect for many. Jack Perry put the bow on the history aspect since it was his first show back after the CM Punk shenanigans.

See, while I detest AEW after Revolution 2020…I can acknowledge things that actually matter. More options for people to make money is good, just because it’s not for me, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t exist. But yikes there’s a lot of post-4/20 WWE. Maybe I’m still high.

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!