Today In Pro Wrestling History: May 18th

Now we’re all aware every day of the year is some inane day for something, but even the magical dart board of dumb things to celebrate only found National Cheese Soufflé Day, for May 18th. That alone should tell you what kind of day we’re dealing with. I think I made chicken salad out of…well…you all should know the saying. Let’s get to it!

• WCW Slamboree (1997)

This was prime WCW, and that’s definitely memorable. Konnan turned of Hugh Morris, Steven Regal defeated Ultimo Dragon to regain the TV title, but the NFL Stars and Ric Flair were the draws here. Steve McMichael faced off with Reggie White, a match that went 15 minutes and saw Mongo needing to use a briefcase just to defeat the Minister of Defense. The main event saw Ric Flair returning to action in Charlotte, after quite some time away for rotator cuff surgery. Flair won with the Figure Four, getting a rare straight forward win over the nWo. For a fun fact, it was after this match that Roddy Piper and Kevin Nash had their altercation in locker room.

• NOAH Navigation With Breeze: GHC Heavyweight Championship: Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs Akira Taue (2001)

Taue is often the overlooked Pillar whenever conversation is brought up about the Four Pillars of Heaven. But this match helped to prove that Taue’s place was safe. This was the first ever defense of the newly minted GHC Heavyweight Championship, and of course it would be the crafty half of the Holy Demon Army (his tag team with Toshiaki Kawada). This match helped to showcase a faster King’s Road style, without losing the psychology or tension. A beautiful usage of the foundational members to get across the new promotion, before starting to push and crown the next generation.

• WWE Judgement Day: Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho (2008)

While most of us remember Jericho throwing Michaels through the Jeritron 5000 as the jump off of the feud, this match was the real first domino to fall. Michaels was still milking the gimmick that he was injured, so after a fairly solid technical contest, Michaels ends up countering the Walls and winning with a Cradle. Jericho had a point to prove though, so he never dropped the allegations. This feud was easily the best feud of 2008, and gave us numerous highlights and memories that will probably find their way onto later lists. But everything has to start somewhere.

• ROH Relentless (2013)

S.C.U.M. was still rampant on the cards, but this show did a great job at being the prelude to their fall. Kevin Steen, a former founding member, was kicked out after the group expanded to include people like Matt Hardy and Rhyno. So Steen and one of his better friends Jimmy Jacobs had a NoDQ drag out grudge match. It was overbooked and a bit of a cluster…but this wasn’t ballet. Jay Briscoe defended the World title against BJ Whitmer and Adam Cole beat Adam Page setting him up for a continued push to the top. Match of the night was probably Matt Taven & reDragon vs Jay Lethal & C&C Wrestle Factory. Lots of solid action that laid the tracks for the rest of the year.

• NXT: North American Championship: Johnny Gargano (c) vs Bronson Reed (2021)

Ahh, that weird Johnny Gargano “The Way” era, when they tried to give him a personality. This was a steel cage match done correctly, and it was a delight to see in modern wrestling. The finish is why this is memorable. Bronson had Johnny dead to rights, walked to the door…and slammed it shut. He decided to hit the Tsunami to win the belt instead of the escaping the cage crap too many people do. The Thunderdome popped, commentary popped, I popped, a brutal beast of a babyface is something that was very needed. This was a great highlight reel moment for our Tribal Thief.

• STARDOM Flashing Champions (2024)

Lost in the shuffle of everything else that happened, the special tag match had a lot of significance. Arisa Nakajima was on her retirement tour, so her involvement in the event helped to make it feel more special, which was notable since this event was 2 days before the inaugural Marigold event. Speaking of big things, Willow Nightingale defended the TBS title against Tam Nakano, the first time that belt was defended on a Stardom show in Japan. We also saw Saya Kamitani defend the High Speed title, a harbinger of the Dark Phoenix’s ascent in the next year.

While nothing was Earth shattering, it was a lot of set up shows with small threads and their own memorable aspects. Everything starts somewhere, be it the downfall of S.C.U.M., the Jericho and Michaels feud or Saya Kamitani building up her resume for why she was the first woman to ever win the Tokyo Sports MVP Award in 2025.

Did I miss anything? How far did I stretch the events today? 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!