Today In Pro Wrestling History: May 25th

So while yesterday was for the Japanese wrestling enthusiasts, this is more of a hardcore IWC fans cornucopia. A little Japan, a little major Indy and the two biggest mainstream brands that have generally catered to the hardcore mentality. Surprisingly, there are also no repeat companies this time! Check it out!

• NJPW Battle Satellite (1989)

Tons of nuggets in this show, but lets start with forgotten history. Vader lost the IWGP Heavyweight title to Salman Hashimikov, a Soviet wrestler born in what’s now known as Kazakhstan. Antonio Inoki won a No Ropes Martial Arts match against Shota Chochisvili, early onset Inoki-ism can be cured with harder kicks to the head. The most impressive history was merely a month after the gimmick debut, Jushin “Thunder” Liger defeated Hiroshi Hase for the first of his eventual 11 reigns as IWGP Junior Champion. One last morsel of info, the undercard involved Victor Zangiev, if the last name makes many of you think a certain game, there’s good reason. Zangiev was the real life inspiration for the Street Fighter character Zangief.

• AJPW Super Power Series: All Asia Tag Titles: Can-Am Express (c) vs Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi  (1992)

This is one of those matches that goes right up there with any Holy Demon Army vs Kobashi & Misawa. Can-Am were established heels with great psychology and the babyfaces were undersized, especially Kikuchi, who was a Junior wrestler his entire career. The Express isolated Kikuchi and treated him like a whipping boy most of match. As the match came to a head, we hit the chaotic sequence for saves and signatures, but Kikuchi managed to sneak a Small Package on Dan Kroffat to win and end the veteran’s current reign at 304 days!

• CHIKARA Renaissance Dawns (2002)

This was the inaugural CHIKARA show. Showcasing some of their early graduates like Hallowicked, Ultramantis and Mister ZERO. The main event also saw hot Indie names at the time. It was Quackenbush, Don Montoya and Reckless Youth against The Gold Bond Mafia. If you’re not familiar with the moniker, the Gold Bond Moniker consisted of Colt Cabana, Chris Hero and CM Punk.

• PWG Bask In His Glory (2018)

We get somewhat of a double finale with this show. Obviously it was named after Keith Lee’s gimmick, because he just signed with WWE and was finishing up with dates. But it was also the last show at the American Legion in Reseda. Keith did the job to Adam Brooks in his last PWG match, and the main event is definitely worthwhile for everyone. WALTER retained the PWG World title against Sammy Guevara, a match that literally left Sammy’s chest blackened and bruised from WALTER’s chops.

• AEW Double Or Nothing (2019)

The birth of AEW, you didn’t really think I’d leave this off, right? A show that had the entire wrestling world buzzing, the height of awful WWE product, people needed something new. Kip Sabian cemented his name in the history books since he was the first singles match victory in AEW history. Chris Jericho defeated Kenny Omega to become the first AEW World Champion, with Jon Moxley attacking both after the match. But the real highlight was Cody versus Dustin. Cody did the infamous “throne smash” as the shot against Triple H, then had an amazing match with Dustin, who’s been forever undervalued in the grand scheme of the wrestling world. Cody’s promo after his victory was poignant, where he offered his hand requesting them to tag in the future, punctuating it with “I don’t need a partner, I don’t need a friend…I need my brother”.

• NXT Battleground: TNA World Championship: Joe Hendry (c) vs Trick Williams (2025)

You read that right, the first time the TNA title was defended on WWE programming. Trick attacked Joe Hendry after his defense at TNA’s Rebellion, which started this feud. Hendry was the hottest thing in TNA at the time, even having a WrestleMania Moment as Randy Orton’s surprise opponent. Trick used classic heel tactics, introducing the belt into the ring, raking the eyes and an “inadvertent” Flapjack sending Hendry face first into his own title, left him staggered enough to be susceptible to the Trick Shot! Trick became the first active WWE wrestler to hold the TNA World Championship. It also proved the Trick has what it takes to carry a company title and not just the big fish in the third brand pond.

See, while I don’t like what AEW became, I was much like most of the hardcore fans where I wanted it to succeed. Yes I jumped off the train earlier than most, and roll my eyes at most of the decisions, but I can still separate real historical moments from my personal distaste.

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!