Today In Pro Wrestling History: May 29th

Another mixed bag of events for Carmen Sandiego fans. We start in the 80s but no worries to people under 40, we end fairly recently. Let’s take a dive into history for today!

• CWA Memphis Show (1988)

Continental Wrestling Association was Jerry Jarrett’s promotion based in Memphis. AWA and CWA had a working relationship very shortly after CWA split from the NWA. Thanks to that we saw Jerry Lawler defeat Curt Hennig a few weeks prior for the AWA World Heavyweight Title and defend it on this show, against Dutch Mantel. While Jerry retaining one of the more prestigious titles at the time is big, I wanted to make sure we didn’t overlook someone that resonates better with younger generation. Scott Steiner started to see is star ascend at this show when his first professional title with Billy Joe Travis, when they defeated The Cuban Assassins for the CWA Tag Team titles.

• AJPW Super Power Series: AJPW Junior Heavyweight Championship: Ultimo Dragon (c) vs Atsushi Aoki (2014)

A simple story of the hungry younger guy looking to make a name for himself. Aoki recently broke away from his stablemates in Xceed (two of those members being Go Shiozaki and Kento Miyahara). So in an emotional moment, Aoki won the match, defeating the legend and breaking his reign at 165 days. This opened the doors for Aoki to join Suwama’s Evolution stable, which he would become widely affiliated with for the remainder of his career.

• NXT TakeOver (2014)

Well this event being the first ever “TakeOver” is historic in its own right since these events became the measuring stick for many years. But in typical Black and Gold fashion, the action was noteworthy as well. The Ascension were still going strong, defending their titles against El Local and Kalisto. Adam Rose debuted his “Exotic Express”, which had charm to it for a while. Neville and Tyson Kidd had a great match, exhibiting why the developmental moniker was becoming a stretch to apply to NXT. But most of us remember the Women’s title match, the symbolism with Ric Flair and Bret Hart in the respective corners, as Charlotte and Nattie went toe to toe for the vacant title. The match, the aura, the symbolism, all definitely helped to chip away at the glass ceiling of how WWE portrayed women’s wrestling.

• NOAH Navigation with Breeze: GHC Tag Team Championship: The Aggression (Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya) vs Go Shiozaki & Kaito Kiyomiya (c) (2018)

This time period was one of great significance of both Go and Kaito. Kaito has been trying to find his footing after returning from excursion for 6 months. Shiozaki was pushing to become the new Emerald Dream that NOAH needed. He dedicated their Tag League victory to Mitsuharu Misawa since he was Misawa’s partner on the fateful night of Misawa’s passing, both Kaito and Go walked out decked out in Misawa-esque emerald ring robes and gear. Even though the Aggression won this rematch, the symbolism of the tag league and this match helped to set the stage for Kaito becoming the new Ace and Go to ascend to his rightful spot as the spirit of NOAH, utilizing the “I Am NOAH” phrase for the next few years.

• AEW Double Or Nothing (2022)

There was a lot of firsts to happen at this event. To note something that many people find memorable, the Anarchy in Arena match was chaotic and a big moment to some people, when the Jericho Appreciation Society defeated Moxley’s babyface contingent. Athena made her AEW debut confronting Jade Cargill, which is important given Athena’s current historical run with the ROH Women’s title. Adam Cole and Britt Baker were the inaugural Own Hart Cup winners of the Men’s and Women’s side respectively. Then we have the main event, where AEW’s biggest signing, CM Punk, defeated Adam Page to win the AEW World Championship for the first time and his first title in nearly 9 1/2 years after finally returning to wrestling to “stick it” to WWE.

This is definitely not an article for casual fans, but if you are a casual fan, hopefully you see something you’d be intrigued to check out. I like to look for things that make waves in history and the little nostalgia sections of people’s brain. So hopefully this resonated.

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!