Today In Pro Wrestling History: May 7th

This was not an easy day to find things that really encapsulate the vibe I was going for. Sure there are some important birthdays, but I don’t like padding an article with those unless I have to. I think I found pretty good ones.

• NWA WrestleWar: NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Ricky Steamboat (c) vs Ric Flair (1989)

I know I said it a few times last month, but a match earning “Match of the Year” distinctions, usually explains the significance without more words. Even newer fans are aware of the Steamboat vs Flair trilogy that defined wrestling up until the Okada vs Omega series gave people something to compare it to. This was unique with the fact Ricky came in as the champion, but it was still great psychology, workrate and classic wrestling. Steamboat vs Flair, any match, holds up against anything.

• WCW Slamboree (2000)

The final Slamboree in WCW history, and the desperation reeked through on this show. Not only was the Millionaires Club a generally useless faction that made little sense beyond “Old guys vs young guys”, the show was a mess. Kanyon getting chucked from the Top of the Triple Cage lives rent free in many people’s minds for the ridiculousness of the stunt and how it could’ve went very bad. Capped off with the “Ready to Rumble” Triple Threat where Arquette turned on DDP to allow Jarrett to win and become champion was just the pinnacle of garbage booking that everyone knew the company was bleeding out. Remember, history isn’t always positive.

• Kevin Owens Wrestling Debut (2000)

Then known as Kevin Steen, he debuted in Jacques Rougeau’s Lutte International 2000 promotion where he wrestled Gorgeous Mike, and actually won his debut on his 16th birthday. So we get a small celebration of his birthday and his debut match, all rolled into one.

• ROH Manhattan Mayhem (2005)

This show was effectively the peak of the original era of ROH. Great in-ring matches along the card, classic rivalries and wrestlers that would go on to define the generation. Samoa Joe defeated Jay Lethal for the ROH Pure Championship and then tagged with Jay in the main event against Homicide and Low Ki. Jimmy Rave got a rare win over CM Punk during the CM Punk versus the Embassy angle. Austin Aries and Alex Shelley had a great World title match and Nigel McGuinness defeated Colt Cabana in a World of Sport style match. Nice variety, great in ring work, and helped to define ROH as the workrate promotion during the WWE monopoly era.

• Impact Wrestling Under Siege (2022)

This was Impact/TNA’s first event with a live audience since we were transitioning out of the pandemic. It saw a lot of cross promotion throughout the card. The Briscoes won the Tag Titles from Violent By Design, Taya Valkyrie retained her AAA Reina de Reinas Championship over Deonna Purrazzo, and Josh Alexander had his first title new challenger after defeating Moose for the title and retaining in the immediate rematch Moose wanted. Tomohiro Ishii was a great match and it was in the era where NJPW and Impact/TNA were repairing their fractured Okada relationship. This show really helped to kick off the revival of the brand, as well as, being a good building block for Josh Alexander’s record longest World Title reign. This show reestablished a show and helped to legitimize Alexander as a workhorse face of the franchise.

I suppose this is more of a workrate history day if we look for a thread. But it’s also interesting to see how Kazuchika Okada sortuv ties into a few of these events, and there’s nothing involving New Japan or AEW on the list. Hopefully the next few days are easy on overtly significant moments. The mental gymnastics get tiring, the German judge is gonna give a 5 one of these days, I know it.

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!