Today In Pro Wrestling History: June 27th

We get another day that’s a little sparse, but what is there doesn’t need too much stretching. Key phrase being “too much”. We’ve got some big moments and some fun nuggets to fill out the list.

• CMLL Domingos Arena Mexico: CMLL World Heavyweight Championship 2 out of 3 Falls Match: Black Magic (c) vs Brazo de Plata (1993)

With the CMLL title only being about two years old, this did a lot not only for the wrestlers, but also establishing the allure of the belt. Black Magic…aka Norman Smiley, was a foreign wrestler respected by his peers, but portraying a great “foreign villain”. Brazo de Plata aka Super Porky was a beloved babyface. Bazo de Plata ended up winning 2 falls to 1, which helped to establish not only the title, but his family, as a premiere Mexican wrestling family. Notable family members: Psycho Clown, Maximo, La Parka III, Goya Kong, Brazo de Oro and La Mascara.

• ECW 2300 Arena Show: ECW Tag Team Titles: Chris Candido & Lance Storm (c) vs Sabu & RVD  (1998)

This is around the peak time of ECW when RVD was on his 700 day domination of the TV title, and Bill Alfonso helped these bitter rivals become a dynamic fan favorite tag team. Sabu and RVD won the match of course, which solidified the team as more than just a cute “enemies to lovers” gimmick, rode the explosive popularity of RVD and is still a pretty good match to boot. Bill Alfonso, Sabu and RVD have been forever tied together in the minds of wrestling fans.

• WWE King of the Ring (1999)

A couple things to touch on before we address the winner. Chyna’s involvement in the tournament was a pretty big deal at the time, since Chyna was breaking down previously perceived barriers in wrestling left and right. The main event handicap match between Vince and Shane versus Steve Austin, in a ladder match, was historic since it was the very first PPV Main Event Ladder Match. But let’s not overlook the big reason, there’s even an entire Twitter dedicated to…Bad Ass King Gunn. While Billy Gunn didn’t get the same massive push as most of his contemporaries, it was still a great moment, an underrated wrestler and did exactly what tournaments are supposed to do…try to elevate mid card talent instead of just milking already main event players.

• WWE Raw: CM Punk Pipebomb (2011)

People still talk about, opponents continue to make “pipebomb” comments during promos, so that alone validates the fact it’s historic and memorable. It blurred the lines between shoot and work at a juncture where “smarks” were feeling ignored. Punk going into a match with the ultimate company guy in John Cena, was a perfect foil to play off of. This helped to fuel the WWE version of the Summer of Punk, as well as the 434 day title reign. Punk became almost like a folk hero if you see how it still follows him, how crowds chanted his name for a decade and there were even websites created, inspired by his reigns and what not.

• NOAH Muta the World (2021)

This was right after Mutoh lost the GHC Heavyweight Championship, so he wanted to break out Muta for one more run while he could still somewhat go.  This show had a few main moments beyond Muta’s main event against Kenoh which ended in Muta’s favor after Green Mist, a Flashing Elbow and Figure Four. But we saw a championship change hands when HAYATA defeated Atsushi Kotoge, this was a heartbreaking loss for Kotoge who has about 20 years of history with HAYATA, and the Junior Division was in need of direction at this time. And almost as if on cue, that brings us to our last nugget for this show, the debut of Perros del Mal de Japon. As many WWE fans got introduced to Perros del Mal last week, the name carries as much if not more than Los Ingobernables. So a Japanese variant was exactly what was needed to reshape the division as the pandemic was starting to ease.

• WWE Friday Night Smackdown (2025)

This was historic as being the first ever SmackDown to broadcast from Saudi Arabia. We even saw a title change, where Giulia defeated Zelina Vega for the Women’s United States Championship, which also happened to be her first ever main roster WWE title. Also in a funny twist of fate, CM Punk and John Cena were on a collision course again. As payback for Cena parodying the pipebomb the previous week, Punk came out in full “Thuganomics” gear. The Doctor of Punkanomics was a parody that struck well with most fans be them casual or smark. Cena still being on his Never Seen 17 heel run, Punkanomics reignited people’s enjoyment of the old Cena promos with Punk’s particular brand of witty venom.

See, like I said, some legit history and a few fun nuggets to keep the day moving and not flood too much of the same of the same company. Remember I go for historic and memorable, so at least you can’t say I pick uninteresting things!

How tight were the nostalgia goggles? Am I ignoring companies that you’re passionate about? Make your thoughts known and Always Use Your Head!