Today In Pro Wrestling History: June 4th

You know, I hate when I compliment a month for having a few easy days and then it immediately slaps me with a thin day. Given what I had to work with, this isn’t going to be an Earth shattering list, but it’s an interesting mix! Time to see what I deemed worthwhile!

• WCCW Fritz Von Erich Retirement Show (1982)

Obviously the main bit is Fritz’s retirement, but some of the other participants are noteworthy. Andre the Giant defeated a gauntlet of 7 different wrestlers. David & Kevin von Erich retained the All Asia Tag titles against Great Kabuki and Magic Dragon. The main event was Fritz versus King Kong Bundy for the NWA American Heavyweight Championship. Surprisingly, Fritz defeated Bundy, celebrated briefly with all of his children and then vacated the title to prove he was retired.

• WAR Tokyo Show (1995)

June is apparently inter-promotional invasion month, because we have another situation here. NJPW and WAR’s feud was just starting to build. We saw Shiro Koshinaka & Akitoshi Saito of NJPW face off against Hiromichi Fuyuki & Nobutaka Araya from WAR. Fuyuki’s victory over Saito, set the inter-promotional battle in motion. In a rematch from the tournament finals, Lionheart(Chris Jericho) faced Gedo for the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship. This era of Jericho helped to launch his career and also set the groundwork for his friendship with Gedo, which would pay off down the line.

• Dragon Gate USA Uprising (2011)

This show was the jumping off point for many people to get their first glimpses at future Japanese, British and American wrestlers who would play large roles in the industry for the next generation. It also sewed together the fabric of Evolve and DGUSA. The American Evolve stars, proved they could hang, and Evolve even acknowledged the DGUSA main titles in their promotional storylines before eventually absorbing DGUSA when visa issues caused a hiatus and eventual closure. But to put some focus on the event itself, Ricochet vs PAC vs Rich Swann was a marvel for fans at the time. Akira Tozawa, CIMA and Masaaki Mochizuki got exposure to American crowds, all while Austin Aries, Johnny Gargano and Brodie Lee were carving their paths in the indies.

• WWE Extreme Rules (2017)

Don’t we all fondly remember the part-time Brock Lesnar Universal timeline (obvious sarcasm)? So while we didn’t get a major title defense, the show still had most of the major players at the time. We had the first ever Kendo Stick on a Pole Match, to help Alexa Bliss defend her Raw Women’s title against Bayley. The Bar defeated the Hardy Boyz for their second title reign in a Steel Cage. But the main event was more of a classic for hardcore fans. A number one contender five way. Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe. We saw the Roman Reigns Barricade Spear spot here, Finn had a late surge to Coup de Grace Roman. As Finn went for the pinfall, Joe locked into the Coquina Clutch, and Finn passed out, forcing a referee stoppage. A nearly 30 minute main event that is easily one of the best WWE matches of that era.

• NJPW Dominion in Osaka Jo Hall (2023)

This was a transitional period for New Japan with memorable nuggets strewn about. After the El Phantasmo and David Finlay match for the NEVER Openweight title, Finlay, Coughlin, Connors, Moloney and Gabe Kidd attacked Phantasmo and formed the War Dogs stable. Master Wato had a losing performance against Hiromu Takahashi, but it was finally a moment where this corny blue dork, finally earned some real respect. It took him 3 years to pivot out of that awful debut, but he finally established himself as credible. The event also saw a NEVER Openweight 6 Man defense between Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii vs Moxley, Claudio and Shota Umino. After the Okada led team defended their titles, there was a jumbotron message from Bryan Danielson challenging Okada at Forbidden Door. Lastly, Yota Tsuji, fresh off his Young Lion excursion took a swing at SANADA for the IWGP World Heavyweight title. While this was a bit of a desperate swing, and Yota lost, it did show people that NJPW was willing to finally put some focus back on the younger homegrown talent.

Each show had a first, or played into something big while having some identity of its own. Really hard for me to ask for more than that, given the shallow kiddy pool of moments I was working with.

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