Today In Pro Wrestling History: July 4th

Independence Day has given us plenty of fun and memorable moments for the American companies, but there’s also pivotal stuff in Japan that overlaps. When West meets East, head to the barbecue and feast. Enjoy the holiday and catch up on some history!

• NWA The Great American Bash: WarGames Debut (1987)

For younger fans who only know the WWE rebrand of WarGames, this event marked the final closed circuit television for Jim Crockett as well as the debut of WarGames. Dusty, The Road Warriors, Paul Ellering & Nikita Koloff versus The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Lex Luger & JJ Dillion). The babyfaces went over in the gimmick dubbed “The Match Beyond”, once all participants were in. And as we all know, WarGames became a beloved concept that WWE eventually had to resurrect because it’s THAT integral to wrestling history.

• WWF Stars and Stripes Challenge: Lex Luger Slams Yokozuna (1993)

A pure PR stunt, but it was peak early 90s cheese, patriotism and machismo. An entire slew of men tried to slam Yokozuna, and they all failed. So Lex enters, dropped in by helicopter onto the USS Intrepid. Clad in American flag swag and cowboy boots. Lex slammed the 600 pound behemoth as the deck erupted in cheers, waving American flags, a wonderful spectacle for the 4th of July and to make Lex seem like a conquering hero! This immediately turned him from the flop heel Narcissist gimmick, to the American Hero babyface.

• WWE ECW: ECW Championship: Rob Van Dam (c) vs Big Show (2006)

As we all know from yesterday, RVD was on his punishment tour to drop both of his titles because he got busted riding dirty. This was a little more infamous than the triple threat because this was  an ECW show in Philadelphia. Heyman screwed RVD during the show to cost him, Big Show became the only person to win the ECW, WWE and WCW World Heavyweight Championships, but Philly rioted…as they are want to do. We got a classic 90s shower of trash, visceral disdain and a crowd that hated everything. Peak Philadelphia honestly.

• NJPW Kizuna Road: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Kota Ibushi (c) vs KUSHIDA (2014)

What would turn out to be a transitional period for both wrestlers, was encapsulated in this match. Ibushi was in his third reign as Junior champ, lasting 181 up to this match. KUSHIDA was rising in the Junior division after proving he was more than just a talented tag wrestler as one half of the Time Splitters with Alex Shelley. When KUSHIDA won this match, it was his first reign as Junior champion and set the stages for his ascent as the Ace of the junior division for nearly the next decade. Shortly after this match, Ibushi would suffer a concussion, but when he returned he worked on becoming a Heavyweight threat and this also served as the jumping off point of his Heavyweight era that many tuned in for when New Japan got hot from 2016-2020.

• WWE Beast In The East: NXT Championship: Kevin Owens (c) vs Finn Balor (2015)

A solid match that was smartly executed to take advantage of Finn’s puroresu popularity when he was Prince Devitt. Finn broke out the Demon to put an end to Owens’ 143 day title reign. This of course was the set piece to trigger the ladder match at TakeOver:Brooklyn, but the Japanese crowd loved this match. Even Tatsumi Fujinami entered the ring after the match to congratulate Finn on his victory. The glory days of NXT are fond memories for Japanese and American fans.

• STARDOM Yokohama Dream Cinderella (2021)

A few important moments here, and one that lead to the star making year in 2025. Firstly, Utami Hayashishita defended her World of Stardom title against Natusko Tora, Utami was the newly crowned Ace of Stardom, Tora had the lead of Oedo Tai at the time, but when she tore her ACL, the match was called short and Utami got a successful defense. Speaking of ACL tears, Saya Iida was forced to vacate the Future of Stardom title, so that opened up a tournament where Cosmic Angels Unagi Sayaka and Mina Shirakawa made it to the finals. So Cosmic Angels were a big draw for this show, but the tournament went in favor of Mina Shirakawa, this was Mina’s first singles title in Stardom. Now, I said Cosmic Angels were a big draw, because Tam Nakano, the leader and Wonder of Stardom champion, was challenged by the Cinderella tournament winner, Saya Kamitani. Saya and Tam go all the way back to her idol aspiration days. Tam took Saya under her wing when Saya first came to Stardom, but the little bird left the nest to join Queen’s Quest, known as the dominant “wrestler” faction. Saya then chose to challenge Tam as her Cinderella Wish, and they had a classic Mentor versus Student story. Tam successfully defended the white belt in this encounter, but as we know, Saya was the one to eventually retire Tam and the Dark Phoenix ascended to the top of Japan. This was the genesis of her rise.

A little bit of Lex Luger in the beginning and ending with a smattering of Japan. Enjoy the holiday, have fun with the grilled dogs, sausage or burgers, and we’ll be back with more memorable moments tomorrow!