Today In Pro Wrestling History: July 6th

So there’s a decent mixture of companies today. Some big moments for the company, some fun memories for fans of the promotion, let’s see what we have to work with today!

• NJPW Summer Struggle: J-Crown: Jushin Thunder Liger (c) vs El Samurai (1997)

The J-Crown changed, but most internet age wrestling fans remember the iconic Ultimo Dragon with the 9 titles, that many people have tried to replicate, but their attempts have been pathetic utilizing titles with no prestige just looking for belt count. The J-Crown was the top 8 Light Heavy/Junior belts at the time. Granted a month before this match, Liger lost the WAR International Junior title to Yuji Yasuraoka, so that made the J-Crown reduce to 7 titles. Still prestigious, just one less. El Samurai was pushed over the course of his career by Liger, so with Samurai defeating Liger, while the J-Crown had one less title, it didn’t diminish the accomplishment much. Samurai also broke Liger’s reign, which was the longest reign in the history of the J-Crown at 183 days.

• WCW Nitro: WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Hulk Hogan (c) vs Goldberg (1998)

In a similar vein to the previous entry, most internet age fans know this one. United States Champion Goldberg, got a shot at Hulk Hogan after dispatching Scott Hall earlier in the night. This was at the height of Goldberg’s undefeated streak, the run of 83 weeks where WCW was smoking WWF, and nWo was still not quite a diluted shell of ridiculous garbage. When Goldberg defeated Hulk Hogan, it was huge. The crowd came unglued, it was heralded as being a PPV quality match on free television, and the right guy went over. It was an epic moment to experience as a WCW fan.

• IWA-MS Summertime Black & Blues (2008)

While this could easily be on here as a showcase of names that have been huge in the current generation of wrestling like; Sami Callihan, Ricochet, Drake Younger, Mustafa Ali, Michael Elgin, Sara Del Rey and Chuckie T. But part of the history here is this was the first event after the “Mike Levy” incident, and the dominos started to really fall on IWA-MS here. Completely justified as well, look up the Mike Levy incident and watch how stupid decisions from people in charge ruined the reputation of the brand and ultimately killed the company even before the next like 3 hiatuses before the promotion closed in 2022.

• MLW Kings of the Colosseum (2019)

The height of MLW’s power, with Fusion going strong, a great reputation for action, lesser known great wrestlers and a dope option to WWE. Jacob Fatu ending up winning the MLW Heavyweight Championship from Tom Lawlor in relatively quick fashion. This was huge since Jacob and Josef Samael debuted CONTRA a few months prior, but this was the foundation point for the dominant heel faction, that is still relevant in MLW today. Jacob went on to carry this title for 819 days, a record that still stands as the longest singular reign and also, the most combined days as MLW Heavyweight Champion.

• WWE Money In The Bank (2024)

This is an oddly memorable show, but not exactly for the matches and more for the moments. This was the event where John Cena made a surprise appearance to announce his Retirement Tour. That had the internet buzzing, the clip alone garnered more than 60 million views in 24 hours. But another moment that makes the show memorable, is the very first failed same night cash in. Drew McIntyre won the Men’s MITB match, and ran in mid match between Damian Priest and Seth Rollins, declaring his intent and making it a Triple Threat. But, CM Punk jumped the barricade to cost Drew McIntyre allowing Priest to get the pin and retain, making an ass out of Drew McIntyre.

Some odd events that still qualify as memorable, even if the memories are negative or confusing. But just wait til we get to the day that WWF forgot about their Light Heavyweight title and forced the J-Crown to stop being a thing. Anyway, enjoy your sweltering heat…Autumn can’t come fast enough. I hate summer…