Today In Pro Wrestling History: August 26th

Well now, looks like we got another odd article! A couple interesting SummerSlams worth the add, but generally a light day. I’ve been spoiled the last few days between good events to pick from and solid current wrestling events that I covered. Time to see what happened today!

• WWF SummerSlam (1991)

For wrestling history, Legion of Doom (Hawk & Animal) defeated the Nasty Boys for the WWF Tag Team Titles, to become the new champions. But the history comes from them being the ONLY team to ever hold the WWF, NWA and AWA tag team titles. As for the rest of the show, the major points were built around the tag line of, A Match Made in Heaven / A Match Made in Hell. Match Made in Hell was Hulk Hogan & Ultimate Warrior facing off against the Triangle of Terror (Sgt. Slaughter, Col. Mustafa & Gen. Adnan). As for the match made in Heaven, it was the fantastic wedding segment between Macho Man Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth.

• WWE SummerSlam (2007)

This show was heavily marred by the Chris Benoit tragedy a few months prior that put WWE under the microscope again. The show’s few bright spots came from Rey Mysterio and Triple H returning from injury, coupled with a surprise Stone Cold Steve Austin appearance to hand out a Stunner and drink some beer. The only match that was worth remembering was Randy Orton versus John Cena for the WWE Championship. We were starting to see the shift in Randy from Legend Killer to Viper, but it still wasn’t enough to topple Super Cena. Perhaps hyperbolic, but this is remembered by many as the worst SummerSlam of All-Time. So again, history ain’t always pretty.

• NJPW Red Shoes Unno 20th Anniversary (2008)

So even if you are a New Japan LARPer who only cared when Kenny Omega and AJ Styles, you still know who Red Shoes is. The show was of course a celebration of Red Shoes’ career, and the whole show was booked by him, as is tradition with most of the individual wrestler produced shows. This was a great moment in time for New Japan fans when we had the Legend Team of Masahiro Chono, Genichiro Tenryu & Riki Choshu defeated Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Tomoaki Honma). Before his TNA excursion we also saw Kazuchika Okada teaming with Jushin Thunder Liger in a Young Lions showcase 6 man match. Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroshi Tanahashi tagged for the first time in nearly 2 years against Hirooki Goto and a young Tetsuya Naito. Red Shoes specifically picked Naito, as Red Shoes was his biggest supporter through his early career. The biggest moment for New Japan fans was the return of Satoru Sayama (OG Tiger Mask) for the first time in 25 years. He teamed with Tiger Mask IV against Gedo & Jado. This was significant because it was the moment they recently referenced in Tiger Mask IV’s retirement. During this match the two Tigers briefly locked up just for a generational moment, which was the significance of Sayama locking up with Tiger Mask IV on his retirement ceremony.

• AJPW 40th Anniversary Year Summer Impact Tour: Triple Crown Championship: Jun Akiyama (c) vs Masakatsu Funaki (2012)

This was truly an upset that no one saw coming at the time. Akiyama, one of the last pupils of Giant Baba’s King’s Road style, was on a well received 308 day title reign. Funaki defeated Yuji Nagata in a #1 Contender match, which qualified him for this. Funaki, for those unaware, is an MMA hybrid wrestler, successful in Pancrase, K-1, DREAM, UWF and later career in NOAH as well. So a disciple of Baba facing more on an Inoki style wrestler, made the crowd more firmly in Akiyama’s corner. Akiyama took the early advantage, a few quick knees rocked Funaki and he stumble back but caught himself. When Akiyama hunted for an early finish, Funaki stalled Akiyama with Armbar and Knee Bar transitions. When they both fought to their feet, Funaki caught Akiyama with a big Head Kick, which left Akiyama visibly dazed. So Funaki executed his Hybrid Blaster (hammerlock kneeling reverse piledriver) to finish off Akiyama in less than 5 minutes. It was one of the most shocking title changes during the Keiji Mutoh president era of AJPW.

• AAA Triplemanía XXV: Lucha de Apuestas: Psycho Clown vs Dr Wagner Jr (2017)

This was a huge match for Psycho Clown, since at this point, he was AAA’s Roman Reigns. He has the family legacy and many people felt like he was being pushed too hard, but his merch was all over the crowd amongst the younger fans. So the match was almost a reflection of the fans, the old guard trying to hold down Psycho Clown, while the youth wanted him to succeed. The other wrinkle here, is that in 32 years, Wagner was undefeated in Lucha de Apuestas matches (9-0). In a 30 minute brawl, there was blood, resilience, torn masks, great moments from both men. After refusing to stay down to the Wagner Driver, Psycho fought back up, staggered Wagner with a Codebreaker and then landed a definitive Spanish Fly, to finally win the match and unmask the Legend.

Legends getting unmasked, flash championship victories, and the only wedding segment worth watching in wrestling history! While I will agree with anyone who says this is a weird combination of events, they’re all solidly historical. Also kinda funny to see how Psycho Clown went from Mexican Roman Reigns, to easily eclipsed by Vikingo and has yet to really find his footing back to main event relevance.