Today In Pro Wrestling History: August 30th

Another big WWE article, honestly a very Western focused article in general, but I did manage to sneak in some classic 90s Joshi. So the crumbs for the hardcores are still there, but when WWE pops off for a day, they pop off. Let’s get to it.

• WWF SummerSlam (1993)

This was the turning point SummerSlam for WWF, no Macho Man, no Hulk Hogan…it was the New Generations time to shine. We saw Ted Dibiase’s final PPV match, and his last match in WWF. He put over Razor Ramon, did a tour in AJPW afterwards and then mostly retired, save for gimmick matches over the years. We also saw the infamous Lex Luger babyface locker room celebration after beating Yokozuna by Count-Out. Luger didn’t win the title, but from the celebration afterwards, you would think he achieved world peace.

• AJW WWWA Champions Night Osaka Queen’s Holy Night (1995)

Double Inoue successfully defended their WWWA World Tag Team Titles over Manami Toyota & Sakie Hasegawa in a 2 out of 3 falls match where they had to win the final two falls straight since Toyota picked up the first fall for her team. We also saw Bull Nakano face off with Lioness Asuka in a rare Joshi Powerhouse face off. The largest moment however was the WWWA World Single Championship. The original “red belt”, held by Aja Kong at this time. Aja Kong held the red belt for the better portion of the previous 3 years, only interrupted by Manami Toyota early in 1995, where Aja got her win and the title back. This fight however, was between JWP rival Dynamite Kansai. JWP was the splinter group promotion, fighting for relevancy, and Dynamite was their stiff striking Ace. They fought three times previously. Twice Aja defeated Dynamite, but in their previous encounter, Dynamite finally got the best of Aja, but it was a non-title match. So much like her revenge against Toyota to get the belt back, Aja wanted to get that black mark erased. Dynamite survived the Uraken and executed an Avalanche Splash Mountain she called Die Hard Kansai, to become the first outsider in AJW history to hold the Red Belt.

• WWE Raw 900th Episode (2010)

The most notable moment here, is probably the thing that never happened. Bret Hart and Undertaker mused about the fact that they were the only two wrestlers currently at the 900th that were also on the first episode of Raw. The Anonymous Raw GM decided to make a match between the two legends. However, before the match could happen, The Nexus blindsided Undertaker and Kane picked the bones of his already weakened brother. While we all know it was probably never going to happen due to Bret’s health, the idea of Undertaker versus Bret Hart in 2010 still captured attention, imagination and aggravation at the attack that “took it away”.

• WWE Payback: Tribal Chief Era Begins (2020)

While we know that Roman returned with Paul Heyman in tow the week prior, this was the event that set things in motion all through quarantine. In a No Holds Barred Triple Threat, The Fiend Bray Wyatt was defending his newly won Universal title against Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns. Roman didn’t even sign the contract before the match, no one knew what to make of the new Roman. 10 minutes into the match, Braun and Bray hit a Superplex Spot that causes the ring to implode and crumble. Roman’s music hits, Heyman hands Roman the contract, Roman signs it and walks down. Roman tries to pick the bones, Bray and Braun give a little bit of fight, but after kicking Bray in the balls and having him tumble out of the broken ring, he Spears Braun and begins his 1,316 day reign. Which put him as the 4th longest reign in history, and the longest since Hulk Hogan’s reign that ended in 1988.

• TNA Emergence (2024)

Emergence was yet another moment that solidified the NXT/TNA partnership when Riley Osborne became the first fully contracted WWE wrestler to compete in an Ultimate X match. The match that was won by Zachary Wentz, which helped to add fuel to his NXT drama and the feud between him and Wes Lee. The main event was a fantastic 60 Minute Iron Man Match between TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth and the man who became the face of TNA, Josh Alexander. Nic took an early 2-0 lead, Josh fought back like the workhorse he is to tie it up. But a Danger Zone and stolen C4 Spike from Nic, gave him the decisive fall with only a few seconds left. Nic successfully retained and proved he was the better wrestler. This was a classic Iron Man match.

Legends having their final matches in a company, legends being denied a match, legends being made with the coronation of the Tribal Chief and the first ever outsider to hold the WWWA World Title in JWP’s Dynamite Kansai. That definitely makes the Iron Man match pale in comparison, but Nic Nemeth may very well be heralded in the legend category one day. He is the TNA champion again at this time, simultaneously holding the World Title and Tag Title…something only a Legend named Kurt Angle did. So…it’s only a matter of time…?