Today In Pro Wrestling History: September 1st

September starts off sexy! I like when there’s easy moments that really captured attention at the time, launched a career or a promotion – but it’s always fun when many of these still have relevant impact in the current landscape of wrestling. Time to check out the history!

• WWF Prime Time Wrestling: WWF World Heavyweight Championship: Macho Man Randy Savage (c) vs Ric Flair (1992)

This is memorable for a few reasons beyond the obvious that it was a Championship match on television. Firstly, this was infamously halted and then re-taped, because Vince didn’t like how the first take looked. Secondly, we saw Ric Flair, defeat Macho Man on television as the culmination of their feud. So a title change happening outside of the PPV event was a big deal, especially since this would be Ric’s second run with the WWF World title. Lastly, Razor Ramon, who was still relatively new, made his presence felt as a lurking and looming threat, doing just enough to distract Macho to open him up for Ric’s assault and Figure Four submission.

• WWECW on Sci-Fi: ECW Heavyweight Title: John Morrison (c) vs CM Punk (2007)

After falling short as Night of Championship, The Great American Bash and SummerSlam, this match was a Last Chance for Punk. While it’s safe to say that most of their previous encounters were pretty rough on the eyes, this was the match they finally found their rhythm. Morrison continued to dominate early, using his athleticism and heel tactics to stay ahead of Punk. But he had the underdog fire and still had the support of the crowd even after falling short repeatedly. When Punk kicked out of Starship Pain, that’s when the electricity went up. Morrison tried to cheat with the ropes but the referee caught him, and as the heel got more desperate, the underdog saw his moment. An Enzuigiri and a GTS later, and CM Punk wins his first belt under the WWE umbrella.

• NOAH Naomichi Marufuji 20th Anniversary Show ~ Flight ~: Hideo Itami vs Naomichi Marufuji (2018)

This made the article because it was the first time WWE lent out a wrestler to an established company since the well known Ric Flair & Christian Cage trade back in 2012 with TNA. This was an anomaly that has since created a great working relationship. While WWE made KENTA be billed under the Hideo Itami moniker and use his 205 Live theme song, the crowd openly rejected the WWE branding. The KENTA chants were loud and proud, as one of the wrestlers considered a foundational piece of NOAH, returned during a tumultuous time in the company. KENTA and Marufuji were essentially the Sons of Heaven. KENTA being Kenta Kobashi’s trainee and Marufuji being Misawa’s trainee. They were a Junior Heavyweight force in early NOAH both as teammates and rivals. While both men were older and battling through injuries, their chemistry was undeniable. The match was symbolic for the NOAH faithful, and even at the end they embraced and Marufuji…who was Vice President and integral in making this happen, started his victory promo with “Hide – KENTA” and the crowd loved the moment.

• ROH All In (2018)

If the first All Out was important for the landscape of modern wrestling, then All In is even more important because without the success of All In, there would be no All Out. The show that was the catalyst to AEW. Since most of the talent producing this show were contracted with ROH at the time, the event is technically under the ROH banner (which is owned by AEW now, so it’s only semantics), we know what this was. The debut for an alternative. It broke the 10,000 fan attendance mark that Meltzer said was impossible. Cody Rhodes defeated Nick Aldis to win the same belt that Dusty held all those years ago. Chris Jericho made a surprising appearance as a nod to Dean Malenko when he dressed up as Penta to attack Kenny Omega. This was a Supershow with extra meaning. The vibe was electric, the moments made everything feel like it was a real tide changing moment in the industry. 2018 was one hell of a year to be a pro wrestling fan.

• NOAH N-1 Victory (2024)

This show had a few elements of history that build off of the Hideo Itami moment. Thanks to the NOAH and WWE promotional partnership, Tavion Heights got his chance to show off in the B-Block. While he didn’t win, this helped to establish him, as well as, earn him training from legends like Keiji Mutoh and Naomichi Marufuji. While there were a few title changes, Luchador Daga won the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship from Amakusa and fan favorite “it’s complicated” junior Heavyweight tag team YO-HEY & HAYATA won the Junior Tags from Eita & Shuji Kondo. The major history comes from the main event, because not only was it for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, it was also for full leadership rights to All Rebellion. Kenoh won the B-block and Kaito Kiyomiya, the reigning champion, won the A-block.  In a grueling 25 minute match, Kiyomiya utilizied a Flashing Arm Drag pinfall maneuver that Yoshinari Ogawa made famous, because the legend recently retired due to accumulated injuries. So Kiyomiya goes down in history as the first and currently only reigning Heavyweight Champion to win the N-1 tournament.

So we get a fair bit of WWE history and WWE influence, but the ultimate anti-WWE moment since the Outsiders came to WCW. Funny how the moment itself stands in contest against a lot of WWE mentions. 2018 really was a magical time for pro wrestling. Everyone was so hopefully, discussing a wrestling “boom”, and wanted the best for what was to come. Fast forward to now, and, while AEW offers competitive salaries for people, it has been mishandled and is nowhere close to being a competitive number two. It’s just 2010 TNA with more financial backing.