Today In Pro Wrestling History: September 20th

Two thirds of the way through the month and we have another day with variety. You know, I do hate being spoiled heading towards the end of months because that usually means I’m gonna be on skid row for the last few articles. But hey, let’s enjoy it while it’s here!

• NJPW G1 Climax Special: IWGP Heavyweight Championship: The Great Muta (c) vs Shinya Hashimoto (1993)

This was Hashimoto’s crowning achievement as the Ace of the 90s and the leader of the head of the Original Three Musketeers. Muta was enjoying his 400 day reign (record at the time) where he defended against the likes of Hulk Hogan, Sting, Masahiro Chono and Genichiro Tenryu. Hashimoto however proved to be the anchor and promotional leader in their cross promotional battle against Tenryu’s company WAR. Hashimoto’s popularity soared thanks to his fighting spirit during these battles, so he was the perfect hero to defeat the “evil wizard” Great Muta. And he did exactly that, Hashimoto slayed the beast, ended the historic reign, and began his first reign with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Muta’s 400 day reign is currently 4th longest only surpassed by Tanahashi at 404 during his 5th reign, Hashimoto’s 3rd reign of 489 and of course, Okada’s legendary 4th reign of 720.

• TNA No Surrender (2009)

This show holds a lot of surprising history. We got the inaugural Knockouts Tag Titles winners when Sarita and Taylor Wilde defeated The Beautiful People. ODB defeated Cody Deaner in an intergender match for the Knockouts Title (yeah…what else do you expect from Deaner). Samoa Joe retained the X Division title against Christopher Daniels, but the main event will always be one for the memory banks. Kurt Angle defended the TNA World Championship against Sting, Hernandez, Matt Morgan and AJ Styles. Earlier in the match Eric Young took out Hernandez for it was effectively a 4-way. At the end of the match, Angle was laid out, Sting and AJ stood over him, both as babyfaces. But instead of fighting, Sting gave AJ the wink and attacked a charging Matt Morgan. This allowed AJ to hit The Superman, and pin Kurt Angle for his first TNA  World Championship (since previous ones were the NWA title). This was effectively a passing of the torch from Sting to AJ, and a fantastic moment and big pop from fans at the time.

• ROH Death Before Dishonor XI: vacant ROH World Championship: Adam Cole vs Michael Elgin (2013)

This was a pretty important moment for ROH at the time. Jay Briscoe was the champion, but after sustaining an injury they decided to strip him and Nigel McGuinness set up a tournament to crown the new champion. In a great match, that had a “visual” pinfall for Elgin but the referee was out of position. Adam Cole however, pulled off the victory after a series of German Suplexes and hitting his Florida Key finisher. Elgin was frustrated because he had the victory, and when Jay Briscoe came out to present the title to Cole, Cole turned heel by kicking Jay in the back of the head. So this set up a year long chase for Elgin, and skyrocketing Adam Cole’s heel persona.

• WWE Night of Champions: Sting’s Final WWE Match (2015)

One of those moments that needs to be discussed because it was just the rather crappy cherry on top of a garbage cake that was Sting in WWE. Even though it took 14 years, Sting was correct. Losing to Triple H at WrestleMania for literally no reason beyond “WWE ego” and then the Buckle Bomb that forced him to retire after his title shot against Seth Rollins…this was truly a waste of a legend. Sting’s total match count in WWE was 4, 2 wins, 2 losses. Perhaps the mishap was for the best, because with Sting forced to retire, WWE could no longer book him like garbage. So he found his way to AEW in December 2020, and was able to finish his career more on his terms without someone else’s fragile ego ruining excitement.

• AEW All Out (2025)

The event delivered an action-packed night filled with major title shifts, dangerous stipulations, and surprise appearances. In the main event, “Hangman” Adam Page survived incredible punishment to successfully retain the AEW World Championship against a rising star, Kyle Fletcher. Another massive highlight of the night saw Kris Statlander surprise fans by winning a chaotic four-way match to capture the AEW Women’s World Championship from “Timeless” Toni Storm. The brutal rivalry between Jon Moxley and Darby Allin escalated even further during their gruesome coffin match, which ended with Moxley winning through a surprise assist from PAC, only for Allin to later shock the arena by trying to set Moxley on fire. Fans also witnessed a highly anticipated nostalgia trip when Adam Copeland and Christian Cage got back together, to defeat FTR. That tag team match featured a shocking debut from WWE legend Beth Phoenix, who neutralized Stokely Hathaway.

A little bit of Sting overlap and two moments where the wrestler who became the face of the franchise, received their first run with the top company title. It is also weird to think some of the “young guys” during the event are now the old guard or retired. 2009 doesn’t feel THAT long ago…yike, time is a real jerk, ya know?