Today In Pro Wrestling History: September 23rd

This is a mixture of some of the worst moments in wrestling and best. So let’s check out the variety today and see which company owns the “worst” moniker!

• UWF Blackjack Brawl (1994)

This travesty is remembered as one of the biggest disasters in professional wrestling history. Organized by eccentric promoter Herb Abrams, the event was held at the massive MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas but drew fewer than 600 fans, leaving the venue completely empty. The show featured an absurd lineup with nine different championship matches, creating titles that were never defended again. Despite featuring famous stars like Cactus Jack, Sid Vicious, and Jimmy Snuka, the event was a massive financial failure and marked the final television broadcast for the Universal Wrestling Federation before it shut down permanently. Easily goes down as one of the historically worst shows in wrestling.

• WWF Unforgiven: WWF Championship: Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) vs Kurt Angle (2001)

This event was an integral moment as escapism through entertainments, since it too place just twelve days after the tragic events of September 11. It carried a heavy atmosphere where fans desperately cheered for an American hero. Kurt Angle, a real-life Olympic gold medalist, played the ultimate patriot defending the WWF against Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was leading the invading Alliance at the time. In front of his hometown Pittsburgh crowd and with his family at ringside, Angle accomplished the rare feat of making the legendary Austin tap out to the ankle lock, winning the title and sparking an unforgettable, emotionally charged celebration.

• NJPW Destruction in Okayama (2015)

Some of the most memorable moments come from names that are still beloved today. Tetsuya Naito was in an undercard tag with Los Ingobernables, he was facing a Katsuyori Shibata lead team, but Naito considered this entire match beneath him. He refused to take off his hat or suit pants, and in the brief time he was tagged in, he barely put in effort and sabotaged his team effectively. This started a big rivalry between Naito and Shibata. The Junior Heavyweight title changed hands after Kenny Omega defeated KUSHIDA, to regain the title and bring it back to Bullet Club. The main event saw Togi Makabe defending the NEVER Openweight title against Kota Ibushi. Ibushi was making a push to join the heavyweight ranks. He failed to take the Heavyweight title or Intercontinental title, so thanks to his victory over Makabe in the G1, he had a shot at the other big singles title of the time. It was a nearly 19 minute match, where Ibushi eventually fell to the heavy strikes and King Kong Knee Drop of Makabe. But Ibushi was positioning himself as getting more and more heavyweight credibility.

• Impact Wrestling Victory Road (2022)

Impact was still toying with intergender matches and dynamics at this point. Not just because of the Tessa Blanchard World title run during 2020, but remember, Jordynne Grace was also the very first Digital Media Champion, reigning from late 2021 to early 2022. This was all said to set up why Mia Yim was involved in an X Division #1 Contender Triple Threat Revolver Match. Mia actually performed well getting eliminations on Laredo Kid and Alex Zayne, but eventually getting eliminated by Kenny King. We also got the very first Triple Threat Barbed Wire Massacre Match. All three men were chasing Josh Alexander’s title, so this was a good way to decide who was next. It was a really solid, brutal match with big spots, N64 controllers and classic hardcore moments. Steve Maclin got the pinfall on Sami Callihan, which saved Moose from a direct loss. But the match was still pretty damn good, and helped to validate Maclin as a main event player.

• AJPW Giant Dream (2025)

The main event is the biggest reason why this show is on here, but the tag titles deserve a small mention. Hideki Suzuki and Kengo Mashima were defending the AJPW World Tag Team titles against Xyon (former Xyon Quinn) and Oddyssey (Odyssey Jones). Xyon and Oddyssey were a solid force under the HAVOC stable, and in just 17 minutes, they handled the highly decorated veteran champions to begin their first and currently only reign as AJPW Tag Champions. Now the main event, Kento Miyahara vs Jun Saito. Kento was cashing in his Royal Road Tournament win for a shot at the Triple Crown. As many of you probably know, Kento is the Ace of the current AJPW generation, he is the AJPW parallel to what Okada was for NJPW. In a 23 minutes physical battle, the dominant champion Jun Saito, fell to the Ace. A 266 day reign, shattered as Kento began his 7th reign. A reign that puts him only second in total reigns behind SUWAMA at 8. Also it should be noted, as of today, this reign is still going strong. So Kento officially is the longest reigning Triple Crown champion in history, surpassing Misawa’s 1,799 days on September 4, 2026. Now Kento just needs two more title defenses to break Toshikai Kawada’s record of 10 defenses (a record which Kento tied in his 4th reign, but never surpassed).

From Herb Abrams’ follies, to patriotic escapism, heavyweight trials and tribulations, Impact delving into anything and everything to stay relevant during the pandemic and Kento Miyahara being in the pantheon of AJPW greats, only behind the Heavenly Kings (and slowly gaining ground), it was definitely a different day.