Today In Pro Wrestling History: November 12th

Another weird day, some fun moments but nothing really headline worthy. Sometimes it’s fun when there’s an article specifically for smaller moments…because I had to dig. Let’s get to history!

• WWF Raw (2001)

This was the last Raw before the Survivor Series that ended the Invasion/Alliance storyline. Kicking off the show, Edge defeated Kurt Angle for the WCW United States Title, setting up a Unification match at Survivor Series against the Intercontinental Champion Test. Speaking of Test, he was also WWF Tag Team Champion with Booker T during this show, but Matt and Jeff Hardy snatched the titles off of them, setting up for a Dudley Boyz Unification match.

• ROH Survival of the Fittest (2010)

While the show itself wasn’t a huge moment, it set the groundwork for many mainstays in wrestling. It was Adam Cole‘s first Survival after he beat Steve Corino to get into it. Claudio Castagnoli dominated most of the match, Eddie Edwards had an injury and return angle to help get over his underdog character. Kevin Steen made history by entering last but being eliminated in 8 seconds thanks to El Generico ambushing him, allowing for Claudio to eliminate him easily thanks to the distraction. Eddie’s heroics of coming back were rewarded with winning the match and also being the first person to break the “winner’s curse” by actually being successful during his guaranteed World Title shot when he cashed it in.

• Dragon Gate USA Bushido: Code of the Warrior (2011)

DG USA from the ECW Arena helped to keep this event important. The night is best remembered for a dramatic Open the Freedom Gate Championship match where challenger Chuck Taylor seemingly defeated champion YAMATO, only for his own Ronin stablemate Johnny Gargano to tell the referee that YAMATO’s foot was on the bottom rope. That honest call forced the match to restart, leading to a Taylor loss and setting up Gargano’s own championship win the very next night. The card was packed with standout action from future television stars, including a clash of styles where high-flyer PAC overcame big man Brodie Lee, a physical singles win for Gargano over BxB Hulk, and an upset victory by Rich Swann over Akira Tozawa that ended with a surprise sing-off and a superkick. Fans also got a nostalgic dose of hardcore chaos when ECW original Sabu brawled with Pinkie Sanchez in a South Philly Street Fight, while CIMA and Ricochet defended their tag team belts against Arik Cannon and Sami Callihan in the main event.

• Stardom Goddesses Tag League: Finals: Maika & Megan Bayne vs Mei Seira & Suzu Suzuki (2023)

While many know Megan Bayne from her Divine Dominion team in AEW, this was the platform that really helped Megan break through to better visibility. And while Megan Bayne is more known to western fans, this moment is more of a Maika moment. After her friend and tag partner Himeka retired in May, Maika was a little listless. While making it to the Finals of the 5 Star GP, she lost to one of her opponents, Suzu Suzuki. So this was a bit of a redemption tournament for Maika. Thanks to being a part of Donna del Mondo, the whole gimmick was “Women of the World” so it was a great stable for the gaijin passing through, so Megan Bayne being a part made sense. Maika and Megan (Divine Kingdom), were the powerhouse team that ripped through the tournament. So Maika being across from the woman who took her 5 Star GP win, added that wrestling narrative weight to the match. While visually it was David versus Goliath, Maika was wrestling ghosts. A Doomsday Device and Maika’s Michinoku Driver (a homage to TAKA Michinoku because she came from his promotion Just Tap Out), won the match over Mei Seira. So there was still meat on the bone between Maika and Suzu, but this helped to focus Maika and right the ship.

Everything was more based in the kayfabe wrestling narratives, when it comes to weighing the history. And you know what, that’s fine. It’s kind of nice to have a few ripples instead of a tidal wave of tragedy or earth shaking moments.