¡ Es hora de Cinco de Mayo, Cagesiders, para hablar sobre lo que ocurrió en esta fecha en la historia de lucha Pro! Today we are going to do something a little bit different in your This Date in Pro Wrestling History post since it's a holiday, but mostly just because a lot of noteworthy things have happened on this date in the world of wrestling.
With that in mind, here are the top stories worth remembering from May 5th over the past 75 years --
May 5, 1939
Cowboy Bill Watts is born William F. Watts, Jr. in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
He grows up to become an NWA, Mid-South & WWWF legend, as well as a WWE Hall of Famer and the former owner/promoter of Mid-South Wrestling and the UWF. Watts was also the proud father of former WCW & TNA star, Erik Watts.
Titles held by Cowboy Bill Watts:
AWA (Boston) United States Heavyweight Champion
MSW North American Heavyweight Champion
Additional Heavyweight Championships in: NWA Florida, Southern (Florida), Gulf Coast, Georgia, Texas, North American (Tri-State), Brass Knuckles (Tri-State)
WWWF United States Tag Team Champion
MSW Tag Team Champion
Additional Tag Team Championships in: NWA International (Japan), Louisiana, & Tri-State South
May 5, 1961
Hiroshi Hase is born in Oyabe, Toyama, Japan
He grows up to become one of the top technical puroresu stars of all time. Of significance: The match below is credited with the creation of the "Muta Scale". WARNING: If you should opt to view this match, you will not fail to understand why that is.
If you are unfamiliar with what this Muta Scale is all about, here is the best description I have seen yet from the IWC:
"It describes the amount of blood shed by a wrestler during a match on a numerical scale. It's called the Muta scale because it refers to a match between the Great Muta vs. Hiroshi Hase, where the Great Muta accidentally bladed himself so deeply as to cause blood -- that blood was heavily pouring out of his head during the match.
Thus, whenever wrestlers bleed, they're ranked to see how much it compares to Muta's bladejob. For an example, Eddie Guerrero vs. JBL at 'Judgement Day 2004' and Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker from 'No Mercy 2002' were both given the highest rating possible on the Muta Scale."
Titles held by Hiroshi Hase include:
NJPW IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion
NJPW IWGP Tag Team Champion
Stampede International Tag Team Champion
WCW International World Heavyweight Champion
May 5, 1970:
British wrestling star Frankie Sloan is born in Liverpool, England
via sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net
Titles held by Frankie Sloan:
FSE British Heavyweight Champion
May 5, 1982:
Mini Histeria is born Rolando Fuentes Romero in Veracruz, Mexico
As the son of luchador Rocco Marvin and the brother of luchador Ricky Marvin, he grows up to become a second generation AAA Mini-Estrella.
via fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net
Titles held by Mini Histeria/Romero:
AAA Mexican National Mini-Estrella Champion
May 5, 1985:
The NWA WCCW Parade of Champions II took place...
Highlights from this event included:
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nature Boy Ric Flair & Kevin Von Erich fighting to a double countout.
Kevin, Kerry & Mike Von Erich and The Fabulous Freebirds defeating Chris Adams
Gino Hernandez, Rip Oliver, One Man Gang, Kamala & "Dr. Death" Steve Williams participating in a 12 man, two ring tag team match -- yes, two rings.
Kerry Von Erich defeating One Man Gang in a Hair vs Hair match. (Per the match stipulations: One Man Gang's Manager, Gary Hart, had his head shaved. Had Kerry lost, his father Fritz would have had his head shaved instead.)
The Fantastics defeating The Midnight Express to win the vacant NWA American Tag Team Championship
Also, there was this little gem of an incident that occurred:
May 5, 2001:
Raymond Kessler, birth date unknown, passed away in Brooklyn New York
Kessler had achieved a great amount of notoriety, fame and respect for having been a Former Little Person star (allowing himself to be billed as a "Midget"), as well as having found success and fame as a Little Person wrestling star, aka The Haiti Kid, during his prime years.
May 5, 2001:
The WWF Insurrextion '01 event took place
Highlights from this event included:
Chris Benoit defeating Kurt Angle in a 2 out of 3 Falls match
Chris Jericho defeating William Regal to win the "Queen's Cup"
The Undertaker defeating WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin & HHH. (Austin retained the WWF Championship since The Undertaker pinned HHH)
Eddie Guerrero defeating Grand Master Sexay
Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko defeating Hardcore & Crash Holly
Bradshaw defeating The Big Show
Edge & Christian defeating X-Factor, The Hardy Boyz & The Dudley Boyz in a Fatal 4 Way Elimination match
May 5, 2002:
Randy "Pee Wee" Anderson, born on July 17, 1959 in Rome, Georgia passes away from testicular cancer at age 42.
He was considered to be a legendary NWA & WCW referee, and was a close childhood friend of WWE Hall of Famer, "The Enforcer" Arn Anderson, and trained to become a wrestler alongside Double A, under "The Nightmare" Ted Allen.
What say you Cagesiders? Do any of you remember any of these events from our history, or recall your Dads or Grandads talking about any of these moments over the years? Did we leave anything out? Let us know in the comments below.
~ Today's source for all of these fantastic factoids was Brian Nixon - via TDiPWH/fb
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And now, from the desk of our CSS Senior Editor; for your viewing pleasure we bring to you, additional posts dusted off from the --
5 - MAY
CSS ARCHIVES
5 May 2012
TNA Impact moving to Thursday 8-10pm Eastern from late May onwards by Keith Harris May 5, 2012 8:50 PM CDT - 8 comments
WWE Over the Limit 2012: Sheamus vs Alberto Del Rio world heavyweight title match announced by Geno Mrosko May 5, 2012 2:00 PM CDT - 37 comments
Cageside Chat with K. Sawyer Paul of International Object by Geno Mrosko May 5, 2012 12:00 PM CDT - 3 comments
Video: WWE Smackdown for May 4, 2012, featuring Sheamus, Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio by Sergio Hernandez May 5, 2012 10:35 AM CDT - 17 comments
On This Date in WWE History: The leader in sports entertainment gets the F out by Sergio Hernandez May 5, 2012 9:00 AM CDT - 19 comments
5 May 2011
Impact Spoilers - The Name May Change But It's Still The Same Ol' TNA! by Keith Harris May 5, 2011 9:18 PM CDT - 12 comments
Getting to Know Hatsu Hioki: Will He Be the UFC's Next Big Signing? by Kevin Haggerty May 5, 2011 4:24 PM CDT - 5 comments
5 May 2010
Dixie Carter and Spike TV shamelessly treat their talent as gullible marks by Keith Harris May 5, 2010 7:34 PM CDT
Orlando Jordan update - rightly or wrongly, he's still a heat magnet backstage in TNA by Keith Harris May 5, 2010 5:59 PM CDT
Jim Ross update - he's keeping his options open by continuing to work for WWE without a talent contract by Keith Harris May 5, 2010 4:55 PM CDT
Belated Music Monday: Sometimes love is like a slow dance, Vince McMahon's diss track, and more by bix May 5, 2010 2:03 PM CDT
Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin officially set for UFC 116 on July 5th by bix May 5, 2010 9:40 AM CDT - 1 comment