Our condolences to the friends and family of Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka. He died of stomach cancer Sunday at age 73.
25 years ago today in Jacksonville, Florida, Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton defeated Ricky Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship.
16 years ago today, WCW presented Souled Out (WWE Network link) from the Firstar Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. 14,132 were in attendance, with 115,000 homes watching on PPV. That's just over one-third of the number of buys from the 1999 edition (330,000 buys). It also continues the downward trend of WCW buyrates that began at Mayhem back in November. The trend would continue until Uncensored, which had just 60,000 PPV buys.
The original card for the event was heavily changed due in part to the concussions that Jeff Jarrett and Bret Hart suffered (Bret's concussion would ultimately force him to retire). Both men forced to vacate their championships (Hart's WCW world title and Jarrett's United States title).
Also of note, this would be the final event for Chris Benoit, who along with Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko, and Eddie Guerrero (who did not wrestle on the show), were granted their releases following the show.
Match ratings are from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter as listed in the Internet Wrestling Database. Star ratings are out of five.
Billy Kidman defeated Dean Malenko in a "Dungeon Rules" match. Malenko went out to the floor just two and a half minutes into the match, which under the rules of the bout, immediately ended the bout. (-1/5)
Vampiro defeated Crowbar and David Flair in a triple threat match. (1.25)
The Mamalukes (Big Vito & Johnny The Bull) defeated The Harris Boys (Big Ron & Heavy D). (no rating)
Oklahoma defeated Madusa to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. (0)
Brian Knobbs defeated Fit Finlay, Meng, and Norman Smiley in a four-way match to retain the WCW Hardcore Championship. (1.75)
Billy Kidman defeated Saturn in a Bunkhouse Brawl. (2)
Booker T defeated Stevie Ray. (0.25)
Tank Abbott defeated Jerry Flynn. (1)
Buff Bagwell defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a last man standing match. (3.25)
The Wall defeated Billy Kidman in a steel cage match. (0.75)
Kevin Nash defeated Terry Funk in a hardcore match to become the new WCW Commissioner. (2.25)
Chris Benoit defeated Sid Vicious by submission to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Arn Anderson was the special referee. A replay the next night showed Sid had one of his legs under the bottom rope, meaning the submission should not have counted. It was a way to vacate the title when Benoit left the company. (2.75)
12 years ago today in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, La Resistance (Rob Conway and Sylvan Grenier) defeated William Regal and Jonathan Coachman (substituting for Eugene who was out with a dislocated left patella) to win the World Tag Team Championship.
12 years ago today, TNA presented Final Resolution from the Impact Zone at Universal Orlando.
3 Live Kru (BG James, Konnan, and Ron Killings) defeated Christopher Daniels, Kazarian, and Michael Shane.
Elix Skipper defeated Sonjay Dutt.
Dustin Rhodes defeated Kid Kash.
Erik Watts defeated Raven.
Jeff Hardy defeated Scott Hall. Rowdy Roddy Piper was the special referee.
Monty Brown defeated Diamond Dallas Page and Kevin Nash in an elimination match to become #1 contender for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
Diamond Dallas Page eliminated Kevin Nash.
Monty Brown eliminated Diamond Dallas Page.
America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) defeated Team Canada (Bobby Roode & Eric Young) to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship.
AJ Styles defeated Chris Sabin and Petey Williams in an Ultimate X match to win the TNA X Division Championship.
Jeff Jarrett defeated Monty Brown to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
8 years ago today, WWE released Robert Howard, best known to wrestling fans as Bob "Hardcore" Holly.
Holly had been inactive since being turned on by Cody Rhodes at Night of Champions seven months prior, costing him his half of the World Tag Team Championship.
Initially debuting as racecar driver Thurman “Sparky” Plugg in 1994 (turned out Howard actually had raced cars locally for a few years), he quietly became Bob “Spark Plug” Holly, then Bombastic Bob as one-half of the new Midnight Express in early 1998.
His peak began in February 1999 when as Hardcore Holly, he won the first of what would be six WWF Hardcore Championships. Later in the year, he would form a popular “super heavyweight” team with storyline cousin Crash and win the WWF Tag Team Championship. At the height of his popularity, Holly was listed as among the top 50 singles wrestlers in the world by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
In late 2002, Holly suffered a broken neck during a match with Brock Lesnar; this led to a brief feud between the two when Holly returned from neck surgery a little over a year later.
In addition to the six WWF Hardcore titles, Holly was a three-time tag team champion with three different partners, and an NWA world tag team champion as one half of the New Midnight Express with “Bodacious Bart” Gunn.
Since leaving WWE, Howard has sporadically wrestled on the independent circuit and made one appearance for TNA in 2013. He’s also written a book, The Hardcore Truth: The Bob Holly Story, published in 2010. That same year, he married his high school sweetheart, Linda Kiviet.
6 years ago today, TNA announced that those coming to their next tapings to bring a donation for victims of the Haiti earthquake. The money would be donated to the central Florida headquarters of the American Red Cross. Radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge wrote on his Twitter account (and these are his words, not mine):
"I say fuck hati. Why do we have to take care of everybody our country is in shambles. Bubba".
The comments led to a physical confrontation between Bubba and TNA Knockout Awesome Kong. The confrontation ultimately led to both their releases from the company.
5 years ago today on RAW from Anaheim, California (WWE Network link), Jack Swagger defeated Zack Ryder to win the WWE United States Championship.
3 years ago today, TNA presented Genesis from the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
The event, though it was taped in one night, was presented over two episodes of Impact. The event would be the last for Sting in TNA, who had been with the company since 2003. His contract expired a month later and was not renewed.
Matches airing live:
Samoa Joe, James Storm, Gunner, Eric Young, Joseph Park and ODB defeated The BroMans (Jessie Godderz, Robbie E and Zema Ion), Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian) and Lei'D Tapa in an intergender tag team match.
Bully Ray defeated Mr. Anderson in a no disqualification match.
Madison Rayne defeated Gail Kim to win the TNA Knockouts Championship.
Ethan Carter III defeated Sting. Rockstar Spud was the special referee. With the loss, Sting was fired from TNA.
Matches airing January 23:
Gunner defeated James Storm in a ladder match for Gunner's World Title Feast or Fired briefcase.
Austin Aries defeated Chris Sabin to win the TNA X Division Championship. To prevent interference, Velvet Sky was in a cage at ringside.
Kurt Angle defeated Bobby Roode in a steel cage match to keep his TNA Hall of Fame induction.
Samoa Joe defeated Rockstar Spud.
Magnus defeated Sting to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. As a result of the loss, Sting was fired.
It's a happy 47th birthday for Richard Bognar.
Wrestling as Titan and Big Titan on the Canadian independent circuit and Japan's Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling and Wrestle and Romance, Bognar is best remembered for his run as the second Razor Ramon, a poor attempt by the WWF to (a) mock the departures of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, the original Razor Ramon and Diesel, and (b) turn Jim Ross heel. Not surprisingly, the Fake Razor Ramon gimmick co-won the 1996 Wrestling Observer Newsletter award for Worst Gimmick. Bognar was taken off television following the 1997 Royal Rumble and was sidelined for the remainder of his time in the WWF.
Bognar returned to Japan following his departure and joined nWo Japan. He suffered a neck injury in a match against Shinya Hashimoto in 1998 and would retire one year later.
Today would have been the 75th birthday to the man considered by many the greatest athlete of the 20th century, Muhammad Ali.
Born Cassius Marcellus Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, he was the older of two boys. He began boxing at age 12 as a means to get back at a boy that stole his bike. He would become probably the most successful amateur boxer in Kentucky history, winning six state Golden Gloves titles, two national Golden Gloves titles, an AAU national title, and the gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in the light heavyweight division. He would win 100 of 105 amateur fights.
He turned pro in October 1960 and would amass 19 straight wins through 1963, 15 by knockout. Clay often belittled his opponents and talked up his abilities during and after bouts. His behavior made him very much hated among fans, critics, writers, former boxing champions, pretty much just about everyone.
In February 1964, Clay made history when he became the youngest man to defeat a reigning world heavyweight champion in boxing history when he defeated Sonny Liston by TKO after the sixth round. Soon, Clay converted to Islam and joined the Nation of Islam and would rename himself Muhammad Ali. In May 1965, Ali defeated Liston in a controversial rematch made famous for an alleged phantom punch. Some speculate Liston threw the fight under threats on his life or to pay off debts.
Ali was to have met Ernie Terrell in a unification bout in March 1966, but just before the fight, he was reclassified by the Louisville draft board, making him eligible for military service. Ali refused to serve, and after title defenses in consecutive months in early 1967, was stripped of the heavyweight title. His boxing license was revoked by the state of New York. The rest of the country would soon follow. Fighting overseas was out too, as Ali's passport was revoked. Ali was convicted of draft evasion and sentenced to five years in prison and fined $10,000 (about $71,000 in today's dollars).
Ali would return to the ring, but until October 1970, meaning he had lost three and a half years of his career. While his case was in appeal, he was granted permission to fight again in a federal court. During his time away from the ring, he spoke out against the Vietnam War and in support of racial justice and pride for African-Americans. With sentiment against the Vietnam War growing, Ali's 1967 conviction was overturned by the US Supreme Court in 1971 by a unanimous vote.
One of Ali's most famous fights was held in March 1971. Dubbed "The Fight of the Century", Ali and Joe Frazier fought for the heavyweight championship. The animosity between the two would carry long after the fight, but Frazier would get the dupe via unanimous decision, the first professional loss in Ali's career. Ali would go on to win six in a row before being defeated by Ken Norton in 1973. After considering retirement (in part due to a broken jaw he suffered during the bout), Ali and Norton rematched, and Ali won via decision. In January 1974, Ali defeated Frazier in the rematch via unanimous decision, setting up a title bout with George Foreman.
Dubbed "The Rumble in the Jungle", the 32-year old Ali used unconventional means to defeat Foreman: he let the hard-hitting Foreman strike at will, then Ali would clinch, then counterattack when Foreman tired out. The idea went so far against conventional wisdom, pundits believed the fight may be fixed. The strategy, known as the "rope-a-dope", worked. Foreman's punches got less effective in later rounds, and with the Zaire crowd chanting "Ali, bomaye!" (or “Ali, kill him!”), Ali knocked out the exhausted Foreman in the eighth round to regain the heavyweight championship. The bomaye (later Kinshasa, the city that held the fight) would be the inspiration for the name of current NXT and former IWGP heavyweight champion Shinsuke Nakamura’s finishing knee strike.
Following Ali regaining the title, one of Ali's first's title defenses was against Chuck Wepner. "The Bayonne Bleeder" would knock down Ali in the ninth round and would go the distance before ultimately losing on decision. The bout inspired the Rocky film series.
In October 1975, Ali and Joe Frazier met for a third and final time in "The Thrilla in Manila". With temperatures well into the 90s, the aggressive Ali would tire out, going back to the rope-a-dope strategy he applied with Foreman in Zaire. It worked again. Frazier tired in the 12th round, opening the door for Ali to dominate late in the bout. Frazier refused to answer the bell for the final round, and Ali retained. Post-fight, Ali said the fight was "the closest thing to dying that I know".
The next year, Ali fought Antonio Inoki in an exhibition in Tokyo's Budokan Hall. The bout, largely a publicity stunt, went to a draw after fifteen three-minute rounds, but was poorly received by the paying crowd. Ali suffered leg bruises, two blood clots, and an infection. The worked bout affected Ali's mobility for the remainder of his career.
In 1978, Ali faced Leon Spinks. Despite having only seven professional fights to his credit, Spinks scored the split decision upset for the heavyweight title. The next year, they rematched, and Ali won the heavyweight title back on unanimous decision, making him the first three-time heavyweight boxing champion ever. Ali briefly retired, but returned to the ring in 1980 to face champion Larry Holmes. The lethargic Ali was dominated by Holmes, and trainer Angelo Dundee stopped the fight in the eleventh round. Ali fought one last time in December 1981, a ten-round decision loss to Trevor Berbick. He retired with a career record of 56-5, 37 wins by knockout.
In 1984, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's syndrome, but he continued to make public appearances, most notably as a guest referee for the inaugural Wrestlemania main event, lighting the flame at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and in promoting his own biopic, Ali, in 2001. The disease would take a toll on his health in recent years, and his public appearances have become less frequent.
On June 2, 2016, Ali was hospitalized in Scottsdale, Arizona with a respiratory illness. Though his condition was described as fair, he died of septic shock the next day. He was 74. Networks including ESPN, BET, CNN, Fox News, and ABC News presented extensive coverage of Ali’s passing. On June 9, a traditional Islamic Janazah prayer service was held at Freedom Hall. A private funeral was held on the morning of June 10, with a public memorial held later in the day in Ali’s birthplace of Louisville, Kentucky. Will Smith (who played Ali in the biographical movie of the same name), and boxers Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, George Chuvalo, Larry Holmes, and George Foreman were among the pallbearers. Said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer about his passing, "Muhammad Ali belongs to the world. But he only has one hometown."
Ali's unorthodox boxing style made him one of the greatest of all time; contrary to his heavyweight peers, Ali relied on his speed and reflexes instead of raw power to confuse his opponents; one study done said that Ali's punches were 25% faster than welterweight Sugar Ray Robinson, considered by many as the best pound-for-pound boxer ever. Ali's trash talk was heavily influenced by wrestler Gorgeous George and was revolutionary in fight promotion.
Ali's legacy is legendary to say the least: he is a five-time Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year (no one else has more than three), won five Fight of the Year awards from the same publication, is one of three boxers to win Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year (the others are Sugar Ray Leonard and Ingemar Johansson), the BBC Sports Personality of the 20th century, the 1997 Arthur Ashe Courage Award winner, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the top boxing heavyweight of the 20th century by the Associated Press.
Ali is survived by his wife of 30 years, Yolanda, two sons in Assad and Muhammad, Jr., and seven daughters: Laila (who went , Hana, Khaliah, Rasheda, Jamillah, Miya and, Maryum.
The best of cSs on this day:
2016: Becky Lynch gives us a glimpse into the future (Becky Lynch posts a pic of herself on Instagram with ALL the belts)
2015: We absolutely can see you if you wear this John Cena shirt (WWE releases new John Cena shirt while sun continues to rise in east)
2014: Jay Bradley: Dixie Carter is a scapegoat for the Internet Wrestling Community (Jay Bradley defends her former boss against criticism about her on the Internet)
2013: WWE Power Rankings? ESPN has you covered (ESPN debuts its WWE power rankings; CM Punk is the first #1)
2012: Ole Anderson told Vince McMahon to go (expletive) himself, Lex Luger okay with exclusion from Four Horsemen WWE Hall of Fame induction (Horsemen members Ole Anderson and Lex Luger give opposite reactions to the Horsemen going in the WWE Hall of Fame)
2011: Randy Couture's Son, Ryan Couture set to Fight for Strikeforce Once Again (Ryan Couture to have his second pro MMA fight at Strikeforce Challengers 14; FYI: he won via submission with 19 seconds left)