Cool Timeline
The man who would go on to become the longest-reigning champion in WWE history, Bruno Sammartino, makes his Madison Square Garden debut. Sammartino's MSG debut marked the beginning of an era of fame and monetary success that goes virtually unmatched in WWE history, as well as that of professional wrestling…
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Shohei "Giant Baba" Baba joins the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA). Baba had formerly been a top pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. He was honored as the league's best pitcher in three out his four seasons on the main roster. After an injury to his elbow, he…
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Kanji (Antonio) Inoki began his professional wrestling career, training with Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA) under the tutelage of wrestling legend Rikidōzan. Inoki, originally born to a well to do family in Japan, moved to Brazil after World War II, where he would garner acclaim as a high school athlete. After meeting Rikidōzan…
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A mere six months after making his Madison Square Garden debut, Bruno Sammartino headlines MSG for the first time ever, tagging with Antonino Rocca and defeating the team of Pampero Firpo & The Great Antonio. Contrary to wrestling lore, Sammartino did not sell-out Madison Square Garden 187 times. In fact,…
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Danny Hodge defeated Angelo Savoldi at the Stockyards Coliseum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. Trained by Leroy McGuirk and Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Hodge debuted as a professional wrestler in October 1959 and wo go on to be considered the greatest Junior Heavyweight in pro…
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Verne Gagne is awarded the newly-created American Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight championship. Having withdrawn from the National Wrestling Alliance, the Minnesota-based group of promoters issued a fictitious public challenge to NWA champion Pat O'Connor, and, following a 90-day period during which O'Connor nor the NWA "accepted" the empty challenge, Gagne…
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Antonio Inoki makes his professional wrestling debut at the Taito Ward Gym in Tokyo, Japan. He lost in a match against Kinatro Oki, also known by the ring name of Kim Il, who was part of the same wrestling class as Inoki and Giant Baba. Inoki would go on to become an…
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Giant Baba makes his professional wrestling debut at the Taito Ward Gym in Tokyo, Japan, defeating Yonetaro Tanaka. Baba made his debut on the same date and location as Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki. Baba would go on to become an International wrestling star and the owner of All Japan Pro…
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Japanese wrestling promoter Rikidōzan arranged for Giant Baba to begin his first tour of the United States. Baba, the 6' 10" for baseball player became a popular international star over the years, working as both a heel and a babyface in the United States. He wrestled for the National Wrestling…
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Gene Kiniski defeated Verne Gagne to win the AWA World heavyweight title on July 11, 1961 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Gagne had held the belt for almost a year after being awarded the belt in 1960. Gagne took the belt back 28 days later. Four and a half years later, Kiniski defeated Lou…
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Fritz Von Erich defeated Dick the Bruiser for the NWA United States title in Detroit Michigan on December 1, 1961. Fritz would go on to hold the title on two more occasions and well as various other NWA title belts and well as the AWA Heavyweight belt and various other…
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In a match held at the Los Angeles Olympic Auditorium, Japanese star Rikidozan defeated Fred Blassie for the WWA World Heavyweight championship belt. Rikidozan was awarded the belt after gaining one fall before the time limit was reached. Blasie went crazy, attacking Rikidozan and the referee. According to the Long…
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Dick Beyer wrestles under the mask as The Destroyer for the first time, defeating Seymour King in San Diego, California. Beyer would go on to have an incredible career, gaining enormous popularity, holding titles in Japan and North America and being elected to the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum…
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Japanese star Rikidozan defeated former NWA World champion Lou Thesz in the finals of the fourth annual Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance World League Tournament. Rikidozan had won the tournament the previous three years, but defeating an International star like Thesz solidified Rikidozan as an International star in his own right.
Bruno Sammartino defeated NWA World Heavyweight champion Buddy Rogers via countout at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Sammartino was awarded the title, but refused it because Rogers had been injured during the match. During a leapfrog maneuver, Rogers suffered an injury to his groin and was unable to…
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[caption id="attachment_2733" align="alignleft" width="168"] Karl Gotch[/caption] NWA World Heavyweight Champion Buddy Rogers was injured in a pre-match incident at the Fairgrounds Coliseum in Columbus, Ohio. Rogers, who supposed to match up again Johnny Barend, suffered a broken arm in a confrontation with wrestlers Karl Gotch and Bill Miller. Promoter Al…
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In what would prove to be his last match, Gorgeous George was defeated via submission by the Destroyer. The masked grappler applied a figure-four leg-lock in what was billed as a"Mask vs. Hair" match. George, long hated by the fans, was actually cheered for, as the crowd of 8,000 in…
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Walter "Killer" Kowalski was victorious in a title match against "the Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, holder of the National Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight championship. Kowalski was awarded the match when Rogers broke his ankle jumping out of the ring during the first fall of their best two out of three falls…
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Lou Thesz wins NWA championship, The World Wide Wrestling Federation established, Bruno Sammartino defeats Buddy Rogers for the WWWF belt, Japanese legend Rikidozan stabbed and killed and more.
Lou Thesz defeated Buddy Rogers in a controversial match to win the NWA World Championship. Because most title matches require a best out of three falls, Rogers disputed the title change. As well, Capital Wrestling, headed by Vincent J. McMahon, protested the title change and refused to recognize Thesz as…
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In what is generally recognized as the first-ever defense of the WWE title, "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers defeats Bobo Brazil in New Haven, Connecticut. Unbeknownst to the fans in attendance, Rogers had lost the NWA title to Lou Thesz the previous evening, but was still billed as the World champion…
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[caption id="attachment_3138" align="alignleft" width="191"] Vince McMahon Sr & Toots Mondt[/caption] The World Wide Wrestling Federation is formed on April 1, 1963. Promoters Vince McMahon, Sr., Toots Mondt and Willie Gilzenberg withdraw their Northeastern promotion, Capitol Wrestling, from the National Wrestling Alliance in response to Lou Thesz gaining a victory to retain his title over Buddy…
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Bobo Brazil was recognized as the first man to hold the WWWF United States Heavyweight Championship. Brazil had previously defeated NWA Champion Buddy Rogers for the NWA World Title on August 18, 1962, but refused the title when Rogers claimed to have suffered a groin injury. A doctor, however, determined…
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Bruno Sammartino defeats Buddy Rogers for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship in 48 seconds with a backbreaker. Rogers would later claim that he had suffered a heart attack before the match. Sammartino would hold onto the belt for seven years and eight months.
The Destroyer (Dick Beyer) defeats Japanese great Rikidozan in Osaka, Japan. Rikidozan, who was considered by most to be the father of Japanese Professional Wrestling, was a huge international star and draw. The win, thus turned the Destroyer into a huge star in Japan.
Japanese great Rikidozan was stabbed by gangster Katsuji Murata while at a nightclub in Tokyo, Japan. Rikidozan, considered the Father of Japanese Professional Wrestling received medical treatment and was expected to survive the encounter. In fact, members of the Yakuza (including Murata) met with him to apologize for the incident.…
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[caption id="attachment_3137" align="alignleft" width="225"] Dick the Bruiser[/caption] World Wrestling Association was formed in Indianapolis by Dick Afflis (Dick the Bruiser) and Wilber Snyder (through their company Championship Wrestling of Indiana, Inc.). Dick the Bruiser served as the company's first champion and would hold the belt nine times.
Dick the Bruiser (Dick Afflis) defeated "Classy" Freddie Blassie in Los Angeles, California to win the WWA World title. The Bruiser won in the best two out of three falls, pinning Blassie in the third. Dick defended the belt for three months before losing it to The Destroyer in Los…
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Hiro Matsuda defeated NWA Junior Heavyweight champion Danny Hodge for the title belt in Tampa, Florida. Hodge had been injured and suffered from a knee infection in the weeks prior to the match, having held the belt for almost four years. The two met in a best out of three…
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[caption id="attachment_1064" align="alignleft" width="231"] Jim Barnett[/caption] Promoter Jim Barnett held his first show in Australia for his World Championship Wrestling promotion. Barnett was partners with Johnny Doyle, running wrestling promotion that ran shows in Detroit, Denver and Los Angeles. In 1964, the two travelled to Sydney, Australia to evaluate the…
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Wrestler Yukon Eric, a popular Canadian wrestler who performed throughout North America, died on this date. A former NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Champion and NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion, Eric Holmback was best known for losing an ear in a match against Killer Kowalski in 1952. Their rematch was the…
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Harley Race, a future NWA Heavyweight champion, was stabbed at 4:10 PM outside of a Minneapolis, Minnesota restaurant called The Chestnut Tree. Race, 22 years of and using the name "Handsome" Harley, interceded when a man slapped the woman that accompanied him. Race punched the man, Jack Larue, one time,…
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Pedro Morales defeated the Destroyer (Dick Beyer) in best of three falls match in Los Angeles, California. The Destroyer had held the belt since the previous November. This was the first of three times that Morales would hold the WWA Heavyweight strap. He would later defeat Ivan Koloff in Madison…
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[caption id="attachment_3335" align="alignleft" width="250"] Aileen Eaton[/caption] Women's Wrestling was legalized in California on November 19, 1965. By a 3-2 vote, the California Athletic Commission ended a 20 year ban on female wrestlers performing in the state. Aileen Eaton, a west coast boxing and wrestling promoter scheduled female matches in Los…
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Former AWA Heavyweight champion Gene Kiniski defeated Lou Thesz for the NWA World heavyweight title in St. Louis, Missouri. Thesz, in his third title reign had held the belt for three years since winning it from Buddy Rogers in 1963. Kiniski, who dubbed himself "Canada's Greatest Athlete" would hold the…
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Chief Don Eagle, former holder of the Boston version of the AWA World Heavyweight Championship was found dead as a result of a self-inflicted gun wound. His body was found in the kitchen of his home on the Kahnawake Indian Reserve in Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada. He was reportedly despondent over…
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Ed "Strangler" Lewis, a five time world champion, died at the Veterans Administration Hospital in New York City. Lewis, whose real name was Robert Herman Julius Friedrich began wrestling when he was 14 years old, performed across the United States and around the world, earning a reporter $4 million over…
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Bobo Brazil defeatedBuddy Austin to win the WWA World title in Los Angeles, California. The match was stoped due to excessive bleeding by Austin. This was the first of two WWA title reigns for Brazil. The WWA ruled that the referee had over stepped his authority when he stopped the…
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Paul Boesch, radio announcer and television commentator for Houston Wrestling, purchased the Gulf Athletic Club in Houston, Texas from the widow of former promoter Morris Siegel. Numerous outside promoters approached Mrs. Siegel, making generous offers for the territory, but she was inclined to sell to Paul. Boesch, a former wrestler…
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One of professional wrestling's earliest and biggest attractions, European sensation and professional wrestling's first true World Heavyweight champion, "The Russian Lion" George Hackenschmidt, dies at the age of 90 in London, England.
Dory Funk, Jr. becomes NWA World Heavyweight champion by defeating Gene Kiniski in Tampa, Florida. Funk's time as NWA champion would last nearly four and a half years (1,563 days) and remains the second longest uninterrupted title reign (behind Lou Thesz's six and a half year run) in the history…
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In front of a stunned crowd of approximately 22,000 fans in Madison Square Garden, the Russian Bear, Ivan Koloff defeated WWWF Heavyweight champion Bruno Sammartino for the title belt. Sammartino had held the belt since 1963, for 2,803 days. Koloff pinned Sammartino clean fr the victory after a knee drop…
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Before a sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd of 21,812, Pedro Morales defeats Ivan Koloff for the World Wide Wrestling Federation Heavyweight title, solidifying his status as the babyface successor to the extremely popular former champion Bruno Sammartino. Morales would go on to hold the WWWF championship for 1,027 days, the…
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In one of the most historic nights in the history of Japanese professional wrestling, Antonio Inoki's New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion presents its first-ever card, at Ota Ward Gym in Tokyo, Japan. In the main event of the historic card, Inoki would lose to the legendary "God of Wrestling" Karl…
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Indianapolis promoter William Afflis (Dick the Bruiser) and partner Wilber Snyder promote the first World Wrestling Association event in Detroit, Michigan, beginning a two-year promotional war with Michigan wrestling czar (and NWA member) Ed "The Sheik" Farhat. Although he lost the WWA title to Dick the Bruiser nine days earlier…
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WWWF Heavyweight champion Pedro Morales matches up against former champion Bruno Sammartino in a huge matchup in Shea Stadium in New York. The two combatants were both huge fan favorites and the match drew more than 22,000 spectators. The two wrestled to a 65 minute draw.
A mere nine months after the debut of Antonio Inoki's New Japan Pro Wrestling, Shohei "Giant" Baba establishes All-Japan Pro Wrestling with the support of Nippon Television. In the main event of AJPW's first show, Bruno Sammartino & Terry Funk defeated Giant Baba & Sugiyama in a tag team match.
Eleven years after his professional wrestling debut, Harley Race defeats Dory Funk, Jr. in Kansas City, Kansas, to capture his first NWA World Heavyweight championship. Over the course of the next eleven years, the legendary Race would enjoy no less than eight reigns as the NWA World Heavyweight champion.
One of the most influential wrestlers in professional wrestling history, "Superstar" Billy Graham defeats "The Living Legend" Bruno Sammartino in Baltimore, Maryland, to become the World Wide Wrestling Federation Heavyweight champion. The trend-setting Graham would go on to hold the WWWF championship for ten months, consistently drawing tremendous crowds throughout…
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