On this day in wrestling history 12/12 (Part 1)

[Guest Sassquatch]

From Dave Meltzer:

 

ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY 12/12 (PART ONE)

 

1966 - Yoshihiro Asai was born in Nagoya, Japan. Asai trained in the New Japan dojo, but due to his size, he didn't make the grade. So he went to Mexico, like his hero Satoru Sayama, and started a career that made him one of the great workers in the history of the industry. Already capturing the UWA welterweight and middleweight titles, he returned to Japan in 1990 for a new promotion called Universal, which was the first all-Lucha Libre style promotion ever in Japan. Gran Hamada was scheduled to be the big star, since he had a name in Japan dating back nearly two decades, but the younger Asai, and his brand-new move, a quebrada outside the ring which is now known as the Asai moonsault, stole the show and became a big hit. While that promotion didn't make it, Asai became a big star in Japan, and even bigger when Antonio Pena gave him the gimmick Ultimo Dragon, as the last protege of Bruce Lee, to form a tag team in AAA with Octagon. He didn't last long in AAA either, but ended up in 1992 as the first "outsider" (wrestler from a promotion other than New Japan) to win a New Japan title when he was given the IWGP junior heavyweight title. From a title trivia note, at one point in time he held ten different national and world lighter weight titles simultaneously, including eight from the J Crown and the WCW cruiserweight belt. His career was cut short by what was supposed to be a routine elbow operation, botched by his WCW surgeon, and his hand never regained feeling. He now trains wrestlers and runs the Toryumon promotion in Japan and Mexico, a group that has spawned some of the best new in-ring talent in the world and puts on some of the most entertaining house shows seen anywhere. Another Japanese wrestler, Kensuke Shinzaki, known as both Hakushi and Jinsei Shinzaki, was also born on this day.

 

1974 - Oscar Gutierrez was born in San Diego, California. The nephew of Tijuana wrestling legend Rey Misterio, he started wrestling at the age of 14 and became famous as the greatest flier of his era as Rey Misterio Jr. Now 26 (2000), his career has struggled over the past two years due to knee problems and being mired by a booking committee and in a country where smaller wrestlers traditionally don't get pushed. However, when he first became a big name at the age of 17 in Mexico City, he was knocked by promoters there due to his size as well, with the idea that fans, even in Mexico, would never take him seriously and he would never be anything more than a flash in the pan, but ended up becoming one of the most popular wrestlers in the country.

 

1976 - In one of only a handful of true shoots that martial arts legend Antonio Inoki would actually be in, he broke the arm of Akrum Palehewan in a match in Pakistan. The match turned into a shoot, with Inoki, who at the time was in far better condition, maneuvered into a classic armbar. Palehewan didn't submit until his arm was broken. It was also the scariest moment of Inoki's life, even more than being in a shoot match with Muhammad Ali, beating a local legend in front of a stadium filled with his supporters, as legend had it guns were being drawn on him when the match ended. When Inoki did his classic wave after the match, the Pakistani crowd believed he was thanking Allah for his win and accepted it as good sportsmanship, even though Inoki himself had no idea that was what he was doing. Hey, it makes a great story, doesn't it?

 

1979 - In one of the biggest shows when it came to world wide talent ever in Madison Square Garden, both Bob Backlund, Harley Race and Antonio Inoki all retained their respective versions of the world heavyweight title before a sellout of 20,225 fans. There was a major political power play attempted before this match to Antonio Inoki and Hisashi Shinma, who had arranged for this card to be televised back to Japan and after doing the title change angle with Bob Backlund in Japan, tried to maneuver Vince McMahon Sr. into changing his advertised main event to Backlund vs. Inoki so it would appear that Inoki main evented a sold out Garden to the fans in Japan. In the match where Backlund regained the title from Inoki a few days earlier due to interference from Tiger Jeet Singh, Hisashi Shinma, who was the figurehead WWF President (and long-time business manager of Inoki), declared the title vacant pending a rematch, but gave the belt to Backlund to leave the country. McMahon Sr. wouldn't change the main event, but since it aired in Japan, when the match began, ring announcer Howard Finkel held the belt in his hands, Backlund didn't wear it to the ring, nor was he announced in the building as champion. In Japan it was billed that the title was vacant but that Inoki wasn't put in the match to determine the new champ, which was Backlund against Bobby Duncum, which Backlund won. For WWWF fans in the U.S., they knew none of that back story and just figured Backlund was defending the title, which is how it was always played up on television, in their Texas death match rematch of a double blood stoppage match the previous month. Race retained the NWA title beating Dusty Rhodes in 13:21 while Inoki retained the NWF title beating Great Hossein Arab (Iron Sheik) in 14:59, Tatsumi Fujinami keep the WWWF jr. heavyweight title beating Johnny Rivera (later one of the Invaders), Ivan Putski & Tito Santana retained the WWWF tag team titles over Victor Rivera & Swede Hanson and Seiji Sakaguchi & Riki Choshu retained the NWF North American tag team titles beating Jo Jo Andrews & Badnews Allan Coage. Perhaps as important as any of those matches was a prelim where a young powerhouse made his MSG debut by the name of Hulk Hogan, a green heel managed by Fred Blassie, defeating Ted DiBiase, who was a major star but on his way out of the promotion. Another wrestler named Dynamite Kid was scheduled to make his MSG debut and in the dressing room, but because the show was running long and New York had an 11 p.m. curfew, both his match, and the IC title match (Pat Patterson defending against Dominic DeNucci) never took place.

[Guest dreamer420]

1976 - In one of only a handful of true shoots that martial arts legend Antonio Inoki would actually be in, he broke the arm of Akrum Palehewan in a match in Pakistan. The match turned into a shoot, with Inoki, who at the time was in far better condition, maneuvered into a classic armbar. Palehewan didn't submit until his arm was broken. It was also the scariest moment of Inoki's life, even more than being in a shoot match with Muhammad Ali, beating a local legend in front of a stadium filled with his supporters, as legend had it guns were being drawn on him when the match ended. When Inoki did his classic wave after the match, the Pakistani crowd believed he was thanking Allah for his win and accepted it as good sportsmanship, even though Inoki himself had no idea that was what he was doing. Hey, it makes a great story, doesn't it?

I've never heard of that incident, but WOW. I can't believe an actual incident like that took place.