On this day in wrestling history 12/28

[Guest Sassquatch]

From Dave Meltzer:

 

ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY 12/28

 

1963 - The Tolos Brothers, John & Chris, captured the WWWF United States tag team titles (forerunner of today's WWF tag team titles) from Gorilla Monsoon & Killer Kowalski in Teaneck, NJ

 

1968 - Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher captured the unified AWA and WWA world tag team titles from Dr. Moto (Tor Kamata) & Mitsu Arakawa at the Amphitheater in Chicago

 

1980 - Kerry Von Erich, at the age of 20, captured the American heavyweight title for the first time over 23-year-old Gino Hernandez at the Sportatorium in Dallas. While both men at the time seemed to have a limitless future in the industry, but died young, Von Erich at 33, Hernandez at 27, after extensive drug problems.

 

1982 - Bob Backlund defeated Superstar Billy Graham in a Lumberjack match before a sellout in Madison Square Garden, which also included Pedro Morales keeping the IC title going to a double DQ with Don Muraco and Jimmy Snuka beating Ray Stevens via count out.

 

1984 - Hulk Hogan pinned The Iron Sheik in 4:34 before an announced crowd of 26,092 fans, a sellout in both Madison Square Garden and the adjacent Felt Forum. Also on the show, Dick Murdoch & Adrian Adonis retained the WWF tag team titles going to a draw with Jack & Jerry Brisco. Jack, then 43, fed up with the road and the direction of the business, went home a few days later and unlike virtually every other wrestling superstar in history, he never came back. Another top drawing match on the show was a double DQ with Roddy Piper & Bob Orton vs. Jimmy Snuka & Tonga Kid, while an undercard high flying match saw The Cobra, George Takano under a mask, win the vacant WWF jr. heavyweight title beating Black Tiger, England's Mark Hussey. But the biggest news story of all from this show was backstage, when ABC's 20/20 was filming to do a feature that aired several weeks later that revealed, egads, that pro wrestling matches had predetermined endings and that the punches really don't land. John Stossel, in one of the more famous television news clips in history, was interviewing David Shults, who was hot because he had to do a job for Antonio Inoki on this show, and told Shults, "I think it's fake," about pro wrestling. Shults slapped Stossel twice, hard across each ear. Stossel later settled out-of-court in a lawsuit against the WWF for $425,000. While it is widely believed Shults was fired by the WWF for this, he actually was suspended by the New York State Athletic Commission and fined. When the suspension was lifted, he was brought back. He was fired a few months later when he tried to attack Mr. T in Los Angeles just before T was to headline the first Wrestlemania.

 

1992 - Starrcade was held before 8,000 fans, roughly a half house, at the Omni in Atlanta, which was 6,500 paying $70,000 and an 0.5 percent buy rate, with the highlight being Sting pinning Big Van Vader to win the King of Cable tournament in a ****1/2 match, along with Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas keeping the NWA & WCW tag team titles over Brian Pillman & Barry Windham in a ****1/4 match. The show ended in a Battle Royal, which was anticlimactic after the two previous bouts, won by Great Muta, who earlier in the show had a disappointing loss in an NWA title match to Masahiro Chono. The show drew 68 percent thumbs up in the Observer poll.

 

1997 - In the most successful PPV in the history of World Championship Wrestling, Sting won the WCW title from Hulk Hogan on a show which drew 640,000 buys, as well as a sellout 17,500 fans paying $543,000 to the MCI Center in Washington, DC. The finish saw ref Nick Patrick supposed to give Sting a fast count, except he didn't count fast. Bret Hart, after being screwed a few weeks earlier, was to come in as ref to save the day, except the count wasn't fast and the psychology was all messed up because of it. Sting never came close to the popularity and drawing power that was built for him on this show since the match was a disappointment. Earlier Larry Zbyszko beat Eric Bischoff via DQ with Hart as referee and Diamond Dallas Page won the U.S. title from Curt Hennig.