*******************||Trending||*******************
December 19, 2011
This Day in Wrestling History
Frank Gotch is buried in Humboldt, Iowa with Iowa Governor W. L. Harding delivering the eulogy.
December 19, 1917
WCW held its 17th-annual "Starrcade" pay-per-view at the MCI Center in Washington, DC. WCW World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart defeated Goldberg by "submission" in a No Disqualification match to retain the title. Many referees were taken out during the match. Roddy Piper ended up taking over officiating duties, and called for the bell while Goldberg was locked in the Sharpshooter without Goldberg submitting, in Montreal Screwjob fashion. Hart's win ended a four-year losing streak for WCW World Heavyweight Champions at "Starrcade". Bret Hart suffered a severe concussion during the match, due to a mule kick by Goldberg. Unaware of the severity of the injury, Hart continued to wrestle, but was soon diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. The injury would prove to be career-ending, as Hart retired from wrestling soon after.
Madusa defeats Evan Karagias to win the Cruiserweight Championship at Starrcade. This was the first time a woman was crowned with this title.
December 19, 1999
December 18, 2011
Triple H Shows No Mercy
In a punishing contest between the best friends turned bitter enemies, Triple H showed no mercy at WWE TLC once he managed to grasp the sledgehammer hanging above a ladder. Blow after blow, The Game made Nash pay for injuring him on the Oct. 24 Raw SuperShow and causing havoc in WWE over the last four months. When the torment was through, Nash had to be stretchered out of 1st Mariner Arena.
WWE TLC PPV Results 2011
WWE United States Title Match: Zack Ryder vs. Dolph Ziggler
Winner: Zack Ryder - New United States Champion
WWE Tag Team Title Match: Epico and Primo vs. Air Boom
Winners: Air Boom
Tables Match: Wade Barrett vs. Randy Orton
Winner: Randy Orton
WWE Divas Title Match: Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix
Winner: Beth Phoenix
Sledgehammer Ladder Match: Kevin Nash vs. Triple H
Winner: Triple H
Sheamus vs. Jack Swagger
Winner: Sheamus
Chairs Match for the World Heavyweight Title: Big Show vs. Mark Henry
Winner: Big Show - New World Heavyweight Champion. After the match, Show looks at the title when Henry attacks from behind with a chair, taking his leg out. Henry DDT's Show on top of a steel chair. Daniel Bryan runs down and cashes in Money in the Bank. Bryan covers Show to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.
Winner and New World Heavyweight Champion: Daniel Bryan
WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Booker T vs. Cody Rhodes
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Triple Threat TLC Match for the WWE Title: The Miz vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk
Winner: CM Punk
This Day in Wrestling History
Happy Birthday to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
December 18, 1964
Toru Tanaka defeats Fritz Von Erich in Houston, Texas to win the NWA American Heavyweight Title (later to become the World Class World Heavyweight Title), ending Fritz' eighth reign as champion.
December 18, 1970
Happy Birthday to Rob Van Dam
December 18, 1971
Happy Birthday to Trish Stratus
December 18, 1975
Giant Baba won All Japan Pro Wrestling's 20-man Open Championship tournament in Tokyo with 11 points, beating out second place finishers Abdullah The Butcher and Dory Funk Jr. by one point.
December 18, 1975
Ricky Steamboat defeats Ric Flair in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to win the United States Title for a second time. This also marked the end of Flair's second reign with the belt.
December 18, 1978
Blue Panther defeats Satanico in a tournament final to become the first CMLL World Middleweight Title in Acapulco, Mexico. Panther would vacate the title six months later when he jumped to the rival AAA promotion.
December 18, 1991
partial source: pwinsider.com
December 17, 2011
CM Punk and Wrestling Nostalgia: How WWE Has Co-Opted its Most Radical Star
Inevitably, CM Punk was going to let us down. We had all our hopes pinned on him, not as the next great wrestler but as a world-altering event; he wasn't so much our Messiah as our Rapture. And like so many cultists foretelling the end of days, we wake up the next morning only to find that everything is exactly the way it was yesterday. No holy fire from the sky. No bright new era of professional wrestling.
The real question, however, isn't what happened to the reckoning, but how much did Punk ever really want a new era? As he emerged as the WWE's top star over the past six months, Punk's character seemed in conflict with himself. He was a progressive figure — an agent of change, as he'll frequently say — but remained fixated on the past. He billed himself (functionally, if not explicitly) as wrestling's savior, the man who would rescue WWE from its monotonous, outmoded ways. Yet he spends more time rhapsodizing about the wonders of WWF ice cream bars than plotting an inspired path for the future...More?
source: grantland.com
This Day in Wrestling History
The WWF(E) ran at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, with a card airing live on the MSG Network in the New York area, but also in Japan, as this card was almost immediately following the Antonio Inoki-Bob Backlund WWF(E) title controversy in Japan, as well as featuring many Japanese stars. This card also featured the Madison Square Garden debut of Hulk Hogan.
December 17, 1979
The 18th, and final, Starrcade event was held in Washington, DC at the MCI Center. Three months later, WCW would be purchased by the WWF(E), and thus ending the eighteen year streak of Starrcade events, going back to the days of Jim Crockett Promotions.
December 17, 2000
December 16, 2011
Update on Dean Ambrose
WWE developmental wrestler Dean Ambrose competed in his first match before a WWE crowd at Friday's SuperShow in Fort Myers, Florida. He lost to Daniel Bryan in a comedy match.
The former Jon Moxley signed a developmental contract with WWE in April and is considered one of the top wrestlers in Florida Championship Wrestling. His series of matches with Seth Rollins this year have garnered rave reviews.
Randy Orton to Appear at the Washington D.C. Auto Show
Randy Orton has been announced to appear at the Washington Auto Show at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center 801 Mount Vernon Place NW, Washington, D.C. on February 1, 2012 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
This Day in Wrestling History
Frank Gotch dies of uremic poisoning at the age of 39 at his home in Humboldt, Iowa.
December 16, 1917
Scott Steiner makes his return to RAW for the first time in 8 years and challenges Triple H for the World title.
December 16, 2002
Oderint Dum Metuant: Let Them Hate As Long As They Fear
