Henri Deglane defeats World Champion Ed "Strangler" Lewis by disqualification in Montreal, Canada after allegedly being bitten by Lewis. Deglane then claims the Paul Bowser recognized American Wrestling Association World championship and it splits off from the main line of World champions. This match has become legendary with many speculating that Deglane actually bit himself in the locker room between falls and then hid the bite until the match restarted thus getting the DQ win over Lewis.
May 4, 1931
It was announced by Vince McMahon that Andre the Giant had suffered a broken ankle. The injury was blamed on Killer Khan, setting up a series of grudge matches after Andre recovered. WWE maintained ownership of the giant cast used to set the ankle and often displays it at their annual AXXESS events.
May 4, 1981
During an edition of Smackdown in Tucson, Arizona, Jacquelyn (aka Jackie Moore) answered an open challenge from WWE Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero, defeating him with a low blow inside of three minutes to win the Cruiserweight Title, the first woman to do so since the belt became a WWE property.
May, 4, 2004
WWE publicly confirmed they were bringing the ECW brand back as a full-time entity and were signing talents to deals with the brand slated to debut at the June 2006 One Night Stand PPV.
May 4, 2006
The Necro Butcher's scene with Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" where they brandish a staple gun in the midst of their hardcore CZW match was nominated for the very dignified "WTF Moment" MTV Movie Award. The scene did not win, but was one of many notable mainstream media mentions for Butcher that year, including a shout-out during the Academy Awards.
May 4, 2009
Following a less than stellar run on Monday Nights, SpikeTV issued a press release that TNA Impact would be returning to Thursdays on 5/13/10. “The fans have spoken and with their input we have determined the best timeslot to maximize the TNA audience is on Thursday nights where we are confident it will be among the most-watched shows with young men,” said Brian J. Diamond, senior vice president, sports and specials for Spike TV, in the release, which also announced the addition of Reaction, a well produced series that followed up on Impact's developments. Reaction ended up running several months and in some weeks, was better than Impact.
May 4, 2010
partial source: pwinsider.com
May 4, 2012
This Day in Wrestling History
May 3, 2012
More than 100 former NFL players sue league, saying they weren’t protected from concussions
More than 100 former NFL players have filed a federal lawsuit in Atlanta claiming that pro football didn’t properly protect its players from concussions.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include former Atlanta Falcon Jamal Anderson, ex-Georgia star Lindsey Scott and veteran quarterback Don Majkowski.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Georgia, claims the league failed to protect NFL players from brain injuries linked to football-related concussions.
They are among more than 1,000 former NFL players suing the league. The cases say not enough was done to inform players about the dangers of concussions in the past, and not enough is done to take care of them today.
The league has said any allegation that the league intentionally sought to mislead players is without merit.
source: associated press
Wade Barrett Featured in New WWE Studios Project
Prowrestling.net is reporting that WWE star Wade Barrett is involved in the filming of a new WWE Studios projected called "Dead Man Walking" - a joint venture with IM Global. Barrett is featured in a supporting actor role in the film. Other stars in the film include Colin Ferrell, Noomi Rapace and Terrance Howard.
Recap of WWE Earnings Conference Call
Vince McMahon hosted a conference call pertaining to the first quarter financial report that was released on May 3, 2012. The following are the highlights of the call.
-Once the legalities were out of the way, Vince McMahon took over and had positive things to say about the live events numbers. He spoke about expanding into new markets such as Abu Dhabi and Russia.
-Vince said television ratings are holding up very well. He said their social media numbers are extraordinary. He said people think they are cutting edge and doing it better than everyone else. "I suppose we are, but we've only scratched the surface," McMahon said. He also touted their relationship with Youtube.
-Vince said they are continuing with their WWE Network launch plans. He mentioned they are making key hires. He said the negotiations continue with the carriers. He said that is going very well.
-McMahon touted the new WWE Studios model and then turned things over to CFO George Barrios, who ran through the financial presentation. Once Barrios finished his presentation, they opened up the lines for phone calls.
May 2, 2012
Rumor Mill - Hulk Hogan's Big Concept Revealed
The word at the TNA Impact Wrestling tapings on Monday was that the big concept that Hulk Hogan was referring to in the New York Post interview calls for fans to film TNA wrestlers whenever they may encounter them. The fans will be encouraged to send the footage to the company for possible inclusion on TNA television.
The idea is that wrestlers are "on" 24/7. This idea isn't exactly popular within the locker room, as one can only imagine. As one person noted, Hogan is the last person who should encourage this given how his own home videos have come back to haunt him.
One source indicated today that the concept was set to be unveiled in a promo, but it ended up being removed. It remains to be seen whether they are saving it for another show, fine-tuning the idea, or if it's been dropped. Several people in the company who hope it's the latter scenario.
source: prowrestling.net
This Day in Wrestling History
Happy Birthday to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
May 2, 1972
Curt Hennig defeated Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA Heavyweight title.
May 2, 1987
May 1, 2012
Is Brock’s fate in the hands of Triple H, the Board?
Brock Lesnar’s vicious attack on Triple H now poses a major dilemma for both Triple H and WWE’s Board of Directors, who inevitably view the former WWE and UFC Heavyweight Champion as a boon to business. Moments before the attack Monday, Triple H made clear that although Lesnar is free to abandon his contract if he has misgivings about it, he hoped that Lesnar would stay in the WWE fold.
“I don’t think you want that, and I don’t want that either,” Triple H said of a possible Lesnar exit, adding that the WWE Universe wants to see Brock pitted against WWE Superstars such as WWE Champion CM Punk, Randy Orton and Sheamus.
Yet, with his left arm now in a sling, will the WWE COO have a change of heart? Although Triple H’s office has not yet issued a formal response to Monday’s attack, is it possible that Lesnar’s termination papers are already working their way through Human Resources channels?
Even beyond Triple H, how might the Board of Directors – which, in the eyes of the public, has taken on a much more involved role with Raw personnel in the last year – react to Monday’s assault? Even if Triple H holds firm in his stance that Lesnar shall remain a WWE talent, could the COO be overridden by the Board?
Adding one further wrinkle is the revised contract that Laurinaitis agreed to during the April 23 edition of Raw. Among the new terms approved by the GM was a clause that waived any future fines or disciplinary actions against Lesnar.
Triple H has already dismissed those additional contract perks as null and void, but could Lesnar’s camp pursue legal action in the event that the Board of Directors or Triple H comes down on Lesnar?
Finally, what of John Laurinaitis himself? One must wonder if the Raw and SmackDown GM must be held to some accountability. How can the Board approve of Laurinaitis agreeing to Brock’s mandates without any consultation, or that the company’s COO earned a broken arm for attempting to rectify a bad situation? It might be wise for the Board to take disciplinary action against Laurinaitis, and not just for apparently exceeding the limits of his authority. No, it might be a good idea to do so for the EVP of Talent Relations’ safety, before Triple H recovers and deals with Laurinaitis – personally.
