Official 411 Wrestling Almanac For May
Posted by Ron Gamble on 05.09.2003
Take a look at all that has happened in wrestling during May...
WRESTLING ALMANAC FOR MAY
MAY 1
1981 Harley Race regains the NWA World title from Tommy Rich in Gainesville, GA. On the same night in Richmond, VA, Gene and Ole Anderson beat Paul Jones and Masked Superstar to win the NWA Tag Team titles.
1994 Shinya Hashimoto beats Tatsumi Fujinami in Fukuoka, Japan, to win the IWGP Heavyweight title.
1998 Toshiaki Kawada beats Mitsuharu Misawa to win the All-Japan Triple Crown title in Tokyo.
1998 Booker T regains the WCW Television title eh lost the night before to Chris Benoit in Greenville, SC.
2002 The WWF Hardcore title switches from Steven Richards to Tommy Dreamer to Goldust and back to Steven Richards in Cologne, Germany.
2003 Elizabeth Hulette, aka Miss Elizabeth, 42, dies in Cobb County, GA, at the home of Lex Luger. Luger was arrested and charged with 14 counts of drug possession, but he was not charged in connection with Hulettes death.
MAY 2
1981 Killer Khan breaks Andre the Giants leg in Rochester, NY, after jumping off the top rope onto Andres left ankle.
1987 Curt Hennig defeats Nick Bockwinkel in San Francisco, CA, to win the AWA World title.
1994 Larry Zbyszko wins the WCW Television title from Steven Regal in Atlanta, GA.
1996 Dean Malenko beats Shinjiro Ohtani in Orlando, FL, to win the WCW Cruiserweight title.
1998 Chris Benoit wins the WCW Television title for the second time in three days by beating Booker T in North
Charleston, SC.
1999 Mitsuharu Misawa beats Vader to win the All-Japan Triple Crown title during the Giant Baba Memorial Show in Tokyo. Baba is eulogized by, among others, Bruno Sammartino, Gene Kiniski, The Destroyer, and Lord James Blears.
2000 Chris Jericho beats Chris Benoit to win the WWF Intercontinental title in Richmond, VA.
2000 Kronic wins the WCW Tag Team titles from Buff Bagwell and Shane Douglas in Memphis, TN.
2002 The WWF Hardcore title goes from Steven Richards to Shawn Stasiak to Justin Credible to Crash Holly to Steven Richards, back to Shawn Stasiak, and back to Steven Richards in Glasgow, Scotland.
MAY 3
1992 The Steiner Brothers beat Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton to win the WCW Tag team titles.
1995 The Great Muta beats Shinya Hashimoto in Fukuoka, Japan, to regain the IWGP Heavyweight title he lost to Hashimoto one year earlier. On the same card, Sabu wins the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title from Koji Kanemoto.
1997 Satoshi Kojima and Manabu Makanishi beat Riki Choshu and Kensuke Sasaki in Osaka, Japan, to win the IWGP Tag Team titles.
1998 ECW Wrestlepalooza is held in Marietta, GA. In the main event, World champion Shane Douglas beat Al Snow.
1998 The WCW Television title switches back from Chris Benoit to Booker T in Savannah, GA.
2002 The WWF Hardcore title switches from Steven Richards to Crash Holly and back to Steven Richards in Birmingham, England.
MAY 4
1931 Henry DeGlane beats Ed Strangler Lewis by disqualification to win the NWA World title in Montreal, QC.
Because the match ended by disqualification, DeGlane is recognized as champion in Canada and parts of New England, while Lewis was still recognized as champion in other states, like California and Illinois.
1959 Scott Armstrong is born.
1984 - The Third Annual David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions is held in Irving,
TX. In the main event, World Class champion Rick Rude beat Bruiser Brody by disqualification. Brody beat Terry Gordy in a barbed-wire match earlier on the card. Also on the card, Kerry Von Erich, Lance Von Erich, and Steve Simpson (substituting for Kevin Von Erich) beat Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, and Buddy Roberts for the World Class Six-Man Tag Team titles.
1998 For the fifth time in five days, the WCW Television title changes hands, this time from Booker T to Dave Finlay, in Indianapolis, IN.
1999 Jos Le Duc, 55, dies from a lung infection in Fayetteville, GA.
2002 WWF Insurrexxion is held in London. In the main event, Triple H defeats The Undertaker. Also during the event, the Hardcore title switches from Steven Richards to Booker T to Crash Holly to Booker T and back to Steven Richards.
MAY 5
1904 World Greco-Roman champion George Hackenschmidt beat American heavyweight champion Tom Jenkins in New York to create the World heavyweight title. This title melded into the NWA World title.
1961 Hiroshi Hase is born.
1985 The Second Annual David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions is held in Irving, TX. In the main event, Kevin Von Erich and NWA World Champion Ric Flair went to a double countout. Also on the card, The Midnight Express beat The Fantastics in a two-ring match (Tommy Rogers vs. Bobby Eaton in one ring; Bobby Fulton vs. Dennis Condrey in the other) to win the vacant World Class Tag Team titles.
1996 Ray Stevens, 60, dies in San Francisco, CA, after a heart attack.
2001 WWF Insurrextion is held in London. In the main event, The Undertaker defeated Steve Austin and Triple
H.
MAY 6
1921 Stanislaus Zbyszko won the NWA World title for the first time, beating Ed Strangler Lewis in New York.
1964 Brian Knobs is born.
1975 Gran Apolo is born.
1980 Colt Cabana is born.
1984 The David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions is held in Irving, TX. Kerry Von Erich defeats NWA World Champion Ric Flair to win the title. Also on the card, Fritz, Kevin, and Mike Von Erich beat Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, and Buddy Roberts to win the World Class Six-Man Tag Team titles.
1984 Crusher and Baron Von Raschke defeat Crusher Blackwell and Ken Patera to win the AWA Tag team titles in Green Bay, WI.
2000 Davey Boy Smith wins the WWF Hardcore title from Crash Holly in London.
2002 Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler announce during Monday Night Raw from Hartford, CT, that the World Wrestling Federation has changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment. On the same card, William Regal wins the European title from Spike Dudley, and the Hardcore title goes from Steven Richards to Buh Buh Ray Dudley to Raven to Justin Credible to Crash Holly to Trish Stratus and back to Steven Richards.
MAY 7
1989 NWA Music City Showdown is held in Nashville, TN. Many experts consider this the greatest pay per view in NWA/WCW history. In the main event, Ric Flair regained the NWA World title from Rick Steamboat. Also on the show, Michael Hayes beat Lex Luger to win the United States title.
2000 WCW Slamboree is held in Kansas City, MO. Jeff Jarrett beat World champion David Arquette and Diamond Dallas Page in a triple-tier cage match to win the title in the main event.
MAY 8
1974 Jimmy and Johnny Valiant beat Tony Garea and Dean Ho to win the WWWF Tag Team titles in Hamburg, PA.
1988 Tatsumi Fujinami beat Big Van Vader to win the IWGP Heavyweight title in Tokyo.
2000 Six days after losing the WWF Intercontinental title to Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit regains the title in Uniondale, NY.
MAY 9
1975 WWWF World champion Bruno Sammartino and PWF World champion Giant Baba wrestle to a no-
decision in a title unification match in Tokyo. It is the first ever WWWF title defense in Japan.
1988 Jerry Lawler defeats Curt Hennig in Memphis, TN to win the AWA World title.
1999 WCW Slamboree is held in St. Louis, MO. Kevin Nash beat World Champion Diamond Dallas Page to win the title. Also on the card, Perry Saturn and Raven beat World Tag Team champs Billy Kidman and Rey Misterio Jr. and Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko to win the titles, and Rick Steiner won the Television title from Booker T.
2000 Crash Holly regains the WWF Hardcore title from Davey Boy Smith in New Haven, CT.
MAY 10
1953 Tito Santana is born.
1965 William (Steven) Regal is born.
1980 Rick Steamboat and Jay Youngblood beat Ray Stevens and Greg Valentine to win the NWA Tag Team titles in Greensboro, NC.
1981 After a successful title defense against Nick Bockwinkel, AWA World champion Verne Gagne retires.
1995 Ilio De Paulo, 68, dies in Buffalo, NY, after being hit by a car.
1999 Debra beats Sable to win the WWF Womens title in Orlando, FL.
MAY 11
1953 The New York State Athletic Commission lifts a ban on tag-team wrestling.
1960 Hiromichi Fuyuji is born.
1974 Billy Kidman is born.
1976 The Executioners (Killer Kowalski and Big John Studd in masks) defeat Tony Parisi and Louis Cerdan to win the WWWF Tag Team titles in Philadelphia, PA.
1985 WWFs Saturday Nights Main Event makes its debut on NBC, the first time wrestling is on network television in 30 years.
1987 Almost another Von Erich tragedy, as Kevin Von Erich collapses in the ring during an eight-man tag match. Tommy Rogers administers CPR after Von Erich started turning blue.
1996 Shane Douglas defeats 2 Cold Scorpio for the ECW Television title in Philadelphia, PA.
1997 In Your House XV Cold Day in Hell takes place in Richmond, VA. In the main event, WWF Champion Undertaker defeats Steve Austin, and Ken Shamrock debuts by making Vader submit to a leglock.
MAY 12
1964 Toyonobori defeats Gene Kiniski to win Japans World League Singles tournament, becoming the first person besides Rikidozan to win the tournament.
1997 Rob Van Dam makes his debut on WWF Monday Night Raw by beating Jerry Lawler. During the rest of his tenure in ECW, he is known as Mr. Monday Night.
MAY 13
1960 - Rikidozan wins Japans second annual World League Singles tournament, beating Leo Nomellini in the final match.
1975 Victor Rivera and Dominic DeNucci defeat Johnny and Jimmy Valiant for the WWWF Tag Team titles in Philadelphia, PA.
1981 Jimmy Yang is born.
1984 Rick Martel defeats Jumbo Tsuruta in St. Paul, MN, for the AWA World title.
1988 Barry Windham defeats Nikita Koloff for the NWA United States title in Houston, TX.
1994 Mikey Whipwreck defeats the Pit Bull for the ECW Television title in Philadelphia, PA.
1995 The final wrestling card, A Night to Remember is held in Boston Garden.
2000 Sixteen years after losing the AWA World title, Jumbo Tsuruta, 49, dies in the Philippines after a long battle with cancer.
2002 Trish Stratus defeats Jazz for the WWE Womens title in Toronto, Ontario. The match had Trish and Buh Buh Ray Dudley against Jazz and Steven Richards, with the stipulation that the title would change if Trish pinned Jazz.
MAY 14
1937 Eddie Baker, 36, dies after a match in Corinth, MS, from heart failure.
1957 Leon Vader White is born.
1960 Steve Dr. Death Williams is born.
1961 Tommy Rogers is born.
1990 During a match in Tokyo, Tiger Mask (Mitsuharu Misawa) unmasks for the first time in six years.
1995 WWF In Your House I is held in Syracuse, NY. In the main event, WWF World Champion Diesel beats Sid Vicious by disqualification.
2000 ECW Hardcore Heaven is held in Milwaukee, WI. ECW World Champion Justin Credible beats Lance Storm in the main event.
2002 The Hurricane defeats Tajiri for the WWE Cruiserweight title in Montreal, QC.
2002 Erich Kulas, aka Mass Transit, dies in Cranston, RI.
MAY 15
1971 Red Bastien and Hercules Cortez defeat Mad Dog Vachon and Butcher Vachon for the AWA Tag Team titles in Milwaukee, WI.
1993 The ECW Tag Team title goes from the Suicide Blonds to the Super Destroyers and back to the Suicide Blonds in Philadelphia, PA.
1999 Break the Barrier, a card with several independent wrestling organizations, is held in Viking Hall (aka ECW Arena) in Philadelphia, PA. In the main event Stevie Richards beats Tom Brandi and Allied Powers Wrestling Federation champion Jimmy Cicero for the title.
2000 Ric Flair defeats Jeff Jarrett in Biloxi, MS, for the WCW World Championship, during WCW Monday Nitro.
It is Flairs 15th world title. During the same show, Crowbar and Daffney were named co-WCW Cruiserweight champions after defeating Tammy Sytch and WCW Cruiser champ Chris Candido in a mixed tag match in Biloxi, MS.
2000 The WWF Hardcore title goes from Crash Holly to Bobcat (one of the Godfathers hos) back to Crash Holly in Cleveland, OH.
MAY 16
1961 Papa Shango/Kama Mustafa/The Godfather/The Goodfather is born in Las Vegas, NV.
1963 Skull Murphy and Brute Bernard defeat Buddy Austin and The Great Scott in Washington, DC, to win the WWWF United States Tag team titles.
1999 WWF No Mercy is held in Manchester, England. WWF World champion Steve Austin beats The Undertaker and Triple H in the main event.
1999 ECW Hardcore Heaven is held in Poughkeepsie, NY. Taz beats Chris Candido by submission early in the evening, then beats Buh Buh Ray Dudley in the main event.
2000 One night after winning the WCW World title, Ric Flair clutches his chest and collapses in the ring. He is helped to the back.
2002 Shoichi Arai, 36, former FMW President, is found dead in his apartment in Tokyo.
2002 Big Dick Dudley (Alex Rizzo), 34, is found dead in his apartment in New York.
MAY 17
1963 Bruno Sammartino defeats Buddy Rogers to win the WWWF World title in New York.
1968 Giant Baba beats Killer Kowalski to win the 10th Annual World League Tournament in Japan.
1986 Buddy Rose and Doug Somers win the AWA Tag Team titles from Scott Hall and Curt Hennig in Hammond, IN. The match ended controversially when Hennig was counted out, and the referee awarded the belts to Rose and Somers.
1993 Marty Jannetty beats Shawn Michaels for the WWF Intercontinental title in New York.
1992 WCW Wrestle War is held in Jacksonville, FL. In the main event, Sting, Rick Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, and Barry Windham beat the Dangerous Alliance (Steve Austin, Rick Rude, Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyszko, and Bobby Eaton) in the War Games match. Also during the card, Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin defeat Terrence Taylor and Greg Valentine to win the United States Tag Team titles.
1997 During a match, Terry Funk drops a guardrail on Stevie Richards neck, temporarily paralyzing him.
1998 WCW Slamboree is held in Worcester, MA. In the main event, The Giant and Sting defeat Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to win the WCW Tag Team titles. Also in the evening, Dean Malenko defeats Chris Jericho to win the WCW Cruiserweight title.
1999 Charles Robinson is injured in a mixed tag match by an elbow drop from Randy Savage, suffering a collapsed lung.
2001 ECW valet Francine puts two to three hours in a Philadelphia, PA, nightclub with her for bids on eBay.
The auction reacher $11,500, but is stopped after most bids are found to be illegitimate.
2002 Davey Boy Smith dies of a heart attack while vacationing in British Columbia.
MAY 18
1943 Jimmy Snuka is born.
1971 Andre the Giant wins the IWA Japan round-robin tournament.
1973 The Blue Meanie is born in the Parts Unknown General Hospital.
1997 WCW Slamboree is held in Charlotte, NC. In the main event, Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, and Kevin Greene defeated Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Syxx. Also on the card, Steven Regal beat Ultimo Dragon to win the Television title.
MAY 19
1905 Two weeks after losing in two straight falls to George Hackenschmidt, Tom Jenkins defeats Frank Gotch in a best-of-three-falls match that lasted more than two hours to retain his American heavyweight title.
The first fall alone went almost 90 minutes.
1946 Andre (The Giant) Roussimoff is born. His mother is heard afterward to say, OWWW!
1963 In the most famous match in Japanese history, The Destroyer defeats Rikidozan in Osaka. It would be the last match Rikidozan would lose as a singles wrestler.
1981 After Verne Gagne retires as AWA World Champion, AWA President decides to award the title to former champion Nick Bockwinkel.
1986 Nobuhiko Takada beats Shiro Koshinaka in Tokyo to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title.
1990 NWA Capital Combat is held in Washington, DC. United States champion Lex Luger beat World champion Ric Flair in a cage match by disqualification. Also on the card, The Midnight Express beat Brian Pillman and Tom Zenk to win the United States Tag Team belts, and Doom defeated the Steiner Brothers to win the World Tag team belts.
1991 WCW Superbrawl I is held in St. Petersburg, FL. In the main event, Ric Flair pinned Tatsumi Fujinami to regain the held-up World title. Also on the card, Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin beat the Young Pistols to win the vacant United States Tag Team titles, and Bobby Eaton won the Television title by beating Arn Anderson.
1995 Razor Ramon beats Jeff Jarrett in Montreal, QC to win the WWF Intercontinental title.
1996 WCW Slamboree is held in Baton Rouge, LA. In the main event, World Champion The Giant beat Sting.
Also on the card, Diamond Dallas Page won the Battle Bowl battle royal and a World title shot at The Great American Bash.
1996 Henry O. Godwinn and Phineas I. Godwinn beat Skip and Zip, the Bodydonnas, for the WWF Tag Team titles in New York.
1999 The Brian Pillman Memorial is held in Cincinnati, OH. Konnan and Rey Misterio, Jr. beat Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko in the main event.
2002 WWE Judgment Day is held in Nashville, TN. In the main event, The Undertaker wins the WWE title from Hulk Hogan. Also in the show, Rico and Rikishi defeat Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo to win the WWE Tag Team title.
MAY 20
1949 During a match with Emil Koroschenko in Milan, Italy, Adi Berber suffers a broken neck and dies.
1961 Ali Pasha dies from a coronary occlusion after a match with Billy Darnell in Pittsburgh, PA.
1983 Toronto promoter Frank Tunney dies in Hong Kong after a heart attack.
1993 Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue beat Terry Gordy and Steve Williams to win the All-Japan Tag Team titles in Sapporo, Japan.
2001 WWF Judgment Day is held in Sacramento, CA. In the main event, WWF World champion Steve Austin beat The Undertaker. Also on the card, Kane won the Intercontinental title from Triple H in a chain match.
MAY 21
1952 Lou Thesz beats Baron Michele Leone in Los Angeles to combine the California version of the NWA title into Theszs NWA World title.
1967 Chris Benoit is born.
1982 Wahoo McDaniel beats Sgt. Slaughter to win the NWA United States title in Richmond, VA.
1995 WCW Slamboree is held in St. Petersburg, FL. Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage beat Ric Flair and Big Van Vader in the main event. Also on the card, The Nasty Boys beat Harlem Heat to win the World Tag Team titles.
2000 WWF Judgment Day is held in Louisville, KY. In the main event, Triple H defeats The Rock in an Ironman match to win the WWF World title.
2001 Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho beat Steve Austin and Triple H to win the WWF Tag Team titles in San Jose, CA. During the match, Triple H ruptures his quadriceps muscle and requires surgery. On the same card, The Big Show wins the WWF Hardcore title from Rhyno.
MAY 22
1967 Well-known Internet wrestling personality, heart patient, and all-around nice guy Ron Gamble is born.
1972 Chief Jay Strongbow and Sonny King defeat Baron Mikel Scicluna and King Curtis Iaukea in New York to win the WWWF Tag Team titles.
1981 American Dragon is born.
1984 George Zaharias, 76, former husband of Babe Didrickson, dies in Tampa, FL.
1989 Lex Luger regains the NWA United States title from Michael Hayes in Bluefield, WV.
1994 WCW Slamboree is held in Philadelphia, PA. In the main event, World Champion Ric Flair beat Barry Windham. Also on the card, Cactus Jack and Kevin Sullivan beat the Nasty Boys in a wild Broad Street Bully streetfight to win the World Tag Team titles.
1995 Jeff Jarrett regains the WWF Intercontinental title from Razor Ramon in Trois-Rivieres, QC.
2000 Jeff Jarrett regains the WCW World title from Ric Flair in Grand rapids, MI. On the same card, in a match to determine one WCW Cruiserweight champion, Daffney beats Crowbar.
MAY 23
1906 Frank Gotch wins the American heavyweight title from Tom Jenkins in three falls.
1961 Wilbur Snyder and Leo Nomellini defeat Hardboiled Haggerty and Gene Kiniski (substituting for the injured Len Montana) to win the AWA Tag Team titles in Minneapolis, MN.
1992 Steve Austin beats Barry Windham to win the WCW Television title in Atlanta, GA.
1993 WCW Slamboree is held in Atlanta, GA. Davey Boy Smith beat World champion Big Van Vader by disqualification in the main event.
1994 Ray Candy, 43, one-half of the Zambouie Express, dies in Decatur, GA.
1996 Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama beat Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue in Sapporo, Japan, to win the All-Japan Tag team titles.
1999 WWF Over the Edge is held in Kansas City, MO. The Undertaker defeated Steve Austin for the WWF World title, but the night is overshadowed by the death of Owen Hart, when he plummeted over 50 feet from the rafters to the ring.
2000 One night after regaining the WCW World title, Jeff Jarrett loses it to Kevin Nash in Saginaw, MI.
MAY 24
1940 Richard Smith, 28, dies after trying to defeat Dale (Swede) Hanson at a carnival in Pilot Grove, MO.
1964 After a tag team match in Savannah, GA, Tex Riley dies of a heart attack.
1966 David Lee Gilbert is born.
1973 Harley Race wins the first of his eight NWA World titles, beating Dory Funk Jr. in Kansas City, MO.
1984 Ric Flair regains the NWA World title from Kerry Von Erich in Yokosuka City, Japan.
1996 Akira Taue beats Mitsuharu Misawa in Sapporo, Japan, to win the All-Japan Triple Crown title.
MAY 25
1956 Tatsutoshi Goto is born.
1982 Tiger Mask I wins the NWA Junior Heavyweight title by beating Les Thorton In Shizuoka, Japan.
1987 Soldat Ustinov and Boris Zuhkov defeat Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels to win the AWA Tag Team titles in Lake Tahoe, NV.
1989 Salman Hashimikov beat Big Van Vader to win the IWGP Heavyweight title in Osaka, Japan. On the same card, Jushin Liger beats Hiroshi Hase to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title.
1997 Steve Austin and Shwan Michaels win the WWF Tag Team titles from Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith in Evansville, IN.
1999 Bradshaw and Faarooq beat Kane and X-Pac during WWF Smackdown to win the WWF Tag Team
titles in Moline, IL. On the same card, Jeff Jarrett beat The Godfather to win the WWF Intercontinental title.
2000 The Second Annual Brian Pillman Memorial is held in Cincinnati, OH. Eddie Guerrero and D-lo Brown beat Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn in the main event.
2002 The WWE Hardcore title switches from Steven Richards to Tommy Dreamer to Raven and back to Steven Richards in Winnipeg, MB.
MAY 26
1982 One night after winning the NWA Junior Heavyweight title, Tiger Mask I wins the WWF version by beating Black Tiger in Osaka, Japan.
1987 The Rock n Roll Express beat Manny Fernandez and Rick Rude in Spokane, WA, to win the NWA Tag Team titles.
1987 Hacksaw Jim Duggan and The Iron Sheik are arrested in New Jersey. Dugganis charged with possession of marijuana and drinking while driving, and receives a conditional discharge; Sheik is charged with possession of marijuana and cocaine, and is sentenced to one year probation.
1996 WWF In Your House VIII is held in Florence, SC. The main event saw World Champion Shawn Michaels and Davey Boy Smith wrestle to a draw, but the big story is the storm outside the arena, which caused the power to go out during the live broadcast for almost an hour. Also on the show, Billy and Bart Gunn beat the Godwinns to win the Tag team titles.
2002 Yoshinobu Kanemaru beat KENTA in Sapporo, Japan, to win the Pro Wrestling NOAH Junior
Heavyweight title.
2002 The WWE Hardcore title repeats the same pattern as the night before, from Steven Richards to Tommy Dreamer to Raven and back to Steven Richards, in Red Deer, SK.
MAY 27
1959 - Dr. Jerry and Eddie Graham beat Mark Lewin and Don Curtis to win the United States Tag team titles. In Bridgeport, CT.
1984 Vince McMahon, Sr. dies.
1996 The first shot in the nWo/WCW war is fired when Scott Hall appears from the audience during WCW Monday Nitro.
1997 Kenta Kobashi and Johnny Ace win the All-Japan Tag team titles by beating Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue in Sapporo, Japan.
1988 Owen Hart beats Hiroshi Hase in Sendai, Japan, to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title.
2002 Rob Van Dam beats Chris Benoit to win the WWF Intercontinental title in Uniondale, NY. On the same night, the WWE Hardcore title goes from Steven Richards to Terri and back again to Steven Richards in Edmonton, AB.
MAY 28
1966 The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser beat Larry Hennig and Harley Race in Minneapolis, MN, to win the AWA
Tag Team championship.
1983 Former wrestler John Rougeau dies of cancer.
1996 Steve Austin loses a Caribbean strap match to Savio Vega, forcing Ted DiBiase to leave the WWF. Austin later admits he lost the match intentionally, to get rid of DiBiase. Less than a month later, Austin 3:16 is born.
2001 The WWF Hardcore title goes from The Big Show to Chris Jericho to Rhyno in Calgary, AB.
2002 NWA World Heavyweight champion Dan Severn was stripped of his title after being unable to appear at the first NWA-TNA pay per view in June. Severn was scheduled to compete in a mixed martial arts competition the same night.
MAY 29
1973 Steve Corino is born.
1984 The NWA holds a card in the Meadowlands Arena, the first NWA card in the New York City area in 20 years.
1995 Mitsuharu Misawa beats Stan Hansen to win the All-Japan Triple Crown title in Sapporo, Japan.
2000 Too Cool beat Christian and Edge in Vancouver, BC, to win the Tag Team titles. No one screams about the Canadians losing the belts in their home country.
2000 Kevin Nash gives the WCW World title to Ric Flair in Salt Lake City, UT. Later that night Jeff Jarrett defeats Flair for the title.
MAY 30
1925 Joe Stecher beats Stanislaus Zbyszko to win the NWA World title in St. Louis, MO.
1955 Jake Roberts is born.
1968 Michelle Starr is born.
1973 Tony Garea and Haystacks Calhoun beat Professor Toru Tanaka and Mr. Fuji in Philadelphia, PA, to win the WWWF Tag Team titles.
1992 Portland, OR, promoter Don Owen retires after 68 years.
1997 Less than two weeks after Terry Funk drops a guardrail on his neck, Stevie Richards neck is broken during a tag team match against The Eliminators.
2000 Chuck Palumbo and Shawn Stasiak win the WCW Tag Team titles from Kronic in Boise, ID.
MAY 31
1998 WWF Over the Edge is held in Milwaukee, WI. In the main event, World Champion Steve Austin defeated Dude Love in a match with special referee Vince McMahon.
1999 Bam Bam Bigelow and Dallas page defeat Perry Saturn and Kanyon (substituting for the injured Raven) to win the WCW Tag Team titles in Houston, TX.
