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THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 'STRANGLER' LEWIS WINS WORLD TITLE, LAST WCW SHOW AT THE OMNI, MR. T SAYS NO TO WWE'S HALL OF FAME AND MORE

March 3rd

On this day in history in ....

1914 - Alex Stewart defeats Jack Forbes to become the first Canadian Featherweight Champion in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

1922 - Ed "Strangler" Lewis wins his fourth World Heavyweight Title, by defeating Stanislaus Zbyszko in Wichita, Kansas, ending Zbyszko's second reign.

1938 - Vic Christy defeats Yvon Robért for the Montreal and Toronto World Heavyweight Titles in Toronto, Ontario.

1944 - Dean Detton wins the San Francisco Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title for the third time, by defeating The Green Panther (Pat Fraley).

1949 - Fred Atkins defeats Whipper Billy Watson to win the Toronto NWA British Empire Heavyweight Title in Toronto, Ontario, ending Watson's seventh reign.

1953 - Fred Blassie and Miguel Lopez defeat Ali Bey and Danny Plechas in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the Rocky Mountain Tag Team Title.

1955 - Lloyd Antonation and Curly Gagnon defeat Bobo Bryce and Al Corbett in Winnipeg, Manitoba to become the first Manitoba Tag Team Champions.

1964 - Bob Ellis defeats Bob Orton to win the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Tampa, Florida.

1966 - Paul Jones defeats Stan Stasiak for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title.

1970 - Bob Orton defeats The Missouri Mauler for the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Tampa, Florida. This began Orton's fourth reign and ended the Mauler's sixth.

1973 - Gene and Ole Anderson defeat Art Nielson and Johnny Weaver to win the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Title in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This began the Andersons' third reign and ended Nielson and Weaver's second reign. At the same event, Jerry Brisco wins his third NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Title, ending Rip Hawk's fourth reign.

1973 - Great Kojika and Gentetsu Matsuoka defeat Killer Karl Krupp and Kurt Von Steiger to win the JWA All Asia Tag Team Title in Osaka, Japan. The title was vacated on January 30, when Michiaki Yoshimura retired. He had held the title with Seiji Sakaguchi.

1975 - Ormand Malumba and Guy Mitchell defeat Gene Kiniski and Mr. Saito to win the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title in Vancouver, British Columbia.

1976 - Rocky Johnson and José Lothario defeat Killer Tim Brooks and Stan Hansen for the NWA Texas Tag Team Title.

1979 - Carlos Colón defeats Gorilla Monsoon in Bayamón, Puerto Rico to win the WWC North American Heavyweight Title. This ended Monsoon's second reign and began Colón's seventh.

1979 - Ron Starr defeats Roddy Piper for the vacant San Francisco NWA United States Heavyweight Title in San Francisco, California.

1980 - Steve Keirn defeats Bugsy McGraw to win the NWA Florida Television Title in West Palm Beach, Florida, ending McGraw's second reign.

1980 - Eddie and Tommy Gilbert defeat Steve Lawler and Siegfried Steinke for the Tri-State NWA United States Tag Team Title in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The title was renamed simply the NWA Tri-State Tag Team Title that same year.

1983 - Kim Duk and Yasu Fuji defeat Bob Brown and Buzz Tyler for the NWA Central States Tag Team Title in Kansas City, Kansas.

1983 - Espectro, Jr. defeats Lizmark to win Mexican National Middleweight Title in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

1986 - Tom Prichard defeats Tim Horner for the Southeast NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Title in Birmingham, Alabama, ending Horner's second reign.

1986 - Abdul Khadafy (Danny Miller) defeats Rick Casey (Wendell Cooley) to win the AWA International Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

1986 - Kung Fu defeats Rocky Morton for the British Heavy Middleweight Title in Bradford, England.

1987 - Fuji Yamada (Jushin Liger) defeats Mark Rocco for the World Heavy Middleweight Title in Croydon, England.

1989 - Beauty and The Beast (The Beast and Terrence Garvin) defeat Chris Adams and Jeff Jarrett in a tournament final for the vacant USWA Texas Tag Team Title in Fort Worth, Texas.

1991 - The WWF held an event at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario. The results were:
- Jimmy Snuka defeated The Brooklyn Brawler.
- The Barbarian defeated Koko B. Ware.
- The Big Bossman defeated Haku.
- The British Bulldog defeated The Warlord.
- The Orient Express (Kato and Tanaka) defeated The Bushwhackers (Butch and Luke).
- The Legion of Doom (Animal and Hawk) defeated Power and Glory (Hercules and Paul Roma).
- Jake Roberts defeated Rick Martel.
- Kerry Von Erich defeated Ted DiBiase.
- Hulk Hogan defeated Earthquake in a stretcher match.

1991 - Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit) defeats Villano III to win the WWF World Light Heavyweight Title in Naucalpan, Mexico, ending Villano III's fifth reign.

1991 - Scott Hall defeats Miguel Pérez, Jr. for the WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Title in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, ending Pérez's second reign.

1993 - Paul Orndorff defeated Erik Watts in a tournament final in Macon, Georgia to win the WCW World Television Title. The match aired on the April 3 edition of Worldwide. The title was vacated in November when The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) left WCW for the WWF. Scott had won the title in September from Ricky Steamboat.

1993 - Mano Negra defeats Atlantis to win the NWA World Middleweight Title in Acapulco, Mexico, ending Atlantis' third reign.

1995 - Greg Valentine defeats Tito Santana for the International World Class Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania.

1995 - Silver King and El Texano defeat the Headhunters to win the IWA Japan World Tag Team Title in Hiroshima, Japan.

1995 - SATO defeats Super Delfin for the UWF Super Welterweight Title in Osaka, Japan.

1997 - The Monday Night War continued, with WCW Monday Nitro defeating WWF Monday Night RAW, 3.4 to 1.9 in the ratings.

The 77th edition of WCW Monday Nitro was held at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia and was the final WCW event to be held there. The Omni was demolished later in the year, and Philips Arena was built in its place and opened in 1999. The show results were:
- In a dark match, Ernest Miller pinned Yugi Nagata after a kick off the ropes.
- Konnan and Hugh Morrus defeated Jeff Jarrett and Steve McMichael (with Debra), when Konnan pinned McMichael after Jarrett accidentally hit McMichael with McMichael's steel briefcase.
- Diamond Dallas Page pinned Rick Fuller after the Diamond Cutter.
- Juventud Guerrera pinned Ray Mendoza, Jr. with the 450° Splash.
- Dean Malenko pinned Mike Enos with a small package.
- WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Eddie Guerrero pinned Ultimo Dragon with a crossbody to retain the title.
- Scotty Riggs defeated Michael Wallstreet by disqualification, when Buff Bagwell interfered.
- Rey Misterio, Jr. pinned Mr. JL (Jerry Lynn) with a hurricanrana.
- The Giant and Lex Luger vs. The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) ended in a no-contest when the nWo interfered.

The 199th edition of WWF Monday Night RAW was taped on February 26 at Deutschlandhalle in Berlin, Germany. This was the last episode before the name change to RAW is WAR. The results:
- Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Bret Hart by disqualification after Hart pushed the referee after he put Helmsley in a Tree of Woe in the corner. After the match, Chyna came into the ring and challenged Hart to fight her, with officials holding her back.
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Rocky Maivia defeated Vader (with Paul Bearer) by disqualification after Mankind interfered and hit Rocky with Paul Bearer's urn.
- The Sultan defeated Flash Funk by submission with the Camel Clutch.
- WWF Champion Sycho Sid pinned Mankind (with Paul Bearer) after a powerbomb.
- In a tournament final, WWF Tag Team Champion The British Bulldog pinned WWF Tag Team Champion Owen Hart after reversing a victory roll, to become the first WWF European Champion. The tournament took place over seven German events in seven days, in Aschaffenburg, Chemnitz, Dresden, Cologne, Oberhausen, Hamburg and ended at the RAW taping in Berlin. The other participants were: Flash Funk, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Bret Hart, Rocky Maivia, Mankind and Vader. Owen defeated Funk and his brother Bret, and Bulldog defeated Mankind and Vader on their respective roads to the finals.

2000 - Convict #00187 defeats Necro Butcher to win the NWA Texas Hardcore Title in North Richland Hills, Texas.

2001 - El Bronco defeats Jerry Flynn for the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title in Carolina, Puerto Rico, beginning his second reign. At the same event, Rico Suave and Eddie Watts defeat Thunder and Lightning to win the WWC World Tag Team Title, ending Thunder and Lightning's second reign.

2001 - Pete Gas defeats Steve Bradley to win the Power Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee, ending Bradley's fourth reign.

2001 - Tannie Mouse and Yuki Miyazaki defeat Acute Sae and Yoshiko Tamura to become the first NEO Itabashi Tag Team Champions in Tokyo, Japan.

2001 - Madd Maxx defeats Jeff Justice in Graham, North Carolina for the Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title.

2002 - Milano Collection A.T. defeats Masato Yoshino in the finals of the Toryumon 2000 Project Strongest League to become the first NWA International Light Heavyweight Champion.

2002 - The W*INGer defeats Trent Acid to win the BJW Junior Heavyweight Title in Yokohama, Japan, beginning his second reign.

2003 - WWE held the 510th edition of RAW live from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, which got a 4.5 rating on TNN. The results were:
Sunday Night Heat:
- World Tag Team Champion Lance Storm defeated Maven by submission with the Sharpshooter.
- The Hurricane pinned Steven Richards (with Victoria) after the Vertebreaker.
RAW:
- Christian pinned Jeff Hardy after the Unprettier.
- Chief Morley pinned Spike Dudley after the Money Shot. If Spike had won the match, the Dudley Boyz would have been reinstated.
- Jacqueline and Trish Stratus defeated Jazz and WWE Women's Champion Victoria (with Steven Richards), when Trish pinned Victoria with a roll-up after reversing a sunset flip.
- Chris Jericho (with Christian) pinned Test (with Stacy Keibler) after a sleeper slam.
- Booker T pinned Scott Steiner with a roll-up out of the corner.
- Kane and Rob Van Dam defeated Tommy Dreamer and Al Snow in a Hardcore match, when RVD pinned both Dreamer and Snow after the Five-Star Frog Splash.

2004 - TNA held its 83rd weekly pay-per-view event at the TNA Asylum in Nashville, Tennessee. The results:
Dark matches:
- B.G. James pinned John Saxon.
- Trinity pinned ODB.
- El Leon defeated Mike Youngblood.
- Don Harris and Chris Vaughn defeated Jason Porcaro and Ty Smiley.
Pay-per-view matches:
- Chris Harris pinned Kevin Northcutt.
- D'Lo Brown, Simon Diamond, Ron Killings, Konnan and Sonny Siaki defeated Glenn Gilberti, Kid Kash, Michael Shane, Johnny Swinger and David Young, when Diamond pinned Young.
- Frankie Kazarian pinned Jerry Lynn.
- Sonjay Dutt, TNA X Division Champion Chris Sabin and Elix Skipper defeated Ebessan, Kuishinbo Kamen and NOSAWA, when Skipper pinned NOSAWA.
- Abyss and A.J. Styles fought to a no-contest in a Falls Count Anywhere match.
- Chris Harris pinned Shane Douglas.

2004 - OVW held its weekly television taping at Davis Arena in Louisville, Kentucky, the show airing on March 6. The results:
- Adrenaline (Chris Cage and Tank Toland) defeated OVW Southern Tag Team Champions The Jersey Shore Crew (Aaron Stevens and Nova (with Trudi DeNucci)) to win the title, beginning their second reign.
- Jillian Hall defeated Ivory.
- The Troubleshooters (Brent Albright and Chris Masters) defeated Seth Skyfire and Standing Thunder (Wavell Starr).
- Matt Cappotelli defeated John Hennigan by disqualification.
- Matt Morgan and Sean O'Haire defeated Inspector Impact (Matt Wiese) and John Laurinaitis.
- John Cena defeated Hardcore Holly.
- Doug Basham, The Damaja and Johnny Jeter (with Alexis Laree) defeated Mark Magnus and The Lords of the Ring (Rob Conway and OVW Heavyweight Champion Nick Dinsmore) (with Nikita).

2007 - Scotty Mac ends Moondog Manson's eighth reign as NWA Pacific Northwest Hardcore Champion in Vancouver, British Columbia.

2009 - In an interview with  The UK Mirror, actor and early Wrestlemania headliner Mr. T commented that he turned down an invitation to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame because of the induction of another celebrity, Pete Rose, ahead of him.

"WWE asked me to be in the Hall of Fame and I turned it down. You know why? They put Pete Rose in the wrestling Hall of Fame. This guy can't even get into his own Hall of Fame.  After they put Rose in they came and asked me and I said "You don't insult me! You don't put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame before me! I ain’t going to be a part of that.  They put him in and he only did one WrestleMania, and he didn't even wrestle."

For the record, Pete Rose actually appeared at Wrestlemanias 14-16, one more than T, doing a bit with Kane each year that led to Rose taking some sort of bump. 

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