This Day in Wrestling History (October 17)

26 years ago today Forbes Magazine reports the then-privately owned World Wrestling Federation is worth about $100 million. Today, it's worth over $600 million, though reports had WWE worth over $1.25 billion at the start of the year. Disappointing WWE Network subscriber numbers caused WWE stock to plummet during the spring. Forbes also reported that Ted Turner was in talks to acquire Jim Crockett Promotions. The deal would be finalized a month later, and Jim Crockett Promotions would be rebranded as World Championship Wrestling.

15 years ago today, WWF presented No Mercy (WWE Network link) from the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. 18,742 were in attendance, with 327,000 homes watching on PPV. Of note, this event is Jeff Jarrett's final appearance in the WWF, though contractually, he was not even obligated to be there: his contract had expired the night before and he was leaving. Jarrett, at the time, was the Intercontinental champion. What happened on that day depends on who's telling the story. WWE claims he held out for a huge sum of money (an amount that also changes depending on the storyteller-some speculate it was as much as $750,000, though the real figure may be only about half of that), while Jarrett claims he wanted his PPV bonus money he believed he was entitled to, money that usually doesn't get paid out until months after the show. Either way, the result is the same:

• The Godfather defeated Mideon.
• The Fabulous Moolah defeated Ivory to win the WWF Women's Championship. The win made Moolah, at the time 76 years old, the oldest champion in professional wrestling history.
• The Hollys (Hardcore and Crash) defeated the New Age Outlaws (Bad Ass Billy Gunn and Road Dogg) by disqualification.
• Chyna defeated Jeff Jarrett in a Good Housekeeping match to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Jarrett had originally beaten Chyna after hitting her with the title belt, but the decision was reversed when it was ruled that use of the title belt was illegal due to it not being a common household item. The win made Chyna the first woman to win a men's championship in WWF history.
• The Rock defeated The British Bulldog.
• The New Brood (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy) defeated Edge and Christian in a tag team ladder match to win the Terri Invitational Tournament. The win gave the New Brood $100,000 and the managerial services of Terri.
• Val Venis defeated Mankind.
• X-Pac defeated Bradshaw, Kane, and Faarooq in a four corners elimination match.
• Triple H defeated Steve Austin in a Anything Goes match to retain the WWF Championship.