This Day in Wrestling History (January 7)

49 years ago today in St. Louis, Missouri, Gene Kiniski defeated Lou Thesz to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

25 years ago today, Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski died of natural causes in International Falls, Minnesota. He was 81. Born from Western Ukranian immigrants on November 3, 1908 in Rainy River, Ontario, Canada, most of Bronislau's young life revolved around labor, helping on his parent's farm in International Falls, Minnesota.

Nagurski was discovered by University of Minnesota head football coach Clarence Spears while he was plowing a field. Legend has it Nagurski lifted his plow to point Spears in the right direction of a nearby town, leading Nagurski to be signed on the spot. It turned out that story was false, but this next one isn't.

On the first day of practice, Bronco was tested using the "Nutcracker" drill, where a defender tries to get through two blockers leading a ball carrier. Bronco knocked down the fullback with ease on the first try. Coach Spears tried the same with three more players, with Bronco getting to the ball carrier. A third attempt produced the same results, and it was at that point, Spears realized he stumbled on a monster.

And he did: he earned All-American honors at fullback (unanimously in 1929 when he led the country in rushing) and at defensive tackle. Grantland Rice, the premier sportswriter of his era, declared that a team full of Bronko Nagurskis could win over a team full of Jim Thorpes, Glen Davises, even Red Granges. Nagurski played a critical role in Minnesota's 1928 win over Wisconsin: despire wearing a corset to protect a cracked vertebrae, he recovered a fumble, scored the game-winning touchdown, and intercepted a pass to end the game. In his three years with the Golden Gophers, the team went 18-4-2 and won the Big Ten Conference title in 1927.

Nagurski spent the next eight years as an integral part of the Chicago Bears, winning an NFL championship in 1932 and 1933. At 6'2", 235 pounds, he would be quite an intimidating presence in any era. In his era, he was a beast: a size 19 ½ ring and size 8 helmet made him quite possibly the largest running back of his era. Nagurski would be named All-Pro in three non-kicking positions, the only player ever to do so.

Nagurski also doubled as a professional wrestler starting in 1933, and in 1939 defeated Lou Thesz to wint he NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He only held the title for about nine months before losing it to Ray Steele the following March. It would be just over a year before Bronko won the title back, but his second reign was even shorter, losing it to Sandor Szabo in June 1941.

Bronko came out of retirement from football in 1943 when many players were in service during World War II. He had one final season with the Bears, scoring a touchdown en route to a 41-21 victory in the NFL Championship game. He served as an assistant coach for the UCLA Bruins in 1944 before turning to wrestling full-time until his retirement in 1960. Nagurski would be a member of the charter class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. He also was named to the NFL's 50^th Anniversary, 75^th Anniversary, and All-Decade Team of the 1930s.

Following retirement, he opened a service station in International Falls; legend had it that he screwed the gas caps on so tight no one else in town could unscrew them but Bronko, guaranteeing him repeat business. He retired from that in 1978 and lived out a quiet life on the shores of Rainy Lake on the Canadian Border.

14 years ago today, ECW held Guilty as Charged (WWE Network link) from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. It would turn out to be the final televised event for the company, as mounting debt forced them to stop running shows a few days later. Two months later, the company filed for bankruptcy.

• In a preshow dark match, Bilvis Wesley defeated Mike Bell.
• Jerry Lynn & Cyrus defeated Joey Matthews & Christian York.
• Danny Doring & Roadkill defeated EZ Money & Julio Dinero.
• Nova defeated Chris Hamrick.
• Tommy Dreamer defeated CW Anderson in an I Quit Match.
• The Unholy Alliance (Mikey Whipwreck & Yoshihiro Tajiri) defeated The Full Blooded Italians (Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke) and Super Crazy & Kid Kash in a three-team elimination match.
• Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger fought Balls Mahoney & Chilly Willy to a no contest.
• The Sandman defeated Steve Corino and Justin Credible in a Tables, Ladders, Chairs, and Canes match to win the ECW World Heavyweight Championship.
• Rhino defeated The Sandman to win the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. He would be the company's last champion in the original ECW.
• Rob Van Dam defeated Jerry Lynn.

13 years ago today, Triple H made his return to the WWE after suffering a career-threatening torn quadriceps injury the previous May. The ovation was among the loudest in WWE history. Triple H declared his intention to enter the Royal Rumble match. He would win said Royal Rumble, the longest in WWE history, later that month.

11 years ago today at an NWA-TNA weekly PPV taping in Nashville, Tennessee, Chris Sabin defeated Michael Shane, Christopher Daniels, and Low Ki in an Ultimate X match to win the TNA X Division Championship.

8 years ago today in Tokyo, Japan, The Briscoes (Mark & Jay) in their debut match for Pro Wrestling NOAH defeat Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Takashi Sugiura to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

8 years ago today, WWE presented New Year's Revolution (WWE Network link) from the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. About 10,000 were in attendance, with 220,000 homes watching on PPV. That's down from 294,000 for the 2006 event.

• In a preshow dark match, Vladimir Kozlov defeated Eugene.
• Jeff Hardy defeated Johnny Nitro in a cage match to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
• Cryme Tyme (Shad Gaspard and JTG) defeated The Highlanders (Robbie and Rory McAllister), The World's Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas), Jim Duggan and Super Crazy, and Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch in a Gauntlet match for a future World Tag Team Championship match.
• Kenny Dykstra defeated Ric Flair.
• Mickie James defeated Victoria to retain the WWE Women's Championship.
• Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton) fought D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) to a no-contest to retain the World Tag Team Championship.
• Chris Masters defeated Carlito.
• John Cena (c) defeated Umaga to retain the WWE Championship.

7 years ago today, WWE had a special edition of RAW with their Raw Roulette from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.

• Shawn Michaels & Mr. Kennedy defeated Trevor Murdoch & Charlie Haas in a Strange Bedfellows match.
• Hardcore Holly defeated Carlito in a Trading Places match. Holly got Carlito's outfit and entrance music, while Carlito got Holly's outfit and entrance music.
• Ashley Massaro defeated Jillian, Maria, Melina & Mickie James in a lingerie pillow fight.
• Triple H defeated William Regal in a First Blood match.
• Chris Jericho defeated Gene Snitsky & John Bradshaw Layfield by disqualification in a handicap match.
• Hornswoggle & Mick Foley defeated The Highlanders (Robbie & Rory) to qualify for the Royal Rumble match.
• Jeff Hardy defeated Umaga in a steel cage match.

7 years ago today at an Impact taping at Universal Orlando, Awesome Kong defeated Gail Kim to win the TNA Knockouts Championship.