This Day in Wrestling History (April 13)

Special Dream Match - Stan Hansen Vs. Hulk Hogan by JMontoya9189

25 years ago today, All Japan Pro Wrestling and the WWF present the US/Japan Wrestling Summit from the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The joint event is attended by 53,742 fans.

• Doug Furnas, Dan Kroffat (Phil LaFon) and Joe Malenko defeated Samson Fuyuki, Toshiaki Kawada and Tatsumi Kitihara.
• Jushin Liger defeated Akira Nogami.
• Tito Santana and Jimmy Snuka defeated Masa Fuchi and Kenta Kobashi.
• Tiger Mask (Mitsuharu Misawa) and Bret Hart fought to a 20-minute draw.
• The Great Kabuki defeated Greg Valentine.
• Jake Roberts defeated The Big Bossman.
• Shinya Hashimoto and Masa Saito defeated Masa Chono and Riki Choshu to retain the IWGP Tag Team Championship.
• Haku and Jumbo Tsuruta defeated Rick Martel and Mr. Perfect.
• Genichiro Tenryu defeated Randy Savage.
• Ultimate Warrior defeated Ted DiBiase to retain the WWF Championship.
• André the Giant and Giant Baba defeated Demolition (Ax and Smash).
• Hulk Hogan defeated Stan Hansen.

21 years ago today in St. Paul, Minnesota, Jesse Ventura is awarded over $800,000 in royalties and $8,625 in merchandising royalties after a federal court finds in favor of the future Governor, stating he never received compensation for use of his likeness in nearly 100 WWF home video releases, even though performers such as Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, even Cyndi Lauper and Mr. T did. Ventura also stated he was never compensated for his commentary work, nor did he sign any documentation indemnifying the WWF from  paying him for said commentary work. The verdict was held up by the 8^th US Circuit Court of Appeals in 1995, and is regarded as an important case in restitution law. As a result of the verdict, Jesse's commentary is removed on many WWE home video releases.

18 years ago today, ECW makes its PPV debut with Barely Legal (WWE Network link) from the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1,170 were in attendance, with about 70,500 homes watching on PPV, though some estimates have it as high as 104,000 buys.

It was the show that almost never was: six months earlier, video surfaced of the Mass Transit incident (a then seventeen-year old Eric Kulas heavily bled in a match against New Jack; Kulas claimed to be 19 and trained by Killer Kowalski, neither of which was true). PPV companies expressed their concerns over the incident and all three major PPV outlets (Premiere, Request TV, Viewer's Choice) chose not to carry the PPV. Request would reverse the decision, but under certain conditions, including pushing the scheduled start time to 9pm, multiple commentators, an advanced script of the show, and no excessive bleeding. Portions of the event, including a preshow speech by ECW owner Paul Heyman, was filmed for the wrestling documentary, Beyond the Mat.

• In a dark match, Louie Spicolli defeated Balls Mahoney.
• In a dark match, J.T. Smith and Chris Chetti defeated The FBI (Little Guido and Tommy Rich).
• The Eliminators (Perry Saturn and John Kronus) defeated The Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray and D-Von) to win the ECW Tag Team Championship.
• Rob Van Dam defeated Lance Storm.
• The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, and Masato Yakushiji defeated bWo Japan (TAKA Michinoku, Terry Boy, and Dick Togo).
• Shane Douglas defeated Pitbull #2 to retain the ECW World Television Championship.
• Taz defeated Sabu by submission.
• Terry Funk defeated The Sandman and Stevie Richards in a three-way dance to earn an ECW World Heavyweight Championship match.
• Terry Funk defeated Raven to win the ECW World Heavyweight Championship .

15 years ago today in Indianapolis, Indiana, Taz, who was working for the WWF at the time, defeated Mike Awesome, who had just signed a deal with WCW earlier that week, by submission to win the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. The match would air the next night on ECW on TNN.

13 years ago today, World Wrestling All-Stars presented Eruption from the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.

• A.J. Styles defeated Nova in a semi-final match in a tournament for the vacant WWA Cruiserweight Championship.
• Jerry Lynn defeated Chuck E. Chaos in a semi-final match in a tournament for the vacant WWA Cruiserweight Championship.
• Teo defeated Puppet the Psycho Dwarf in a midget hardcore match.
• Brian Christopher and Ernest Miller defeated Buff Bagwell and Stevie Ray.
• Alan Funk defeated Pierre Ouelette.
• A.J. Styles defeated Jerry Lynn to win the WWA International Cruiserweight Championship.
• Sabu defeated Devon Storm in a steel cage match.
• Midajah defeated Queen Bee in an evening gown match.
• Scott Steiner defeated Nathan Jones by submission to win the WWA World Heavyweight Championship. Sid Vicious was the special enforcer.

13 years ago today in Japan, Genichiro Tenryu defeated Toshiaki Kawada to win the vacated All Japan Pro Wrestling Triple Crown Championship.

8 years ago today in Osaka, Japan, Yuji Nagata defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

7 years ago today, TNA presented Lockdown from the Paul Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Massachusetts. The show's hook of course was that every match was contested in a steel cage.

• Jay Lethal defeated Johnny Devine, Shark Boy, Sonjay Dutt, Curry Man, and Consequences Creed in a Xscape match to retain the TNA X Division Championship.
• Roxxi Laveaux defeated Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Salinas, Rhaka Khan, Traci Brooks, Christy Hemme, and Jacqueline in a Queen of the Cage match to become the #1 contender for the TNA Knockouts Championship.
• B.G. James defeated Kip James.
• Super Eric and Kaz defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley), The Latin American Xchange (Homicide and Hernandez), Scott Steiner and Petey Williams, The Rock 'n Rave Infection (Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave), and Black Reign and Rellik in a Cuffed in the Cage match for a future TNA World Tag Team Championship match.
• Gail Kim and O.D.B. defeated Awesome Kong and Raisha Saeed.
• Booker T and Sharmell defeated Robert Roode and Payton Banks in an intergender tag team match.
• Team Cage (Christian Cage, Kevin Nash, Rhino, Sting, and Matt Morgan) defeated Team Tomko (Tomko, A.J. Styles, Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon), and James Storm) in a Lethal Lockdown match.
• Samoa Joe defeated Kurt Angle to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

6 years ago today from Atlanta, Georgia, WWE presented the 2009 WWE Draft on a special edition of RAW.

The Supplemental Draft took place two days later, with 24 men and women getting moved.

Seven of the nine championships in WWE switched shows during the Draft.

6 years ago today, WWE announces via press release that Smackdown would be moving to Syfy effective October 1. The announcement ends speculation as to the show's future after their contract with MyNetworkTV expired. Earlier this month, WWE announced that effective next year, Smackdown would be moving again, this time to the USA Network.