This Day in Wrestling History (September 9): WOOOOOOO!

48 years ago today in Boston, Massachusetts, Bruno Sammartino defeated Gorilla Monsoon in a Texas Deathmatch to retain the WWWF Championship.

35 years ago today in Allentown, Pennsylvania, The Wild Samoans defeat Tony Garea & Rene Goulet to win the vacated WWWF Tag Team Championship for the second time. The title was vacated following Showdown at Sheawhen Pedro Morales & Bob Backlund won the titles, but were forced to vacate them due to Backlund being the WWWF Champion at the time.

29 years ago today in Columbia, South Carolina, Dusty Rhodes defeated Arn Anderson to win the NWA World Television Championship.

(Click here for alternate commentary of this bout with Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan.)

24 years ago today, Ric Flair makes his in-ring debut for the WWF just two months after leaving WCW. He wrestles two matches for a WWF Superstars of Wrestling taping in Ottawa, Ontairo, Canada, defeating Jim Powers and going to a no contest against Mark Thomas. As Superstars matches are often taped as far as a month in advance, Flair's television debut would occur on Prime Time Wrestling that the same day as the newest client of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.

22 years ago today, Shane Douglas wins the ECW Heavyweight Championship via forfeit over Tito Santana. The phantom title changed was alleged to have occurred in Roanoke, Virginia, but the show never took place.

15 years ago today in Mississiauga, Ontario, Canada, Rhino defeated Kid Kash to win the ECW World Television Championship. He would be the last man to hold the title as the company officially shut down a few months later.

12 years ago today at a Smackdown taping in Birmingham, Alabama, Eddie Guerrero defeated John Cena in a parking lot brawl. On the same show, Stephanie McMahon and Brock Lesnar went to a no contest when Kurt Angle interfered. The full episode, airing two days later, is available on WWE Network here.

9 years ago today at CZW Down with the Sickness 4-Ever: A Tribute to Chris Cash II at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Eddie Kingston defeated Chris Hero to win the CZW Championship. On the same show, Sonjay Dutt defeated Sexxxy Eddie to win the CZW Junior Heavyweight Championship.

8 years ago today, TNA presented No Surrender from the Impact Zone at Universal Orlando. The show featured Kurt Angle defending all of TNA's titles as he had won them the previous month in a winner take all match against Samoa Joe. And the in-ring debut of Adam "Pacman" Jones.

• Team Pacman (Adam Jones and Ron Killings) defeated Kurt Angle and Sting to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship.
• Rhino defeated James Storm.
• Robert Roode defeated Kaz.
• Jay Lethal defeated Kurt Angle to win the TNA X Division Championship.
• Chris Harris defeated Black Reign in a No Disqualification match.
• A.J. Styles and Tomko won a tag team gauntlet match to earn a TNA World Tag Team Championship match at Bound for Glory. Other teams included The Voodoo Kin Mafia (B.G. James and Kip James), The Latin American Exchange (Homicide and Hernandez), Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon), The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley), Triple X (Christopher Daniels and Elix Skipper), Sonjay Dutt and Petey Williams, Serotonin (Raven and Havok), Eric Young and Shark Boy, and Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave.
• Christian Cage defeated Samoa Joe by disqualification.
• Kurt Angle defeated Abyss to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

3 years ago today, TNA presented No Surrender from the Impact Zone at Universal Orlando. The show centered on determining who would face the TNA World Heavyweight Champion at Bound for Glory.

• Jeff Hardy defeated Samoa Joe in a Bound for Glory Series semifinal match.
• Bully Ray defeated James Storm in a Bound for Glory Series semifinal match.
• Miss Tessmacher defeated Tara to retain the TNA Knockout Championship.
• Zema Ion defeated Sonjay Dutt to retain the TNA X-Division Championship.
• Rob Van Dam defeated Magnus.
• Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian) defeated A.J. Styles and Kurt Angle to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship.
• Jeff Hardy defeated Bully Ray to win the Bound for Glory Series and a TNA World Heavyweight Championship match at Bound for Glory.