This Day in Wrestling History (July 8): A RAW Most Awkward

32 years ago today in Foxboro, Massachusetts, Don Muraco defeated The Iron Sheik win the first ever WWF King of the Ring tournament.

Muraco knocked off another former WWF Champion, Pedro Morales, in the semifinals. Other participants were Jim Brunzell, The Spoiler, Tito Santana, Terry Funk, Ricky Steamboat, Greg Valentine, B. Brian Blair, Les Thornton, Steve Lombardi, The Junkyard Dog, Johnny V., Paul Orndorff, and Bob Orton, Jr.

26 years ago today at a Wrestling Challenge taping in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Sid Eudy makes his WWF in-ring debut with a win over Ted DiBiase.

Eudy, formerly Sid Vicious, made his WWF debut back on May 28 in an untelevised segment answering The Mountie’s open challenge. This came nine days after Eudy left WCW after turning down a lucrative contract offer and a promised world title run (Sid’s last match in his first run was a loss to El Gigante in a stretcher match that went two minutes; Sid infamously no-sold being stretchered out).

Throughout June 1991, vignettes for Sid’s WWF impending television debut played on their programming. Rebranded Sid Justice, his televised debut finally came on the July 20 episode of WWF Superstars when he was announced as the special referee for the “Match Made in Hell” handicap bout at Summerslam.

21 years ago today on Nitro from the Disney/MGM Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Florida (WWE Network link), Rey Mysterio defeated Dean Malenko to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.

15 years ago today on RAW from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (WWE Network link), Kevin Nash tore his left quadriceps in his first match since he suffered a torn biceps injury shortly after his return to the company earlier in the year. Nash tripped over Booker T's foot following a big boot, landing awkwardly on his left leg.

The bout, a ten-man tag team match featuring Nash, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Big Show, and X-Pac versus Booker T, Bubba Ray Dudley, Goldust, Rob Van Dam, and Spike Dudley, went to an immediate finish, with Big Show pinning Booker T following a Sweet Chin Music from Michaels.

The injury could have been prevented. Nash, who was not scheduled to return until the house shows later in the week, found out as he arrived in the building his return had been moved up to that evening's show. With Nash injured (he would be out until the following April), Scott Hall fired a month prior, and Hulk Hogan turned face (and moved to Smackdown), the nWo experiment in WWE is over after just five months.

The show is just as infamously remembered, if not more so, for a mixed tag team match featuring Trish Stratus and Bradshaw taking on Jackie Gayda and Christopher Nowitski. “That Jackie Gayda Match” as it’s called in wrestling circles is often regarded as among the worst matches not just on RAW, but in WWE history. For the record, Stratus and Bradshaw won.

Sandwiched between those two bouts of infamy, Jeff Hardy defeated William Regal to win the WWE European Championship. Hardy would be the last man to win the title before it's unified with the Intercontinental Championship by Rob Van Dam two weeks later.

5 years ago today, TNA presented Destination X from the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida.

The primary focus was a one-night X Division tournament to crown a new champion after Austin Aries gave up the title for a chance to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Also at the event, Jesse Sorensen made his last television in-ring appearance with the company. He was injured five months earlier at Against All Odds.

X Division Championship Tournament:

• Mason Andrews defeated Rubix, Dakota Darsow and Lars Only in a Last Chance Four Way match to enter the X Division Championship tournament.
• Mason Andrews defeated Kid Kash in an X Division Championship Tournament Semifinal match.
• Kenny King defeated Douglas Williams in an X Division Championship Tournament Semifinal match.
• Sonjay Dutt defeated Rashad Cameron in an X Division Championship Tournament Semifinal match.
• Zema Ion defeated Flip Cassanova in an X Division Championship Tournament Semifinal match.
• Zema Ion defeated Mason Andrews, Kenny King and Sonjay Dutt in an Ultimate X match to win the vacant TNA X Division Championship.

Non-tournament matches in order of occurrence:

• Samoa Joe defeated Kurt Angle in a Bound for Glory Series match.
• A.J. Styles defeated Christopher Daniels in a Last Man Standing match.
• Austin Aries defeated Bobby Roode to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Eleven days prior, Aries traded in his X Division Championship for a shot at the world title. He also introduced Option C, meaning that whomever was the champion at the time of the Destination X event would have the same opportunity to give up the championship for a world title opportunity.

The best of cSs on this day:

2016: Brock Lesnar is big (Brock Lesnar clocks in at 266.5 pounds at the UFC 200 weigh-ins, is confirmed a grown-ass man)

2015: Global Force Wrestling's TV show gets a name: AMPED (GFW’s new show gets a name; it never makes air)

2014: Was Michael Cole sniping at Jim Ross about the WWE Championship last night during Raw? (Michael Cole says John Cena’s the greatest WWE Champion ever after Jim Ross tweets that saying John’s the greatest over and over again feels forced and doesn’t help Cena)

2013: Video: Bray Wyatt debuts on Monday Night Raw (Bray Wyatt and his family debut on RAW; take out Kane in their first act)

2012: TNA Destination X results and live match coverage TONIGHT (July 8) from Orlando (Results and such from TNA’s all X Division show)

2010: Dave Batista is training with the Cesar Gracie camp and definitely negotiating with Strikeforce, possibly for a fight with Bobby Lashley (Dave Batista’s looking to get into MMA, maybe even fight Bobby Lashley)