This Day in Wrestling History (August 7): Ron Killings Wins the NWA World Title

52 years ago today in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Larry Hennig & Harley Race defeated Verne Gagne & The Crusher to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship.

29 years ago today at a Wrestling Challenge taping in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, The Iron Sheik defeated Joe Milano by submission.

It would be the final match for the former WWF Champion until 1991. Sheik, real name Hossein Khosorov Ali Vaziri, would be released soon after the match aired.

His career never recovered from his DUI arrest in May 1987. His angle with “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan was aborted when the two were arrested for driving under the influence (cocaine for Vaziri, marijuana for Duggan). The two being arrested together made national news as they were not only pretty famous, they were also rivals on WWF programming. The blatant breach of kayfabe cost both of them their jobs, though they would both return once the heat died down.

It also turned out that this was the third time Sheik was fired in fifteen months. He was let go for a second time in March 1988.

24 years ago today in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Eddie Gilbert and The Dark Patriot defeat The Super Destroyers in a tournament final to win the vacated Eastern Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship.

The title was vacated when one half of the champions Chris Candido (as Chris Michaels, who held the titles with Johnny Hot Body as the Suicide Blondes) left for Smoky Mountain Wrestling.

16 years ago today at a Smackdown taping in Los Angeles, California (WWE Network link), Diamond Dallas Page and Kanyon defeat the APA (Faarooq and Bradshaw) to win the WWF Tag Team Championship.

On the same show, the Brothers of Destruction (Undertaker and Kane) defeat the Natural Born Thrillers (Sean O' Haire and Chuck Palumbo) to win the WCW Tag Team Championship.

The show was the last for the original Smackdown set, featuring the unique Ovaltron. And they sent that set out in style. Following a Chris Jericho win over Hugh Morrus, Rhyno gored Jericho through the mini-Ovaltron. Smackdown would debut with the famous “fist” set on a live episode the next week.

15 years ago today at the NWA-TNA weekly PPV from Nashville, Tennessee, Ron "The Truth" Killings defeated Ken Shamrock to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

With the win, Killings became the first, and to this day, only officially recognized African-American NWA world champion ever.

In the show's featured bout, Low Ki defeated AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn in a three-way bout to win the TNA X Division Championship.

13 years ago today at Ring of Honor’s Testing the Limit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Rottweilers (Ricky Reyes and Rocky Romero) defeated the Second City Saints (CM Punk and Colt Cabana) to win the ROH Tag Team Championship.

6 years ago today, TNA presented Hardcore Justice from the Impact Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.

• Brian Kendrick defeated Alex Shelley and Austin Aries in a three-way match to retain the TNA X Division Championship.
• Tara & Miss Tessmacher defeated Mexican America (Sarita and Rosita) to retain the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship.
• D'Angelo Dinero defeated Devon in a Bound For Glory Series match.
• Winter defeated Mickie James to win the TNA Knockouts Championship.
• Crimson defeated Rob Van Dam by disqualification in a Bound For Glory Series match.
• Fortune (A.J. Styles, Christopher Daniels, and Kazarian) defeated Immortal (Abyss, Gunner, and Scott Steiner).
• Bully Ray defeated Mr. Anderson.
• Beer Money, Inc. (Bobby Roode and James Storm) defeated Mexican America (Anarquia and Hernandez) to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship.
• Kurt Angle defeated Sting to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

3 years ago today, TNA taped No Surrender from the Manhattan Center in New York City. The event, airing September 17, was a special episode of Impact and is considered a part of the No Surrender chronology.

• Havok defeated Velvet Sky, Rebel, Angelina Love, Brittany, Taryn Terrell, and Madison Rayne in a battle royal to become the #1 contender for the TNA Knockouts Championship.
• Chris Melendez defeated Kenny King.
• Samoa Joe defeated Homicide to retain the TNA X Division Championship.
• The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) defeated Team 3D (Bully Ray & Devon) and The Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy) in a three-team ladder match to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship.
• Bram defeated Gunner.
• Bobby Lashley defeated Bobby Roode to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

It’s a happy 51st birthday to Christine Wolf, best known as Asya from her brief run in WCW.

The former Hawaiian Tropic model and bodybuilder made her WCW debut as Ric Flair's head nurse Double D in 1999. Later in the year, she joined the Revolution stable and was renamed Asya as a shot at the WWF's Chyna.

After a string of small feuds, she would be briefly involved on-screen with "The Demon" Dale Torborg; the two were engaged at the time. Torborg and Wolf would marry in October 2000, just over a month after Wolf's release. Wolf retired from wrestling after her release and resumed her career in bodybuilding as well as performed in barrel races.