This Week In Wrestling History (Season 3 Week 26: 6/25 – 7/1)

This Week In Wrestling History (Season 3 Week 26) covering the period of 6/25 thru 7/1. Running Time: 5 Hours 33 Minutes

This Week In Wrestling History hosted by Don Tony first aired in 2018 and spanned two seasons. After much demand, these retro episodes return REMASTERED and UPDATED FOR 2025. Wrestling history up to and including 2024 has been added!

Hundreds of hours of original wrestling clips & stories. Enjoy this deep dive into pro wrestling's awesome history.

RUNNING TIME: 5 Hours 33 Minutes
Hosted by Don Tony

SYNOPSIS: S3 E26 (06/25 - 07/01)

• The Match Of The Century: Buddy Rogers def Pat O'Connor to win NWA World Heavyweight Title
• Antonio Inoki and Muhammed Ali 'battle' to a 45 minute draw
• Muhammad Ali stripped of WBC 'Boxer Of The Year' Award following Inoki match
• Memorable cage match featuring Superfly Jimmy Snuka vs Bob Backlund at MSG
• Stan Hansen stripped of AWA World Heavyweight Title
• Audio: Stan Hansen speaks on being stripped and the story behind running over the AWA Heavyweight Title with his truck
• WCW fires Ric Flair after contract negotiations fall apart
• The Sheik (at 67) def Onita to win WWA World Martial Arts Title
• Looking back at the controversial WCW debut of 'The Possee' (Harlem Heat) that never made TV
• Fake Undertaker makes his WWF debut
• Waylon Mercy makes his WWF TV debut
• Audio: Looking back at memorable Waylon Mercy vignettes
• Looking back at WWF King Of The Ring 1995, 1998-2000
• Audio: Jerry Lawler announces the coming of Dr Isaac Yankem DDS to WWF
• Looking back at ECW Hardcore Heaven 1995
• Looking back at WCW Saturday Nitro Pay Per Listen Event 1997
• Audio: WWF vs ECW leads to surprise appearance by Jim Cornette at ECW Arena
• Audio: Jim Cornette speaks on his one and only ECW appearance
• Undertaker vs Mick Foley: Hell In A Cell
• WWF Brawl For It All debuts on Monday Night Raw
• Onita makes his one and only ECW appearance at ECW Arena
• Audio: Paul Heyman promo on ECW during FMW Event in Japan
• Audio: WCW cancels NWO Wrestling Hotline
• Tod Gordon makes surprise appearance at Dennis Coraluzzo NJ indy event
• Looking back at the highest rated wrestling match in Cable TV History: Undertaker vs Steve Austin for WWF Championship 1999
• WWF announces the signing of Chris Jericho (1999)
• Vince McMahon appears on Conan O'Brien (1999)
• Paul Heyman and ECW ink three year TV deal with TNN
• WWF wins court battle filed by USA Network which leads to the abrupt end of ECW on TNN
• Audio: Memorable 'A**hole' promo between The Rock and The Genetic Jackhammer, Vince McMahon (2000)
• Mick Foley's first run as WWF Commissioner begins
• Rena Mero lands cover of Muscle And Fitness Magazine
• Audio: Rhyno vs Test for WWF Hardcore Title leads to the official beginning of WCW Invasion of WWF
• Audio: WCW wrestler Mike Awesome def WWF wrestler Rhyno to win WWF Hardcore Title from Rhyno
• Audio: Memorable 'Pep Talk' from APA to WWF roster after the invasion of WCW
• Audio: Passing The Torch? 1/2: Ric Flair vs Brock Lesnar (2002)
• Audio: One of the greatest matches in Raw history: Undertaker vs Jeff Hardy Ladder Match for WWF Championship
• Audio: John Cena makes his WWF TV debut vs Kurt Angle
• Audio: Batista makes his WWF in ring debut on Smackdown
• Audio: Gail Kim makes her WWF TV debut and wins the Women's Championship
• RIP 'Mr America': Hulk Hogan removed from WWE storylines and ultimately released
• Audio: Controversial HBO: Real Sports airs featuring an unhinged Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper who predicted he would not live to 65
• WWE releases Roddy Piper following his controversial comments made on HBO: Real Sports
• Looking back at WWE Great American Bash PPV (2004) and the concrete crypt rehearsal footage that leaked to the net prior to the PPV
• Looking back at WWE Vengeance PPV (2005, 2006)
• Audio: Passing The Torch? 2/2: Ric Flair vs Kurt Angle (2005)
• Hulk Hogan makes WWE return after two-year absence
• Looking back at WWE Night Of Champions PPV (2008)
• Audio: CM Punk cashes in MITB Briefcase to def Edge for tthe WWE World Heavyweight Championship
• Sheamus makes WWE TV debut
• Looking back at WWE The Bash 2009
• Titus O'Neil trips during NXT Keg Carry Challenge
• Audio: CM Punk Pipebomb
• Looking back at ROH Best In The World 2011, 2018
• Audio: Seth Rollins makes NXT debut against Jiro (Taishi Takizawa)
• Criminal tidbit regarding Jiro (Taishi Takizawa)
• Looking back at WWE Money In The Bank 2014
• Looking back at TNA Slammiversary 2015
• Ethan Carter III (EC3) def Kurt Angle to win TNA World Heavyweight Championship
• Impact Wrestling signs D'Lo Brown as a full-time producer
• AEW signs Private Party to a multi-year deal
• WWE names Paul Heyman as Executive Director of RAW and Eric Bischoff for SmackDown
• Looking back at AEW Fyter Fest 2019 and Shawn Spears' bloody chairshot to Cody Rhodes (that required 12 staples)
• Audio: Cody Rhodes and Shawn Spears comment on what went wrong with the infamous chairshot from AEW Fyter Fest
• Audio: "We Don't Run A Sloppy Shop" Taz' infamous shot at WWE during the early days of the Covid-19 Pandemic
• Impact Wrestling fires Tessa Blanchard and strips her of Impact World Championship
• Fox Sports 1 cancels multiple shows including WWE Backstage
• Alberto El Patron launches his own Lucha Libre Promotion which folded after one show
• Audio: Eddie Kingston throws shade at WWE following an episode of AEW Dynamite
• IWC attempts to cancel Nikki Bella after a 2013 appearance of The Bellas on E! Fashion Police resurfaces
• Audio: Looking back at Nikki Bella and E! Fashion Police cast mocking Joanie 'Chyna' Laurer' and her genitalia
• Looking back at AEW Forbidden Door 2022-2024
• Audio: Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro) makes a memorable AEW debut
• Audio: AEW contracted stars Bryan Danielson, Paul Wight (Big Show) and Chris Jericho appear on RAW celebrating 20-year anniversary of John Cena's WWE debut
• Audio: Vince McMahon' final WWE in-ring appearance celebrating 20 years of John Cena in WWE
• Audio: John Cena emotional promo celebrating 20 years in WWE 
• WWE signs Valerie Loureda aka Lola Vice
• Looking back at WWE Money In The Bank 2023
• Audio: The Usos vs Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa (Bloodline Civil War)
• Audio: John Cena makes surprise appearance in England (MITB '23) and teases a future WrestleMania in UK
• Rhea Ripley and Buddy Matthews get married
• Tony Khan mimics almost word for word Triple H' 2021 comments touting the best Women's Wrestling in the world. Can you guess what Thunder Rosa' reaction was?
• Audio: Cody Rhodes' memorable post SmackDown promo returning to Madison Square Garden for the first time as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion
• Audio: Mercedes Mone pisses off the IWC by revealing she has creative control in AEW
• Audio: The match that put Stephanie Vaquer on WWE' radar: Mercedes Mone (AEW) vs Stephanie Vaquer (NJPW) Winner Take All
• And so much more!

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• WWE RAW RECAP AND WRESTLING NEWS REPORT: LIVE EVERY MONDAY NIGHT at 10:45PM ET after WWE RAW on DTKCDiscord.com
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