This Week In Wrestling History (Season 3 Week 27) covering the period of 7/2 thru 7/8. Running Time: 5 Hours 18 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. SYNOPSIS: S3 E27 (07/02 - 07/08) NWA Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair battles WWF Champion Bob Backlund to determine who was the true World Champion Audio: Gordon Solie interviews Ric Flair and Bob Backlund Looking back at WCCW Independence Day Star Wars 1983-1986 Magnificent Muraco becomes the first ever WWF King Of The Ring Looking back at Great American Bash 1985, 1987, 1990 NWA features the first ever WarGames Match The curse of July 4th: Deaths of Adrian Adonis, Joey Marella, Pat Kelly and Dave McKigney; the Brutus Beefcake parasailing accident and Vince McMahon' motorcycle accident Vader makes his WCW debut Who remembers the Dudes With Attitudes? Audio: 20 year old Rob Van Dam battles 26 year old Sabu in USWA Audio: Lex Luger bodyslams Yokozuna aboard the USS Intrepid and the Lex Express begins Audio: The Gangsters (New Jack and Sheik Mustapha) makes their Smokey Mountain Wrestling debut Audio: The challenge before the memorable heel turn: Bob Backlund challenges Bret Hart for WWF Championship Vader begins his infamous Roadkill Tour Audio: Ultimate Warrior battles Owen Hart in his last ever match with WWF/WWE Looking back at the odd way WWF handled the Ultimate Warrior's suspension on Monday Night Raw Looking back at WCW Bash At The Beach 1996 Audio: Hulk Hogan betrays WCW, and the New World Order (NWO) is born Looking back at WWF In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede Audio: Bill Goldberg battles Hollywood Hulk Hogan for the WCW Heavyweight Championship in the Georgia Dome on Monday Nitro 1998 Audio: D-X mocks The Nation Of Domination WWF Footbrawl: Looking back at the loaded WWF House Show at Foxboro Stadium that never took place Jerry Lawler announces his candidacy for Mayor of Memphis, TN Steve Austin takes batting practice with the Phillies and throws out the first pitch for the Mets WWF awarded $3.5 Million in a lawsuit against the Parents Television Council More on TNN dropping ECW programming after one year of a three year TV deal Audio: Johnny The Bull tears up his anus during a WCW Hardcore Match against Terry Funk on Monday Nitro Discovery Channel airs memorable wrestling special featuring the very beginning of John Cena's wrestling career WWF completes the deal with NCAA Champion Brock Lesnar (2000) Bam Bam Bigelow suffers burns over 40% of his body after rescuing children from a home fire Looking back at the disaster that changed the WCW Invasion angle and future in WWF: Buff Bagwell vs Booker T for WCW Heavyweight Title on Monday Night Raw XPW Deathmatch between Kaos and Supreme goes horribly wrong The Jackie Gayda Match Kevin Nash tears his quad during a main event on Monday Night Raw Audio: Billy and Chuck defend the WWE Tag Team Titles against Edge and Hulk Hogan Ric Flair's autobiography 'To Be The Man' debuts at #5 on NY Times Best Seller list Audio: Chavo Guerrero denounces his Hispanic heritage and the Guerrero name to become, Kirwan White Audio: Shawn Michaels turns on Hulk Hogan A wrong is made right, as The Blue Meanie battles JBL on Smackdown Looking back at the WWE PR nightmare after Daivari (w/ Muhammad Hassan) faces The Undertaker on Smackdown WWE releases Billy Kidman, Spike Dudley, Mark Jindrak, Maven, Shannon Moore, Akio, Gangrel, Mordecai, Kenzo Suzuki and Hiroko, Jackie Gayda, Matt Morgan, Dawn Marie, Joy Giovanni, Jim Cornette, Trevor Murdoch, and Armando Alejandro Estrada WWE and ECW Champion (at the time) Rob Van Dam and Sabu arrested for narcotics possession after a traffic stop Audio: Rare Police Officer bodycam footage pulling over RVD & Sabu which led to their arrest Audio: Rob Van Dam defends the WWE Championship against Edge and John Cena Audio: Rob Van Dam defends the ECW Championship against The Big Show 2006 Mickie Knuckles suffers a broken leg during IWA Mid-South match against Sara Del Ray Ric Flair Finances files for bankruptcy less than one year after launching GLAAD puts the heat on WWE after cell phone video showed CM Punk using homophobic references on a fan during WWE House Show Looking back at TNA Destination X 2012 Audio: Bray Wyatt and The Wyatt Family make their WWE Raw debut WWE suspends Ricardo Rodriguez after violating WWE Wellness Policy TNA releases Joey Ryan, Taeler Hendrix, Christian York and Crimson District Attorney agrees to re-examine the Nancy Argentina 1982 death after discrepancies are found in Jimmy Snuka's recently written autobiography Looking back at TNA One Night Only: Hardcore Justice 2 event WWE fires, then rehires Emma after alleged shoplifting incident at a CT Walmart Looking back at TNA One Night Only: Global Impact Japan Looking back at NJPW Dominion 7.5 event TNA airs The Final Deletion: Broken Matt Hardy vs Brother Nero Jeff Hardy Audio: Infamous Rap Battle between The Usos and The New Day on Smackdown Looking back at Global Force Wrestling Slammiversary 2017 Audio: WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar confronts newly crowned UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 226 Looking back at Impact Wrestling: Slammiversary 2019 Looking back at the memorable two-week Head-To-Head Ratings War between NXT Great American Bash vs AEW Fyter Fest in 2020 Taz introduces the FTW World Championship to AEW and crowns its Champion Audio: Keith Lee vs Adam Cole: Winner Take All match for NXT North American and NXT World Championship Indus Sher' Saurav Gurjar spoils Keith Lee' memorable and historic NXT Championship on Instagram WWE purchases Evolve from Gabe Sapolsky Audio: Malakai (Aleister) Black makes his memorable AEW debut Jimmy Uso arrested for Driving Under The Influence (DUI) for the second time in two years and fourth time in ten years Audio: Police Bodycam footage of Jimmy Uso 2021 DUI arrest in Florida Looking back at NXT: Great American Bash 2021, 2022 Audio: Adam Cole vs Kyle O'Reilly from NXT: Great American Bash 2021 Looking back at WWE Money In The Bank 2022, 2024 Audio: Liv Morgan cashes in newly won MITB Briefcase on Ronda Rousey at WWE MITB 2022 Looking back at Impact Wrestling: Against All Odds 2022 Dominik Mysterio gets a new nickname: Dirty Dom AEW Fight Forever video game is released worldwide to mixed reviews Audio: AEW Fight Forever Video Game commercial a blatant copy from a wrestling game commercial released fifteen years earlier? Looking back at New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) Independence Day event (2023) Audio: Tribal Court: The Trial Of The Tribal Chief Roman Reigns Audio: "I Set Them Free": Memorable first ever face to face sit-down between Bo Dallas with Uncle Howdy Looking back at NXT Heatwave 2021 Audio: John Cena announces his WWE retirement and 2025 will be his final year in the ring And so much more! RIGHT CLICK AND SAVE to download the AUDIO episode of THIS WEEK IN WRESTLING HISTORY S3 E27 (7/2 – 7/8) CLICK HERE to listen to COMMERCIAL FREE (PATREON) episode of THIS WEEK IN WRESTLING HISTORY S3 E27 (7/2 – 7/8) CLICK HERE to listen to THIS WEEK IN WRESTLING HISTORY S3 E27 (7/2 – 7/8) online CLICK HERE to access previous episodes for all the shows ==== CELEBRATE 20 YEARS OF DON TONY AND KEVIN CASTLE WITH THE DTKC 20 YEAR ANNIVERSARY SHIRT! CLICK HERE for DTKC Pro Wrestling Tees Store ==== Want to help promote our shows and get a special shout-out on the next show? 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