On This Day In Wrestling History: April 7

WrestleMania 35 – April 7, 2019

One year ago we saw the longest show in all of wrestling history. Okay, not really, but it felt like it. WrestleMania 35 was an exceptionally long show clocking in at 7:19:37 in length. There are two things people point to when discussing this event. KofiMania and Becky Lynch.

Kofi Kingston managed to finally break through and win the WWE Championship from Daniel Bryan on this show. This was one of the best feel-good moments in WrestleMania history but the show kept going. Sometime later the main event occurred. This marked the first time women main evented WrestleMania as Becky Lynch won both Women’s Championships defeating Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair.

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NXT Takeover: New Orleans – April 7, 2018

From start to finish, NXT Takeover: New Orleans may be the best Takeover event ever. The show was bookended by two five star matches with the North American Championship ladder match and the Unsanctioned main event. These are two of the best matches in WWE history.

Adam Cole managed to outlast Killian Dane, Lars Sullivan, EC3, Velveteen Dream, and Ricochet to become the first North American Champion. The match was incredible as each participant was different and had a different motivation. This complexity is not common in ladder matches these days and their match stands out as a result.

Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa’s rivalry was meant to conclude at this event. Little did we know they would still be feuding two years later. For this night, the match was perfect. They had an emotional storyline filled with drama and clearly defined characters. In today’s era, there are cool heels and many shades of grey, but in this match, everyone wanted to see Ciampa lose and Gargano win. This was special.

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ROH Supercard of Honor XII – April 7, 2018

Elsewhere in New Orleans, Ring of Honor put on their twelfth Supercard of Honor event on this day in 2018. The event drew 6,100 fans, a record for Ring of Honor. However, the fans were largely there to see one man, Kenny Omega. Bullet Club was boiling over at the time and Omega was ready to get his hands on Cody.

The two had a very good match that for some reason was not the main event. Ring of Honor has had a reputation of being low-level in presentation and for many they were unable to watch due to issues with Ring of Honor’s streaming services. The show also just kept going.

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WrestleMania 29 – April 7, 2013

WrestleMania 29 was perhaps the most forgettable WrestleMania in history. The Rock vs. John Cena story had run its course, and the rest of the card failed to inspire much interest. Jack Swagger challenged for the World Heavyweight Championship on this show. Bet you didn’t remember that.

The only match worth remembering on the show was The Undertaker vs. CM Punk, which was the last great WrestleMania match for the Deadman to date. The Rock passed the torch to John Cena in the main event, the only problem being that Cena had been on top for eight years at this point.

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Kazuchika Okada wins IWGP Heavyweight Championship – April 7, 2013

While WrestleMania 29 failed to produce a memorable show, New Japan Pro Wrestling managed to pull that off on the other side of the world. On this day in 2013, New Japan produced Invasion Attack, one of their best shows of the year. The biggest moment of the show was the main event.

Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada had one of the greatest rivalries in wrestling history. This was one of their greatest battles. Hot off a humiliating loss at Wrestle Kingdom 7, Okada had won the New Japan Cup to get another shot at Tanahashi at Invasion Attack. To the shock of The Ace, Okada defeated Tanahashi to regain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. This was a turning point in their rivalry, as Okada had now surpassed Tanahashi in skill.

Their rivalry would continue for another three years but this five star classic stands as maybe their best match together.

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WrestleMania 2 – April 7, 1986

From one great moment to a not-so-great moment. WrestleMania 2 took place on this day in 1986 and it aired from three separate locations. New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles all hosted an hour of the show and watched the other two hours of big screens. A radical idea it was. Unfortunately, it produced maybe the worst WrestleMania of all time.

The British Bulldogs defeated Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine for the tag titles in a nice match but otherwise, this is a dreadful show. The poor people in New York were treated to a total of 12 minutes of wrestling across three matches, none of which were any good. This was capped off with Roddy Piper vs. Mr. T in a boxing match, the only WrestleMania match ever to receive a minus five star rating.

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• april 7
• wrestling history
• nxt takeover
• WrestleMania

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