On This Day In Wrestling History: March 30

Lucha Dragons, Neville Debut – March 30, 2015

The Raw after WrestleMania has become the place to debut NXT talent. Stars such as The Revival, Paige, and Apollo Crews have made their main roster debuts on this night over the years, but on this day in 2015, it was the Lucha Dragons and Neville.

Kalisto and the redebuting Sin Cara participated in an eight-man tag match where they were the featured performers. Neville, on the other hand, squashed Curtis Axel. It was a solid first night for all three men. Unfortunately, their WWE careers would mostly be filled with frustration before Neville and Sin Cara asked to be released a few years later.

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Kevin Steen KOs El Generico – March 30, 2012

Long before Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn battled on WWE TV, Kevin Steen and El Generico had one of the best feuds in Ring of Honor history. This wasn’t the conclusion of their feud, but the two men engaged in a war in Miami.

After 24 minutes of action and violence, Steen was finally able to knock out Generico, winning the Last Man Standing match. They would continue their rivalry into the year, culminating in a Ladder War at Final Battle for the ROH World Championship.

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Jack Swagger Wins World Heavyweight Championship – March 30, 2010

In what is regarded as one of the worst moments for the World Heavyweight Championship, Jack Swagger cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to defeat Chris Jericho and win the title. The segment kicked off SmackDown, as Edge speared Jericho, leaving him prone for Swagger to pick up the scraps.

Swagger’s reign would only last three months as he totally flopped as World Champion. He never came across as a main event talent and once he dropped the title to Rey Mysterio he retreated to the mid-card.

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WrestleMania XXIV – March 30, 2008

WrestleMania XXIV is one of the most underappreciated shows in wrestling history. It ranks high on the list of best ‘Manias ever and that is due in large part to the stellar card and great moments. Big Show fought Floyd Mayweather, Randy Orton outlasted Triple H and John Cena, Undertaker went 16-0, and Shawn Michaels retired Ric Flair.

While the retirement was sullied slightly by Flair returning to the ring in TNA years later, Shawn Michaels saying “I’m sorry, I love you” before pulling the trigger was a legitimate WrestleMania moment.

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Shinsuke Nakamura retains the IWGP Heavyweight Championship – March 30, 2008

Shinsuke Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanahashi defined New Japan Pro Wrestling as the promotion tried to rise from the ashes of the early 2000s. On this day in wrestling history, we saw one of their many battles over the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Nakamura was far from the charisma machine he would become later in his career but he managed to retain the title over the New Japan Cup winner, Tanahashi.

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WrestleMania XIX – March 30, 2003

Based solely on in-ring quality, WrestleMania XIX may be the best of all time. The show was stacked with great matches such as Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho, The Rock vs. Steve Austin, and Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle.

The show failed to perform well financially, drawing a poor buyrate, which is very unfortunate as the show remains one of the best in WWE history. In the end, Lesnar won the WWE Championship after nearly killing himself on a botched Shooting Star Press.

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X-Pac, New Age Outlaws Join DX – March 30, 1998

WrestleMania XIV was the final night of Shawn Michaels’ first WWE tenure. In leaving he left the reigns of DX to Triple H who quickly added new blood to the group. On the Raw after ‘Mania, X-Pac made his return to the company. After being fired by WCW, he was full of fury and unleashed on the mic. They promised to take over the WWF and it started that night.

Later in the show, they emerged once again to help the New Age Outlaws regain the WWF Tag Team Championships. The Outlaws joined the group and the new DX was born.

What was your favourite moment from this day in wrestling history? Let us know on Twitter!

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