December 10 has been immortalised in pro wrestling history for being the day of the debut of one of the greatest wrestlers in the sport. It was 44 years ago at an AWA show that Ric Flair had his first pro wrestling match.
Also on this day a decade back, an Olympic gold medallist reached the pinnacle of pro wrestling. In one of the most star-studded gimmick matches of all time, Kurt Angle defeated five of the greatest performers of all time to walk out as the WWE Champion.
The match also saw one of the most insane bumps of all time, with the 400 pound Rikishi launched from the top of the cage onto the back of a stationary truck.
And how can we forget another chapter in the Chris Jericho’s famous Undisputed title run? Drink it in, man!
#1 Kurt Angle outlasts five men in Hell in a Cell – 10th December 2000
Sixteen years ago today, WWE brought their first PPV to Alabama – WWE Armageddon 2000 was held at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic centre in Birmingham. The main event would be legitimately revolutionary – six men would compete against each other in a Hell in a Cell match for the WWE Championship.
Kurt Angle would be the champion going into the match and his challengers would be Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, The Undertaker and Rikishi – a fusion of star power which would certainly be incomparable to the current state of the company.
The match would involve a number of high profile spots, including Rikishi getting choke slammed from the top of the cage onto a truck courtesy of the Undertaker. But it would be the defending champion who would come out on top – Angle would pin The Rock to retain his title.
#2 Chris Jericho vs Stone Cold Steve Austin in a Steel Cage – 10th December 2001
Chris Jericho began his Undisputed title reign in late 2001 and his first opponent was the Rattlesnake. Jericho would put his newly won title on the line against Stone Cold in a steel cage match on Raw.
On the December 10th edition of Raw, Austin would reduce Jericho to a bloody mess and would be moments away from escaping the cage and becoming the Champion. But Booker T, who had interfered in the original Undisputed title tournament final on behalf of Jericho, once again played spoilsport – slamming the steel door on Austin.
Jericho would crawl out of the cage, retaining his title.
#3 Ric Flair wrestles his first match – 10th December 1972
On 10th December 1972, a young protege of Verne Gagne made his AWA debut with about a year of wrestling training under his belt. 23-year-old Richard Morgan Fliehr who weighed 300 pounds at the time would take on George ‘Scrap Iron’ Gadaski in his first match, with the bout ending in a time limit draw.
This would be the start of the legendary career of Ric Flair and he would wrestle all over the country and abroad for the next four decades, including stints at IWE, Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, NWA, WCW and the WWE.
With 31 major championships in WWE, WCW and NWA as well as a number of regional championships, Flair was the one who initially put WCW on the map and was the only superstar who could legitimately challenge Hulk Hogan for popularity in the 70s and the 80s.
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