Today, the 14th of November is an iconic day in pro wrestling history. A legendary debut, a host of some memorable title changes, and a teary-eyed tribute to one of the most popular superstars of our time happened on this day many years back.
So without further adieu, here are the legendary facts about today that would blow your mind:
#1 The in-ring TV debut of Kurt Angle – Nov 14, 1999 Survivor Series
November of 1999 saw WWE air vignettes promoting the arrival of 1996 Olympic Gold medallist Kurt Angle to the company. Angle debuted on 14th November at that year’s Survivor Series PPV, taking on Shawn Stasiak.
Though the Survivor Series match was his first televised bout with the company, Angle had made his first appearance in the company in March 1999 in a segment with Tiger Ali Singh and had his first WWE match in April – a dark match against Brian Christopher.
Angle would win via his trademark Olympic Slam and go on to have a highly successful WWE career, winning every available championship in the company.
#2 Shawn Michaels wins the Intercontinental title – Nov 14th, 1992 Saturday Night’s Main Event
In the final Saturday NIght’s Main Event aired by FOX on Nov 14th 1992, Shawn Michaels would beat the British Bulldog to win the Intercontinental title at the Hulman Center in Indiana. It would be the only title change of the night which also featured a tag team title match and a WWF Championship match. This would be Michael’s first singles title in the WWE/F.
In the WWF Championship match, Papa Shango – the future Godfather – would take on the champion Bret Hart in an unsuccessful attempt. Hart would make Shango tap out to the Sharpshooter to retain the title.
Michales would face Hart in the main event of the next PPV – Survivor Series ‘92 – for the WWF Championship in a losing effort. Michaels would lose his title to his former partner Marty Jannetty soon after.
#3 The Big Show wins his first WWE Championship – Nov 14th, 1999 Survivor Series
On the same day that Kurt Angle made his debut, The Big Show would capture his first WWE Championship. The main event of Survivor Series was supposed to be a Triple Threat match involving the then-champion Triple H, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, but Austin was run over (in storyline) by a car prior to the match.
The BigShow would replace Austin in the main event and would chokeslam Triple H to win the WWE Championship. Show would retain the title at Armageddon against the Big Bossman before eventually losing the title back to Triple H on an episode of Raw.
The BigShow, Triple H, The Rock and Mick Foley would fight for the title at Wrestlemania next year in a fatal four-way match.
#4 Team Orton takes control of Raw – Nov 14th, 2004, Survivor Series
The main event of the 2004 Survivor Series – which took place on November 14th – would see Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit and Maven take on Triple H, Edge, Batista and Gene Snitsky in a traditional Survivor Series Elimination match. The winning team would get the chance to run RAW for four weeks.
Orton would become the sole survivor of the match and each member of his team would run Raw during the future weeks.
The upcoming weeks would see the World Heavyweight Champion Triple H defend his title against Maven (successfully) and having to vacate his title due to a draw in another World title match also involving Benoit and Edge.
#5 Eddie Guerrero’s tribute show – Nov 14th, 2005, Raw
WWE would present a special episode of Raw 11 Years ago on November 14th as a tribute to Eddie Guerrero, who passed away in a Minneapolis hotel room the previous night. The show would feature Guerrero segments in between matches and the storylines were put on hold.
Both Raw and SmackDown superstars attended the show and the main event saw the first instance of a singles match featuring future rivals John Cena and Randy Orton. Other major matches included Shawn Michaels vs Rey Mysterio, Kurt Angle vs Shelton Benjamin and Kane & The Big Show vs MNM.
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#2 The in-ring TV debut of Kurt Angle – Nov 14, 1999 Survivor Series
November of 1999 saw WWE air vignettes promoting the arrival of 1996 Olympic Gold medallist Kurt Angle to the company. Angle debuted on 14 November at that year’s Survivor Series PPV, taking on Shawn Stasiak.
Though the Survivor Series match was his first televised match with the company, Angle had made his first appearance in the company in March 1999 in a segment with Tiger Ali Singh and had his first WWE match in April – a dark match against Brian Christopher.
Angle would win via his trademark Olympic Slam and go on to have a highly successful WWE career, winning every available championship in the company.
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