On This Day in Pro Wrestling History – May 1 | Toshiaki Kawada Wins Triple Crown, Shinya Hashimoto, WWF House Shows & More

May 1

On This Day in Pro Wrestling History

May 1 is one of those dates that quietly stacks up.

At first glance, it looks like a busy day of live events, title changes, and television tapings. But the deeper you look, the more important it gets.

You’ve got Shinya Hashimoto winning New Japan’s top title, Brian Christopher and Jerry Lawler adding more USWA gold, Booker T and Chris Benoit continuing their WCW Television Title war, and All Japan Pro Wrestling holding its biggest standalone event ever at the Tokyo Dome.

That is a lot of wrestling history packed into one date.

Let’s step into it.

WCW Runs the Nintendo Top Ten Challenge

One of the more unique pieces of May 1 history comes from WCW’s Nintendo Top Ten Challenge.

This was very early-90s WCW energy. A tournament with strong names, strange eliminations, and plenty of moving parts.

The tournament included names like:

Ricky Steamboat

Steve Austin

Rick Rude

Dustin Rhodes

Ron Simmons

Larry Zbyszko

The semifinals took a strange turn when Ricky Steamboat and Steve Austin fought to a 15-minute time-limit draw, eliminating both men. That meant the other scheduled semifinal, Rick Rude vs. Dustin Rhodes, essentially became the final.

In the end, WCW United States Champion Rick Rude defeated Dustin Rhodes after using the title belt and hitting the Rude Awakening.

That is classic Rick Rude: smug, polished, dangerous, and never above bending the rules when gold or glory was involved.

Brian Christopher and Jerry Lawler Add More Memphis Gold

In 1993, Brian Christopher defeated Jeff Jarrett to win the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis.

That started Christopher’s eighth reign and ended Jarrett’s seventh.

Memphis wrestling loved its repeat champions, and honestly, that was part of the charm. The same names could circle each other again and again, but the crowd still cared because the personalities were so strong and the rivalries felt local, personal, and alive.

Then in 1995, Jerry Lawler defeated Razor Ramon to win the USWA Unified Heavyweight Title, beginning his 21st reign with that championship.

Twenty-one.

That is not a reign count. That is a Memphis phone book.

Lawler and the USWA were tied together so tightly that every title change felt like another chapter in a never-ending local epic.

WWF Runs Three Events in One Day

In 1993, the WWF ran three events on the same day: a matinee at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, plus evening events in Rochester, New York and Uniondale, Long Island.

That is a strong reminder of how hard the WWF touring machine was running at the time.

Across those shows, fans saw names like:

Bret Hart

Lex Luger

Shawn Michaels

Mr. Perfect

Yokozuna

Jim Duggan

The Undertaker

Giant Gonzalez

The Steiner Brothers

Money Inc.

Doink the Clown

Bam Bam Bigelow

The Landover and Nassau Coliseum lineups even mirrored each other closely, with Bret Hart defeating Lex Luger by disqualification and Shawn Michaels wrestling Mr. Perfect to a 20-minute time-limit draw.

That Michaels vs. Perfect pairing jumps off the page. Two of the smoothest wrestlers of their era, working a house show circuit match that fans in the building probably remembered for a long time.

Shinya Hashimoto Wins the IWGP Heavyweight Title

In 1994, Shinya Hashimoto defeated Tatsumi Fujinami at the Fukuoka Dome to win the IWGP Heavyweight Title.

That ended Fujinami’s fifth reign and began Hashimoto’s second.

Hashimoto was one of those wrestlers who felt like a storm in human form. Heavy kicks, serious presence, and a believable toughness that made every major title win feel earned.

Beating Fujinami for New Japan’s top championship at the Fukuoka Dome is not just another result. It is a major passing-of-power kind of moment.

All Japan Goes Huge at the Tokyo Dome

The biggest moment of the date may come in 1998, when All Japan Pro Wrestling held the biggest show in company history, its first standalone event at the Tokyo Dome.

The show drew 58,000 fans.

That number matters. All Japan had run the Dome before as part of joint events, but this was their own night. Their own stage. Their own monster show.

And the card was stacked:

Giant Baba, Kentaro Shiga and Hayabusa defeated Hakushi, Jun Izumida and Giant Kamala II

Jun Akiyama defeated Hiroshi Hase

Kenta Kobashi and Johnny Ace defeated Vader and Stan Hansen

Toshiaki Kawada defeated Mitsuharu Misawa to win the All Japan Triple Crown

That main event is the crown jewel.

Toshiaki Kawada defeating Mitsuharu Misawa for the Triple Crown is exactly the kind of result that carries serious weight for fans of Japanese wrestling. Misawa vs. Kawada is one of wrestling’s most respected rivalries, built on physicality, emotion, history, and a level of intensity that still holds up.

Kawada winning the Triple Crown at All Japan’s biggest show ever feels enormous because it was enormous.

Booker T and Chris Benoit Keep Trading the TV Title

Also in 1998, Booker T defeated Chris Benoit in Greenville, South Carolina to regain the WCW World Television Title, beginning his third reign.

This was part of a larger rivalry where Booker and Benoit would trade the title and eventually move into a best-of-seven series.

That feud mattered because it helped elevate Booker T as a singles wrestler. WCW had a crowded roster, but Booker was proving he belonged beyond tag team success.

And Benoit, as always, brought a level of intensity that made the matches feel sharp and competitive.

1999 Was a Busy Day Across WWF, ECW, and WCW

May 1, 1999 gives us a fun snapshot of wrestling during one of its hottest periods.

WWF ran Anaheim with a loaded card featuring:

Steve Austin and The Rock teaming in a steel cage main event

The Undertaker defeating Ken Shamrock in a casket match

Kane and X-Pac defending tag gold

Mankind defeating Mideon

The Godfather defending the Intercontinental Title

Meanwhile, ECW ran Cocoa Beach, Florida with:

Super Crazy

Yoshihiro Tajiri

Little Guido

Rob Van Dam

The Dudley Boyz

Tommy Dreamer

Jerry Lynn

Lance Storm

And WCW ran Philadelphia with:

Rey Mysterio Jr.

Juventud Guerrera

Goldberg

Curt Hennig

Diamond Dallas Page

Sting

Ric Flair

That is a perfect snapshot of 1999. Three major companies, three different flavors, all moving at full speed.

WWF had mainstream fire.

ECW had underground electricity.

WCW had big-name depth.

For fans at the time, there was wrestling everywhere.

Why May 1 Matters

May 1 is not just one story.

It is a full map of wrestling at work.

You get:

WCW’s Nintendo Top Ten Challenge

Brian Christopher and Jerry Lawler winning USWA gold

WWF running three shows in one day

Shinya Hashimoto capturing the IWGP Heavyweight Title

All Japan drawing 58,000 fans to the Tokyo Dome

Toshiaki Kawada defeating Mitsuharu Misawa for the Triple Crown

Booker T and Chris Benoit continuing their TV Title rivalry

WWF, ECW, and WCW all running strong in 1999

That is the beauty of daily wrestling history.

Some days give you one mountain.

May 1 gives you a whole mountain range.

Support Wrestling History

At WFIA, we believe pro wrestling history deserves to be remembered in full.

The major title wins. The touring loops. The strange tournaments. The legendary rivalries. The small shows that meant everything to the fans in the building.

It all matters.

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