20 Pro Wrestling Firsts You Need To Know
17. First World Wrestling Entertainment Match
Fast forward some 56 years, and the entire world of professional wrestling had changed. Yeah, that is something of an understatement, but there we go. The decades had passed, and the final years of the 20th century saw the industry reach previously unprecedented heights. That came to an end however, and much like the Gold Dust Trio in the 1920s, once again one promotion had a monopoly.
It didn't have a monopoly on its own name however, and in 2002 the World Wrestling Federation was forced to change its name to World Wrestling Entertainment. May 6th of that year was the night of the first TV broadcast under the new name, and it'll take a soul of true trivia acumen to remember the very first match on WWE TV.
To open up the show, Trish Stratus challenged Jazz for the WWE Women's Championship in a No Disqualification match. That's how the show started too, no promos, just straight into the action. Jazz picked up the win after WWE Hardcore Champion Steven Richards kicked Stratus' head off, but this was just the start.
Within the next three minutes Bubba Ray Dudley, Raven, Justin Credible, Crash Holly and Stratus would win the Hardcore Championship, before Richards was able to escape with the belt after Bubba put Trish through a table.
A chaotic start.