113 years ago today in Bellingham, Washington, Frank Gotch defeated Tom Jenkins to win the American Heavyweight Championship.

36 years ago today in Raleigh, North Carolina, Roddy Piper defeated Ric Flair to win the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. With the win, Piper had to vacate the NWA World Television Championship he had won from The Masked Superstar almost three months earlier.

31 years ago today in New York City, Randy Savage defeated WWF Champion Hulk Hogan via countout. The two would have a much more famous battle three years later that would at the time be the most-watched wrestling event in PPV history when they met for the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania V.

27 years ago today, WWF airs the twenty-fifth episode of Saturday Night's Main Event (WWE Network link) from the UTC Arena in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The episode was taped January 3.

Randy Savage defeated Jim Duggan.

Hulk Hogan & The Ultimate Warrior defeated Mr. Perfect & The Genius.

Jake Roberts defeated Greg Valentine by disqualification.

Dusty Rhodes and Rick Rude fought to a double count-out.

Dino Bravo defeated Ronnie Garvin.

25 years ago today, WWF tapes the thirtieth edition of Saturday Night's Main Event (WWE Network link) from the Municipal Coliseum in Lubbock, Texas.

The show, airing February 8, was the first for the FOX Network after airing on NBC the previous seven years. The decreasing popularity of wrestling would essentially discontinue the series, with just one more episode airing in November.

Roddy Piper defeated The Mountie to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship.

Hulk Hogan and Sid Justice defeated Ric Flair and The Undertaker by disqualification.

Sgt. Slaughter and Jim Duggan (substituting for the Legion of Doom) defeated The Beverly Brothers (Blake Beverly and Beau Beverly).

Randy Savage defeated Jake Roberts. Post-match, Roberts was looking to hit Miss Elizabeth with a steel chair as she came through the backstage curtain, but The Undertaker prevented the attack.

23 years ago today, WCW presented Clash of the Champions XXVI (WWE Network link) from the Centroplex in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Marcus Alexander Bagwell & Too Cold Scorpio defeated Pretty Wonderful (Paul Orndorff & Paul Roma).

Ron Simmons defeated Ice Train.

Lord Steven Regal and Dustin Rhodes went to a 15-minute time limit draw for the WCW World Television Championship.

Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne defeated The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags).

Flyin' Brian defeated Col. Robert Parker. With the loss, Parker was forced to wear a chicken suit.

Ric Flair & Sting defeated Rick Rude & Vader in a tag team elimination match.

21 years ago today in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Raven defeated The Sandman to win the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. Highlights of the bout aired on the January 30 episode of Hardcore TV (WWE Network link).

14 years ago today on RAW from Chicago, Illinois (WWE Network link), Tough Enough III winners Matt Cappotelli and John Hennigan made their WWE debuts. They went to a no contest when another Tough Enough alum, Christopher Nowiski, interfered.

For Cappotelli, it was his only match on RAW; just as he was about to be called up in 2006, Matt would be diagnosed with brain cancer and was forced to retire. Today, Matt is a trainer for Ohio Valley Wrestling.

Hennigan, on the other hand, would go on to a pretty modest career in WWE, winning the ECW Championship (WWE version), three Intercontinental titles, and four tag team titles with two different partners before leaving the company in November 2011.

9 years ago today, WWE makes its high-definition PPV debut with Royal Rumble (WWE Network link) from Madison Square Garden in New York City. 20,793 were in attendance, with 533,000 homes watching on PPV.

The show is noted for the unadvertised return of John Cena. Expected to miss as much as a year with a torn pectoral muscle, Cena returned as the final entrant in the 2008 Royal Rumble match.

In a dark match, Jimmy Wang Yang & Shannon Moore defeated Deuce & Domino.

Ric Flair defeated Montel Vontavious Porter.

John "Bradshaw" Layfield defeated Chris Jericho by disqualification.

Edge defeated Rey Mysterio to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.

Randy Orton defeated Jeff Hardy to retain the WWE Championship.

John Cena last eliminated Triple H to win the Royal Rumble match and a championship match of his choosing at Wrestlemania XXIV.

2008 Royal Rumble Entrant # Entrant Brand Elimination # Eliminated by Time # of eliminations Entrant # Entrant Brand Elimination # Eliminated by Time # of eliminations 1 The Undertaker SD 11 Shawn Michaels 32:33 3 2 Shawn Michaels Raw 12 Mr. Kennedy 32:39 2 3 Santino Marella Raw 1 The Undertaker 00:25 0 4 The Great Khali SD 2 The Undertaker 01:09 0 5 Hardcore Holly Raw 6 Umaga 13:46 0 6 John Morrison ECW 14 Kane 29:23 0 7 Tommy Dreamer ECW 3 Batista 02:09 0 8 Batista SD 28 Triple H 37:40 4 9 Hornswoggle SD 16 Never re-entered match 26:17 1 10 Chuck Palumbo SD 5 CM Punk 04:00 1 11 Jamie Noble SD 4 Chuck Palumbo 00:28 0 12 CM Punk ECW 17 Chavo Guerrero 23:50 1 13 Cody Rhodes Raw 18 Triple H 23:14 0 14 Umaga Raw 26 Batista 26:05 1 15 Snitsky Raw 10 The Undertaker 12:26 0 16 The Miz ECW 13 Hornswoggle 13:07 0 17 Shelton Benjamin ECW 7 Shawn Michaels 00:18 0 18 Jimmy Snuka Legend 9 Kane 02:43 0 19 Roddy Piper Legend 8 Kane 1:00 0 20 Kane SD 27 Batista & Triple H 17:58 3 21 Carlito Raw 22 John Cena 15:07 0 22 Mick Foley Legend 20 Triple H 11:29 0 23 Mr. Kennedy Raw 25 Batista 13:32 1 24 Big Daddy V ECW 19 Triple H 07:49 0 25 Mark Henry SD 24 John Cena 09:12 0 26 Chavo Guerrero SD 23 John Cena 7:33 1 27 Finlay SD 15 Disqualified - - 28 Elijah Burke ECW 21 Triple H 02:11 0 29 Triple H Raw 29 John Cena 11:22 6 30 John Cena Raw — Winner 08:28 4

Notes:

Finlay was disqualified for entering the match before his number came up. He did so when Hornswoggle was attacked by Big Daddy V and Mark Henry. Hornswoggle, who was then rescued by Finlay, left through the ropes and never returned to the match. To this day, he’s the only man that’s ever been disqualified from the Royal Rumble match.

Cena was the second man to win from #30. He was the last to do so until Triple H won from #30 last year.

Cena's 8 minutes, 27 seconds was the shortest time spent in the ring by a Rumble winner. That mark would be broken two years later by Edge.

4 years ago today, WWE presented Royal Rumble (WWE Network link) from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. 15,103 were in attendance, with 498,000 homes watching on PPV. Though it was up from 446,000 homes for the 2012 edition, the number was seen as disappointing by the higher-ups in WWE.

In a preshow match, Antonio Cesaro defeated The Miz to retain the United States Championship.

Alberto Del Rio defeated Big Show in a Last Man Standing match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.

Team Hell No (Kane & Daniel Bryan) defeated Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow) to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship.

John Cena last eliminated Ryback to win the Royal Rumble match and a championship match of his choosing at Wrestlemania XXIX.

The Rock defeated CM Punk to win the WWE Championship. CM Punk won the match originally with interference from The Shield, but the match was restarted. The Rock won just a minute later, ending CM Punk's world championship run at 434 days, the longest since Hulk Hogan's four-year run ended in 1988.

2013 Royal Rumble Entrant # Entrant Elimination # Eliminated by Time # of eliminations Entrant # Entrant Elimination # Eliminated by Time # of eliminations 1 Dolph Ziggler 27 Sheamus 49:47 2 2 Chris Jericho 25 Ziggler 47:53 2 3 Cody Rhodes 12 Cena 27:39 4 4 Kofi Kingston 9 Rhodes 22:18 2 5 Santino Marella 1 Rhodes 0:55 0 6 Drew McIntyre 2 Jericho 2:40 0 7 Titus O'Neil 3 Sheamus 7:30 0 8 Goldust 5 Rhodes 9:41 0 9 David Otunga 4 Sheamus 4:24 1 10 Heath Slater 11 Cena 15:49 1 11 Sheamus 28 Ryback 37:23 4 12 Tensai 7 Kingston 5:37 0 13 Brodus Clay 6 Jericho, Slater, Rhodes, Sheamus, Young 3:47 0 14 Rey Mysterio 13 Barrett 15:43 0 15 Darren Young 8 Kingston 2:51 1 16 Bo Dallas 21 Barrett1 21:42 1 17 The Godfather 10 Ziggler 0:05 0 18 Wade Barrett 20 Dallas 20:34 2 19 John Cena - Winner 26:39 4 20 Damien Sandow 22 Ryback 16:26 0 21 Daniel Bryan 16 Cesaro & Kane 7:55 2 22 Antonio Cesaro 18 Cena 8:50 1 23 The Great Khali 14 Kane & Bryan 3:08 0 24 Kane 15 Bryan 1:46 2 25 Zack Ryder 17 Orton 2:34 0 26 Randy Orton 26 Ryback 10:20 1 27 Jinder Mahal 19 Sheamus 2:10 0 28 The Miz 24 Ryback 5:08 0 29 Sin Cara 23 Ryback 3:27 0 30 Ryback 29 Cena 9:06 5

3 years ago today in Cleveland, Ohio, Phil Brooks, best known to wrestling fans as CM Punk, walks out on WWE prior to that evening’s RAW taping.

After not showing up the next night at the Smackdown taping, WWE removed Punk from all promotional advertising. He would soon be removed from all their promotional video materials as well, and save for his entrance video playing on the March 3 RAW, Punk became persona non grata in the company. This lasted until Punk was quietly moved to the Alumni section of WWE.com when his contract expired in July. WWE did not make a formal statement, though Punk thanked his fans without directly mentioning his now former employer.

The retired Punk opened up about his final days in WWE in an interview on Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast in November 2014, saying (among other things) he was mailed his termination papers on his wedding day after not being contacted by the company for months, he tried to reach out to them for unpaid royalties (he ultimately sued WWE and got an undisclosed settlement), and that his declining health contributed to his surprising exit—it turned out he was walking around with a potentially fatal staph infection. In interviews following his walkout, Punk said it felt good to be retired at 35 and that he would “never, ever” return to wrestling.

A day late, but a happy 25th birthday to Mercedes Kaestner-Varnado, best known to wrestling fans these days as Sasha Banks.

Born in Fairfield, California, Mercedes moved quite a bit when she was younger when he family had to find schools and hospitals for her disabled brother. Because of this, she did her schooling online. Eventually, Mercedes landed in Boston, where she began her wrestling career.

Kaestner-Varnado began training for Boston-area independent Chaotic Wrestling in 2008. It wouldn't be until two years later she made her debut for the promotion in an intergender tag team match. As Mercedes KV, she formed an alliance with Nikki Roxx (you may know her from her time as Roxxi Laveaux). In December 2011, she defeated Alexxis in an I Quit match for the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship. She would hold the championship for nearly nine months, vacating it when she signed a WWE developmental deal.

That deal came two months after participating in a WWE tryout camp. She was assigned to NXT, WWE's developmental territory. In December, Mercedes made her television debut as Sasha Banks. She was involved in a "secret admirer" storyline revealed to be Audrey Marie, who was jealous of Banks' sudden success.

In September 2013, after being defeated in an NXT Womens Championship match by Paige, Sasha, influenced by Summer Rae, attacked the champion. After defeating Bayley two weeks later, Sasha cut a promo and proclaimed herself as "The Boss". Banks and Rae would become the BFFs, the Beautiful Fierce Females. Charlotte would join the group two months later after attacking Bayley. When Summer Rae moved up to the main roster in early 2014, Sasha and Charlotte continued their rivalry with Bayley. The group split that summer when after they defeated Bayley and Becky Lynch, Charlotte left Banks behind to be assaulted by Bayley.

Late in the year, Sasha used the same influence that was used on her on Becky Lynch and after Becky turned on Bayley, the two aligned unofficially as Team BAE (Best at Everything). Sasha continued to contend for the NXT Womens Championship late in the year, but would lose to Charlotte on four consecutive occasions in December 2014 and January 2015.

At NXT Takeover: Rival on February 11, Banks defeated Charlotte in a fatal four-way match that included Becky Lynch and Bayley to win the NXT Women's Championship. She would have notable successful defenses against Charlotte and Alexa Bliss. She'd hold the championship for just over six months before losing to Bayley in a classic at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. Post-match, the combatants along with former rivals Becky Lynch and Charlotte shared a hug. The bout was highly praised by wrestling pundits and fans alike, and would win the NXT Year-End Award for Match of the Year. The two rematched at Takeover: Respect in a 30-minute Ironman match, the first involving women in WWE history. Bayley retained with a 3-2 win in Banks' final NXT match.

Sasha along with Becky Lynch and Charlotte made their official RAW debuts in July as part of a "revolution" of the Divas division. Sasha would align with Naomi and Tamina as Team BAD (Beautiful and Dangerous). In her PPV debut at Battleground, Sasha was defeated in a triple threat match involving Brie Bella and Charlotte. Sasha defeated Nikki Bella in a non-title match via submission in July and wrestled Paige to a draw in a women's "Beat the Clock" challenge. After briefly feuding with Paige, Sasha went on a winning streak before being taken off television, allegedly due to injury (an injury Sasha denied). Sasha returned at the Royal Rumble attacking both Charlotte and Becky Lynch, seemingly putting her name in the hunt for the Divas Championship.

After breaking away from Team BAD, Banks, Charlotte, and Becky would carry their feud into the reborn WWE Women’s Championship at Wrestlemania 32, with Charlotte winning the title. Charlotte’s feud with Sasha continued into the summer, with Sasha teaming with long-time rival Bayley to defeat Charlotte and Dana Brooke at Battleground (to date, this is Charlotte’s only PPV defeat). On July 25, the Monday following the second brand extension, Sasha defeated Charlotte for the WWE Women’s Championship. She would hold it for all of 27 days, losing it back to Charlotte at Summerslam.

After failing to win it back in a triple threat match at Clash of Champions, Sasha would regain the title (the rechristened RAW Women’s Championship as Smackdown would introduce their own version) on October 3. She would lose it again 27 days later in a Hell in a Cell match to Charlotte; of note, it was the first time a women’s match closed a WWE PPV event. Sasha would regain the title when she submitted Charlotte in a falls count anywhere match on November 28, but as had been the case the two times prior, Sasha would lose it in her first PPV defense to Charlotte, this time, losing 3-2 in overtime in a 30-minute Ironman match. Banks looked to congratulate Charlotte the next night on RAW, but was instead attacked by Nia Jax.

Mercedes, a cousin of rapper Snoop Dogg (who performed a verse during Sasha’s Wrestlemania 32 entrance), enjoys K-pop music and loves the anime Sailor Moon. Growing up, Mercedes watched All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling. She cites her favorite wrestler as Eddie Guerrero, and was in attendance for the Eddie Guerrero tribute show on RAW in November 2005. In a 2015 interview on Talk is Jericho, Mercedes revealed that she was unaware that Eddie had died until she arrived in the building.

Mercedes was selected as Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Woman of the Year for 2015 and had the publication's match of the year with Bayley. In 2016, she won the publication’s feud of the year and was ranked the #2 female wrestler in the world in the PWI Female 50 (Charlotte was #1).

Mercedes is married to wrestler Sarath Ton, a wrestler on the independent circuit (he wrestles as Mizake) and costume designer for WWE. The couple married last August.

The best of cSs on this day:

2016: It's official! Shinsuke Nakamura is coming to WWE NXT (Former IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura signs with WWE, debut announced for NXT Takeover: Dallas)

2015: Clarification on the reasons for The Rock's unhappiness at the Royal Rumble (Turned out The Rock didn’t expect to get booed at the end of the Royal Rumble PPV, says Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio)

2014: WWE has a very big Daniel Bryan problem (Our own Geno lays out the issue WWE has in telling its story against the rising tide that is Daniel Bryan)

2013: WWE Royal Rumble results: The Rock wins the WWE championship by pinning CM Punk (Thanks to a restart, The Rock wins his eighth WWE Championship and ends CM Punk’s 14-month reign)

2012: Pic: John Cena -- The Fruity Pebble (Foogos Art makes a photo of John Cena constructed entirely by Fruity Pebbles—no, seriously)

2011: Wrestling Observer awards: UFC's Chael Sonnen wins best interviews (Chael Sonnen becomes first MMA fighter to win Wrestling Observer award for Best on Interviews; he places in the top ten in five other categories)

2010: TNA Impact moves to Mondays on March 1st (Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio reports Impact will square up with RAW beginning in March; it turned out to be a disaster, as Impact moved back to Thursday after two months)