TIMELINES

[Warph]

Welcome to the Forum, kimpossibly



1982
Konishiki, born Salevaa Atisanoe in American Samoa, began competing in sumo wrestling. He opened sumo wrestling to international competition and achieved the 2nd-highest rank. The 600-pound wrestler announced his retirement in 1997.
Links: Wrestling, Amer. Samoa        
 
1993 Mar 11
Dino Bravo (b.1948), wrestler (WWF), was shot to death in Laval, Quebec, Canada. Bravo, born as Adolfo Bresciano, was known as the "World's Strongest Man."
Links: Canada, Wrestling        
 
1993
The American Akebono was promoted to yokozuna, the 1st rank of sumo wrestling.
Links: USA, Wrestling        
 
1998 Feb 17
An Iranian crowd cheered as US wrestlers carried the Stars and Stripes into an international meet in Tehran.
Links: USA, Iran, Wrestling        
 
1998 Sep 10
US wrestler Sam Henson took first place in the World Wrestling Championships in Iran. He defeated Namik Abdullavev of Azerbaijan. Iranians stood for the US anthem for the first time in 19 years.
Links: Azerbaijan, Iraq, USA, Wrestling        

1999 Jan 4
Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura was sworn in as Minnesota's 37th governor.
Links: Minnesota, Wrestling        
 
1999 May 23
Owen Hart (33), a professional wrestler also known as "The Blue Blazer," was killed when he fell 50 [78] feet while being lowered into the ring at a World Wrestling Federation show in Kansas City. The fall was revised to 90 feet in front of 16,200 fans at the Kemper Arena.
Links: Missouri, Tragedy, Wrestling        
 
1999 Jul 28
In Florida Lionel Tate (12) flung Tiffany Eunick (6) around a living room in a session of play wrestling. Eunick died from severe injuries. Tate was convicted of 1st degree murder in 2001 and sentenced to life in prison. In 2003 an appeals court ordered a new trial and Tate agreed to a 2nd degree murder charge. Tate was released in 2004.
Links: Murder, Florida, Wrestling        
 
1999 Oct 19
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia began trading on Wall Street with 7.2 million shares at 18. It closed at 35.56.
World Wrestling also made its debut with 10 million shares at 17. It closed at 25.25.
Links: NYSE, Nasdaq, Wrestling        
 
2001 Mar 9
A judge in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., sentenced 14-year-old Lionel Tate to life in prison for the 1999 killing of Tiffany Eunick, a 6-year old girl. Tate, who had been convicted of first-degree murder, said he was imitating pro-wrestling moves. Tate's first-degree murder conviction and sentence were later overturned; he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a new sentence of probation, but is now accused of violating that probation.
Links: USA, Murder, Florida, Wrestling        
 
2001 May 10
NBC and the World Wrestling Federation cancelled the XFL.
Links: Football, Wrestling        
 
2004 Aug 13
The Olympics opened In Athens. A sea of athletes under 202 flags parted to let a Greek windsurfing champion jog across the stadium and climb to the Olympic cauldron, which dipped on its slender 102-foot arm to receive the spark from his torch. Women's wrestling debuted as an Olympic sport.
Links: Olympics, Greece, Women, Wrestling        
 
2007 Jun 25
Chris Benoit (40), a professional wrestling superstar, was found dead alongside the bodies of his wife and retarded son (7) in Fayetteville, Georgia. Police treated the case as a possible murder-suicide. Anabolic steroids thought to be a contributing factor. The Canadian-born wrestler won the world heavyweight championship in 2004. Doctors later reported that Chris Benoit had injected steroids not long before he died.
Links: GeorgiaUS, Canada, USA, Suicide, Murder, Wrestling        
 
2007 Jun 26
Tokitaizan, whose real name is Takashi Saito (17), collapsed during a training session in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, and was confirmed dead a few hours later. On Oct 5 the Japan Sumo Association expelled stablemaster Junichi Yamamoto. On Feb 7, 2008, 3 wrestlers and a former trainer were arrested for Saito's death.
Links: Japan, Wrestling        
 
2009 Jul 21
Mexican police detained a woman (65) in the deaths of two professional wrestlers who were found drugged in a low-rent hotel in Mexico City on June 29. One of the diminutive wrestlers went by the name "La Parkita" (Little Death") and wore a skeleton costume in the ring. The other was known as "Espectrito Jr." An autopsy on the two wrestlers, who were brothers, detected a substance found in eye drops that can damage the nervous system when mixed with alcohol. Three bodies, one of them headless, were found floating in an irrigation ditch in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, where drug violence has spiked despite the presence of thousands of soldiers. Police captured four men, members of the La Familia drug cartel, accused of slaying 12 federal agents on the weekend of July 12 and dumping their bloodied bodies along a highway in President Felipe Calderon's home state of Michoacan.
Links: Mexico, Murder, Robbery, Wrestling  

2011 May 20
Randy "Macho Man" Savage (58), a larger-than-life personality from professional wrestling's 1980s flying-elbow heyday known for his raspy voice, brash style and the young woman named Miss Elizabeth who often accompanied him, died in a car crash in Florida.
Links: USA, Wrestling        
 
2012 Jan 20
In Japan Estonian sumo wrestler Baruto won his first tournament, logging an unbeatable 13th straight victory with only two bouts to go in the New Year basho.
Links: Japan, Estonia, Wrestling