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79-407: Lawrence J. Simon (June 28, 1933 – September 1, 1994), better known by the ring name Boris Malenko (Russian: Бори́с Маленко́ , IPA: [bɐˈrʲis mɐˈlʲenkə] ), was an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer. He is best known for his appearances with Championship Wrestling from Florida and Big Time Wrestling in the 1960s and 1970s as a Russian heel . He

158-532: A rainout on June 15, 1976. The Astros ' scheduled game against the Pittsburgh Pirates was called when massive flooding in the Houston area prevented all but a few fans from reaching the stadium. Both teams had arrived early for practice, but the umpires were several hours late. At 5 pm that day, with only a handful of fans on hand and already several hours behind, the umpires and teams agreed to call

237-542: A $ 105 million renovation plan on February 13, 2018. This plan keeps the parking garage from the Revitalization Project. Construction was set to start in October 2018 and would be completed sometime in 2020. The construction start date was later moved to early 2019 and was expected to finish in 2020. However, as of September 2019, the plan was put on hold with no word when construction might take place. It

316-494: A campaign manager for Johnson in the 1940s, just as the second inning got underway. He and Lady Bird watched the opening night game from behind the glass in Judge Hofheinz's private box high in the right field just to the right of the giant scoreboard. LBJ ate hors d'œuvres and chicken and ice cream while watching the game. "Roy, I want to congratulate you; it shows so much imagination", he was heard to say. Later, he called

395-465: A few others, their real name. One notable exception was made for David Otunga because of his real marriage to singer Jennifer Hudson at the time, which gave WWE some mainstream exposure. Low Ki used the alias "Senshi" during his second TNA stint to reserve his primary ring name for other use. A similar example is the team known as The Dudley Boyz in ECW and WWE and Team 3D elsewhere. WWE trademarked

474-569: A major turning point for the dome, as some feared if the plan wasn't approved the building would be demolished. On January 27, 2017, the Texas Historical Commission voted unanimously to designate the dome a State Antiquities Landmark. Under the designation, the Astrodome may no longer be removed, altered, damaged, salvaged, or excavated without a permit from the commission. The Harris County Commissioners voted to approve

553-521: A publicity stunt than a serious match, it made national headlines and stands as a milestone in the progress of women's sports. Scenes were filmed in the Astrodome for the 2017 film Battle of the Sexes which starred Emma Stone and Steve Carell , who played King and Riggs, respectively. The Astrodome held several motorsports events throughout its lifetime. The AMA Grand National Championship held events starting in 1968 and running for 18 years, utilizing

632-511: A sell-out crowd during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Selena y Los Dinos performed two consecutive times before at the Astrodome, breaking previous attendance records each time. This was Selena's last televised concert before she was fatally shot on March 31, 1995, by her fan club president . The Astrodome was joined by a new neighbor in 2002 , the retractable-roofed Reliant Stadium (now known as NRG Stadium ), which

711-754: A variation of it, sometimes modifying the spelling to better fit their gimmick , such as Dave Bautista becoming Batista (later reverting to his real name for his Hollywood acting career), Patricia Stratigeas becoming Trish Stratus , Jonathan Good becoming Jon Moxley , Bryan Danielson becoming Daniel Bryan (when he wrestled in WWE), Richard Fliehr becoming Ric Flair and Randall Poffo becoming Randy Savage . Others simply use part of their name, such as Bill Goldberg using Goldberg , Nicole Garcia-Colace using Nikki Bella , Mike Mizanin using The Miz , Cody Runnels using Cody Rhodes , and Michael Wardlow using Wardlow . Many female wrestlers go solely by their first name such as. It

790-802: A year after the ceremonial groundbreaking, and it officially opened in 1965. It served as home to the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1965 until 1999 , and the home to the Houston Oilers of the American Football League (AFL)/ National Football League (NFL) from 1968 until 1996 , and also the part-time home of the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1971 until 1975. Additionally,

869-646: Is a highly respected tradition in Mexican lucha libre for performers to hide their true identities, usually wrestling under masks, and revealing a luchador's identity without their permission is considered a serious offence with real-life consequences. Professional wrestlers are often referred to by their contemporaries by their ring name. In interviews, Bret Hart regularly referred to Mark Calaway, Curt Hennig, and Kevin Nash by their ring names ( The Undertaker , Mr. Perfect , and Diesel ). Ring names are often trademarked by

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948-448: Is also common for wrestlers of all genders to use a nickname in addition to their real name for marketability and other reasons. Ricky Steamboat is an atypical instance of a wrestler adopting a ring name to sound less intimidating, as his legal name of Richard Blood was considered unfitting for his babyface persona. Some (mostly independent ) wrestlers still go to great lengths to ensure that their real names are not publicly known. It

1027-516: The 2012 Summer Olympic Games were held in London , Great Britain by the IOC . Plans to convert the Astrodome into a luxury hotel were rejected. A proposal to convert the Astrodome into a movie production studio was also considered but rejected. Regardless of the type of renovation, all renovation plans must deal with the problem of occupancy code violations that have basically shuttered the Astrodome for

1106-892: The Eastern United States . In 1957, he joined the Dallas , Texas -based promotion Big Time Wrestling under the ring name "Crusher Duggan", winning the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship later that year. On July 19, 1961, Simon unsuccessfully challenged Buddy Rogers for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in Jacksonville, Florida . In September 1961, Simon joined in the Minneapolis , Minnesota -based American Wrestling Association . He adopted

1185-609: The Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome , was the world's first multi-purpose , domed sports stadium , located in Houston , Texas , United States. It sat around 50,000 fans, with a record attendance of 68,266 set by George Strait in 2002. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz , mayor of Houston and known for pioneering modern stadiums. Construction on the stadium began in 1963, more than

1264-674: The NWA American Heavyweight Championship and the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship . He had a heated feud with Wahoo McDaniel, with McDaniel defeating him in a hair versus hair match in July 1970. A bout between the two in the Astrodome set a longstanding attendance record. In December 1970, McDaniel defeated Malenko in a loser leaves town match , marking his departure from the promotion. During his time with Big Time Wrestling he

1343-701: The NWA Southeastern Television Championship in 1978. He became the manager of Jerry Blackwell after it was claimed he had acquired the mortgage to Blackwell's family farm, forcing him to fight on his behalf. The angle ended after Ron Garvin paid off the mortgage, freeing Blackwell to attack Malenko. Malenko retired in 1980 and opened a training school in Florida with his sons Dean and Joe . He died of leukemia in Tampa Florida at age 61 in late 1994. Simon, who

1422-673: The NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Florida version) once, and the NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Florida version) eight times. His main rivals included Eddie Graham , Wahoo McDaniel , Johnny Valentine , Joe Scarpa , and José Lothario . In an angle in 1966, after Malenko bloodied Sammy Steamboat by biting his ear, Eddie Graham stormed the ring and punched Malenko's dentures out of his mouth, then crushed them. In 1970, Malenko returned to Big Time Wrestling, where he held

1501-485: The promotion that creates a character or gimmick for a performer. It is common to see one performer use a variety of ring names throughout their career, even if their overall persona remains similar. This is especially true in WWE , which has largely forced most wrestlers that have debuted since 2006 to use a WWE-owned ring name instead of a ring name that they used on the independent circuit or, such as with Daniel Bryan and

1580-473: The "Astrolite", was designed by Fair Play Scoreboards of Des Moines, Iowa . Having designed the scoreboard for Dodger Stadium several years prior, team owner Roy Hofheinz was not impressed with the initial proposal for a much more generic type of scoreboard. Project designer Jack Foster teamed up with a creative professional based in Kansas City to create the first animated scoreboard. Its reported cost

1659-737: The "Dudley Boyz" name, leading them to have to change their name when they went to TNA. The members' individual names were also trademarked by WWE, forcing them to have to change their names. WWE partially repealed the policy in 2015, allowing wrestlers who were well known in other promotions such as Samoa Joe , A.J. Styles , Shinsuke Nakamura , Austin Aries , Bobby Roode , and Eric Young to use their long-standing ring names (or, in Nakamura's and Roode's cases, their real names) as well as wrestlers who sign "Tier 2" NXT brand contracts such as Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa , who wrestle both on NXT and

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1738-432: The 1970s rainbow uniform pattern were installed to bring seating capacity to almost 60,000 for football. On September 6, 1988 , a final celebration commemorating the scoreboard occurred prior to expansion renovations commencing. The playing surface was originally Tifway 419 Bermuda grass , bred for indoor use. The dome ceiling contained thousands of semi-transparent Lucite panes. Players soon complained that glare from

1817-471: The Astrodome featured the "Astrolite", which was the first animated scoreboard. The stadium was renovated in 1988–1989, expanding seating and altering many original features. By the 1990s, the Astrodome was becoming obsolete. Unable to secure a new stadium, Oilers owner Bud Adams moved the team to Tennessee after 1996 , and became the Tennessee Titans in  1999 . The Astros played at

1896-525: The Astrodome on a temporary 1 ⁄ 4 -mile dirt oval—which was called the Eighth Wonder International Motor Speedway. Gary Bettenhausen and Lee Kunzman won the feature races in 1969, while Tom Bigelow won the overall event championship. The event returned for 1970, hometown favorite A. J. Foyt won the feature race. Bettenhausen won the final edition in 1972. With the opening of NRG Stadium in late 2002,

1975-633: The Astrodome was the primary venue of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo from 1966 until 2002. When opened, it was named the Harris County Domed Stadium and was nicknamed the " Eighth Wonder of the World ". After the original natural grass playing surface died, the Astrodome became the first major sports venue to install artificial turf in 1966 , which became known as AstroTurf . In another technological first,

2054-544: The Astrodome. The new concept centered around leaving the Dome's roof intact and converting the Astrodome's vast central space into a covered semi-climate-controlled city park that could have flexible uses for both public recreation and gatherings such as festivals and concerts. The remainder of the complex would have been redeveloped over time using a combination of public and private funds and include elements such as an educational exploration area to encourage students to learn about

2133-657: The Florida Tag Team titles. Malenko toured Japan with All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1973 and New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1974. During his time with NJPW, Malenko wrestled a number of high-profile bouts with Antonio Inoki . In the late 1970s, Malenko wrestled for the Knoxville, Tennessee -based promotion Southeastern Championship Wrestling , winning both the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern Division) and

2212-734: The Last Time: Live from the Astrodome . On August 31, 2005, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina , the Harris County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the State of Louisiana came to an agreement to allow at least 25,000 evacuees from New Orleans , especially those that were sheltered in the Louisiana Superdome , to move to the Astrodome until they could return home. The evacuation began on September 1, 2005. All scheduled events for

2291-528: The National League agreed to add two teams. The Houston Colt .45s (renamed the Astros in 1965) were to begin play in 1962, along with their expansion brethren New York Mets . Roy Hofheinz , a former mayor of Houston , and his group were granted the franchise after they promised to build a covered stadium. It was thought a covered stadium was a must for a major league team to be viable in Houston due to

2370-563: The Short Track and TT Steeplechase track configurations in their visits. The AMA Supercross Championship held its first ever indoor Supercross at the Astrodome in 1974, won by Jim Pomeroy . In the mid-1980s the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group held several Stadium Off-Road Racing Series events, showcasing such drivers as Ivan Stewart , Robby Gordon , and Walker Evans (racing driver) . Beginning in

2449-419: The area's subtropical climate and hot summers. Game-time temperatures are usually above 97 °F (36 °C) in July and August, with high humidity and a likelihood of rain. Hofheinz claimed inspiration for what became the Astrodome from a tour of Rome, where he learned that the builders of the ancient Colosseum installed a giant velarium (fabric awning) to shield spectators from the sun. The Astrodome

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2528-642: The bases. This "sliding pit" configuration was introduced by Cincinnati with the opening of Riverfront Stadium on June 30, 1970. It was then installed in the new stadiums in Philadelphia in 1971 , and Kansas City in 1973 . The artificial turf fields of Pittsburgh , St. Louis , and San Francisco , all installed in 1970, were traditionally configured like the Astrodome and later changed to sliding pits. San Francisco converted in 1971 , Pittsburgh in 1973 , and St. Louis in 1978 . Rogers Centre in Toronto

2607-493: The building, and until somebody brings such a plan to fruition, there's a chance," according to Willie Loston, executive director of the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation. "The proposal was rejected by the voters. We're back to where we were. Square one," according to Steve Radack, Harris County commissioner. Three exterior pedestrian ramp towers were demolished on December 8, 2013. Around that time,

2686-586: The city of Houston refused to fund it. After years of threats, Adams moved the team to Nashville, Tennessee after the 1996 season. Around that time the Astros also threatened to leave the city unless a new ballpark was built. The retractable-roofed Enron Field (now known as Minute Maid Park) opened for the 2000 season in downtown Houston. One of the largest crowds in the Astrodome's history, more than 66,746 fans, came on Sunday, February 26, 1995, to see Tejano superstar Selena and her band Los Dinos perform for

2765-484: The dense development that today closely surrounds it. Numerous renovation/refurbishment plans for the dome have been presented over the years. Houston's plan to host the 2012 Summer Olympics included renovating the Astrodome for use as an Olympic Stadium hosting the ceremonies, athletics and soccer finals. Houston became one of the USOC 's bid finalists, but the organization chose New York City as its candidate city, and

2844-438: The design work on the dome roof structural goes to Dr. G. R. Kiewitt and Mr. Louis O. Bass of Roof Structures, Inc. It was constructed by H. A. Lott, Inc. for Harris County . It stands 18 stories tall, covering 9.5 acres (3.8 ha). The dome is 710 feet (220 m) in diameter and the ceiling is 208 feet (63 m) above the playing surface, which itself sits 25 feet (7.6 m) below street level. The air conditioning system

2923-529: The dome through 1999 , then relocated to Enron Field (now Minute Maid Park ) in  2000 . The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo continued to be held at the Astrodome until the opening of the adjacent NRG Stadium in 2002 (which coincided with the debut of the Houston Texans , the team that replaced the Oilers). Although the Astrodome no longer had any primary tenants, it regularly hosted events during

3002-693: The early 1980s, both TNT Motorsports and the United States Hot Rod Association held events showcasing mud bogging, truck and tractor pulling, and monster trucks in the Astrodome. After a buy-out of TNT Motorsports, the USHRA continued holding events that would later transform into the current Monster Jam events. USAC held the Astro Grand Prix as part of the National Midget Championship in

3081-564: The early 2000s. It was used as a shelter for residents of New Orleans affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Astrodome was declared non-compliant with fire code by the Houston Fire Department in 2008 and parts of it were demolished in 2013 after several years of disuse. In 2014, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Major League Baseball expanded to Houston in 1960, when

3160-408: The enclosed air-conditioned environment might have on the delivery of breaking balls , Satchel Paige , in full Astros uniform, threw the first pitches at the Astrodome on February 7, 1965. He later concluded that it was a "pitcher's paradise", as the lack of wind allowed for sensitive pitches to maneuver more easily. Hofheinz had an opulent apartment in the Dome, which was removed when the facility

3239-456: The events held in early 2002 by AMA Supercross and Monster Jam would be their last in the Astrodome before moving next door for 2003, where they continue to hold events every year. Domecoming On April 9, 2018, the Astrodome was used as a museum for the event known as "Domecoming". The Astrodome was renowned for its four-story "Astrolite" scoreboard, composed of thousands of light bulbs that featured animation. After every Astros home run,

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3318-645: The failed plans of past years, the Astrodome Revitalization Project was proposed in September 2016. This plan would turn the dome into a massive underground parking garage. Specifically, the first step would raise the dome floor and use the space underneath that as parking, leaving the floor above for other uses. On September 27, 2016, the Harris County Commissioners approved the first part of the plan. This marked

3397-507: The final four months of 2005 at the Astrodome were cancelled. Overflow refugees were held in the surrounding Reliant Park complex. There was a full field hospital inside the Reliant Arena , which cared for the entire Katrina evacuee community. The entire Reliant Park complex was scheduled to be emptied of hurricane evacuees by September 17, 2005. Originally, the Astrodome was planned to be used to house evacuees until December. However,

3476-466: The first ball for the first indoor MLB game. Dick "Turk" Farrell of the Astros threw the first pitch. Mickey Mantle had both the first hit (a single) and the first home run in the Astrodome, but the Astros won 2–1 in twelve innings. President Johnson stopped at the Astrodome that evening en route to his home in Johnson City and paid his respects to baseball and Astros president Roy Hofheinz,

3555-607: The game off. Tables were brought onto the field and the teams ate dinner together. Although the Astros still had a home series with Pittsburgh in August, this game was made up in Pittsburgh in July. In 1989, four cylindrical pedestrian ramp columns were constructed outside the Dome for accessibility . This enabled the Astrodome to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 . The 1992 Republican National Convention

3634-422: The grounds crews cleaned up the playing surface. The solution was to install a new type of artificial grass on the field, ChemGrass , which became known as AstroTurf , named after the stadium. Because the supply of AstroTurf was limited, only a small amount was available at the start of the 1966 season. There was not enough for the entire outfield, so the first phase covered only the traditional grass portion of

3713-482: The independent circuit to keep their ring names (or, in Gargano's case, his real name). Gargano and Ciampa have since signed exclusive WWE contracts. "In-house" WWE wrestlers still use WWE-owned ring names. In rare cases, the rights to a wrestler's ring name may be owned by a company with little or no connection to professional wrestling, such as Marvel Comics ' ownership of the name Hulk Hogan until early 2003, which

3792-637: The infield and foul territory, at a cost of $ 2 per square foot. It was installed in time to test out during exhibition games against the Dodgers in March. The outfield remained painted dirt until after the All-Star Game . The Astros completed a seven-game home stand on Wednesday, July 6, then went on a road trip on both sides of the All-Star break. The installation of the outfield portion of AstroTurf

3871-433: The measure on November 5, 2013. On November 5, 2013, voters in Houston turned down a $ 213 million referendum to renovate and convert the Astrodome into a state-of-the-art convention center and exhibition space known as "New Dome Experience". Until a final disposition is made, Harris County commissioners will not approve demolition of the dome. "The building's still there. There's no formal plan or authorization to demolish

3950-495: The near future. In June 2013, a comprehensive plan was unveiled that would have seen the aging structure undergo an almost $ 200 million renovation into a multi-purpose event/convention facility. The measure would have to have been approved first through a bond election in Harris County for the publicly funded project to go forward or else, officials warned, the iconic structure would be demolished. Voters ended up rejecting

4029-449: The news media, kept calling the new county facility by the wrong name. "The county built it and the county paid for it," he loudly complained to a packed hearing room, "and, dammit, the county owns it!" Growing purplish, the commissioner blustered that "People by God ought to start calling it by its right name: The Harris County Domed Stadium !!"   "Well," soothed the agreeable Judge, "you can call it whatever you wanta call it." With

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4108-660: The one show, Garland appeared on stage at 10 p.m. and sang for forty minutes, with her set of songs including: "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"; "Just in Time"; "My Kind of Town, Houston Is"/"Houston"; "As Long As He Needs Me"; "Joey, Joey, Joey"; "Do it Again"; "What Now My Love?"; "By Myself"; "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby"; "San Francisco"; "Chicago"; and "Over the Rainbow." Mort Lindsey conducted. The Astrodome suffered

4187-472: The panes made it hard for them to track fly balls; to solve the problem, two sections of panes were painted white in April. Unfortunately, within a few months the grass died from lack of sunlight. For most of the 1965 season, the Astros played on green-painted dirt and dead grass. Even before then, the grass tended to hold, then release moisture. The resulting condensation often forced games to be delayed while

4266-665: The persona of "Otto Von Krupp", a German wrestler who wore jackboots and a swastika on his back. Simon formed a tag team with Bob Geigel , with the duo winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship in November 1961, holding it until Simon left the promotion in January 1962. In 1962, playing upon Cold War tensions, Simon adopted the persona of "Boris Malenko", an agent of the Soviet Union . He

4345-594: The prefix "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Numerous boxers have used ring names or nicknames as their mode of identification during their professional boxing careers, particularly during the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The ring name "Kid" was particularly popular, indicating the boxer's comparative youth. Since the mid 20th century, ring names for boxers have typically been less common, although nicknames have become more popular in recent years. Famous examples of boxers who used ring names include: Astrodome The NRG Astrodome , formerly and also known as

4424-483: The ramp bridges were disconnected from the main structure and the surrounding grass berms were lowered. The ticket booths were also removed along with the interior seats. The demolition was planned prior to the referendum. After the failed bond election of 2013, the county went back to the drawing board and in August 2014 the County Commissioners Court announced a new plan to save and rejuvenate

4503-402: The remaining Katrina evacuees were relocated to Arkansas due to Hurricane Rita . In 2008, the facility was cited for numerous code violations. Since then, only maintenance workers and security guards have been allowed to enter the stadium while it is brought up to code. The city council rejected demolition plans on environmental grounds, over concerns that demolition of the Dome might damage

4582-601: The sciences and engineering and possibly meeting, exhibition, and restaurant areas that would not only serve the general public, but could also add value to the Houston Texans' Game Day Experiences and be used by the Rodeo. A key element of this proposal centered around the ability for the county to proceed with the initial phases of the project using existing funds without having to seek voter approval for an expensive bond referendum. However, this plan failed as well. After

4661-429: The scoreboard played a minute-long animated celebration of pistols, bulls, and fireworks. The scoreboard remained intact until 1988, when Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans ) owner Bud Adams suggested its removal to accommodate increased capacity for football, baseball and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Harris County spent $ 67 million of public funds on renovations. Approximately 15,000 new seats resembling

4740-706: The stadium "massive" and "beautiful." Although the president's visit overshadowed all others, dignitaries swarmed through the "Eighth Wonder of the World" during the three days of the exhibition series and for opening night against the Phillies on April 12. Chris Short of the Phillies shut out the Astros on four hits, with 12 strikeouts. The first artist to play the Astrodome was Judy Garland on December 17, 1965; The Supremes were her opening act, and tickets were priced $ 1.00 to $ 7.50. The dome seated 48,000, and another 12,000 seats were added for this show. Paid $ 43,000 for

4819-469: The surrounding parking lots were needed for the first Houston Texans home game. Arrangements were made to help Katrina evacuees find apartments both in Houston and elsewhere in the United States. By September 16, 2005, the last of the hurricane evacuees living in the Astrodome had been moved out either to the neighboring Reliant Arena or to permanent housing north of Houston. As of September 20, 2005,

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4898-454: The temperate grace of a statesman he smiled amicably, puffed his cigar and added, "But the World is gonna know it as the Astrodome." "An Astrofable" (April 1975), Texas Monthly The Astrodome was designed by architects Hermon Lloyd & W. B. Morgan, and Wilson, Morris, Crain and Anderson (Morris Architects). Structural engineering and structural design were performed by Walter P Moore Engineers and Consultants of Houston. Credit for

4977-409: The wrestler's gimmick changes, either subtly or dramatically. After debuting in WWE as the " Connecticut Blueblood " Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Paul Levesque's character later morphed into Triple H . A more drastic change sometimes occurs when a wrestler turns heroic or villainous , such as when Hulk Hogan joined the villainous nWo (New World Order) and became "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. His new attitude

5056-426: Was $ 2.1 million. The Dome was completed in November 1964, six months ahead of schedule. Many engineering changes were required during construction, including the modest flattening of the supposed "hemispherical roof" to cope with environmentally induced structural deformation and the use of a new paving process called "lime stabilization" to cope with changes in the chemistry of the soil. The air conditioning system

5135-561: Was Jewish, had two sons, Dean and Jody , both of whom became professional wrestlers. He died in September 1994 from leukemia . Ring name Ring names are much more common in professional wrestling than any other sport; famous examples include Terry Bollea becoming Hulk Hogan , Michael Shawn Hickenbottom becoming Shawn Michaels , Roderick Toombs becoming Roddy Piper , Dwayne Johnson becoming The Rock , Christopher Irvine becoming Chris Jericho , and Phillip Jack Brooks becoming CM Punk . A number of wrestlers adopted their real name or

5214-470: Was announced in November 2019 that the Revitalization Project has been scrapped by Commissioners Court Judge Lina Hidalgo . Hidalgo explained that "The plan that had been designed wouldn't have yielded truly a usable building". As of November, there have been no new plans for the Astrodome. The Battle of the Sexes tennis match occurred on September 20, 1973, aired on ABC with Billie Jean King defeating Bobby Riggs in three straight sets. While more of

5293-399: Was built to house Houston's new NFL franchise, the Houston Texans . The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo moved to the new venue in 2003, leaving the Astrodome without any major tenants. The last concert at the Astrodome was George Strait & the Ace in the Hole Band during the 2002 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, before a record crowd of 68,266; the performance was recorded in For

5372-414: Was completed for the three-game series with the Phillies starting on Tuesday, July 19, finally covering the entire field. Groundskeepers dressed as astronauts kept the turf clean with vacuum cleaners between innings. The infield design had the same large dirt arc and running paths as a traditional natural grass field. In 1973 , the Astros installed an all-AstroTurf infield, except for dirt patches around

5451-404: Was conceived by Hofheinz as early as 1952, when he and his daughter Dene were rained out once too often at Buffalo Stadium , home of Houston's minor league baseball team, the Houston Buffs . Hofheinz abandoned his interest in The Galleria , and set his sights on bringing major league baseball to Houston.   The county commissioner was positively indignant at the way everybody, particularly

5530-588: Was designed by Houston mechanical engineers Israel A. Naman and Jack Boyd Buckley of I. A. Naman + Associates. The multi-purpose stadium, designed to facilitate both football and baseball, is nearly circular and uses movable lower seating areas. It also ushered in the era of other fully domed stadiums, such as the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans , as well as the all now-demolished Pontiac Silverdome near Detroit , Georgia Dome in Atlanta , Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis , Kingdome in Seattle , and RCA Dome in Indianapolis . To test what effect

5609-495: Was designed by I. A. Naman; other aspects that were considered included visibility (which could be reduced by cigarette smoke), light admittance, and acoustics (requiring approximately 1 ⁄ 2 the roof area to be covered with sound-absorbing materials), the air handling units were designed to move 2,500,000 cu ft/min (1,200 m /s) of air, with approximately 10% of that being fresh air from outside to limit carbon dioxide buildup. The scoreboard, eventually known as

5688-596: Was due to Hogan being advertised as " The Incredible Hulk Hogan" early in his career, while Marvel owned the trademark for their comic book character. Sometimes, a wrestler will buy the rights to their own ring name; for example, Steve Borden owns the rights to the name Sting and licenses it to the musician of the same name . The wrestler formerly known as Test took this one step further and legally changed his name to "Andrew Test Martin". Jim Hellwig, known as The Ultimate Warrior , had his name legally changed to simply "Warrior". In many cases, ring names evolve over time as

5767-604: Was enhanced by changing his costume color scheme from his famous red and yellow to nWo's black and white. Steve Williams adopted the ring name Steve Austin to avoid confusion with the then-more established performer "Dr. Death" Steve Williams . Austin would wrestle under that name for several years before signing with the WWF and being given the name "the Ringmaster". This gimmick failed to catch on, and Austin reverted to his established name, reaching his greatest level of success with

5846-522: Was held at the Astrodome in August of that year. The Astros accommodated the convention by taking a month-long road trip. A manually operated scoreboard debuted that season. On August 19, 1995, a scheduled preseason game between the Oilers and the San Diego Chargers had to be canceled due to the dilapidated condition of the playing field. Oilers owner Bud Adams demanded a new stadium, but

5925-561: Was managed by Lord Charles Montegue. On May 9, 1972, Malenko and Bob Roop defeated Bearcat Wright and Bobby Shane to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship , and six days later, Malenko defeated Wright in singles competition to win his eighth and final Florida Brass Knuckles title in Orlando . On June 24, 1972, Malenko and Johnny Weaver defeated Mike Webster and The Professional for his second run with

6004-749: Was occasionally billed as "The Great Malenko"; a pun, with "Malenko" being Russian for "little", or as "Dr. Malenko" or "Professor Malenko". He built his career in South Florida , where his gimmick made him a hated heel among the Cuban population. Over the next decade, he held the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship twice, the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship twice, the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) once,

6083-577: Was remodeled in 1988. The seven-floor apartment was adjacent to the right field bleachers and included a shooting gallery, a bowling alley, a chapel, and a presidential suite . The stadium's opening day took place on April 9, 1965. A sold-out crowd of 47,879 watched an exhibition game between the Astros and the New York Yankees . President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife Lady Bird were in attendance, as well as Governor John Connally and Mayor Louie Welch . Governor Connally tossed out

6162-687: Was the father of professional wrestlers Joe and Dean Malenko . Simon was born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in Irvington, New Jersey . As a teenager, Simon competed at amateur wrestling in YMCAs . Before becoming a professional wrestler, he worked as a truck driver in the Garment District in New York City . Simon made his professional debut in 1955 as "Larry Simon", wrestling in

6241-414: Was the last park in the majors to have sliding pits; it opened in 1989 and switched to a traditional dirt skin infield in 2016 . Throughout its history, the Astrodome was known as a pitcher's park . The power alleys were never shorter than 370 feet (113 m) from the plate; on at least two occasions they were as far as 390 feet (119 m). Over time, it gave up fewer home runs than any other park in

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