1981 in professional wrestling
1981 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
List of notable promotions
These promotions held notable shows in 1981.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Big Time Wrestling | BTW | Renamed to World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) the following year. |
| Dale Martin Promotions | — | |
| Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre | EMLL | |
| Universal Wrestling Association | UWA | |
Calendar of notable shows
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 8 | UWA | UWA 6th Anniversary Show | Naucalpan, Mexico | El Solitario (c) wrestled Villano III to a timelimit draw In a match for the UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship[1] |
| April 3 | EMLL | 25. Aniversario de Arena México | Mexico City, Mexico | Tony Salazar defeated Alfonso Dantés (c) in a best two-out-of-three falls match for the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship[2] |
| June 4 | BTW | Wrestling Star Wars (June) | Dallas, Texas | Fritz Von Erich defeated Gary Hart in a steel cage match[3] |
| September 18 | EMLL | EMLL 48th Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | Espectro Jr. defeated El Vengador in a Lucha de Apuesta mask vs. mask vs. mask match; El Supremo was also in the match[4] |
| September 29 | Dale Martin Promotions | Mike Marino Memorial Shield | Croydon, England | Mal Sanders defeated Syd Cooper in the tournament final[5] |
| October 24 | BTW | Wrestling Star Wars (October) | Dallas, Texas | Al Madril (c) defeated Bill Irwin via disqualification in a singles match for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship[6] |
| December 4 | EMLL | Juicio Final | Mexico City, Mexico | Ringo Mendoza defeated El Faraón in a Lucha de Apuestas, hair vs. hair match[7] |
| December 25 | BTW | Christmas Star Wars | Dallas, Texas | Big Daddy Bundy defeated Al Madril, Armand Hussein, Bill Irwin, Blue Demon, Carlos Zapata, David Von Erich, Frank Dusek, José Lothario, Kerry Von Erich, Killer Tim Brooks, El Negro Assassino, Richard Blood and Ten Gu in a Two-ring battle royal[8] |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | ||||
Accomplishments and tournaments
JCP
| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NWA United States Championship Tournament | Sgt. Slaughter | October 4 |
Awards and honors
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| PWI Wrestler of the Year | Ric Flair |
| PWI Tag Team of the Year | The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy) |
| PWI Match of the Year | André the Giant vs. Killer Khan |
| PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year | Tommy Rich |
| PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year | Ken Patera |
| PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year | Kevin Sullivan |
| PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year | Bob Backlund |
| PWI Rookie of the Year | David Sammartino |
| PWI Editor's Award | Bruno Sammartino |
| PWI Manager of the Year | Lou Albano |
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Births
- January 12 – Jeet Rama
- January 26 – Volador Jr.
- February 19 – Tye Dillinger[9]
- March 2 – Lance Cade (d. 2010)
- March 3 – Justin Gabriel
- March 12 – Hideo Itami[10][11]
- April 4 – Tigre Uno
- May 13 – Jimmy Yang
- May 22 – Daniel Bryan[12]
- June 2 – Velvet Sky
- July 22
- July 25 – Finn Bálor[14]
- August 14 – Kofi Kingston
- August 19 – Percy Watson[15]
- August 20 – Byron Saxton[16]
- August 21 – Trent Seven
- September 13 – Angelina Love
- September 26 – Asuka[17][18]
- November 3 – Jackie Gayda
- November 10 – Ryback
- November 28 – Erick Rowan[19]
- December 31 – Martin Stone
Retirements
- Black Shadow (1942 - 1981)
- Tony Borne (1952 - 1981)
- Verne Gagne (1949 - 1981)
- Dutch Savage (1962 - 1981)
- The Missouri Mauler (1950 - 1981)
Deaths
- August 12 – Buddy Austin
gollark: What about me?
gollark: I resent this.
gollark: Except mine.
gollark: (abstract concept)
gollark: Yes, we actually sold the project to Alphabet.
References
- Centinela, Teddy (February 7, 2015). "En un día como hoy… 1981: Aniversario independiente, Solitario vs. Villano III por el Campeonato Mundial de Peso Semicompleto UWA". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved July 6, 2015.
- Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Light Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 389. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- "Wrestling Star Wars". Pro Wrestling History. June 1981.
- "Historia de Los Aniversarios del CMLL". The Gladiatores Magazine (in Spanish). September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
- Lister, John. "1981". ITV Wrestling Listings. JohnListerWriting.com. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
- "Wrestling Star Wars". Pro Wrestling History. October 25, 1981.
- "EMLL Super Viernes". Wrestling Data. December 4, 1981. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- "Christmas Star Wars". Pro Wrestling History. December 25, 1981.
- "OWOW profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- "Kenta". Pro Wrestling Noah (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2014-08-07.
- "Kenta". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2009-07-24. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- Milner, John M.; Clevett, Jason. "Bryan Danielson". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 6, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Fergal Devitt profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
- "NFL Player Profile". NFL. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
- "Byron Kelly Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
- 浦井. AtoZ (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 22, 2005. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- プロフィール. Kana Net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 10, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
- "Erick Rowan Profile". WrestlingData.
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