1983 in professional wrestling

1983 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable shows in 1983.

Promotion Name Abbreviation
American Wrestling Association AWA
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre EMLL
Jim Crockett Promotions JCP
Maple Leaf Wrestling MLW
New Japan Pro Wrestling NJPW
World Wrestling Council WWC

Calendar of notable shows

Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
April 22 EMLL 27. Aniversario de Arena México Mexico City, Mexico Super Halcón (c) defeated Pirata Morgan in a best two-out-of-three falls match for the Mexican National Heavyweight Championship[1]
April 24 AWA AWA Super Sunday St. Paul, Minnesota Nick Bockwinkel (c) defeated Hulk Hogan by reverse decision disqualification in a singles match for the AWA World Heavyweight Title with Lord James Blears as special guest referee
June 2 NJPW IWGP League Tokyo, Japan Hulk Hogan defeated Antonio Inoki
June 10 MLW Night of the Champions Toronto, Ontario Ric Flair defeated NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race by disqualification in a singles match
July 24 MLW Return of the Champions Toronto, Ontario NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race defeated Ric Flair by disqualification in a singles match with Johnny Weaver as special guest referee
September 17 WWC WWC 10th Aniversario San Juan, Puerto Rico André the Giant defeated Abdullah the Butcher via countout in a singles match
September 23 EMLL EMLL 50th Anniversary Show Mexico City, Mexico Sangre Chicana defeated MS-1 in a Lucha de Apuestas Hair vs. Hair match[2]
October 23 JCP The Last Battle of Atlanta Atlanta, Georgia Tommy Rich defeated Buzz Sawyer in a Steel Cage Match with Paul Ellering suspended above the cage
November 24 JCP Starrcade Greensboro, North Carolina Ric Flair defeated Harley Race (c) in a steel cage match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship with Gene Kiniski as special guest referee[3]
December 8 NJPW MSG Tag League Tokyo, Japan Antonio Inoki and Hulk Hogan defeated Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch
December 9 EMLL Juicio Final Mexico City, Mexico Rayo de Jalisco Jr. defeated El Egipico in a Lucha de Apuestas, mask vs. mask match[4]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Notable events

Accomplishments and tournaments

AJW

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament Keiko Nakano

AJPW

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
Lou Thesz Cup 1983 Shiro Koshinaka April 22

NJPW

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
IWGP League Hulk Hogan June 4 defeated Antonio Inoki in the finals

Awards and honors

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Category Winner
PWI Wrestler of the Year Harley Race
PWI Tag Team of the Year The Road Warriors
(Hawk and Animal)
PWI Match of the Year Ric Flair vs. Harley Race
PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year Jimmy Snuka
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year Greg Valentine
PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year Brett Wayne Sawyer
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year Hulk Hogan
PWI Rookie of the Year Angelo Mosca Jr.
PWI Manager of the Year J. J. Dillon
PWI Editor's Award The Grand Wizard

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Category Winner
Wrestler of the Year Ric Flair
Feud of the Year The Freebirds vs. The Von Erichs
Tag Team of the Year Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood
Most Improved Curt Hennig
Best on Interviews Roddy Piper

Births

Debuts

  • Uncertain debut date

Retirements

Deaths

See also

References

  1. ↑ Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. pp. 390–391. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  2. ↑ "50th Anniversary Show". Pro Wrestling History. September 23, 1983. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Flair defeats Race for wrestling title". Greensboro Daily News. 1983-11-25. p. D3. Archived from the original on 2012-02-13. Retrieved May 23, 2008. A sellout crowd of 15,447 was on hand for the night's competition.
  4. ↑ "EMLL Super Viernes – Juicio Final 1983". Wrestling Data. December 9, 1983. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  5. ↑ Kamchen, Richard. "Maryse Ouellet". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Spud". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2011-10-27. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  7. ↑ "Roderick Strong". Retrieved May 30, 2007.
  8. ↑ "Braun Strowman". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  9. ↑ ""The Essence of Excellence" Robert Evans". Anarchy Championship Wrestling. Blogger. July 1, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  10. 1 2 "The Bella Twins". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved March 31, 2009.
  11. ↑ 『ワールドタッグ』出場チーム決定!! 内藤＆ソンブラ! コンウェイ＆ダンも参戦! アンダーソンは"新顔"ドク・ギャローズとタッグ結成!! (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. November 11, 2013. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  12. ↑ Slagle, Steve. "The Grand Wizard". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on January 25, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
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