1989 in professional wrestling

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1989 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events in 1989.

Promotion Name	Abbreviation	Notes
All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling	AJW
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre	EMLL
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling	FMW	Founded in July.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling	NJPW
Universal Wrestling Association	UWA
World Championship Wrestling	WCW
World Wrestling Council	WWC
World Wrestling Federation	WWF

Calendar of notable shows

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
January 15	WWF	Royal Rumble	Houston, Texas	Big John Studd won the Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Ted DiBiase^[1]
January 29	UWA	UWA 14th Anniversary Show	Naucalpan, Mexico	El Canek (c) defeated Konnan in a singles match for the UWA World Heavyweight Championship^[2]
February 16	WWF	Saturday Night's Main Event	Hershey, Pennsylvania	Hulk Hogan vs. Bad News Brown
February 20	WCW	Chi-Town Rumble	Chicago, Illinois	Ricky Steamboat defeated Ric Flair (c) in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship^[3]
April 2	WWF	WrestleMania V	Atlantic City, New Jersey	Hulk Hogan defeated Randy Savage (c) in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship^[4]
April 24	NJPW	Battle Satellite in Tokyo Dome	Tokyo, Japan	Shota Chochishvili defeated Antonio Inoki (c) by KO in a singles match for the NJPW Martial Arts Championship^[5]
April 25	WWF	Saturday Night's Main Event	Des Moines, Iowa	Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Big Boss Man for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
April 28	EMLL	33. Aniversario de Arena México	Mexico City, Mexico	Ángel Azteca defeated Emilio Charles Jr. © in a best two-out-of-three falls match for the NWA World Middleweight Championship^[6]
May 6	AJW	Wrestlemarinepiad '89	Yokohama, Japan	Chigusa Nagayo retired in a series of matches where she fought and teamed with Lioness Asuka. Lioness Asuka also defeated Madusa in a WWWA World Title match.
May 7	WCW	WrestleWar	Nashville, Tennessee	Ric Flair defeated Ricky Steamboat (c) in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship^[7]^[8]
July 18	WWF	Saturday Night's Main Event	Worcester, Massachusetts	Hulk Hogan (c) vs. The Honky Tonk Man for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
July 23	WCW	The Great American Bash	Baltimore, Maryland	Ric Flair (c) defeated Terry Funk in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship^[9]
August 28	WWF	SummerSlam	East Rutherford, New Jersey	Brutus Beefcake and Hulk Hogan defeated Randy Savage and Zeus in a Tag team match^[10]
September 10	WWC	WWC 16th Aniversario	Bayamón, Puerto Rico	Carlos Colón defeated Steve Strong (c) in a Barbed wire match for the WWC Universal Championship
September 21	WWF	Saturday Night's Main Event	Cincinnati, Ohio	Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Ted DiBiase for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
September 22	EMLL	EMLL 56th Anniversary Show	Mexico City, Mexico	Atlantis (mask) and El Satánico (hair) defeated Los Infernales (Tierra Viento y Fuego (mask) and MS-1 (hair)) in a best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas mask and hair vs. mask and hair match^[11]
October 6	FMW	The Grudge in Nagoya	Nagoya, Aichi, Japan	Masashi Aoyagi defeated Atsushi Onita by TKO in a Singles match
October 10	FMW	The Grudge in Tokyo	Tokyo, Japan	Atsushi Onita defeated Masashi Aoyagi by KO in a Singles match
October 10	WWF	First WWF UK Event	London, England	Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Randy Savage in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship^[12]
October 14	WWF	King of the Ring	Providence, Rhode Island	Dusty Rhodes defeated Big Boss Man in a singles match^[13]
October 28	WCW	Halloween Havoc	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Ric Flair and Sting defeated The Great Muta and Terry Funk in a Thunderdome match with Bruno Sammartino as special guest referee^[7]
October 31	WWF	Saturday Night's Main Event	Topeka, Kansas	Hulk Hogan (c) vs. The Genius for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
November 23	WWF	Survivor Series	Rosemont, Illinois	The Ultimate Warriors (The Ultimate Warrior, Jim Neidhart, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) defeated The Heenan Family (Bobby Heenan, André the Giant, Haku and Arn Anderson) in a 4-on-4 Survivor Series match^[14]
December 7	NJPW	G1 Climax	Tokyo, Japan	Shinya Hashimoto defeated Riki Choshu in the finals
December 10	FMW	Battle Creation	Tokyo, Japan	Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto defeated Jerry Blayman and Mitsuhiro Matsunaga by KO in a Barbed Wire Death match
December 12	WWF	No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie	Nashville, Tennessee	Brutus Beefcake and Hulk Hogan defeated Randy Savage and Zeus in a Steel Cage match^[15]
December 13	WCW	Starrcade	Atlanta, Georgia	Sting defeated Ric Flair in a tournament match^[16]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Notable events

January the alliance between The American Wrestling Association and The Continental Wrestling Association ended due to AWA Owner Verne Gagne refusing to pay then-World Champion Jerry Lawler for participating on the company's first-ever Pay-Per-View AWA SuperClash III.
February 7 - In a live event at St. Paul, Minnesota, Larry Zbyszko won the battle royal to capture the vacant AWA World Heavyweight Championship.
The World Wrestling Association professional wrestling promotion based out of Indianapolis, Indiana, closed.
August 4 WCCW becomes the USWA when Eric Embry pinned Phil Hickerson in a steel cage match in Dallas, Texas.

Tournaments and accomplishments

AJW

Accomplishment	Winner	Date won
Japan Grand Prix 1989	Mitsuko Nishiwaki	August 24
Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament	Kaoru Ito
Tag League The Best 1989	Madusa Miceli and Mitsuko Nishiwaki	October 8

AJPW

Accomplishment	Winner	Date won	Notes
Asunaro Cup 1989	Toshiaki Kawada	July 25

NJPW

Accomplishment	Winner	Date won	Notes
World Cup League	Riki Choshu	December 7

WCW

Accomplishment	Winner	Date won
NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament	The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin and Michael Hayes)	June 14
Iron Man tournament	Sting	December 13
Iron Team tournament	The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal)	December 13

WWF

Accomplishment	Winner	Date won	Notes
Royal Rumble	Big John Studd	January 15
King of the Ring	Tito Santana	October 14

Awards and honors

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Category	Winner
PWI Wrestler of the Year	Ric Flair
PWI Tag Team of the Year	The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard)
PWI Match of the Year	Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair (WrestleWar)
PWI Feud of the Year	Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk
PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year	Hulk Hogan
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year	Randy Savage
PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year	Scott Steiner
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year	Eric Embry
PWI Rookie of the Year	The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom)
PWI Lifetime Achievement	Gordon Solie
PWI Editor's Award	Bobby Heenan

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Category	Winner
Wrestler of the Year	Ric Flair
Most Outstanding	Ric Flair
Feud of the Year	Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk
Tag Team of the Year	The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty)
Most Improved	Lex Luger
Best on Interviews	Terry Funk

Title changes

WWF

Date	Winner	Event/Show
WWF World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Randy Savage
April 2	Hulk Hogan	WrestleMania V

Date	Winner	Event/Show
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Incoming champion – The Ultimate Warrior
April 2	Rick Rude	WrestleMania V
August 28	The Ultimate Warrior	SummerSlam

Date	Winner	Event/Show
WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Antonio Inoki
April 24	Shota Chochishvili	House show
May 25	Antonio Inoki	House show
December 31	Deactivated	N/A

Date	Winner	Event/Show
WWF Women's Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – The Glamour Girls (Leilani Kai and Judy Martin)
February 14	Retired	N/A

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
WWF Women's Championship
Incoming champion – Rockin' Robin
No title changes

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
WWF Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Demolition (Ax and Smash)
July 18	The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard)	Saturday Night's Main Event XXII
October 2	Demolition (Ax and Smash)	Superstars of Wrestling	Aired on Tape Delay on November 4.
December 13	The Colossal Connection (Andre the Giant and Haku)	Superstars of Wrestling	Aired on Tape Delay on December 30.

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Million Dollar Championship
(Title created)
Unsanctioned championship
February 15	Ted DiBiase	Superstars of Wrestling	DiBiase had the title created for himself and unveiled the belt during a segment called "The Brother Love Show". This episode aired on tape delay on March 4.

Births

January 11 – Natalia Markova
January 25 – Stu Grayson
February 25 – Natsumi Sumikawa
March 1 – Tenille Dashwood
April 9 – Bianca Belair^[17]
April 11 – Ariya Daivari^[18]
April 16 – Mia Yim
April 21 – Nikki Cross^[19]
April 22 –Andre Chase
May 14 – Rob Gronkowski
May 19 – Tom Phillips
June 14 - Peter Avalon
June 15 – Bayley^[20]
June 23 – Billie Kay^[21]
July 5 – Adam Cole^[22]
July 28 – Nick Jackson
August 8 – Gianni Valletta
August 16 – Cedric Alexander
August 28 – Christina Von Eerie
September 20 - Ethan Page
October 3 – T. K. O'Ryan
October 11 – Riddick Moss^[23]
October 24 – Heidi Howitzer
November 3 – Andrade "Cien" Almas^[24]
December 4 – Hiromu Takahashi

Debuts

Debut date

January 10 - Utako Hozumi (JWP)
January 14 - Leo Kitamura (JWP)
February 22 - Salman Hashimikov, Victor Zangiev and Vladimir Berkovich
March 1 – Booker T
March 19 - Super Delfin
April 20 - Maniaco
April 24 - Wahka Eveloev (NJPW)
April 30 – Rey Mysterio
May 11 – Steve Austin
May 12 - Timur Zalasov (NJPW)
May 25 - Habieli Victachev (NJPW)
August 2 - Evgeny Artyukhin Sr. (NJPW)
September 19 – Yoshihiro Tajiri
October 6 - Shark Tsuchiya, Miwa Sato and Mitsuteru Tokuda
October 8 – Kaoru Ito, Bat Yoshinaga (All Japan Women's) and Tomoko Watanabe
October 29 – Tommy Dreamer
November 26 - Andrei Sulsaev (NJPW)
December 1 - Yasha Kurenai (JWP), Carol Midori (JWP) and Sambo Asako (FMW)
December 6 - Hisae Kuboki (All Japan Women's), Mayumi Yamamoto (All Japan Women's) and Michiko Nagashima (All Japan Women's)
December 7 - Kazue Saito (All Japan Women's) and Sakie Hasegawa (All Japan Women's)

Uncertain debut date

Retirements

Al Tomko (July 9, 1954 – 1989)
Alfonso Dantés (1960–1989)
Blue Demon (March 31, 1948 – August 27, 1989)
Jonathan Boyd (1966–1989)
Nelson Royal (1955–1989)
Rayo de Jalisco (February 1950 – 1989)
Steve Rickard (1943–1989)
Victor Rivera (1964–1989)
Big John Studd (1972–1989)

Deaths

January 6 - Mario Galento, 73
January 7 - Aslam Pahalwan, 61
February 18 - Mildred Burke, 73
March 7 - Paul Boesch, 76
March 14 – Happy Humphrey, 62
April 17 – Villano II, 39
July 25 - Sweet Georgia Brown (wrestler), 50
December 7 – Haystacks Calhoun,^[25] 55
December 28 – Earl Patrick Freeman, 57

References

^ "Royal Rumble 1989". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
^ "14th Anniversary Show". ProWrestlingHistory. January 29, 1989. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
^ "Chi-Town Rumble results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. February 20, 1989. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
^ "WrestleMania V". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
^ "NJPW Battle Satellite In Tokyo Dome « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". Archived from the original on 2014-09-25.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Middlweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 389–390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Cawthon, Graham (2014). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 4: World Championship Wrestling 1989–1994. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1499656343.
^ "WrestleWar 1989: Music City Showdown results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. May 7, 1989. Retrieved 2011-12-26.
^ "The Great American Bash 1989 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. July 23, 1989. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
^ "Hulk Hogan & Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake w/ Elizabeth vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage & Zeus w/ Sensational Sherri". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2008-03-31. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
^ "56th Anniversary Show". Pro Wrestling History. September 22, 1989. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
^ "WWF on Sky One « Events Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
^ "WWF King of the Ring '89 at Providence Civic Center wrestling results – Internet Wrestling Database". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
^ "The Ultimate Warriors: Ultimate Warrior, Jim Neidhart, and The Rockers defeated The Heenan Family: André the Giant, Bobby Heenan, Haku and Arn Anderson". WWE. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
^ "WWF No Holds Barred – The Match/The Movie". cagematch.net. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
^ Adamson, Matt (2008-02-08). "Going Old School: Starrcade '89". 411mania. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
^ "Bianca Blair – 2012–13 Track & Field / XC Roster – University of Tennessee Athletics". www.utsports.com. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
^ Daivari, Ariya (2014-09-02). "Art of Wrestling 214" (Interview). Interviewed by Colt Cabana. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
^ Docking, Neil (14 April 2016). "Why Scottish wrestling star Nikki Storm should shine in WWE NXT". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
^ "Bayley's profile". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
^ "Jessie McKay – Allgemeine Informationen" (in German). Genickbruch. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
^ "Official Bio". AdamColePro (official website). Archived from the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
^ "John Cena Grants Another Wish (Photo), WWE NXT Star Turns 27, RAW Top 10 Video, WWE Stock Down - WrestlingInc.com". WrestlingInc.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
^ 「ビバ！メヒコメキシコ通信局」次代のニューヒーロー・ソンブラ. NPN (in Japanese). November 25, 2009. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
^ Solomon, Brian (2006). WWE Legends. Pocket Books. pp. 221–226. ISBN 978-0-7434-9033-7.

[pwh89-1] "Royal Rumble 1989". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2010-05-17.

[UWA14th-2] "14th Anniversary Show". ProWrestlingHistory. January 29, 1989. Retrieved July 12, 2010.

[3] "Chi-Town Rumble results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. February 20, 1989. Retrieved 2011-10-30.

[4] "WrestleMania V". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved June 1, 2013.

[5] "NJPW Battle Satellite In Tokyo Dome « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". Archived from the original on 2014-09-25.

[NWAMiddle-6] Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Middlweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 389–390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[WCW8994Book-7] Cawthon, Graham (2014). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 4: World Championship Wrestling 1989–1994. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1499656343.

[8] "WrestleWar 1989: Music City Showdown results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. May 7, 1989. Retrieved 2011-12-26.

[9] "The Great American Bash 1989 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. July 23, 1989. Retrieved 2012-01-07.

[SummerSlam_-_Hogan_&_Beefcake_vs_Savage_&_Zeus-10] "Hulk Hogan & Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake w/ Elizabeth vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage & Zeus w/ Sensational Sherri". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2008-03-31. Retrieved 2008-06-18.

[EMLL56-11] "56th Anniversary Show". Pro Wrestling History. September 22, 1989. Retrieved September 27, 2012.

[Rampage89-12] "WWF on Sky One « Events Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 15 February 2018.

[13] "WWF King of the Ring '89 at Providence Civic Center wrestling results – Internet Wrestling Database". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-08.

[Main_Event-14] "The Ultimate Warriors: Ultimate Warrior, Jim Neidhart, and The Rockers defeated The Heenan Family: André the Giant, Bobby Heenan, Haku and Arn Anderson". WWE. Retrieved 2008-06-26.

[15] "WWF No Holds Barred – The Match/The Movie". cagematch.net. Retrieved May 4, 2018.

[411mania-16] Adamson, Matt (2008-02-08). "Going Old School: Starrcade '89". 411mania. Retrieved 2008-05-27.

[17] "Bianca Blair – 2012–13 Track & Field / XC Roster – University of Tennessee Athletics". www.utsports.com. Retrieved 21 August 2017.

[18] Daivari, Ariya (2014-09-02). "Art of Wrestling 214" (Interview). Interviewed by Colt Cabana. Retrieved 2016-06-14.

[19] Docking, Neil (14 April 2016). "Why Scottish wrestling star Nikki Storm should shine in WWE NXT". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 13 August 2016.

[20] "Bayley's profile". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 19, 2014.

[21] "Jessie McKay – Allgemeine Informationen" (in German). Genickbruch. Retrieved 25 May 2014.

[22] "Official Bio". AdamColePro (official website). Archived from the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.

[23] "John Cena Grants Another Wish (Photo), WWE NXT Star Turns 27, RAW Top 10 Video, WWE Stock Down - WrestlingInc.com". WrestlingInc.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2017-09-27.

[24] 「ビバ！メヒコメキシコ通信局」次代のニューヒーロー・ソンブラ. NPN (in Japanese). November 25, 2009. Retrieved July 3, 2017.

[Legends-25] Solomon, Brian (2006). WWE Legends. Pocket Books. pp. 221–226. ISBN 978-0-7434-9033-7.

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v t e Years in professional wrestling
1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

1989 in professional wrestling

List of notable promotions

Calendar of notable shows

Notable events

Tournaments and accomplishments

AJW

AJPW

NJPW

WCW

WWF

Awards and honors

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Title changes

WWF

Births

Debuts

Debut date

Uncertain debut date

Retirements

Deaths

See also

References