1985 in professional wrestling

Professional wrestling-related events during the year of 1985

Overview of the events of 1985 in professional wrestling

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1985 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

## List of notable promotions

[edit]

These promotions held notable events in 1985.

Promotion Name  | Abbreviation

|

All Japan Pro Wrestling | AJPW
All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling | AJW
American Wrestling Association | AWA
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre | EMLL
Florida Championship Wrestling | FCW
Lutte Internationale | Lutte
National Wrestling Alliance | NWA
New Japan Pro-Wrestling | NJPW
Pacific Northwest Wrestling | PNW
World Class Championship Wrestling | WCCW
World Wrestling Council | WWC
World Wrestling Federation | WWF

## Calendar of notable shows

[edit]

Date  | Promotion(s)  | Event  | Location  | Main Event

|
|
|
|

February 18  | WWF | The War to Settle the Score | New York City, New York | Hulk Hogan (c) (with Cyndi Lauper, David Wolff, and Lou Albano) defeated Roddy Piper by disqualification in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship[1]
February 24  | AWA / NWA | Star Wars  | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Sgt. Slaughter won a "tag team battle royal." Slaughter's partner, Jerry Blackwell, was injured and could not compete, forcing Slaughter to wrestle alone. Also in the match were: The Road Warriors, Ivan and Nikita Koloff, Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell, Kamala and Billy Robinson, Mark and Chris Youngblood, Jerry Lawler and Baron Von Raschke, Bob Backlund and Jimmy Valiant, Mr. Saito and Masked Superstar, Nick Bockwinkel and Dory Funk Jr., Jimmy Garvin and Larry Zbyszko, and Steve Keirn and Jerry Oski
March 1 – April 18  | NJPW | Young Lion Cup | Tokyo, Japan  | Shunji Kosugi defeated Keiichi Yamada in the tournament final[2]
March 31  | WWF | WrestleMania | New York City, New York | Hulk Hogan and Mr. T defeated Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper in a Tag team match with Muhammad Ali and Pat Patterson as special guest referees[3]
April 5  | EMLL | 29\. Aniversario de Arena México | Mexico City, Mexico | Pirata Morgan defeats El Egipcio by disqualification in a Lucha de Apuestas hair vs. hair match[4]
April 21  | AWA | StarCage 1985  | St. Paul, Minnesota | Sgt. Slaughter & Jerry Blackwell beat Masked Superstar, King Tonga, & Adnan Al-Kassie in a Handicap Steel Cage match
May 5  | WCCW | 2nd Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions | Irving, Texas | Kerry Von Erich defeated One Man Gang in a Hair vs. One Man Gang facing Fritz Von Erich match[5]
May 10  | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Uniondale, New York | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Bob Orton by disqualification in a singles match to retain the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
May 21  | PNW | 60th Anniversary Wrestling Extravaganza | Portland, Oregon | Ric Flair (c) vs. Billy Jack Haynes ended in a time limit draw for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
May 10 – June 15  | NJPW | IWGP League | Matsumoto, Japan  | André the Giant defeated Tatsumi Fujinami in a tournament final[6]
June 25  | AJW | Japan Grand Prix Finals | Tokyo, Japan | Lioness Asuka defeated Dump Matsumoto in the finals
July 6  | NWA | The Great American Bash | Charlotte, North Carolina | Dusty Rhodes defeated Tully Blanchard (c) in a Steel cage match for the NWA World Television Championship[7][8]
July 8  | WWF | King of the Ring | Foxboro, Massachusetts | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Nikolai Volkoff in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship[9]
July 27  | Mid-South | Wrestlefest  | Tulsa, Oklahoma | Bill Watts, Jim Duggan & Dick Murdoch defeated Kareem Muhammad, Kamala & Skandar Akbar
August 3  | PPP | A Hot Summer Night | Honolulu, Hawaii | Ric Flair (c) fought Siva Afi to a double disqualification in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
August 16  | AWA / NWA | Star Wars  | East Rutherford, New Jersey | The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk) defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) by disqualification in a six-man tag team match
August 26  | Lutte
WWF | Lutte vs. WWF | Montreal, Quebec, Canada  | Dino Bravo and King Tonga defeated Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik in a tag team match
September 2  | FCW | Battle of the Belts | Tampa, Florida | Ric Flair (c) defeated Wahoo McDaniel in 2 out of 3 three falls match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
September 20  | EMLL | EMLL 52nd Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico  | Event was cancelled due to the 1985 Mexico City earthquake[10]
September 21  | CSP | CSP 12th Anniversary Show | San Juan, Puerto Rico  | Jimmy Valiant defeated Kamala in a singles match by disqualification
September 28  | AWA | SuperClash | Chicago, Illinois | Rick Martel (c) fought Stan Hansen to a double countout in a singles match for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship[11]
October 3  | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Nikolai Volkoff in a singles match to retain the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
October 6  | WCCW | Cotton Bowl Extravaganza | Dallas, Texas | Kerry and Kevin Von Erich defeated The Dynamic Duo (Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez) in a Hair vs. Hair match[12]
October 6  | AJW | Tag League The Best Finals | Tokyo, Japan | The Crush Gals (Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka) defeated Gokuaku Domei (Bull Nakano and Dump Matsumoto) in the finals
October 19  | WWC | Battle of the Gladiators  | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Carlos Colón defeated Abdullah the Butcher in a singles match to win the WWC Universal Championship
October 31  | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Hershey, Pennsylvania | Hulk Hogan and André the Giant defeated King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd in a tag team match by disqualification
November 7  | WWF | The Wrestling Classic | Rosemont, Illinois | Junkyard Dog defeated Randy Savage by count-out in a tournament finals match[13]
November 15 – December 12  | NJPW | IWGP Tag Title League | Sendai, Japan  | Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura defeated Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi in a tournament final
November 23 – December 12  | AJPW | AJPW Real World Tag League | Tokyo, Japan  | Ted DiBiase and Stan Hansen won the tournament
November 28  | NWA | Starcade | Greensboro, North Carolina
Atlanta, Georgia | Dusty Rhodes defeated Ric Flair (c) in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship[14]
December 6  | EMLL | Juicio Final | Mexico City, Mexico  | El Solar II vs. Belcebu in a Lucha de Apuestas, mask vs. mask match[15][16]
December 19  | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Tampa, Florida | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Terry Funk in a singles match to retain the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
December 29  | AWA / NWA | Night of Champions II  | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Stan Hansen defeated Rick Martel (c) by submission in a singles match for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

## Tournaments and accomplishments

[edit]

### AJW

[edit]

Accomplishment  | Winner  | Date won  | Notes

|
|
|

Japan Grand Prix 1985 | Lioness Asuka  | June 25  |
Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament | Akemi Sakamoto  |  |
Tag League the Best 1985 | Bull Nakano and Dump Matsumoto | October 10  |

### JCP

[edit]

Accomplishment  | Winner  | Date won  | Notes

|
|
|

Bunkhouse Stampede | Dusty Rhodes[17][7] | December 28  |

### WWF

[edit]

Accomplishment  | Winner  | Date won  | Notes

|
|
|

King of the Ring | Don Muraco | July 8  |
The Wrestling Classic | Junkyard Dog | November 7  |

## Awards and honors

[edit]

* All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling
* AJW Rookie of the Year: Akira Hokuto

### Pro Wrestling Illustrated

[edit]

Main article: List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards

Category  | Winner

|

PWI Wrestler of the Year | Ric Flair
PWI Tag Team of the Year | The Road Warriors
(Hawk and Animal)
PWI Match of the Year | Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff (WrestleMania)
PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year | Hulk Hogan
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year | Roddy Piper
PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year | Steve Williams
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year | Mike Von Erich
PWI Rookie of the Year | Nord the Barbarian
PWI Manager of the Year | Jim Cornette
PWI Editor's Award | Dan Shocket

### Wrestling Observer Newsletter

[edit]

Main article: List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

Category  | Winner

|

Wrestler of the Year | Ric Flair
Feud of the Year | Ted DiBiase vs. Jim Duggan
Tag Team of the Year | The British Bulldogs (Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith)
Most Improved | Steve Williams
Best on Interviews | Jim Cornette

## Title changes

[edit]

### WWF

[edit]

WWF World Heavyweight Championship

Incoming champion – Hulk Hogan

Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
No title changes

WWF Intercontinental Championship

Incoming champion – Greg Valentine

Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
July 6  | Tito Santana | House show | It was a steel cage match

WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship

Incoming champion – Antonio Inoki

Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
No title changes

WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship

Incoming champion – The Cobra

Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
May 20  | Hiro Saito | House show |
July 28  | The Cobra | House show |
October 31  | Abandoned  | N/A  |

WWF International Heavyweight Championship

Incoming champion – Tatsumi Fujinami

Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
July 19  | Vacant  | N/A  |
October 31  | Vacant  | N/A  |

WWF International Tag Team Championship

(Title reactivated)

Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
May 24  | Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura | House show |
October 31  | Deactivated  | N/A  |

WWF Canadian Championship

(Title created)

Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
August 18  | Dino Bravo | House show |

WWF Women's Tag Team Championship

Incoming champions – Velvet McIntyre and Desiree Petersen

Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
August 1  | The Glamour Girls
(Leilani Kai and Judy Martin) | Live event |

WWF Women's Championship

Incoming champion – Wendi Richter

Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
February 18  | Leilani Kai | The War to Settle the Score |
March 31  | Wendi Richter | WrestleMania I |
November 25  | The Masked Spider Lady (Fabulous Moolah) | Live event  |

WWF Tag Team Championship

Incoming champions – The North-South Connection (Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch)
Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
January 21  | The U.S. Express
(Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham) | House show |
March 31  | The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff | WrestleMania I |
June 17  | The U.S. Express
(Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham) | Championship Wrestling | It aired on tape delay on July 13.
August 24  | The Dream Team
(Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine) | House show |

## Spinoff media

[edit]

* Wrestling Eye magazine publish its first issue and hit the newsstands
* Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n Wrestling premiered on CBS.
* Mutharamkunnu P.O., directed by Sibi Malayil and starring Mukesh and Lizy, is released. The film is noted for the special appearance of Indian actor-wrestler Dara Singh as himself.
* British wrestler "Mr. TV" Jackie Pallo's autobiography "You Grunt, I'll Groan" is published.
* Welsh wrestler-promoter Orig Williams's autobiography "Cario'r Ddraig: Stori El Bandito" is published.
* The Wrestling Album is released by the World Wrestling Federation. It is the first album released by the WWF and featuring mostly theme music of wrestlers on the roster at the time.

## Births

[edit]

* January 13 – Luke Robinson
* January 17 – Sage Beckett
* January 18 – Mark Briscoe
* January 27 – Yuji Hino
* February 3 – Angela Fong
* February 20 – Killian Dain
* February 26 – Pentagón Jr.
* March 5 – Martin Casaus
* March 13 – Matt Jackson
* March 20 - Matt Taven
* March 24 – Lana
* April 10 – Yūki Ōno
* April 20 – Curt Hawkins[18]
* April 29 – Jay Lethal
* May 8 – Tommaso Ciampa[19]
* May 14 – Zack Ryder
* May 16 – Mike Kanellis[20]
* May 19 – Aleister Black[21]
* May 24 – The Great Naga
* May 25 – Roman Reigns[22]
* June 6 – Drew McIntyre
* June 30 – Cody Rhodes
* July 2 – Jessie Belle Smothers
* July 16 – Q. T. Marshall
* July 22 – Akira Tozawa[23][24]
* August 2 – Davey Boy Smith Jr.
* August 6 – Tony Nese[25]
* August 7 – Jamin Olivencia
* August 12 – Fallah Bahh
* August 14 – Jaysin Strife (died in 2022)
* August 20 – Mikey Nicholls[26]
* August 22 –
* Jimmy Uso[27]
* Jey Uso[27]
* August 26 – Ayumu Gunji
* September 7 – Tristan Archer
* September 19 – Renee Young
* September 24 –
* Shane Haste[28]
* Sanga
* September 29 – Candice LeRae
* October 12 – Amy Zidian
* October 18 - Atsushi Kotoge
* November 25 – Yuki Sato
* December 7 – Dean Ambrose/Jon Moxley
* December 14 – Katsuya Kitamura (died in 2022)
* December 16 – Psycho Clown
* December 21 – Oney Lorcan[29]
* December 28 – Taryn Terrell

## Debuts

[edit]

* Uncertain debut date

* Big Van Vader
* Brittany Brown
* Jimmy Del Ray
* Lou Fabiano
* Paul Diamond
* Savio Vega
* Virgil
* Histeria

* January 22 - Nick Kiniski
* March 3 - Masakatsu Funaki
* April 29 - Miguel Pérez Jr.
* May 16 - Drill Nakamae (All Japan Women's)
* May 27 - Mitsuko Nishiwaki (All Japan Women's)
* June 5 - Yumiko Hotta and Kyoko Aso (All Japan Women's)
* June 6 - Grizzly Iwamoto (All Japan Women's)
* June 12 - Akira Hokuto and Suzuka Minami (All Japan Women's)
* June 14 - Fumie Kanzaki (All Japan Women's) and Sayuri Nakajima (All Japan Women's)
* July 8 - Yoji Anjo
* July 23 - Yasuko Ishiguro (All Japan Women's)
* July 25 - Rie Okabyashi (All Japan Women's) and Akemi Sakamoto (All Japan Women's)
* July 30 - Miss Elizabeth
* August 28 - Kahoru Kage (All Japan Women's)
* August 30 - Scorpio Jr.
* October 31 - Lex Luger
* November 22 Chris Benoit
* November 28
* Sting
* The Ultimate Warrior
* Hollywood
* Lisa Moretti

## Retirements

[edit]

* Jack Brisco (1965-1985)
* Gerald Brisco (1967-1985) (Returned to wrestling in 1998 and retired 2000)
* Cora Combs (1945–1985)
* George Scott (1948–1985)
* Gil Hayes (1966–1985)
* Chief Jay Strongbow (1955–1985)
* Larry Hennig (1956–1985)
* Wally Karbo (1935–1985)
* Buzz Tyler (1977–1985)
* Pat Patterson (1959-1985) (Returned to wrestling in 1998 and retired 2000)

## Deaths

[edit]

* January 12 - Paul Luty, British wrestler (b. 1932)
* January 21 – Eddie Graham, American wrestler and Championship Wrestling from Florida promoter (b. 1930)
* March 6:
* Wild Bull Curry, American wrestler (b. 1913)
* Bholu Pahalwan, Indian wrestler (b. 1930)
* April 19 - Chabela Romero (b. 1946)
* September 3 – Jay Youngblood, American wrestler (b. 1955)
* September 18 – Ed Don George, American wrestler and promoter (b. 1905)
* November 1 – Rick McGraw, American WWF wrestler (b. 1955)
* December 24:
* Pierre "Mad Dog" Lefebvre, Canadian wrestler (b. 1955)
* Tarzan Tyler, Canadian wrestler and manager (b. 1927)
* Adrien Debois, Canadian wrestling referee (b. 1950)

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to 1985 in professional wrestling at Wikimedia Commons

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Hoops, Brian (February 18, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (February 18): WWF War to settle the score". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
2. ^ "NJPW "Super Powers Clash", 4/24/89 (WPW)". Strong Style Spirit. Archived from the original on August 8, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
3. ^ Shields, Brian. Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s, p.150.
4. ^ Flores, Manuel (February 16, 2009). "Pirata Morgan: 30 Años de Lucha Libre". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Mexico City, D.F. pp. 26–28\. 302.
5. ^ "2nd Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions". Pro Wrestling History. May 5, 1985. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
6. ^ "IWGP League1985". ProWrestlingHistory.com. May 10 – June 11, 1985. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
7. ^ a b Cawthon, Graham (2013). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 3:Jim Crockett and the NWA World Title 1983-1989. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 149480347X.
8. ^ "2007 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts: Great American Bash 1985". Wrestling's Historical Cards. Kappa Publishing. 2007. p. 129.
9. ^ WWF King Of The Ring 1985
10. ^ "52nd Anniversary Show". ProWrestlingHistory. September 19, 1986. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
11. ^ "SuperClash I". Pro Wrestling History. September 28, 1985. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
12. ^ "2nd Cotton Bowl Extravaganza". Pro Wrestling History. October 6, 1985. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
13. ^ "The Wrestling Classic results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
14. ^ Adamson, Matt (January 28, 2008). "Going Old School: Starrcade '85". 411mania. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
15. ^ "EMLL Super Viernes – Juicio Final 1985". Wrestling Data. December 6, 1985. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
16. ^ "1985 Especial!". Box y Lucha Magazine (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: Impresora y Encuaderanadora Glem S.A. de C.V. January 7, 1986. pp. 2–28\. ISSN 2007-0896. 17080.
17. ^ "Bunkhouse Stampedes". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
18. ^ "Brian Myers". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2016-09-20. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
19. ^ "Tommaso Ciampa – Online World of Wrestling ("Birthday: May 8, 1985")". www.onlineworldofwrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-19. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
20. ^ Wolcott, David (September 10, 2010). "Carver native signs with Ring of Honor wrestling; Mike Bennett gets his big break". Wicked Local Kingston. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
21. ^ "Kader". wXw – more than Wrestling. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016.
22. ^ "Joe Anoai". Georgia Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
23. ^ "戸澤陽". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Gaora. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
24. ^ "Mikey Nicholls". Pro Wrestling Noah (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2013-06-24. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
25. ^ "Anthony Nese". Gerweck.net. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
26. ^ "Mikey Nicholls". Cagematch. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
27. ^ a b "The Uso Brothers – Online World of Wrestling". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
28. ^ "Shane Haste". Pro Wrestling Noah (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
29. ^ "Oney Lorcan | WWE.com". wwe.com. 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.

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Years in professional wrestling

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