1989 in professional wrestling

Professional wrestling-related events during the year of 1989

Overview of the events of 1989 in professional wrestling

List of years in professional wrestling

* … 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985

* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992

* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999 …

* Art
* Archaeology
* Architecture
*   * Literature
* Music
* Philosophy
* Science+...

* v
* t
* e

1989 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 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

[edit]

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 defeated Bad News Brown in a singles match
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 in a singles match 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 in a singles match 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 in a singles match 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  | 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 | The Genius defeated Hulk Hogan (c) by countout in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
November 23  | 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

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

### AJW

[edit]

Accomplishment  | Winner  | Date won  | Notes

|
|
|

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

[edit]

Accomplishment  | Winner  | Date won  | Notes

|
|
|

Asunaro Cup 1989 | Toshiaki Kawada | July 25  |

### NJPW

[edit]

Accomplishment  | Winner  | Date won  | Notes

|
|
|

World Cup League  | Riki Choshu | December 7  |

### WCW

[edit]

Accomplishment  | Winner  | Date won  | Notes

|
|
|

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

[edit]

Accomplishment  | Winner  | Date won  | Notes

|
|
|

Royal Rumble | Big John Studd | January 15  |
King of the Ring | Tito Santana | October 14  |

## Awards and honors

[edit]

### 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 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

[edit]

Main article: List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

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

[edit]

### WWF

[edit]

WWF World Heavyweight Championship

Incoming champion – Randy Savage

Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
April 2  | Hulk Hogan | WrestleMania V |

WWF Intercontinental Championship

Incoming champion – The Ultimate Warrior

Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
April 2  | Rick Rude | WrestleMania V |
August 28  | The Ultimate Warrior | SummerSlam |

WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship

Incoming champion – Antonio Inoki

Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
April 24  | Shota Chochishvili | House show |
May 25  | Antonio Inoki | House show |
December 31  | Deactivated  | N/A  |

WWF Women's Tag Team Championship

Incoming champions – The Glamour Girls (Leilani Kai and Judy Martin)

Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
February 14  | Retired  | N/A  |

WWF Women's Championship

Incoming champion – Rockin' Robin

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

WWF Tag Team Championship

Incoming champions – Demolition (Ax and Smash)
Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
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.

Million Dollar Championship

(Title created)

Unsanctioned championship
Date  | Winner  | Event/Show  | Note(s)
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

[edit]

* January 11 – Natalia Markova
* January 25 – Stu Grayson
* February 25 – Natsumi Sumikawa
* March 1 – Tenille Dashwood
* March 23 – Riara
* 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 2 – Kengo
* 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

[edit]

### Debut date

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

* Sandman
* X-Pac
* Scotty 2 Hotty
* Billy Gunn
* Ken Shamrock
* Tony Halme
* Jerry Flynn
* J. W. Storm
* Bobby Walker

## Retirements

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

* 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
* September 7 - Eduardo Perez (wrestler), 60 or 61
* December 7 – Haystacks Calhoun,[25] 55
* December 28 – Earl Patrick Freeman, 57

## See also

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1989 in professional wrestling.

* List of WCW pay-per-view events
* List of WWF pay-per-view events
* List of FMW supercards and pay-per-view events

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Royal Rumble 1989". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
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.
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.
7. ^ a b 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.
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.
11. ^ "56th Anniversary Show". Pro Wrestling History. September 22, 1989. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
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.
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.
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.
25. ^ Solomon, Brian (2006). WWE Legends. Pocket Books. pp. 221–226. ISBN 978-0-7434-9033-7.

* 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

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template