List of professional wrestling memorial shows

This is a list of professional wrestling memorial shows from the 1980s until the present day. Memorial shows have been historically important in the history of professional wrestling, usually held in memory of a recently deceased wrestler, promoter or other well-known personality, and used to pay tribute to a particular individual's accomplishments and contributions to the industry. The proceeds are generally donated to family members or charitable organizations.

These shows were often held as a form of supercard, a major wrestling event not aired on pay-per-view, and sometimes resulted interpromotional shows. These types of shows were rarely seen in the United States, the earliest being the Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions held in memory of David Von Erich from 1984–1988, but have been common in Japan since the late 1980s. In North America, memorial shows are most often held by independent wrestling promotions although mainstream organizations like WWE have occasionally dedicated specific episodes of WWE Raw or WWE SmackDown to then current WWE wrestlers such as Owen Hart (1999), Eddie Guerrero (2005), Chris Benoit (2007), and Bray Wyatt (2023), and All Elite Wrestling on AEW Dynamite to then current AEW wrestler Brodie Lee (2020).

## List

[edit]

### 1980s

[edit]

Name  | Promotion  | Organizer(s)  | Years active  | Notes

|
|
|
|

Mike Marino Memorial Shield | Dale Martin Promotions | Dale Martin  | 1981  |
Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions | World Class Championship Wrestling | Fritz Von Erich | 1984-1988  | [1]
Johnny Rougeau Memorial Show  |  |  | 1984  |
Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup | Jim Crockett Promotions | Jim Crockett, Jr. | 1986-1988  | [2]
Eddie Graham Memorial Show | Championship Wrestling from Florida | Hiro Matsuda
Duke Keomuka | 1987-1988  | Each show was held under different banners,[3] the second being promoted by Mike Graham and Florida Championship Wrestling.[4]
Frank Tunney, Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament  | World Wrestling Federation | Vince McMahon | 1987  |
Ikki Kajiwara Memorial Show | Multiple promotions  | Giant Baba
Antonio Inoki | 1988  | Interpromotional event including All Japan Pro Wrestling, Japan Women's Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling.[5]
Bruiser Brody Memorial Show | All Japan Pro Wrestling | Giant Baba  | 1988  | [6]

### 1990s

[edit]

Name  | Promotion  | Organizer(s)  | Years active  | Notes

|
|
|
|

Pat O'Connor Memorial International Cup Tag Team Tournament | World Championship Wrestling | Ole Anderson | 1990  | Hosted at Starrcade '90.[7]
Kerry Von Erich Memorial Show | Global Wrestling Federation | Grey Pierson  | 1993  | Headlined by Kevin Von Erich (with Fritz Von Erich) and a mystery wrestler managed by Skandor Akbar.[8]
Rikidozan Memorial Show | Multiple promotions  |  | 1996  | Interpromotional event including All Japan Pro Wrestling, Big Japan Pro Wrestling, Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, Gaea Japan, IWA Japan, Michinoku Pro Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, UWFi and others.[9]
Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show | World Championship Wrestling | Dennis DiPaolo
Eric Bischoff | 1996-1999  | [10]
Eddie Gilbert Memorial Brawl | National Wrestling Alliance | Dennis Coraluzzo  | 1996-1999  | [11]
Eddie Gilbert Memorial Show | IWA Mid-South | Ian Rotten | 1997-1998  |
Ikki Kajiwara Memorial Show | Multiple promotions  | Giant Baba
Antonio Inoki | 1997  | Interpromotional event including All Japan Pro Wrestling, Michinoku Pro Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and others.[12]
Plum Mariko Memorial Show | JWP Joshi Puroresu |  | 1997-1998  | [13]
Brian Pillman Memorial Show | Heartland Wrestling Association | Harley Race | 1998-2001  | [14]
Tojo Yamamoto Memorial Show  | Music City Wrestling  | Bert Prentice  | 1998  | [15]
Junkyard Dog Memorial Show  | Long Island Wrestling Federation  | Bobby Lombardi  | 1998  |
Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup | Maryland Championship Wrestling | Dan McDevitt
Mark Shrader | 1999-  |
Curtis Comes Home | Multiple promotions  | Cody Michaels | 1999  | Interpromotional event including Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation.
Giant Baba Memorial Show | All Japan Pro Wrestling | Mitsuharu Misawa | 1999  | [16]
Raw Is Owen | World Wrestling Federation | Vince McMahon | 1999  | Hosted on the May 24 edition of WWF Monday Night Raw.[17]

### 2000s

[edit]

Name  | Promotion  | Organizer(s)  | Years active  | Notes

|
|
|
|

Rikidozan Memorial Show | Multiple promotions  |  | 2000  | Interpromotional event including All Japan Pro Wrestling, Big Japan Pro Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Michinoku Pro Wrestling, Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, Gaea Japan, UWFi and others.[18]
Gary Albright Memorial Show | World Xtreme Wrestling | Afa Anoaʻi | 2000  | [19]
Mark Curtis Memorial Weekend of Champions | Southern States Wrestling | Beau James  | 2000-2003  | [20][21]
Todd The Bod Memorial Tournament  | Canadian Wrestling Federation | Ernie Todd  | 2000  |
Tony Rumble Memorial Show | Century Wrestling Alliance | Knuckles Nelson
Jeff Katz  | 2000-2007  |
Robert "Diceman" Hornack Memorial Show  | Allied Powers Wrestling Federation  | Chris Lash  | 2000  |
Bruiser Brody Memorial  | IWA Puerto Rico | Víctor Quiñones | 2000  | First Bruiser Brody memorial show held in Puerto Rico.[22][23]
Giant Baba Memorial Spectacular | All Japan Pro Wrestling |  | 2001  | Also served as retirement show for Stan Hansen.[24]
Lee Sanders Memorial Tournament  | Windy City Pro Wrestling | Sam DeCero | 2001-2010  |
Terry Gordy Memorial Show | Legends of Pro Wrestling  | Linda Marx Keebles  | 2001  | [25]
Manfred Koch Memorial Cup  | European Wrestling Promotion  | Christian Eckstein
Jörg Vespermann  | 2001  |
Yokozuna Memorial Show | World Xtreme Wrestling | Afa Anoaʻi | 2001  | [26]
Giant Baba Memorial Cup | All Japan Pro Wrestling | Keiji Mutoh | 2002  | [27]
Russ Haas Memorial Show | Jersey All Pro Wrestling | Frank Iadeavia  | 2002  |
Giant Baba Memorial Six Man Tag Team Tournament | All-Japan Pro Wrestling  | Keiji Mutoh  | 2002  | [28]
Big Dick Dudley Memorial Show | USA Pro Wrestling  | Frank Goodman  | 2002-2003  | [29]
Russ Haas Memorial Tag Team Tournament | Phoenix Championship Wrestling | Donnie Bucci  | 2002  |
Ted Petty Memorial Inventational Tournament | IWA Mid-South | Ian Rotten | 2002-2008  | [30]
Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup | Multiple promotions  | Howard Brody  | 2003-  | Interpromotional event including Full Impact Pro, IPW Hardcore and NWA Florida.[31]
Mike Lockwood Memorial Show | Pro Wrestling Iron  | Donovan Morgan | 2003  | [32]
Johnny Weaver Memorial Tournament | CWF Mid-Atlantic | Jeff Rudd
Danny Wenkel  | 2004-  | The tournament was attended by Johnny Weaver until his death in 2008 and subsequently held as a memorial event by the promotion.
Fred Ward Memorial Show | Great Championship Wrestling  | Jerry Oates  | 2004-2009  | [33]
Mike Lockwood Memorial Tournament | New Breed Wrestling Association  | Mike Wallace  | 2005  | [34]
Ray Mendez Memorial Tournament  | Pro Wrestling eXpress | Jim Miller  | 2005-2006  |
Chris Candido Memorial J-Cup | National Wrestling Superstars  | Joe Panzarino
Gino Moore  | 2005-  | Hosted at the 5th annual J-Cup tournament.[35]
Mark Curtis Memorial Reunion |  | Pam Hildebrand-Clark  | 2005  |
Chris Candido Memorial Show | USA Pro Wrestling  | Frank Goodman  | 2005-2006  | [36]
Victor The Bodyguard Memorial Cup  | IWA Puerto Rico  | Víctor Quiñones  | 2005  |
Bruiser Brody Memorial Cup | World Wrestling Council | Victor Jovica
Carlos Colón | 2005-2006  | [37]
Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament | Total Nonstop Action Wrestling | Jerry Jarrett | 2005  | [38]
Chri$ Ca$h Memorial Show | Combat Zone Wrestling | John Zandig
D. J. Hyde | 2005-  |
Raw Is Eddie | World Wrestling Entertainment | Vince McMahon | 2005  | Hosted on the November 14 edition of WWE Raw.[39]
Jay Youngblood Memorial Tag Team Cup Tournament  | Professional Wrestling Federation  |  | 2006-2008  |
Great Goliath Memorial Battle Royal | Empire Wrestling Federation | Jesse Hernandez
Bill Anderson  | 2006-  | [40]
Shinya Hashimoto Memorial Six-Man Tag Team Tournament | HUSTLE | Nobuhiko Takada | 2006  | [41]
Jose Miguel Perez Memorial Cup  | IWA Puerto Rico | Savio Vega
Miguel Pérez, Jr. | 2006-  | [42]
Pitbull/Public Enemy Tag Team Memorial Cup | Pro Wrestling Unplugged  | Tod Gordon
Johnny Kashmere | 2006-  | [43]
Eddie Graham Memorial Battle of the Belts | Full Impact Pro | Sal Hamaoui  | 2007, 2009  | [44]
Steve Ranton Memorial Tournament  | Valley Championship Wrestling  |  | 2007  |
Chris Candido Cup Tag Team Tournament  | IWA Mid-South | Ian Rotten | 2007-2008  | [45]
Chris Benoit Memorial Show | World Wrestling Entertainment  | Vince McMahon  | 2007  | Hosted on the June 25 edition of WWE Raw.[46] Due to the circumstances of Benoit’s death, this show is not available as a rerun on the WWE Network. Also, as other countries received the airing later, a highlight show of John Cena’s title wins played in its place.[47]
Tiger Khan Memorial Show  | Total Mayhem Pro Wrestling  | Evan Ginzburg  | 2007  | [48]
Antonio Peña Memorial Show | Asistencia Asesoría y Administración | Dorian Roldan  | 2007-  | [49]
Sensational Sherri Memorial Cup Tournament | Association de Lutte Féminine  | Kim Leduc  | 2007-2008  | [50]
Dewey Robertson Memorial Tournament  | Stranglehold Wrestling  | Bill Skullion  | 2007  |
Devil Bhudakahn Memorial Show  | Turnbuckle Entertainment  | Bobby Williams  | 2008, 2010  | [51]
Shinya Hashimoto Memorial Legacy Cup Tournament | Pro Wrestling Zero1 | Yoshiyuki Nakamura
Steve Corino | 2008-  | [52]
Danno O'Mahony Memorial Show | Irish Whip Wrestling |  | 2008-  |
Sean "Shocker" Evans Memorial Tournament  | Pro Wrestling eXpress | Jim Miller  | 2008-  |
Dynamite D Memorial Show  | Santino Brothers Wrestling  | Joey Kaos
Jezabel Romo
Robby Phoenix
Rico Dynamite
Famous B  | 2009-  |
Kerry Brown Memorial Tournament  | Steeltown Pro Wrestling  | Rob Stardom  | 2010-2012  |
Walter "Killer" Kowalski Memorial Show | Multiple promotions  | Richard Byrne  | 2008  | Interpromotional event including Big Time Wrestling and the United States Wrestling Federation.[53]
Mitsuharu Misawa Memorial Show  | Pro Wrestling Noah | Akira Taue | 2009  | [54]
Dennis Coralluzzo Invitational | NWA New Jersey | Ricky Otazu  | 2009  | Coralluzzo was posthumously inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame.[55]

### 2010s

[edit]

Name  | Promotion  | Organizer(s)  | Years active  | Notes

|
|
|
|

Marie Ewaschuk Memorial Show  | Real Canadian Wrestling | Steve Ewaschuk  | 2010-  |
Acid-Fest: A Tribute to Trent Acid | Combat Zone Wrestling | D. J. Hyde  | 2010-2011  | Organized to both eulogize late independent professional wrestler Trent Acid, and to help pay for the funeral costs of said wrestler.
Dick Murdoch Memorial Tag Team Cup  | Multiple promotions  |  | 2010  | Interpromotional event including NWA Southwest and the Professional Wrestling Federation.
A Nightmare To Remember | LN Promotions  | Terry Lawler  | 2011-2012  |
Joe Williams Memorial Trophy  | World Association of Wrestling | Ricky Knight  | 2011  |
El Bandito Memorial Tournament  | Britannia Wrestling Promotions  | Steve Saxon  | 2011-  |
Brain Damage Memorial Show  | Combat Zone Wrestling  | D. J. Hyde  | 2012  |
Samuel J. Thompson Memorial Tournament  | Resistance Pro Wrestling  | Billy Corgan  | 2013-2014  |
Brad Armstrong Memorial Cup  |  | Armstrong family  | 2013  |
Brad Armstrong Memorial Show  | Knoxville Wrestling Promotions  | Armstrong family  | 2013-2014  |
Nagaharu Imai Memorial Show  | Multiple promotions  |  | 2013  | Interpromotional event including Big Japan Pro Wrestling, Ice Ribbon, JWP Joshi Puroresu, Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling, OZ Academy, Pro-Wrestling Diana, Pro Wrestling Wave Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling and STARDOM.
Roland Alexander Memorial Show  | All Pro Wrestling | Markus Mac  | 2013  |
Rikidozan's Death 50th Anniversary Memorial Show  | Multiple promotions  |  | 2013  | Interpromotional event including All Japan Pro Wrestling, Big Japan Pro Wrestling and others.
Jumbo Tsuruta Memorial Show  | Pro Wrestling NOAH  | Akira Taue  | 2014  |
Ryan Buckley Memorial Tournament  | Proving Ground Pro  |  | 2015  |
Takeshi Onaga Memorial Show: BJW Eternal Dream  | Big Japan Pro Wrestling  | Eiji Tosaka  | 2015  |

### 2020s

[edit]

Name  | Promotion  | Organizer(s)  | Years active  | Notes

|
|
|
|

La Noche de Mr. Niebla | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre | Salvador Lutteroth III  | 2020  |
Brodie Lee Celebration of Life | All Elite Wrestling | Tony Khan | 2020  | Hosted on the December 30 edition of AEW Dynamite.
Giant Baba Anniversary Show | All Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Big Japan Pro Wrestling |  | 2021  |
Hana Kimura Memorial Show | Multiple promotions  | Kyoko Kimura | 2021–present
Jay Briscoe Celebration of Life | Ring of Honor | Tony Khan | 2023  | Hosted on ROH Honor Club and YouTube for free, on the ROH channel.
Bray Wyatt and Terry Funk Tribute Show  | WWE |  | 2023  | The August 25, 2023 episode of WWE SmackDown was a tribute to active wrestler Wyatt and retired wrestler Funk, both of whom had died shortly before.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "1st Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions". Parade of Champions. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
2. ^ "1st Annual Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament Cup". Crockett Cup. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
3. ^ "Eddie Graham Memorial Show". Championship Wrestling from Florida Misc. Events. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
4. ^ "Eddie Graham Memorial Show". Florida Championship Wrestling/Professional Wrestling Federation Cards. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
5. ^ "Ikki Kajiwara Memorial 1988". Misc. Cards. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
6. ^ "Budokan Hall 8/88". All Japan Budokan Hall Shows. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
7. ^ "Pat O'Conner Memorial International Tag Team Tournament". Misc. Tournaments. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
8. ^ "Angels Offer Valera More For A Little Less." The Charlotte Observer. 23 Mar. 1993: 2B
9. ^ "Rikidozan Memorial 1996". Misc. Cards. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
10. ^ "1st Annual Ilio DiPaolo Memorial". WCW Ilio DiPaolo Memorials. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
11. ^ "1st Annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial Brawl". National Wrestling Alliance Eddie Gilbert Memorial Shows. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
12. ^ "Ikki Kajiwara Memorial 1997". Misc. Cards. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
13. ^ "1st Annual Plum Mariko Memorial". JWP. ProWrestlingHistory.com. Archived from the original on 2002-05-27.
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15. ^ "Music City Wrestling". Results. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. 2009.
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18. ^ "Rikidozan Memorial 2000". Misc. Cards. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
19. ^ Cawthon, Graham. "2000". Graham Cawthon's History of the WWE. TheHistoryofWWE.com.
20. ^ Lane, Matthew (2001-05-10). "Wrestling Legend Arn Anderson Heads Ticket". The New WAWLI (Wrestling As We Liked It) Papers, No. 173-2001. WrestlingClassics.com.
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33. ^ "Great Championship Wrestling". Results. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com.
34. ^ "Independent Wrestling Results - March 2005". Results. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. March 2005.
35. ^ "NWS Chris Candido Cup 2009 Results". OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. 2009-05-20. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18.
36. ^ Dawgs, Matt (2005). "Chris Candido Memorial Show". GumGod.com.
37. ^ "WWC". Mexican & Puerto Rican Results. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. 2006.
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39. ^ Keller, Wade (November 14, 2005). "KELLER'S RAW REPORT 11/14: Ongoing "virtual time" analysis of broadcast". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
40. ^ "Empire Wrestling Federation". Results. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. 2006.
41. ^ "Hashimoto Memorial Six-Man Tag Tournament". Hustle Tournaments. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
42. ^ North American Wrestling Federation (2009-06-21). "IWA Puerto Rico: Miguel Perez Memorial Cup results from Sat. 6/20". The Piledriver. NAWF.com.
43. ^ Dykens, Brad (2007-04-07). "Pro Wrestling Unplugged: Pitbull/Public Enemy Memorial Cup 2006". Wrestling DVDs. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com.
44. ^ Garoon, Brad (2007-10-08). "BG Says: FIP First Annual Eddie Graham Memorial Battle of the Belts". Video Reviews. 411mania.com.
45. ^ "Chris Candido Cup Tag Team Tournament 2007". IWA Mid-South. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
46. ^ Caldwell, James (June 25, 2007). "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW REPORT 6/25: Ongoing virtual time coverage of Chris Benoit tribute show". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on November 9, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
47. ^ Grossman, Ben (2007-06-25). "Life Imitates Art: USA Network airs memorial show for WWE wrestler". Broadcasting & Cable. BroadcastingCable.com.
48. ^ "Tiger Khan Memorial Show/Movie 9/9 NJ". WrestlingFigs.com. August 13, 2007. Archived from the original on March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
49. ^ "Antonio Pena Memorial Show 2007". AAA Antonio Pena Memorial Cards. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
50. ^ Association de Lutte Féminine (Producer) (2007). ALF: Amazones & Titans (DVD). Canada: Fortune Video Editing.
51. ^ Martin, Adam; Joe Dombrowski (2007-12-20). "'Devil Bhudakahn' Memorial Show, Ontario All Pro and African Wrestling". Wrestleview.com.
52. ^ "Pro-Wrestling WORLD-1 Shinya Hashimoto Legacy Cup Results 12/5". ProWrestlingDigest.com. December 5, 2010.
53. ^ Hurley, Christopher (2008-10-20). "Killer tribute: Kowalski Memorial Wrestling Show slated for Oct. 26". WickedLocal.com.
54. ^ Arnold, Zach (2009-07-04). "Overflowing crowd attends Mitsuharu Misawa's memorial ceremony in Tokyo". FightOpinion.com.
55. ^ National Wrestling Alliance (September 2009). "09/26/09 NWA New Jersey Results". Event Results. NWAwrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14.