1989 in professional wrestling

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

List of years in professional wrestling
+...

List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable shows 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 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 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 23 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 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]
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 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

Tournaments and accomplishments

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

WCW
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
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
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
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

WWF
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

Debuts

Debut date

Uncertain debut date

Retirements

Deaths

See also

References
  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. 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.
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