Post by Nathan Versus on Feb 26, 2006 13:22:30 GMT
I got this from another wrestling website, removed some things, added some more, and decided to post it here.
If you think anything should be added, let me know by posting on this thread. Likewise if you dispute anything.
Facts and Historical Dates
April 27, 1878
Pro wrestling legend Frank Gotch is born.
September 26, 1885
William Miller takes on Clearance Whistler in Australia’s first pro wrestling match at the Melbourne Theatre Royal. Whistler wins, but dies a few hours later from internal bleeding after eating a champagne glass.
September 26, 1894
The European Greco-Roman title is awarded to Ernest Roeber in Hamburg, Germany.
September 1896
The legendary ‘Russian Lion’ Georges ‘George’ Karl Julius Hackenschmidt makes his pro-wrestling debut, aged 18.
April 2, 1899
Trained by the legendary Martin ‘Farmer’ Burns, Frank Gotch makes his pro wrestling debut and defeats Marshall Green.
1901
The first series of tag team matches take place in San Francisco.
February 22, 1903
The most dominate pro wrestler at the time, Tom Jenkins defeats Frank Gotch.
May 5, 1905
Georges Hackenschmidt defeats Tom Jenkins to capture the Catch-as-Catch-Can championship (later renamed the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight title).
April 3, 1908
Frank Gotch defeats Georges Hackenschmidt at Dexter Park in Chicago, Illinois, the match ends when an annoyed Hackenschmidt leaves the ring and Gotch wins the Catch-As-Catch-Can title
Sometime in 1911
Gotch and Hackenschmidt have a rematch, which Gotch wins. The match draws around 33,000 fans.
April 1, 1913
The legendary Frank Gotch announces his retirement as World Heavyweight Champion.
July 14, 1915
Joe Strecher defeats Charlie Cutler in Nebraska to become the new World Heavyweight Champion after Frank Gotch.
Sometime in 1916
Joe Strecher and legendary Ed ‘Strangler’ Lewis battle to a five-hour draw.
April 24, 1916
Lou Thesz is born in Banat, Michigan.
July 18, 1916
Frank Gotch fractures his right leg in an exhibition bout with Bob Managoff at a Sells-Floto Circus tent performance show.
Sometime in 1917
The legendary Frank Gotch dies aged 39, Gotch is seen by many as pro wrestling’s first true World Heavyweight Champion and is looked to by many as the father of pro- wrestling.
December 13, 1920
In a rematch, Ed ‘Strangler’ Lewis defeats Joe Strecher to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
November 14, 1924
Mitsuhiro ‘Rikidozan’ Momota is born. Rikidozan would be credited as the man who introduced pro-wrestling to Japan. Trainer of future legends Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba and arguably the greatest and most famous wrestler ever to live.
Somewhere between 1930-1933
Pro-wrestling is changed forever when matches are switched to worked matches, as opposed to legitimate fights, worked matches are used from now on, in essence pro-wrestling is changed from a sport to a show.
Sometime in 1933
The State of Texas passes a law legalising professional wrestling (and boxing).
Sometime in 1933
The first pro wrestling promotion is formed, Expresa Mexico De Lucha Libre (EMLL) in Mexico.
Sometime in 1935
Jim Crockett Sr. forms Jim Crockett Promotions...
Later in the same year, Vince McMahon Sr. promotes his first pro wrestling card
September 29, 1937
Japanese Olympian Kiyoshi Kose defeats Korea’s Ken Gen by two falls, in a best of three falls match, at the Susaki baseball stadium in Tokyo, Japan.
September 14, 1938
The National Wrestling Association’s version of the World title is awarded to Everett Marshall.
Sometime in February 1941
Dory Funk Jr. is born in Amarillo, Texas.
February 20, 1943
Kanji ‘Antonio’ Inoki is born, Inoki would go on to become a house-hold name is Japan, and a pro wrestling legend.
June 30, 1944
Terry Funk is born in Amarillo, Texas.
September 25. 1945
Gory Guerrero, the matriarch of the Guerrero family, defeats Bobby Bonales in Mexico City for the EMLL Middleweight title.
March 15, 1946
El Santo wins the NWA World Welterweight title by defeating Pete Pancof, Santo is Mexico’s most beloved wrestler ever and was a bona fide celebrity in Mexico, even having a national public holiday dedicated to him.
May 19, 1946
Andre ‘The Giant’ Russimoff is born in Grenoble in the French Alps, France.
Sometime in 1947
The legendary Buddy Rogers and Billy Darnell do battle in New York, the match is a wild brawl and ends in a no-contest. A ringside fan dies from a heart attack and as a result both competitors are banned from competition in New York for two years.
Sometime in 1948
P.L ‘Pinkie’ George forms the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in Iowa.
February 22, 1949
With 4,200 fans in attendance at Madison Square Garden in New York, the legendary ‘Gorgeous’ George Wagner and Ernie Dusek main event the first pro wrestling card at MSG for over ten years.
February 22, 1949
Ric ‘Flair’ Flierh is born.
November 25, 1949
NWA World titleholder Orville Brown is involved in a car accident and world-renowned tough guy Lou Thesz is awarded the title.
November 29, 1949
Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler is born in Memphis, Tennessee.
Sometime in 1951
Japan’s first post-war pro wrestling show takes place.
Sometime in December 1951
Mitsuo ‘Riki Choshu’ Yoshida is born. Choshu would become one of the most famous names in Japanese wrestling, winning the IWGP Championship on three times and introducing the world to the Sasori-gatame, otherwise know as the Scorpion Deathlock or the Sharpshooter.
Sometime in 1952
Edward ‘The Sheik’ Farhat is born, he would go on to become one of the most famous brawlers the industry had ever seen.
May 11, 1953
The New York State Athletic Commission lifts a ban on tag team wrestling.
July 30, 1953
Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA) promotes its first card, the JWA is owned by the legendary Momota ‘Rikidozan’ Mitsuhiro.
December 28, 1953
Tatsumi Fujinami is born and would go on to be regarded as one of the top ten Japanese pro wrestlers of all time.
July 2, 1957
Bret Hart is born, and would become a legend in the pro wrestling industry
October 25, 1957
Atsushi Onita is born, Onita would go on to found and promote his own highly successful garbage promotion (named Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling), and win a seat in the Japanese senate and in 1995 become the country’s national spokesman for Aids awareness.
Sometime in 1959
Bruno Sammartino makes his pro wrestling debut.
March 20, 1959
Steve ‘Sting’ Borden is born, Borden would go on to become a WCW World Heavyweight title holder and big name draw in American pro wrestling.
August 30, 1960
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) is formed in California.
September 30, 1960
Antonio Inoki makes his pro wrestling debut, losing to Kintaro Oki, meanwhile on the same card, Shohei ‘Giant’ Baba also makes his debut, defeating Y. Tanaka, both debuts are in Tokyo.
June 30, 1961
Buddy Rogers defeats Pat O’Connar for the NWA World Heavyweight title
Sometime in 1962
‘Gorgeous’ George Wagner has his hair shaved off after losing a specially stipulated match to The Destroyer in Los Angeles, California.
June 18, 1962
Mitsuharu Misawa is born in Saitama, Japan. Misawa is commonly regarded as the greatest wrestler of recent times.
February 7, 1963
NWA World titleholder Lou Thesz defeats Buddy Rogers over two falls in Toronto, Ontario Canada.
Sometime in April 1963
Buddy Rogers is named the first World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) Heavyweight Champion.
May 19, 1963
Rikidozan loses to The Destroyer in Osaka, Japan. The match is one of Japan’s most famous and catapulted Rikidozan to mainstream super-stardom in Japan.
September 17, 1963
Masahiro Chono is born. Chono would go on to become the most popular Japanese wrestler of the 1990's.
December 8, 1963
Toshiaki Kawada is born.
December 15, 1963
Japanese wrestling God, Rikidozan dies following an argument with a member of the Yakuza concerning the expansion of his "territories", after which he was stabbed in the torso. He died a week later of peritonitis at the age of 39.
December 23, 1963
Keiji ‘The Great Muta/Muto’ Mutoh is born.
December 26, 1963
George ‘Gorgeous George’ Wagner dies aged 48.
Sometime In 1964
Andre Russimoff debuts, as ‘The Butcher’, in France.
May 17, 1964
Buddy Rogers loses the WWWF World Heavyweight title to Bruno Sammartino.
December 18, 1964
Steve ‘Stone Cold Steve Austin’ Anderson is born.
May 7, 1965
Owen Hart is born in Calgary, Alberta Canada.
June 7, 1965
Mick Foley is born in Long Island, New York.
July 3, 1965
Shinya Hashimoto is born and would become a big name draw in Japanese pro wrestling throughout the 1980’s/90’s, winning the IWGP, Triple Crown and NWA championships.
July 22, 1965
Michael ‘Shawn Micheals’ Hickenbottom is born in San Antonio, Texas.
October 14 1966
Lou Thesz defeats Buddy Austin for the WWA World Heavyweight tittle in Los Angeles, California.
May 19, 1967
Chris Benoit is born
July 13, 1967
Hisaki ‘Akira Hokuto’ Ono is born, Ono is widely accepted as the greatest female pro wrestler ever.
February 11, 1969
Dory Funk Jr. defeats Gene Kininski for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
July 27, 1969
Paul Michael Levesque is born Nashua, New Hampshire. He would go on to become a wrestling icon as Triple H.
December 2, 1969
NWA World Heavyweight titleholder Dory Funk Jr. and Antonio Inoki wrestle to a sixty-minute time limit draw in Tokyo, Japan, Dory retains the title.
Sometime in March 1972
Antonio Inoki forms his own pro wrestling promotion, named New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). New Japan would go on to becomes the worlds largest wrestling promotion.
September 16, 1972
Harley Race becomes the first NWA Missouri State champion when he defeats Pak Song in St. Louis.
September 30, 1972
WWWF World Heavyweight title holder Pedro Morales and challenger and former title holder Bruno Sammartino wrestle a seventy five minute draw at Shea Stadium in New York. This marks the first face vs. face match in WWE history.
Sometime in October 1972
Shohei ‘Giant’ Baba forms his own pro-wrestling promotion, named All Japan Pro-Wrestling (AJPW).
Sometime in 1973
Shohei ‘Giant’ Baba is crowned AJPW’s first AJPW/Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) Heavyweight titleholder.
Sometime in 1973
Jim Crockett Sr. hands Jim Crockett Promotions over to his son, Jim Crockett Jr.
May 24, 1973
Harley Race defeats Dory Funk Jr. for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
May 5, 1975
PWF title holder Shohei ‘Giant’ Baba and WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino meet, the match ends in a no decision, only Sammartino’s title is on the line, which he retains.
October 4, 1975
Ric Flair suffers a broken back in a plane crash, and is told he will never wrestle again.
November 8, 1975
AWA mainstay Nick Bockwinkel defeats Verne Gagne for the AWA World Heavyweight title, it marked the end of Gagne’s eight and a half-year reign as champion.
December 10, 1975
Terry Funk defeats Jack Briscoe for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
November 13, 1976
Genichiro Tenryu makes his pro-wrestling debut in Hereford, Texas
December 15, 1977
Brothers Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr. defeat Larry ‘Abdullah the Butcher’ Shreeve and Ed ‘The Sheik’ Farhat to win AJPW’s first annual Real World League tag team tournament, the match is legendary for its wild brawling.
Sometime in April 1979
Vince McMahon Sr. renames the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
July 18, 1980
Nick Bockwinkel loses the AWA World Heavyweight title to Verne Gagne, ending Bockwinkel’s five-year reign.
April 27, 1981
Tommy Rich defeats Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
September 17, 1981
Ric Flair captures his first World Heavyweight title from Dusty Rhodes.
Sometime in June 1982
Vince McMahon Jr. buys the WWF from Vince McMahon Sr.
June 2, 1983
Terry ‘Hulk Hogan’ Bollea defeats Antonio Inoki to become the first IWGP tournament winner.
June 18, 1983
Gerry and Jack Briscoe defeats Rick ‘Steamboat’ Blood and Jay Youngblood to win the NWA World Heavyweight tag team titles.
November 24, 1983
Jim Crockett Promotions stages the first Starrcade pay-per-view. Ric Flair defeats Harley Race for his second NWA World Heavyweight title reign.
Sometime in 1984
Vince McMahon Jr. buys-out (for $1,000,000), then closes, Georgia Championship Wrestling.
January 24, 1984
Terry ‘Hulk Hogan’ Bollea defeats the Iron Sheik for the WWF World Heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
February 7, 1984
Tom ‘Dynamite Kid’ Billington wins the vacant WWF Junior Heavyweight title by defeating The Cobra in Tokyo, Japan.
February 22, 1984
Jumbo Tsurta defeats Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight title.
March 21, 1984
Harley Race defeats Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
April 25, 1984
Stan Hansen and John ‘Bruiser Brody’ Goodish win AJPW’s tournament to crown the first PWF/AJPW tag team champions.
May 6, 1984
Kerry ‘Von Erich’ Adkisson defeats Ric ‘Flair’ Fliehr for the NWA World Heavyweight title in Texas, America.
May 24, 1984
Ric Flair defeats Kerry Von Erich for the NWA World Heavyweight title in Yokosuka, Japan.
February 5, 1985
WWF Saturday Night Main Event is broadcast on NBC, the first time in over thirty-five years pro-wrestling had been on prime-time television.
March 31, 1985
Vince McMahon Jr. and the WWF promote the first annual Wrestlemania event at Madison Square Garden. The main event sees Hulk Hogan and actor Mr T defeat Roderick ‘Roddy Piper’ Toombs and Paul Ornadorff.
May 28, 1985
Hisako ‘Akira Hokuto’ Ono makes her pro wrestling debut.
November 19, 1985
Larry ‘Lex Luger’ Pfhol defeats the legendary Ed ‘Wahoo’ McDaniel, just three weeks into his pro-wrestling career, Luger was billed as ‘the future of professional wrestling’ when he broke-in, but never lived up to the tag
Sometime in May 1986
Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Marty ‘Arn Anderson’ Lunde and Ole Anderson form the Four Horsemen, one of the most famous factions/groups ever in pro wrestling history.
Sometime in July 1986
Virgil ‘Dusty Rhodes’ Runnels defeats Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
Sometime in 1987
Jim Crockett and Jim Crockett Promotions buys-out the Universal Wrestling Federation owned by Bill Watts for $4,000,000.
March 29, 1987
Vince McMahon and the WWF promote WrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silver Dome in Michigan. The main event sees Hulk Hogan defend the WWF World Heavyweight title against Andre the Giant. Much speculation surrounds the actual attendence for this event.
May 2, 1987
Curt Hennig defeats Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight title.
January 24, 1988
Vince McMahon and the WWF promote the first ‘Royal Rumble’ event, won by Jim Duggan.
February 5, 1988
Andre the Giant wins the WWF World Heavyweight title by defeating Hulk Hogan.
March 27, 1988
Ric Flair and Steve ‘Sting’ Borden wrestle to a forty-five minute time-limit draw on the first ‘Clash of the Champions’ show, the draw ensures that Borden is catapulted to an overnight sensation status.
May 9, 1988
Jerry Lawler defeats Curt Hennig for the AWA World Heavyweight title.
Sometime in November 1988
Jim Crockett Jr. is brought-out by Ted Turner for $9,000,000.
February 20, 1989
Ricky Steamboat defeats Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
December 7, 1989
Legendary wrestler William ‘Haystacks’ Calhoun dies aged 55 from diabetes, Calhoun was believed to weigh in excess of 600lbs at his heaviest.
April 13, 1990
AJPW, NJPW and the WWF co-promote a card in Tokyo at the Tokyo Dome, Hulk Hogan (WWF) defeats Stan Hansen (AJPW) in the main event, elsewhere on the card Genichiro Tenryu (NJPW) defeats Randy Savage (WWF).
November 10, 1991
Legendary tough guy Dick ‘The Bruiser’ Afflis dies, aged 62 in Tampa, Florida.
December 6, 1991
‘The Dynamite Kid’ Tom Billington retires in an in-ring ceremony in Budokan, Japan on an AJPW card. Billington had a sparkling career in Japan, Canada and too a lesser extent America, England and Mexico.
January 19, 1992
Ric Flair wins the annual WWF Royal Rumble to win the vacant WWF World Heavyweight title.
July 26, 1992
Pro-wrestling legend Buddy Rogers dies in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
January 1993
WWF Raw is War debuts on the USA network.
January 27, 1993
Andre ‘The Giant’ Russimoff dies, aged 46, from a heart attack.
February 21, 1993
WCW Superbrawl 3 marks the return of Ric Flair to WCW after eighteen months in the WWF and two WWF World Heavyweight title reigns.
March 11, 1993
Sting defeats Leon ‘Vader’ White for the WCW World Heavyweight title.
March 17, 1993
Vader defeats Steve ‘Sting’ Borden for the WCW World Heavyweight title.
April 16, 1994
Chris Benoit wins the annual NJPW Super Junior Cup, defeating The Great Sasuke in the final. The tournament is regarded as the greatest one night tournament in wrestling history.
April 29, 1994
The WWF is forced to pay small time wrestler Charles Austin $27,000,000 in damages in a lawsuit filed against the WWF after his neck was broken on a WWF card in 1990.
June 11 1994
WWF mainstay Hulk Hogan stuns the North American industry and signs a four-year contract with WCW.
August 27, 1994
Troy ‘Shane Douglas’ Martin defeats Charles ‘2 Cold Scorpio’ Skaggs in a tournament final to win the vacant NWA World Heavyweight title, however in a shoot he rejects the title, and declares the ECW title a World Heavyweight title instead.
April 28-29, 1995
New Japan Pro-Wrestling promotes the two largest events in wrestling history in Pyongyang, North Korea. The event; Collision In Korea. The April 28 event is attended by 150'000 people and headlined by Shinya Hashimoto vs. Scott Norton and the April 29 event is attended by 190'000 and headlined by Antonio Inoki vs. Ric Flair.
May 13, 1995
Beating El Canek to win the UWA title in Mexico, Vader holds World titles on three different continents, the I.W.G.P title (NJPW’’s World Heavyweight title), the Combat Wrestling Association (CWA) title (Europe) and the Universal Wrestling Alliance (UWA) title (United States of America).
September 4, 1995
WCW Monday Nitro premiers on TNN.
Sometime in 1996
Paul Heyman buys ECW from Todd Gordon for an undisclosed amount.
January 27 1996
Scot ‘Raven’ Levy defeats James ‘Sandman’ Fullington for the ECW World Heavyweight title.
June 23 1996
‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin wins the annual WWF ‘King of the Ring’ tournament, Austin would go on to become one of the biggest names ever in pro wrestling
June 12 1997
A years-plus worth of real life resentment and vent-up anger between Bret Hart and Michael ‘Shawn Micheals’ Hickenbottom explodes when the two are involved in a brawl in a hallway of the Providence Civic Centre. The scuffle was said to be started when Hickenbottom made a snide comment about Hart’s personal life, Hart floored Hickenbottom with a single right hand.
October 5, 1997
Brian Pillman dies aged 35, Pillman was notorious for playing practical jokes on other wrestlers, and had a volatile personality, he was also a good in-ring wrestler and student of Stu Hart of the famous Hart wrestling family
November 9, 1997
Vince McMahon screws Bret Hart out of the WWF title one day before his contract expires, fearing Hart would show up on rival, WCW Nitro with the WWF Championship Belt. The incident is later refered to as "The Montreal Screwjob".
January 20, 1998
Bobo Brazil dies aged 74, Brazil was pro wrestling’s first black headliner, and helped carved a role for ethnic pro wrestlers.
End of 1998
WCW earns $55,000,000 in profits come the end of the year.
April 20, 1998
WCW Monday Nitro’ loses for the first time in 83 straight weeks in the television ratings to ‘WWF Raw Is War.
January 31, 1999
Shohei ‘Giant’ Baba dies aged 61, Baba was revered in Japan and a household name and bona fide celebrity in Japan. His funeral attracted around 30,000 mourners.
April 20, 1999
‘Ravishing’ Rick ‘Rude’ Rood dies aged 40 from an enlarged heart, which resulted from steroid abuse.
May 23, 1999
Hart family member Owen dies on an internationally televised live pay-per-view after falling 48ft and suffers a broken neck upon impact, WWF owner Vince McMahon carries the show on despite the tragedy. As a result the Hart family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the WWF, but settled out of court for $18,000,000 in November 2000.
October 6, 1999
WWF mainstay and former wrestler Robert ‘Gorilla Monsoon’ Marella dies of a heart attack aged 62.
June 13, 2000
Mitsuharu Misawa stuns the Japanese wrestling world by announcing his departure from AJPW to found his own promotion; Pro-Wrestling NOAH. The move would virtually destroy All Japan as a promotion.
End of 2000
WCW loses $62,000,000 come the end of the year 2000.
September 25, 2000
The WWF signs a contract with The National Network (TNN) and moves all of its programming to TNN and TNN affiliates.
October 26, 2000
1990’s legend Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart retires due to several injuries
March 23, 2001
The WWF buys it fierce rival of the past ten years, WCW, for $2,5,000,000
March 26, 2001
The final ever WCW Monday Nitro airs.
April 4, 2001
ECW’s parent company, HHG Corporation, files for bankruptcy, effectively closing ECW as a pro wrestling promotion.
March 17, 2002
Wrestlemania XVIII takes place in Toronto’s Skydome, the event is watched by 68,240 fans in attendance.
April 18, 2002
Legend Ed ‘Wahoo’ McDaniel dies from a stroke aged 63, he was a well respected former World Heavyweight champion and legendary name in the industry
April 28, 2002
Lou Thesz, regarded by many industry workers to be the best pro wrestler of the last century, passes away. Thesz was a former six time World Heavyweight titleholder and was a major name in all of pro wrestling’s major territories and had a career that spanned from 1932 to 1990.
May 6, 2002
The WWF officially changes its name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) after losing a court case to the World-Wide Fund for Nature
17 May, 2002
David ‘British Bulldog’ Smith dies of a heart attack aged 39 in Canada. Smith, born in Manchester England, had been a WWF mainstay and was married into the legendary Hart wrestling family for many years.
25 August, 2002
Michael ‘Shawn Micheals’ Hickenbottom wrestles his first match in over three years, he goes over Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque.
10 February, 2003
‘Mr Perfect’ Curt Hennig dies aged 44 in Florida. The Tampa Coroner's office and the Tampa Medical Examiner's office declared acute cocaine intoxication the official cause of his death.
20 February, 2005
AJPW Triple Crown Champion Satoshi Kojima faces IWGP Champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan in Tokyo, Japan. The two are former tag-team partners and this match represents a landmark in wrestling history, after 30+ years of competition between AJPW and NJPW. Kojima wins the match at 59:47 to become the first wrestler to hold both the IWGP and Triple Crown at the same time.
11 July, 2005
Shinya Hashimoto dies of a brain aneurysm in Tokyo, Japan, eight days after his 40th birthday.
October, 2005
51.5% percent ownership in New Japan Pro-Wrestling is sold to Yukes, an Osaka based company that markets home videos and video games. NJPW has working agreements with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and is the largest promotion in professional wrestling.
13 November, 2005
Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes, more commonly known as Eddie Guerrero, dies in Minneapolis, Minnesota. An autopsy revealed that Guerrero died as a result of acute heart failure, caused by undiagnosed arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease and enlargement of the heart as a result of prior anabolic steroid abuse. Although Guerrero had not taken alcohol or illicit drugs for over four years, his past excesses contributed to his heart failure. At the time of his death, he had recently used narcotic painkillers. He was 38.
If you think anything should be added, let me know by posting on this thread. Likewise if you dispute anything.
Facts and Historical Dates
April 27, 1878
Pro wrestling legend Frank Gotch is born.
September 26, 1885
William Miller takes on Clearance Whistler in Australia’s first pro wrestling match at the Melbourne Theatre Royal. Whistler wins, but dies a few hours later from internal bleeding after eating a champagne glass.
September 26, 1894
The European Greco-Roman title is awarded to Ernest Roeber in Hamburg, Germany.
September 1896
The legendary ‘Russian Lion’ Georges ‘George’ Karl Julius Hackenschmidt makes his pro-wrestling debut, aged 18.
April 2, 1899
Trained by the legendary Martin ‘Farmer’ Burns, Frank Gotch makes his pro wrestling debut and defeats Marshall Green.
1901
The first series of tag team matches take place in San Francisco.
February 22, 1903
The most dominate pro wrestler at the time, Tom Jenkins defeats Frank Gotch.
May 5, 1905
Georges Hackenschmidt defeats Tom Jenkins to capture the Catch-as-Catch-Can championship (later renamed the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight title).
April 3, 1908
Frank Gotch defeats Georges Hackenschmidt at Dexter Park in Chicago, Illinois, the match ends when an annoyed Hackenschmidt leaves the ring and Gotch wins the Catch-As-Catch-Can title
Sometime in 1911
Gotch and Hackenschmidt have a rematch, which Gotch wins. The match draws around 33,000 fans.
April 1, 1913
The legendary Frank Gotch announces his retirement as World Heavyweight Champion.
July 14, 1915
Joe Strecher defeats Charlie Cutler in Nebraska to become the new World Heavyweight Champion after Frank Gotch.
Sometime in 1916
Joe Strecher and legendary Ed ‘Strangler’ Lewis battle to a five-hour draw.
April 24, 1916
Lou Thesz is born in Banat, Michigan.
July 18, 1916
Frank Gotch fractures his right leg in an exhibition bout with Bob Managoff at a Sells-Floto Circus tent performance show.
Sometime in 1917
The legendary Frank Gotch dies aged 39, Gotch is seen by many as pro wrestling’s first true World Heavyweight Champion and is looked to by many as the father of pro- wrestling.
December 13, 1920
In a rematch, Ed ‘Strangler’ Lewis defeats Joe Strecher to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
November 14, 1924
Mitsuhiro ‘Rikidozan’ Momota is born. Rikidozan would be credited as the man who introduced pro-wrestling to Japan. Trainer of future legends Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba and arguably the greatest and most famous wrestler ever to live.
Somewhere between 1930-1933
Pro-wrestling is changed forever when matches are switched to worked matches, as opposed to legitimate fights, worked matches are used from now on, in essence pro-wrestling is changed from a sport to a show.
Sometime in 1933
The State of Texas passes a law legalising professional wrestling (and boxing).
Sometime in 1933
The first pro wrestling promotion is formed, Expresa Mexico De Lucha Libre (EMLL) in Mexico.
Sometime in 1935
Jim Crockett Sr. forms Jim Crockett Promotions...
Later in the same year, Vince McMahon Sr. promotes his first pro wrestling card
September 29, 1937
Japanese Olympian Kiyoshi Kose defeats Korea’s Ken Gen by two falls, in a best of three falls match, at the Susaki baseball stadium in Tokyo, Japan.
September 14, 1938
The National Wrestling Association’s version of the World title is awarded to Everett Marshall.
Sometime in February 1941
Dory Funk Jr. is born in Amarillo, Texas.
February 20, 1943
Kanji ‘Antonio’ Inoki is born, Inoki would go on to become a house-hold name is Japan, and a pro wrestling legend.
June 30, 1944
Terry Funk is born in Amarillo, Texas.
September 25. 1945
Gory Guerrero, the matriarch of the Guerrero family, defeats Bobby Bonales in Mexico City for the EMLL Middleweight title.
March 15, 1946
El Santo wins the NWA World Welterweight title by defeating Pete Pancof, Santo is Mexico’s most beloved wrestler ever and was a bona fide celebrity in Mexico, even having a national public holiday dedicated to him.
May 19, 1946
Andre ‘The Giant’ Russimoff is born in Grenoble in the French Alps, France.
Sometime in 1947
The legendary Buddy Rogers and Billy Darnell do battle in New York, the match is a wild brawl and ends in a no-contest. A ringside fan dies from a heart attack and as a result both competitors are banned from competition in New York for two years.
Sometime in 1948
P.L ‘Pinkie’ George forms the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in Iowa.
February 22, 1949
With 4,200 fans in attendance at Madison Square Garden in New York, the legendary ‘Gorgeous’ George Wagner and Ernie Dusek main event the first pro wrestling card at MSG for over ten years.
February 22, 1949
Ric ‘Flair’ Flierh is born.
November 25, 1949
NWA World titleholder Orville Brown is involved in a car accident and world-renowned tough guy Lou Thesz is awarded the title.
November 29, 1949
Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler is born in Memphis, Tennessee.
Sometime in 1951
Japan’s first post-war pro wrestling show takes place.
Sometime in December 1951
Mitsuo ‘Riki Choshu’ Yoshida is born. Choshu would become one of the most famous names in Japanese wrestling, winning the IWGP Championship on three times and introducing the world to the Sasori-gatame, otherwise know as the Scorpion Deathlock or the Sharpshooter.
Sometime in 1952
Edward ‘The Sheik’ Farhat is born, he would go on to become one of the most famous brawlers the industry had ever seen.
May 11, 1953
The New York State Athletic Commission lifts a ban on tag team wrestling.
July 30, 1953
Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA) promotes its first card, the JWA is owned by the legendary Momota ‘Rikidozan’ Mitsuhiro.
December 28, 1953
Tatsumi Fujinami is born and would go on to be regarded as one of the top ten Japanese pro wrestlers of all time.
July 2, 1957
Bret Hart is born, and would become a legend in the pro wrestling industry
October 25, 1957
Atsushi Onita is born, Onita would go on to found and promote his own highly successful garbage promotion (named Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling), and win a seat in the Japanese senate and in 1995 become the country’s national spokesman for Aids awareness.
Sometime in 1959
Bruno Sammartino makes his pro wrestling debut.
March 20, 1959
Steve ‘Sting’ Borden is born, Borden would go on to become a WCW World Heavyweight title holder and big name draw in American pro wrestling.
August 30, 1960
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) is formed in California.
September 30, 1960
Antonio Inoki makes his pro wrestling debut, losing to Kintaro Oki, meanwhile on the same card, Shohei ‘Giant’ Baba also makes his debut, defeating Y. Tanaka, both debuts are in Tokyo.
June 30, 1961
Buddy Rogers defeats Pat O’Connar for the NWA World Heavyweight title
Sometime in 1962
‘Gorgeous’ George Wagner has his hair shaved off after losing a specially stipulated match to The Destroyer in Los Angeles, California.
June 18, 1962
Mitsuharu Misawa is born in Saitama, Japan. Misawa is commonly regarded as the greatest wrestler of recent times.
February 7, 1963
NWA World titleholder Lou Thesz defeats Buddy Rogers over two falls in Toronto, Ontario Canada.
Sometime in April 1963
Buddy Rogers is named the first World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) Heavyweight Champion.
May 19, 1963
Rikidozan loses to The Destroyer in Osaka, Japan. The match is one of Japan’s most famous and catapulted Rikidozan to mainstream super-stardom in Japan.
September 17, 1963
Masahiro Chono is born. Chono would go on to become the most popular Japanese wrestler of the 1990's.
December 8, 1963
Toshiaki Kawada is born.
December 15, 1963
Japanese wrestling God, Rikidozan dies following an argument with a member of the Yakuza concerning the expansion of his "territories", after which he was stabbed in the torso. He died a week later of peritonitis at the age of 39.
December 23, 1963
Keiji ‘The Great Muta/Muto’ Mutoh is born.
December 26, 1963
George ‘Gorgeous George’ Wagner dies aged 48.
Sometime In 1964
Andre Russimoff debuts, as ‘The Butcher’, in France.
May 17, 1964
Buddy Rogers loses the WWWF World Heavyweight title to Bruno Sammartino.
December 18, 1964
Steve ‘Stone Cold Steve Austin’ Anderson is born.
May 7, 1965
Owen Hart is born in Calgary, Alberta Canada.
June 7, 1965
Mick Foley is born in Long Island, New York.
July 3, 1965
Shinya Hashimoto is born and would become a big name draw in Japanese pro wrestling throughout the 1980’s/90’s, winning the IWGP, Triple Crown and NWA championships.
July 22, 1965
Michael ‘Shawn Micheals’ Hickenbottom is born in San Antonio, Texas.
October 14 1966
Lou Thesz defeats Buddy Austin for the WWA World Heavyweight tittle in Los Angeles, California.
May 19, 1967
Chris Benoit is born
July 13, 1967
Hisaki ‘Akira Hokuto’ Ono is born, Ono is widely accepted as the greatest female pro wrestler ever.
February 11, 1969
Dory Funk Jr. defeats Gene Kininski for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
July 27, 1969
Paul Michael Levesque is born Nashua, New Hampshire. He would go on to become a wrestling icon as Triple H.
December 2, 1969
NWA World Heavyweight titleholder Dory Funk Jr. and Antonio Inoki wrestle to a sixty-minute time limit draw in Tokyo, Japan, Dory retains the title.
Sometime in March 1972
Antonio Inoki forms his own pro wrestling promotion, named New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). New Japan would go on to becomes the worlds largest wrestling promotion.
September 16, 1972
Harley Race becomes the first NWA Missouri State champion when he defeats Pak Song in St. Louis.
September 30, 1972
WWWF World Heavyweight title holder Pedro Morales and challenger and former title holder Bruno Sammartino wrestle a seventy five minute draw at Shea Stadium in New York. This marks the first face vs. face match in WWE history.
Sometime in October 1972
Shohei ‘Giant’ Baba forms his own pro-wrestling promotion, named All Japan Pro-Wrestling (AJPW).
Sometime in 1973
Shohei ‘Giant’ Baba is crowned AJPW’s first AJPW/Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) Heavyweight titleholder.
Sometime in 1973
Jim Crockett Sr. hands Jim Crockett Promotions over to his son, Jim Crockett Jr.
May 24, 1973
Harley Race defeats Dory Funk Jr. for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
May 5, 1975
PWF title holder Shohei ‘Giant’ Baba and WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino meet, the match ends in a no decision, only Sammartino’s title is on the line, which he retains.
October 4, 1975
Ric Flair suffers a broken back in a plane crash, and is told he will never wrestle again.
November 8, 1975
AWA mainstay Nick Bockwinkel defeats Verne Gagne for the AWA World Heavyweight title, it marked the end of Gagne’s eight and a half-year reign as champion.
December 10, 1975
Terry Funk defeats Jack Briscoe for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
November 13, 1976
Genichiro Tenryu makes his pro-wrestling debut in Hereford, Texas
December 15, 1977
Brothers Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr. defeat Larry ‘Abdullah the Butcher’ Shreeve and Ed ‘The Sheik’ Farhat to win AJPW’s first annual Real World League tag team tournament, the match is legendary for its wild brawling.
Sometime in April 1979
Vince McMahon Sr. renames the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
July 18, 1980
Nick Bockwinkel loses the AWA World Heavyweight title to Verne Gagne, ending Bockwinkel’s five-year reign.
April 27, 1981
Tommy Rich defeats Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
September 17, 1981
Ric Flair captures his first World Heavyweight title from Dusty Rhodes.
Sometime in June 1982
Vince McMahon Jr. buys the WWF from Vince McMahon Sr.
June 2, 1983
Terry ‘Hulk Hogan’ Bollea defeats Antonio Inoki to become the first IWGP tournament winner.
June 18, 1983
Gerry and Jack Briscoe defeats Rick ‘Steamboat’ Blood and Jay Youngblood to win the NWA World Heavyweight tag team titles.
November 24, 1983
Jim Crockett Promotions stages the first Starrcade pay-per-view. Ric Flair defeats Harley Race for his second NWA World Heavyweight title reign.
Sometime in 1984
Vince McMahon Jr. buys-out (for $1,000,000), then closes, Georgia Championship Wrestling.
January 24, 1984
Terry ‘Hulk Hogan’ Bollea defeats the Iron Sheik for the WWF World Heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
February 7, 1984
Tom ‘Dynamite Kid’ Billington wins the vacant WWF Junior Heavyweight title by defeating The Cobra in Tokyo, Japan.
February 22, 1984
Jumbo Tsurta defeats Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight title.
March 21, 1984
Harley Race defeats Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
April 25, 1984
Stan Hansen and John ‘Bruiser Brody’ Goodish win AJPW’s tournament to crown the first PWF/AJPW tag team champions.
May 6, 1984
Kerry ‘Von Erich’ Adkisson defeats Ric ‘Flair’ Fliehr for the NWA World Heavyweight title in Texas, America.
May 24, 1984
Ric Flair defeats Kerry Von Erich for the NWA World Heavyweight title in Yokosuka, Japan.
February 5, 1985
WWF Saturday Night Main Event is broadcast on NBC, the first time in over thirty-five years pro-wrestling had been on prime-time television.
March 31, 1985
Vince McMahon Jr. and the WWF promote the first annual Wrestlemania event at Madison Square Garden. The main event sees Hulk Hogan and actor Mr T defeat Roderick ‘Roddy Piper’ Toombs and Paul Ornadorff.
May 28, 1985
Hisako ‘Akira Hokuto’ Ono makes her pro wrestling debut.
November 19, 1985
Larry ‘Lex Luger’ Pfhol defeats the legendary Ed ‘Wahoo’ McDaniel, just three weeks into his pro-wrestling career, Luger was billed as ‘the future of professional wrestling’ when he broke-in, but never lived up to the tag
Sometime in May 1986
Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Marty ‘Arn Anderson’ Lunde and Ole Anderson form the Four Horsemen, one of the most famous factions/groups ever in pro wrestling history.
Sometime in July 1986
Virgil ‘Dusty Rhodes’ Runnels defeats Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
Sometime in 1987
Jim Crockett and Jim Crockett Promotions buys-out the Universal Wrestling Federation owned by Bill Watts for $4,000,000.
March 29, 1987
Vince McMahon and the WWF promote WrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silver Dome in Michigan. The main event sees Hulk Hogan defend the WWF World Heavyweight title against Andre the Giant. Much speculation surrounds the actual attendence for this event.
May 2, 1987
Curt Hennig defeats Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight title.
January 24, 1988
Vince McMahon and the WWF promote the first ‘Royal Rumble’ event, won by Jim Duggan.
February 5, 1988
Andre the Giant wins the WWF World Heavyweight title by defeating Hulk Hogan.
March 27, 1988
Ric Flair and Steve ‘Sting’ Borden wrestle to a forty-five minute time-limit draw on the first ‘Clash of the Champions’ show, the draw ensures that Borden is catapulted to an overnight sensation status.
May 9, 1988
Jerry Lawler defeats Curt Hennig for the AWA World Heavyweight title.
Sometime in November 1988
Jim Crockett Jr. is brought-out by Ted Turner for $9,000,000.
February 20, 1989
Ricky Steamboat defeats Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
December 7, 1989
Legendary wrestler William ‘Haystacks’ Calhoun dies aged 55 from diabetes, Calhoun was believed to weigh in excess of 600lbs at his heaviest.
April 13, 1990
AJPW, NJPW and the WWF co-promote a card in Tokyo at the Tokyo Dome, Hulk Hogan (WWF) defeats Stan Hansen (AJPW) in the main event, elsewhere on the card Genichiro Tenryu (NJPW) defeats Randy Savage (WWF).
November 10, 1991
Legendary tough guy Dick ‘The Bruiser’ Afflis dies, aged 62 in Tampa, Florida.
December 6, 1991
‘The Dynamite Kid’ Tom Billington retires in an in-ring ceremony in Budokan, Japan on an AJPW card. Billington had a sparkling career in Japan, Canada and too a lesser extent America, England and Mexico.
January 19, 1992
Ric Flair wins the annual WWF Royal Rumble to win the vacant WWF World Heavyweight title.
July 26, 1992
Pro-wrestling legend Buddy Rogers dies in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
January 1993
WWF Raw is War debuts on the USA network.
January 27, 1993
Andre ‘The Giant’ Russimoff dies, aged 46, from a heart attack.
February 21, 1993
WCW Superbrawl 3 marks the return of Ric Flair to WCW after eighteen months in the WWF and two WWF World Heavyweight title reigns.
March 11, 1993
Sting defeats Leon ‘Vader’ White for the WCW World Heavyweight title.
March 17, 1993
Vader defeats Steve ‘Sting’ Borden for the WCW World Heavyweight title.
April 16, 1994
Chris Benoit wins the annual NJPW Super Junior Cup, defeating The Great Sasuke in the final. The tournament is regarded as the greatest one night tournament in wrestling history.
April 29, 1994
The WWF is forced to pay small time wrestler Charles Austin $27,000,000 in damages in a lawsuit filed against the WWF after his neck was broken on a WWF card in 1990.
June 11 1994
WWF mainstay Hulk Hogan stuns the North American industry and signs a four-year contract with WCW.
August 27, 1994
Troy ‘Shane Douglas’ Martin defeats Charles ‘2 Cold Scorpio’ Skaggs in a tournament final to win the vacant NWA World Heavyweight title, however in a shoot he rejects the title, and declares the ECW title a World Heavyweight title instead.
April 28-29, 1995
New Japan Pro-Wrestling promotes the two largest events in wrestling history in Pyongyang, North Korea. The event; Collision In Korea. The April 28 event is attended by 150'000 people and headlined by Shinya Hashimoto vs. Scott Norton and the April 29 event is attended by 190'000 and headlined by Antonio Inoki vs. Ric Flair.
May 13, 1995
Beating El Canek to win the UWA title in Mexico, Vader holds World titles on three different continents, the I.W.G.P title (NJPW’’s World Heavyweight title), the Combat Wrestling Association (CWA) title (Europe) and the Universal Wrestling Alliance (UWA) title (United States of America).
September 4, 1995
WCW Monday Nitro premiers on TNN.
Sometime in 1996
Paul Heyman buys ECW from Todd Gordon for an undisclosed amount.
January 27 1996
Scot ‘Raven’ Levy defeats James ‘Sandman’ Fullington for the ECW World Heavyweight title.
June 23 1996
‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin wins the annual WWF ‘King of the Ring’ tournament, Austin would go on to become one of the biggest names ever in pro wrestling
June 12 1997
A years-plus worth of real life resentment and vent-up anger between Bret Hart and Michael ‘Shawn Micheals’ Hickenbottom explodes when the two are involved in a brawl in a hallway of the Providence Civic Centre. The scuffle was said to be started when Hickenbottom made a snide comment about Hart’s personal life, Hart floored Hickenbottom with a single right hand.
October 5, 1997
Brian Pillman dies aged 35, Pillman was notorious for playing practical jokes on other wrestlers, and had a volatile personality, he was also a good in-ring wrestler and student of Stu Hart of the famous Hart wrestling family
November 9, 1997
Vince McMahon screws Bret Hart out of the WWF title one day before his contract expires, fearing Hart would show up on rival, WCW Nitro with the WWF Championship Belt. The incident is later refered to as "The Montreal Screwjob".
January 20, 1998
Bobo Brazil dies aged 74, Brazil was pro wrestling’s first black headliner, and helped carved a role for ethnic pro wrestlers.
End of 1998
WCW earns $55,000,000 in profits come the end of the year.
April 20, 1998
WCW Monday Nitro’ loses for the first time in 83 straight weeks in the television ratings to ‘WWF Raw Is War.
January 31, 1999
Shohei ‘Giant’ Baba dies aged 61, Baba was revered in Japan and a household name and bona fide celebrity in Japan. His funeral attracted around 30,000 mourners.
April 20, 1999
‘Ravishing’ Rick ‘Rude’ Rood dies aged 40 from an enlarged heart, which resulted from steroid abuse.
May 23, 1999
Hart family member Owen dies on an internationally televised live pay-per-view after falling 48ft and suffers a broken neck upon impact, WWF owner Vince McMahon carries the show on despite the tragedy. As a result the Hart family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the WWF, but settled out of court for $18,000,000 in November 2000.
October 6, 1999
WWF mainstay and former wrestler Robert ‘Gorilla Monsoon’ Marella dies of a heart attack aged 62.
June 13, 2000
Mitsuharu Misawa stuns the Japanese wrestling world by announcing his departure from AJPW to found his own promotion; Pro-Wrestling NOAH. The move would virtually destroy All Japan as a promotion.
End of 2000
WCW loses $62,000,000 come the end of the year 2000.
September 25, 2000
The WWF signs a contract with The National Network (TNN) and moves all of its programming to TNN and TNN affiliates.
October 26, 2000
1990’s legend Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart retires due to several injuries
March 23, 2001
The WWF buys it fierce rival of the past ten years, WCW, for $2,5,000,000
March 26, 2001
The final ever WCW Monday Nitro airs.
April 4, 2001
ECW’s parent company, HHG Corporation, files for bankruptcy, effectively closing ECW as a pro wrestling promotion.
March 17, 2002
Wrestlemania XVIII takes place in Toronto’s Skydome, the event is watched by 68,240 fans in attendance.
April 18, 2002
Legend Ed ‘Wahoo’ McDaniel dies from a stroke aged 63, he was a well respected former World Heavyweight champion and legendary name in the industry
April 28, 2002
Lou Thesz, regarded by many industry workers to be the best pro wrestler of the last century, passes away. Thesz was a former six time World Heavyweight titleholder and was a major name in all of pro wrestling’s major territories and had a career that spanned from 1932 to 1990.
May 6, 2002
The WWF officially changes its name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) after losing a court case to the World-Wide Fund for Nature
17 May, 2002
David ‘British Bulldog’ Smith dies of a heart attack aged 39 in Canada. Smith, born in Manchester England, had been a WWF mainstay and was married into the legendary Hart wrestling family for many years.
25 August, 2002
Michael ‘Shawn Micheals’ Hickenbottom wrestles his first match in over three years, he goes over Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque.
10 February, 2003
‘Mr Perfect’ Curt Hennig dies aged 44 in Florida. The Tampa Coroner's office and the Tampa Medical Examiner's office declared acute cocaine intoxication the official cause of his death.
20 February, 2005
AJPW Triple Crown Champion Satoshi Kojima faces IWGP Champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan in Tokyo, Japan. The two are former tag-team partners and this match represents a landmark in wrestling history, after 30+ years of competition between AJPW and NJPW. Kojima wins the match at 59:47 to become the first wrestler to hold both the IWGP and Triple Crown at the same time.
11 July, 2005
Shinya Hashimoto dies of a brain aneurysm in Tokyo, Japan, eight days after his 40th birthday.
October, 2005
51.5% percent ownership in New Japan Pro-Wrestling is sold to Yukes, an Osaka based company that markets home videos and video games. NJPW has working agreements with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and is the largest promotion in professional wrestling.
13 November, 2005
Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes, more commonly known as Eddie Guerrero, dies in Minneapolis, Minnesota. An autopsy revealed that Guerrero died as a result of acute heart failure, caused by undiagnosed arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease and enlargement of the heart as a result of prior anabolic steroid abuse. Although Guerrero had not taken alcohol or illicit drugs for over four years, his past excesses contributed to his heart failure. At the time of his death, he had recently used narcotic painkillers. He was 38.
Hulk Hogan's legendary heel turn at Bash at The Beach is not listed. Neither is Goldberg's World Title win (which I believe was one of the most viewed wrestling moments on television). The Starrcade'97 main event debacle should have been there as well.
