Pro Wrestling
Register
Advertisement
Pro Wrestling

This is a list of various things that took place in 1982.

Significant events[]

Unknown date

April

  • 5 - Jerry Lawler battles comedian Andy Kaufman in a match at a sold-out Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee. The match stems from Lawler taking exception to Kaufman wrestling women as part of his skits and laying claim to being the "Intergender Heavyweight Champion", with Lawler claiming that Kaufman's skits were disrespectful to his sport. Kaufman wins the match by disqualification when Lawler lays him out with two piledrivers (an illegal move in Memphis)

June

July

  • Billy Jack Haynes makes his first appearances with Stampede Wrestling as a bodyguard for veteran heel manager JR Foley while still training in promoter Stu Hart's Dungeon. Haynes would quickly break away from Foley's Army and join forces with Bruce Hart to battle the heel stable upon his in-ring debut in August [1]
  • 2 - Bad News Allen debuts in Stampede Wrestling by defeating Gerry Morrow in Calgary. The heelish Allen quickly turns Stampede upside-down as he develops a reputation for brutal and violent matches, as well as inflammatory, provocative and often controversial TV interviews, which garner increased attention for the promotion
  • 4 - WWF Champion Bob Backlund and NWA World Champion Ric Flair battle to a no-contest in a title vs. title bout at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia
  • 29 - Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman appear together on Late Night with David Letterman, which draws widespread publicity when Kaufman, wearing a neck brace due to being piledriven by Lawler in their April 5 bout in Memphis, curses repeatedly at Lawler after "The King" slaps Kaufman out of his chair, then throws Letterman's coffee at Lawler, who then chases Kaufman out of the studio

September

  • 14 - Buddy Rogers makes his first appearance in the WWF in 19 years, hosting a new interview segment called "Rogers' Corner". Early installments of the segment are used to facilitate Jimmy Snuka's face turn, using a storyline where Snuka's manager, Captain Lou Albano, was defrauding him
  • 24 - Frank Bonnema, the host of Pacific Northwest Wrestling's Portland Wrestling program on KPTV, suffers a heart attack several days after what would turn out to be his final broadcast of the show on September 18

October

  • 8 - Riki Chōshū double-crosses partners Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami during a six-man bout against Abdullah the Butcher, Bad News Allen and SD Jones on Day One of the New Japan Fighting Spirit Series at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The turn ignites New Japan's biggest feud of the period as Chōshū leads his heel Ishin Gundan stable against babyfaces Inoki and Fujinami
  • 9 - On a broadcast of Portland Wrestling, the announcing team of guest host Don Coss and color commentator Dutch Savage announce the death of previous host Frank Bonnema on October 5 due to complications from a heart attack Bonnema had suffered less than a month earlier. Bonnema had been the host of Portland Wrestling from 1967 (shortly after its return to KPTV from its previous home on KOIN-TV Portland) until shortly before his death. With this broadcast, Coss takes over as the show's permanent host [2]

December

  • 7 - During a television taping of WWF Championship Wrestling that aired on tape delay on December 18, Big John Studd (and manager Freddie Blassie) announce his "Bodyslam Challenge", promising a payoff to anyone who can successfully slam him in the ring. The first challenger, a fan named Joe, is unsuccessful in collecting $500. The "challenge" was the eventual setup of Studd's long-running feud with André the Giant, who would be the first WWF wrestler to successfully slam Studd. Despite boasting that he had never been (nor could ever be) properly slammed, André -- and later, Hulk Hogan -- would slam Studd on multiple occasions during the next four years (Bob Backlund, Tony Atlas, Roddy Piper, Blackjack Mulligan and Haku were also known to be successful in slamming Studd)
  • 25 - Ric Flair retains his NWA World title against Kerry Von Erich in a cage match (with Fabulous Freebird Michael Hayes as the guest referee) at WCCW's Christmas Star Wars card in Dallas, Texas. Hayes pulled Kerry on top of a dazed Flair following a mid-ring collision and made the three-count, but Kerry refuses to win the title by cheating; the aftermath of the match, which sees Hayes' fellow Freebird Terry Gordy slam the cage door on Kerry's head as Von Erich tries to leave the cage, sets off the Von Erichs-Freebirds feud which rages across Texas for nearly five years
  • 26 - NWA Hollywood Wrestling ceases operations

Births[]

Unknown

January

February

March

April

May

July

August

September

October

November

December

Deaths[]

June

August

October

  • 5 - Frank Bonnema (Complications from heart attack)

December


Debuts[]

Unknown date

February

  • The Golden Lion

August

October

November

December

Events[]

January

  • 3 - NWA Big Time Wrestling

April

June

  • 4 - WCCW Fritz Von Erich Retirement Show

July

  • 4 - NWA/WWF World Title Unification

August

  • 15 - WCCW Wrestling Star Wars

December

  • 25 - WCCW Christmas Star Wars

Title changes[]

Unknown date

January

February

March

April

  • Mr. Wrestling II regains the NWA Florida title from J.J. Dillon in St. Petersburg, Florida
  • 3 - The Canadian Wrecking Crew (Terry Adonis and Bruiser Costa) win the NWA Vancouver International Tag Team title from Dean Ho and Sonny Myers in Cloverdale, British Columbia
  • 18 - Hulk Hogan wins the AWA World Heavyweight Championship from Nick Bockwinkel in St. Paul, Minnesota, despite interference from Bockwinkel's manager Bobby Heenan, who first used a foreign object on Hogan and later threw the weapon to Bockwinkel for use against Hogan
  • 24 - The AWA World title is returned to Nick Bockwinkel when AWA president Stanley Blackburn overturns the result of the April 18 title change, ruling that Hulk Hogan had used a foreign object on Bockwinkel (despite obvious evidence that Bobby Heenan had used the weapon on Hogan first); Harley Race wins the WWA World Heavyweight Championship from Bobo Brazil in Indianapolis, Indiana; Rip Oliver wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Brett Sawyer in Portland

May

June

July

August

  • 3 - Jack Brisco regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic title from Roddy Piper in Raleigh, North Carolina
  • 11 - Jimmy Garvin wins the NWA Florida Southern title from Sweet Brown Sugar
  • 23 - The NWA Florida title, last held by Brian Blair, is declared vacant following a match against Bruiser Brody in West Palm Beach; Dean Ho and Moondog Moretti defeat Bruiser Costa and Butcher Hughes (subbing for Terry Adonis) to win the NWA Vancouver International Tag Team title in Vancouver
  • 25 - Brett Sawyer wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Rip Oliver in Coos Bay, Oregon
  • 28 - Rip Oliver regains the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Brett Sawyer in Portland
  • 29 - Super Destroyer wins the vacant NWA National title in a tournament final over Paul Orndorff in Atlanta

September

  • Sgt. Slaughter and Don Kernodle are awarded the vacant NWA World Tag Team title, last held by Ole Anderson and Stan Hansen (they supposedly beat Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki in a fictitious match for the vacant belts in Tokyo)
  • 1 - Paul Jones wins the NWA Mid-Atlantic title from Jack Brisco in Charlotte (aired on tape delay on World Wide Wrestling)
  • 3 - Bad News Allen wins the Stampede North American title from Bret Hart in Calgary
  • 17 - Harley Race wins the NWA Missouri title from Dick the Bruiser in St. Louis
  • 20 - Mr. Pro wins the NWA Vancouver Canadian title from Al Tomko in Vancouver
  • 22 - Brett Sawyer regains the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Rip Oliver in Salem, Oregon

October

  • 6 - Kevin Sullivan wins the vacant NWA Florida title in a tournament final over Barry Windham in Tampa, Florida
  • 17 - Bret Hart regains the Stampede North American title from Bad News Allen in Calgary
  • 18 - Jack Brisco regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic title from Paul Jones in Greenville, South Carolina
  • 31 - Dusty Rhodes wins the NWA Florida Southern title from Jimmy Garvin in Orlando

November

  • 2 - Paul Jones regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic title from Jack Brisco in Raleigh
  • 15 - Moose Morowski wins the NWA Vancouver Canadian title from Mr. Pro in Vancouver
  • 22 - Kevin Sullivan defeats Barry Windham (subbing for champion Dusty Rhodes) to win the NWA Florida Southern title in West Palm Beach (Sullivan is later stripped of the title for trying to give the belt to Jake Roberts as payment for Roberts' interference in that match)
  • 25 - Stagger Lee (Junkyard Dog wearing a mask) regains the Mid-South North American title from Ted DiBiase in New Orleans
  • 30 - Jack Brisco regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic title from Paul Jones in Columbia, South Carolina

December

See also[]

Years
1840s
1841
1860s
1860
1880s
1880188118821883188418851886188718881889
1890s
1890189118921893189418951896189718981899
1900s
1900190119021903190419051906190719081909
1910s
1910191119121913191419151916191719181919
1920s
1920192119221923192419251926192719281929
1930s
1930193119321933193419351936193719381939
1940s
1940194119421943194419451946194719481949
1950s
1950195119521953195419551956195719581959
1960s
1960196119621963196419651966196719681969
1970s
1970197119721973197419751976197719781979
1980s
1980198119821983198419851986198719881989
1990s
1990199119921993199419951996199719981999
2000s
2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
2010s
2010201120122013201420152016201720182019
2020s
20202021202220232024
Advertisement