1983
From Pro Wrestling
This is a list of various things that took place in 1983.
Contents |
Significant events
- The Road Warriors make their debut as a team in Georgia Championship Wrestling
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated revokes recognition of the World Wrestling Federation as a world title promotion in its magazine, citing the WWF's regionalization (limiting events to its home base in the Northeastern US) and its unwillingness to give shots at WWF Champion Bob Backlund to face challengers
- Vince McMahon withdraws the WWF's membership in the National Wrestling Alliance and embarks on his plans to expand his promotion outside the Northeast and take over the wrestling industry, beginning with syndicating his TV shows WWF Championship Wrestling and WWF All-Star Wrestling to other American TV markets
- The WWF purchases the rights to the World Women's singles and tag team titles, which were previously NWA-sanctioned titles, from The Fabulous Moolah and renames them as WWF championships
June
- June 2 – Hulk Hogan defeats Antonio Inoki in the final of the inaugural International Wrestling Grand Prix tournament in Tokyo
September
- Southwest Championship Wrestling's program on USA Network is cancelled by the cable channel; the WWF takes over SWCW's former TV time slot with its new program, WWF All American Wrestling
October
- October 23 – Tommy Rich defeats Buzz Sawyer in a bloody steel cage match in Atlanta, Georgia to climax their 18-month feud; this event was dubbed The Last Battle of Atlanta and was a precursor to Hell in the Cell, as the steel cage for this match had a top
November
- November 24 – Jim Crockett Promotions hosts the inaugural NWA Starrcade supercard in Greensboro, North Carolina; 15,477 fans attend the live event in Greensboro, while about 30,000 fans see the show on closed-circuit TV throughout Crockett's Mid-Atlantic territory
December
- December 27 – Hulk Hogan returns to the WWF at a TV taping in St. Louis
Births
January
- January 8 – Chris Masters (Santa Monica, California)
March
- March 30 – Zach Gowen (Livonia, Michigan)
November
- November 21 – Brianna Garcia (San Diego, California)
- November 21 – Nicole Garcia (San Diego, California)
December
- December 15 – Rene Dupree (Shediac, New Brunswick)
Deaths
March
- March 11 – Mayes McLain (Natural causes)
May
- May 20 – Frank Tunney (Heart attack)
- May 28 – Johnny Rougeau 54 (Cancer)
October
- October 12 – The Grand Wizard 54 (Heart attack)
Debuts
March
- March 5 – Cueball Carmichael
June
- Road Warrior Hawk
- June 24 – Mick Foley
Events
April
- April 24 – AWA Super Sunday
June
- June 17 – WCCW Wrestling Star Wars
July
- July 4 – WCCW Independence Day Star Wars
August
- August 31 – AJPW Terry Funk Retirement
September
- September 5 – WCCW Labor Day Star Wars
- September 17 – WWC 10th Anniversary Show
October
- October 23 – The Last Battle Of Atlanta
November
- November 24 – NWA Starrcade - "A Flair For The Gold"
- November 25 – WCCW Thanksgiving Star Wars
December
- December 25 – WCCW Christmas Star Wars
Title changes
March
- March 20 – Killer Brooks wins the NWA National Heavyweight Championship from Paul Orndorff in Atlanta; Larry Zbyszko, who had been unable to legitimately win the title from Orndorff, then buys the title from Brooks for $25,000 and proclaims himself the champion
April
- April 16 – Roddy Piper wins the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship from Greg Valentine in Greensboro
- April 24 – Hulk Hogan wins the AWA World Heavyweight Championship from Nick Bockwinkel in a no-disqualification match in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but the decision is overturned moments later by AWA President Stanley Blackburn and the title is returned to Bockwinkel
- April 30 – Larry Zbyszko is stripped of the NWA National title by NWA President Bob Geigel, who rules Zbyszko's purchase of the title from Killer Brooks illegal under NWA bylaws; Greg Valentine regains the NWA United States title from Roddy Piper in Greensboro, causing Piper permanent hearing loss as a result of bashing Piper in the side of the head with the US title belt
May
- May 10 – Curt Hennig wins the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship from Abdulah Ali Hassan in Portland, Oregon
June
- June 5 – Larry Zbyszko wins the vacant NWA National title in a tournament final over Mr. Wrestling II in Atlanta
- June 10 – Harley Race wins the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Ric Flair in St. Louis, Missouri; Race subsequently vacates his NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship with the World title win
- June 26 – The Sheiks (Jerry Blackwell and Ken Patera) win the AWA World Tag Team Championship from The High Flyers (Jim Brunzell and Greg Gagne) in Minneapolis
July
- July 15 – Ric Flair wins the vacant NWA Missouri title in a tournament final over David Von Erich in St. Louis
September
- September 7 – Dynamite Kid wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Curt Hennig in Seattle, Washington
- September 16 – David Von Erich defeats Ric Flair for the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship in St. Louis
October
- October 7 – Billy Jack Haynes wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Dynamite Kid in Salem, Oregon
November
- November 24 – Ric Flair regains the NWA World Heavyweight Championship by beating Harley Race in a steel cage match (with Gene Kiniski as the guest referee) at Starrcade 1983 in Greensboro; Rick Steamboat and Jay Youngblood win the NWA World Tag Team Championship from Jack and Jerry Brisco at Starrcade 1983; Charlie Brown wins the NWA World Television Championship from The Great Kabuki at Starrcade 1983
- November 30 – Rip Oliver wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Billy Jack Haynes in Seattle
December
- December 14 – Billy Jack Haynes wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Rip Oliver in Seattle
- December 25 – Rip Oliver wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Billy Jack Haynes in Seattle
- December 26 – The Iron Sheik wins the WWF Heavyweight Championship from Bob Backlund in New York City
See also
| Years |
|---|
| 1910s |
| 1910 • 1911 • 1912 • 1913 • 1914 • 1915 • 1916 • 1917 • 1918 • 1919 |
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| 1920 • 1921 • 1922 • 1923 • 1924 • 1925 • 1926 • 1927 • 1928 • 1929 |
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| 1930 • 1931 • 1932 • 1933 • 1934 • 1935 • 1936 • 1937 • 1938 • 1939 |
| 1940s |
| 1940 • 1941 • 1942 • 1943 • 1944 • 1945 • 1946 • 1947 • 1948 • 1949 |
| 1950s |
| 1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 |
| 1960s |
| 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 |
| 1970s |
| 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 |
| 1980s |
| 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 |
| 1990s |
| 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 |
| 2000s |
| 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 |
