1988
Talk0
21,635pages on
this wiki
this wiki
This is a list of various things that took place in 1988.
Contents |
Significant events
January
- 24 - Jim Crockett Promotions presents its annual Bunkhouse Stampede event on pay-per-view from Uniondale, New York. Dusty Rhodes wins the Bunkhouse Stampede steel cage battle royal main event by eliminating The Barbarian, while on the undercard, Ric Flair retains his NWA World Heavyweight Championship via disqualification loss against Road Warrior Hawk, and Nikita Koloff retains his NWA World Television Championship by battling Bobby Eaton to a time-limit draw
February
- 5 - The WWF debuts The Main Event on NBC as a spinoff of Saturday Night's Main Event, marking the return of wrestling to prime-time network TV for the first time since 1955 (when the DuMont Network cancelled Wrestling from Marigold Arena)
March
- 27 - Jim Crockett Promotions presents the inaugural edition of Clash of the Champions on TBS in Greensboro, North Carolina. Ric Flair retains his NWA World title by battling Sting to a 45-minute draw in the main event
April
- 22-23 - The third (and what would be final) NWA Crockett Cup Memorial Tag Team Tournament is held in Greenville, South Carolina (Night One) and Greensboro, North Carolina (Night Two). On Night Two, Lex Luger and Sting win the Crockett Cup tournament by beating Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson in the final, while Ric Flair retains his NWA World title via DQ loss to Nikita Koloff in a non-tournament match prior to the final
May
- 8 - NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Champion The Grappler is unsuccessful in his bid to take the AWA World Heavyweight Championship from titleholder (and Pacific Northwest Wrestling alumnus) Curt Hennig, who retains his title by pinning Grappler at an PNW card in Seattle, Washington following interference on Hennig's behalf by Mike Miller. Although Hennig is competing as a heel in the AWA at this point, he wrestles this match in PNW as a face against the heel Grappler due to his history with PNW
July
- 16 - Bruiser Brody is stabbed to death in the shower area by Jose Gonzales (aka Invader I) during a World Wrestling Council event in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Gonzales, who later claimed self-defence in the incident, is subsequently charged with first-degree murder (later reduced to involuntary homicide)
- 27 - Riki Chōshū pins Antonio Inoki at a New Japan Pro Wrestling event in Sapporo, Japan, scoring his first-ever singles win over the New Japan legend
November
- Jim Crockett Promotions is purchased by TBS owner Ted Turner and renamed World Championship Wrestling
- 7 - WWF parent Titan Sports holds its first-ever non-wrestling pay-per-view as it presents a boxing match between Sugar Ray Leonard and Donny Lalonde
December
- 13 - The American Wrestling Association holds its first and only PPV event, AWA SuperClash III, at the UIC Pavillion in Chicago, Illinois. Talent from the AWA, the Continental Wrestling Association, the World Class Wrestling Association, Continental Championship Wrestling and the Powerful Women of Wrestling took part in the multi-promotion show
Births
Unknown date
February
- 26 - Reid Flair
August
- 4 - Vicky Skeeles
Deaths
February
- 18 - Mildred Burke 73
May
- Fred Atkins 77
July
- 4 - Pat Kelly (Car accident)
- 4 - Adrian Adonis 34 (Car accident)
- 4 - Dave McKigney 56 (Car accident)
- 17 - Bruiser Brody 42 (Murdered)
September
- 6 - Leroy Brown 38
- 9 - Leroy McGuirk 78
Debuts
Unknown date
September
- 13 - Dustin Runnels
Retirements
Unknown date
Events
January
- 24 - WWF Royal Rumble 1988 (Televised event)
February
- 5 - The Main Event (Televised event)
March
- 27 - NWA Clash Of The Champions #1 (Televised event)
April
May
June
- 8 - NWA Clash Of The Champions #2 - "Miami Mayhem" (Televised event)
August
September
- 7 - NWA Clash Of The Champions #3 - "Fall Brawl" (Televised event)
October
December
- 7 - NWA Clash Of The Champions #4 - "Season's Beatings" (Televised event)
Pay-Per-View events
January
March
- 27 - WWF WrestleMania IV
July
August
November
- 24 - WWF Survivor Series
December
Title changes
March
- 19 - Badd Company (Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond) win the AWA World Tag Team Championship from The Midnight Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels) in Las Vegas, Nevada
- 27 - Randy Savage wins the vacant WWF Heavyweight Championship in a tournament final over Ted DiBiase at WrestleMania IV in Atlantic City, New Jersey; Demolition (Ax and Smash) win the WWF Tag Team Championship from Strike Force (Rick Martel and Tito Santana) at WrestleMania IV; Barry Windham and Lex Luger win the NWA World Tag Team Championship from Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson at Clash of the Champions I in Greensboro
April
- 15 - The NWA United States Heavyweight Championship, last held by Dusty Rhodes, is vacated when Rhodes is stripped of the title and suspended for accidentally hitting NWA president Jim Crockett, Jr. while attacking Tully Blanchard
- 20 - Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson regain the NWA World Tag Team title from Barry Windham and Lex Luger in Jacksonville, Florida when Windham double-crosses Luger and joins the Four Horsemen
May
- 6 - Makhan Singh wins the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship from Owen Hart in Calgary, Alberta
- 9 - Jerry Lawler wins the AWA World Heavyweight Championship from Curt Hennig in Memphis, Tennessee
- 13 - Barry Windham wins the vacant NWA United States title in a tournament final over Nikita Koloff in Houston, Texas
August
- 5 - Scott Peterson wins the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship from The Grappler in Eugene, Oregon
- 29 - The Ultimate Warrior wins the WWF Intercontinental Championship from The Honky Tonk Man at SummerSlam 1988 in New York City
September
- 8 - The Grappler regains the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Scott Peterson in Newport, Oregon
- 10 - The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) win the NWA World Tag Team title from Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
October
- 3 - Top Gun wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from The Grappler in Longview, Washington
- 10 - The Grappler regains the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Top Gun
- 15 - Tatsumi Fujinami wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from The Grappler in Portland, Oregon. Fujinami is awarded the title when Grappler fails to beat him within thirty minutes in a special challenge match aired on Portland Wrestling on Portland station KPTV
- 29 - The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk) win the NWA World Tag Team title from the Midnight Express in New Orleans, Louisiana
December
- 9 - Don Muraco wins the Stampede North American title from Makhan Singh in Medicine Hat, Alberta
- 10 - The Grappler regains the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Tatsumi Fujinami in Portland
- 12 - The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) win the Stampede International Tag Team Championship from the Cuban Commandos (Cuban Assassin and Gerry Morrow) in a steel cage match in Calgary
- 13 - Jerry Lawler retains his AWA World title and wins the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship from Kerry Von Erich in a title unification match at AWA SuperClash III in Chicago; Greg Gagne wins the vacant AWA International Television Championship via countout over Ronnie Garvin at SuperClash; Eric Embry wins the WCWA World Light Heavyweight Championship from Jeff Jarrett at SuperClash
- 25 - Top Gun regains the NWA Pacific Northwest title from The Grappler in Portland
- 30 - Karachi Vice (Makhan Singh and Vokhan Singh) win the Stampede International Tag Team title from the British Bulldogs in Calgary
See also
| Years |
|---|
| 1900s |
| 1900 • 1901 • 1902 • 1903 • 1904 • 1905 • 1906 • 1907 • 1908 • 1909 |
| 1910s |
| 1910 • 1911 • 1912 • 1913 • 1914 • 1915 • 1916 • 1917 • 1918 • 1919 |
| 1920s |
| 1920 • 1921 • 1922 • 1923 • 1924 • 1925 • 1926 • 1927 • 1928 • 1929 |
| 1930s |
| 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 |
| 2010s |
| 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 |
Start a Discussion Discussions about 1988
You can find discussions about everything related to this wiki on Pro Wrestling Forum!
