List of years in professional wrestling
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1990 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events in 1990.

Promotion Name Abbreviation Notes
All Japan Pro Wrestling AJPW
All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling AJW
American Wrestling Association AWA AWA became inactive during the fall and filed for bankruptcy the following year.
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre EMLL
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling FMW
National Wrestling Alliance NWA
New Japan Pro-Wrestling NJPW
World Championship Wrestling WCW
World Wrestling Council WWC
World Wrestling Federation WWF

Calendar of notable shows

Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
Jan 3 WWF Saturday Night's Main Event Chattanooga, Tennessee Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior vs. Mr. Perfect and The Genius
Jan 7 FMW Battle Resistance – 1st Open Tournament Tokyo, Japan  Masanobu Kurisi defeated Tarzan Goto by referee's decision in an Open Tournament final match
Jan 21 WWF Royal Rumble Orlando, Florida, U.S.  Hulk Hogan won by last eliminating Mr. Perfect in the 30-man Royal Rumble match
Feb 6 NWA
WCW 		Clash of the Champions X Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.  The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Ole Anderson, and Arn Anderson) defeated Gary Hart International (The Dragonmaster, Buzz Sawyer, and The Great Muta) (with Gary Hart) in a Steel Cage match
Feb 12 NJPW Super Fight in Tokyo Dome Tokyo, Japan Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi defeated Masahiro Chono and Shinya Hashimoto in a tag team match with Lou Thesz as special guest referee[1]
Feb 12 FMW Battle Brave in Korakuen Tokyo, Japan  Atsushi Onita defeated Masanobu Kurisu in a Barbed Wire Barricades Death Match
Feb 25 WCW WrestleWar Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. Ric Flair (c) (with Woman) defeated Lex Luger by countout in a Singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Apr 1 FMW Texas Street Fight Tokyo, Japan  Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto defeated Dragon Master and Masanobu Kurisu in a Tag Team Texas Street Fight
Apr 1 WWF WrestleMania VI Toronto, Ontario, Canada  The Ultimate Warrior (IC Champion) defeated Hulk Hogan (WWF Champion) in a Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental and WWF Championships
Apr 8 AWA SuperClash IV St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.  The Trooper and Paul Diamond defeated The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) in a Steel Cage match
Apr 13 WWF/AJPW/NJPW Wrestling Summit Tokyo, Japan  Hulk Hogan defeated Stan Hansen in a Singles match
Apr 23 WWF Saturday Night's Main Event Austin, Texas The Ultimate Warrior (c) vs. Haku for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
Apr 29 AJW W.W.W.A. Champions Legend Tokyo, Japan Bull Nakano defeats Monster Ripper in a WWWA World Title match
May 19 NWA
WCW 		Capital Combat Washington D.C., U.S.  Lex Luger defeated Ric Flair (c) (with Woman) by disqualification in a Steel Cage match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Jun 13 Clash of the Champions XI Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.  Junkyard Dog defeated Ric Flair (c) (with Ole Anderson) by disqualification in a Singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Jul 7 WWC WWC 17th Aniversario Bayamón, Puerto Rico  Carlos Colón (WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion) and TNT went to a draw in a Singles match
NWA The Great American Bash Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.  Sting (with El Gigante, Junkyard Dog, Lex Luger, Paul Orndorff, Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) defeated Ric Flair (c) (with Ole Anderson) in a Singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Jul 16 WWF Saturday Night's Main Event Omaha, Nebraska The Ultimate Warrior (c) vs. Rick Rude for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
Aug 4 FMW Summer Spectacular in Shiodome Tokyo, Japan  Atsushi Onita (c) defeated Tarzan Goto via knockout in a No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch for the WWA Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship
Aug 27 WWF SummerSlam Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.  The Ultimate Warrior (c) defeated Rick Rude (with Bobby Heenan) by escaping the cage in a Steel Cage match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
Sep 5 NWA
WCW 		Clash of the Champions XII Asheville, North Carolina, U.S.  Sting (c) defeated The Black Scorpion in a Singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Sep 18 WWF Saturday Night's Main Event Toledo, Ohio The Ultimate Warrior and The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) vs. Demolition (Ax, Smash, and Crush)
Sep 30 NJPW Inoki's 30th Wrestling Anniversary Yokohama, Japan  Antonio Inoki and Tiger Jeet Singh defeated Animal Hamaguchi and Big Van Vader in a tag team match with Nick Bockwinkel as special guest referee
Oct 21 EMLL EMLL 57th Anniversary Show Mexico City, Mexico Rayo de Jalisco Jr. defeated Cien Caras in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas mask vs. mask match[2]
Oct 27 NWA Halloween Havoc Chicago, Illinois, U.S.  Sting (c) defeated Sid Vicious in a Singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Nov 1 NJPW AJPW Budokan Hall Show Tokyo, Japan  Atsushi Onita (c) defeated Mr. Pogo via knockout in a Texas Deathmatch for the WWA Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship
Nov 5 FMW FMW 1st Anniversary Show Tokyo, Japan  Atsushi Onita (c) defeated Mr. Pogo via knockout in a Texas Deathmatch for the WWA Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship
Nov 14 AJW Wrestlemarinepiad '90 Yokohama, Japan  Bull Nakano defeats Aja Kong in a steel cage match for the WWWA World Title
Nov 20 NWA
WCW 		Clash of the Champions XIII Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.  Ric Flair (with Arn Anderson) defeated Butch Reed (with Ron Simmons and Teddy Long) in a Singles match
Nov 22 WWF Survivor Series Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.  Hulk Hogan, Tito Santana, and The Ultimate Warrior defeated Hercules, Paul Roma, Rick Martel, Ted DiBiase, and The Warlord (with Virgil and Slick) in a 3-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match
Dec 14 EMLL Juicio Final Mexico City, Mexico Octagón defeated Huracán Ramírez II[3]
Dec 16 WCW Starrcade St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.  Sting (c) defeated The Black Scorpion in a Steel Cage match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship with Dick the Bruiser as special guest referee
Dec 26 NJPW NJPW Legends Show Hamamatsu, Japan Tony Halme defeated Shinya Hashimoto by knockout in a Boxer vs. Wrestler match[4]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Notable events

Accomplishments and tournaments

AJW

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
Japan Grand Prix 1990 Manami Toyota June 17
Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament Shiho Tsubaki

AJPW

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
World's Strongest Determination League 1990 Terry Gordy and Steve Williams December 7

WCW

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
NWA United States Tag Team Championship Tournament Brian Pillman and The Z-Man February 12
Pat O'Connor Memorial International Tag Team Tournament The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) December 16

WWF

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
Royal Rumble Hulk Hogan January 21
WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship Tournament Mr. Perfect April 1

Awards and honors

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Main article: List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards
Category Winner
Wrestler of the Year Sting
Tag Team of the Year The Steiner Brothers
(Rick and Scott Steiner)
Match of the Year Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior (WrestleMania VI)
Feud of the Year Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger
Most Popular Wrestler of the Year Hulk Hogan
Most Hated Wrestler of the Year Earthquake
Most Improved Wrestler of the Year Paul Roma
Inspirational Wrestler of the Year Sting
Rookie of the Year Steve Austin
Manager of the Year Teddy Long
Editor's Award (Lifetime Achievement) Buddy Rogers

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Main article: List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
Category Winner
Wrestler of the Year Ric Flair
Most Outstanding Jushin Thunder Liger
Feud of the Year Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta
Tag Team of the Year The Steiner Brothers
(Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner)
Most Improved Kenta Kobashi
Best on Interviews Arn Anderson

Title changes

WWF

WWF World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Hulk Hogan
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
April 1 The Ultimate Warrior WrestleMania VI This was a title vs. title match, with Warrior's Intercontinental Championship also on the line.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Incoming champion – The Ultimate Warrior
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
April 1 Vacated WrestleMania VI Warrior vacated the title after defeating Hulk Hogan in a title vs. title match to win the WWF Championship.
April 23 Mr. Perfect Superstars Defeated Tito Santana in a tournament final to win the vacant title. Aired on tape delay on May 19.
August 27 The Texas Tornado SummerSlam
November 19 Mr. Perfect Superstars Aired on tape delay on December 15, 1990.
WWF Women's Championship
Incoming champion – Rockin' Robin
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
February 21 Deactivated N/A
WWF Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – The Colossal Connection (Andre the Giant and Haku)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
April 1 Demolition
(Ax, Smash and Crush) 		WrestleMania VI
August 27 The Hart Foundation
(Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) 		SummerSlam
October 30 The Rockers
(Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) 		The Main Event IV
Million Dollar Championship
Incoming champion – Ted DiBiase
unsanctioned championship
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
No title changes

Debuts

Debut date

Uncertain debut date

Retirements

Births

Deaths

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1990 in professional wrestling.

References

  1. ^ "NJPW Super Fight In Tokyo Dome". cagematch.net.
  2. ^ "57th Anniversary Show". Pro Wrestling History. October 21, 1990. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  3. ^ "Lucha Libre: Conoce la historia de las leyendas de cuadrilátero". Octagón (1961) (in Spanish). Mexico. 2008. p. 42. Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre.
  4. ^ "NJPW Legends Show at Hamamatsu Arena wrestling results – Internet Wrestling Database".
  5. ^ Oliver, Greg (September 14, 2017). "Former AWA World champion Otto Wanz dies". SLAM Wrestling. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  6. ^ Dan Reilly (July 17, 2014). "14 things #MightyKacy told us after her huge victory on American Ninja Warrior". Esquire.
  7. ^ "【10.13両国全カード決定!】年内最後の"IWGPヘビー選手権"AJvs棚橋！"権利証戦"オカダvs内藤！勝者同士が1.4東京ドームで激突!!" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. September 24, 2014. Archived from the original on September 25, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  8. ^ "T-Hawk". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Gaora. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  9. ^ "WWE Raw in Uniondale (correspondents needed), Dot Net Audio, Raw dark main event, Alberto El Patron, Bray Wyatt, Bo Dallas, Alex Shelley, D'Angelo Dinero". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  10. ^ "Kimber Lee". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  11. ^ "Levi Cooper Profile – Arizona State University Official Athletic Site". Arizona State University.
  12. ^ "Thea Trinidad Biography". TheaTrinidad.com. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  13. ^ Hornbaker, Tim (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling. ECW Press. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-55022-741-3.
  14. ^ Madigan, Dan (2007). "Dorada de lucha libre: Gory Guerrero". Mondo Lucha Libre: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins. pp. 189–193. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
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