List of years in professional wrestling
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1993 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events in 1993.

Promotion Name Abbreviation
Asistencia Asesoría y Administración AAA
All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling AJW
Catch Wrestling Association CWA
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre CMLL
Eastern Championship Wrestling ECW
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling FMW
New Japan Pro-Wrestling NJPW
Universal Wrestling Association UWA
World Championship Wrestling WCW
World Wrestling Council WWC
World Wrestling Federation WWF

Calendar of notable shows

January

Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
January 4 NJPW Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome Tokyo, Japan Genichiro Tenryu defeated Riki Choshu in a Singles match
January 4 WCW

NJPW

WCW/New Japan Supershow III Tokyo, Japan Sting defeated Hiroshi Hase in a Singles match
January 23 ECW Battle of the Belts Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Terry Funk defeated Eddie Gilbert in a I Quit Texas Death Match
January 24 WWF Royal Rumble Sacramento, California, United States Yokozuna won by last eliminating Randy Savage in a 30-man Royal Rumble match for a WWF World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania IX[1]
January 31 UWA 18th Anniversary Naucalpan, Mexico Vampiro defeated El Canek (c) in a Singles match for the UWA World Heavyweight Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

February

Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
February 21 WCW SuperBrawl III Asheville, North Carolina, United States Big Van Vader (with Harley Race) defeated Sting in a White Castle of Fear Strap match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

April

Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
April 2 AJW All-Star Dreamslam Yokohama, Japan AJW's Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada defeat FMW's Megumi Kudo and Combat Toyoda
April 2 CMLL 37. Aniversario de Arena México Mexico City, Mexico Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Pierroth Jr. (c) in a Best two-out-of-three falls match for the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship[2]
April 2 NJPW / WAR WAR vs. NJPW Tokyo, Japan Riki Choshu & Shinya Hashimoto defeated Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa
April 2 WWF WrestleMania IX Paradise, Nevada, United States Hulk Hogan defeated Yokozuna (c) (with Mr. Fuji) in a Singles match for the WWF Championship
April 11 AJW All-Star Dreamslam 2 Osaka, Japan JWP's Mayumi Ozaki and Dynamite Kansai defeat AJW's Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada for the WWWA World Tag Team Championship
April 11 WWF UK Rampage Sheffield, England, United Kingdom Lex Luger defeated Jim Duggan by disqualification in a Singles match
April 30 AAA Triplemanía I Mexico City, D.F., Mexico Cien Caras defeated Konnan in a Best two-out-of-three falls retirement match[3][4]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

May

Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
May 3 NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Fukuoka, Japan Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Genichiro Tenryu and Riki Choshu via submission in a tag team match
May 5 FMW 4th Anniversary Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan Atsushi Onita defeated Terry Funk in a No Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Time Bomb Deathmatch
May 23 WCW Slamboree Atlanta, Georgia, United States Davey Boy Smith defeated Big Van Vader (c) by disqualification in a Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship[5]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

June

Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
June 13 WWF King of the Ring Dayton, Ohio, United States Bret Hart defeated Bam Bam Bigelow in a King of the Ring final match
June 19 ECW Super Summer Sizzler Spectacular Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert (with Paul E. Dangerously) defeated Terry Funk in a Texas chain match massacre for the title of "King of Philadelphia"
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

July

Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
July 18 WCW Beach Blast Biloxi, Mississippi, United States Sting and Davey Boy Smith defeated The Masters of the Powerbomb (Big Van Vader and Sid Vicious) (with Harley Race and Col. Robert Parker) in a tag team match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

August

Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
August 8 WWC 20th Aniversario Carlos Colón defeated Terry Funk in a Singles match
August 22 FMW Summer Spectacular Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan Atsushi Onita defeated Mr. Pogo in a No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Time Bomb Cage Deathmatch for the vacant FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship
August 25 AJW Legacy of Queens Tokyo, Japan AJW's Aja Kong defeat JWP's Dynamite Kansai in a singles match
August 30 WWF SummerSlam Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States Lex Luger defeated Yokozuna (c) (with Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji) by countout in a Singles match for the WWF Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

September

Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event Notes
September 18 ECW UltraClash Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States The Headhunters (Headhunter A and Headhunter B) defeated Miguelito Pérez and Crash the Terminator in a Baseball Bat match
September 19 WCW Fall Brawl Houston, Texas, United States Sting, Davey Boy Smith, Dustin Rhodes and The Shockmaster (with Road Warrior Animal) defeated Sid Vicious, Vader and Harlem Heat (Kole and Kane) (with Harley Race and Col. Robert Parker) in a WarGames match
September 29 AJW/ LLPW Nagoya Super Whirlwing Nagoya, Japan LLPW's Shinobu Kandori defeats AJW's Yumiko Hotta
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

October

Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
October 1 CMLL 60th Anniversary Mexico City, Mexico Atlantis defeated Mano Negra in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas, mask vs. mask match[6]
October 1 ECW NWA Bloodfest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Terry Funk (c) defeated Jimmy Snuka by escaping the cage in a Steel cage match for the ECW Television Championship[7]
October 9 AJW Wrestlemarinepiad 1993 Tokyo, Japan Aja Kong defeats Akira Hokuto in a singles match
October 23 AJPW 21st Anniversary Show Tokyo, Japan Mitsuharu Misawa defeated Stan Hansen to retain the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship
October 24 WCW Halloween Havoc New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Big Van Vader (with Harley Race) defeated Cactus Jack in a Texas Death match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

November

Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
November 12 ECW Terror at Tabor Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Tommy Dreamer defeated Johnny Grunge in a Singles match
November 13 ECW November to Remember Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Sabu (c - World Heavyweight) and Road Warrior Hawk defeated Terry Funk (c - World Television) and King Kong Bundy in a Winner Takes All match for the ECW Heavyweight Championship and the ECW Television Championship
November 20 WCW Battlebowl Pensacola, Florida, United States Vader won the 16-man battle royal by lastly eliminating Sting
November 24 WWF Survivor Series Boston, Massachusetts, United States The All-Americans (Lex Luger, The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) and The Undertaker) (with Paul Bearer) defeated The Foreign Fanatics (Crush, Quebecer Jacques, Ludvig Borga and Yokozuna) (with Jim Cornette, Johnny Polo and Mr. Fuji) in a 4-on-4 Survivor Series elimination match
November 28 AJW Wrestling Queendom Osaka, Japan AJW's Yumiko Hotta and Takako Inoue defeat LLPW's Shinobu Kandori and Miki Handa
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

December

Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
December 6 AJW St. Battle Final 1993 Tokyo, Japan LLPW's Shinobu Kandori defeats AJW's Akira Hokuto
December 8 FMW Year End Spectacular Tokyo, Japan Atsushi Onita (c) defeated Mitsuhiro Matsunaga in a No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch for the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship
December 18 CWA Euro Catch Festival Bremen, Germany Rambo (c) defeated The Barbarian in Round 6 in a Singles match for the CWA World Heavyweight Championship
December 26 FMW FMW/MPW Tokyo, Japan Atsushi Onita, Tarzan Goto and The Great Sasuke vs. Mr. Pogo, Jinsei Shinzaki and Masaru Toi in a Six-man tag team match
December 26 ECW Holiday Hell Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Tommy Dreamer won a battle royal
December 27 WCW Starrcade Charlotte, North Carolina, United States Ric Flair defeated Vader (c) (with Harley Race) in a Title vs. Career match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship[8]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Accomplishments and tournaments

WCW Hall of Fame 1993 inductee, Verne Gagne
Inaugural WWF Hall of Fame sole inductee for 1993, André the Giant

AJW

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
AJW Japan Grand Prix 1993 Akira Hokuto August 21
AJW Tag League The Best 1993 Akira Hokuto and Manami Toyota December 10

AJPW

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
Champion Carnival 1993 Stan Hansen April 21
World's Strongest Determination League 1993 Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa December 2

ECW

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
ECW Television Championship Tournament Jimmy Snuka March 12
ECW Tag Team Championship Tournament Eddie Gilbert and The Dark Patriot August 8

JWP

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
Blue Star Cup 1993 Candy Okutsu

WCW

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
WCW United States Championship Tournament Dustin Rhodes January 11
WCW World Television Championship Tournament Paul Orndorff March 2

WCW Hall of Fame

Main article: WCW Hall of Fame
Inductee
Lou Thesz
Verne Gagne
Mr. Wrestling II
Eddie Graham

WWF

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
Royal Rumble Yokozuna January 24
King of the Ring Bret Hart June 13
WWF Women's Championship Tournament Alundra Blayze December 13

WWF Hall of Fame

Main article: WWF Hall of Fame
Category Inductee Inducted by Notes
Individual André the Giant None Inaugural inductee
Sole inductee

Awards and honors

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Main article: List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards
Category Winner
PWI Wrestler of the Year Big Van Vader
PWI Tag Team of the Year The Steiner Brothers
(Rick and Scott Steiner)
PWI Match of the Year Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty (Raw, July 19)
PWI Feud of the Year Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler
PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year Lex Luger
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year Jerry Lawler
PWI Comeback of the Year Lex Luger
PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year Yokozuna
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year Cactus Jack
PWI Rookie of the Year Vampire Warrior
PWI Lifetime Achievement André the Giant
PWI Editor's Award Jim Cornette

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Main article: List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
Category Winner
Wrestler of the Year Big Van Vader
Most Outstanding Kenta Kobashi
Feud of the Year Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler
Tag Team of the Year The Hollywood Blonds
(Steve Austin and Brian Pillman)
Most Improved Tracy Smothers
Best on Interviews Jim Cornette

Notable events

Title changes

ECW

ECW World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – The Sandman
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
April 3 Don Muraco Hardcore TV
August 8 Tito Santana Hardcore TV
September 9 Shane Douglas Hardcore TV
October 2 Sabu NWA Bloodfest
December 26 Terry Funk Holiday Hell
ECW World Television Championship
Incoming champion – Glen Osbourne
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
February Vacant N/A
March 12 Jimmy Snuka Hardcore TV
October 1 Terry Funk NWA Bloodfest: Part 1
November 13 Sabu November to Remember
ECW World Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – The Super Destroyers (A. J. Petrucci and Doug Stahl)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
April 2 Tony Stetson and Larry Winters Hardcore TV
April 3 The Suicide Blondes
(Chris Candido, Johnny Hotbody, and Chris Michaels) 		Hardcore TV
May 15 The Super Destroyers
(A. J. Petrucci and Doug Stahl) 		Hardcore TV
May 15 The Suicide Blondes
(Chris Candido, Johnny Hotbody, and Chris Michaels) 		Hardcore TV
July 15 Vacant Hardcore TV
August 8 The Dark Patriot and Eddie Gilbert Hardcore TV
October 1 Vacant Bloodfest: Part 1
October 1 Johnny Hotbody and Tony Stetson Bloodfest: Part 1
November 13 Tommy Dreamer and Johnny Gunn November to Remember
December 4 Kevin Sullivan and The Tazmaniac Hardcore TV
ECW Maryland Championship
(Title created)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
October 16 J.T. Smith N/A Won a battle royal.
ECW Pennsylvania Championship
(Title created)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
May 14 Tommy Cairo ECW Hardcore TV Cairo won a battle royal to become the inaugural champion. Aired on June 8.
August 7 Tony Stetson ECW Hardcore TV Aired on September 14.
September 18 Deactivated UltraClash The championship is abandoned.

NJPW

IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – The Great Muta
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
September 20 Shinya Hashimoto G1 Climax Special 1993
IWGP Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – The Hell Raisers (Hawk Warrior and Power Warrior)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
August 5 The Jurassic Powers
(Hercules Hernandez and Scott Norton) 		G1 Climax 1993
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Último Dragón
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 4 Jushin Thunder Liger Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome

FMW

FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Atsushi Onita
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
August 22 Atsushi Onita Summer Spectacular
FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship
(Title created)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
October 28 The Great Sasuke House show

WCW

WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Big Van Vader
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
March 11 Sting House show
March 17 Big Van Vader House show
December 27 Ric Flair Starrcade
NWA World Heavyweight Championship / WCW International World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Masa Chono
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 4 The Great Muta WCW/New Japan Supershow III
February 21 Barry Windham SuperBrawl III
July 18 Ric Flair Beach Blast On September 1, 1993, WCW withdrew from the National Wrestling Alliance. WCW continues to recognize Flair as the "WCW International World Champion".
September 19 Rick Rude Fall Brawl
WCW United States Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Vacant
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 11 Dustin Rhodes Saturday Night Aired on tape delay on January 16.
May 1 Vacant WorldWide
August 30 Dustin Rhodes Saturday Night Aired on tape delay on September 4.
December 27 Steve Austin Starrcade
WCW World Television Championship
Incoming champion – Vacant
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
March 2 Paul Orndorff Power Hour Aired on tape delay on March 27.
August 18 Ricky Steamboat Clash of the Champions XXIV
September 19 Lord Steven Regal Fall Brawl
WCW World Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
March 2 The Hollywood Blonds
(Steve Austin and Brian Pillman) 		WorldWide Aired on tape delay on March 27.
August 18 Arn Anderson and Paul Roma Clash of the Champions XXIV Also held the NWA World Tag Team Championship until September 1 when WCW withdrew from the National Wrestling Alliance
September 19 The Nasty Boys
(Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) 		Fall Brawl
October 4 Marcus Alexander Bagwell and 2 Cold Scorpio Saturday Night Aired on tape delay on October 23.
October 24 The Nasty Boys
(Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) 		Halloween Havoc

WWF

WWF World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Bret Hart
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
April 4 Yokozuna WrestleMania IX
April 4 Hulk Hogan WrestleMania IX
June 13 Yokozuna King of the Ring
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Incoming champion – Shawn Michaels
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
May 17 Marty Jannetty Raw
June 6 Shawn Michaels House show
September 27 Vacant N/A
September 27 Razor Ramon Raw
WWF Women's Championship
(Title reactivated)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
December 13 Alundra Blayze All American Wrestling
WWF Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
June 14 The Steiner Brothers
(Rick and Scott Steiner) 		House show
June 16 Money Inc.
(Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster) 		House show
June 19 The Steiner Brothers
(Rick and Scott Steiner) 		House show
September 13 The Quebecers
(Pierre and Jacques) 		Raw

Births

September 8 - Yota Tsuji, Japanese wrestler

Debuts

Debut date

Uncertain debut date

Retirements

Deaths

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1993 in professional wrestling.

References

  1. ^ "Royal Rumble Event Results". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved November 3, 2008.
  2. ^ Lucha 2000 Staff (April 2006). "Arena México: 50 anos de Lucha Libre". Lucha 2000 (in Spanish). Especial 28.((cite news)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Asistencia Asesoría y Administración TripleManía". ProWrestlingHistory.com. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  4. ^ "Triplemanía I: Konnan y Cien Caras, por todo" (in Spanish). Asistencia Asesoría y Administración. Archived from the original on 2015-07-15. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  5. ^ Cawthon, Graham (2014). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 4: World Championship Wrestling 1989-1994. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 1499656343.
  6. ^ "60th Anniversary Show". ProWrestlingHistory. October 1, 1993. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  7. ^ Loverro, Thom (22 May 2007). The Rise & Fall of ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling. Simon and Schuster. pp. 43–44. ISBN 978-1-4165-6156-9.
  8. ^ Adamson, Matt (2008-03-30). "Going Old School: Starrcade '93". 411mania. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  9. ^ "Noam Dar". Internet Wrestling Database.
  10. ^ "Crazy Mary Dobson: Profile & Match Listing". profightdb.com.
  11. ^ "Turned 23 years old today! Biggest week of my career. Glasgow - London for @WhatCulturePW tonight and then @RevProUK #GlobalWars thurs & fri".
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