Awards and honors
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1976 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
These promotions held notable shows in 1976.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling | AJW |
| Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre | EMLL |
| World Wide Wrestling Federation | WWWF |
| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament | Victoria Fujimi | ||
| World League | Jackie Sato |
incoming champion – Dr. Wagner [6] | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 27 | Adorable Rubí | EMLL show | [6] | |
| July 16 | Carlos Plata | EMLL show | [6] | |
| October 24 | Alfonso Dantés | EMLL show | [6] | |
| Incoming champion – Perro Aguayo | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 22 | El Faraon | EMLL show | ||
| Incoming champion – Blue Demon | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 19 | Mano Negra | EMLL show | ||
| April 9 | Fishman | EMLL show | ||
| Incoming champion – El Halcon | ||||
| No title changes |
| Incoming champion – Ringo Mendoza | ||||
| No title changes |
| Incoming champion – Tauro [7] | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 30 | Flama Azul | EMLL show | [7] | |
| Incoming champion – Alfonso Dantes | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 11 | Dr. Wagner | EMLL show | ||
| Incoming champion – Fishman | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 9 | Vacant | EMLL show | ||
| July 30 | Blue Demon | EMLL show | ||
| Incoming champion – Uncertain | ||||
| No title changes |
| Incoming champion – Terry Funk | ||||
| No title changes |
Pedro Aguayo Damián better known as "(El) Perro Aguayo" and El Can de Nochistlan was a Mexican wrestler through the 1970s to the 1990s.
Miguel Ángel López Díaz is a Mexican retired professional wrestler and trainer, better known by his ring name, Rey Misterio. He is also referred to as Rey Misterio Sr. to distinguish him from his nephew.
José Ángel Nájera Sánchez was a Mexican luchador or professional wrestler best known under the ring name Fishman. Fishman was one of the top wrestlers in the mid-1970s and 1980s and worked for Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre, the Universal Wrestling Association, the World Wrestling Association and AAA in Mexico as well as frequent trips to Japan and the United States. Nájera was unmasked after losing a match in 2000 and retired shortly afterwards. Three of his sons are all luchadores enmascarados known by their ring names Black Fish, El Hijo del Fishman and El Único de Ciudad Juárez.
Sangre Chicana is the ring name of retired Mexican professional wrestler Andrés Durán Reyes. Reyes made his professional wrestling debut in 1973, wearing a red mask with a gold stripe, under the name Lemus. A year later he changed his name to Sangre Chicana but kept the mask with the golden stripe. He rose to prominence in a feud with El Cobarde and Fishman that led to a Lucha de Apuesta, mask vs. mask match where Reyes lost his mask.
Tomás Díaz Mendoza is a Mexican professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Villano IV. Within the stable Los Villanos, he has wrestled for Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), AAA, and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). While popular and successful in Mexico, he frequently performed as a jobber in WCW. The other sons of Ray Mendoza who have used the name "Villano" include Villano I, Villano II, Villano III, and Villano V.
Alejandro Muñoz Moreno, better known by the ring name Blue Demon, was a Mexican film actor and luchador enmascarado. Blue Demon is considered a legend of lucha libre, partially from starring in a series of Lucha films between 1961 and 1979, often alongside in-ring rival El Santo. His in-ring career began in 1948 and stretched for 41 years until his retirement in 1989.
Carmelo Reyes González is a Mexican retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Cien Caras. He is best known for his appearances with the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre.
The UWA World Welterweight Championship is a championship in professional wrestling that is primarily contested for in various Lucha Libre promotions in Mexico. In 1993, the championship was recognized by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Michinoku Pro, following Super Delfin's victory over then champion Celestial. In 1995, Gran Hamada was stripped of the championship, because he exceeded the weight limit. The championship returned to being primarily contested for in Mexico, and it wasn't until Taiji Ishimori's victory over Super Crazy in 2003 that a Japanese wrestler would hold the championship again.
Juan Conrado Aguilar Jáuregui, better known by his ring name El Texano, was a Mexican Luchador, or professional wrestler. From the early 1970s to the early 2000s, he wrestled under masked and unmasked monikers for various promotions including Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), World Wrestling Council (WWC), World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA). His son Juan Aguilar Leos wrestles under the name El Texano, Jr. in tribute to his father and another son wrestles as the masked Super Nova.
Carlos Delucio Lagarde is best known as Karloff Lagarde, a Mexican Luchador, or professional wrestler, who was immensely popular during the 1960s and 1970s. Through his career had faced most of Mexico's top stars of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s including lucha libre legends such as El Santo, El Solitario, Mil Máscaras, Black Shadow, Huracán Ramírez, Gory Guerrero, Ray Mendoza and Perro Aguayo. He was known as the "king of the Welterweight" due to him holding the Mexican National Welterweight Championship four times and the NWA World Welterweight Championship three times in his career. Lagarde teamed up with René Guajardo to form a tag team known as Los Rebeldes, considered to be one of the top five tag teams in Lucha libre history.
Jesús Alvarado Nieves was a Mexican luchador, or professional wrestler, who worked under the ring name Brazo de Oro. He was a part of the Alvarado wrestling family, the son of Shadito Cruz and brother of Brazo de Plata, El Brazo, Brazo Cibernético, Super Brazo and Brazo de Platino. His son Felipe de Jesús Alvarado Mendoza currently works as La Máscara for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. His nephews, Máximo Sexy and Psycho Clown are featured wrestlers for CMLL and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide respectively.
Pablo Fuentes Reyna was a Mexican luchador best known under the ring name MS-1. As MS-1, Fuentes was a founding member of the wrestling group called Los Infernales and achieved most of his success as part of the group, including being the first Mexican National Trios Champions and the first CMLL World Trios Champions. Fuentes' son is also a professional wrestler working as MS-1 Jr. or MS-Jr.
Estrella Blanca was a Mexican Luchador enmascarado, or masked professional wrestler. Estrella Blanca was most known for his claim to have won more Luchas de Apuestas "bet matches" than anyone, winning more masks and hair than any other Luchador. Blanca claimed to have been in 700 Luchas de Apuestas since making his wrestling debut in 1954. "Estrella Blanca" is Spanish for "White Star".
Super Muñeco was a Mexican Luchador enmascarado, or masked professional wrestler. Super Muñeco is Spanish for "Super Doll", a comedic ring character based on a clown. Super Muñeco is best known for having the second highest number of Luchas de Apuestas "bet match" wins, having won the mask or hair of over 100 wrestlers. Per the tradition of masked wrestlers in Mexico, Super's real name and identity have not yet been revealed to the public.
José Luis Barajas Fernández is a retired Mexican professional wrestler, or Luchador as they are called in Spanish. Barajas is best known under the ring name, El Faraón, a ring name and persona he used throughout his career from his debut in 1973 until retiring around the turn of the millennium. El Fareón was originally an enmascarado but lost a Luchas de Apuestas, or "bet match" to Fishman on April 23, 1973 and was forced to unmask. Barajas' career peak came in the 1980s where he won the NWA World Middleweight Championship, NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship and the Mexican National Middleweight Championship, in addition to a long-running, intense storyline feud against Sangre Chicana that saw the two face off in a series of very bloody matches.
Raymundo Cuesta Veloz was a Mexican Luchador or professional wrestler best known under the ring name Kung Fu. As Kung Fu he made a name for himself as part of Trio Fantásticos along with Kato Kung Lee and Black Man, a very popular tecnico trio in the early 1980s.
Ruben Carbajal Lopez was a Mexican Luchador, or professional wrestler who is best known under the ring names Adorable Rubí and Rubi Rubalcava / Rubi Rubalcaba. As Adorable Rubí he was one of the pioneers of the Exótico wrestling style, mixing Cross-dressing with wrestling to create a type or wrestling character that was more sexually ambiguous and self-obsessed. The "Adorable Rubí" character was inspired by Dizzy Gardenia, the first successful Exótico character to compete in Mexico. During his career he won the Mexican National Cruiserweight Championship, Mexican National Middleweight Championship and NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship. While he played an effeminate, self-obsessed character where it was implied he was homosexual, it was never revealed if that was Carbajal's personal sexual orientation as well.
Juicio Final is the collective name of a series of semi-regularly occurring lucha libre, or professional wrestling major show promoted by Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). There has been multiple events promoted under the Juicio Final name over the years with the earliest taking place in 1955 and the most recent in 2019. The event has taken place in March, June, August or December, at times replacing the Sin Piedad event in December, and twice it has been promoted a show both as Juicio Final as well as Homenaje a Dos Leyendas: El Santo y Salvador Lutteroth
The Festival de las Máscaras (2011) was an annual professional wrestling major event produced by Mexican professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG), which took place on August 2, 2011 in Arena Naucalpan, Naucalpan, State of Mexico, Mexico. For this annual event the "Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F." allowed wrestlers who had previously been unmasked after losing a Luchas de Apuestas, or bet match, to wear their masks again. The main event of the show heralded back to long running storyline feuds between Rayo de Jalisco, Jr., El Canek and Konnan against the brothers known as Los Hermanos Dinamita. Cien Caras had originally lost his mask to Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. and Universo 2000 was unmasked by El Canek, but for one night they were allowed to wear the masks again as they wrestled against their longtime rivals.
Milo Ventura Chávez is a Mexican professional wrestler best known under the ring name Ultraman. He is the father of Ultraman Jr., but is not related to the first wrestler to use that name, who is now known as Starman. He originally used the name El Dinámico when he made his debut in 1964 and later worked under the name Milo Ventura from 1968 to 1975.