1983 in professional wrestling

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1983 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

Contents

List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable shows in 1983.

Promotion NameAbbreviation
American Wrestling Association AWA
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre EMLL
Jim Crockett Promotions JCP
World Wrestling Council WWC

Calendar of notable shows

DatePromotion(s)EventLocationMain Event
April 22 EMLL 27. Aniversario de Arena México Mexico City, Mexico Super Halcón (c) defeated Pirata Morgan in a best two-out-of-three falls match for the Mexican National Heavyweight Championship [1]
April 24 AWA AWA Super Sunday St. Paul, Minnesota Nick Bockwinkel (c) defeated Hulk Hogan by reverse decision disqualification in a singles match for the AWA World Heavyweight Title with Lord James Blears as special guest referee
June 2NJPW IWGP League Tokyo, Japan Hulk Hogan defeated Antonio Inoki
June 10 MLW Night of the Champions Toronto, Ontario Ric Flair defeated NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race by disqualification
July 4 JCP NWA/WWF World Title Unification Atlanta, Georgia NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair fought WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund to a double count-out
July 24 MLW Return of the Champions Toronto, Ontario NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race defeated Ric Flair by disqualification with Johnny Weaver as special guest referee
September 17 WWC WWC 10th Aniversario San Juan, Puerto Rico André the Giant defeated Abdullah the Butcher via countout
September 23 EMLL EMLL 50th Anniversary Show Mexico City, Mexico Sangre Chicana defeated MS-1 in a Lucha de Apuestas Hair vs. Hair match [2]
October 23 JCP The Last Battle of Atlanta Atlanta, Georgia Tommy Rich defeated Buzz Sawyer in a Steel Cage Match with Paul Ellering suspended above the cage
November 24 JCP Starrcade Greensboro, North Carolina Ric Flair defeated Harley Race (c) in a steel cage match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship with Gene Kiniski as special guest referee [3]
December 8 NJPW MSG Tag League Tokyo, Japan Antonio Inoki and Hulk Hogan defeated Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch
December 9 EMLL Juicio Final Mexico City, Mexico Rayo de Jalisco Jr. defeated El Egipico in a Lucha de Apuestas , mask vs. mask match [4]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Notable events

Accomplishments and tournaments

AJW

AccomplishmentWinnerDate wonNotes
Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament Keiko Nakano

AJPW

AccomplishmentWinnerDate wonNotes
Lou Thesz Cup 1983 Shiro Koshinaka April 22

NJPW

AccomplishmentWinnerDate wonNotes
IWGP League Hulk Hogan June 4defeated Antonio Inoki in the finals

Awards and honors

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

CategoryWinner
PWI Wrestler of the Year Harley Race
PWI Tag Team of the Year The Road Warriors
(Hawk and Animal)
PWI Match of the Year Ric Flair vs. Harley Race
PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year Jimmy Snuka
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year Greg Valentine
PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year Brett Wayne Sawyer
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year Hulk Hogan
PWI Rookie of the Year Angelo Mosca Jr.
PWI Manager of the Year J. J. Dillon
PWI Editor's Award The Grand Wizard

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

CategoryWinner
Wrestler of the Year Ric Flair
Feud of the Year The Freebirds vs. The Von Erichs
Tag Team of the Year Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood
Most Improved Curt Hennig
Best on Interviews Roddy Piper

Births

Debuts

Retirements

Deaths

See also

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1982 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

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References

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  2. "50th Anniversary Show". Pro Wrestling History. September 23, 1983. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  3. "Flair defeats Race for wrestling title". Greensboro Daily News. 1983-11-25. p. D3. Archived from the original on 2012-02-13. Retrieved May 23, 2008. A sellout crowd of 15,447 was on hand for the night's competition.
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