1966 in professional wrestling

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Last updated February 18, 2024

1966 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of notable promotions

Only one promotion held notable shows in 1966.

Promotion Name	Abbreviation
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre	EMLL

Calendar of notable shows

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
April	EMLL	10. Aniversario de Arena México	Mexico City, Mexico
September 2		EMLL 33rd Anniversary Show (1)		Jerry London defeated Karloff Lagarde in a best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuesta hair vs. hair match^[1]
September 30		EMLL 33rd Anniversary Show (2)		René Guajardo defeated Jerry London in a best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuesta hair vs. hair match^[1]
December 16		Juicio Final		El Santo vs. Black Shadow in a singles match ^[2]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Championship changes

EMLL

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship
incoming champion – Gory Guerrero ^[3]
February 1	Vacated	N/A	Guerrero left the promotion^[3]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
NWA World Middleweight Championship
incoming champion – René Guajardo ^[4]
May 14	Jerry London	EMLL show	^[4]
July 1	René Guajardo	EMLL show	^[4]

NWA World Welterweight Championship
incoming champion – Karloff Lagarde ^[5]
No title changes^[5]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Heavyweight Championship
incoming champion - Chico Casaola^[6]
March 13	Pantera Negra	EMLL show	^[6]
September 6	Black Gordman	EMLL show	^[6]
November 2	Polo Torres	EMLL show	^[6]

Mexican National Middleweight Championship
incoming champion – El Santo ^[7]
No title changes^[7]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Lightweight Championship
incoming champion – Alberto Muñoz ^[8]
February 6	Vacated	N/A	Championship vacated when Muñoz won the Mexican National Welterweight Championship ^[8]
April 3	Rolando Costa	EMLL show	^[8]
May 1	Raul Rojas	EMLL show	^[8]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship
incoming champion – Alfonso Dantés ^[9]
February 15	Espanto I	EMLL show	^[9]
October 14	El Santo	EMLL show	^[9]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Welterweight Championship
incoming champion – Huracán Ramírez ^[10]
February 6	Alberto Muñoz	EMLL show	^[10]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Tag Team Championship
incoming champion – Unknown^[11]
April 22	Rayo de Jalisco and El Santo	EMLL show	Defeated Rene Guajardo and Karloff Lagarde in the final of a tournament

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Women's Championship
incoming champion – Chabela Romero ^[12]
May 12	Jarocita Rivero	EMLL show	^[12]
August 11	Chabelo Romero	EMLL show	^[12]

NWA

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship
Incoming Champion – Lou Thesz ^[13]
January 7	Gene Kiniski	NWA show	^[13]

Debuts

Debut date uncertain:
- Leo Burke ^[14]
- Tony St. Clair ^[14]
January 26 - André the Giant
February 16 - Carlos Colón
March 1 - Jumbo Miyamoto (All Japan Women)
September 16 - Baron Von Raschke ^[14]
October 2 - Gran Cochisse ^[14]
October 12 - Haruka Eigen
December - Bobby Duncum Sr. ^[14]

Births

January 3 – Itzuki Yamazaki
January 4 – La Parka II ^[15](died in 2020)
January 12 – Tariel Bitsadze
January 13 – Rockin' Rebel ^[16](died in 2018)
January 20 – Haystacks Calhoun Jr.
January 28 – Tim Patterson
January 30 – Jeque^[15]
January 31 – Giant González ^[17](died in 2010)
February 10 – Chris Youngblood ^[18](died in 2021)
March 8 – Ursula Hayden (died in 2022)
March 11 – Robby Brookside ^[16]
March 13 – Akira Nogami ^[17]
March 24 – Mitsuhiro Matsunaga ^[15]
April 4 – Ulf Herman ^[16]
April 6 – Tiffany Million
April 18 – Todd Pettengill
April 19 – El Samurai ^[16]
April 23 – Bubba the Love Sponge
May 9 – Brazo Cibernético ^[17](died in 1999)
May 20 – Maniaco ^[15]
May 22:
- Scott Putski
- David Penzer
May 26:
- Tinieblas Jr. ^[16]
- Misterioso ^[15]
May 28 – Jerrito Estrada ^[15]
June 21:
- Mario Mancini
- Mancow Muller
June 28 – Erik Paulson
July 9:
- Tom Brandi ^[16]
- Cannonball Grizzly
July 10 – Johnny Grunge ^[15](died in 2006)
July 16:
- Arkángel de la Muerte ^[17](died in 2018)
- Blue Demon Jr. ^[17]
July 22 – Shaun Simpson ^[16]
August 1 – Mike Chioda ^[15]
August 2 – Takashi Iizuka ^[16]
August 3 – Butterbean
August 4 – Kensuke Sasaki ^[15]
August 7 – Asya
August 8 – Miwa Sato
August 19 – Lilian Garcia
August 22 – Hardbody Harrison ^[17]
August 30 – Scott Stanford
September 19 – Yoshihiro Takayama ^[16]
October 2 – Yokozuna ^[16](died in 2000)
October 5 – Terri Runnels ^[16]
October 8 – Art Barr ^[17](died in 1994)
October 21 – Chris Hamrick ^[17]
October 25 – Perry Saturn ^[16]
October 31 – Koji Kanemoto ^[15]
November 2 – Yoshinari Ogawa ^[16]
November 10 – Bill DeMott ^[17]
November 11 – Scorpio Jr. ^[16]
November 13 – Mike Anthony^[15]
November 22 – Ed Ferrara ^[17]
November 26 – Brian Lee ^[17]
November 29 – John Bradshaw Layfield ^[15]
December 2 – Jinsei Shinzaki ^[15]
December 8
- Michael Cole
- Tyler Mane
December 12 – Último Dragón ^[16]
December 15 – Chocoball Mukai ^[17]
December 16 – Mens Teioh ^[15]
December 18 – Espectrito ^[17](died in 2016)
December 27:
- Bill Goldberg ^[17]
- Jerry Tuite ^[15](died in 2003)

Deaths

March 17 – Don Eagle, 40
March 30 – Sammy Stein, 60
May 17 – Randolph Turpin, 37
August 8 – Ed Lewis ^[19] 75
May 25 – Chris Zaharias^[19] 52
August 1 – Jack Spellman, 67
October 16 – Sándor Szabó ^[19] 60
November 10 – Ad Santel ^[19] 79
November 15 - Dimitrios Tofalos, 82

References

1 2 Ruiz Glez, Alex (September 7, 2010). "CMLL: 79 historias, 79 Aniversario, las 79 luchas estelares" [CMLL: 79 stories, 79 anniversaries, the 70 main events]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved February 2, 2020.
↑ Lucha Libre Magazine, issue 166
1 2 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Light Heavyweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 389. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
1 2 3 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Middleweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 389–390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
1 2 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Welterweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
1 2 3 4 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Heavyweight Title". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. pp. 390–391. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
1 2 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Middleweight Championship". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
1 2 3 4 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Lightweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
1 2 3 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Lightweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
1 2 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Welterweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
↑ Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: Mexican National Tag Team Title". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 396. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
1 2 3 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Women's Title[Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 394. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
1 2 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). ""United States: 19th century & widely defended titles – NWA, WWF, AWA, IWA, ECW, NWA: NWA World Heavyweight Title"". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 15. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
1 2 3 4 5 "Wrestlers debuted in 1966: 1 - 26 of 26". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Wrestlers born in 1966: 51 - 100 of 141". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Wrestlers born in 1966: 101 - 141 of 141". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Wrestlers born in 1966: 1 - 50 of 141". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
↑ "Wrestlers born in 1967: 1 - 50 of 133". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
1 2 3 4 "Wrestlers deceased in 1966: 1 - 14 of 14". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

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[79Anniversaries-1] 1 2 Ruiz Glez, Alex (September 7, 2010). "CMLL: 79 historias, 79 Aniversario, las 79 luchas estelares" [CMLL: 79 stories, 79 anniversaries, the 70 main events]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved February 2, 2020.

[JD1966-2] Lucha Libre Magazine, issue 166

[NWALHeavy-3] 1 2 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Light Heavyweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 389. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[NWALMiddle-4] 1 2 3 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Middleweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 389–390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[NWALWelter-5] 1 2 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Welterweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexHeavy-6] 1 2 3 4 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Heavyweight Title". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. pp. 390–391. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexMiddle-7] 1 2 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Middleweight Championship". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexLight-8] 1 2 3 4 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Lightweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexLHeavy-9] 1 2 3 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Lightweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexWelter-10] 1 2 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Welterweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexTag-11] Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: Mexican National Tag Team Title". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 396. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexWomenBook-12] 1 2 3 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Women's Title[Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 394. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[NWAWorlds-13] 1 2 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). ""United States: 19th century & widely defended titles – NWA, WWF, AWA, IWA, ECW, NWA: NWA World Heavyweight Title"". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 15. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[WD1966Debuts-14] 1 2 3 4 5 "Wrestlers debuted in 1966: 1 - 26 of 26". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1966BirthsPage2-15] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Wrestlers born in 1966: 51 - 100 of 141". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1966BirthsPage3-16] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Wrestlers born in 1966: 101 - 141 of 141". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1966Births-17] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Wrestlers born in 1966: 1 - 50 of 141". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1967Births-18] "Wrestlers born in 1967: 1 - 50 of 133". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1966Deaths-19] 1 2 3 4 "Wrestlers deceased in 1966: 1 - 14 of 14". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

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v t e Years in professional wrestling
1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
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