1987 in professional wrestling

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1987 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of notable promotions[edit]

These promotions held notable events in 1987.

Promotion Name Abbreviation
All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling AJW
American Wrestling Association AWA
Championship Wrestling from Florida CWF
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre EMLL
Jim Crockett Promotions JCP
World Class Championship Wrestling WCCW
World Wrestling Council WWC
World Wrestling Federation WWF

Calendar of notable shows[edit]

Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
February 21 WWF Saturday Night's Main Event Detroit, Michigan Randy Savage (c) defeated George Steele by count-out in a singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship and the managerial services of Miss Elizabeth
March 29 WWF WrestleMania III Pontiac, Michigan Hulk Hogan (c) defeated André the Giant in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship[1]
April 12 EMLL 31. Aniversario de Arena México Mexico City, Mexico Cien Caras defeated Siglo XX in a Lucha de Apuestas hair vs. hair match[2]
April 10–11 JCP 2nd Annual Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Baltimore, Maryland April 11: The Super Powers (Nikita Koloff and Dusty Rhodes) defeated Tully Blanchard and Lex Luger in a tournament final[3]
April 16 AWA Rage in a Cage II Las Vegas, Nevada Wahoo McDaniel defeated Curt Hennig in a Steel Cage Match
April 28 WWF Saturday Night's Main Event Notre Dame, Indiana Hulk Hogan and Ken Patera vs. Andre the Giant and Hercules
May 2 AWA SuperClash II Daly City, California Curt Hennig defeated Nick Bockwinkel (c) in a singles match for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship[4]
May 3 WCCW 4th Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions Irving, Texas Kevin Von Erich (c) wrestled Nord the Barbarian to a double count out in a singles match for the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship[5]
May 9 CWF First Annual Eddie Graham Memorial Show St. Petersburg, Florida Dusty Rhodes (c) defeated Ric Flair by disqualification in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship[6]
June 12 NJPW G1 Climax Tokyo, Japan Chigusa Nagayo defeated Dump Matsumoto in the finals
June 28 AJW Japan Grand Prix Tokyo, Japan Antonio Inoki defeated Masa Saito in the finals
July 4
 JCP The Great American Bash Atlanta The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk), Nikita Koloff, Dusty Rhodes and Paul Ellering defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger, Tully Blanchard and J. J. Dillon) in a WarGames match[7]
July 18 Charlotte, North Carolina Dusty Rhodes (with Barry Windham) defeated Tully Blanchard in a "lights-out" Barbed Wire Ladder match for $100,000.[7]
July 31 Miami The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk), Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff and Paul Ellering defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger and Tully Blanchard) and The War Machine in a WarGames match[7]
September 1 CWF Battle of the Belts III Daytona Beach, Florida Ric Flair (c) fought Lex Luger to a draw in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
September 4 WWF King of the Ring Providence, Rhode Island Randy Savage defeated King Kong Bundy in a King of the Ring tournament final match[8]
September 18 EMLL EMLL 54th Anniversary Show Mexico City, Mexico Mogur defeated As Charro in a Lucha de Apuestas mask vs. mask match[9]
September 20 WWC WWC 14th Aniversario Bayamón, Puerto Rico Invader #1 defeated Chicky Starr in a "Retirement vs. hair" match
September 23 WWF Saturday Night's Main Event Hershey, Pennsylvania Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Sika for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
October 10 AJW Tag League the Best Tokyo, Japan Chigusa Nagayo & Yumiko Hotta defeated Hisako Uno & Yukari Omori in the finals
October 17 WCCW 4th Cotton Bowl Extravaganza Dallas, Texas Kevin Von Erich defeated Al Perez (c) in a singles match for the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship[10][11]
November 11 WWF Saturday Night's Main Event Seattle, Washington Hulk Hogan (c) vs. King Kong Bundy for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
November 26 WWF Survivor Series Richfield Township, Ohio André the Giant, Butch Reed, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang and Rick Rude defeated Bam Bam Bigelow, Don Muraco, Hulk Hogan, Ken Patera and Paul Orndorff in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series match[12]
JCP Starrcade Chicago, Illinois Ric Flair defeated Ron Garvin (c) in a steel cage match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship[13]
December 7 NJPW Japan Cup Tag League Tokyo, Japan Antonio Inoki & Dick Murdoch defeated Kengo Kimura & Tatsumi Fujinami in the finals
WWF Saturday Night's Main Event Landover, Maryland Hulk Hogan (c) vs. King Kong Bundy for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
December 26 AJW All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling at Korauken Hall Tokyo, Japan Devil Masami has her retirement match against Chigusa Nagayo[14]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Tournaments and accomplishments[edit]

AJW[edit]

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
Japan Grand Prix 1987 Chigusa Nagayo June 28
Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament Toshiyo Yamada
Tag League the Best 1987 Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka October 11

JCP[edit]

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
Bunkhouse Stampede Dusty Rhodes[15][16]
Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament The Super Powers (Nikita Koloff and Dusty Rhodes) April 11

WWF[edit]

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
Frank Tunney Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament The Killer Bees (B. Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell) March 15
King of the Ring Randy Savage September 4

Slammy Awards[edit]

Main article: Slammy Award
Poll Winner
Best Performance by an Animal George "The Animal" Steele[17][18][19]
Woman of the Year Miss Elizabeth[17][18][19]
Best Ring Apparel Harley Race[17][18][19]
Hulk Hogan Real American Award Superstar Billy Graham[17][18][19]
Jesse "The Body" Award "Ravishing" Rick Rude[17][18][19]
Greatest Hit Jim Duggan[17][18][19]
Manager of the Year None [17][18][19]
Best Personal Hygiene Nikolai Volkoff, Boris Zhukov, and Slick[17][18][19]
Best Vocal Performance Jim Duggan[17][18][19]
Song of the Year No winner (envelope eaten by Sika)[17][18][19][20]
Best Group One Man Gang[20]
Humanitarian of the Year Ted DiBiase[17][18][19]
Best Head Gene Okerlund and Bam Bam Bigelow[17][18][19][20]
Bobby "The Brain" Heenan Scholarship Award The Islanders (Haku & Tama), André the Giant, Hercules, King Kong Bundy, and Harley Race[17][18][19][20]

Awards and honors[edit]

Pro Wrestling Illustrated[edit]

Main article: List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards
Category Winner
PWI Wrestler of the Year Hulk Hogan
PWI Tag Team of the Year The Midnight Express
(Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane)
PWI Match of the Year Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat (WrestleMania III)
PWI Feud of the Year The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard and Lex Luger) vs. The Super Powers (Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff) and The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal)
PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year Dusty Rhodes
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year Ric Flair
PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year Curt Hennig
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year Nikita Koloff
PWI Rookie of the Year Owen Hart
PWI Lifetime Achievement Paul Boesch
PWI Editor's Award Jimmy Hart

Wrestling Observer Newsletter[edit]

Main article: List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
Category Winner
Wrestler of the Year Riki Choshu
Most Outstanding Ric Flair
Feud of the Year Austin Idol and Tommy Rich vs. Jerry Lawler
Tag Team of the Year The Midnight Express
(Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane)
Most Improved Rick Steiner
Best on Interviews Jim Cornette

Title changes[edit]

WWF[edit]

WWF World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Hulk Hogan
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
No title changes
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Incoming champion – Randy Savage
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
March 29 Ricky Steamboat WrestleMania III
June 2 The Honky Tonk Man Superstars of Wrestling Aired on tape delay on June 13
WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Antonio Inoki
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
No title changes
WWF Women's Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – The Glamour Girls (Leilani Kai and Judy Martin)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
No title changes
WWF Women's Championship
Incoming champion – The Fabulous Moolah
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
July 24 Sensational Sherri Live event
WWF Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – The British Bulldogs (British Bulldog and Dynamite Kid)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 26 The Hart Foundation
(Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) 		Superstars aired on tape delay on February 7
August 10 The Rougeau Brothers
(Jacques and Raymond Rougeau) 		House show
October 27 Strike Force
(Rick Martel and Tito Santana) 		Superstars Aired on tape delay on November 7

Births[edit]

Becky Lynch

Debuts[edit]

Debut date[edit]


Uncertain debut date[edit]

Retirements[edit]

Deaths[edit]

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1987 in professional wrestling.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Anderson, Kyle (2010-03-29). "WrestleMania III Breaks Attendance Record: Wake-Up Video". MTV. Archived from the original on 2010-04-04. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
  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. ^ "2nd Annual Crockett Cup". Wrestling Supercards & Tournaments. Retrieved August 23, 2009.
  4. ^ "SuperClash II". Pro Wrestling History. May 2, 1987. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  5. ^ "4th Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions". Pro Wrestling History. May 3, 1987. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  6. ^ "Eddie Graham Memorial Show". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
  7. ^ a b c Meltzer, Dave (July 13, 1987). "Top Story". Wrestling Observer Newsletter (7.13.87).
  8. ^ "WWF King of the Ring '87 at Providence Civic Center wrestling results – Internet Wrestling Database". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  9. ^ "54th Anniversary Show". Pro Wrestling History. September 18, 1987. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  10. ^ "4th Cotton Bowl Extravaganza". Pro Wrestling History. October 17, 1987. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  11. ^ "Historical Cards: 4th Cotton Bowl Extravaganza (October 17, 1987. Dallas, Texas)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 172. 2007 Edition.
  12. ^ "Survivor Series 1987 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
  13. ^ Hoops, Brian (2007-12-18). "SPECIALIST – 20 Years Ago: Detailed look back at Starrcade '87 with Flair vs. Garvin". PWTorch. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  14. ^ AJW Retro Hour Zenjo Classics #23 2/17/09, quebrada.net, retrieved 12 April 2023
  15. ^ "Bunkhouse Stampedes". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  16. ^ Cawthon, Graham; Cornette, Jim (2013-12-25). Sawyer, Grant (ed.). The History of Professional Wrestling: Jim Crockett Promotions & the NWA World Title 1983–1988 (1 ed.). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 9781494803476.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Slammy Awards History". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on 2011-09-08. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "WWF Slammy Awards (1987)". TWNP News. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "WWF Slammy Awards (1987)". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  20. ^ a b c d Bishop, Matt and Matt Mackinder (December 7, 2008). "Bringing back Slammy Awards – a good, bad idea". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved 2008-12-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  21. ^ Kamchen, Richard. "Kelly Kelly". Slam Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  22. ^ Johns, Fred (June 17, 2006). "The Pain of Graduation Day". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  23. ^ "Donovan Dijak". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  24. ^ "Drew Gulak". www.wrestlingdata.com.
  25. ^ "Drew Gulak". Gerweck.net. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  26. ^ "Lince Dorado". Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2013-01-22.
  27. ^ "Dash Wilder Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on August 31, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  28. ^ "Windham Rotunda – 2007 Football". Troy Trojans. August 3, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  29. ^ "Bray Wyatt profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  30. ^ "Online World of Wrestling profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2012-08-27. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  31. ^ "Apollo Crews reflects on his NXT debut: WWE.com Exclusive, August 22, 2015 (0:58)". WWE. August 22, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015. Apollo Crews comments on what it was like debuting in NXT, before more than 15,000 NXT fans, on his 28th birthday.
  32. ^ "Aiden English". wrestling data. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  33. ^ "Carmella". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-12-26.
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