1940 in professional wrestling

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1940 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 1940.

Promotion Name	Abbreviation
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre	EMLL

Calendar of notable shows

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
September 12	EMLL	EMLL 7th Anniversary Show	Mexico City, Mexico	Tarzán López (C) defeated John Nemenic in a singles match for the NWA World Middleweight Championship^[1]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Notable events

June 23 – The first Lucha de Apuestas (Spanish for "Bet match") takes place in Mexico with El Murciélago Enmascarado defeated Merced Gómez to force Gómez to be shaved bald. If he had lost El Murciélago Enmascarado would have had to unmask. The Lucha de Apuestas match would become the most prestigious match type in Mexico subsequently.^[2]

Championship changes

EMLL

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
NWA World Middleweight Championship
incoming champion – Octavio Gaona^[3]
February 19	Tarzán López	EMLL show	^[3]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Francisco Arroyo^[4]
Uncertain	Vacant	N/A	^[4]
Uncertain	Firpo Segura	EMLL show	^[4]

Mexican National Featherweight Championship
Incoming champion – Luis Robles^[5]
No title changes^[5]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Lightweight Championship
Incoming champion – Jack O'Brien^[6]
May 5	Bobby Bonales	EMLL show	^[6]
December 12	Dientes Hernandez	EMLL show	^[6]

Mexican National Middleweight Championship
Incoming champion – Tarzán López^[4]
No title changes^[4]

Mexican National Welterweight Championship
Incoming champion – Tarzán López^[7]
No title changes^[7]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
NWA World Middleweight Championship
Incoming champion – Octavio Gaona^[8]
February 4	Tarzán López	EMLL show	^[8]

Lucha de Apuestas matches

Winner (wager)	Loser (wager)	Location	Event	Date	Notes
El Murciélago Enmascarado (mask)	Merced Gómez (hair)	Mexico City	EMLL show	June 23, 1940	^[2]^[9]
El Murciélago Enmascarado (mask)	Bobby Bonales (hair)	Mexico City	EMLL show	June 30, 1940	^[2]^[9]
El Murciélago Enmascarado (mask)	Dientes Hernández (hair)	Mexico City	EMLL show	July 4, 1940	^[2]^[9]
El Murciélago Enmascarado (mask)	Ciclón Veloz (hair)	Mexico City	EMLL show	July 11, 1940	^[2]^[9]
Octavio Gaona (hair)	El Murciélago Enmascarado (mask)	Mexico City	EMLL show	July 18, 1940	^[2]^[9]

Births

Date of birth unknown
- Espectro II^[10](died in 1985)
January 2 -
- Jerry Monti (died 1999)
- Motoko Baba^[10](died in 2018)
January 15 – Tommy Gilbert^[10](died in 2015)
February 5 – Luke Graham^[10](died in 2006)
February 11 – Espanto III^[10](died in 1996)
February 20 – Frankie Williams (died in 1991)
March 24 – The Spoiler^[10](died in 2006)
March 25 -
- Jim Breaks (died in 2023)
- Joe Carollo
April 7 – Bruce Swayze
April 20 – El Matematico
June 16 – Sweet Daddy Siki
June 20 – Umanosuke Ueda^[11](died in 2011)
July 4 – Bob Sweetan^[10](died in 2017)
July 18 – Dean Ho (died in 2021)
July 23 – Thunder Sugiyama (died in 2002)
August 20 – Ken Lucas^[12](died in 2014)
August 25 – Wilhelm von Homburg (died in 2004)
August 29 – Wim Ruska (died in 2015)
September 3 – Spiros Arion
September 15 – Man Mountain Mike^[10](died in 1988)
October 15 – Kay Noble (died in 2006)
October 17 – Baron Von Raschke^[10]
October 21 – Crusher Verdu (died in 2004)
October 28 – Les Thatcher^[10]
November 5 – Aníbal^[10](died in 1994)
November 30 – Johnny De Fazio (died in 2021)
December 5 – Adrian Street^[10](died in 2023)
December 15 – Strong Kobayashi (died in 2021)

Deaths

March 26 – Dan Koloff^[13] 47
June 27 – Emil Klank^[13] 64
August 29 – Renato Gardini^[13] 51
October 10 – Harold Angus^[13] 35
November 21 – Ivan Linow^[13] 52

References

^ "7th Anniversary Show". Pro Wrestling History. September 12, 1940. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Madigan, Dan (2007). "The Mask in the match". Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
^ ^a ^b 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. pp. 390–391. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Welterweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 397. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Lightweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Welterweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Middlweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 389–390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Lourdes Grobet; Alfonso Morales; Gustavo Fuentes & Jose Manuel Aurrecoechea (2005). Lucha Libre: Masked Superstars of Mexican Wrestling. Trilce. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-933045-05-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l "Wrestlers born in 1940: 1 - 50 of 54". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ "Wrestlers born in 1933: 51 - 54 of 54". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ "Wrestlers born in 1941: 1 - 50 of 51". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Wrestlers deceased in 1940: 1 - 15 of 15". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[EMLL7-1] "7th Anniversary Show". Pro Wrestling History. September 12, 1940. Retrieved September 27, 2012.

[Mask-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Madigan, Dan (2007). "The Mask in the match". Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.

[NWALMiddle-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.

[MexMiddle-4] Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. pp. 390–391. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[FeatherBook-5] Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Welterweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 397. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexLight-6] Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Lightweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexWelter-7] Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Welterweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[NWAMiddle-8] Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Middlweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 389–390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[Apuestas-9] Lourdes Grobet; Alfonso Morales; Gustavo Fuentes & Jose Manuel Aurrecoechea (2005). Lucha Libre: Masked Superstars of Mexican Wrestling. Trilce. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-933045-05-4.

[WD1940Births-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l "Wrestlers born in 1940: 1 - 50 of 54". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1940BirthsPage2-11] "Wrestlers born in 1933: 51 - 54 of 54". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1941Births-12] "Wrestlers born in 1941: 1 - 50 of 51". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1940Deaths-13] "Wrestlers deceased in 1940: 1 - 15 of 15". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

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