1977 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
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|---|---|---|---|
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List of notable promotions
editOnly one promotion held notable shows in 1977.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling | AJW |
| Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre | EMLL |
Calendar of notable shows
edit| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 27 | EMLL | 21. Aniversario de Arena México | Mexico City, Mexico | Alfonso Dantés defeated Chavo Guerrero (c) in a singles match for the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship[1] |
| May 11 | NJPW | World League | Tokyo, Japan | Seiji Sakaguchi defeated The Masked Superstar |
| September 23 | EMLL | EMLL 44th Anniversary Show (1) | Mexico City, Mexico | Fishman defeated Sangre Chicana in a Lucha de Apuesta mask vs. mask vs. mask match; also in the match: El Cobarde[2] |
| September 30 | EMLL 44th Anniversary Show (2) | Fishman defeated El Cobarde in a Lucha de Apuesta mask vs. mask match[3] | ||
| December 9 | Juicio Final | El Faraón and Ringo Mendoza defeated Joe Palardy and Perro Aguayo in a Lucha de Apuestas, hair Vs. hair match[4] | ||
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | ||||
Notable events
edit- April 30 – At the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. Superstar Billy Graham used both feet on the ropes to pin Bruno Sammartino to become the World Wide Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion.
- September 27 – Mr. Fuji and Professor Tanaka defeated Tony Garea and Larry Zbyszko to win the vacant World Wide Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champions in an elimination tournament.
Accomplishments and tournaments
editAJW
edit| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament | Yukie Urushibara (Lucy Kayama) | ||
| World League | Yumi Ikeshita |
Awards and honors
edit
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
editChampionship changes
editEMLL
editincoming champion – Alfonso Dantés[5]
| ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 11 | Chavo Guerrero | WWA show | [1] | |
| March 13 | Roddy Piper | WWA show | [1] | |
| March 15 | Chavo Guerrero | WWA show | [1] | |
| April 21 | Alfonso Dantés | EMLL show | [1] | |
| Incoming champion – El Faraón | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 11 | Perro Aguayo | EMLL show | ||
| July 3 | Ringo Mendoza | EMLL show | ||
| October 12 | Joe Plardy | EMLL show | ||
| November 25 | El Faraon | EMLL show | ||
| Incoming champion – Mano Negra | ||||
| No title changes |
| Incoming champion – El Halcon | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 13 | Gran Markus | EMLL show | ||
| June 24 | El Halcon | EMLL show | ||
| December 18 | Raul Mata | EMLL show | ||
| Incoming champion – Ringo Mendoza | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 28 | Perro Aguayo | EMLL show | ||
| March 11 | Vacant | EMLL show | ||
| April 14 | José Luis Mendieta | EMLL show | ||
| November 19 | Sangre Chicana | EMLL show | ||
| Incoming champion – Flama Azul[6] | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 10 | Americo Rocca | EMLL show | [6] | |
| July 1 | Flama Azul | EMLL show | ||
| September 21 | Mario Valenzuela | EMLL show | ||
| Incoming champion – Dr. Wagner | ||||
| No title changes |
| Incoming champion – Blue Demon | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 27 | Fishman | EMLL show | ||
| September 26 | Kung Fu | EMLL show | ||
| Incoming champion – Uncertain | ||||
| No title changes |
NWA
edit| Incoming champion – Terry Funk | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 6 | Harley Race | House show | ||
Tournaments
editIWE
edit| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| IWA World Series | Rusher Kimura | March 26 |
Births
edit
- Date of birth uncertain:
- January 7 - Dustin Diamond (died in 2021)
- January 16 – Máscara Año 2000 Jr.
- January 17 – Kevin Fertig
- February 15 - Gran Naniwa (died in 2010)
- February 20 – Gail Kim
- February 24 - Floyd Mayweather Jr.
- February 28 - Lance Archer
- February 28 - Aaron Aguilera
- March 8 - Michael Tarver
- March 20:
- March 24 – Inquisidor
- March 26 – Sylvain Grenier
- March 31 - Allison Danger
- April 4 - Stephan Bonnar (died in 2022)
- April 13 – Christian York
- April 19 - Jonny Storm
- April 20 - Jon Hugger
- April 23 – John Cena
- April 29 – Titus O'Neil
- May 9 – Averno
- May 11 – Bobby Roode[7][8]
- May 23 – Alan Stone
- May 25 – Alberto Del Rio
- June 1 - James Storm
- June 2 – A.J. Styles
- June 25 – Layla El
- June 26 – Mark Jindrak
- July 1 – Jocephus (died in 2021)
- July 5:
- July 12 – Brock Lesnar[9]
- July 19 - Tony Mamaluke
- July 21 - Sara Calaway
- August 1 – Yoshi Tatsu
- August 4 – Frankie Kazarian
- August 31 – Jeff Hardy[10]
- September 4 – Awesome Kong
- September 5:
- September 7 – Molly Holly
- September 8 - X-Fly
- September 10 - Mike DiBiase (born 1977)
- September 11 - Josette Bynum
- September 25 - Atsushi Aoki (died in 2019)
- October 3 - Danny Basham
- October 20 - Steve Anthony
- November 15 -Cima
- November 20 – Dan Engler
- December 10 - Essa Rios
- December 12 - The Butcher
- December 14 - Brain Damage (died in 2012)
- December 18 - The Messiah
- December 28 - Xavier (died in 2020)
Debuts
edit- Uncertain debut date
- Michael Hayes
- Moondog Spot
- One Man Gang
- Nightmare Danny Davis
- Joe Malenko
- Brutus Beefcake
- B. Brian Blair
- The Grappler
- Tito Santana
- Gary Young
- Mami Kumano (All Japan Women)
- Lucy Kayama (All Japan Women)
- February 10 - George Takano
- June 11 - David Von Erich
- August 10 - Hulk Hogan
- September 5 - Tomi Aoyama (All Japan Women)
- October 23 - Bad News Brown
- November 8 - Takashi Ishikawa
Retirements
edit- Penny Banner (1954–1977)
- Octavio Gaona (1934–1977)
Deaths
edit- January 28 - George Bollas, 53
- March 15 - Antonino Rocca,[12] 55
- July 28 - Bull Ortega, 55
- August 27 - Billy Riley, 81
- September 27 - Roy Welch, 75
- October 8 - Joe Greenstein, 84
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Light Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 389. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "44th Anniversary Show #1". Pro Wrestling History. September 29, 1977. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
- ^ "44th Anniversary Show #2". Pro Wrestling History. September 30, 1977. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
- ^ Centinela, Teddy (December 2, 2015). "En un día como hoy... 1977: El Faraón destrona a Joe Polardi — Halcón Ortiz rapa a Herodes". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Lightweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "Bobby Roode (@RealBobbyRoode)". Twitter. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
- ^ "Bobby Roode (@RealBobbyRoode)". Twitter. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
- ^ "Biography for Brock Lesnar". IMDB.com. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
- ^ "Online World of Wrestling: Jeff Hardy". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved October 8, 2007.
- ^ "Hunico". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2011-11-07. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
- ^ "Antonino Rocca Dies At 56". Classic Wrestling Articles. Classic Wrestling Articles. Retrieved 8 August 2015.