1972 in professional wrestling
Professional wrestling-related events during the year of 1972
Overview of the events of 1972 in professional wrestling
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1972 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
List of notable promotions
These promotions held notable shows in 1972.
Promotion Name | Abbreviation |
---|---|
Big Time Wrestling | BTW |
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre | EMLL |
National Wrestling Alliance | NWA |
National Wrestling Federation | NWF |
World Wide Wrestling Federation | WWWF |
Calendar of notable shows
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
---|---|---|---|---|
April 21 | EMLL | 16. Aniversario de Arena México | Mexico City, Mexico | Ray Mendoza defeated David Morgan (c) in a singles match for the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship[1] |
June 24 | BTW | Parade of Champions | Irving, Texas | Dory Funk Jr. (c) wrestled Fritz Von Erich to a time-limit draw in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship |
August 12 | NWA/NWF | Superbowl of Wrestling | Cleveland, Ohio | Johnny Powers (c) defeated Johnny Valentine in a singles match for the NWF North American Championship |
September 29 | EMLL | EMLL 39th Anniversary Show (1) | Mexico City, Mexico | El Solitario and Ray Mendoza defeated Rene Guajardo and Alfonso Dantés in the finals of a tag team tournament[2][3] |
September 30 | WWWF | Showdown at Shea | Flushing, New York | Pedro Morales (c) fought Bruno Sammartino to a curfew draw in a singles match for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship[4] |
October 20 | EMLL | EMLL 39th Anniversary Show (2) | Mexico City, Mexico | Alfonso Dantés (c) defeated El Solitario in a best two-out-of-three falls match for the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship[3] |
December 8 | EMLL | Juicio Final | Mexico City, Mexico | El Solitario defeated Ángel Blanco in a best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas, mask Vs. mask match[5] |
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Notable events
- January 12 – Antonio Inoki created New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- July 1 – The Fabulous Moolah and Vicky Williams became the first female wrestlers to wrestle at Madison Square Garden, which had previously banned women from wrestling in the hallowed venue.[6]
- October 21 Giant Baba created All Japan Pro Wrestling
- Sports Review Wrestling hit the newsstands with its first issue.
Awards and honors
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Category | Winner |
---|---|
PWI Wrestler of the Year | Pedro Morales |
PWI Tag Team of the Year | Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher |
PWI Match of the Year | Bruno Sammartino wins Battle Royal in Los Angeles |
PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year | Jack Brisco / Fred Curry |
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year | The Sheik |
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year | Lord Alfred Hayes |
PWI Rookie of the Year | Mike Graham |
PWI Woman of the Year | Marie LaVerne |
PWI Midget Wrestler of the Year | Little Bruiser |
PWI Manager of the Year | Bobby Heenan |
Championship changes
EMLL
incoming champion – El Solitario[7] | ||||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
March 17 | David Morgan | EMLL show | [7] | |
April 21 | Ray Mendoza | EMLL show | [7] | |
June 13 | Alfonso Dantés | EMLL show | [7] |
Incoming champion – Aníbal | ||||
No title changes |
Incoming champion – Alberto Munoz | ||||
No title changes |
Incoming champion – Raul Reyes | ||||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
April 7 | Angel Blanco | EMLL show |
Incoming champion – Ciclon Veloz, Jr. | ||||
No title changes |
Incoming champion – Estrella Blanca | ||||
No title changes |
Incoming champion – Raul Mata[8] | ||||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
June 18 | Enrique Vera | EMLL show |
Incoming champion – Huracan Ramirez | ||||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
October 20 | Karloff Lagarde | EMLL show |
Incoming champion – Uncertain | ||||
No title changes |
NWA
Incoming champion – Dory Funk, Jr. | ||||
No title changes |
Tournaments
IWE
Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
IWA World Series | Strong Kobayashi | May 6 |
Births
- January 8 - Jon Andersen
- January 10 – Brian Christopher(died in 2018) [1]
- January 19 – Ron Killings
- January 20 - Tony DeVito
- January 24 - Fabián el Gitano (died in 2011)
- February 1 - Sean Casey
- February 8 – Big Show
- February 19 – Francine
- February 28 - Angel Medina
- March 1 - Último Guerrero
- March 6 - Shaquille O'Neal
- March 7 - Major Gunns
- March 12 – Nunzio
- March 21 – Chris Candido (died in 2005)
- March 23 - Octagoncito (AAA)
- March 27 – Charlie Haas
- April 1 - Darren McCarty
- April 11:
- Balls Mahoney (died in 2016) [2]
- Kevin Quinn
- Fyre
- April 14 - Julio Dinero
- April 21 - Dr. Cerebro
- April 28 - Violent J
- April 29 - Masahito Kakihara
- May 2 – Dwayne Johnson[9]
- May 4 - Ray González
- May 17 - Masakazu Fukuda (died in 2000)
- May 25 – Shigeo Okumura
- June 2 - Gary Williams
- June 5 - Mike Bucci
- June 12 - Jack Doan
- June 28:
- June 29 – Canyon Ceman
- June 30 - Wolf (died in 2011)
- July 5 - Tatsuhito Takaiwa
- July 13 – X-Pac[10]
- July 21 - Shinjiro Otani
- August 1 – D-Von Dudley[11][12]
- August 5 - Ikuto Hidaka
- August 19 - Sign Guy Dudley
- August 25 - David Young
- August 27:
- The Great Khali
- Jazz
- September 1 - Doug Williams
- September 3 - Bob Evans
- September 5 - Shane Sewell
- September 15 -
- September 17 – Phantasio
- September 26 - Gabe Sapolsky
- October 4 - Otto Schwanz
- October 12 - Karen Jarrett
- October 16 - Lizmark Jr.
- October 23 - Jasmin St. Claire
- November 7 - Chip Fairway (died in 2011)
- November 14 – Albert[13]
- November 29 - Minoru Tanaka
- November 30 - Ruffy Silverstein (Canadian wrestler)
- December 6 – El Oriental
- December 7 – Tammy Lynn Sytch[14]
- December 20 - Takeshi Rikio
- December 31 - Ryan Sakoda (d. 2021)
Debuts
- February 1, 1972 – El Texano[15]
- March 13, 1972 – Rick Martel[16]
- March 16, 1972 – Gran Hamada[16]
- March 20, 1972 – Mr. Pogo[16]
- May 22, 1972 – Moondog King[16]
- August 2, 1972 – Kengo Kimura[16]
- August 23, 1972 - Bob Orton Jr.[16]
- September – Jaque Mate[16]
- September 1, 1972 – Larry Zbyszko[16]
- September 19, 1972 - Don Arakawa
- September 26, 1972 -Masanobu Kurisu
- November 12, 1972 – Yoshiaki Fujiwara[15]
- December 1, 1972 – Bruce Hart[16]
- December 3, 1972 – Kuniaki Kobayashi[16]
- December 10, 1972 – Ric Flair[16]
- December 28, 1972 – Jim Brunzell[16]
- Debut date uncertain
- Al Madril[16]
- Austin Idol[16]
- Ax[16]
- Big John Studd[16]
- Bobby Jaggers[16]
- Buck Zumhofe
- El Canek[16]
- Clem Turner[16]
- Dutch Mantell[16]
- Colonel DeBeers[16]
- George Wells[16]
- The Iron Sheik[16]
- Ken Patera[16]
- Mike Graham[16]
- Pez Whatley[16]
- Pierre Lefebvre[16]
- Scott Casey[15]
- Sgt. Slaughter[15]
- Smith Hart[15]
- Steve Keirn[15]
- Máquina Salvaje (Mexico)
Retirements
- Johnny Barend (1949 – 1972)
- Angelo Savoldi (1937 – 1972)
Deaths
- January 2 - Jatindra Charan Guho, 79
- February 21 – Luther Lindsay 47
- August 1 – Ray Gunkel 48
- September 15 - Billy Sandow, 88
- October 7 - Whitey Caldwell 37
References
- ^ 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) - ^ "39th Anniversary Show #1". Pro Wrestling History. September 29, 1972. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
- ^ a b "Historia de Los Aniversarios del CMLL". The Gladiatores Magazine (in Spanish). September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham (2013). The History of Professional Wrestling: The Results WWF 1963–1989. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-4928-2597-5.
- ^ "Lucha Libre: Conoce la historia de las leyendas de cuadrilátero". Solitario (1946–1986) (in Spanish). Mexico. 2008. p. 57. Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre.
- ^ Ginzburg, Evan (2020-03-31). "The Fabulous Moolah at Madison Square Garden in the 1970s - ProWrestlingPost.com". prowrestlingpost.com. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Lightweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "Dwayne Johnson Biography: Film Actor, Athlete (1972–)". Biography.com (FYI / A&E Networks). Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ "Sean Waltman Bio". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
- ^ "Online World of Wrestling profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
- ^ Intelius search
- ^ "OWOW profile". Onlineworldofwrestling.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
- ^ "OWOW profile".
- ^ a b c d e f "Debuts in 1972 #50-62". Wrestling Data. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa "Debuts in 1972 #1-50". Wrestling Data. Retrieved January 26, 2020.