# 1980 in professional wrestling

1980 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

## List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable shows in 1980.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation | Notes |
| Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre | EMLL | |
| World Wrestling Federation | WWF | Previously known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). |

## Calendar of notable shows

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| April 7 | EMLL | 24. Aniversario de Arena México | Mexico City, Mexico | El Faraón and Ringo Mendoza defeated Adorable Rubí and El Nazi in a Lucha de Apuestas hair vs. hair match |
| May 1 | AJPW | Champion Carnival | Tokyo, Japan | Jumbo Tsuruta defeated Dick Slater |
| June 5 | NJPW | MSG League | Tokyo, Japan | Antonio Inoki defeated Stan Hansen by disqualification |
| July 14 | AWA | SuperBowl VI | Chicago, Illinois | Verne Gagne defeated Nick Bockwinkel (c) for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| August 3 | CWF | The Last Tangle in Tampa | Tampa, Florida | Harley Race (c) fought Dusty Rhodes to a time-limit draw in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship with Fritz Von Erich as Special Guest Referee |
| August 9 | WWF | Showdown at Shea | Flushing, New York | Bruno Sammartino defeated Larry Zbyszko in a steel cage match |
| September 26 | EMLL | EMLL 47th Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | Sangre Chicana (c) wrestled El Fantasma to a no contest for the NWA World Middleweight Championship |
| December 5 | EMLL | Juicio Final | Mexico City, Mexico | Sangre Chicana and Alfonso Dantés defeated El Jalisco and El Cobarde in a Lucha de Apuestas, hairs vs hairs match |
| December 10 | NJPW | MSG Tag League | Tokyo, Japan | Antonio Inoki and Bob Backlund defeated Stan Hansen and Hulk Hogan |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

## Notable events

* April 12 - At the Philadelphia Spectrum, The Wild Samoans became the new WWF Tag Team Champions after defeating Ivan Putski and Tito Santana.
* April 21 - At New York's Madison Square Garden, Ken Patera pinned Pat Patterson to become the new WWF Intercontinental champion.
* May 2 - Bret Hart captured his first Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Championship by beating Leo Burke in Bret's hometown of Calgary, Alberta.
* July 18 - Nick Bockwinkel's 5-year reign as AWA World Heavyweight Champion ended as Verne Gagne pinned him in Chicago, Illinois, to become the new champion. He retired after this bout.
* November 8 - At the Philadelphia Spectrum, Tony Garea and Rick Martel pinned the Wild Samoans to become the new WWF Tag Team Champions.
* December 8 - At New York's Madison Square Garden, Pedro Morales pinned Ken Patera to become the new WWF Intercontinental champion. However this bout originally was going to be aired on the MSG Network but was never shown due to news coverage of the assassination of John Lennon.

## Accomplishments and tournaments
### AJW

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament | Tomoko Kitamura | | |

### AJPW

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Champion Carnival | Jumbo Tsuruta | May 1 | |

### NJPW

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| G1 Climax | Antonio Inoki | June 5 | |

## Awards and honors
### Pro Wrestling Illustrated

| Category | Winner |
| PWI Wrestler of the Year | Bob Backlund |
| PWI Tag Team of the Year | Jimmy Snuka and Ray Stevens |
| PWI Match of the Year | Bruno Sammartino vs. Larry Zbyszko (Showdown at Shea) |
| PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year | Mr. Wrestling II |
| PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year | Larry Zbyszko |
| PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year | Tony Atlas |
| PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year | Junkyard Dog |
| PWI Rookie of the Year | Terry Taylor |
| PWI Manager of the Year | Oliver Humperdink |

### Wrestling Observer Newsletter

| Category | Winner |
| Wrestler of the Year | Harley Race |
| Feud of the Year | Bruno Sammartino vs. Larry Zbyszko |
| Tag Team of the Year | The Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) |
| Most Improved | Larry Zbyszko |

## Births

* January 1 - Sosay
* January 8 – Ricky Marvin
* January 12 - Ares
* January 20 – Karl Anderson
* January 25 – Michelle McCool
* February 2 - Teddy Hart
* February 5 - Kazuhiro Tamura
* February 6 – Konnor
* February 9 – Shelly Martinez
* February 13 - Carlos Cotto
* February 15 - LuFisto
* February 18 - Hideki Suzuki
* February 24 – Shinsuke Nakamura
* March 9 - Genba Hirayanagi
* March 19 - Taichi Ishikari
* March 20 - Rohit Raju
* March 28 - Nick Mondo
* April 1 – Randy Orton
* April 2 - Jody Fleisch
* April 7 – David Otunga
* April 10 - Jesse Neal
* April 12 - Masayuki Kono
* April 16:
** Muhammad Hassan
** Paul London
* April 17 - Hartley Jackson
* April 30 - Rob Terry
* May 2 - Caylen Croft
* May 6 - Colt Cabana
* June 1 - Ángel Azteca Jr.
* June 3:
** Pepper Parks
** Ryoji Sai
* June 8:
** Scott Lost
** Super Dragon
* June 27 - Big Dick Johnson
* July 8 :
** Brian Danovich (died in 2018)
** Hikaru Sato
* July 11 – Tyson Kidd
* July 15 - BxB Hulk
* July 16 - Excalibur
* July 17 - Masato Yoshino
* July 27 – Dolph Ziggler
* August 8 – Shayna Baszler
* August 10 – Wade Barrett
* August 19 - Chet Jablonski
* August 28 - Demus 3:16
* August 30 - Alicia Taylor
* September 6 – Jillian Hall
* September 10 – Trevor Murdoch
* September 14 - Dom Travis (died in 2012)
* September 22 - Nick Gage
* September 23 - Romeo Roselli
* October 4:
** Naruki Doi
** Sebastian Hackl
* October 8 – The Miz
* October 28 – Christy Hemme
* November 10 – Katarina Waters
* November 12 – Trent Acid (died in 2010)
* November 13:
** Sara Del Rey
** Tomomitsu Matsunaga
* November 17 – Mercedes Martinez
* November 17 - Jay Bradley
* November 24 – Beth Phoenix
* November 25 - Josh Mathews
* December 2 - Mario Bokara
* December 4 – Viktor
* December 9 - Escoria
* December 12 - Shockercito
* December 19 - Delirious
* December 26 – Faby Apache
* December 27 – Cesaro
* December 31 - Matt Cross

## Deaths

* February 27 - Kola Kwariani, 77
* March unknown date - Otto Kuss, 68/69
* April 5 - Ruffy Silverstein (American wrestler), 66
* June 11 - Wolfgang Ehrl, 68
* September 17 - Big Bad John, 37

## Debuts

* Debut date:
   * February - Emilio Charles Jr.
   * March 1 - Shiniichi Takano
   * May 4 - Hiromichi Fuyuki
   * May 10 - Lioness Asuka
   * August 8 - Dump Matsumoto (All Japan Women's), Chigusa Nagayo (All Japan Women's) and Yuriko Takagi (All Japan Women's)
   * August - Bruiser Costa
   * October - Tony Anthony
   * December 29 - Yoshiaki Yatsu
* Uncertain debut date:
   * The Barbarian (wrestler)
   * Brad Armstrong (wrestler)
   * Wildman Firpo
   * Brad Rheingans
   * Jimmy Jack Funk
   * Gary Royal
   * Mike Shaw
   * Yukari Omori (All Japan Women's)
   * Tarantula (All Japan Women's)
   * Crane Yu (All Japan Women's)

## Retirements

* Eddie Graham (1947–1980)
* Haystacks Calhoun (1956–1980)