# 1965 in professional wrestling

1965 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 1965.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation |
| Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre | EMLL |

## Calendar of notable shows

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| January 13 | EMLL | Carnaval de Campeones | Mexico City, Mexico | Raúl Reyes defeated Ray Mendoza (c) in a best two-out-of-three falls for the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship |
| April 3 | EMLL | 9. Aniversario de Arena México | Mexico City, Mexico | Rizado Ruiz (c) defeated Huracán Ramírez for the Mexican National Welterweight Championship |
| September 24 | EMLL | EMLL 32nd Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | Karloff Lagarde defeated Huracán Ramírez (c) in a best two-out-of-three match for the NWA World Welterweight Championship |
| December 3 | EMLL | Juicio Final | Mexico City, Mexico | Karloff Lagarde vs. Cavernario Galindo in a Lucha de Apuestas, hair Vs. hair match |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

## Notable events

* November – Fred Kohler Enterprises closed after 40 years of operations. World Wrestling Association, based in Indianapolis, bought the rights to promote wrestling in Chicago.

## Accomplishments and tournaments
### EMLL

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| NWA World Middleweight Championship #1 contendership tournament | Rene Guajardo | March 19 | |
| NWA World Middleweight Championship #1 contendership tournament | Antonio Montoro | July 23 | |

## Championship changes
### EMLL

NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship :
* incoming champion – Gory Guerrero ||||
* No title changes ||||
NWA World Middleweight Championship :
| incoming champion – Rayo de Jalisco |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| April 9 | René Guajardo | EMLL show | |
NWA World Welterweight Championship :
| incoming champion – Karloff Lagarde |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February | Huracán Ramírez | EMLL show | |
| September 24 | Karloff Lagarde | EMLL 32nd Anniversary Show | |
Mexican National Heavyweight Championship :
| incoming champion - Pepe Mendieta |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| Uncertain | Vacated | N/A | Mendieta retired |
| December | Chico Casaola | EMLL show | |
Mexican National Middleweight Championship :
* incoming champion – El Santo ||||
* No title changes ||||
Mexican National Lightweight Championship :
| incoming champion – Chanoc |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 13 | Rudolfo Ruiz | Carnaval de Campeones | |
| August 7 | Alberto Muñoz | EMLL show | |
Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship :
| incoming champion – Ray Mendoza |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 13 | Raúl Reyes | Carnaval de Campeones | |
| May 5 | Alfonso Dantés | EMLL show | |
Mexican National Welterweight Championship :
| incoming champion – Rizado Ruiz |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February | Huracán Ramírez | EMLL show | |
Mexican National Tag Team Championship :
* incoming champion – Possibly Rayo de Jalisco and El Santo ||||
* No title changes ||||
Mexican National Women's Championship :
* incoming champion – Chabela Romero ||||
* No title changes ||||

### NWA

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming Champion – Lou Thesz |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| No title changes |||||

## Debuts

* Debut date uncertain:
** Adorable Rubí
** Black Man
** Bobby Heenan
** Bob Sweetan
** Buddy Roberts
** Butch Miller
** Carlos Colón
** Dick Murdoch
** Jerry Jarrett
** Jos LeDuc
** Lonnie Mayne
** Luke Williams
** Tiger Jeet Singh
* February 7 – Tony Salazar
* February – Ivan Koloff
* April 2 – Rusher Kimura
* May 15 – Jack Brisco
* June 3 – Masa Saito
* June – Mil Máscaras
* July 21 – Kato Kung Lee
* July – Rocky Johnson
* November – El Cobarde
* December 6 – Terry Funk

## Retirements

* Andreas Lambrakis (1936-1965)
* John Pesek (1914-1965)

## Births

* January 4 – Derrick Dukes
* January 11 – Mascarita Sagrada
* January 24:
** Mike Awesome(died in 2007)
** Steve Lawler (died in 2021)
* January 26 – Rip Sawyer
* February 2 – Naoki Sano
* February 21 – The Terminator
* February 24 – Bas Rutten
* February 26 – James Mitchell
* February 28 – Norman Smiley
* March 1 – Booker T
* March 3 – Danie Brits (died in 2020)
* March 16 – Steve Armstrong
* March 24 – The Undertaker
* April 5 – Villano IV
* April 13 – Bracito de Oro
* April 18 – Biff Wellington (died in 2007)
* April 26 – Tank Abbott
* May – Dick Vrij
* May 7 – Owen Hart(died in 1999)
* June 7 – Mick Foley
* June 8 – Tatanka
* June 9 – Val Puccio(died in 2011)
* June 10 – Ephesto
* June 11 – Mascarita Sagrada
* June 16 – Tatsuo Nakano
* June 17 – Clarence Mason
* July 3 – Shin'ya Hashimoto(died in 2005)
* July 7 – Chris Duffy (died in 2000)
* July 22 – Shawn Michaels
* August 7 – Johnny Smith
* August 8 – Akitoshi Saito
* August 12 – Dr. Wagner Jr.
* August 16 – Masaaki Satake
* August 21 – Muffy Mower
* August 26 – Bobby Duncum Jr.(died in 1999)
* August 31 – K. C. Thunder
* September 5 – Hoshitango Imachi
* September 9 – J.W. Storm
* September 11 – Paul Heyman
* September 12 – Midnight
* September 16 – Discovery (died in 2020)
* September 27 – Ricky Fuji
* September 28 – La Diabólica
* October 11:
** Rikishi
** Tonga Kid
* October 16 – The Renegade(died in 1999)
* October 17 – Rossy Moreno
* October 21:
** Charlie Norris( died in 2023)
** Horace Hogan
* October 25 – Too Cold Scorpio
* October 27 – Harvey Wippleman
* October 28 – Jun Izumida (died in 2017)
* November 8 – Boni Blackstone
* November 14 – L.A. Park
* November 23 – Don Frye
* November 28 – Rumi Kazama (died in 2021)
* November 30 – Bart Sawyer (died in 2023)
* November 23 – Ron Waterman
* December 1 – Noriyo Tateno
* December 6 – Olímpico
* December 16 – Jason Neidhart
* December 19 – Shoichi Arai (died in 2002)
* December 27 – Bart Gunn

## Deaths

* January 16 – Yukon Eric 48
* February 12 – Henry Kulky 53
* April 16 – Osley Bird Saunooke 58
* May 15 – Frank Townsend (wrestler) 32