# 1984 in professional wrestling

1984 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

## List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events in 1984.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation |
| Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre | EMLL |
| Jim Crockett Promotions | JCP |
| Universal Wrestling Association | UWA |
| World Class Championship Wrestling | WCCW |
| World Wrestling Council | WWC |
| World Wrestling Federation | WWF |

## Calendar of notable shows

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| January 29 | UWA | UWA 9th Anniversary Show | Naucalpan, Mexico | El Canek (c) defeated André the Giant in a singles match for the UWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| April 8 | EMLL | 28. Aniversario de Arena México | Mexico City, Mexico | Super Halcón defeated Pirata Morgan in a best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas hair vs. hair match |
| May 6 | WCCW | 1st Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions | Irving, Texas | Kerry Von Erich defeated Ric Flair (c) in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| June 30 | CWF | Lords of the Ring | Miami, Florida | Dusty Rhodes defeated Ric Flair (c) by disqualification in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| July 23 | WWF | The Brawl to End It All | New York, New York | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Greg Valentine in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship Wendi Richter defeated The Fabulous Moolah (c) in a singles match for the WWF Women's Championship |
| September 14 | WWC | WWC 11th Aniversario | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Abdullah the Butcher and Carlos Colón wrestled Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody to a double disqualification |
| September 21 | EMLL | EMLL 51st Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | Atlantis defeated Talisman in a best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas mask vs. mask match |
| October 27 | WCCW | 1st Cotton Bowl Extravaganza | Dallas, Texas | The Dynamic Duo (Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez) and Jake Roberts defeated Bobby Fulton, Kerry Von Erich and Mike Von Erich (c) in a six-man tag team match for the NWA Six-Man Tag Team Championship |
| November 22 | JCP | Starrcade | Greensboro, North Carolina | Ric Flair (c) defeated Dusty Rhodes by referee stoppage in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship with Joe Frazier as special guest referee |
| December 7 | EMLL | Juicio Final | Mexico City, Mexico | Máscara Año 2000 defeated Gran Coloso in a Lucha de Apuestas, mask vs. mask match |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

## Notable events

* Championship Wrestling magazine hit the newsstands with its first issue
* January 23: Hulk Hogan defeats The Iron Sheik to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
* February 11: After many months of waiting, Tito Santana finally beat Don Muraco to become the first Mexican-American wrestler to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship at Boston Garden.
* May 29: Tuesday Night Titans premiered on the USA Network
* July 14: Black Saturday (professional wrestling)
* July 23: Wendi Richter became the New WWF Women's Champion ending the Fabulous Moolah's 28-year reign as champion at New York's Madison Square Garden.
* September 18: Pro Wrestling USA debuted with a inguinal TV taping at the Mid South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee
* September 24: At London, Ontario Canada, Greg Valentine pinned Tito Santana to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship. That match would later be seen on WWF All-Star Wrestling.
* December 28: John Stossel while doing a story for 20/20 on the validity of pro wrestling is attacked by David Schultz.

## Accomplishments and tournaments
### AJW

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament | Mika Komatsu | | |

### JCP

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| NWA United States Championship Tournament | Wahoo McDaniel | October 7 | |

### NJPW

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| G1 Climax | Antonio Inoki | June 14 | no final round |

## Awards and honors
### Pro Wrestling Illustrated

| Category | Winner |
| PWI Wrestler of the Year | Ric Flair |
| PWI Tag Team of the Year | The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal) |
| PWI Match of the Year | Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich (David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions) |
| PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year | Kerry Von Erich |
| PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year | Roddy Piper |
| PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year | Billy Jack Haynes |
| PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year | Sgt. Slaughter |
| PWI Rookie of the Year | Mike Von Erich |
| PWI Manager of the Year | Paul Ellering |
| PWI Editor's Award | David Von Erich |

### Wrestling Observer Newsletter

| Category | Winner |
| Wrestler of the Year | Ric Flair |
| Feud of the Year | The Freebirds vs. The Von Erichs |
| Tag Team of the Year | The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal) |
| Most Improved | The Cobra |
| Best on Interviews | Jimmy Hart |

## Births

* Date of birth uncertain:
** Grizzly Redwood
* January 1 – James Stephanie Sterling
* January 21 – Alex Koslov
* January 25 – Jay Briscoe (died in 2023)
* January 30 – Junior dos Santos
* February 2 – Brian Cage
* February 6 – Ivan Markov
* February 17 - Jimmy Jacobs
* February 24 – Corey Graves
* March 3 - Ivar
* March 9 - Pequeño Nitro (died in 2024)
* April 20 - Garett Bischoff
* April 23 - Moose
* April 30
** Daivari
** El Hijo del Fantasma
* May 4:
** Brad Maddox
** Orange Cassidy
** Sylvester Lefort
* May 7 – Kevin Owens
* May 14 – John Klinger (died in 2024)
* May 16 – Mickie Knuckles
* May 29 – Nia Jax
* June 5 – Madison Eagles
* June 30 – Scott Dawson
* July 12 – Sami Zayn
* July 13 – Ayumi Kurihara
* July 27 – Dark Sheik
* July 31 – El Texano Jr.
* August 20 – Fuka Kakimoto
* August 21
** Erik
** Eve Torres
** Michael Dante
* September 3 – T. J. Perkins
* September 10 – Drake Younger
* September 13 – Baron Corbin
* September 19 – Eva Marie
* September 21 – Wale
* September 30 – Darryl Sharma
* October 6 – Afa Anoa'i Jr.
* October 22 - Aero Star
* November 7 - Jacob Novak
* November 13 – Sunil Singh
* December 4 – Brooke Adams
* December 10 – JTG
* December 11 - James Ellsworth
* December 24 - Pat Buck
* December 25 – Rusev

## Debuts

* Uncertain debut date
   * Steve Armstrong
   * Rita Chatterton
   * Steve Doll
   * Fred Ottman
   * Yokozuna
   * Madusa
   * Cynthia Moreno
   * D. J. Peterson
* February - Italian Stallion and Tom Zenk
* March 3 - Jushin Liger and Takuma Sano
* March 18 - Esther Moreno
* April 5 - Marty Jannetty
* April 7 - Pat Tanaka
* June 11 - Kendall Windham
* June 24 - Nikita Koloff
* July 21 - Kazue Nagahori and Condor Saito (All Japan Women)
* September 1 - Shinya Hashimoto
* October 2 - Scott Hall
* October 5 - Masa Chono, Keiji Muto
* October 12 - Akira Nogami
* October 16 - Shawn Michaels

## Retirements

* Angelo Mosca (1969 - 1984)
* Billy Red Lyons (1956 - 1984)
* Paul Vachon (1957 - 1984)
* Stan Stasiak (1958 - 1984)
* Tommy Gilbert (1969 - 1984)
* Miguel Perez (1954-1984)

## Deaths

* January 18 – Lord Athol Layton, 62
* January 27 - Jim McMillen, 81
* February 5 - El Santo, 66
* February 10 – David Von Erich, 25
* March 4 – Helen Hild, 58
* May 16 - Andy Kaufman, 35
* May 17 – Max Palmer, 56
* May 22 - George Zaharias, 76
* May 24 – Vincent J. McMahon, 69
* July 14 – Brute Bernard, 63
* August 2 – Argentina Apollo, 46
* November 13 - Chief Little Wolf, 72