# 1989 in professional wrestling

1989 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

## List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events in 1989.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation | Notes |
| All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling | AJW | |
| Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre | EMLL | |
| Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling | FMW | Founded in July. |
| New Japan Pro-Wrestling | NJPW | |
| Universal Wrestling Association | UWA | |
| World Championship Wrestling | WCW | |
| World Wrestling Council | WWC | |
| World Wrestling Federation | WWF | |

## Calendar of notable shows

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| January 15 | WWF | Royal Rumble | Houston, Texas | Big John Studd won the Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Ted DiBiase |
| January 29 | UWA | UWA 14th Anniversary Show | Naucalpan, Mexico | El Canek (c) defeated Konnan in a singles match for the UWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| February 16 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Hershey, Pennsylvania | Hulk Hogan defeated Bad News Brown in a singles match |
| February 20 | WCW | Chi-Town Rumble | Chicago, Illinois | Ricky Steamboat defeated Ric Flair (c) in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| April 2 | WWF | WrestleMania V | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Hulk Hogan defeated Randy Savage (c) in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| April 24 | NJPW | Battle Satellite in Tokyo Dome | Tokyo, Japan | Shota Chochishvili defeated Antonio Inoki (c) by KO in a singles match for the NJPW Martial Arts Championship |
| April 25 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Des Moines, Iowa | Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Big Boss Man in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| April 28 | EMLL | 33. Aniversario de Arena México | Mexico City, Mexico | Ángel Azteca defeated Emilio Charles Jr. © in a best two-out-of-three falls match for the NWA World Middleweight Championship |
| May 6 | AJW | Wrestlemarinepiad '89 | Yokohama, Japan | Chigusa Nagayo retired in a series of matches where she fought and teamed with Lioness Asuka. Lioness Asuka also defeated Madusa in a WWWA World Title match. |
| May 7 | WCW | WrestleWar | Nashville, Tennessee | Ric Flair defeated Ricky Steamboat (c) in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| July 18 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Worcester, Massachusetts | Hulk Hogan (c) vs. The Honky Tonk Man in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| July 23 | WCW | The Great American Bash | Baltimore, Maryland | Ric Flair (c) defeated Terry Funk in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| August 28 | WWF | SummerSlam | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Brutus Beefcake and Hulk Hogan defeated Randy Savage and Zeus in a Tag team match |
| September 10 | WWC | WWC 16th Aniversario | Bayamón, Puerto Rico | Carlos Colón defeated Steve Strong (c) in a Barbed wire match for the WWC Universal Championship |
| September 21 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Cincinnati, Ohio | Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Ted DiBiase in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| September 22 | EMLL | EMLL 56th Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | Atlantis (mask) and El Satánico (hair) defeated Los Infernales (Tierra Viento y Fuego (mask) and MS-1 (hair)) in a best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas mask and hair vs. mask and hair match |
| October 6 | FMW | The Grudge in Nagoya | Nagoya, Aichi, Japan | Masashi Aoyagi defeated Atsushi Onita by TKO in a Singles match |
| October 10 | FMW | The Grudge in Tokyo | Tokyo, Japan | Atsushi Onita defeated Masashi Aoyagi by KO in a Singles match |
| October 10 | WWF | First WWF UK Event | London, England | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Randy Savage in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| October 14 | WWF | King of the Ring | Providence, Rhode Island | Dusty Rhodes defeated Big Boss Man in a singles match |
| October 28 | WCW | Halloween Havoc | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Ric Flair and Sting defeated The Great Muta and Terry Funk in a Thunderdome match with Bruno Sammartino as special guest referee |
| October 31 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Topeka, Kansas | The Genius defeated Hulk Hogan (c) by countout in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| November 23 | WWF | Survivor Series | Rosemont, Illinois | The Ultimate Warriors (The Ultimate Warrior, Jim Neidhart, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) defeated The Heenan Family (Bobby Heenan, André the Giant, Haku and Arn Anderson) in a 4-on-4 Survivor Series match |
| December 7 | NJPW | G1 Climax | Tokyo, Japan | Shinya Hashimoto defeated Riki Choshu in the finals |
| December 10 | FMW | Battle Creation | Tokyo, Japan | Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto defeated Jerry Blayman and Mitsuhiro Matsunaga by KO in a Barbed Wire Death match |
| December 12 | WWF | No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie | Nashville, Tennessee | Brutus Beefcake and Hulk Hogan defeated Randy Savage and Zeus in a Steel Cage match |
| December 13 | WCW | Starrcade | Atlanta, Georgia | Sting defeated Ric Flair in a tournament match |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

## Notable events

* January the alliance between The American Wrestling Association and The Continental Wrestling Association ended due to AWA Owner Verne Gagne refusing to pay then-World Champion Jerry Lawler for participating on the company's first-ever Pay-Per-View AWA SuperClash III.
* February 7 - In a live event at St. Paul, Minnesota, Larry Zbyszko won the battle royal to capture the vacant AWA World Heavyweight Championship.
* The World Wrestling Association professional wrestling promotion based out of Indianapolis, Indiana, closed.
* August 4 WCCW becomes the USWA when Eric Embry pinned Phil Hickerson in a steel cage match in Dallas, Texas.

## Tournaments and accomplishments
### AJW

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won |
| Japan Grand Prix 1989 | Mitsuko Nishiwaki | August 24 |
| Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament | Kaoru Ito | |
| Tag League The Best 1989 | Madusa Miceli and Mitsuko Nishiwaki | October 8 |

### AJPW

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Asunaro Cup 1989 | Toshiaki Kawada | July 25 | |

### NJPW

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| World Cup League | Riki Choshu | December 7 | |

### WCW

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won |
| NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament | The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin and Michael Hayes) | June 14 |
| Iron Man tournament | Sting | December 13 |
| Iron Team tournament | The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal) | December 13 |

### WWF

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Royal Rumble | Big John Studd | January 15 | |
| King of the Ring | Tito Santana | October 14 | |

## Awards and honors
### Pro Wrestling Illustrated

| Category | Winner |
| PWI Wrestler of the Year | Ric Flair |
| PWI Tag Team of the Year | The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) |
| PWI Match of the Year | Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair (WrestleWar) |
| PWI Feud of the Year | Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk |
| PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year | Hulk Hogan |
| PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year | Randy Savage |
| PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year | Scott Steiner |
| PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year | Eric Embry |
| PWI Rookie of the Year | The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) |
| PWI Lifetime Achievement | Gordon Solie |
| PWI Editor's Award | Bobby Heenan |

### Wrestling Observer Newsletter

| Category | Winner |
| Wrestler of the Year | Ric Flair |
| Most Outstanding | Ric Flair |
| Feud of the Year | Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk |
| Tag Team of the Year | The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) |
| Most Improved | Lex Luger |
| Best on Interviews | Terry Funk |

## Title changes
### WWF

WWF World Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Randy Savage |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| April 2 | Hulk Hogan | WrestleMania V | |
WWF Intercontinental Championship :
| Incoming champion – The Ultimate Warrior |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| April 2 | Rick Rude | WrestleMania V | |
| August 28 | The Ultimate Warrior | SummerSlam | |
WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Antonio Inoki |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| April 24 | Shota Chochishvili | House show | |
| May 25 | Antonio Inoki | House show | |
| December 31 | Deactivated | N/A | |
WWF Women's Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – The Glamour Girls (Leilani Kai and Judy Martin) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 14 | Retired | N/A | |
WWF Women's Championship :
| Incoming champion – Rockin' Robin |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| No title changes ||||
WWF Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – Demolition (Ax and Smash) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| July 18 | The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) | Saturday Night's Main Event XXII | |
| October 2 | Demolition (Ax and Smash) | Superstars of Wrestling | Aired on Tape Delay on November 4. |
| December 13 | The Colossal Connection (Andre the Giant and Haku) | Superstars of Wrestling | Aired on Tape Delay on December 30. |
Million Dollar Championship :
| (Title created) |||||
| Unsanctioned championship |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 15 | Ted DiBiase | Superstars of Wrestling | DiBiase had the title created for himself and unveiled the belt during a segment called "The Brother Love Show". This episode aired on tape delay on March 4. |

## Births

* January 11 – Natalia Markova
* January 25 – Stu Grayson
* February 25 – Natsumi Sumikawa
* March 1 – Tenille Dashwood
* April 9 – Bianca Belair
* April 11 – Ariya Daivari
* April 16 – Mia Yim
* April 21 – Nikki Cross
* April 22 –Andre Chase
* May 14 – Rob Gronkowski
* May 19 – Tom Phillips
* June 14 - Peter Avalon
* June 15 – Bayley
* June 23 – Billie Kay
* July 5 – Adam Cole
* July 28 – Nick Jackson
* August 8 – Gianni Valletta
* August 16 – Cedric Alexander
* August 28 – Christina Von Eerie
* September 20 - Ethan Page
* October 3 – T. K. O'Ryan
* October 11 – Riddick Moss
* October 24 – Heidi Howitzer
* November 3 – Andrade "Cien" Almas
* December 4 – Hiromu Takahashi

## Debuts
### Debut date

* January 10 - Utako Hozumi (JWP)
* January 14 - Leo Kitamura (JWP)
* February 22 - Salman Hashimikov, Victor Zangiev and Vladimir Berkovich
* March 1 – Booker T
* March 19 - Super Delfin
* April 20 - Maniaco
* April 24 - Wahka Eveloev (NJPW)
* April 30 – Rey Mysterio
* May 11 – Steve Austin
* May 12 - Timur Zalasov (NJPW)
* May 25 - Habieli Victachev (NJPW)
* August 2 - Evgeny Artyukhin Sr. (NJPW)
* September 19 – Yoshihiro Tajiri
* October 6 - Shark Tsuchiya, Miwa Sato and Mitsuteru Tokuda
* October 8 – Kaoru Ito, Bat Yoshinaga (All Japan Women's) and Tomoko Watanabe
* October 29 – Tommy Dreamer
* November 26 - Andrei Sulsaev (NJPW)
* December 1 - Yasha Kurenai (JWP), Carol Midori (JWP) and Sambo Asako (FMW)
* December 6 - Hisae Kuboki (All Japan Women's), Mayumi Yamamoto (All Japan Women's) and Michiko Nagashima (All Japan Women's)
* December 7 - Kazue Saito (All Japan Women's) and Sakie Hasegawa (All Japan Women's)

### Uncertain debut date

* Sandman
* X-Pac
* Scotty 2 Hotty
* Billy Gunn
* Ken Shamrock
* Jerry Flynn
* J. W. Storm
* Bobby Walker

## Retirements

* Al Tomko (July 9, 1954 – 1989)
* Alfonso Dantés (1960–1989)
* Blue Demon (March 31, 1948 – August 27, 1989)
* Jonathan Boyd (1966–1989)
* Nelson Royal (1955–1989)
* Rayo de Jalisco (February 1950 – 1989)
* Steve Rickard (1943–1989)
* Victor Rivera (1964–1989)
* Big John Studd (1972–1989)

## Deaths

* January 6 - Mario Galento, 73
* January 7 - Aslam Pahalwan, 61
* February 18 - Mildred Burke, 73
* March 7 - Paul Boesch, 76
* March 14 – Happy Humphrey, 62
* April 17 – Villano II, 39
* July 25 - Sweet Georgia Brown (wrestler), 50
* September 7 - Eduardo Perez (wrestler), 60 or 61
* December 7 – Haystacks Calhoun, 55
* December 28 – Earl Patrick Freeman, 57