# 1987 in professional wrestling

1987 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

## List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events in 1987.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation |
| All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling | AJW |
| American Wrestling Association | AWA |
| Championship Wrestling from Florida | CWF |
| Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre | EMLL |
| Jim Crockett Promotions | JCP |
| World Class Championship Wrestling | WCCW |
| World Wrestling Council | WWC |
| World Wrestling Federation | WWF |

## Calendar of notable shows

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| February 21 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Detroit, Michigan | Randy Savage (c) defeated George Steele by count-out in a singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship and the managerial services of Miss Elizabeth |
| March 29 | WWF | WrestleMania III | Pontiac, Michigan | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated André the Giant in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| April 12 | EMLL | 31. Aniversario de Arena México | Mexico City, Mexico | Cien Caras defeated Siglo XX in a Lucha de Apuestas hair vs. hair match |
| April 10–11 | JCP | 2nd Annual Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament | Baltimore, Maryland | April 11: The Super Powers (Nikita Koloff and Dusty Rhodes) defeated Tully Blanchard and Lex Luger in a tournament final |
| April 16 | AWA | Rage in a Cage II | Las Vegas, Nevada | Wahoo McDaniel defeated Curt Hennig in a Steel Cage Match |
| April 28 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Notre Dame, Indiana | Randy Savage defeated George Steele in a Lumberjack match |
| May 2 | AWA | SuperClash II | Daly City, California | Curt Hennig defeated Nick Bockwinkel (c) in a singles match for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| May 3 | WCCW | 4th Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions | Irving, Texas | Kevin Von Erich (c) wrestled Nord the Barbarian to a double count out in a singles match for the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| May 9 | CWF | First Annual Eddie Graham Memorial Show | St. Petersburg, Florida | Dusty Rhodes (c) defeated Ric Flair by disqualification in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| June 12 | NJPW | G1 Climax | Tokyo, Japan | Chigusa Nagayo defeated Dump Matsumoto in the finals |
| June 25 | AJW | Japan Grand Prix | Tokyo, Japan | Antonio Inoki defeated Masa Saito in the finals |
| July 4 | JCP | The Great American Bash | Atlanta | The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk), Nikita Koloff, Dusty Rhodes and Paul Ellering defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger, Tully Blanchard and J. J. Dillon) in a WarGames match |
| July 18 | JCP | The Great American Bash | Charlotte, North Carolina | Dusty Rhodes (with Barry Windham) defeated Tully Blanchard in a "lights-out" Barbed Wire Ladder match for $100,000. |
| July 31 | JCP | The Great American Bash | Miami | The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk), Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff and Paul Ellering defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger and Tully Blanchard) and The War Machine in a WarGames match |
| September 1 | CWF | Battle of the Belts III | Daytona Beach, Florida | Ric Flair (c) fought Lex Luger to a draw in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| September 4 | WWF | King of the Ring | Providence, Rhode Island | Randy Savage defeated King Kong Bundy in a King of the Ring tournament final match |
| September 18 | EMLL | EMLL 54th Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | Mogur defeated As Charro in a Lucha de Apuestas mask vs. mask match |
| September 20 | WWC | WWC 14th Aniversario | Bayamón, Puerto Rico | Invader #1 defeated Chicky Starr in a "Retirement vs. hair" match |
| September 23 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Hershey, Pennsylvania | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Sika in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| October 10 | AJW | Tag League the Best | Tokyo, Japan | Chigusa Nagayo & Yumiko Hotta defeated Hisako Uno & Yukari Omori in the finals |
| October 17 | WCCW | 4th Cotton Bowl Extravaganza | Dallas, Texas | Kevin Von Erich defeated Al Perez (c) in a singles match for the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| November 11 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Seattle, Washington | King Kong Bundy defeated Hulk Hogan (c) in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| November 26 | WWF | Survivor Series | Richfield Township, Ohio | André the Giant, Butch Reed, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang and Rick Rude defeated Bam Bam Bigelow, Don Muraco, Hulk Hogan, Ken Patera and Paul Orndorff in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series match |
| November 26 | JCP | Starrcade | Chicago, Illinois | Ric Flair defeated Ron Garvin (c) in a steel cage match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| December 7 | NJPW | Japan Cup Tag League | Tokyo, Japan | Antonio Inoki & Dick Murdoch defeated Kengo Kimura & Tatsumi Fujinami in the finals |
| December 7 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Landover, Maryland | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated King Kong Bundy in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| December 26 | AJW | All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling at Korauken Hall | Tokyo, Japan | Devil Masami has her retirement match against Chigusa Nagayo |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

## Tournaments and accomplishments
### AJW

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won |
| Japan Grand Prix 1987 | Chigusa Nagayo | June 28 |
| Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament | Toshiyo Yamada | |
| Tag League the Best 1987 | Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka | October 11 |

### JCP

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Bunkhouse Stampede | Dusty Rhodes | | |
| Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament | The Super Powers (Nikita Koloff and Dusty Rhodes) | April 11 | |

### WWF

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Frank Tunney Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament | The Killer Bees (B. Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell) | March 15 | |
| King of the Ring | Randy Savage | September 4 | |

#### Slammy Awards

| Poll | Winner |
| Best Performance by an Animal | George "The Animal" Steele |
| Woman of the Year | Miss Elizabeth |
| Best Ring Apparel | Harley Race |
| Hulk Hogan Real American Award | Superstar Billy Graham |
| Jesse "The Body" Award | "Ravishing" Rick Rude |
| Greatest Hit | Jim Duggan |
| Manager of the Year | None |
| Best Personal Hygiene | Nikolai Volkoff, Boris Zhukov, and Slick |
| Best Vocal Performance | Jim Duggan |
| Song of the Year | No winner (envelope eaten by Sika) |
| Best Group | One Man Gang |
| Humanitarian of the Year | Ted DiBiase |
| Best Head | Gene Okerlund and Bam Bam Bigelow |
| Bobby "The Brain" Heenan Scholarship Award | The Islanders (Haku & Tama), André the Giant, Hercules, King Kong Bundy, and Harley Race |

## Awards and honors
### Pro Wrestling Illustrated

| Category | Winner |
| PWI Wrestler of the Year | Hulk Hogan |
| PWI Tag Team of the Year | The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) |
| PWI Match of the Year | Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat (WrestleMania III) |
| PWI Feud of the Year | The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard and Lex Luger) vs. The Super Powers (Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff) and The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal) |
| PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year | Dusty Rhodes |
| PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year | Ric Flair |
| PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year | Curt Hennig |
| PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year | Nikita Koloff |
| PWI Rookie of the Year | Owen Hart |
| PWI Lifetime Achievement | Paul Boesch |
| PWI Editor's Award | Jimmy Hart |

### Wrestling Observer Newsletter

| Category | Winner |
| Wrestler of the Year | Riki Choshu |
| Most Outstanding | Ric Flair |
| Feud of the Year | Austin Idol and Tommy Rich vs. Jerry Lawler |
| Tag Team of the Year | The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) |
| Most Improved | Rick Steiner |
| Best on Interviews | Jim Cornette |

## Title changes
### WWF

WWF World Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Hulk Hogan |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| No title changes ||||
WWF Intercontinental Championship :
| Incoming champion – Randy Savage |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| March 29 | Ricky Steamboat | WrestleMania III | |
| June 2 | The Honky Tonk Man | Superstars of Wrestling | Aired on tape delay on June 13 |
WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Antonio Inoki |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| No title changes ||||
WWF Women's Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – The Glamour Girls (Leilani Kai and Judy Martin) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| No title changes ||||
WWF Women's Championship :
| Incoming champion – The Fabulous Moolah |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| July 24 | Sensational Sherri | Live event | |
WWF Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – The British Bulldogs (British Bulldog and Dynamite Kid) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 26 | The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) | Superstars | aired on tape delay on February 7 |
| August 10 | The Rougeau Brothers (Jacques and Raymond Rougeau) | House show | |
| October 27 | Strike Force (Rick Martel and Tito Santana) | Superstars | Aired on tape delay on November 7 |

## Births

* January 5 – Willie Mack
* January 7 – Alisha Edwards
* January 15:
** Kelly Kelly
** Nicole Matthews
* January 25 – Laura James
* January 30 – Becky Lynch
* February 1 – Ronda Rousey
* March 1 – Kyle O'Reilly
* March 9 – Aubrey Edwards
* March 17 – Brody King
* March 19 – AJ Lee
* March 20 – Nao Kakuta
* March 30 – Trent Beretta
* April 22 – Yusuke Kodama
* April 23 – Donovan Dijak
* April 28 – Drew Gulak
* April 29 – Brittney Savage
* May 2 – Pat McAfee
* May 7 – Angélico
* May 11 – Lince Dorado
* May 17 – Dash Wilder
* May 23 – Bray Wyatt(died in 2023)
* May 26 – Steve Maclin
* July 7 – Richie Steamboat
* July 9 – Mini Charly Manson
* July 14 – Charly Caruso
* July 20 – Evil Uno
* July 24 – Zack Sabre Jr.
* July 28 – Lindsay Kay Hayward
* August 11 – Chris Dickinson
* August 14 – Johnny Gargano
* August 22 – Apollo Crews
* September 1 – Sami Callihan
* September 3 – Allie
* September 4 – Wesley Blake
* September 5 – A. R. Fox
* September 15 – Rhett Titus
* September 21 – Ivelisse Vélez
* October 7 – Aiden English
* October 23 – Carmella
* October 26 – Portia Perez
* November 2 – Samir Singh
* November 3 – Cameron
* November 5 – Allysin Kay
* November 8 – Kazuchika Okada
* November 22 – Elias
* November 30 – Naomi
* December 7 – A. C. H.
* December 27 – Andy Leavine

## Debuts
### Debut date

* January 3 - P. N. News
* January 6 - Konnan
* January 24 - Eden Mabuchi (JWP)
* March 22 - El Felino
* March 31 - Isao Takagi
* April 2 - Art Barr
* April 11 - Moon Ayako (JWP)
* April 16 - Selina Majors
* May 13 - Último Dragón
* May 29 - Neftaly
* June - Maxx Payne
* June 3 - Taz
* June 9 - Raja Lion
* June 26 - Mark Calaway
* July 27 - Toshiyo Yamada
* August 5 - Manami Toyota, Etsuko Mita and Mima Shimoda
* August 7 - Malia Hosaka
* September 12 - Bomber Hikaru (JWP)
* October 10 - Skayde
* October 28 - Roadblock
* November 11 - Miki Handa (JWP)
* November 12 - DeWayne Bruce
* November 23 - Sachiko Koganei (JWP)
* December 17 - Alex Pourteau

### Uncertain debut date

* Amy the Farmer's Daughter
* Hardcore Holly
* Balls Mahoney
* John Tenta
* Firebreaker Chip
* Abismo Negro
* Pierre Carl Ouellet
* Cynthia Moreno
* Glacier
* Johnny Grunge
* Joey Maggs
* Lloyd Anoa'i
* The Terminator
* Robert Swenson
* Ron Harris
* Sid Vicious
* Timothy Well
* Tommy Angel
* Damien Demento
* Ron and Don Harris
* Sad Genius

## Retirements

* Tony Garea (1971–1987)
* Armand Rougeau (1982–1987)
* Bob Boyer (wrestler) (1950s-1987)
* Bob Sweetan (1966–1987)
* Bruno Sammartino (1959–1987)
* David Schultz (1974–1987)
* Huracan Ramirez (1941–1987)
* Ivan Putski (1968–1987)
* Kelly Kiniski (1980–1987)
* Killer Khan (1971–1987)
* Ron Fuller (1973–1987)
* Klondike Bill (1958–1987)
* Moose Cholak (1952–1987)
* Nick Bockwinkel (1955–1987)
* Paul Boesch (1938–1987)
* Pedro Morales (1959–1987)
* Rene Goulet (1957–1987)
* Super Maxx (1981–1987)
* Superstar Billy Graham (1970–1987)
* Tony Marino (1954–1987)
* Tor Kamata (1959–1987)
* Al Costello (1938–1987)

## Deaths

* Unknown - Milton Reid, 69 or 70 (born 1917)
* January unknown date - Atholl Oakeley, 86
* January 10 - Steve Casey, 78
* April 12:
** Mike Von Erich, 23
** Akram Pahalwan, 56 or 57 (born 1930)
* August 24 – Malcolm Kirk, 51
* August 27 - Peter Mehringer, 77
* August 30 - Frank Stojack, 75
* September 3 - Rusty Wescoatt, 76
* September 5 – Scott Irwin, 35
* October 22 - Lino Ventura, 68
* November 28 – Kazuharu Sonoda, 31
* December 4 - Betty Jo Hawkins, 57