# 1986 in professional wrestling

1986 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

## List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events in 1986.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation |
| American Wrestling Association | AWA |
| Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre | EMLL |
| Jim Crockett Promotions | JCP |
| Pacific Northwest Wrestling | PNW |
| 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 21 | PNW | Superstar Extravaganza | Portland, Oregon | Ric Flair (c) defeated Dusty Rhodes by disqualification in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| February 7 | JCP | Superstars on the Superstation | Atlanta, Georgia | Ric Flair (c) defeated Ron Garvin in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| February 14 | CWF | Battle of the Belts II | Orlando, Florida | Ric Flair (c) fought Barry Windham to a double count-out in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| February 15 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Phoenix, Arizona | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated The Magnificent Muraco by disqualification in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| February 15 | AJW | All Japan Women's event at Kawasaki-shi Taiikukan | Kawasaki, Japan | Jaguar Yokota has her retirement match in a 5-minute exhibition match against Devil Masami |
| April 5 | AJW | All Japan Women's event at Ryōgoku Kokugikan | Tokyo, Japan | Jaguar Yokota vs Devil Masami in a WWWA World Title Match, Chigusa Nagayo vs Dump Matsumoto in a All Pacific Title match |
| April 7 | WWF | WrestleMania 2 | Uniondale, New York Rosemont, Illinois Los Angeles, California | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated King Kong Bundy in a steel Cage match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| April 19 | JCP | 1st Annual Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament | Louisiana Superdome | The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk) defeated Ron Garvin and Magnum T. A. in a tournament final |
| April 20 | AWA | WrestleRock 86 | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Nick Bockwinkel defeated Stan Hansen (c) by disqualification in a singles match for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| April 28 | AWA / NWA | Rage in a Cage | Minneapolis, Minnesota | The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk & Road Warrior Animal) defeated Ivan Koloff & Nikita Koloff in a Steel Cage Match |
| May 1 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Providence, Rhode Island | Hulk Hogan and Junkyard Dog defeated Terry Funk and Hoss Funk in a tag team match |
| May 4 | WCCW | 3rd Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions | Irving, Texas | Steve Simpson, Kerry Von Erich and Lance Von Erich defeated the Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) (c) in a Lumberjack elimination match for the WCWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship |
| June 19 | NJPW | IWGP League | Tokyo, Japan | Antonio Inoki defeated Dick Murdoch in the finals |
| June 22 | AJW | Japan Grand Prix | Tokyo, Japan | Chigusa Nagayo defeated Yukari Omori in the finals |
| June 28 | AWA | Battle By The Bay | Oakland, California | Larry Zbyszko fought Scott LeDoux to a double count-out in a singles match |
| July 1 – August 2 | JCP | The Great American Bash (1986) | Multiple | Various |
| July 14 | WWF | King of the Ring (1986) | Foxborough, Massachusetts | British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid) (c) defeated The Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) in a steel cage match for the WWF World Tag Team Championship |
| August 9 | PPP | A Hot Summer Night II | Honolulu, Hawaii | Superfly Tui fought Lars Anderson in a Steel Cage Match for the NWA Polynesian Pacific Heavyweight Championship |
| August 23 | AJW | All Japan Women's event at Kawasaki-shi Taiikukan | Kawasaki, Japan | Devil Masami defeats Yukari Omori in a WWWA World Title match |
| August 28 | WWF | The Big Event | Toronto, Ontario | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Paul Orndorff via disqualification in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| August 29 | WWF | Sam Muchnick Memorial Tournament | St. Louis, Missouri | Hulk Hogan (c) and Paul Orndorff fought to a double-disqualification in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| September 13 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Richfield, Ohio | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Paul Orndorff by disqualification in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| September 19 | EMLL | EMLL 53rd Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | Américo Rocca, Tony Salazar and Ringo Mendoza defeated Los Misioneros de la Muerte (El Signo, Negro Navarro and El Texano) in a Lucha de Apuestas triple hair vs. triple hair match |
| September 19 | WWC | WWC 13th Aniversario | Ponce, Puerto Rico | Tony Atlas vs. Hiroshi Wajima in a singles match (result unknown) |
| September 20 | WWC | WWC 13th Aniversario | Mayagüez, Puerto Rico | Ric Flair (c) defeated Miguel Perez, Jr. in a singles match for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship |
| October 12 | WCCW | 3rd Cotton Bowl Extravaganza | Dallas, Texas | Bruiser Brody defeated Abdullah the Butcher in a steel cage match with guest referee Fritz Von Erich |
| October 10 | AJW | Tag League the Best | Tokyo, Japan | The Crush Gals defeated Dump Matsumoto & Bull Nakano in the finals |
| November 7 | AJW | All Japan Women's at Osaka Jo Hall | Osaka, Japan | Chigusa Nagayo defeats Dump Matsumoto in a hair vs hair rematch. |
| November 15 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Los Angeles, California | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Hercules Hernandez in a singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| November 27 | JCP | Starrcade | Greensboro, North Carolina Atlanta, Georgia | Ric Flair (c) wrestled Nikita Koloff to a double disqualification in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| December 12 | NJPW | World Tag League | Tokyo, Japan | Antonio Inoki & Seiji Sakaguchi defeated Kengo Kimura & Tatsumi Fujinami in the finals |
| December 14 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Hartford, Connecticut | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Paul Orndorff in a Steel cage match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| December 25 | AWA | Brawl in St. Paul | St. Paul, Minnesota | The Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty) defeated Buddy Rose & Doug Somers in a Steel Cage Match |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

## Notable events

* Benjamin Mora Jr. creates the World Wrestling Association (WWA) based out of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.
* Wrestling Power magazine hit the newsstands with its first issue.
* Superstar Wrestler magazine hit the newsstands with its first issue.
* February 18 - World Class Championship Wrestling seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance
* March - Bill Watts renames his Mid South Wrestling territory the Universal Wrestling Federation
* August 30 - The final episodes of both WWF Championship Wrestling and WWF All Star Wrestling airs on syndication.
* September 6 and 7 - WWF debuted two new weekly shows WWF Superstars of Wrestling and WWF Wrestling Challenge on syndication replacing both WWF Championship Wrestling and WWF All Star Wrestling
* September - WCCW debuts on ESPN

## Tournaments and accomplishments
### AJW

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won |
| Japan Grand Prix 1986 | Yukari Omori | June 28 |
| Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament | Kiyo Toyoda | |
| Tag League the Best 1986 | Chigusa Nagayo and Yumiko Hotta | October 10 |

### JCP

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won |
| Bunkhouse Stampede | Dusty Rhodes | |
| NWA World Television Championship Tournament | Arn Anderson | January 4 |
| Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament | Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal) | April 19 |

### WWF

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| King of the Ring | Harley Race | July 14 | |
| Sam Muchnick Memorial Tournament | Harley Race | August 29 | |

#### Slammy Awards

| Poll | Winner |
| Best Personality in Land of a Thousand Dances | "Rowdy" Roddy Piper |
| Best Producer | Mona Flambe aka Cyndi Lauper |
| Best Commentator | Gene Okerlund |
| Most Ignominious | Nikolai Volkoff |
| Best Single Performer | Junkyard Dog |

## Awards and honors
### Pro Wrestling Illustrated

| Category | Winner |
| PWI Wrestler of the Year | Ric Flair |
| PWI Tag Team of the Year | The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) |
| PWI Match of the Year | Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes (The Great American Bash) |
| PWI Feud of the Year | Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Orndorff |
| PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year | Roddy Piper |
| PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year | Paul Orndorff |
| PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year | Terry Gordy |
| PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year | Chris Adams |
| PWI Rookie of the Year | Lex Luger |
| PWI Lifetime Achievement | Verne Gagne |
| PWI Editor's Award | Lou Albano |

### Wrestling Observer Newsletter

| Category | Winner |
| Wrestler of the Year | Ric Flair |
| Most Outstanding | Ric Flair |
| Feud of the Year | Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Orndorff |
| Tag Team of the Year | The Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton) |
| Most Improved | Steve Williams |
| 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 – Tito Santana |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 8 | Randy Savage | House show | |
WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Antonio Inoki |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| No title changes ||||
WWF Canadian Championship :
| Incoming champion – Dino Bravo |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 22 | Vacant | N/A | |
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 Masked Spider Lady (Fabulous Moolah) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| July 3 | Velvet McIntyre | Live event | |
| July 9 | The Fabulous Moolah | Live event | |
WWF Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – The Dream Team (Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| April 7 | The British Bulldogs (The British Bulldog and Dynamite Kid) | WrestleMania 2 | |

## Births

* January 7 – Melanie Cruise
* January 14 – Matt Riddle
* January 24 – Vinny Marseglia
* February 5 – Madison Rayne
* February 17 – Ricardo Rodriguez
* March 1:
** Big E Langston
** Kazumi Kikuta
* March 4 – Dalton Castle
* March 8 – Chad Gable
* March 16 – Kenny Dykstra
* March 27 – So Cal Val
* March 28 – Mustafa Ali
* April 5 – Charlotte Flair
* April 19 – Maxine
* April 22 – Chuck Taylor
* April 23 – Jessie Godderz
* May 19 – Danny Havoc (died in 2020)
* May 28 – Seth Rollins
* May 29 – Hornswoggle
* June 15 – Cezar Bononi
* June 20:
** Shadia Bseiso
** Jessicka Havok
* June 24 – Jessamyn Duke
* June 29
** Serena
** Súper Nova
* June 30 – Alicia Fox
* July 17:
** Mojo Rawley
** Lacey Von Erich
* July 19 – Jinder Mahal
* July 22 – Thunder Rosa
* August 6 – Reby Sky
* August 16 – Big Cass
* August 22 – Neville
* September 4 – Xavier Woods
* September 7 – Colin Delaney
* September 22 – Lana Austin
* October 5 – Joaquin Wilde
* October 7 – Kaitlyn
* October 12 – Gregory Iron
* November 5 – Alexander Wolfe
* November 6 – Nick Aldis
* November 13 – Act Yasukawa
* November 14 – Kalisto
* November 25 – Karsten Beck (died in 2020)
* December 3 – Wolfgang
* December 8 – Enzo Amore

## Debuts

Unknown date
   * John Laurinaitis
   * Norman Smiley
   * Cody Michaels
   * Brian Adams
   * Doug Gilbert
   * Paul Heyman
   * Scott Steiner
   * The Warlord
   * Charles Robinson
   * Luna Vachon
   * Mountain Fiji
   * Babe the Farmer's Daughter
   * Mark Starr
   * Derrick Dukes
   * Wellington Wilkins Jr.
* February 16 - Kensuke Sasaki
* February 26 - Hiroshi Hase
* April 6 - Jeff Jarrett
* April 20 - Hisakatsu Oya
* May 24 - Akira Katayama
* May 30 - Owen Hart
* July 24 - El Samurai
* August 8 - KAORU and Megumi Kudo
* August 17 - Shinobu Kandori, Mayumi Ozaki, Dynamite Kansai, Harley Saito, Rumi Kazama, Plum Mariko, Yu Yamazaki (JWP), Dirty Yamato (JWP), Yuki Ito (JWP) and Maiko Tsurugi (JWP)
* September 5 - Eagle Sawai (JWP and LLPW) and Xóchitl Hamada
* September 7 - Reggie Bennett
* September 10 - Bison Kimura (All Japan Women's)
* September 16 - Aja Kong
* September 17 - Combat Toyoda
* September 19 - Cutie Suzuki
* September 22 - Oscar Tomo (JWP)
* September 25 - Reibun Amada (All Japan Women's), Mika Takahashi (All Japan Women's) and Miori Kamiya (All Japan Women's)
* October - Ron Simmons
* December 1 - Road Dogg (Made his debut for only one appearance at 17 before he went into the marines. He returned to wrestling in 1991.)

## Retirements

* Bobby Duncum Sr. (1967 - 1986)
* Don Kent (1956 - 1986)
* Dr. Wagner (July 16, 1961 - April 27, 1986)
* Dick the Bruiser (1954 - 1986)
* Ernie Ladd (1961 - 1986)
* Hubert Gallant (May 2, 1975 - 1986)
* Jacques Rougeau, Sr. (1956 - 1986)
* Kurt Von Hess (September 1968 - 1986)
* Lars Anderson (1965 - 1986)
* Mad Maxine (1984 - 1986)
* Mario Milano (1953 - 1986)
* Maurice Vachon (1950 - 1986)
* Pampero Firpo (1953 - 1986)
* Stu Hart (1943-July 25, 1986)
* Swede Hanson (1957 - 1986)
* Vivian St. John (August 6, 1974 - 1986)
* Vivian Vachon (1969 - 1986)
* Don Fargo (1952 - 1986)

## Deaths

* February 2 – Gino Hernandez, 28
* March 25 - Warren Bockwinkel, 74
* April 6 – El Solitario, 39
* April 13 - Jack van Bebber, 78
* April 26 – Ángel Blanco, 47