# 1940 in professional wrestling

1940 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 1940.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation |
| Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre | EMLL |

## Calendar of notable shows

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| September 12 | EMLL | EMLL 7th Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | Tarzán López (C) defeated John Nemenic in a singles match for the NWA World Middleweight Championship |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

## Notable events

* June 23 – The first Lucha de Apuestas (Spanish for "Bet match") takes place in Mexico with El Murciélago Enmascarado defeated Merced Gómez to force Gómez to be shaved bald. If he had lost El Murciélago Enmascarado would have had to unmask. The Lucha de Apuestas match would become the most prestigious match type in Mexico subsequently.

## Championship changes
### EMLL

NWA World Middleweight Championship :
| incoming champion – Octavio Gaona |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 19 | Tarzán López | EMLL show | |
Mexican National Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Francisco Arroyo |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| Uncertain | Vacant | N/A | |
| Uncertain | Firpo Segura | EMLL show | |
Mexican National Featherweight Championship :
* Incoming champion – Luis Robles ||||
* No title changes ||||
Mexican National Lightweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Jack O'Brien |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| May 5 | Bobby Bonales | EMLL show | |
| December 12 | Dientes Hernandez | EMLL show | |
Mexican National Middleweight Championship :
* Incoming champion – Tarzán López ||||
* No title changes ||||
Mexican National Welterweight Championship :
* Incoming champion – Tarzán López ||||
* No title changes ||||
NWA World Middleweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Octavio Gaona |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 4 | Tarzán López | EMLL show | |

## Lucha de Apuestas matches

| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date |
| El Murciélago Enmascarado (mask) | Merced Gómez (hair) | Mexico City | EMLL show | June 23, 1940 |
| El Murciélago Enmascarado (mask) | Bobby Bonales (hair) | Mexico City | EMLL show | June 30, 1940 |
| El Murciélago Enmascarado (mask) | Dientes Hernández (hair) | Mexico City | EMLL show | July 4, 1940 |
| El Murciélago Enmascarado (mask) | Ciclón Veloz (hair) | Mexico City | EMLL show | July 11, 1940 |
| Octavio Gaona (hair) | El Murciélago Enmascarado (mask) | Mexico City | EMLL show | July 18, 1940 |

## Births

* Date of birth unknown
** Espectro II(died in 1985)
* January 2 -
** Jerry Monti (died 1999)
** Motoko Baba(died in 2018)
* January 15 – Tommy Gilbert(died in 2015)
* February 5 – Luke Graham(died in 2006)
* February 11 – Espanto III(died in 1996)
* February 20 – Frankie Williams (died in 1991)
* March 24 – The Spoiler(died in 2006)
* March 25 -
** Jim Breaks (died in 2023)
** Joe Carollo
* April 7 – Bruce Swayze
* April 20 – El Matematico
* June 20 – Umanosuke Ueda(died in 2011)
* July 4 – Bob Sweetan(died in 2017)
* July 18 – Dean Ho (died in 2021)
* July 23 – Thunder Sugiyama (died in 2002)
* August 20 – Ken Lucas(died in 2014)
* August 25 – Wilhelm von Homburg (died in 2004)
* August 29 – Wim Ruska (died in 2015)
* September 3 – Spiros Arion
* September 15 – Man Mountain Mike(died in 1988)
* October 15 – Kay Noble (died in 2006)
* October 17 – Baron Von Raschke
* October 21 – Crusher Verdu (died in 2004)
* October 28 – Les Thatcher
* November 5 – Aníbal(died in 1994)
* November 30 – Johnny De Fazio (died in 2021)
* December 5 – Adrian Street(died in 2023)
* December 15 – Strong Kobayashi (died in 2021)

## Deaths

* March 26 – Dan Koloff 47
* June 27 – Emil Klank 64
* August 29 – Renato Gardini 51
* October 10 – Harold Angus 35
* November 21 – Ivan Linow 52