1986

This is a list of various things that took place in 1986.
==Significant events==
Unknown date
:*Jody Hamilton establishes Deep South Championship Wrestling in Georgia
:*The Japanese UWF dissolves after Satoru Sayama takes issue with the outcome of a match against Akira Maeda and subsequently leaves the promotion to go into retirement. With the collapse of the UWF, Maeda and the rest of the roster head to New Japan Pro Wrestling
:*Tuesday Night Titans ceased airing
:*Mat Mania, the first successful action-based professional wrestling arcade game, is released. In the game, the wrestler controls "Dynamite Tommy," who must defeat a series of five opponents to win the TWA World Championship, before defending the title against the same series of opponents.
January
:*Hulk Hogan begins using "Real American" as his entrance theme, which he will continue using throughout the remainder of his WWF run (through 1993) and in later WWE appearances.
:*Pacific Northwest Wrestling holds its second supercard, the Superstar Extravaganza, at the Portland Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. In the main event, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair retains his title via disqualification over Dusty Rhodes, while on the undercard, Tom Zenk wins the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship from Bobby Jaggers, and the Road Warriors and Magnum TA defeat Ivan and Nikita Koloff and Timothy Flowers in a six-man match
February
:*World Class Championship Wrestling withdraws from the NWA.
:*7 - TBS airs Superstars on the SuperStation, its first primetime wrestling event
April
:* Roddy Piper, Jesse "the Body" Ventura and André the Giant take hiatuses from wrestling following WrestleMania 2. Shortly before WrestleMania, Piper and Ventura tape a final batch of segments of their respective shows, "Piper's Pit" and "The Body Shop," for airing through the end of April and first part of May. "Piper's Pit," which aired on Championship Wrestling, would be replaced by Adrian Adonis' "The Flower Shop," while the Magnificent Muraco would take over as host of Ventura's "Body Shop." This new batch of "Piper's Pit" segments marked the last appearances of Piper as a heel, as he would turn face when he returned in August and begin feuding with Adonis; Ventura's heel personality remained intact upon his return. To explain André's absence, a storyline involving his ongoing feud with Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy took a turn where André "failed to show" for a match and was "suspended," before a tag team stable known as The Machines (with one of the wrestlers being a masked André) appearing and starting to antagonize Bundy, Studd and manager Bobby Heenan. All three use their absences to heal from legit injuries and film movies that would debut in 1987
May
:*Ric Flair forms the Four Horsemen with Tully Blanchard, Ole Anderson, Arn Anderson and manager J.J. Dillon
:*Bill Watts reorganizes Mid-South Wrestling into the Universal Wrestling Federation
:*Superstars of Wrestling (not to be confused with the similarly-named syndicated WWF program), an eight-hour-long pro wrestling news and highlights program created and hosted by Joe Pedicino, debuts in syndication. The program featured news and matches from various American NWA-affiliated promotions as well as promotions in Japan and was most notable for Pro Wrestling This Week, a wrestling news segment within the show hosted by Pedicino and Gordon Solie
June
:*4 - Kerry Von Erich is severely injured in a motorcycle accident in Argyle, Texas.
:*24 - The Hulk Hogan-Paul Orndorff storyline, which translated into one of 1986's biggest feuds, reached a tipping point during a television taping at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, when Orndorff suddenly attacked Hogan during a tag team match against Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy; Orndorff culminated his heel turn by piledriving Hogan in the middle of the ring, then rejoined the Heenan Family (which he had originally been part of when he first joined the WWF before turning face in 1985)
August
:* 28 - The Big Event supercard, the only event under that title, takes place at the Canadian National Exhibition stadium in Toronto, Ontario. In the main event, WWF Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan defeats Paul Orndorff by disqualification
September
:*6-7 - The WWF revamps its syndicated programming, replacing its Championship Wrestling and All-Star Wrestling shows with Superstars of Wrestling and Wrestling Challenge, respectively. Challenge will include a new interview segment, "The Snake Pit," hosted by Jake "the Snake" Roberts; it replaces "The Body Shop" hosted by the Magnificent Muraco, the interview segment on the old All Star Wrestling
:*16 - Roddy Piper's face turn is solidified after the Piper’s Pit-Flower Shop showdown (with the latter's host, Adrian Adonis) during a TV taping at the Baltimore Arena, Baltimore. The two spend 10 minutes trading insults, with Piper -- the crowd solidly in support of "the Rowdy One" -- clearly having the upper hand throughout, before Adonis and his allies "Cowboy" Bob Orton and the Magnificent Muraco beating down Piper and destroying his set. Later in the taping, Piper came out, hobbling on a crutch and destroys the Flower Shop set, before vowing revenge on Adonis and his friends. The two segments air over a series of two weeks, on the September 26 and October 4 episodes of WWF Superstars of Wrestling.
:*13 - The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling program makes its debut in syndication in the United States and Canada
October
:*14 - Magnum TA suffers career-ending spinal injuries in a car crash in Charlotte, North Carolina
:*28 - WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage, after defeating Ricky Steamboat by countout, injures Steamboat by jumping off the top turnbuckle with the timekeeper's bell and driving it into Steamboat's throat. After Steamboat is taken from ringside on a stretcher, WWF Superstars of Wrestling commentator Bruno Sammartino attacks Savage backstage outside the locker rooms when Savage brags about the attack on Steamboat. The short-term Sammartino-Savage feud is a rare case of a face-initiated attack on another wrestler (here, a heel) being its genesis.
November
:*Texas All-Star Wrestling, the successor to Southwest Championship Wrestling, ceases operations when it is sold to World Class Championship Wrestling
==Births==
Unknown date
:*Ultimo Breakfast
:*John Greed (Ontario, Canada)
:*Nick Brubaker (Bloomington, Illinois)
January
:*7 - Alexxis Nevaeh (San Diego, California)
:*9 - Bolt Brady (Round Rock, Texas)
:*16 - Bull Dempsey (Monroe, New York)
:*18 - Adam Ohriner (New York City, New York)
:*25 - Tommy Taylor (Leeds, Yorkshire, England)
:*26 - Shantelle Taylor (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
February
:*5 - Ashley Lane (Columbus, Ohio)
:*11 - Ryzin (Westminster, Colorado)
March
:*1 - Ettore Ewen (Tampa, Florida)
:*8 - Chad Gable (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
:*12 - Tyler Tirva (Woodstock, Ontario, Canada)
:*16 - Ken Doane (Worcester, Massachusetts)
:*27 - Valerie Wyndham (Beverly Hills, California)
April
:*10 - Jemma Palmer (Nuneaton, England)
:*20 - Tae Honma (Aichi, Japan)
:*22 - Chuck Taylor (Murray, Kentucky)
:*23 - Jessie Godderz (Rudd, Iowa, USA)
May
:*28 - Tyler Black (Buffalo, Iowa)
:*29 - Hornswoggle (Oshkosh, Wisconsin)
June
:*16 - Ethan HD (Chicago, Illinois)
:*16 - Pelle Primeau (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
:*29 - Serena Deeb (Oakton, Virginia)
:*30 - Victoria Crawford (Ponte Verde, Florida)
July
:*1 - Brandon Locke (Raymond, New Hampshire)
:*9 - Aika Ando (Tokyo, Japan)
:*17 - Lacey Von Erich (Denton, Texas)
:*19 - Tiger Raj Singh (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
August
:*6 - Tom Latimer (Chesterfield, England)
:*20 - Sebastian Suave (Markham, Ontario, Canada)
:*21 - Slex (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)
:*21 - Michael Dante (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
:*22 - Adrian Neville (Newcastle, England)
:*23 - Max Angelus (Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England)
September
:*4 - Austin Creed (Columbus, Georgia)
:*7 - Colin Delaney (Rochester, New York)
:*11 - Aaron Anarchy (Indianapolis, Indiana)
:*15 - Shawna Elizabeth (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
October
:*7 - Celeste Bonin (Houston, Texas)
:*8 - Britenay (Waikoto, New Zealand)
:*16 - Jimmy Olsen (Rochester, New York)
:*24 - El Phantasmo (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
:*30 - Jeremiah Plunkett (Murfreesboro, Tennessee)
November
:*2 - Rebecca Mason (Cardiff, Wales)
:*9 - Mark Massa (United Kingdom)
:*13 - Daisuke Harada (Suita, Osaka)
:*14 - Samuray del Sol (Chicago, Illinois)
:*21 - Guerrero Azteca (México, Distrito Federal, Mexico)
==Deaths==
February
:*4 - Gino Hernandez 28 (Cocaine overdose)
March
:*24 - Warren Bockwinkel 74 (Alzheimer's disease)
April
:*6 - El Solitario 39 (Heart attack)
==Debuts==
Unknown date
:*John Laurinaitis
:*Norman Smiley
:*Cody Michaels
:*Brian Adams
:*Doug Gilbert
:*Paul Heyman
:*Scott Steiner
:*Four Horsemen
:*The Warlord
:*Charles Robinson
:*Gertrude Vachon
:*Emily Dole
February
:*16 - Kensuke Sasaki
:*26 - Hiroshi Hase
April
:*Jeff Jarrett
May
:*24 - Super Parka
:*30 - Owen Hart
August
:*8 - Kaoru Maeda
:*17 - Mayumi Ozaki
:*17 - Dynamite Kansai
September
:*16 - Aja Kong
:*18 - Cutie Suzuki
:*29 - Cooga
October
:*Ron Simmons
==Events==
Unknown date
:*Bunkhouse Stampede 1986
January
:*21 - PNW Superstar Extravaganza
February
:*14 - NWA Battle Of The Belts II
:*16 - Saturday Night's Main Event V
March
:*13 - AJPW All Japan vs. Japan Pro (Televised event)
April
:*19 - NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup
:*20 - AWA WrestleRock
:*28 - AWA/NWA Rage In A Cage
May
:*1 - Saturday Night's Main Event VI
:*4 - WCWA 3rd Von Erich Memorial Parade Of Champions
June
:*14 - Superdome Extravaganza
:*28 - AWA Battle By The Bay
July
:*1-August 2 - NWA The Great American Bash Tour
:*4 - WCWA Independence Day Star Wars
:*14 - WWF King Of The Ring
August
:*28 - WWF The Big Event
:*29 - WWF Sam Muchnick Memorial Tournament
September
:*1 - NWA Battle Of The Belts III
:*13 - Saturday Night's Main Event VII
:*13 - GLOW: Episode 1 (Aired)
October
:*9 - NJPW Inoki Toukon Live
:*12 - WCWA 3rd Cotton Bowl Extravaganza
:*21 - AJPW 14th Anniversary
November
:*15 - Saturday Night's Main Event VIII
:*27 - NWA Starrcade - "Night Of The Skywalkers”
:*27 - Superdome Extravaganza
:*27 - WCWA Thanksgiving Star Wars
December
:*14 - Saturday Night's Main Event IX
:*25 - AWA Brawl In St. Paul
:*25 - WCWA Christmas Star Wars
==Pay-Per-View events==
April
:*7 - WWF WrestleMania II
==Title changes==
Unknown date
:*The AWA America's Heavyweight Championship, last held by Sgt. Slaughter, is retired
:*The NWA American Tag Team Championship is vacated following the split of previous champions the Dynamic Duo (Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez)
January
:*1 - Dick Slater wins the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Championship from Butch Reed in Tulsa, Oklahoma
:*18 - Scott Hall and Curt Hennig win the AWA World Tag Team Championship from Jim Garvin and Steve Regal in Albuquerque, New Mexico
:*21 - Tom Zenk wins the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship from Bobby Jaggers in Portland, Oregon
:*31 - The Mid-South North American title is held up after a match between Dick Slater and Jake Roberts
February
:*The NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship, last held by Harley Race, is retired following Jim Crockett Promotions' purchase of the St. Louis Wrestling Club
:*8 - Randy Savage wins the WWF Intercontinental Championship from Tito Santana in Boston, Massachussetts
:*14 - Jake Roberts defeats Dick Slater to win the vacant Mid-South North American title in Houston, Texas
:*22 - The NWA American Heavyweight Championship is renamed the World Class Heavyweight Championship, with Rick Rude as its first champion.
:*23 - Dick Slater regains the Mid-South North American title from Jake Roberts in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
March
:*1 - Ben Bassarab and Chris Benoit win the Stampede International Tag Team Championship from Honky Tonk Wayne and Ron Starr in Regina, Saskatchewan
:*9 - Bobby Jaggers wins the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship from Tom Zenk in Findley, Washington
:*10 - Brian Adias wins the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship from The Grappler in Fort Worth, Texas
:*16 - Hacksaw Jim Duggan wins the Mid-South North American title from Buzz Sawyer (subbing for Dick Slater) in Oklahoma City
:*21 - Ron Ritchie wins the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship from Kerry Brown in Calgary, Alberta (the title is held up immediately afterward); Honky Tonk Wayne and Cuban Assassin win the Stampede International Tag Team title from Chris Benoit and Ben Bassarab in Calgary
:*22 - Ron Ritchie regains the vacant Stampede North American title by defeating Kerry Brown in a rematch in Edmonton, Alberta
April
:*5 - Riki Chōshū wins the PWF Heavyweight Championship from Stan Hansen in Yokohama, Japan
:*7 - The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) win the WWF Tag Team Championship) from The Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) in Rosemont, Illinois
:*8 - Jerry Lawler wins the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship from Bill Dundee in Memphis, Tennessee
:*12 - Billy Jack Haynes wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Bobby Jaggers in Portland
May
:*Billy Jack Haynes is stripped of the NWA Pacific Northwest title
:*The Mid-South North American title is retired when the Mid-South Wrestling Association becomes the UWF
:*2 - Bill Dundee regains the AWA Southern title from Jerry Lawler in Memphis
:*5 - Steve DiSalvo wins the Stampede North American title from Ron Ritchie in Vancouver, British Columbia
:*12 - Bad News Allen wins the Stampede North American title from Steve DiSalvo in Swift Current, Saskatchewan
:*17 - Buddy Rose and Doug Somers win the AWA World Tag Team title from Scott Hall and Curt Hennig in Hammond, Indiana
:*29 - The NWA United States Heavyweight Championship is vacated when Magnum TA attacks NWA President Bob Geigel
:*30 - Terry Gordy becomes the first UWF Heavyweight Champion in a tournament final win over Hacksaw Duggan in Houston
June
:*The NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship, last held by Tiger Mask II, is retired
:*2 - Buddy Landel wins the AWA Southern title from Bill Dundee in Memphis (the title is immediately vacated after the match)
:*13 - Rip Oliver wins a battle royal for the vacant NWA Pacific Northwest title in Portland
:*16 - Buddy Landel wins the AWA Southern title in a tournament final over The Flame in Memphis
:*20 - Honky Tonk Wayne wins the Stampede North American title from Bad News Allen in Calgary
:*29 - Nick Bockwinkel is awarded the AWA World Heavyweight Championship by forfeit when Stan Hansen no-shows a scheduled title bout in Denver, Colorado
:*30 - The Great Samu wins the Canadian International Heavyweight Championship from Dino Bravo in Montreal, Quebec
July
:*The AWA Southern title, last held by Buddy Landel, is vacated when Landel leaves the CWA
:*3 - Velvet McIntyre wins the WWF Women's Championship from The Fabulous Moolah in Brisbane, Australia
:*4 - Buzz Sawyer wins the World Class Texas Championship from Brian Adias in Dallas; Chris Adams wins the World Class title from Rick Rude in Dallas
:*9 - The Fabulous Moolah regains the WWF Women's title from Velvet McIntyre in Sydney, Australia
:*26 - Dusty Rhodes wins the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Ric Flair at the Great American Bash in Greensboro, North Carolina
:*28 - Bam Bam Bigelow wins a battle royal for the vacant AWA Southern title in Memphis
August
:*9 - Ben Bassarab and Owen Hart win the Stampede International Tag Team title from Duke Myers and Kerry Brown in Edmonton, Alberta; Ric Flair regains the NWA World title from Dusty Rhodes in St. Louis, Missouri
:*15 - Coco Samoa wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Rip Oliver in Albany, Oregon
:*17 - Nikita Koloff wins the vacant NWA United States Heavyweight Championship by beating Magnum TA in the final match of a best-of-seven series in Charlotte, North Carolina (WWE, which claims this title's history for its WWE United States Championship, claims this match is a tournament final without specifying who Koloff beat)
:*29 - The Stampede North American title, last held by Honky Tonk Wayne, is vacated when Honky signs with the WWF
September
:*1 - Buzz Sawyer and Matt Borne win the vacant WCWA World Tag Team Championship in a tournament final over Chris Adams and Lance Von Erich in Fort Worth.
:*8 - Jerry Lawler wins the AWA Southern title from Bam Bam Bigelow in Memphis
:*17 - Black Bart is awarded the World Class title when previous champion Chris Adams leaves World Class for the UWF (It is claimed that Bart won the title from Adams in a fictitious match on September 15 in Los Angeles, California)
:*20 - Rip Oliver wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Coco Samoa in Seattle, Washington
:*28 - Nikita Koloff wins the NWA National Heavyweight Championship from Wahoo McDaniel in a title-unification bout in Atlanta, Georgia and merges the National title into his NWA United States title
October
:*9 - The Viet Cong Express (Hiroshi Hase & Fumihiro Nikura) win the Stampede International Tag Team title from Owen Hart and Ben Bassarab in Calgary
:*12 - Kevin Von Erich wins the World Class Heavyweight Championship from Black Bart in Dallas
:*31 - Makhan Singh wins the vacant Stampede North American title in a tournament final over Owen Hart in Calgary
November
:*3 - David Schults wins the Canadian International title from The Great Samu in Montreal
:*9 - One Man Gang is awarded the UWF Heavyweight title by forfeit in Tulsa, Oklahoma when Terry Gordy is injured
:*17 - Dingo Warrior and Lance Von Erich win the WCWA World Tag Team title from Matt Borne and Buzz Sawyer in Fort Worth
:*29 - The Assassin wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Rip Oliver in Portland
December
:*1 - Al Madril and Brian Adias win the WCWA World Tag Team title from Dingo Warrior and Lance Von Erich in Fort Worth
:*13 - Rip Oliver wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from The Assassin in Portland
==Retired==
:*Jesse Ventura
:*Ernie Ladd
October
:*14 - Terry Allen
==See also==
Category:Wrestling Years