List of years in professional wrestling
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1988 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events in 1988.

Promotion Name Abbreviation Notes
All Japan Pro Wrestling AJPW
American Wrestling Association AWA
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre EMLL
Jim Crockett Promotions JCP In November, Turner Broadcasting System bought JCP and rebranded it as World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
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 24 JCP Bunkhouse Stampede Uniondale, New York Dusty Rhodes defeated Arn Anderson, The Barbarian, Ivan Koloff, Lex Luger, Road Warrior Animal, Tully Blanchard and The Warlord in a steel cage Bunkhouse Stampede[1]
WWF Royal Rumble Hamilton, Ontario Jim Duggan won the Royal Rumble by last eliminating One Man Gang[2]
February 21 AJW The War Dream II Kawasaki, Japan Dump Matsumoto and Yukari Omori retire. The show featured Matsumoto facing partner Bull Nakano, Yukari Omori facing Lioness Asuka and a special exhibition match where long-time rivals Chigusa Nagayo and Matsumoto teamed up against Asuka and Omori.[3][4]
March 7 WWF Saturday Night's Main Event Nashville, Tennessee Hulk Hogan vs. Harley Race
March 27 WWF WrestleMania IV Atlantic City, New Jersey Randy Savage defeated Ted DiBiase in a tournament final for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship[5]
JCP Clash of the Champions I Greensboro, North Carolina Ric Flair (c) wrestled Sting to a time-limit draw in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship[6]
April 22 WWF Saturday Night's Main Event Springfield, Massachusetts Randy Savage vs. One Man Gang for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
April 22
April 23		 JCP 3rd Annual Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Greenville, South Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina		 Sting and Lex Luger defeated Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard in a tournament final[7]
May 8 WCCW 5th Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions Irving, Texas Kerry Von Erich defeated Iceman Parsons (c) (( in a singles match for the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship[8]
June 12 NJPW G1 Climax Tokyo, Japan Antonio Inoki defeated Masa Saito
June 28 AJW Japan Grand Prix Tokyo, Japan Chigusa Nagayo defeated Dump Matsumoto
July 10 JCP The Great American Bash Baltimore, Maryland Ric Flair (c) defeated Lex Luger in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship[7]
July 30 JCP
AWA
WCCW		 Second Annual Eddie Graham Memorial Show Tampa, Florida Kerry Von Erich (C - WCCW) defeated Jerry Lawler (C - AWA) in a singles match; AWA World Heavyweight Championship vs. WCCW World Heavyweight Championship[9]
August 29 AJPW Bruiser Brody Memorial Show Tokyo, Japan Genichiro Tenryu and Ashura Hara defeated Jumbo Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu in a tag team match for the World Tag Team Championship[10]
WWF SummerSlam New York City, New York The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage) defeated The Mega Bucks (André the Giant and Ted DiBiase) in a tag team match with Jesse Ventura as the special guest referee[11]
September 10 WWC WWC 15th Aniversario Bayamón, Puerto Rico Huracan Castillo and Miguel Pérez Jr. defeated Bobby Jaggers and Dan Kroffat in a "Hair vs. hair" tag team match
September 30 EMLL EMLL 55th Anniversary Show Mexico City, Mexico Máscara Año 2000 defeated Mogur in a Lucha de Apuestas mask vs. mask match[12]
October 11 AJW Tag League the Best Tokyo, Japan The Crush Gals (Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka) defeated Bull Nakano and Condor Saito
October 15 WCCW 5th Cotton Bowl Extravaganza Dallas, Texas Kerry Von Erich (c - WCWA) defeated Jerry Lawler (c - AWA) in a Texas Death match for the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship and the AWA World Heavyweight Championship[13][14]
October 16 WWF King of the Ring Providence, Rhode Island Ted DiBiase defeated Randy Savage by count-out in a King of the Ring tournament final match[15]
October 25 Saturday Night's Main Event Baltimore, Maryland Hulk Hogan vs. King Haku
November 16 Saturday Night's Main Event Sacramento, California Randy Savage (c) vs. Andre the Giant for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
November 24 Survivor Series Richfield Township, Ohio Hercules, Hillbilly Jim, Koko B. Ware, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage defeated Akeem, Big Boss Man, Haku, The Red Rooster and Ted DiBiase in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series match[16]
December 7 NJPW Japan Cup Tag League Tokyo, Japan Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura defeated Antonio Inoki and Dick Murdoch
WWF Saturday Night's Main Event Tampa, Florida Hulk Hogan vs. Akeem
December 13 AWA SuperClash III Chicago, Illinois Jerry Lawler (AWA) defeated Kerry Von Erich (WCWA) due to referee stoppage in a Title Unification match; AWA World Heavyweight Championship vs. WCWA World Heavyweight Championship[17][18]
December 26 WCW Starrcade Norfolk, Virginia Ric Flair (c) defeated Lex Luger in a singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship[19]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Notable events

Tournaments and accomplishments

AJW

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
Japan Grand Prix 1988 Bull Nakano June 26
Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament Sachiko Nakamura
Tag League The Best 1988 Hisako Uno and Mika Suzuki October 10

JCP

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
Bunkhouse Stampede Dusty Rhodes[20][7] January 24
Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Lex Luger and Sting April 23
NWA United States Tag Team Championship Tournament The Fantastics(Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers) April 26

WWF

Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
Royal Rumble Jim Duggan January 24
WWF World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Randy Savage March 27
King of the Ring Ted DiBiase October 16

Awards and honors

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Category Winner
PWI Wrestler of the Year Randy Savage
PWI Tag Team of the Year The Road Warriors
(Hawk and Animal)
PWI Match of the Year Hulk Hogan vs. André the Giant (The Main Event I)
PWI Feud of the Year Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger
PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year Randy Savage
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year André the Giant
PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year Sting
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year Jerry Lawler
PWI Rookie of the Year Madusa Miceli
PWI Lifetime Achievement Bruiser Brody, Adrian Adonis
PWI Editor's Award J. J. Dillon

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Category Winner
Wrestler of the Year Akira Maeda
Most Outstanding Tatsumi Fujinami
Feud of the Year The Fantastics vs. The Midnight Express
Tag Team of the Year The Midnight Express
(Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane)
Most Improved Sting
Best on Interviews Jim Cornette

Title changes

WWF

Incoming champion – Hulk Hogan
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
February 5 Andre the Giant The Main Event I After the controversial finish, Andre "sold' his title to Ted Dibiase
February 5 Vacant The Main Event I As a result of that moment see above Jack Tunney declared the title vacant.
March 27 Randy Savage WrestleMania IV It was a 14-man tournament to decide the undisputed WWE Champion.
Incoming champion – The Honky Tonk Man
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
August 29 The Ultimate Warrior SummerSlam The Ultimate Warrior was a last minute replacement for Brutus Beefcake who was originally the no. 1 contender for the title.
Incoming champion – Antonio Inoki
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
No title changes
Incoming champions – The Glamour Girls (Leilani Kai and Judy Martin)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 24 The Jumping Bomb Angels
(Noriyo Tateno and Itzuki Yamazaki)		 Royal Rumble
June 8 The Glamour Girls
(Leilani Kai and Judy Martin)		 Live event
Incoming champion – Sensational Sherri
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
October 7 Rockin' Robin Prime Time Wrestling
Incoming champions – Strike Force (Rick Martel and Tito Santana)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
March 27 Demolition
(Ax and Smash)		 WrestleMania IV

Births

Debuts

Debut date

Uncertain debut date

Retirements

Deaths

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1988 in professional wrestling.

References

  1. ↑ Hoops, Brian (January 24, 2020). "Pro wrestling history (01/24): WWF Royal Rumble 1999". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Royal Rumble 1988". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  3. ↑ AJW War Dream 2, Cagematch.net, retrieved 12 April 2023
  4. ↑ THE WAR DREAM II Dump Matsumoto, Yukari Omori Retirement Match 2/25/88 Kawasaki Shi Taiikukan, quebrada.net, retrieved 12 April 2023
  5. ↑ "WrestleMania IV results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved May 31, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Clash of Champions Results (I)".
  7. 1 2 3 Cawthon, Graham; Cornette, Jim (2013-12-25). Sawyer, Grant (ed.). The History of Professional Wrestling: Jim Crockett Promotions & the NWA World Title 1983-1988 (1 ed.). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 9781494803476.
  8. ↑ "Historical Cards: Parade of Champions 5 (May 8, 1988. Irving, Texas)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanac and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 173. 2007 Edition.
  9. ↑ "Eddie Graham Memorial Show". Florida Championship Wrestling/Professional Wrestling Federation Cards. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
  10. ↑ "Budokan Hall 8/88". All Japan Budokan Hall Shows. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
  11. ↑ "SummerSlam 1988". Pro Wrestling History. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  12. ↑ "55th Anniversary Show". Pro Wrestling History. September 30, 1988. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  13. ↑ "5th Cotton Bowl Extravaganza". Pro Wrestling History. October 15, 1988. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Historical Cards: 5th Cotton Bowl Extravaganza (October 15, 1988. Dallas, Texas)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 172. 2007 Edition.
  15. ↑ "King of the Ring 88 - Providence, RI - Civic Center - October 16, 1988 (6,700)". The History of WWE. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Survivor Series 1988 official results". WWE. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  17. ↑ "Historical Cards". 2007 Wrestling Almanac and Book of Facts. Kappa Publications. p. 159. 2007 Edition.
  18. ↑ "SuperClash III". Pro Wrestling History. December 13, 1988. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  19. ↑ Adamson, Matt (2008-02-06). "Going Old School: Starrcade '88". 411mania. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
  20. ↑ "Bunkhouse Stampedes". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Evie". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2017-09-08. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  22. ↑ "Athena: Profile & Match Listing". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  23. ↑ 〜ピープルズ・チャンプ〜 宝城カイリ. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). May 22, 2014. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  24. ↑ 宝城カイリ. Horipro (in Japanese). Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  25. ↑ 【各界の著名人&関係者に直撃！】『Super J-Cup』優勝予想大アンケート！（スターダム編）【SJ16】. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). August 9, 2016. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Buddy Murphy". Wrestling Data.
  27. ↑ "Cathy Kelley's IMDB Page". IMDB. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  28. ↑ "Jason Jordan". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  29. ↑ マスカラ・ドラダ. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Dana Brooke: Profile & Match Listing". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Adrian Adonis profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
  32. ↑ Atlas, Tony. ATLAS Too Much ... Too Soon. Crowbar Press. (p.197-205) ISBN 978-0-9844090-2-0
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