1993 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events in 1993.

Calendar of notable shows

January

February

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Accomplishments and tournaments

AJW

AJPW

ECW

JWP

WCW

WCW Hall of Fame

WWF

WWF Hall of Fame

Awards and honors

''Pro Wrestling Illustrated''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Notable events

* January 9 -

WWF Mania ''WWF Mania'' is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It aired on Saturday mornings on the USA Network between 1993 and 1996 and summarized the weekly events in WWF programming. In ...

aired its first episode on the USA Network with host

Todd Pettengill Todd Clark Pettengill (born April 18, 1966) is a former American radio disc jockey who most recently worked for WPLJ 95.5 in the New York area. From 1993 to 1997, he also served as an on-screen backstage interviewer for the World Wrestling Federa ...

who's making his WWF TV Debut. * January 11 - WWF Monday Night Raw

premiered A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

on the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

, its first episode was from the

Manhattan Center The Manhattan Center is a building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1906 and located at 311 West 34th Street, it houses Manhattan Center Studios, the location of two recording studios; its Grand Ballroom; and the Hammerstein Ballroo ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

* February 10 -

Bill Watts William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939) is a retired American professional wrestler, promoter and former American football player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy" gimmick in his wrestling career, and then as a promoter in the Mid-South Un ...

resigned as Executive Vice President of Wrestling Operations for WCW. * February 12 –

Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) an ...

becomes Executive Producer of all

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...

television and

Ole Anderson Alan Robert Rogowski (born September 22, 1942), better known by the ring name Ole Anderson (), is an American retired professional wrestler, referee, manager, and promoter. Part of the Anderson family, Anderson was a founding member of the influen ...

was announced as new Vice President of Wrestling Operations for WCW. * February 21 – Ric Flair makes his WCW return and

Davey Boy Smith David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler. Born in Golborne, Lancashire, Smith is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Bo ...

makes his WCW debut at WCW SuperBrawl III in Asheville, North Carolina * February 22 – Hulk Hogan makes his WWF return live on Monday Night Raw. * February 25 - Jim Ross resigned from WCW. * April 2 -

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling , nicknamed Zenjo (全女: 全 meaning "All", 女 meaning "Woman") was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held their first card on June 4 of that y ...

holds their All-Star Dreamslam event. The event featured multiple inter-promotional matches between AJW, FMW, Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling and

JWP Joshi Puroresu , also known as or simply JWP, was a Japanese ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion, founded in 1992 as a splinter promotion of Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Celebrating its 25th anniversary at the time of its folding in 2 ...

. * April 4 – Jim Ross makes his WWF TV debut at

WrestleMania IX WrestleMania IX was the ninth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of WWE pay-per-view events, event produced by the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The event took place on April 4, 1993, at Caesars Pa ...

* April 6 -

ECW Hardcore TV ''ECW Hardcore TV'' is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by the Philadelphia based promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) composed of footage from live shows and recorded interviews. It ran in syndi ...

debuts on

SportsChannel Philadelphia SportsChannel Philadelphia was an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between Rainbow Sports, a unit of the Rainbow Media subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation, and NBC (which both owned 50%), and operated as an aff ...

. * April 11 -

holds their All-Star Dreamslam 2 event. The event featured multiple inter-promotional matches between AJW, FMW, Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling and

and the return of

Chigusa Nagayo is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for her mainstream popularity in the 1980s as a member of the tag team ''Crush Gals'' with long-time partner Lioness Asuka. She was the founder of the GAEA Women's Professional Wrestling organizatio ...

from retirement. * April 13 - WCW makes its

debut running an live event at the Paramount Theater in New York, NY headlined with Vader defending the WCW World Heavyweight title vs Sting in the main event drawing 3,000. * July 7 –

WCW Worldwide ''WCW WorldWide'' was an American syndicated television show that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) that aired from October 8, 1975, to March 31, 2001. At the time of its cancellation, ''WorldWide'' was the longest-running, uni ...

begins taping at Disney/MGM Studios from

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. This taping schedule ran from July 7–10 taping matches and footage for airing starting the weekend of August 28–29, 1993 which included Ric Flair and Rick Rude wearing the NWA World title, Ricky Steamboat and Lord Steven Regal wearing the WCW TV title and an interview with Paul Roma & Arn Anderson wearing the NWA & WCW world tag team titles and The Nasty Boys managed by Missy Hyatt carrying the NWA World Tag Team titles in the ring. * September 1 – WCW leaves the National Wrestling Alliance * September 3 - The NWA Convention was held in Las Vegas, NV, also that same day the ECW joined the NWA becoming NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling. * October 6 -

Mean Gene Okerlund Eugene Arthur Okerlund (December 19, 1942 – January 2, 2019), better known by his ring name "Mean Gene" Okerlund, was an American professional wrestling interviewer, announcer and television host. He was best known for his work in the World Wres ...

made his WCW debut at a

WCW Saturday Night ''WCW Saturday Night'' is an American weekly Saturday night television show on TBS that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Launched in 1971 initially by Georgia Championship Wrestling, the program existed through various incarn ...

taping in Atlanta, GA (air date November 5) * October 27 - Both

Sid Vicious John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...

and

Arn Anderson Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by the ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a ...

was both hospitalized following a hotel room brawl which saw both wrestlers stabbing each other with a pair of Scissors after an argument at a hotel bar on WCW's tour of Europe. * November 24 – For the first time ever a non - WWF title changed hands at a WWF pay-per-view when

The Heavenly Bodies The Heavenly Bodies is a professional wrestling tag team famous for having worked in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and various independent promotions. Over the years, there have been multiple variations of the team, ...

defeating

SMW Tag Team Champions SMW may refer to: * Semantic MediaWiki, an extension to MediaWiki that allows for annotating semantic data within wiki pages * Smara Airport, Western Sahara, IATA Airport Code * Smoky Mountain Wrestling, a professional wrestling promotion that held ...

The Rock 'n' Roll Express The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of professional wrestlers Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton. The duo began teaming together in Memphis in the early 1980s, followed by Mid-South Wrestling (later to be known ...

in a title match at the

Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...

in Boston, Massachusetts. * November 30 - The Boss returns to WCW on a WCW Saturday Night taping in Atlanta, GA. * December 4 –

Bobby Heenan Raymond Louis Heenan (November 1, 1944 – September 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestling manager, color commentator, wrestler, and comedian. He performed with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federati ...

was given an on-air farewell on WWF Monday Night Raw when

Gorilla Monsoon Robert James Marella (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play commentator, and booker. Monsoon is famous for his run as a villainous super-heavyw ...

picked him up and threw him and his belongings out of the arena and onto the street.

Title changes

ECW

NJPW

FMW

WCW

WWF

Births

* January 7 -

Darby Allin Samuel Ratsch (born January 7, 1993), better known by the ring name Darby Allin, is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former and longest-reigning AEW TNT Champion. He is also known for his appe ...

* February 17 –

Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

, Mexican luchador * March 4: ** James Drake **

Teoman Teoman () is a masculine Turkish given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Ali Teoman Germaner (1934–2018) Turkish sculptor * Teoman Koman (c. 1936–2013), Turkish general * Teoman (singer), stage name of Faz ...

* March 5 -

Josh Briggs Joshua Bruns (born March 5, 1993) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Josh Briggs. He is currently signed to WWE where he performs on the NXT brand. In WWE, he is a one-time NXT UK Tag Team Champion with Brooks ...

* May 7-

Will Ospreay William Peter Charles Ospreay (born 7 May 1993) is an English professional wrestler who is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion in his first reign and leader of the ...

* May 20 – Akam, Canadian wrestler * May 20 - Vanessa Borne * June 14 –

Esfinge Esfinge (born June 14, 1993 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico) is the ring name of a Mexican ''Lucha libre, Luchador wrestling mask, enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler, currently working for the Mexican Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CM ...

, Mexican luchador * July 2 - Kamille Brickhouse * July 28: **

Noam Dar Noam Dar (; born 28 July 1993) is an Israeli-Scottish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, and is a record setting two-time NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion. He also wrestles for Scottish promotion Insane Championship Wrestling (I ...

, Israeli wrestler **

Sammy Guevara Samuel George Guevara (born July 28, 1993) is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society. He is a record tying three-time former AEW TNT Champion. He also app ...

* August 4 – Henare, New Zealand wrestler * August 12 –

El Soberano El Soberano or Soberano Jr. (born August 12, 1993 in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Luch ...

, Mexican luchador September 8 - Yota Tsuji, Japanese wrestler * September 9 –

Sarah Logan Sarah Rowe (née Bridges; born September 10, 1993) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Valhalla. From 2017 to 2019, she was a member of the stable The Riott ...

, American female wrestler * September 24 –

Sonya Deville Daria Rae Berenato (born September 24, 1993) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sonya Deville. She is also a former on-scre ...

, American female wrestler * September 30 -

Trevor Lee :not to be confused with actress Camryn Grimes who voices Mrs. Claus in Mickey Saves Christmas Trevor Lee Caddell (born September 30, 1993) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under t ...

, American wrestler * October 10 -

Ilja Dragunov Ilya Rukober (russian: Илья́ Руко́бер, translit=Ilʹya Rukober, translit-std=ALA-LC; born October 10, 1993) is a Russian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ilja Dragunov (). He is currently signed to WWE, appearin ...

* November 6 –

Bárbaro Cavernario Leonardo Moreno Ayala (born November 6, 1993), better known by his ring name Bárbaro Cavernario, is a Mexican ''luchador'' (or professional wrestler), currently working for Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He po ...

, Mexican luchador * November 9 -

Pete Dunne Peter Thomas England (born 9 November 1993) is an English Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Butc ...

* November 11

* December 11 -

Sonny Kiss Sonny Kiss (born December 11, 1993) is an American professional wrestler, dancer, and professional wrestling manager currently signed to All Elite Wrestling. Kiss wrestles in the men's division but identifies as genderfluid and prefers she/her p ...

* Unknown **

Gran Guerrero Gran Guerrero (born 1993) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler), who works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He portrays a ''rudo'' ("bad guy") wrestling character. He was originally introduced to the ...

, Mexican luchador **David Benoit, Canadian-American wrestler and son of

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestlin ...

Debuts

Debut date

*January 20 - Tsubo Genjin and

Magnitude Kishiwada (born May 19, 1971), better known under his ring name Magnitude Kishiwada (マグニチュード岸和田), is a Japanese wrestler. Career During his highschool life, Fujita trained in artistic gymnastics, mixed martial arts and powerlifting, a ...

*February 13 - Hayato Nanjo *March 18 -

Tetsuhiro Kuroda is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently competing as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit. He is best known for his time with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), where he primarily competed from 1993 until the promotion's cl ...

*May 2 - Azteca *October - Doug Williams *October 2 - El Zorro *October 28 -

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending t ...

and Super Rider *October 29 -

Katsumi Usuda is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. Debuting for Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi (PWFG) in 1993, he is best known for his work in Battlarts, where he was a 2 time Independent World Junior Heavyweight Champion. Usuda is also known for his ...

*November 12 - Yumi Fukawa *November 27 - Toscano *December 2 - C. W. Anderson *December 5 -

Daisuke Ikeda is a Japanese professional wrestler who is currently wrestling in the Independent circuit in Japan. Since debuting in 1993, Ikeda has worked for a number of promotions in Japan, including Battlarts, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Noah ...

and Funaki *December 8 -

Joe Líder José de Jesús Álvarez Gutierrez (born June 2, 1978) is a Mexican professional wrestler, better known by his ringname Joe Líder. He currently competes in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). He is known for being a former member of the tag tea ...

*December 13 – Tsubasa

Uncertain debut date

:* Jeff Bradley :* Tom Howard :* Nelson Frazier, Jr. :*

Joey Styles Joseph Carmine Bonsignore (born July 14, 1971) better known by his ring name Joey Styles, is an American former professional wrestling commentator. He is best known for his time with ECW and WWE. Before working for WWE, Styles was a full-time ...

Doug Basham Lyle Douglas Basham Jr. (born May 12, 1971) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment between 2002 and 2007, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Basham ...

Tammy Sytch Tamara Lynn Sytch (born December 7, 1972), commonly known by her ring name Sunny, is an American former professional wrestling manager, valet, ring announcer, and adult entertainer. Sytch achieved great success as Sunny within the World Wrestling ...

:* Sgt. Craig Pittman :*

Johnny Swinger Joseph Dorgan (born July 3, 1975) is an American professional wrestler currently under contract to Impact Wrestling, using the ring name Johnny Swinger. Dorgan is also known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Champ ...

:* Carl Malenko :* The Spellbinder

Retirements

* Al Madril (1970–1993) *

Aníbal Aníbal is the Spanish and Portuguese masculine given name equivalent of Hannibal (q.v.), itself a latinization of the Greek name Hanníbas (Ἀννίβας), derived from “ḥnbʿl” in the Carthaginian language (Carthaginian Punic script, 𐤇 ...

(November 1963 – 1993) *

Shirley Crabtree Shirley Crabtree (14 November 1930 – 2 December 1997), better known as Big Daddy, was an English professional wrestler with a record-breaking 64-inch chest. He worked for Joint Promotions and the original British Wrestling Federation. Initia ...

(1952–1993) *

Big John Studd John William Minton (February 19, 1948 – March 20, 1995) was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd. Studd is best known for his appearances with the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wr ...

(1972-1993) *

(1962–1993) *

Bobo Brazil Houston Harris (July 10, 1924 – January 20, 1998) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobo Brazil. Credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling, Harris is considered one ...

(1951–1993) *

Debbie Malenko Deborah Killian (born March 10, 1971) is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her work in ''joshi puroresu'' organizations such as All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Early Career (1990) Malenk ...

(1990-1993) (wrestled matches in 2001 and 2017, returned full time in 2021) *

Dick Beyer Richard John Beyer (July 11, 1930 – March 7, 2019) was an American professional wrestler who is best known by his ring names, The Destroyer and Doctor X. Among other places, he worked extensively in Japan and in 2017 he was awarded one of th ...

(December 29, 1954 – July 29, 1993) * Frank Hickey (1935-May 15, 1993) * Oliver Humperdink (1965–1993) *

Omar Atlas Omar Mijares (born April 22, 1938), is a retired Venezuelan professional wrestler, best known by his ring name Omar Atlas, who competed in North American and international promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance, Stampede Wrestling a ...

(1958–1993) * Fred Peloquin (1971–1993) * Rita Chatterton (1984–1993)

Deaths

*January 27 -

André the Giant André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by excess ...

, French wrestler (b. 1946) *January 31 -

Joe McHugh Joe McHugh (born 16 July 1971) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Chair of the Committee on European Union Affairs since September 2020. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal constituency since 2016, and previously ...

, WWWF announcer (b. 1904) *February 18 -

Kerry Von Erich Kerry Gene Adkisson (February 3, 1960 – February 18, 1993), better known by his ring name Kerry Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler. He was part of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers. He is best known for his time with ...

, American wrestler (b. 1960) *March 10 -

Dino Bravo Adolfo Bresciano (; August 6, 1948 – March 10, 1993) was an Italian-Canadian professional wrestler and promoter, better known by the ring name Dino Bravo (). After training under Gino Brito, he started his career in Montreal in the 1970s, w ...

, Canadian wrestler (b. 1948) *March 25 -

Wally Karbo Walter Joseph Karbo (August 14, 1915 – March 23, 1993) was an American professional wrestling promoter and co-founder of the American Wrestling Association with Verne Gagne. A longtime promoter in the Minneapolis-area, Karbo was a close associ ...

, American wrestling promoter (b. 1915) *April 18 - Masahiko Kimura, Japanese wrestler (b. 1917) *April 22 - Chief Big Heart, American wrestler (b. 1927) *May 25 - D.J. Peterson, American wrestler (b. 1959) *June 7 - Don Kent, American wrestler (b. 1933) *July 19 - Bruno Elrington, British wrestler (b. 1929) *October 13 - Espectro, Mexican luchador (b. 1934) *October 26 - Oro, Mexican luchador (b. 1971) * November 1 -

Pinkie George Paul "Pinkie" George (born Paul Lloyd Georgeacopoulos; January 22, 1905 – November 1, 1993) was an American professional wrestling promoter, boxer and businessman best known as the visionary behind, and first president of, the National Wrestli ...

(b. 1905) *November 13 - Rufus R. Jones, American wrestler (b. 1933) *December 8 - Frank Hickey, American wrestler (b. 1915) *December 13 -

Larry Cameron Larry Cameron (November 4, 1952 – December 13, 1993) was an American professional football player and wrestler. Football career Larry Cameron was born and raised in Natchez, MS. When he was a teenager, he played football in high school and c ...

, American wrestler (b. 1952)

References

{{Years in professional wrestling