1990 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
These promotions held notable events in 1990.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| All Japan Pro Wrestling | AJPW | |
| All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling | AJW | |
| American Wrestling Association | AWA | AWA became inactive during the fall and filed for bankruptcy the following year. |
| EMLL | ||
| Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling | FMW | |
| National Wrestling Alliance | NWA | |
| New Japan Pro-Wrestling | NJPW | |
| World Championship Wrestling | WCW | |
| World Wrestling Council | WWC | |
| WWF | ||
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | |||||
| Jan 3 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Chattanooga, Tennessee | Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior vs. Mr. Perfect and The Genius | |
| FMW | Battle Resistance – 1st Open Tournament | Tokyo, Japan | Masanobu Kurisi defeated Tarzan Goto by referee's decision in an Open Tournament final match | ||
| WWF | Royal Rumble | Orlando, Florida, U.S. | Hulk Hogan won by last eliminating Mr. Perfect in the 30-man Royal Rumble match | ||
| NWA WCW | Clash of the Champions X | Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. | The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Ole Anderson, and Arn Anderson) defeated Gary Hart International (The Dragonmaster, Buzz Sawyer, and The Great Muta) (with Gary Hart) in a Steel Cage match | ||
| NJPW | Super Fight in Tokyo Dome | Tokyo, Japan | Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi defeated Masahiro Chono and Shinya Hashimoto in a tag team match with Lou Thesz as special guest referee[1] | ||
| FMW | Battle Brave in Korakuen | Tokyo, Japan | Atsushi Onita defeated Masanobu Kurisu in a Barbed Wire Barricades Death Match | ||
| WCW | WrestleWar | Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. | Ric Flair (c) (with Woman) defeated Lex Luger by countout in a Singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship | ||
| FMW | Texas Street Fight | Tokyo, Japan | Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto defeated Dragon Master and Masanobu Kurisu in a Tag Team Texas Street Fight | ||
| WWF | WrestleMania VI | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | The Ultimate Warrior (IC Champion) defeated Hulk Hogan (WWF Champion) in a Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental and WWF Championships | ||
| AWA | SuperClash IV | St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | The Trooper and Paul Diamond defeated The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) in a Steel Cage match | ||
| WWF AJPW NJPW | Wrestling Summit | Tokyo, Japan | Hulk Hogan defeated Stan Hansen in a Singles match | ||
| Apr 23 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Austin, Texas | The Ultimate Warrior (c) vs. Haku for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship | |
| Apr 29 | AJW | W.W.W.A. Champions Legend | Tokyo, Japan | Bull Nakano defeats Monster Ripper in a WWWA World Title match | |
| NWA WCW | Capital Combat | Washington D.C., U.S. | Lex Luger defeated Ric Flair (c) (with Woman) by disqualification in a Steel Cage match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship | ||
| Clash of the Champions XI | Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. | Junkyard Dog defeated Ric Flair (c) (with Ole Anderson) by disqualification in a Singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship | |||
| WWC | WWC 17th Aniversario | Bayamón, Puerto Rico | Carlos Colón (WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion) and TNT went to a draw in a Singles match | ||
| NWA | The Great American Bash | Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | Sting (with El Gigante, Junkyard Dog, Lex Luger, Paul Orndorff, Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) defeated Ric Flair (c) (with Ole Anderson) in a Singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship | ||
| Jul 16 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Omaha, Nebraska | The Ultimate Warrior (c) vs. Rick Rude for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship | |
| FMW | Summer Spectacular in Shiodome | Tokyo, Japan | Atsushi Onita (c) defeated Tarzan Goto via knockout in a No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch for the WWA Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship | ||
| FMW | Summer Spectacular in Shiodome | Tokyo, Japan | Atsushi Onita (c) defeated Tarzan Goto via knockout in a No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch for the WWA Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship | ||
| NWA WCW | Clash of the Champions XII | Asheville, North Carolina, U.S. | Sting (c) defeated The Black Scorpion in a Singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship | ||
| Sep 18 | WWF | Saturday Night's Main Event | Toledo, Ohio | The Ultimate Warrior and The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) vs. Demolition (Ax, Smash, and Crush) | |
| NJPW | Inoki's 30th Wrestling Anniversary | Yokohama, Japan | Antonio Inoki and Tiger Jeet Singh defeated Animal Hamaguchi and Big Van Vader in a tag team match with Nick Bockwinkel as special guest referee | ||
| EMLL | EMLL 57th Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | Rayo de Jalisco Jr. defeated Cien Caras in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas mask vs. mask match[2] | ||
| NWA | Halloween Havoc | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | Sting (c) defeated Sid Vicious in a Singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship | ||
| NJPW | AJPW Budokan Hall Show | Tokyo, Japan | Atsushi Onita (c) defeated Mr. Pogo via knockout in a Texas Deathmatch for the WWA Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship | ||
| FMW | FMW 1st Anniversary Show | Tokyo, Japan | Atsushi Onita (c) defeated Mr. Pogo via knockout in a Texas Deathmatch for the WWA Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship | ||
| AJW | Wrestlemarinepiad '90 | Yokohama, Japan | Bull Nakano defeats Aja Kong in a steel cage match for the WWWA World Title | ||
| NWA WCW | Clash of the Champions XIII | Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. | Ric Flair (with Arn Anderson) defeated Butch Reed (with Ron Simmons and Teddy Long) in a Singles match | ||
| WWF | Survivor Series | Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. | Hulk Hogan, Tito Santana, and The Ultimate Warrior defeated Hercules, Paul Roma, Rick Martel, Ted DiBiase, and The Warlord (with Virgil and Slick) in a 3-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match | ||
| EMLL | Juicio Final | Mexico City, Mexico | Octagón defeated Huracán Ramírez II[3] | ||
| WCW | Starrcade | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | Sting (c) defeated The Black Scorpion in a Steel Cage match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship with Dick the Bruiser as special guest referee | ||
| NJPW | NJPW Legends Show | Hamamatsu, Japan | Tony Halme defeated Shinya Hashimoto by knockout in a Boxer vs. Wrestler match[4] | ||
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |||||
| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan Grand Prix 1990 | Manami Toyota | June 17 | |
| Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament | Shiho Tsubaki | ||
| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWA United States Tag Team Championship Tournament | "Flyin' Brian" Pillman and "Z-Man" Tom Zenk | February 12 | ||
| Pat O'Connor Memorial International Tag Team Tournament | The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) | December 16 |
| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Rumble | Hulk Hogan | January 21 | ||
| WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship Tournament | Mr. Perfect | April 1 |
See main article: List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards.
| Category | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| Wrestler of the Year | Sting | |
| Tag Team of the Year | The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) | |
| Match of the Year | Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior (WrestleMania VI) | |
| Feud of the Year | Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger | |
| Most Popular Wrestler of the Year | Hulk Hogan | |
| Most Hated Wrestler of the Year | Earthquake | |
| Most Improved Wrestler of the Year | Paul Roma | |
| Inspirational Wrestler of the Year | Sting | |
| Rookie of the Year | Steve Austin | |
| Manager of the Year | Teddy Long | |
| Editor's Award (Lifetime Achievement) | Buddy Rogers |
See main article: List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards.
| Category | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| Wrestler of the Year | Ric Flair | |
| Most Outstanding | Jushin Thunder Liger | |
| Feud of the Year | Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta | |
| Tag Team of the Year | The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) | |
| Most Improved | Kenta Kobashi | |
| Best on Interviews | Arn Anderson |
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1 | The Ultimate Warrior | WrestleMania VI | This was a title vs. title match, with Warrior's Intercontinental Championship also on the line. | |
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1 | Vacated | WrestleMania VI | Warrior vacated the title after defeating Hulk Hogan in a title vs. title match to win the WWF Championship. | |
| April 23 | Mr. Perfect | Superstars | Defeated Tito Santana in a tournament final to win the vacant title. Aired on tape delay on May 19. | |
| August 27 | The Texas Tornado | SummerSlam | ||
| November 19 | Mr. Perfect | Superstars | Aired on tape delay on December 15, 1990. | |
| width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 21 | Deactivated | N/A | |||||
| Incoming champions – The Colossal Connection | |||||||
| width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1 | Demolition | WrestleMania VI | |||||
| August 27 | The Hart Foundation | SummerSlam | |||||
| October 30 | The Rockers | The Main Event IV | |||||
| unsanctioned championship | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No title changes | ||||