1994 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
These promotions held notable events in 1994.
Promotion Name | Abbreviation | Notes |
---|---|---|
All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling | AJW | |
AAA | ||
Catch Wrestling Association | CWA | |
CMLL | ||
ECW | In August, Eastern Championship Wrestling seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and became Extreme Championship Wrestling. | |
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling | FMW | |
International Wrestling Council | IWC | |
New Japan Pro-Wrestling | NJPW | |
Universal Wrestling Association | UWA | |
Universal Wrestling Federation | UWF | |
World Championship Wrestling | WCW | |
World Wrestling Council | WWC | |
WWF | ||
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes | ||||||
January 4 | NJPW | Battlefield | Tokyo, Japan | Genichiro Tenryu defeated Antonio Inoki in a Singles match | ||
January 22 | WWF | Royal Rumble | Providence, Rhode Island, United States | Bret Hart and Lex Luger co-won the Royal Rumble by last eliminating each other in a 30-man Royal Rumble match for a WWF World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania X[1] | ||
January 30 | UWA | UWA 19th Anniversary Show | Naucalpan, Mexico | Yamato and Los Villanos (Villano III and Villano V) defeated El Canek, Gran Hamada and Transformer in a Best two out of three falls Six-man tag team match | ||
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes | ||||||
February 5 | ECW | The Night the Line Was Crossed | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Sabu (with 911 and Paul E. Dangerously), Shane Douglas (with Sherri Martel), and Terry Funk (c) wrestled to a time limit draw in a Three way dance for the ECW Heavyweight Championship | ||
February 20 | WCW | SuperBrawl IV | Albany, Georgia, United States | Ric Flair (c) defeated Vader (with Harley Race) by submission in a Thundercage match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship | ||
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes | ||||||
March 20 | WWF | WrestleMania X | New York City, New York, United States | Bret Hart defeated Yokozuna (c) (with Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette) in a Singles match for the WWF Championship with Roddy Piper as special guest referee[2] [3] | ||
March 26 | ECW | Ultimate Jeopardy | Devon, Pennsylvania, United States | Shane Douglas, Mr. Hughes and the Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock) defeated Terry Funk (c), Road Warrior Hawk, Kevin Sullivan and the Tazmaniac by pinfall in an Ultimate Jeopardy Steel Cage match for the ECW Heavyweight Championship | ||
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes | ||||||
CMLL | International Gran Prix | Mexico City, Mexico | Emilio Charles Jr. defeated La Fiera in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas hair vs. hair match[4] | |||
CMLL | 38. Aniversario de Arena México | Mexico City, Mexico | [5] | |||
April 17 | WCW | Spring Stampede | Chicago, Illinois, United States | Ric Flair (c) fought Ricky Steamboat to a double pin in a Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship | ||
AAA | Triplemanía II-A | Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico | Heavy Metal defeated Jerry Estrada in a Lucha de Apuestas "Hair vs. Hair" match[6] | |||
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes | ||||||
May 1 | NJPW | Wrestling Dontaku | Fukuoka, Japan | Antonio Inoki defeated The Great Muta in a Singles match | ||
May 5 | FMW | FMW 5th Anniversary Show | Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan | Genichiro Tenryu defeated Atsushi Onita in a No Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch | ||
May 14 | ECW | When Worlds Collide | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Bobby Eaton and Sabu (with 911 and Paul E. Dangerously) defeated Arn Anderson and Terry Funk by submission in a tag team match | ||
AAA | Triplemanía II-B | Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico | Konnan, Perro Aguayo, and Cien Caras defeated Jake Roberts, Love Machine, and Miguel Pérez Jr. in a Best two-out-of-three falls six-man "lucha libre rules" tag team match[7] | |||
May 22 | WCW | Slamboree | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Sting defeated Vader by pinfall in a Singles match for the vacant WCW International World Heavyweight Championship | ||
AAA | Triplemanía II-C | Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico | Konnan defeated Jake Roberts (with The Warlord) in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuesta, "Hair vs. Hair" match[8] | |||
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes | ||||||
June 19 | WWF | King of the Ring | Baltimore, Maryland, United States | Roddy Piper defeated Jerry Lawler in a Singles match[9] | ||
June 24 | ECW | Hostile City Showdown | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Sabu (with Paul E. Dangerously and 911) defeated Cactus Jack in a Singles match | ||
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes | ||||||
July 9 | CWA | Euro Catch Festival in Graz | Graz, Austria | Rambo (c) defeated Papa Shango in Round 6 in a Singles match for the CWA World Heavyweight Championship | ||
July 14 | FMW | FMW/LLPW/AJW | Tokyo, Japan | Bull Nakano defeated Shinobu Kandori in a Chain match | ||
July 16 | ECW | Heat Wave | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | The Public Enemy (Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge) defeated Terry Funk and Dory Funk, Jr. in a barbed wire match | ||
July 17 | WCW | Bash at the Beach | Orlando, Florida, United States | Hulk Hogan (with Mr. T and Jimmy Hart) defeated Ric Flair (c) (with Sensuous Sherri) in a Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship[10] | ||
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes | ||||||
August 6 | WWC | WWC 21st Aniversario | Bayamón, Puerto Rico | Eddie Gilbert defeated Huracán Castillo, Jr. in a "Fire" match | ||
August 7 | NJPW | G1 Climax | Tokyo, Japan | Masahiro Chono defeated Power Warrior | ||
August 13 | ECW | Hardcore Heaven | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Cactus Jack fought Terry Funk to a no-contest in a Singles match | ||
August 27 | ECW | NWA World Title Tournament | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Shane Douglas defeated 2 Cold Scorpio by pinfall in a tournament final for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship | ||
August 28 | FMW | Summer Spectacular | Osaka, Japan | Atsushi Onita defeated Masashi Aoyagi via knockout in a No Ropes Electrified Explosive Barbed Wire Barricade Double Hell match | ||
August 29 | WWF | SummerSlam | Chicago, Illinois, United States | The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeated The Undertaker (with Ted DiBiase) in a Singles match[11] | ||
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes | ||||||
September 18 | WCW | Fall Brawl | Roanoke, Virginia, United States | Dusty Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes and The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) defeated The Stud Stable (Terry Funk, Arn Anderson, Bunkhouse Buck and Col. Robert Parker) (with Meng) in a WarGames match | ||
UWF | Blackjack Brawl | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Steve Williams (c) defeated Sid Vicious by disqualification in a Singles match for the UWF World Heavyweight Championship | |||
CMLL | CMLL 61st Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | Ricky Santana defeated El Texano in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas, hair vs. hair match[12] | |||
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes | ||||||
October 22 | AJPW | 22nd Anniversary Show | Tokyo, Japan | Toshiaki Kawada defeated "Dr. Death" Steve Williams (c) to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship | ||
October 23 | WCW | Halloween Havoc | Detroit, Michigan, United States | Hulk Hogan (c) (with Jimmy Hart) defeated Ric Flair (with Sensuous Sherri) in a Steel Cage Retirement match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship with Mr. T as special guest referee | ||
CMLL | Copa de Oro | Mexico City, Mexico | Apolo Dantes and El Dandy defeated Pierroth, Jr. and El Satanico in a tournament final[13] | |||
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes | ||||||
November 5 | ECW | November to Remember | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Chris Benoit (with The Public Enemy) vs. 2 Cold Scorpio went to a double count-out in a Singles match | ||
November 6 | AAA WCW IWC | When Worlds Collide | Los Angeles, California, United States | Perro Aguayo defeated Konnan in a Steel Cage match | ||
November 20 | AJW | Big Egg Wrestling Universe | Tokyo, Japan | Akira Hokuto defeated Aja Kong in a V*TOP Five Star Tournament final round match | ||
November 23 | WWF | Survivor Series | San Antonio, Texas, United States | The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeated Yokozuna (with Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji) in a Casket match with Chuck Norris as special guest referee | ||
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes | ||||||
December 17 | ECW | Holiday Hell | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock) (c) defeated Sabu and the Tazmaniac (with Paul E. Dangerously) by pinfall in a tag team match for the ECW World Tag Team Championship | ||
CWA | Euro Catch Festival in Bremen | Bremen, Germany | Rambo (c) defeated Big Titan in Round 5 in a Singles match for the CWA World Heavyweight Championship | |||
December 27 | WCW | Starrcade | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | Hulk Hogan (c) (with Jimmy Hart) defeated The Butcher in a Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship | ||
December 30 | CMLL | Torneo Gran Alternativa | Mexico City, Mexico | Hector Garza and Negro Casas defeated Arkangel de la Muerte and El Satanico in a tournament final | ||
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Japan Grand Prix 1994 | Yumiko Hotta | August 28 | ||
Rookie of the Year Decision Tournament | Yoshiko Tamura | |||
Tag League The Best 1994 | Kyoko Inoue and Manami Toyota | December 10 |
Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Asunaro Cup 1994 | Jun Akiyama | January 29 | ||
Champion Carnival 1994 | Toshiaki Kawada | April 16 | ||
World's Strongest Determination League 1994 | Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa | December 10 |
See main article: WCW Hall of Fame.
Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Royal Rumble | Bret Hart Lex Luger | January 22 | ||
King of the Ring | Owen Hart | June 19 |
See main article: WWF Hall of Fame.
Category | Inductee | Inducted by |
---|---|---|
Individual | ||
Gorilla Monsoon | ||
See main article: Slammy Award.
Poll | Winner | |
---|---|---|
Most Intimidating | The Undertaker | |
Best Entertainer | Oscar | |
Worst Idea | Abe Knuckleball Schwartz on strike | |
Sweatiest | Irwin R. Shyster | |
Biggest Rat | Owen Hart | |
Greediest | Tatanka | |
Most Spectacular Match | Ladder match Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania X | |
Best Coliseum Home Video | WWF Raw: Video Strategies & Secrets | |
Best Tag Team | Diesel & Shawn Michaels | |
Worst Tag Team | Diesel & Shawn Michaels | |
Mouthiest | Jerry The King Lawler | |
Most Eccentric | Bob Backlund | |
Smelliest | (TIE) Henry Godwinn / Duke The Dumpster Droese | |
Most Likely To See Jenny Craig | Bastion Booger | |
Best PPV | WrestleMania X | |
Best Manager | The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase | |
Best New Generation Spot | Bret The Hitman Hart "Go get 'em, champ!" commercial | |
Best Etiquette | The Headshrinkers | |
Most Devastating | Bull Nakano | |
Funniest | Dink The Clown | |
MVP | Diesel | |
Best Show | WWF Mania | |
Most Evolutionary | (TIE) Gorilla Monsoon / King Kong Bundy | |
Most Patriotic | Lex Luger | |
Best Dressed | James E. Cornette | |
Biggest Heart | The 123 Kid |
See main article: List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards.
Category | Winner | |
---|---|---|
PWI Wrestler of the Year | Hulk Hogan | |
PWI Tag Team of the Year | The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags) | |
PWI Match of the Year | Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania X) | |
PWI Feud of the Year | Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart | |
PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year | Sting | |
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year | Bob Backlund | |
PWI Comeback of the Year | Hulk Hogan | |
PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year | Diesel | |
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year | Bret Hart | |
PWI Rookie of the Year | 911 | |
PWI Lifetime Achievement | Captain Lou Albano | |
PWI Editor's Award | Jimmy Hart |
See main article: List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards.
Category | Winner | |
---|---|---|
Wrestler of the Year | Toshiaki Kawada | |
Most Outstanding | Kenta Kobashi | |
Feud of the Year | Los Gringos Locos vs. Asistencia Asesoría y Administración | |
Tag Team of the Year | Los Gringos Locos (Eddy Guerrero and Art Barr) | |
Most Improved | Diesel | |
Best on Interviews | Ric Flair |
width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 26 | Shane Douglas | Ultimate Jeopardy (1994) |
width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 6 | The Tazmaniac | Hardcore TV #48 | |||||
March 6 | J.T. Smith | Hardcore TV #49 | |||||
April 16 | Gary Wolfe | Live event | |||||
May 13 | Mikey Whipwreck | Hardcore TV #57 | |||||
August 13 | Jason | Hardcore Heaven | |||||
November 4 | 2 Cold Scorpio | Hardcore TV #83 | |||||
November 4 | Dean Malenko | Hardcore TV #84 | |||||
width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
February 5 | Vacant | N/A | |||||
March 5 | Kevin Sullivan and The Tazzmaniac | N/A | |||||
March 6 | The Public Enemy | Hardcore TV #47 | |||||
August 27 | Cactus Jack and Mikey Whipwreck | Hardcore TV #73 | |||||
November 5 | The Public Enemy | November to Remember | |||||
width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 6 | Deactivated | N/A | Title abandoned when J.T. Smith won the ECW World Television Championship. |
FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship | ||||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
January 6 | Mr. Pogo | FMW | ||
September 7 | Atsushi Onita | FMW | ||
FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship | ||||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
January 18 | Big Titan and The Gladiator | FMW | ||
April 21 | Mr. Pogo and Hisakatsu Oya | FMW | ||
July 31 | Atsushi Onita and Mitsuhiro Matsunaga | FMW | ||
October | Vacant | FMW | ||
October 28 | W*ING Alliance | FMW |
FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship | ||||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
December 20 | Ricky Fuji | House show | ||
FMW Women's Championship | ||||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
February 11 | Vacant | FMW | ||
February 25 | Megumi Kudo | FMW | ||
June 19 | Combat Toyoda | FMW | ||
August 28 | Yukie Nabeno | Summer Spectacular | ||
December 12 | Vacant | N/A |
Incoming champion – Shinya Hashimoto | |||||||
width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April 4 | Tatsumi Fujinami | Battle Line Kyushi | |||||
May 1 | Shinya Hashimoto | Wrestling Dontaku 1994 |
Incoming champions – The Jurassic Powers | |||||||
width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
January 4 | The Hell Raisers | Battlefield | |||||
November 25 | Hiroshi Hase and Keiji Mutoh | Battle Final 1994 | |||||
Incoming champion – Jushin Thunder Liger | |||||||
width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 24 | Vacant | N/A | |||||
September 27 | Norio Honaga | G1 Climax Special 1994 |
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
April 17 | Vacant | Spring Stampede | A title match between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat ended in a double pin, which resulted in the title being vacated | |
April 21 | Ric Flair | Saturday Night | Aired on tape delay on May 14. | |
July 17 | Hulk Hogan | Bash at the Beach |
width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 16 | Hiroshi Hase | House show | |||||
March 24 | Rick Rude | House show | |||||
April 17 | Sting | Spring Stampede | |||||
May 1 | Rick Rude | Wrestling Dontaku | |||||
May 1 | Vacant | N/A | Rude's victory is reversed due to use of the belt as a weapon. Sting refuses the title, leaving it vacant | ||||
May 22 | Sting | Slamboree | Defeated Vader to win the vacant title. | ||||
June 23 | Ric Flair | Clash of the Champions XXVII | Title ceases to exist after winning | ||||
width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
August 24 | Ricky Steamboat | Clash of the Champions XXVIII | |||||
September 18 | Steve Austin | Fall Brawl | |||||
September 18 | Jim Duggan | Fall Brawl | |||||
December 27 | Vader | Starrcade | |||||
width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 2 | Larry Zbyszko | Saturday Night | Aired on tape delay on May 28. | ||||
June 23 | Lord Steven Regal | Clash of the Champions XXVII | |||||
September 18 | Johnny B. Badd | Fall Brawl | |||||
Incoming champions – The Nasty Boys | |||||||
width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 22 | Cactus Jack and Kevin Sullivan | Slamboree | |||||
July 17 | Pretty Wonderful | Bash at the Beach | |||||
September 25 | Stars and Stripes | Main Event | |||||
October 23 | Pretty Wonderful | Halloween Havoc | |||||
November 16 | Stars and Stripes | Clash of the Champions XXIX | |||||
December 8 | Harlem Heat | Saturday Night | Aired on tape delay on January 14. | ||||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
March 20 | Bret Hart | WrestleMania X | Roddy Piper was the guest referee | |
November 23 | Bob Backlund | Survivor Series | It was a submission match. | |
November 26 | Diesel | House show | this title change occurred in New York City's Madison Square Garden. The time of the fall: 8 seconds |
width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April 13 | Diesel | Superstars | This was aired on tape delay on April 30. | ||||
August 29 | Razor Ramon | SummerSlam | |||||
width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
November 20 | Bull Nakano | Big Egg Wrestling Universe | |||||
Incoming champions – The Quebecers | |||||||
width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
January 10 | The 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty | Raw | |||||
January 17 | The Quebecers | Raw | |||||
March 29 | Men on a Mission | House show | |||||
March 31 | The Quebecers | House show | |||||
April 26 | The Headshrinkers | Raw | |||||
August 28 | Two Dudes with Attitudes | House show | |||||
November 23 | Vacant | Survivor Series | Vacated when Diesel and Michaels could not function as a tag team | ||||