1998 in professional wrestling explained
1998 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
List of notable promotions
These promotions held notable events in 1998.
Calendar of notable shows
January
February
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
|---|
| Notes |
| February 15 | WWF | | Houston, Texas, United States | Cactus Jack, Chainsaw Charlie, Owen Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg), Savio Vega and Triple H in a Non-sanctioned eight-man tag team match[5] |
| February 21 | ECW | Cyberslam | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Shane Douglas and Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Rob Van Dam and Sabu in a tag team match[6] [7] |
| February 22 | WCW
| SuperBrawl VIII | San Francisco, California, United States | Sting vs. Hollywood Hogan in a singles match for the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship |
| February 28 | NWA | Third Annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial Show | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Doug and Tommy Gilbert vs. Buddy Landell and Dory Funk Jr. in a tag team match[8] |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |
|---|
March
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
|---|
| Notes |
| March 1 | AAA | Rey de Reyes | Naucalpan, Mexico | Perro Aguayo defeated Latin Lover, Cibernético and Octagón in a 1998 Rey de Reyes final |
| March 1 | ECW | Living Dangerously | Asbury Park, New Jersey, United States | Al Snow and Lance Storm (with Tammy Lynn Sytch) defeated Shane Douglas and Chris Candido (with Francine) in a tag team match |
| March 15 | WCW
| Uncensored | Mobile, Alabama, United States | Hollywood Hogan fought Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) to a no-contest in a Steel cage match |
| March 20 | CMLL | Homenaje a Salvador Lutteroth | Mexico City, Mexico | Emilio Charles Jr. defeated El Satánico in a Lucha de Apuesta, Hair vs. Hair match |
| March 29 | WWF | WrestleMania XIV | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Shawn Michaels (c) in a Singles match for the WWF Championship with Mike Tyson as special outside enforcer |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |
|---|
April
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
|---|
| Notes |
| April 4 | | Mayhem in Manchester | Manchester, England, United Kingdom | Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) defeated Triple H in a Singles match for the WWF Championship
The Undertaker defeated Kane (with Paul Bearer) in a Singles match |
| April 19 | WCW
| Spring Stampede | Denver, Colorado, United States | Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated Sting (c) in a No Disqualification match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship |
| April 24 | CMLL | 42. Aniversario de Arena México | Mexico City, Mexico | Gran Markus Jr. defeated Brazo de Oro in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas hair vs. hair match |
| April 26 | WWF | | Greensboro, North Carolina, United States | Dude Love defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) by disqualification in a Singles match for the WWF Championship |
| April 29 | N/A | First Annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show | Norwood, Ohio, United States | Chris Benoit defeated Chris Jericho in a Singles match |
| April 30 | FMW | FMW 9th Anniversary Show | Tokyo, Japan | Hayabusa defeated Mr. Gannosuke (c) in a Singles match for the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship and the FMW Independent Heavyweight Championship |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |
|---|
May
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
|---|
| Notes |
| May 1 | AJPW | AJPW 25th Anniversary | Tokyo, Japan | Toshiaki Kawada defeated Mitsuharu Misawa in a Triple Crown title match[9] |
| May 3 | ECW | Wrestlepalooza | Marietta, Georgia, United States | Shane Douglas (c) (with Francine) defeated Al Snow in a Singles match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship |
| May 14 | ECW | It Ain't Seinfeld | Queens, New York, United States | The Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley and Big Dick Dudley) (with Joel Gertner and Sign Guy Dudley) defeated the Sandman, Spike Dudley and Tommy Dreamer (with Beulah McGillicutty) by pinfall in a Six-man tag team match |
| May 16 | ECW | A Matter of Respect | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Spike Dudley, The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer (with Beulah McGillicutty) defeated The Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley and Big Dick Dudley) in a Stairway to Hell match |
| May 17 | WCW
| Slamboree | Worcester, Massachusetts, United States | Sting and The Giant defeated The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) (c) (with Dusty Rhodes) in a Tag team match for the WCW World Tag Team Championship |
| May 19 | FMW | Neo 1998: Day 1 | Tokyo, Japan | Hayabusa vs. Masato Tanaka in a Singles match |
| May 31 | WWF | | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) defeated Dude Love in a Falls Count Anywhere match for the WWF Championship with Mr. McMahon as special guest referee[10] |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |
|---|
June
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
|---|
| Notes |
| June 7 | AAA | Triplemanía VI | Chihuahua City, Chihuahua, Mexico | Kick Boxer defeated Heavy Metal in a Steel cage match, Lucha de Apuestas, "Hair of Pepe Casas vs. Hair of El Tirantes" match |
| June 11 | N/A | Third Annual Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show | Buffalo, New York, United States | Kevin Nash and Diamond Dallas Page defeated Hollywood Hogan and Bret Hart in a tag team |
| June 14 | WCW
| The Great American Bash | Baltimore, Maryland, United States | Sting defeated The Giant in a Singles match for control of the WCW World Tag Team Championship |
| June 19 | FMW | King of Fight 1998: Day 2 | Tokyo, Japan | Hayabusa, Hisakatsu Oya, Ricky Fuji and Daisuke Ikeda vs. Team No Respect (Kodo Fuyuki, Koji Nakagawa, Gedo and Yukihiro Kanemura) in four-man tag team match |
| June 28 | WWF | King of the Ring | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States | Kane (with Paul Bearer) defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) in a First Blood match for the WWF Championship[11] |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |
|---|
July
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
|---|
| Notes |
| July 10 | FMW | King of Fight II 1998: Day 2 | Tokyo, Japan | Hayabusa, Hisakatsu Oya, Ricky Fuji and Daisuke Ikeda vs. Team No Respect (Kodo Fuyuki, Koji Nakagawa, Jado and Gedo) in an eight-man tag team match |
| July 12 | WCW
| Bash at the Beach | San Diego, California, United States | Hollywood Hogan and Dennis Rodman (with The Disciple) defeated Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone in a tag team match[12] |
| July 18 | CMLL | Ruleta de la Muerte | Mexico City, Mexico | El Hijo del Santo defeated Guerrero del Futuro |
| July 26 | WWF | | Fresno, California, United States | Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker defeated Kane and Mankind (c) (with Paul Bearer) in a tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |
|---|
August
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
|---|
| Notes |
| August 1 | WWC | WWC 25th Aniversario | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Ricky Santana defeated El Texano in a hair vs. hair match |
| August 2 | ECW | Heat Wave | Dayton, Ohio, United States | Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman and Spike Dudley defeated The Dudleys (Buh Buh Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley and Big Dick Dudley) (with Joel Gertner, Sign Guy Dudley and Jeff Jones) in a Street Fight |
| August 8 | WCW
| Road Wild | Sturgis, South Dakota, United States | Diamond Dallas Page and Jay Leno (with Kevin Eubanks) defeated Hollywood Hogan and Eric Bischoff (with The Disciple and Miss Elizabeth) in a tag team match[13] |
| August 11 | FMW | Atsushi Onita Presents Liar, Liar | Tokyo, Japan | Atsushi Onita, Mr. Pogo, Shoichi Arai and Yoshinori Sasaki defeated Go Ito and Team No Respect (Kodo Fuyuki, Koji Nakagawa and Yukihiro Kanemura) in a Shoichi Arai Presidency vs. Hosakas and Kurodas Freedom Weapons Death Match |
| August 13 | N/A | Second Annual Plum Mariko Memorial Show | Tokyo, Japan | Mayumi Ozaki and Devil Masami defeated Cutie Suzuki and Dynamite Kansai in a tag team match |
| August 14 | CMLL | International Gran Prix | Mexico City, Mexico | Apolo Dantés defeated Rayo de Jalisco Jr. in a 1998 International Gran Prix final match |
| August 22 | FMW | Welcome to the Darkside | Tokyo, Japan | Koji Nakagawa defeated Darkside Hayabusa in a Singles match |
| August 30 | WWF | SummerSlam | New York City, New York, United States | Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) defeated The Undertaker in a Singles match for the WWE Championship |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |
|---|
September
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
|---|
| Notes |
| September 8 | FMW | Super Dynamism 1998: Day 11 | Tokyo, Japan | Hayabusa and Daisuke Ikeda vs. Kodo Fuyuki and Yukihiro Kanemura in a tag team match |
| September 13 | WCW
| Fall Brawl | Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States | Team WCW (Diamond Dallas Page, Roddy Piper and The Warrior) defeated nWo Hollywood (Hollywood Hogan, Bret Hart and Stevie Ray) and nWo Wolfpac (Kevin Nash, Sting and Lex Luger) in a WarGames match |
| September 18 | AAA | Verano de Escándalo | Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas, Mexico | Heavy Metal and Blue Demon Jr. defeated Kick Boxer and Abismo Negro in a Steel cage match |
| September 18 | CMLL | CMLL 65th Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | Los Hermanos Dinamita (Cien Caras and Máscara Año 2000) and Emilio Charles Jr. defeated Los Boricuas (Kevin Quinn, La Boricua and Miguel Perez, Jr.) in a Best two out of three falls tag team match |
| September 19 | ECW | UltraClash | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Rob Van Dam and Sabu (with Bill Alfonso) and Masato Tanaka fought the Triple Threat (Bam Bam Bigelow, Chris Candido, and Shane Douglas) to a no contest |
| September 27 | WWF | | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | Kane and The Undertaker defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) in a Triple threat match for the WWF Championship[14] |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |
|---|
October
November
December
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
|---|
| Notes |
| December 6 | WWF | WWF Capital Carnage | London, England, United Kingdom | Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Kane, Mankind and The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) in a Fatal 4-Way match with Gerald Brisco as special guest referee |
| December 12 | ECW
FMW | ECW/FMW Supershow I | Tokyo, Japan | Rob Van Dam and Sabu (with Bill Alfonso) defeated Hayabusa and Tommy Dreamer by pinfall in a tag team match |
| December 13 | ECW
FMW | ECW/FMW Supershow II | Tokyo, Japan | Rob Van Dam and Sabu (with Bill Alfonso) defeated The Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) (c) by pinfall in a Tag team match for the ECW World Tag Team Championship |
| December 13 | AAA | Guerra de Titanes | Chihuahua City, Chihuahua, Mexico | Octagón and Heavy Metal defeated Pentagón and Kick Boxer in a Steel Cage match |
| December 13 | WWF | | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) in a Buried Alive match for the right to compete in the 1999 Royal Rumble match |
| December 19 | CWA | Euro Catch Festival | Bremen, Germany | Rambo defeated Big Titan in Round 6 in a Singles match for the vacant CWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| December 20 | IWRG | Arena Naucalpan 21st Anniversary Show | Naucalpan, State of Mexico, Mexico | Mega defeated Judo Suwa in a Ruleta de la Muerte final, Lucha de Apuestas, mask vs. hair match[17] |
| December 26 | various | Jaguar Yokota Retirement Show | Tokyo | Devil Masami defeated Jaguar Yokota |
| December 27 | WCW
| Starrcade | Washington, D.C., United States | Kevin Nash defeated Goldberg (c) in a No Disqualification match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |
|---|
Accomplishments and tournaments
AJW
AJPW
JWP
NJPW
WWF
Awards and honors
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
See main article: List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
See main article: Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
See main article: List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards.
| Category | Winner |
|---|
| Wrestler of the Year | Stone Cold Steve Austin |
| Most Outstanding | Koji Kanemoto |
| Best Box Office Draw | Stone Cold Steve Austin |
| Feud of the Year | Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon |
| Tag Team of the Year | Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhito Takaiwa |
| Most Improved | The Rock |
| Best on Interviews | Stone Cold Steve Austin | |
Title changes
ECW
|
|
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
|---|
| No title changes | |
FMW
NJPW
|
| (Title created) |
| width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
|---|
| August 8 | Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhito Takaiwa | Rising the Next Generations in Osaka Dome | | |
WCW
|
|
| width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
|---|
| April 3 | Retired | GAEA Full Bloom | |
|
WWF
|
|
| width=14% | Date | width=14% | Winner | width=14% | Event/Show | width=58% | Note(s) |
|---|
| August 30 | Triple H | SummerSlam | This was a ladder match |
| October 9 | Vacant | N/A | Vacated due to injury. |
| October 12 | Ken Shamrock | Raw Is War | Defeated X-Pac in a tournament final |
|
Births
Debuts
Retirements
Deaths
- January 20 – Bobo Brazil, 73[19]
- February 15 – Louie Spicolli, 27[20]
- April 6 - Stanley Radwan, 89
- June 2 – Junkyard Dog, 45[21]
- July 1 - Toyonobori, 67
- July 20 - June Byers, 76
- August 17 – Terry Garvin, 61[22]
- August 18 – Shane Shamrock, 23
- November 6 – Sky Low Low, 70[23]
- November 29 – Giant Haystacks, 51
- December 9 - Archie Moore, 84
- December 15 – Brady Boone, 40
- December 30 - Sam Muchnick, 93
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Power Hall in Tokyo Dome . January 4, 1998 . April 13, 2010 . ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- Web site: The SmarK Retro Rant For ECW House Party 98 . 23 June 2018 . May 11, 2002. 411Mania.
- Web site: Royal Rumble 1998 Results. July 10, 2008. WWE.
- Web site: Pro wrestling history (01/24): WWF Royal Rumble 1999 . January 24, 2020 . January 25, 2020 . Brian . Hoops . Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
- Web site: No Way Out of Texas Results. 2008-07-12. WWE. 2008-08-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20080821222241/http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/1998/results/. dead.
- Note that this was an internet pay-per-view event (iPPV)
- Web site: ECW Cyberslam 1998 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database. www.cagematch.net. 6 May 2018.
- Web site: 3rd Annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial Brawl . May 14, 2020 . National Wrestling Alliance Eddie Gilbert Memorial Brawls . ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- Web site: AJPW 25th Anniversary « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160113024845/http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=41069. 2016-01-13.
- Web site: In Your House Results. TWNP. February 15, 2008.
- Web site: King of the Ring. Pro Wrestling History. December 24, 2012.
- Web site: Bash at the Beach 1998. July 12, 1998. Pro Wrestling History. September 1, 2015.
- Web site: Road Wild 1998. August 8, 1998. Pro Wrestling History. 2017-12-23.
- Web site: Breakdown drawing 17,405. prowrestlinghistory. 2008-12-23.
- Web site: Judgment Day. Pro Wrestling History. 2009-05-07.
- Web site: WWE Survivor Series: Key facts and figures from event's history. Sky Sports. November 7, 2016.
- News: 1998 Especial!. Box y Lucha Magazine. 2–28. issue 2348. January 9, 1999. es.
- Web site: Awards . live . https://archive.today/20230222160509/https://pwi-online.com/awards/ . February 22, 2023 . Pro Wrestling Illustrated . February 22, 2023.
- Web site: Bobo Brazil . . June 24, 2010 . Drason Burzynski, Dave . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110104014350/http://pwhf.org/halloffamers/bios/brazil.asp . January 4, 2011 .
- News: Power Slam . This Month in History: February . SW Publishing . 55 . 28 . January 1999.
- Web site: Junkyard Dog Dies . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221231151534/https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/1998/06/03/junkyard-dog-dies/ . December 31, 2022 . Slam Wrestling . June 3, 1998 . February 22, 2023.
- Web site: Terry Garvin: A Career Overshadowed . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220814041107/https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/2006/01/02/terry-garvin-a-career-overshadowed/ . August 14, 2022 . Slam Wrestling . Oliver . Greg . January 2, 2006 . February 22, 2023.
- Web site: Sky Low Low. Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. 2009-03-04. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090303135829/http://pwhf.org/halloffamers/bios/skylowlow.asp. 2009-03-03.
