1980s

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World Champions at the Beginning of the Decade:

* Singles titles only. Italicized letters indicate that the title is billed as an NWA title but not officially recognized by the head office.

  • Heavyweight: Harley Race
  • Junior Heavyweight: vacant
  • Light Heavyweight: Alfonso Dantes
  • Middleweight: Satoru Sayama
  • Welterweight: Americo Rocca
  • Women: Fabulous Moolah

1980

09-28 Columbus, OH
Georgia Championship Wrestling runs its first Ohio show at the newly-built Ohio Center with Dusty Rhodes vs Ole Anderson and Andre the Giant vs The Superstar for the double main event.

1981

01-24 Lee’s Summit, MO
Orville Brown, the first world heavyweight champion, passes away.

01-24 San Francisco, CA
Roy Shire, a member since 1968, holds his final Cow Palace card and retires later in the year. The San Francisco territory is now run by the American Wrestling Association out of Minneapolis, MN.

04-17 Houston, TX
World heavyweight champion Harley Race no-shows his scheduled title defense in the town for the second time. Local promoter Paul Boesch decides to sever ties with the NWA, an organization with which he has been associated since 1940s.

12-27 Detroit, MI
Big Time Wrestling, headed by Ed Farhat (The Sheik), closes when it loses the television program.

1982

01-01 St. Louis, MO
Longtime NWA president Sam Muchnick retires. St. Louis Wrestling Club is sold to Bob Geigel (Kansas City), Verne Gagne (AWA), and Pat O’Connor.

04
Leroy McGuirk of Tulsa, OK closes his promotion.

06-05 New York, NY
Titan Sports, Inc., headed by Vincent Kennedy McMahon (Vince McMahon Jr.), acquires Capitol Wrestling Corporation, Inc., the parent company of the World Wrestling Federation, from Vincent James McMahon (Vince McMahon Sr.), Robert Marella (Gorilla Monsoon), Arnold Skaaland, and Phil Zacko.

08
“Georgia Championship Wrestling”, a weekly Saturday evening program on Superstation WTBS, is renamed “World Championship Wrestling”.

12-26 San Bernardino, CA
The final card of the Los Angeles territory is held.

1983

01
WWF starts invading the Georgia Wrestling Championship towns in Ohio.

05-10 Hong Kong
Frank Tunney, a Toronto, ON member since 1949-11, passes away. The Toronto territory is continued by his nephew Jack.

06-18 St. Louis, MO
After splitting from St. Louis Wrestling Club headed by NWA president Bob Geigel, Larry Matysik starts his new promotion.

08-21 ~ 23? Las Vegas, NV
On the first day of the annual convention, Jim Barnett (Atlanta, GA) resigns as the treasurer and secretary and eventually joins WWF. Mile LeBell of Los Angeles, CA who has sold his territory to WWF in October also resigns as a board member.

08-31
Vincent J. McMahon (Vince McMahon Sr.) of WWF sends a letter of resignation to the President Bob Geigel.

11-24 Greensboro, NC
The first ever “Starrcade” is held. Ric Flair defeats Harley Race to regain the world heavyweight title.

12-27 St. Louis, MO
WWF holds the first television taping at the historic Chase-Park Plaza in opposition to NWA President Bob Geigel. Hulk Hogan, who has defected from the AWA, returns to the WWF.

1984

02-10 Tokyo, Japan
David Von Erich passes away before his tour with All Japan Pro Wrestling starts.

05-27 Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Vincent J. McMahon (Vince McMahon Sr.) passes away.

06-27 Toronto, ON
WWF announces the acquisition of the territory from the Tunney family. Jack Tunney, while remaining as the local promoter, becomes the figurehead WWF President, replacing New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Hisashi Shinma.

07-11 Atlanta, GA
Titan Sports, the parent company of WWF, acquires Georgia Championship Wrestling and its timeslot on WTBS.

07-14 “Black Saturday”
The WWF version of “World Championship Wrestling” debuts on WTBS.

08
Ole Anderson, who has been forced to sell Georgia Championship Wrestling after other owners Jim Barnett, Jack Brisco, and Jerry Brisco have sold their shares to to WWF, starts a new company “Championship Wrestling from Georgia” and secures a Saturday morning spot on WTBS.

09-14 Calgary, AB, Canada
Stampede Wrestling, having been sold to WWF, holds his final card at the Victoria Pavillion.

09-18 Memphis, TN
Pro Wrestling USA, a joint venture between NWA and AWA, holds its debut card at Mid-South Coliseum.

1985

01-21 Tampa, FL
Eddie Graham commits suicide.

04-06
Jim Crockett Promotions, after having bought the WTBS timeslots from WWF, debuts on the Superstation, continuing to use “World Championship Wrestling” as the name of the weekly program.

09-18
Ed Don George, a Buffalo, NY member between 1950 and 1955, passes away.

10-21 Tōkyō, Japan
NWA champion wrestles AWA champion in the only world heavyweight title unification match in the history between those two organizations.

1986

02-20 Dallas, TX
Jack Adkisson (Fritz Von Erich) of the Dallas-based World Class Championship Wrestling, a member since 1966, announces his withdrawal from the NWA. American heavyweight champion Rick Rude is recognized as the first WCWA (World Class Wrestling Association) world champion.

04-28 E. Rutherford, NJ
Pro Wrestling USA holds “Rage in a Cage” at Brendan Byrne Arena. The joint venture between NWA and AWA dies out by July, however.

1987

02
JCP takes over the Florida territory from Hiro Matsuda, Duke Keomuka, and Mike Graham.

03-06
Bob Geigel resumes the control of the Central States territory.

05-01
JCP finalizes the acquisition of the Universal Wrestling Federation, headed by Bill Watts.

05
Two months after JCP runs a show in his home ground of Birmingham, AL, Ron Fuller, a member since the mid-1970s, withdraws from the NWA.

11?
Bob Geigel of Kansas City, a member since 1963, leaves the NWA and starts the World Wrestling Alliance. The former NWA president retires from promoting by the following October.

1988

04-17
Paul Jones, former member in Atlanta, GA, passes away.

09-09 Claremore, OK
Leroy McGuirk passes away.

11-02 Atlanta, GA
An announcement is made that the assets previously owned by Jim Crockett Promotions have been transferred to Universal Wrestling Corp., a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting Inc., headed by Ted Turner of Atlanta, GA. The newly-formed company continues to use the NWA name without applying for a membership.

1989

02-18 Los Angeles, CA
Mildred Burke passes away.

03
Universal Wrestling Corp. is renamed World Championship Wrestling Inc.

World Champions at the End of the Decade:

* Italicized letters indicate that the title is billed as an NWA title but not officially recognized by the head office.

  • Heavyweight: Ric Flair
  • Junior Heavyweight: vacant
  • Light Heavyweight: Pirata Morgan
  • Middleweight: Emilio Charles Jr.
  • Welterweight: Fuerza Guerrera
  • Women: Debbie Combs
  • Tag Team: Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner
  • Television: Great Muta

1970s << | >> 1990s

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