1981_in_professional_wrestling

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1981 in professional wrestling

Professional wrestling-related events during the year of 1981

1981 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

Quick Facts List of years in professional wrestling ...

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Centinela, Teddy (February 7, 2015). "En un día como hoy… 1981: Aniversario independiente, Solitario vs. Villano III por el Campeonato Mundial de Peso Semicompleto UWA". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved July 6, 2015.

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Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Light Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 389. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

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"Wrestling Star Wars". Pro Wrestling History. June 1981.

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"Historia de Los Aniversarios del CMLL". The Gladiatores Magazine (in Spanish). September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2012.

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Lister, John. "1981". ITV Wrestling Listings. JohnListerWriting.com. Retrieved October 18, 2012.

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"Wrestling Star Wars". Pro Wrestling History. October 25, 1981.

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"EMLL Super Viernes". Wrestling Data. December 4, 1981. Retrieved March 21, 2019.

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"Christmas Star Wars". Pro Wrestling History. December 25, 1981.

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"OWOW profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-04-29.

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"Kenta". Pro Wrestling Noah (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2014-08-07.

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"Kenta". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2009-07-24. Retrieved 2009-07-20.

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Milner, John M.; Clevett, Jason. "Bryan Danielson". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on February 24, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2010.

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"Johnny Curtis - Online World of Wrestling". Archived from the original on April 6, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.

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"Fergal Devitt profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 27 October 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2009.

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"NFL Player Profile". NFL. Retrieved 2010-06-08.

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"Byron Kelly Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-03-04.

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浦井. AtoZ (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 22, 2005. Retrieved February 3, 2012.

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"Kana-kana.jp" プロフィール. Kana Net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 10, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2011.

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Promotion Name	Abbreviation	Notes
Big Time Wrestling	BTW	Renamed to World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) the following year.
Joint Promotions	—
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre	EMLL
Universal Wrestling Association	UWA

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
February 8	UWA	UWA 6th Anniversary Show	Naucalpan, Mexico	El Solitario (c) wrestled Villano III to a timelimit draw In a match for the UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship^[1]
April 3	EMLL	25. Aniversario de Arena México	Mexico City, Mexico	Tony Salazar defeated Alfonso Dantés (c) in a best two-out-of-three falls match for the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship^[2]
June 4	NJPW	MSG League	Tokyo, Japan	Antonio Inoki defeated Stan Hansen by count-out
June 4	BTW	Wrestling Star Wars (June)	Dallas, Texas	Fritz Von Erich defeated Gary Hart in a steel cage match^[3]
September 18	EMLL	EMLL 48th Anniversary Show	Mexico City, Mexico	Espectro Jr. defeated El Vengador in a Lucha de Apuesta mask vs. mask vs. mask match; El Supremo was also in the match^[4]
September 29	Dale Martin Promotions	Mike Marino Memorial Shield	Croydon, England	Mal Sanders defeated Syd Cooper in the tournament final^[5]
October 24	BTW	Wrestling Star Wars (October)	Dallas, Texas	Al Madril (c) defeated Bill Irwin via disqualification in a singles match for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship^[6]
October 4	Joint	Dale Martin Extravaganza	London, England	Big Daddy defeated Giant Haystacks in a "Knockout Only, No Rounds" match
December 4	EMLL	Juicio Final	Mexico City, Mexico	Ringo Mendoza defeated El Faraón in a Lucha de Apuestas, hair vs. hair match^[7]
December 10	NJPW	MSG Tag League	Tokyo, Japan	André the Giant and Rene Goulet defeated Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami
December 25	BTW	Christmas Star Wars	Dallas, Texas	Big Daddy Bundy defeated Al Madril, Armand Hussein, Bill Irwin, Blue Demon, Carlos Zapata, David Von Erich, Frank Dusek, José Lothario, Kerry Von Erich, Killer Tim Brooks, El Negro Assassino, Richard Blood and Ten Gu in a Two-ring battle royal^[8]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Category	Winner
PWI Wrestler of the Year	Ric Flair
PWI Tag Team of the Year	The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy)
PWI Match of the Year	André the Giant vs. Killer Khan
PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year	Tommy Rich
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year	Ken Patera
PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year	Kevin Sullivan
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year	Bob Backlund
PWI Rookie of the Year	David Sammartino
PWI Editor's Award	Bruno Sammartino
PWI Manager of the Year	Lou Albano

Category	Winner
Wrestler of the Year	Harley Race
Feud of the Year	André the Giant vs. Killer Khan
Tag Team of the Year	Jimmy Snuka and Terry Gordy
Most Improved	Adrian Adonis
Best on Interviews	Lou Albano / Roddy Piper

1981_in_professional_wrestling

1981 in professional wrestling

List of notable promotions

Calendar of notable shows

Notable events

Accomplishments and tournaments

AJW

AJPW

JCP

NJPW

Awards and honors

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Tournaments

IWE

Births

Debuts

Retirements

Deaths

References

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