This is a list of various things that took place in 1980.
Significant events
No dates
- Dave Meltzer founds the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, covering the legitimate aspects of professional wrestling and analysis of kayfabe angles and matches.
January
- One of the biggest feuds of the early 1980s began when Larry Zbyszko attacked his mentor Bruno Sammartino during a WWF television taping at Allentown, Pennsylvania. The storyline had it that Zbyszko had grown tired of being "held back" and "living in Sammartino's shadow," accusations Sammartino strongly denied. The feud continued through August and a match at the 1980 Showdown At Shea
March
- 28 - The first known André the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan match takes place at a non-televised WWF house show from Binghamton, New York; both wrestlers are counted out. Their first televised match takes place July 26 at the Philadelphia Spectrum (aired on the PRISM Network), and the two were one of the high-profile matches during the Showdown at Shea supercard August 9 at Shea Stadium. André would win most of these early confrontations, usually by countout or disqualification, although Hogan bodyslammed André in most of their matches (a fact that was unacknowledged when their feud rekindled in 1987)
August
- 3 – Harley Race retains his NWA World Heavyweight Championship in a best-of-three-falls bout against Dusty Rhodes at the Last Tangle in Tampa supercard in Tampa, Florida, with Fritz Von Erich as the guest referee; Rhodes wins the first fall over Race, but the time limit expires during the second fall
- 9 – Bruno Sammartino defeats former protege Larry Zbyszko in a steel cage match at the WWF Showdown At Shea supershow in Flushing, New York; as part of the undercard, André the Giant beats Hulk Hogan and WWF Intercontinental Champion Ken Patera retains his title via countout loss to Tony Atlas
October
December
- 29 - The first WWF-promoted card from New York City's Madison Square Garden airs on the USA Network, marking the beginning of a long-standing relationship between what is now the WWE and the USA Network. At this point, however, USA would air wrestling -- almost always the WWF -- on an occasional basis until 1983
Births
Unknown
- Adam Revolver (Montgomery, Alabama)
- Nick Gage (Salt Lake, Utah)
January
- 21 - Stephanie Scope (Nottingham, England)
February
- 21 - Brodus Clay (Pasadena, California)
April
- 1 - Randy Orton (Knoxville, Tennessee)
- 7 - David Otunga (Elgin, Illinois)
- 16 - Paul London (Austin, Texas)
- 19 - James Thomas (Monticello, Minnesota)
July
- 4 - Laura Phoenix (Williamsport, Pennsylvania)
- 11 - TJ Wilson (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
- 17 - Wes Adams (Hattisburg, Mississippi)
- 27 - Nick Nemeth (Cleveland, Ohio)
August
- 10 - Brittany Force (Johnstown, Pennsylvania)
- 10 - Stu Bennett (Preston, Lancashire, England)
September
- 6 - Jillian Hall (Ashland, Kentucky)
- 23 - Romeo Roselli (White Plains, New York)
October
- 8 - Mike Mizanin (Parma, Ohio)
- 18 - Jaime Koeppe (Langley, British Columbia, Canada)
- 28 - Christy Hemme (Temecula, California)
November
- 5 - Andy Baker (Runcorn, Cheshire, England)
- 25 - Josh Lomberger (Sea Isle City, New Jersey)
December
- 27 - Claudio Castagnoli (Switzerland)
- 31 - Matt Cross (Cleveland, Ohio)
Debuts
Events
July
- 14 – AWA Comiskey Park
August
Title changes
- The Hood wins the NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship from Chavo Guerrero Sr.
January
- Buddy Rose is awarded the NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship
February
- 1 – Ted DiBiase wins the Mid-South North American Championship from Mike George in Shreveport, Louisiana
- 8 – Stan Hansen wins the NWF World Heavyweight Championship from Antonio Inoki in Tokyo, Japan
- 11 – The Sheepherders (Butch Miller and Luke Williams) win the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship from Stan Stasiak and Dutch Savage in Vancouver, British Columbia
March
- 14 – Chavo Guerrero regains the NWA Americas title from The Hood in Los Angeles, California
- 22 – Rick Martel wins the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship from Buddy Rose in Portland, Oregon
- 29 – Ray Stevens and Greg Valentine win the Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship from Rick Steamboat and Jay Youngblood in Charlotte, North Carolina
April
- 3 – Antonio Inoki regains the NWF World title from Stan Hansen in Tokyo
- 19 – Ric Flair wins the Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship from Jimmy Snuka in Greensboro, North Carolina
May
- 3 – The Sheik wins the Detroit version of the NWA United States title from Mighty Igor in Detroit, Michigan
- 10 – Rick Steamboat and Jay Youngblood regain the NWA World Tag Team title from Ray Stevens and Greg Valentine in Greensboro
- 19 – Roddy Piper and Rick Martel win the NWA Canadian Tag Team title from The Sheepherders in Vancouver; the title is vacated later in the year
June
- 7 – Ed Wiskoski wins the San Francisco version of the NWA United States title from George Wells in San Francisco, California
- 22 – Ray Stevens and Jimmy Snuka win the NWA World Tag Team title from Rick Steamboat and Jay Youngblood in Greensboro
July
- 18 – Verne Gagne wins the AWA World Heavyweight Championship from Nick Bockwinkel in Chicago, Illinois
- 20 – The East-West Connection (Adrian Adonis and Jesse Ventura) are awarded the AWA World Tag Team Championship by forfeit in Denver, Colorado from previous champions Verne Gagne and Mad Dog Vachon when Gagne, who won the AWA World title two days earlier, no-shows
- 26 – Greg Valentine wins the NWA Mid-Atlantic United States title from Ric Flair in Charlotte (WWE, which claims this title's history for its WWE United States Championship, does not recognize this title change)
August
- 9 – Ron Starr wins the NWA San Francisco United States title from Ed Wiskoski in San Francisco
- 16 – Buddy Rose wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Rick Martel in Portland
September
- 4 – Giant Baba wins the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Harley Race in Saga, Japan; Rick Martel regains the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Buddy Rose
- 9 – Harley Race regains the NWA World title from Giant Baba in Ohtsu, Japan
- 19 – The Grappler wins the Mid-South North American title from Ted DiBiase in Shreveport
- 20 – Buddy Rose regains the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Rick Martel
October
- 6 – Rip Oliver and Fidel Cortez win the vacant NWA Canadian Tag Team title in a tournament final over Al Tomko and Mike Popovich in Vancouver
- 13 – Bob Sweetan wins the NWA San Francisco United States title from Ron Starr in San Francisco
November
- 3 – Jay Youngblood and Joe Ventura win the NWA Canadian Tag Team title from Rip Oliver and Fidel Cortez in Vancouver
- 8 – Dusty Rhodes wins the NWA San Francisco United States title from Bob Sweetan in San Francisco
- 24 – Ric Flair regains the NWA Mid-Atlantic United States title from Greg Valentine in Greenville, South Carolina (WWE does not recognize this title change)
- 27 – Paul Jones and Masked Superstar win the NWA World Tag Team title from Ray Stevens and Jimmy Snuka in Greensboro
December
- 27 – Jay Youngblood wins the NWA Pacific Northwest title from Buddy Rose in Portland