This is a list of various things that took place in 1984.
Significant events[]
January
- 23 - Hulk Hogan defeats the Iron Sheik to win the WWF Championship before a sellout crowd at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The match airs live on both the MSG Network (in the New York-New Jersey markets) and nationally on the USA Network, and would in time be seen as the match that launched "Hulkamania".
February
- 4 - The first Piper’s Pit segment is aired on WWF Championship Wrestling; Paul Orndorff is the first guest, challenging new WWF Champion Hulk Hogan for the title. Airing that same weekend, on WWF All-Star Wrestling is another "Piper's Pit" segment, in which Piper read a letter supposedly written by Eddie Gilbert's father, criticizing his decision to return to wrestling following his car accident a year earlier
March
- Victory Magazine is rebranded WWF Magazine and, with a cover date of April/May 1984, goes on sale. Hulk Hogan is the first cover star
- 28 - The most infamous "Piper's Pit" segment, featuring "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka as host Roddy Piper's guest (Piper mocking and racially insulting Snuka before smashing a coconut in his face), is taped at a house show in Hamburg, Pennsylvania. The segments would air only in the St. Louis market (to sell their match at the Chase later that spring), before finally airing on WWF Championship Wrestling and WWF All-Star Wrestling in June
April
- The original Universal Wrestling Federation is formed in Japan
- 6 - Ken Patera and Mr. Saito are arrested in Waukesha, Wisconsin on charges of vandalism (for throwing a 30-pound boulder through a McDonald's window after being refused service after hours) and assaulting police officers and resisting arrest in a subsequent brawl with local police at the hotel where Patera and Saito are staying
May
- Jack and Jerry Brisco sell their interest in Georgia Championship Wrestling to Vince McMahon
- The first episode of Tuesday Night Titans, a WWF-produced talk show pattered after The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, debuts. The program features (kayfabe) interviews, skits and selected wrestling matches
- 29 - The National Wrestling Alliance's "Night of Champions", the first NWA event in the New York City area since the formation of the WWF, takes place in East Rutherford, New Jersey
- 29 - Pop superstar Cyndi Lauper makes her first appearance as a guest on "Piper's Pit". In the ensuing weeks, Lauper would align with Wendi Richter and challenge The Fabulous Moolah for the WWF Women's Championship
June
- 14 - Antonio Inoki defeats Hulk Hogan in the final of New Japan Pro Wrestling's International Wrestling Grand Prix tournament in Tokyo, Japan
- 19 - The final television tapings for WWF All-Star Wrestling, with legendary ring announcer Joe McHugh, take place at the Agricultural Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania; the resulting shows are aired in July. Many of the WWF's television tapings, from the late 1960s onward, originated from the Agricultural Center
- 25 - Randy Savage injures Ricky Morton by piledriving him through the timekeeper's table during a match pitting Savage and Lanny Poffo against the Rock 'n' Roll Express at the CWA's Star Wars '84 supercard in Memphis, Tennessee, leading to a disqualification win for the Express
July
- Maple Leaf Wrestling is sold to Vince McMahon, opening the way for the WWF into Canada
- 11 - At a Stampede Wrestling event at the Olympic Saddledome in Calgary, Abdullah the Butcher brutalizes Gerry Morrow in a one-sided squash which ends with Abdullah being disqualified for attacking the referee. Several wrestlers try unsuccessfully to stop Abdullah's rampage after the match until Bret Hart comes in and fights off Abdullah using a cowboy boot and sends the massive heel fleeing from the ring
- 14 - Black Saturday
August
- Vince McMahon purchases Stampede Wrestling from Stu Hart and absorbs the promotion into the WWF
September
- 29 - Pro Wrestling USA, a coalition consisting of the American Wrestling Association and several NWA affiliates (including Jim Crockett Promotions) formed to combat the increasing power of the WWF, airs its first TV show on WPIX-TV in New York City
November
- 13 - André the Giant and S.D. Jones defeat Heenan Family members Big John Studd and Ken Patera at a WWF Championship Wrestling taping at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York (aired on tape delay on December 1) when Studd and Patera are disqualified for throwing Jones over the top rope and excessive double-teaming on André. After Studd and Patera knock André unconscious, Bobby Heenan comes in with a pair of scissors and hands them to Studd to cut off some of the Giant's hair. This subsequently reignites the feud between André and Studd (which had been dormant for the past year) ... and would eventually involve other members of the Heenan Family.
December
- 28 - Backstage during an arena show at New York City's Madison Square Garden, reporter John Stossel is assaulted by David Schultz during an interview in which Stossel asked Schultz if wrestling was fake. Stossel later files suit against both the WWF and Schultz seeking damages for injuries suffered in the incident. During the in-arena show, Captain Lou Albano (at the time still a heel) and Cyndi Lauper are recognized for their work with the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. The ceremony is segued into a storyline where Roddy Piper and "Cowboy" Bob Orton interrupt the ceremony and attack Albano, Lauper and Lauper's then-boyfriend David Wolff, facilitating Albano's face turn and sparking Piper's high-profile feud with Hulk Hogan
Births[]
Unknown
- Danny Hope (Wigan, England)
January
- 1 – Veda Scott (Providence, Rhode Island, USA)
- 16 – Bradley Charles (USA)
- 22 - Kanalla
February
- 2 - Brian Cage (Chico, California, USA)
- 6 - Top Gun Talwar (California, USA)
- 17 - Jimmy Jacobs (Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA)
March
- 19 - Jimmy Havoc (Dartford, Kent, England)
- 30 - Shawn Daivari (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)
May
- 14 – Bad Bones (Germany)
- 14 – Darin Corbin (Detroit Lakes, Minnesota)
- 7 – Kevin Steen (Marieville, Quebec, Canada)
- 16 – Mickie Knuckles (Clarksville, Indiana, USA)
- 29 – Brandon Gatson (Austin, Texas, USA)
- 29 - Nia Jax (in Honolulu, Hawaii)
June
- 5 – Madison Eagles (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia)
- 28 – Marcus Anthony (Cincinnati, Ohio)
July
- 13 - Jake Crist (New Carlisle, Ohio)
August
- 14 - Miss Mina (Norway)
- 21 - Eve Torres (Los Angeles, California, USA)
- 21 - Raymond Rowe (Cleveland, Ohio, USA)
- 26 - J.C. Bailey (Louisville, Kentucky, USA)
- 27 - Drake Braddock (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
September
- 3 - T.J. Perkins (Los Angeles, California, USA)
- 24 - Kyle Kraven (Dayton, Ohio, USA)
October
- 6 - Afa Anoa'i, Jr. (Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA)
- 12 - Chris Andrews (Devon, England, UK)
- 17 - Bingo Ballance
- 22 - Aero Star (Mexico City, Mexico)
November
- 6 - Annie Cruz (Stocton, California)
- 6 - Jade Chung (Guelph, Ontario, Canada)
- 7 - Jacob Novak (Kent, Washington, USA)
- 30 - Tara Charisma (Bayside, New York, USA)
December
- 4 - Brooke Adams (St. Louis, Missouri, USA)
- 8 - Michelle Deighton Terre Haute, Indiana, USA)
- 10 - Jayson Paul (Brooklyn, New York, USA)
- 19 - Johnny McMetal (Tampere, Finland)
- 20 - Taryn Terrell (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA)
- 28 - Drew Hankinson (Cumberland, Maryland, USA)
- 31 - Jamie Keyes (Sarasota, Florida, USA)
Deaths[]
February
- 10 - David Von Erich 25 (Heart attack/acute enteritis)
May
- 17 - Max Palmer 56 (Heart failure)
- 22 - George Zaharias 76 (Natural causes)
- 24 - Vincent J. McMahon 69 (Cancer)
August
- 2 - Argentina Apollo
Debuts[]
Unknown date
- Steve Armstrong
- Steve Doll
- Mongolian Mauler
- Fred Ottman
- Yokozuna
- Mark Calaway
February
April
- 5 - Marty Jannetty
June
- 11 - Kendall Windham
July
- 31 - Mario Mancini
September
- 1 - Shinya Hashimoto
October
- Scott Hall
- 5 - Masa Chono, Keiji Muto
- 12 - Akira Nogami
- 16 - Shawn Michaels
Events[]
May
June
- 23 - WCCW World Class Texas Heavyweight Title Tournament
- 25 - CWA Star Wars
July
- 4 - WCCW Independence Day Star Wars
- 23 - WWF The Brawl To End It All (Televised event)
August
- 30 - AWA Comsikey Park
September
- 3 - WCCW Labor Day Star Wars
October
- 27 - WCCW 1st Cotton Bowl Extravaganza
November
- 22 - NWA Starrcade - "The Million Dollar Challenge"
- 22 - WCCW Thanksgiving Star Wars
December
- 25 - WCCW Christmas Star Wars
Title changes[]
January
- The NWA World Television Championship is vacated when Jimmy Valiant, who won the title at Starrcade 1983 as the masked Charlie Brown, drops the alias and gives up the belt
- 8 - Don Kernodle and Bob Orton Jr. win the NWA World Tag Team Championship in a tournament final over Dory Funk Jr. and Jimmy Valiant in Charlotte, North Carolina
- 23 - Hulk Hogan wins the WWF Championship from The Iron Sheik in New York City
February
- 7 - Dynamite Kid wins the vacant WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship in a tournament final over The Cobra in Tokyo
- 11 - Tito Santana wins the WWF Intercontinental Championship from Magnificent Muraco in Boston, Massachussetts
- 22 - Jumbo Tsuruta wins the AWA World Heavyweight Championship from Nick Bockwinkel in Tokyo
March
- 7 - Mark Youngblood wins the vacant NWA World TV title in a tournament final over Dick Slater in Spartanburg, South Carolina
- 21 - Harley Race defeats Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in Wellington, New Zealand
- 23 - Ric Flair regains the NWA World title from Harley Race in Kallang, Singapore
April
- 17 - The North South Connection (Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch) win the WWF Tag Team Championship from Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson in Hamburg, Pennsylvania
- 21 - Ricky Steamboat wins the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship from Dick Slater in Greensboro, North Carolina
May
- 6 - Rock 'n' Soul (Buck Zumhofe & King Parsons) defeat The Super Destroyers (Super Destroyer 1 & Super Destroyer 2) (c) to win the NWA American Tag Team Championship at the David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions in Irving, Texas; Fritz, Kevin & Mike von Erich defeat The Fabulous Freebirds (Buddy Roberts, Michael P.S. Hayes & Terry Gordy) (c) to win the Texas version of the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship at the Parade of Champions; Kerry von Erich defeat Ric Flair (c) to win the NWA World title at the Parade of Champions; The Crusher and Baron Von Raschke win the AWA World Tag Team Championship from The Sheiks (Ken Patera and Jerry Blackwell) in Green Bay, Wisconsin
- 13 - Rick Martel wins the AWA World title from Jumbo Tsuruta in St. Paul, Minnesota
- 24 - Ric Flair regains the NWA World title from Kerry Von Erich in a two-out-of-three falls match in Yokosuka City, Japan
June
- 24 - Wahoo McDaniel wins the NWA United States title from Rick Steamboat in Greensboro, but is stripped of the title afterward due to interference by Tully Blanchard on McDaniel's behalf
July
- 24 - Oly Olsen defeats Snake Williams to win the vacant NWA Pacific Television Championship in Burnaby, British Columbia
August
- 25 - The Road Warriors win the AWA World Tag Team title from The Crusher and Baron Von Raschke in Las Vegas, Nevada
September
- 24 - Greg Valentine win the WWF Intercontinental Championship from Tito Santana in London, Ontario
October
- 7 - Wahoo McDaniel wins the NWA United States title in a tournament final over Manny Fernandez in Charlotte, North Carolina
- 9 - King Tonga wins the Canadian International Heavyweight Championship from Dino Bravo in Hull, Quebec
- 20 - Manny Fernandez and Dusty Rhodes win the NWA World Tag Team title from Ivan Koloff and Don Kernodle in Greensboro