1961 in professional wrestling

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1961 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of notable promotions

Only two promotions held notable shows in 1961.

Promotion Name	Abbreviation
Southwest Sports	Southwest Sports
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre	EMLL

Calendar of notable shows

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
January 31	Southwest Sports	Parade of Champions	Irving, Texas	Pat O'Connor (c) wrestled Dory Dixon to a draw in a two out of three falls match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
April	EMLL	5. Aniversario de Arena México	Mexico City, Mexico
September 22	EMLL	EMLL 28th Anniversary Show	Mexico City, Mexico	Gory Guerrero (c) defeated Ray Mendoza in a best two-out-of-three falls match for the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship^[1]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Championship changes

EMLL

NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship
incoming champion - Gory Guerrero^[2]
No title changes^[2]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
incoming champion – René Guajardo^[3]
December 2	Antonio Posa	EMLL show	^[3]

NWA World Welterweight Championship
incoming champion – Karloff Lagarde^[4]
No title changes^[4]

Mexican National Heavyweight Championship
incoming champion - Vacant^[5]					No title changes^[5]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Middleweight Championship
incoming champion – El Santo^[6]
March 24	Karloff Lagarde	EMLL show	^[6]

Mexican National Lightweight Championship
incoming champion – Juan Diaz^[7]
No title changes^[7]

Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship
incoming champion – Rubén Juárez^[8]
No title changes^[8]

Mexican National Welterweight Championship
incoming champion – Karloff Lagarde^[9]
No title changes^[9]

Mexican National Tag Team Championship
incoming champion – possibly Tarzán López and Henry Pilusso^[10]
No title changes^[10]

Mexican National Women's Championship
incoming champion – Uncertain^[11]
No title changes^[11]

NWA

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship
Incoming Champion – Pat O'Connor^[12]
July 14	Buddy Rogers	NWA show	^[12]

Debuts

Debut date uncertain:
- The Beast^[13]
- Ernie Ladd
- Gino Brito
- Ivan Koloff
- Jack Lanza^[13]
- Jonathan Boyd^[13]
- Luke Graham^[13]
- S. D. Jones^[13]
- Spiros Arion^[13]
- Tony Parisi^[13]
- Wahoo McDaniel^[13]
- Jean Antone
April – Umanosuke Ueda^[13]
July 4 – Les Thatcher^[13]
July 16 – Dr. Wagner^[13]
October 11 - Masio Koma (JWA)

Births

Date of birth uncertain:
- Penny Mitchell
- Eli the Eliminator
January 24:
- Reggie Bennett^[14]
- Kōji Iibashi
January 24 – Vince Russo^[14]
February 1 – Sean Royal
February 9 – Chris Walker
February 17 – Chris Champion^[15](died in 2018)
February 21 – Rhonda Singh^[14](died in 2001)
March 9 – Rick Steiner^[14]
March 17 – La Fiera^[15](died in 2010)
March 27 – Octagón^[14]
April 11 – Nobuaki Kakuda
April 15 – Volk Han
April 18 – Brooklyn Brawler^[15]
April 23 – Terry Gordy^[14](died in 2001)
April 25:
- Giant Gustav (died in 2019)
- Wendell Cooley
April 28 – Billy Joe Travis^[15](died in 2002)
May 4 – Scott Armstrong
May 5 – Hiroshi Hase^[15]
May 8 – Akira Taue^[15]
May 11 – Paul Diamond^[14]
May 13 – Dennis Rodman
May 14 – Tommy Rogers^[14](died in 2015)
May 16 – The Godfather^[15]
May 25 – Hiro Saito^[15]
June 9:
- Bull Pain
- Despina Montagas
June 15 – Scott Norton^[14]
June 21 – Count Grog
July 9 – Damián 666^[15]
July 13 – Chris Michaels^[15]
July 25 – Jaguar Yokota
July 28 – Ciclón Ramírez^[15]
July 30 – El Brazo^[15] (died in 2013)
August 13 – Tony Falk^[14]
August 14 – Eddie Gilbert^[15](died in 1995)
August 17 – Buddy Landel^[15](died in 2015)
August 25 – Nick Kiniski^[14]
September 1 – Bam Bam Bigelow^[15](died in 2006)
September 2 – Mongolian Mauler^[14](died in 2024)
September 6 – Wendi Richter^[14]
September 8 – Rex King^[14](died in 2017)
September 16 – Phil LaFon^[15]
September 17 Jim Cornette^[15]
October 1:
- Súper Astro^[14]
- Rico Constantino^[14]
October 3 – Maxx Payne^[15]
October 4 – Bobby Fulton^[15]
October 11 – Tony Chimel
October 14 – Tom Burton (died in 2010)
October 23:
- Ron Harris^[14]
- Don Harris^[15]
November 8 – Isao Takagi
November 19 – Rick Bassman
November 26 – Ivory (wrestler)^[15]
December 19 – Reggie White^[14](died in 2004)
December 21 – The Patriot (died in 2021)
December 24 – Peter Smit (died in 2005)
December 30 –Armand Rougeau^[15]

Deaths

January 9 – Oyama Kato, 42
February 18 – Chick Garibaldi, 46/47
October 7 – Al Mills^[16] 50/51
November 8 – Blimp Levy, 56

References

^ Ruiz Glez, Alex (September 7, 2010). "CMLL: 79 historias, 79 Aniversario, las 79 luchas estelares" [CMLL: 79 stories, 79 anniversaries, the 70 main events]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved February 2, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Light Heavyweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 389. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Middleweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 389–390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Welterweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Heavyweight Title". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. pp. 390–391. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Middleweight Championship". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Lightweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Lightweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Welterweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: Mexican National Tag Team Title". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 396. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Women's Title[Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 394. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). ""United States: 19th century & widely defended titles – NWA, WWF, AWA, IWA, ECW, NWA: NWA World Heavyweight Title"". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 15. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k "Wrestlers debuted in 1961: 1 - 20 of 20". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r "Wrestlers born in 1961: 51 - 98 of 98". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v "Wrestlers born in 1961: 1 - 50 of 98". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ "Wrestlers deceased in 1961: 1 - 18 of 18". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[79Anniversaries-1] Ruiz Glez, Alex (September 7, 2010). "CMLL: 79 historias, 79 Aniversario, las 79 luchas estelares" [CMLL: 79 stories, 79 anniversaries, the 70 main events]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved February 2, 2020.

[NWALHeavy-2] Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Light Heavyweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 389. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[NWALMiddle-3] Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Middleweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 389–390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[NWALWelter-4] Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Welterweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexHeavy-5] Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Heavyweight Title". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. pp. 390–391. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexMiddle-6] Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Middleweight Championship". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexLight-7] Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Lightweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexLHeavy-8] Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Lightweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexWelter-9] Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Welterweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexTag-10] Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: Mexican National Tag Team Title". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 396. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexWomenBook-11] Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Women's Title[Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 394. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[NWAWorlds-12] Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). ""United States: 19th century & widely defended titles – NWA, WWF, AWA, IWA, ECW, NWA: NWA World Heavyweight Title"". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 15. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[WD1961Debuts-13] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k "Wrestlers debuted in 1961: 1 - 20 of 20". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1961BirthsPage2-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r "Wrestlers born in 1961: 51 - 98 of 98". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1961Births-15] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v "Wrestlers born in 1961: 1 - 50 of 98". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1961Deaths-16] "Wrestlers deceased in 1961: 1 - 18 of 18". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

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v t e Years in professional wrestling
1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
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