1962 in professional wrestling

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1962 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of notable promotions

Only one promotion held notable shows in 1962.

Promotion Name	Abbreviation
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre	EMLL

Calendar of notable shows

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
April	EMLL	6. Aniversario de Arena México	Mexico City, Mexico
September 21	EMLL	EMLL 29th Anniversary Show	Mexico City, Mexico	Antonio Poza (c) defeated Karloff Lagarde in a best two-out-of-three falls match for the NWA World Middleweight Championship^[1]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Notable Events

Wrestling World hit the newsstands with its first issue

Championship changes

EMLL

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

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
NWA World Middleweight Championship
incoming champion – Antonio Posa^[3]
April 18	René Guajardo	EMLL show	^[3]
October 25	Rayo de Jalisco	EMLL show	^[3]

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

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Heavyweight Championship
incoming champion - Vacant^[5]
May 13	Pepe Mendieta	EMLL show	Defeated Gran Lothario in a tournament final.^[5]

Mexican National Middleweight Championship
incoming champion – Karloff Lagarde^[6]
No title changes^[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]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Welterweight Championship
incoming champion – Karloff Lagarde^[9]
April 4	Blue Demon	EMLL show	^[9]
April 28	Karloff Lagarde	EMLL show	^[9]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Tag Team Championship
incoming champion – possibly Tarzán López and Henry Pilusso^[10]
Uncertain	Los Rebeldes (Rene Guajardo and Karloff Lagarde)	EMLL show	^[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 – Buddy Rogers^[12]
No title changes^[12]

Debuts

Debut date uncertain:
- Bill Dundee
- Bill Watts^[13]
- Bob Armstrong^[13]
- Bushwhacker Luke
- Gary Hart^[13]
- Mr. Fuji^[13]
- Ox Baker^[13]
- Ronnie Garvin^[13]
January 13 – Espanto III^[13]
March 19 – Dean Ho^[13]
November 2– Archie Gouldie^[13]

Births

January 7 – Devil Masami^[14]
January 9:
- Luc Poirier
- Tony Puccio
January 12 – Luna Vachon^[14](died in 2010) [1]
January 21 – Mark Curtis^[14](died in 1999) [2]
January 25 – Rod Price
January 31 – Reggie B. Fine
February 7 – Max Thrasher
February 11 – Bestia Salvaje^[14](died in 2008) [3]
February 13 – Baby Doll^[14]
February 19 – Franky Gee (died in 2005)
February 21 – Billy Silverman
March 13 – Vandal Drummond^[15]
March 19 – Jimmy Korderas^[14]
March 22 – Villano V^[15]
March 28 – The Warlord^[15]
April 3:
- Curly Moe (died in 2015)
- Jeff Van Camp
April 10 – Super Muñeco (died in 2022)
April 12 – Nobuhiko Takada^[15]
April 13 – Diane Von Hoffman (died in 2017)
April 29 – Sunshine
May 5 – Princess Victoria (wrestler)
May 10 – Klondyke Kate^[14]
May 22 – Brian Pillman^[14](died in 1997) [4]
May 26 – Victor Zangiev^[16]
May 30 – Martha Villalobos^[15]
June 15:
- Brad Armstrong (died in 2012)
- Mark Fleming
June 18 – Mitsuharu Misawa^[15](died in 2009) [5]
June 26 – Bruiser Costa
July 2 – Brakkus^[14]
July 5 – Barry Hardy
July 15 – Jesús Castillo Jr.
July 18 – Dusty Wolfe
July 29:
- Scott Steiner^[15]
- Sonny Onoo^[15]
- Pirata Morgan^[15]
July 31 – Kevin Greene^[14](died in 2020)
July 31 – John Laurinaitis^[17]
August 2 - DeWayne Bruce
August 14 – Jeff Farmer
August 15 – Kazuo Yamazaki
September 2 – Tracy Smothers^[15](died in 2020)
September 7 – George South^[14]
September 24 – Kloudy
September 28 – Atlantis^[14]
October 2 – El Dandy^[14]
October 19 – Evander Holyfield
October 31 – Bill Fralic^[14](died in 2018) [6]
November 4 – El Hijo del Diablo^[14]
November 24:
- Velvet McIntyre^[18]
- Masayoshi Motegi
November 28 – Davey Boy Smith^[14](died in 2002) [7]
November 30 – Jimmy Del Ray^[14](died in 2014) [8]
December 16 – William Perry
December 23 – Keiji Muto^[14]
December 26 – Mark Starr^[15](died in 2013) [9]

Deaths

March 2 – Gus Kallio^[19] (70)
April 20 – Joe Malcewicz (65)
August 9 – Sam Avey (67)
September 26 – Alexander Zass (74)

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 ^c 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 ^c 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 "Wrestlers debuted in 1962: 1 - 30 of 30". 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 1962: 1 - 50 of 94". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k "Wrestlers born in 1962: 51 - 94 of 94". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ "Wrestlers born in 1959: 51 - 92 of 92". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ "Wrestlers born in 1965: 51 - 100 of 131". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ "Wrestlers born in 1961: 51 - 98 of 98". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ "Wrestlers deceased in 1962: 1 - 26 of 26". 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.

[WD1962Debuts-13] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Wrestlers debuted in 1962: 1 - 30 of 30". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1962Births-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r "Wrestlers born in 1962: 1 - 50 of 94". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1962BirthsPage2-15] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k "Wrestlers born in 1962: 51 - 94 of 94". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1959BirthsPage2-16] "Wrestlers born in 1959: 51 - 92 of 92". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1965BirthsPage2-17] "Wrestlers born in 1965: 51 - 100 of 131". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1961BirthsPage2-18] "Wrestlers born in 1961: 51 - 98 of 98". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1962Deaths-19] "Wrestlers deceased in 1962: 1 - 26 of 26". 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
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