1949 in professional wrestling

1949 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 1949.

Promotion Name	Abbreviation
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre	EMLL

Calendar of notable shows

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
September 30	EMLL	EMLL 16th Anniversary Show	Mexico City, Mexico	Tarzán López and Bobby Bonales defeated El Santo and Gory Guerrero in a best two-out-three falls tag team match^[1]

Championship changes

EMLL

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
NWA World Middleweight Championship
incoming champion – Mike Kelly^[2]
May 28	Tarzán López	EMLL show	^[2]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
NWA World Welterweight Championship
incoming champion – Jack O'Brien^[3]
April 29	Gory Guerrero	EMLL show	^[3]

Mexican National Heavyweight Championship
incoming champion - Daniel Aldana^[4]
No title changes^[4]

Mexican National Middleweight Championship
incoming champion – Uncertain^[5]
No title changes^[5]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Lightweight Championship
incoming champion – Emilio Charles^[6]
Uncertain	Vacated	N/A	Championship vacated for undocumented reasons^[6]
August 5	Joe Marin	EMLL show	^[6]
October 18	Black Shadow	EMLL show	^[6]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship
incoming champion – Tarzán López^[7]
July 1	Cavernario Galindo	EMLL show	^[7]

Mexican National Welterweight Championship
incoming champion – Vacant or El Santo^[8]
No title changes^[8]

NWA

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship
Incoming Champion – Orville Brown^[9]
November 27	Lou Thesz	N/A	Thez was awarded the championship when Brown's career ended due to a car accident.The NWA voted to recognize Brown as the Worlds Champion. Defeated Sonny Myers to solidify the claim.^[9]

Debuts

Debut date uncertain:
November – The Crusher^[10]

Births

Date of birth uncertain:
- Johnny Rivera
- John Garea
January 2 – Samoan Joe (died in 2015)
January 2 – Tommy Lane (died in 2022)
January 7:
- Chavo Guerrero Sr.^[11] (died in 2016)
- Scott LeDoux (died in 2011)
January 15 – Tony Salazar^[11]
January 16 – Sir Oliver Humperdink^[11] (died in 2011)
January 17 – Andy Kaufman^[11] (died in 1984)
February 11 – T. John Tibbedeux^[11] (died in 2013)
February 19 – Black Man^[11] (died in 2022)
February 25 – Ric Flair^[11]
March 9 – Charlie Fulton (died in 2016)
April 7:
- Steve DiSalvo^[11]
- John Anson
April 12 – Mighty Inoue^[11] (died in 2024)
April 26 – Jerry Blackwell^[11] (died in 1995)
April 27 – Yoshiaki Fujiwara^[11]
April 28 – Siva Afi^[11]
May 14 – Robert Fuller
May 17:
- Earl Hebner^[11]
- Dave Hebner (died in 2022)
May 18 – Sailor White^[11] (died in 2005)
June 17 – Evgeny Artyukhin Sr. (died in 2008)
June 29 – Stephen Cepello
August 13 – Jim Brunzell^[11]
August 14 – Bob Backlund^[11]
August 29 – Stan Hansen^[11]
September 5 – El Hijo del Gladiador^[11]
September 10:
- Don Muraco^[11]
- Gerry Morrow^[11]
September 19 – Ringo Mendoza^[11]
September 25 – Villano II^[11] (died in 1989)
October 4:
- Mike Adamle^[11]
- Joe Pedicino (died in 2020)
October 12 – César Curiel^[11]
October 18 – Cien Caras^[11]
October 26:
- Austin Idol^[11]
- Kevin Sullivan^[11] (died in 2024)
- El Satánico^[11]
- Troy Graham (died in 2002)
October 29 – Paul Orndorff^[11] (died in 2021)
November 11 – Mike Jackson
November 28 – Lee Marshall^[11] (died in 2014)
November 29:
- Dutch Mantell^[11]
- Jerry Lawler^[11]
November 30 – Mike George

Deaths

August 8 – Ivan Poddubny, 77
September 11 – Ray Steele^[12] (49)

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 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 ^c ^d 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). ""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 "Wrestlers debuted in 1949: 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 ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af "Wrestlers born in 1949: 1 - 50 of 65". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ "Wrestlers deceased in 1949: 1 - 16 of 16". 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.

[NWALMiddle-2] 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-3] 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-4] 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-5] 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-6] 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-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.

[MexWelter-8] 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.

[NWAWorlds-9] 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.

[WD1949Debuts-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "Wrestlers debuted in 1949: 1 - 20 of 20". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1949Births-11] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af "Wrestlers born in 1949: 1 - 50 of 65". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1949Deaths-12] "Wrestlers deceased in 1949: 1 - 16 of 16". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

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Years in professional wrestling
1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948
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
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025