1957 in professional wrestling

1957 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 1957.

Promotion Name	Abbreviation
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre	EMLL

Calendar of notable shows

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
April	EMLL	1. Aniversario de Arena México	Mexico City, Mexico
September 20	EMLL	EMLL 24th Anniversary Show	Mexico City, Mexico	Black Shadow and Alex Romano won the tournament in the finals of a torneo relampago 10,000 peso tag team tournament^[1]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Championship changes

EMLL

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
NWA World Middleweight Championship
incoming champion – El Santo^[2]
October 19	Ronaldo Vera	EMLL show	^[2]

NWA World Welterweight Championship
incoming champion – Blue Demon^[3]
No title changes^[3]

Mexican National Heavyweight Championship
incoming champion - El Médico Asesino^[4]
No title changes^[4]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Middleweight Championship
incoming champion – El Gladiador^[5]
May 31	El Santo	EMLL show	^[5]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Lightweight Championship
incoming champion – Tarzán López^[6]
January	Vacated	N/A	^[6]
April 21	Espectro I	EMLL show	^[6]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship
incoming champion – Vacant^[7]
March 30	Juan Diaz	EMLL show	^[7]
July 17	Mima Ota	EMLL show	^[7]
July 18	Vacated	N/A	Championship vacated by the commission as Mishima Ota was not a Mexican citizen.^[7]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Welterweight Championship
incoming champion – Jalisco Gonzalez^[8]
March 2	Karloff Lagarde	EMLL show	^[8]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Tag Team Championship
New^[9]
June 14	Los Hermanos Shadow (Black Shadow and Blue Demon)	EMLL show	Defeated Tarzán López and Enrique Llanes in an eight-team tournament final^[9]

Mexican National Women's Championship
incoming champion – Uncertain^[10]
No title changes^[10]

NWA

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Lou Thesz^[11]
November 14	Dick Hutton	NWA show	^[11]

Debuts

Debut date uncertain:
- Bulldog Bob Brown^[12]
- “Cowboy” Bob Ellis
- Hiro Matsuda^[12]
- Jarochita Rivero^[12]
- Killer Karl Krupp^[12]
- Larry Hennig^[12]
- Les Thornton^[12]
- Swede Hanson^[12]
March – Rene Goulet^[12]
August 8 – Adrian Street^[12]

Births

January 5 – Robert Swenson (died in 1997)
January 7 – Mighty Wilbur^[13](died in 2014)
January 9 – El Egipcio^[14](died in 2018)
January 12 – B. Brian Blair
January 22:
- 911^[14]
- Rita Chatterton
January 26 – Road Warrior Hawk^[13](died in 2003)
February 10 – Chamaco Valaguez^[14]
February 14 – Dr. Karonte (died in 2019)
February 24 – C.W. Bergstrom^[14]
April 3 – Daikokubō Benkei
April 4 – Grigory Verichev (died in 2006)
April 9 – Joel Deaton
April 21 – Brutus Beefcake^[14]
May 1 – Dave Taylor^[14]
May 4 – Bart Vale
May 9 – Mike Shaw^[13](died in 2010)
May 15 – Kevin Von Erich^[14]
May 18 – Rob Bartlett^[13]
May 25 – Dark Journey^[14]
June 1 – Bobby Burns (wrestler)
June 12 – Negro Navarro^[13]
June 20 – Koko B. Ware^[14]
June 25 – Floyd Creatchman^[14](died in 2003)
July 2 – Bret Hart^[14]
July 13 – Irma Aguilar^[14]
July 24 – Joseph Savoldi
July 27 – Matt Borne^[13](died in 2013)
July 28 – Asbjørn Riis^[14]
August 11 – Bill Alfonso^[14]
August 14 – Gino Hernandez^[14](died in 1986)
August 20 – Rip Morgan^[13]
August 23 – Fumihiro Niikura
September 7 – Corporal Kirchner^[14](died in 2021)
September 9 – Garry Robbins (died in 2013)
September 16 – D. C. Drake^[14]
September 28 – Mountain Fiji (died in 2018)
October 10 – Farmer Brooks^[14](died in 2022)
October 12 – Emilio Charles Jr.^[14](died in 2012)
October 16 – Lord Zoltan
October 17 – Steve McMichael^[13](died in 2025)
October 19 – Wojo the BC Hulk
October 24 – Italian Stallion^[14]
October 25 – Atsushi Onita^[14]
October 30 – Jackie Sato (died in 1999)
November 7:
- Tony Schiavone^[13]
- Christopher Knight
November 12 – Vladimir Petrov (died in 2024)
November 14 – Stephen Petitpas
November 17 – Ed Moretti
November 24 – Tiger Mask / Satoru Sayama^[14]
November 27 – Johnny Mantell^[14]
December 8 – Reverend Slick^[13]

Deaths

April 6 – Gustav Frištenský, 77
April 23 – Cora Livingston, 68/70
August 9 – Babe Zaharias^[15] 45
November 1 – Giovanni Raicevich, 77

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 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 ^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 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 1957: 1 - 31 of 31". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "Wrestlers born in 1957: 51 - 85 of 85". 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 "Wrestlers born in 1957: 1 - 50 of 85". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ "Wrestlers deceased in 1957: 1 - 25 of 25". 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.

[MexTag-9] 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-10] 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-11] 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.

[WD1957Debuts-12] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Wrestlers debuted in 1957: 1 - 31 of 31". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1957BirthsPage2-13] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "Wrestlers born in 1957: 51 - 85 of 85". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1957Births-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w "Wrestlers born in 1957: 1 - 50 of 85". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1957Deaths-15] "Wrestlers deceased in 1957: 1 - 25 of 25". 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 1949
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 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