1943 in professional wrestling

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1943 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of notable promotions[edit]

Only one promotion held notable shows in 1943.

Promotion Name	Abbreviation
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre	EMLL

Calendar of notable shows[edit]

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
April 2	EMLL	Arena Coliseum opening show	Mexico City, Mexico	Tarzán López (c) defeated El Santo in a best two-out-of-three falls match for the Mexican National Middleweight Championship^[1]
September 24	EMLL	EMLL 10th Anniversary Show	Mexico City, Mexico	El Santo defeated Bobby Bonales in a best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuesta, mask vs. hair match.^[2]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Notable events[edit]

April 2, 1943 – Arena Coliseo, in Mexico City, opens and holds its first professional wrestling event. The arena was owned by Salvador Lutteroth, the founder of Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL) and would serve as their main venue for the following 10 years.^[3]^[4]

Championship changes[edit]

EMLL[edit]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Rye Duran^[5]
Uncertain	Firpo Segura	EMLL show	^[5]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Lightweight Championship
Incoming champion –Adolfo Bonales^[6]
May 30	Joe Silva	EMLL show	^[6]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Middleweight Championship
Incoming champion – Murciélago Velázquez^[5]
March 19	El Santo	EMLL show	^[5]
June 1	Bobby Bonales	EMLL show	^[5]

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Mexican National Welterweight Championship
Incoming champion – Ciclón Veloz^[7]
February 21	El Santo	EMLL show	^[7]

NWA World Middleweight Championship
Incoming champion – Tarzán López^[8]
No title changes^[8]

Debuts[edit]

Debut date uncertain

Births[edit]

January 15 – Alberto Muñoz^[10](died in 2019)
February 2 – Antonio Inoki^[10](died in 2022)
February 15 – Mitsu Hirai^[10](died in 2003)
March 16 – Verlon Biggs (died in 1994)
March 23 – Johnny Powers^[10] (died in 2022)
April 8 – Robbie Ellis
April 11:
- Harley Race^[10](died in 2019)
- Pak Song (died in 1982)
April 13 – Alfonso Dantés^[10](died in 2008)
April 16 – Frankie Laine^[10](died in 2016)
April 24 – Mike Boyette (died in 2012)
May 15 – Pepe Casas^[10]
May 18 – Jimmy Snuka^[10](died in 2017)
June 7 – Billy Graham (died in 2023)
June 12 – Fred Curry
July 13 – Otto Wanz^[10](died in 2017)
July 17 – Jean Antone (died in 2016)
July 29:
- Earl Black^[10]
- Bette Boucher^[10]
October 9:
- Betty Niccoli^[10]
- Kantaro Hoshino (died in 2010)
October 22 – Bad News Brown^[10](died in 2007)
October 24 – Bill Dundee^[10]
November 3 - Robert Bruce (wrestler) (died in 2009)
December 4 – Katsuhisa Shibata^[10](died in 2010)
December 31 – Adorable Rubí^[10](died in 2012)

References[edit]

^ "Arena Coliseo, El primero de sus 25,550 días" (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Gateca. March 28, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
^ "10th Anniversary Show". Pro Wrestling History. September 24, 1943. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
^ "Los Lutteroth / the Lutteroth". Lucha Libre: Masked Superstars of Mexican Wrestling. Distributed Art Publishers, Inc. 2005. pp. 20–27. ISBN 968-6842-48-9.
^ Madigan, Dan (2007). "El nacimiento de un sueño (the birth of a dream)". Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 51–51. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. pp. 390–391. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Lightweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Welterweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Middlweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 389–390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Wrestlers debuted in 1943: 1 - 5 of 5". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q "Wrestlers born in 1943: 1 - 47 of 47". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[ArenaFirst-1] "Arena Coliseo, El primero de sus 25,550 días" (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Gateca. March 28, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.

[EMLL10-2] "10th Anniversary Show". Pro Wrestling History. September 24, 1943. Retrieved September 27, 2012.

[Lutteroth-3] "Los Lutteroth / the Lutteroth". Lucha Libre: Masked Superstars of Mexican Wrestling. Distributed Art Publishers, Inc. 2005. pp. 20–27. ISBN 968-6842-48-9.

[Mondo-4] Madigan, Dan (2007). "El nacimiento de un sueño (the birth of a dream)". Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 51–51. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.

[MexMiddle-5] Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. pp. 390–391. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexLight-6] Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Lightweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[MexWelter-7] Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Welterweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[NWAMiddle-8] Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Middlweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 389–390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

[WD1943Debuts-9] "Wrestlers debuted in 1943: 1 - 5 of 5". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[WD1934Births-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q "Wrestlers born in 1943: 1 - 47 of 47". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

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