1984

January 24, 1984 – WWF at Madison Square Garden
Wrestling is changed forever as Hulk Hogan, substituting for the injured Bob Backlund, quickly defeats The Iron Sheik with the legdrop after breaking Sheik’s camel clutch to become the new WWF Champion. Paul Orndorff, with manager Roddy Piper in his corner, defeats Salvatore Bellomo in Orndorff’s MSG debut. Andre the Giant teams with WWF Tag Team Champions Tony Atlas & Rocky Johnson to defeat The Wild Samoans of Afa, Sika, and Samula, and WWF Intercontinental Champion Magnificent Muraco battles Tito Santana to a double-disqualification.

May 5, 1984 – WWF at the Philadelphia Spectrum
WWF Champion Hulk Hogan battles former champion The Iron Sheik in a bloody match that ends in a double countout. Greg Valentine challenges Tito Santana for the WWF Intercontinental Title, but Santana retains the title when Valentine is disqualified. In other matches; Rocky Johnson pins Samula, Sgt. Slaughter beats David Schultz and Buzz Sawyer pins Tonga Kid.

July 14, 1984 – World Championship Wrestling (“Black Saturday”)
In a move that shocked and outraged longtime viewers, the weekly TBS World Championship Wrestling program that had for years featured matches from Georgia Championship Wrestling is taken over by Vince McMahon and the WWF. McMahon introduces the program from the TBS studio’s World Championship Wrestling set, but the matches featured are from tapings in other parts of the country, as opposed to the previous format of matches taped in the studio. The first card features Big John Studd pinning Bobo Brazil in the main event, as well as wins for WWF Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch, The Iron Sheik and Jesse Ventura. McMahon’s run on TBS would be short lived, however, as low ratings and fan complaints eventually lead to Jim Crockett buying the World Championship Wrestling time slot.

September 23, 1984 – WWF at Maple Leaf Gardens
A match between Kamala and Andre the Giant spills out of the ring and Kamala gets the win by countout when Andre tosses him back in the ring first, just before the count of 10. In the main event, Sgt. Slaughter comes close to defeating The Iron Sheik with the camel clutch, but Nikolai Volkoff interferes, causing a disqualification. Also on the card are former Stampede stars Dynamite Kid, who pins Jerry Valiant, and Bret Hart, who beats Paul Vachon in the opener.

November 22, 1984 – NWA Starrcade ’84: The Million Dollar Challenge
The second annual Starrcade event features NWA World Champion Ric Flair defending the title against Dusty Rhodes in a match for a $1 million prize, with Smokin’ Joe Frazier as the special referee. Dusty suffers a cut in the match and referee Frazier stops the match due to blood, awarding the win to Flair. United States Champion Wahoo McDaniel defeats Superstar Billy Graham to retain his title, while NWA TV Champion Tully Blanchard uses a foreign object to beat Ricky Steamboat. In other matches, Ivan & Nikita Koloff defeat Ole Anderson & Keith Larson, Paul Jones beats Jimmy Valiant in a loser-leaves-town tuxedo street fight, and Mid-Atlantic Champion Ron Bass retains his title with a DQ win over Dick Slater.

November 26, 1984 – WWF at Madison Square Garden
WWF Intercontinental Champion Greg Valentine and former champion Tito Santana continue their feud over the title, battling to a curfew draw after a 20-minute battle. Roddy Piper and The Tonga Kid battle to a double disqualification in a wild match that sees both Bob Orton and Jimmy Snuka interfere. Barry Windham makes his MSG debut with a win over Moondog Rex. Bruno Sammartino returns to the Garden by the side of his son, David Sammartino, who wins a match with Ken Patera by disqualification when Captain Lou Albano interferes.

December 28, 1984 – WWF at Madison Square Garden
In a rematch from January, WWF Champion Hulk Hogan successfully defends his title with a pinfall victory over former champion The Iron Sheik. The Roddy Piper/Jimmy Snuka feud continues, with Piper and Bob Orton battling Snuka and The Tonga Kid to a double disqualification. WWF Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch retain their title against Jack & Jerry Brisco in another match that ends without a decisive winner when both teams are counted out. In matches featuring talent from New Japan Pro Wrestling, Antonio Inoki pins David Schultz to retain the WWF World Martial Arts Title and The Cobra beats Black Tiger to win the vacant WWF Junior Heavyweight Title. Barry Windham also gets another dominant win, pinning Mr. Fuji in 19 seconds.