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1963 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
Only two promotions held notable shows in 1963.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| Southwest Sports | Southwest Sports |
| Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre | EMLL |
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 29 | Southwest Sports | Parade of Champions | Dallas, Texas | Lou Thesz (c) wrestled Ray Gunkel to a double count-out in a two out of three falls match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| April | EMLL | 7. Aniversario de Arena México | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| June 4 | Southwest Sports | Parade of Champions | Dallas, Texas | Lou Thesz (c) defeated Dory Dixon in a two out of three falls match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship |
| September 6 | EMLL | EMLL 30th Anniversary Show (1) | Mexico City, Mexico | Ruben Jaurez defeated Espanto II in a best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuesta mask vs. hair match[1] |
| September 27 | EMLL | EMLL 30th Anniversary Show (2) | Mexico City, Mexico | Espanto I defeated Ruben Jaurez in a best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuesta mask vs. hair match |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | ||||
- January 24 – Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) breaks away from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) to form the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF).
- April 11 - Buddy Rogers was presented the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship at a WWWF TV taping in Washington, D.C., after being billed as the World Champion since late January.
- May 18 - Bruno Sammartino defeated Buddy Rogers in 48 seconds to win the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship in New York, NY.
EMLL
incoming champion – Gory Guerrero[2] | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 6 | Ali Bey | EMLL show | [2] | |
| September 24 | Gory Guerrero | EMLL show | [2] | |
incoming champion – Rayo de Jalisco[3] | ||||
| No title changes[3] |
incoming champion – Karloff Lagarde[4] | ||||
| No title changes[4] |
incoming champion - Pepe Mendieta[5] | ||||
| No title changes[5] |
incoming champion – Karloff Lagarde[6] | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 28 | El Santo | EMLL show | [6] | |
incoming champion – Rubén Juárez[8] | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 14 | Espanto I | EMLL 27th Anniversary Show | [8] | |
| November 30 | Ray Mendoza | EMLL show | [8] | |
incoming champion – Karloff Lagarde[9] | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Vacated | N/A | Championship vacated, as Lagarde already held the NWA World Welterweight Championship | |
| November 15 | Javier Escobedo | EMLL show | [9] | |
incoming champion – Los Rebeldes (Rene Guajardo and Karloff Lagarde) or Los Espantos (Espanto I and Espanto II)[10] | ||||
| No title changes[10] |
incoming champion – Uncertain[11] | ||||
| No title changes[11] |
NWA
Incoming Champion – Buddy Rogers[12] | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 24 | Lou Thesz | NWA show | [12] | |
- Debut date uncertain:
- January 4 – Ernie Ladd[13]
- January 10 – Dory Funk Jr.[13]
- March – Rubén Soria[13]
- October 13 – Great Kojika[13]
- November – Aníbal[13]
- Date of birth uncertain:
- Marie Lograsso (died in 2006)
- January 2 – Mickie Henson (died in 2022)
- January 3:
- Vic Grimes[14]
- New Jack[15] (died in 2021)
- January 6 – Tony Halme[15](died in 2010)
- January 10 – Firebreaker Chip[16]
- January 29 – Hardcore Holly[16]
- February 22 – Maxx Muscle[15](died in 2019)
- February 25 – Doug Stahl
- February 28 – Joey Marella[16](died in 1994)
- March 7 – Bruce Prichard[16]
- March 19 – Brazo de Plata[16] (died in 2021)
- March 20 – Terry Simms[15]
- April 6 – Neil Superior (died in 1996)
- April 18 – Universo 2000[15] (died in 2018)
- April 22 – Miguel Pérez Jr.
- May 2 – Big Boss Man[16](died in 2004)
- May 18 – Gary Albright[16](died in 2000)
- May 19 – Hollywood
- May 29 – Samu[17]
- June 1 – George Hines[18]
- June 4 – Shigeo Miyato
- June 6 – Ahmed Johnson
- June 10:
- Jeff Bearden
- Scott Peterson (died in 1994)
- June 12:
- June 16 – The Sandman[15]
- June 20 – Don West[16] (died in 2022)
- June 22 – John Tenta[15](died in 2006)
- June 24 – Ángel Azteca[16](died in 2007)
- June 25 – Bobby Blaze[16]
- July 11 – Mike Enos[15]
- July 18 – Al Snow[16]
- July 21:
- July 22 – Steve Gillespie (died in 2020)
- July 24 – Karl Malone
- July 28 – Lioness Asuka[15]
- July 31 – Chad Brock
- August 2 – El Hijo del Santo[16]
- August 5 – Pat Tanaka[15]
- August 12 – Koji Kitao[15](died in 2019)
- August 15 – Tamon Honda[15]
- August 16 – Tarzan Goto[15](died in 2022)
- August 20 – Bob Cook
- August 27 – Sambo Asako (died in 2004)
- August 28 – Lester Speight
- September 17 – Masahiro Chono[15]
- September 24 – Sunny Beach[15]
- September 26 – Knuckles Nelson
- September 28 – Steve Blackman[15]
- September 30 – Mustafa Saed
- October 8 – Diana Hart[16]
- October 9 – Tadao Yasuda[15]
- October 11 – Sam Houston
- October 12 – Dave Legeno (died in 2014)
- October 16 – Missy Hyatt[15]
- October 20 – Brian Costello
- October 23 – Lou Fabiano
- November 11 – Billy Gunn[16]
- December 1 – Dave Sullivan
- December 3 – Steve Simpson[15]
- December 7 – Bruiser Bedlam[19](died in 2017)
- December 8 – Toshiaki Kawada[15]
- December 12 – Jason Knight
- January 19 – Gus Pappas[20] 80
- March 7 – Billy Wolfe 66
- May 10 – Gene Lipscomb 31
- June 2 - Century Milstead, 62
- December 15 – Rikidozan,[20] 39
- December 26 – Gorgeous George,[20] 48
- December 27 - Wildcat Wilson, 63
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