2002 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
List of notable promotions
These promotions held notable events in 2002.
Calendar of notable shows
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Accomplishments and tournaments
AAA
AJW
AJPW
Ring of Honor
WWF/E
Awards and honors
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
Title changes
NJPW
WWF/E
- – Raw
- – SmackDown
Following the introduction of the brand extension in March, titles became exclusive to a brand. Only the promotion's original world championship and women's championship were non-exclusive until later in the year.
Debuts
- Bobby Fish
- Candice LeRae
- Chase Stevens
- Chris Masters
- Chuck Taylor
- Dave Mastiff
- Eddie Edwards
- Ethan Carter III
- Ivelisse Vélez
- Johnny Jeter
- Mike Kanellis
- Mike Mondo
- Petey Williams
- Tommy End
- Travis Tomko
- January 23 – Shachihoko Boy
- March 1 - Sami Zayn
- March 2 –
- Alex Shelley
- Kazuhiko Ogasawara
- Silas Young
- February 2 - Billy Ken Kid
- February 9 - El Ligero
- March 16 – Zach Gowen
- April 20 – DJ Nira
- May (Unknown what specific date) - Sheamus
- May 10 - Karl Anderson
- May 11 – Taiji Ishimori
- May 18 – Toru Yano
- June 2 – Mikey Batts
- June 5 – James Ellsworth
- June 18 - Malakai Black
- June 19 - Johnny TV
- July 14 – Sami Zayn (Then known as El Generico)
- July 27 – Special K
- August 10 – Montel Vontavious Porter
- August 29 – Shinsuke Nakamura
- October 2 – Matt Morgan
- October 12 – Eddie Kingston, Yoshi Tatsu
- October 20 - Awesome Kong
- October 21 – Yoshihiro Sakai
- November 9 – Sylvan Grenier
- November 10 - Asosan
- November 11 – Becky Lynch
- December 27 – Fred Sampson
Retirements
- Black Bart (wrestler) (1975-2002)
- Bushwhacker Luke (1962-2002) (first retirement, returned to wrestling in 2007)
- Rip Morgan (1983-2002)
- Stevie Ray (1989-2002) (first retirement, return to wrestling in 2015 and retired in 2017)
- Butch Reed (1978-2002) (first retirement, returned to wrestling in 2005 and retired in 2013)
Births
- April 20 – Mochizuki Jr.
- April 25 – Miyu Amasaki
- July 8 – Kid Lykos II
- July 24 – Tomoka Inaba
- October 1 – AZM
Deaths
- January 7 – Mighty Igor, 70
- January 9 - Les Kellett, 86
- February 3 – Nelson Royal, 66
- February 9 - Rattlesnake Raitz, 38
- February 19 – Swede Hansen, 68
- March 1 – Dino Casanova, 35
- March 7 – Troy Graham, 52
- March 17 - Big Red, 51
- April 3 – Bobby Managoff, 84
- April 11 – Stanley Weston, 82
- April 18 – Wahoo McDaniel, 63
- April 28 – Lou Thesz, 86
- May 5 – Randy Anderson, 42
- May 14 – George Gordienko, 74
- May 16 – Shoichi Arai, 36
- May 16 – Big Dick Dudley, 34
- May 18 – Davey Boy Smith, 39
- August 1 – Don Owen, 90
- August 22- Abe Zvonkin, 92
- September 21 – Rocco Rock, 49
- October 31 - Moose Cholak, 72
- November 19 - Kangaroo Kennedy, 76
- November 20 - Billy Goelz, 84
- November 22 - Thunder Sugiyama, 62
- November 23 – Billy Travis, 41
- November 29 - George "Two Ton" Harris, 74/75
- November 30 - Mr. Wrestling, 68
See also
- List of FMW supercards and pay-per-view events
- List of WWA pay-per-view events
- List of WWF/E pay-per-view events
References
