List of professional wrestling memorial shows

This is a list of professional wrestling memorial shows from the 1980s until the present day. Memorial shows have been historically important in the history of professional wrestling, usually held in memory of a recently deceased wrestler, promoter or other well-known personality, and used to pay tribute to a particular individual's accomplishments and contributions to the industry. The proceeds are generally donated to family members or charitable organizations.

These shows were often held as a form of supercard, a major wrestling event not aired on pay-per-view, and sometimes resulted interpromotional shows. These types of shows were rarely seen in the United States, the earliest being the Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions held in memory of David Von Erich from 1984–1988, but have been common in Japan since the late 1980s. In North America, memorial shows are most often held by independent wrestling promotions although mainstream organizations like WWE have occasionally dedicated specific episodes of WWE Raw or WWE SmackDown to then current WWE wrestlers such as Owen Hart (1999), Eddie Guerrero (2005), Chris Benoit (2007), and Bray Wyatt (2023), and All Elite Wrestling on AEW Dynamite to then current AEW wrestler Brodie Lee (2020).

List

1980s

Name	Promotion	Organizer(s)	Years active	Notes
Mike Marino Memorial Shield	Dale Martin Promotions	Dale Martin	1981
Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions	World Class Championship Wrestling	Fritz Von Erich	1984-1988	[1]
Johnny Rougeau Memorial Show			1984
Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup	Jim Crockett Promotions	Jim Crockett, Jr.	1986-1988	[2]
Eddie Graham Memorial Show	Championship Wrestling from Florida	Hiro Matsuda Duke Keomuka	1987-1988	Each show was held under different banners,[3] the second being promoted by Mike Graham and Florida Championship Wrestling.[4]
Frank Tunney, Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament	World Wrestling Federation	Vince McMahon	1987
Ikki Kajiwara Memorial Show	Multiple promotions	Giant Baba Antonio Inoki	1988	Interpromotional event including All Japan Pro Wrestling, Japan Women's Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling.[5]
Bruiser Brody Memorial Show	All Japan Pro Wrestling	Giant Baba	1988	[6]

1990s

Name	Promotion	Organizer(s)	Years active	Notes
Pat O'Connor Memorial International Cup Tag Team Tournament	World Championship Wrestling	Ole Anderson	1990	Hosted at Starrcade '90.[7]
Kerry Von Erich Memorial Show	Global Wrestling Federation	Grey Pierson	1993	Headlined by Kevin Von Erich (with Fritz Von Erich) and a mystery wrestler managed by Skandor Akbar.[8]
Rikidozan Memorial Show	Multiple promotions		1996	Interpromotional event including All Japan Pro Wrestling, Big Japan Pro Wrestling, Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, Gaea Japan, IWA Japan, Michinoku Pro Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, UWFi and others.[9]
Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show	World Championship Wrestling	Dennis DiPaolo Eric Bischoff	1996-1999	[10]
Eddie Gilbert Memorial Brawl	National Wrestling Alliance	Dennis Coraluzzo	1996-1999	[11]
Eddie Gilbert Memorial Show	IWA Mid-South	Ian Rotten	1997-1998
Ikki Kajiwara Memorial Show	Multiple promotions	Giant Baba Antonio Inoki	1997	Interpromotional event including All Japan Pro Wrestling, Michinoku Pro Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and others.[12]
Plum Mariko Memorial Show	JWP Joshi Puroresu		1997-1998	[13]
Brian Pillman Memorial Show	Heartland Wrestling Association	Harley Race	1998-2001	[14]
Tojo Yamamoto Memorial Show	Music City Wrestling	Bert Prentice	1998	[15]
Junkyard Dog Memorial Show	Long Island Wrestling Federation	Bobby Lombardi	1998
Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup	Maryland Championship Wrestling	Dan McDevitt Mark Shrader	1999-
Curtis Comes Home	Multiple promotions	Cody Michaels	1999	Interpromotional event including Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation.
Giant Baba Memorial Show	All Japan Pro Wrestling	Mitsuharu Misawa	1999	[16]
Raw Is Owen	World Wrestling Federation	Vince McMahon	1999	Hosted on the May 24 edition of WWF Monday Night Raw.[17]

2000s

Name	Promotion	Organizer(s)	Years active	Notes
Rikidozan Memorial Show	Multiple promotions		2000	Interpromotional event including All Japan Pro Wrestling, Big Japan Pro Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Michinoku Pro Wrestling, Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, Gaea Japan, UWFi and others.[18]
Gary Albright Memorial Show	World Xtreme Wrestling	Afa Anoaʻi	2000	[19]
Mark Curtis Memorial Weekend of Champions	Southern States Wrestling	Beau James	2000-2003	[20][21]
Todd The Bod Memorial Tournament	Canadian Wrestling Federation	Ernie Todd	2000
Tony Rumble Memorial Show	Century Wrestling Alliance	Knuckles Nelson Jeff Katz	2000-2007
Robert "Diceman" Hornack Memorial Show	Allied Powers Wrestling Federation	Chris Lash	2000
Bruiser Brody Memorial	IWA Puerto Rico	Víctor Quiñones	2000	First Bruiser Brody memorial show held in Puerto Rico.[22][23]
Giant Baba Memorial Spectacular	All Japan Pro Wrestling		2001	Also served as retirement show for Stan Hansen.[24]
Lee Sanders Memorial Tournament	Windy City Pro Wrestling	Sam DeCero	2001-2010
Terry Gordy Memorial Show	Legends of Pro Wrestling	Linda Marx Keebles	2001	[25]
Manfred Koch Memorial Cup	European Wrestling Promotion	Christian Eckstein Jörg Vespermann	2001
Yokozuna Memorial Show	World Xtreme Wrestling	Afa Anoaʻi	2001	[26]
Giant Baba Memorial Cup	All Japan Pro Wrestling	Keiji Mutoh	2002	[27]
Russ Haas Memorial Show	Jersey All Pro Wrestling	Frank Iadeavia	2002
Giant Baba Memorial Six Man Tag Team Tournament	All-Japan Pro Wrestling	Keiji Mutoh	2002	[28]
Big Dick Dudley Memorial Show	USA Pro Wrestling	Frank Goodman	2002-2003	[29]
Russ Haas Memorial Tag Team Tournament	Phoenix Championship Wrestling	Donnie Bucci	2002
Ted Petty Memorial Inventational Tournament	IWA Mid-South	Ian Rotten	2002-2008	[30]
Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup	Multiple promotions	Howard Brody	2003-	Interpromotional event including Full Impact Pro, IPW Hardcore and NWA Florida.[31]
Mike Lockwood Memorial Show	Pro Wrestling Iron	Donovan Morgan	2003	[32]
Johnny Weaver Memorial Tournament	CWF Mid-Atlantic	Jeff Rudd Danny Wenkel	2004-	The tournament was attended by Johnny Weaver until his death in 2008 and subsequently held as a memorial event by the promotion.
Fred Ward Memorial Show	Great Championship Wrestling	Jerry Oates	2004-2009	[33]
Mike Lockwood Memorial Tournament	New Breed Wrestling Association	Mike Wallace	2005	[34]
Ray Mendez Memorial Tournament	Pro Wrestling eXpress	Jim Miller	2005-2006
Chris Candido Memorial J-Cup	National Wrestling Superstars	Joe Panzarino Gino Moore	2005-	Hosted at the 5th annual J-Cup tournament.[35]
Mark Curtis Memorial Reunion		Pam Hildebrand-Clark	2005
Chris Candido Memorial Show	USA Pro Wrestling	Frank Goodman	2005-2006	[36]
Victor The Bodyguard Memorial Cup	IWA Puerto Rico	Víctor Quiñones	2005
Bruiser Brody Memorial Cup	World Wrestling Council	Victor Jovica Carlos Colón	2005-2006	[37]
Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament	Total Nonstop Action Wrestling	Jerry Jarrett	2005	[38]
Chri$ Ca$h Memorial Show	Combat Zone Wrestling	John Zandig D. J. Hyde	2005-
Raw Is Eddie	World Wrestling Entertainment	Vince McMahon	2005	Hosted on the November 14 edition of WWE Raw.[39]
Jay Youngblood Memorial Tag Team Cup Tournament	Professional Wrestling Federation		2006-2008
Great Goliath Memorial Battle Royal	Empire Wrestling Federation	Jesse Hernandez Bill Anderson	2006-	[40]
Shinya Hashimoto Memorial Six-Man Tag Team Tournament	HUSTLE	Nobuhiko Takada	2006	[41]
Jose Miguel Perez Memorial Cup	IWA Puerto Rico	Savio Vega Miguel Pérez, Jr.	2006-	[42]
Pitbull/Public Enemy Tag Team Memorial Cup	Pro Wrestling Unplugged	Tod Gordon Johnny Kashmere	2006-	[43]
Eddie Graham Memorial Battle of the Belts	Full Impact Pro	Sal Hamaoui	2007, 2009	[44]
Steve Ranton Memorial Tournament	Valley Championship Wrestling		2007
Chris Candido Cup Tag Team Tournament	IWA Mid-South	Ian Rotten	2007-2008	[45]
Chris Benoit Memorial Show	World Wrestling Entertainment	Vince McMahon	2007	Hosted on the June 25 edition of WWE Raw.[46] Due to the circumstances of Benoit’s death, this show is not available as a rerun on the WWE Network. Also, as other countries received the airing later, a highlight show of John Cena’s title wins played in its place.[47]
Tiger Khan Memorial Show	Total Mayhem Pro Wrestling	Evan Ginzburg	2007	[48]
Antonio Peña Memorial Show	Asistencia Asesoría y Administración	Dorian Roldan	2007-	[49]
Sensational Sherri Memorial Cup Tournament	Association de Lutte Féminine	Kim Leduc	2007-2008	[50]
Dewey Robertson Memorial Tournament	Stranglehold Wrestling	Bill Skullion	2007
Devil Bhudakahn Memorial Show	Turnbuckle Entertainment	Bobby Williams	2008, 2010	[51]
Shinya Hashimoto Memorial Legacy Cup Tournament	Pro Wrestling Zero1	Yoshiyuki Nakamura Steve Corino	2008-	[52]
Danno O'Mahony Memorial Show	Irish Whip Wrestling		2008-
Sean "Shocker" Evans Memorial Tournament	Pro Wrestling eXpress	Jim Miller	2008-
Dynamite D Memorial Show	Santino Brothers Wrestling	Joey Kaos Jezabel Romo Robby Phoenix Rico Dynamite Famous B	2009-
Kerry Brown Memorial Tournament	Steeltown Pro Wrestling	Rob Stardom	2010-2012
Walter "Killer" Kowalski Memorial Show	Multiple promotions	Richard Byrne	2008	Interpromotional event including Big Time Wrestling and the United States Wrestling Federation.[53]
Mitsuharu Misawa Memorial Show	Pro Wrestling Noah	Akira Taue	2009	[54]
Dennis Coralluzzo Invitational	NWA New Jersey	Ricky Otazu	2009	Coralluzzo was posthumously inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame.[55]

2010s

Name	Promotion	Organizer(s)	Years active	Notes
Marie Ewaschuk Memorial Show	Real Canadian Wrestling	Steve Ewaschuk	2010-
Acid-Fest: A Tribute to Trent Acid	Combat Zone Wrestling	D. J. Hyde	2010-2011	Organized to both eulogize late independent professional wrestler Trent Acid, and to help pay for the funeral costs of said wrestler.
Dick Murdoch Memorial Tag Team Cup	Multiple promotions		2010	Interpromotional event including NWA Southwest and the Professional Wrestling Federation.
A Nightmare To Remember	LN Promotions	Terry Lawler	2011-2012
Joe Williams Memorial Trophy	World Association of Wrestling	Ricky Knight	2011
El Bandito Memorial Tournament	Britannia Wrestling Promotions	Steve Saxon	2011-
Brain Damage Memorial Show	Combat Zone Wrestling	D. J. Hyde	2012
Samuel J. Thompson Memorial Tournament	Resistance Pro Wrestling	Billy Corgan	2013-2014
Brad Armstrong Memorial Cup		Armstrong family	2013
Brad Armstrong Memorial Show	Knoxville Wrestling Promotions	Armstrong family	2013-2014
Nagaharu Imai Memorial Show	Multiple promotions		2013	Interpromotional event including Big Japan Pro Wrestling, Ice Ribbon, JWP Joshi Puroresu, Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling, OZ Academy, Pro-Wrestling Diana, Pro Wrestling Wave Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling and STARDOM.
Roland Alexander Memorial Show	All Pro Wrestling	Markus Mac	2013
Rikidozan's Death 50th Anniversary Memorial Show	Multiple promotions		2013	Interpromotional event including All Japan Pro Wrestling, Big Japan Pro Wrestling and others.
Jumbo Tsuruta Memorial Show	Pro Wrestling NOAH	Akira Taue	2014
Ryan Buckley Memorial Tournament	Proving Ground Pro		2015
Takeshi Onaga Memorial Show: BJW Eternal Dream	Big Japan Pro Wrestling	Eiji Tosaka	2015

2020s

Name	Promotion	Organizer(s)	Years active	Notes
La Noche de Mr. Niebla	Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre	Salvador Lutteroth III	2020
Brodie Lee Celebration of Life	All Elite Wrestling	Tony Khan	2020	Hosted on the December 30 edition of AEW Dynamite.
Giant Baba Anniversary Show	All Japan Pro Wrestling New Japan Pro-Wrestling Big Japan Pro Wrestling		2021
Hana Kimura Memorial Show	Multiple promotions	Kyoko Kimura	2021–present
Jay Briscoe Celebration of Life	Ring of Honor	Tony Khan	2023	Hosted on ROH Honor Club and YouTube for free, on the ROH channel.
Bray Wyatt and Terry Funk Tribute Show	WWE		2023	The August 25, 2023 episode of WWE SmackDown was a tribute to active wrestler Wyatt and retired wrestler Funk, both of whom had died shortly before.

References

1. "1st Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions". Parade of Champions. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
2. "1st Annual Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament Cup". Crockett Cup. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
3. "Eddie Graham Memorial Show". Championship Wrestling from Florida Misc. Events. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
4. "Eddie Graham Memorial Show". Florida Championship Wrestling/Professional Wrestling Federation Cards. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
5. "Ikki Kajiwara Memorial 1988". Misc. Cards. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
6. "Budokan Hall 8/88". All Japan Budokan Hall Shows. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
7. "Pat O'Conner Memorial International Tag Team Tournament". Misc. Tournaments. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
8. "Angels Offer Valera More For A Little Less." The Charlotte Observer. 23 Mar. 1993: 2B
9. "Rikidozan Memorial 1996". Misc. Cards. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
10. "1st Annual Ilio DiPaolo Memorial". WCW Ilio DiPaolo Memorials. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
11. "1st Annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial Brawl". National Wrestling Alliance Eddie Gilbert Memorial Shows. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
12. "Ikki Kajiwara Memorial 1997". Misc. Cards. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
13. "1st Annual Plum Mariko Memorial". JWP. ProWrestlingHistory.com. Archived from the original on 2002-05-27.
14. "1st Annual Pillman Memorial Show". HWA Brian Pillman Memorial Show. ProWrestlingHistory.com. Archived from the original on 2010-04-06.
15. "Music City Wrestling". Results. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. 2009.
16. "AJPW Giant Baba Memorial Show". The Internet Wrestling Database. May 2, 1999. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
17. Zimmerman, Christopher Robin (May 24, 1999). "Monday Night Raw May 24, 1999". The Other Arena. Archived from the original on September 29, 2001. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
18. "Rikidozan Memorial 2000". Misc. Cards. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
19. Cawthon, Graham. "2000". Graham Cawthon's History of the WWE. TheHistoryofWWE.com.
20. Lane, Matthew (2001-05-10). "Wrestling Legend Arn Anderson Heads Ticket". The New WAWLI (Wrestling As We Liked It) Papers, No. 173-2001. WrestlingClassics.com.
21. "Wrestling fundraiser May 10". Daily News. May 9, 2003.
22. IWA Puerto Rico (Producer) (November 23, 2000). IWA PR Bruiser Brody Memorial 11/23/00 (DVD). Puerto Rico: WrestlingreyDVDs.com.
23. IWA Puerto Rico (Producer) (November 23, 2000). IWA PR Bruiser Brody Memorial 11/23/00 (DVD). Puerto Rico: RF Video.
24. Molinaro, John; Dan Lovranski (2001-01-28). "SLAM! Wrestling: All Japan Pro Wrestling's Giant Baba Memorial Spectacular". SLAM! Wrestling International. SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012.
25. Martin, Calvin; Adam Pilkinton (2001-08-12). "Terry Gordy Memorial Show Results (HHH, Michael Hayes, Bull Buchanan)". LordsofPain.net. Archived from the original on 2005-04-11.
26. Martin, Calvin; Mark Clemson (2001-11-29). "Yokozuna Memorial Show Results from Allentown, PA 11-29-01". LordsofPain.net. Archived from the original on 2002-06-18.
27. "Giant Baba Cup". Misc. All Japan Events. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
28. "Giant Baba Memorial Six Man Tag Tournament". Misc. All Japan Events. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
29. "USA Pro Wrestling". Results. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. 2006.
30. "Ted Petty Inventational Tournament 2002". IWA Mid-South. ProWrestlingHistory.com. Archived from the original on 2008-02-28.
31. Milner, John (2005-06-08). "SLAM! Wrestling: Peterson Cup showcases wrestling's positive side". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012.
32. Nason, Josh (November 11, 2003). "411 Indies Update: Mad Mikey Tribute, Killings/Brown, Canada Wrestling, More". News. 411mania.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07.
33. "Great Championship Wrestling". Results. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com.
34. "Independent Wrestling Results - March 2005". Results. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. March 2005.
35. "NWS Chris Candido Cup 2009 Results". OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. 2009-05-20. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18.
36. Dawgs, Matt (2005). "Chris Candido Memorial Show". GumGod.com.
37. "WWC". Mexican & Puerto Rican Results. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. 2006.
38. "Chris Candido Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament 2005". TNA Tag Team Tournaments. ProWrestlingHistory.com. Archived from the original on 2017-11-08.
39. Keller, Wade (November 14, 2005). "KELLER'S RAW REPORT 11/14: Ongoing "virtual time" analysis of broadcast". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
40. "Empire Wrestling Federation". Results. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. 2006.
41. "Hashimoto Memorial Six-Man Tag Tournament". Hustle Tournaments. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
42. North American Wrestling Federation (2009-06-21). "IWA Puerto Rico: Miguel Perez Memorial Cup results from Sat. 6/20". The Piledriver. NAWF.com.
43. Dykens, Brad (2007-04-07). "Pro Wrestling Unplugged: Pitbull/Public Enemy Memorial Cup 2006". Wrestling DVDs. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com.
44. Garoon, Brad (2007-10-08). "BG Says: FIP First Annual Eddie Graham Memorial Battle of the Belts". Video Reviews. 411mania.com.
45. "Chris Candido Cup Tag Team Tournament 2007". IWA Mid-South. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
46. Caldwell, James (June 25, 2007). "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW REPORT 6/25: Ongoing virtual time coverage of Chris Benoit tribute show". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on November 9, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
47. Grossman, Ben (2007-06-25). "Life Imitates Art: USA Network airs memorial show for WWE wrestler". Broadcasting & Cable. BroadcastingCable.com.
48. "Tiger Khan Memorial Show/Movie 9/9 NJ". WrestlingFigs.com. August 13, 2007. Archived from the original on March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
49. "Antonio Pena Memorial Show 2007". AAA Antonio Pena Memorial Cards. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
50. Association de Lutte Féminine (Producer) (2007). ALF: Amazones & Titans (DVD). Canada: Fortune Video Editing.
51. Martin, Adam; Joe Dombrowski (2007-12-20). "'Devil Bhudakahn' Memorial Show, Ontario All Pro and African Wrestling". Wrestleview.com.
52. "Pro-Wrestling WORLD-1 Shinya Hashimoto Legacy Cup Results 12/5". ProWrestlingDigest.com. December 5, 2010.
53. Hurley, Christopher (2008-10-20). "Killer tribute: Kowalski Memorial Wrestling Show slated for Oct. 26". WickedLocal.com.
54. Arnold, Zach (2009-07-04). "Overflowing crowd attends Mitsuharu Misawa's memorial ceremony in Tokyo". FightOpinion.com.
55. National Wrestling Alliance (September 2009). "09/26/09 NWA New Jersey Results". Event Results. NWAwrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14.