Top-notch wrestling tournaments: photos
Tests of endurance, shocking underdog upsets, unprecedented matchups and jaw-dropping prizes — from eye-popping cash purses to championship titles — have all combined to give tourneys a unique place in ring lore.
Randy Savage and Junkyard Dog faced off in the final of WWE's initial pay-per-view, The Wrestling Classic.
Two tried-and-true teams, The Fantastics and The Fabulous Ones, collide in the opening round of the First Annual Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament, held April 19, 1986, in the New Orleans Superdome.
Road Warrior Animal whips Magnum T.A. in the tournament final.
Animal's partner, Hawk, grounds Magnum T.A.'s teammate, Ronnie Garvin. LOD took home the $1 million purse that night.
In the second Crockett Cup, "Super Powers" Dusty Rhodes & Nikita Koloff won it all, despite the fact both men were primarily singles stars.
After winning the two-night tournament, Koloff & Rhodes were awarded the trophy and a $1 million check.
The Powers of Pain fight their enemies-in-paint, The Road Warriors, in the final edition of the annual tag team competition.
Tully Blanchard wrenches the knee of Lex Luger in the 1988 Crockett Cup finale.
"The Total Package's" partner, Sting, returns the favor against Blanchard's partner in crime, fellow Four Horseman Arn Anderson.
One Man Gang and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams duke it out in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated/UWF Challenge Cup Tournament.
