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2016 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
These promotions held notable events in 2016.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre | CMLL | |
| DDT Pro-Wrestling | DDT | |
| Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide | AAA | The "AAA" abbreviation has been used since the mid-1990s and had previously stood for the promotion's original name Asistencia Asesoría y Administración. |
| New Japan Pro-Wrestling | NJPW | |
| Pro Wrestling Guerrilla | PWG | |
| Revolution Pro Wrestling | RevPro | |
| Ring of Honor | ROH | |
| Total Nonstop Action Wrestling | TNA | |
| World Wrestling Council | WWC | |
| WWE | — | WWE stands for World Wrestling Entertainment, which is still the legal name, but the company ceased using the full name in April 2011, with the WWE abbreviation becoming an orphaned initialism. In July, WWE reintroduced the brand split, where it divided its main roster into two storyline divisions, Raw and SmackDown, referred to as brands where wrestlers exclusively performed on their respective weekly television programs. NXT served as WWE's developmental territory. |
January
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CMLL | Sin Piedad | Mexico City | Negro Casas defeated Super Parka in a two out of three falls hair vs. hair match[1] | |
| 4 | NJPW | Wrestle Kingdom 10 | Tokyo | Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship[2] | |
| 5–7 | TNA | One Night Only: Rivals | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania | Mr. Anderson vs. Bram | |
| 7–9 30–31 |
TNA | One Night Only: Joker's Wild | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania London, England Birmingham, England |
14-person intergender Joker's Wild gauntlet battle royal | |
| 8 | TNA | One Night Only: Live! | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania | Eric Young and Bram vs. Beer Money, Inc. (Bobby Roode and James Storm) | |
| 9 | WWC | Euphoria | Bayamon, Puerto Rico | Mr. 450 Hammett defeated Carlito in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match for the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship | |
| 22 | AAA | Guerra de Titanes | Zapopan | El Mesías & El Texano Jr. defeated Dr. Wagner Jr. & Psycho Clown in the semi-final of the AAA Mega Championship tournament[3] | |
| 22 | CMLL NJPW |
Fantastica Mania (Tokyo shows) |
Tokyo | Mephisto & Último Guerrero defeated Místico & Volador Jr. in a tag team match[4] | |
| 23 | Kazuchika Okada, Mephisto & Último Guerrero defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Místico & Volador Jr. in a 6-man tag match[5] | ||||
| 24 | Volador Jr. (c) defeated Mephisto to retain the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship[6] | ||||
| 24 | WWE | Royal Rumble | Orlando, FL | Triple H won the 30-man Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Dean Ambrose to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which Roman Reigns, who entered at number one, was defending in the match; Triple H eliminated Reigns before lastly eliminating Ambrose[7] | First time one of WWE's world championships was defended in the Royal Rumble match, which traditionally awards the winner a match for a world championship at WrestleMania. |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |||||
February
March
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | WWE | Roadblock | Toronto | Triple H (c) defeated Dean Ambrose to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship[14] | |
| 12 | NJPW | New Japan Cup Final | Aomori | Tetsuya Naito defeated Hirooki Goto in the tournament final to win the 2016 | |
| 17 | TNA | One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown | Orlando, Florida | Knockouts Gauntlet match to crown the "Queen of the Knockouts" | |
| 17–19 | TNA | One Night Only: Victory Road | Orlando, Florida | Ethan Carter III vs. Eli Drake | |
| 18 | CMLL | Homenaje a Dos Leyendas | Mexico City | Volador Jr. (with Flyer) defeated Negro Casas (with Mephisto) in a two out of three falls hair vs. hair match[15] | |
| 21 | DDT | Judgement 2016: DDT 19th Anniversary | Tokyo, Japan | Harashima defeated Isami Kodaka (c) to win the KO-D Openweight Championship | |
| 23 | AAA | Rey de Reyes | San Luis | El Texano Jr. defeated El Mesías to win the vacant AAA Mega Championship[16] | |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |||||
April
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WWE: |
TakeOver: Dallas | Dallas, TX | Finn Bálor (c) defeated Samoa Joe to retain the NXT Championship[17] | |
| 1 | ROH | Supercard of Honor X | Dallas, TX | The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) in a tag team match[18] | |
| 2 | Kyle O'Reilly defeated Adam Cole in a No Holds Barred match | ||||
| 3 | WWE | WrestleMania 32 | Arlington, TX | Roman Reigns defeated Triple H (c) to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship[19] | |
| 10 | NJPW | Invasion Attack | Tokyo | Tetsuya Naito defeated Kazuchika Okada (c) to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship[20] | |
| 29 | CMLL | Arena México 60th Anniversary Show |
Mexico City | Místico & Mephisto defeated Carístico & Cibernético in the final of the 2016 Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles tournament | |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |||||
May
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WWE | Payback | Rosemont, IL | Roman Reigns (c) defeated AJ Styles in a no countout, no disqualification match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship[21] | |
| 3 | NJPW | Wrestling Dontaku | Fukuoka | Tetsuya Naito (c) defeated Tomohiro Ishii to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship[22] | |
| 8 | ROH NJPW |
Global Wars | Chicago Ridge, IL | Jay Lethal (c) vs. Colt Cabana for the ROH World Championship ended in a no contest[23] | |
| 19 | NJPW | Lion's Gate Project 2 | Tokyo, Japan | Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima, Masa Kitamiya, Maybach Taniguchi and Quiet Storm in an Eight-man tag team match | |
| 22 | WWE | Extreme Rules | Newark, NJ | Roman Reigns (c) defeated AJ Styles in an Extreme Rules match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship[24] | |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |||||
June
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3–5 | AAA | Lucha Libre World Cup | Mexico City | Johnny Mundo defeated Pentagón Jr. in the final sudden death match to win the 2016 Lucha Libre World Cup for Team Lucha Underground, after the final and first two sudden death matches had ended in time limit draws[25] | |
| 8 | WWE: |
TakeOver: The End | Winter Park, FL | Samoa Joe (c) defeated Finn Bálor in a Steel Cage match to retain the NXT Championship[26] | |
| 12 | TNA | Slammiversary | Orlando, FL | Lashley defeated Drew Galloway (c) by submission in a "knock out or tap out" match to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship[27] | |
| 13 | TNA | One Night Only: World Cup | Orlando, Florida | Ten person intergender elimination tag team match | Aired on July 22 |
| 19 | NJPW | Dominion | Osaka | Kazuchika Okada defeated Tetsuya Naito (c) to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship[28] | |
| 19 | WWE | Money in the Bank | Las Vegas, NV | Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns (c) to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, then Dean Ambrose cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated Seth Rollins (c) to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship[29] | On June 27, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was renamed to WWE Championship |
| 24 | ROH | Best in the World | Concord, NC | Jay Lethal (c) defeated Jay Briscoe to retain the ROH World Championship[30] | |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |||||
July
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CMLL | International Gran Prix | Mexico City, Mexico | Volador Jr. defeated Tama Tonga to win the match for "Team Mexico"
Also in the match: Team Mexico (Diamante Azul, Máximo, La Máscara, Rey Escorpión, Rush, Shocker and Último Guerrero), Team International (Johnny Idol, Kushida, Marco Corleone, Michael Elgin, Okumura, Sam Adonis and Tanga Roa) in a 2016 CMLL International Gran Prix, 16-man Torneo Cibernetico |
|
| 13–14 | TNA | One Night Only: X-Travaganza | Orlando, Florida | 7-man Ladder match to determine the #1 contender for the TNA X Division Championship | Aired on August 26 |
| 24 | WWE | Battleground | Washington, D.C. | Dean Ambrose (c) defeated Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins to retain the WWE Championship[31] | Final WWE PPV before the second brand split went into full affect After the unveiling of the WWE Universal Championship for the Raw brand on July 25, the WWE Championship was renamed to WWE World Championship on July 26 |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |||||
August
September
October
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | AAA | Héroes Inmortales X | Monterrey | Johnny Mundo (c) defeated Garza Jr. to retain the AAA Latin American Championship[48] | |
| 2 | TNA | Bound for Glory | Orlando, FL | Lashley (c) defeated Ethan Carter III in a No Holds Barred match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship[49] | |
| 5 | TNA | One Night Only: December | Orlando, Florida | Mike Bennett vs. Eddie Edwards | Aired on December 12 |
| 9 | WWE: |
No Mercy | Sacramento, CA | Advertised main event: AJ Styles (c) defeated John Cena and Dean Ambrose in a triple threat match to retain the WWE World Championship Final match: Bray Wyatt defeated Randy Orton in a singles match[50] |
The advertised main event was originally the last match on the card, but was changed last minute due to the presidential debate the same night |
| 10 | NJPW | King of Pro-Wrestling | Tokyo | Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Naomichi Marufuji to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship[51] | |
| 14 | ROH | Glory By Honor XV | Chicago Ridge, IL | The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) (c) defeated Colt Cabana & Dalton Castle to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship[52] | |
| 15 | Dearborn, MI | ||||
| 15 | WWC | WWC Anniversary 43 | Bayamón, Puerto Rico | Angel Cotto defeated Jaycobs (c), Angel Fashion, Tommy Diablo, Engel and OT Fernandez | |
| 30 | WWE: |
Hell in a Cell | Boston, MA | Charlotte defeated Sasha Banks (c) in a Hell in a Cell match to win the WWE Raw Women's Championship[53] | This was the first-ever women's Hell in a Cell match and the first time that a women's match was the main event of a WWE pay-per-view |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |||||
November
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | ROH | Survival of the Fittest | Arlington, TX | Bobby Fish defeated Lio Rush, Punishment Martinez, Jax Dane, Dalton Castle and The Panther in a six-way elimination match to win the 2016 Survival of the Fittest tournament[54] | |
| 4 | San Antonio, TX | ||||
| 5 | NJPW | Power Struggle | Osaka | Tetsuya Naito (c) defeated Jay Lethal to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship[55] | |
| 10 | NJPW / RevPro | Global Wars UK | Bethnal Green, United Kingdom | Katsuyori Shibata defeated Zack Sabre Jr (c) in a Singles match for the British Heavyweight Championship | |
| 11 | Global Wars UK | Walthamstow, United Kingdom | Katsuyori Shibata (c) defeated Chris Hero in a Singles match for the British Heavyweight Championship | ||
| 19 | WWE: |
TakeOver: Toronto | Toronto | Samoa Joe defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (c) to win the NXT Championship[56] | |
| 20 | WWE: |
Survivor Series | Toronto | Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar in a singles match[57] | Goldberg's first match in WWE after 12 years. |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |||||
December
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | ROH | Final Battle | New York City, NY | Kyle O'Reilly defeated Adam Cole (c) in the No Disqualification match to win the ROH World Championship[58] | |
| 4 | WWE: |
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Dallas, TX | AJ Styles (c) defeated Dean Ambrose in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to retain the WWE World Championship[59] | On the following episode of SmackDown Live, the WWE World Championship was renamed to WWE Championship |
| 10 | NJPW | World Tag League Final | Rifu | Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) defeated Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) in the final of the 2016 World Tag League tournament[60] | |
| 13 | WWE: |
Tribute to the Troops | Washington, D.C. | Roman Reigns and Big Cass (with Enzo Amore) defeated Kevin Owens and Rusev in a Tag team match | |
| 18 | WWE: |
Roadblock: End of the Line | Pittsburgh, PA | Kevin Owens (c) defeated Roman Reigns by disqualification to retain the WWE Universal Championship[61] | |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) | |||||
Cancelled events
| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | WWE: |
WWE Elimination Chamber | TBA | TBA | |
AAA
| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rey de Reyes | Pentagón Jr. | March 23 | |
| Copa Triplemanía | Australian Suicide | August 28 | Last eliminated Daga to win |
| Copa Antonio Peña | Pimpinela Escarlata | October 2 | Last eliminated El Zorro to win |
JWP
| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tag League the Best 2016 | Hanako Nakamori and Makoto | February 21 |
Ring of Honor
| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship Tournament | The Kingdom (Matt Taven, T. K. O'Ryan and Vinny Marseglia) | December 2 |
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TNA World Title Series | Ethan Carter III | January 5 | |
| Joker's Wild | Drew Galloway | January 31 | |
| Knockouts Knockdown | Jade | March 17 | |
| World Cup | Team Hardy (Jeff Hardy, Eddie Edwards, Robbie E, Jessie Godderz, Jade) | June 13 | |
| Impact Grand Championship Tournament | Aron Rex | October 2 | |
| Turkey Bowl | Robbie E | November 24 |
WWE
| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Rumble | Triple H | January 24 | Unlike the traditional means in which the winner received a world championship match at WrestleMania, this year's match was for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in which Roman Reigns, who entered at number one, defended the title; Triple H eliminated Reigns before lastly eliminating Dean Ambrose to win the title. |
| André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal | Baron Corbin | April 3 | Last eliminated Kane to win the André the Giant Memorial Trophy. |
| WWE Tag Team Championship #1 Contender's Tournament | The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) |
May 1 | Faced Enzo Amore and Big Cass in the tournament final, but the match ended in a no contest due to Enzo suffering a legitimate injury. The Vaudevillains were instead awarded the WWE Tag Team Championship match against champions The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) at Extreme Rules, but were unsuccessful. |
| Money in the Bank ladder match | Dean Ambrose | June 19 | Defeated Kevin Owens, Alberto Del Rio, Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn, and Cesaro to win a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match contract. Immediately following the main event that same night, Ambrose cashed in the contract and won the title from Seth Rollins, who had just won the title from Roman Reigns. |
| WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship Tournament | Heath Slater and Rhyno | September 11 | Defeated The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) in the tournament final to determine the inaugural SmackDown Tag Team Champions. |
| Cruiserweight Classic | T. J. Perkins | September 14 | Defeated Gran Metalik in the tournament final to win the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Championship |
| Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic | The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) |
November 19 | Defeated TM-61 (Nick Miller and Shane Thorne) in the tournament final to win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Trophy. |
AAA
| AAA Mega Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Vacant | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 23 | El Texano Jr. | Rey de Reyes | ||
| AAA Latin American Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Psycho Clown | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 3 | Pentagón Jr. | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide | ||
| August 28 | Johnny Mundo | Triplemanía XXIV | ||
| AAA World Mini-Estrella Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Dinastía | ||||
| No title changes |
| AAA World Cruiserweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – El Hijo del Fantasma | ||||
| No title changes |
| AAA Reina de Reinas Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Taya | ||||
| No title changes |
| AAA World Tag Team Championship | ||||
| Incoming champions – Los Güeros del Cielo (Angélico and Jack Evans) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 22 | Vacated | Guerra de Titanes | ||
| Los Hell Brothers (Averno and Chessman) |
||||
| July 17 | Los Hell Brothers (Averno and Chessman) |
AAA Sin Límite | ||
| August 28 | Aero Star and Drago | Triplemanía XXIV | ||
| AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship | ||||
| Incoming champions – La Sociedad (Pentagón Jr. and Sexy Star) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 19 | Vacated | AAA Television Taping | ||
| AAA World Trios Championship | ||||
| Incoming champions – Los Hell Brothers (Averno, Chessman and Cibernético) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 22 | Los Xinetez (Dark Cuervo, Dark Scoria and El Zorro) |
Guerra de Titanes | ||
| November 4 | Los OGT (Averno, Chessman and Ricky Marvin) |
AAA Worldwide | ||
TNA
| TNA World Heavyweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Vacated | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 5 | Ethan Carter III | Impact Wrestling | Carter III defeated Matt Hardy in the finals of the TNA World Title Series to win the vacant title | |
| January 8 (aired January 19) |
Matt Hardy | Impact Wrestling | This was a Last Man Standing match. Had Hardy not won, he would have left TNA. | |
| March 15 | Drew Galloway | Impact Wrestling | Galloway invoked his Feast or Fired title opportunity to challenge Hardy for the championship and win the title | |
| June 12 | Lashley | Slammiversary | This was a Knockout or Tapout Only match.
On July 13, Lashley also won the TNA X Division Championship defeating then-champion Eddie Edwards in a title vs. title steel cage match. On August 11, Lashley also won the TNA King of the Mountain Championship by defeating then-champion James Storm in a title vs. titles match. The following day, Lashley retired the TNA King of the Mountain Championship and vacated the X Division Championship | |
| October 3 (aired October 6) |
Eddie Edwards | Impact Wrestling | ||
| TNA X Division Championship | ||||
| Incoming champion – Tigre Uno | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 9 (aired February 2) |
Trevor Lee | Impact Wrestling | ||
| June 12 | Eddie Edwards | Slammiversary | This was a four-way match, also involving Andrew Everett and DJ Z | |
| June 14 (aired June 21) |
Mike Bennett | Impact Wrestling | ||
| June 15 (aired July 5) |
Eddie Edwards | Impact Wrestling | Ultimate X match, also involving Trevor Lee, Andrew Everett, DJ Z, Rockstar Spud, Mandrews, and Braxton Sutter. | |
| July 13 (aired July 21) |
Lashley | Impact Wrestling | This was a Winner Takes All Six Sides of Steel match for both Edwards's X Division Championship and Lashley's TNA World Heavyweight Championship. | |
| August 12 (aired August 18) |
Vacated | Impact Wrestling | Lashley unified the TNA King of the Mountain Championship with his TNA World Heavyweight Championship and vacated the X Division Championship. | |
| August 13 (aired September 1) |
DJ Z | Impact Wrestling | Ultimate X match, also involving Trevor Lee, Andrew Everett, Rockstar Spud, Mandrews, and Braxton Sutter. | |
| TNA King of the Mountain Championship | ||||
| Incoming champion – Bobby Roode | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 6 (aired January 12) |
Eric Young | Impact Wrestling | With this victory, Young became the only wrestler to win this championship under all four (Legends, Global, Television, King of the Mountain) of its incarnations | |
| March 19 (aired April 26) |
Bram | Sacrifice | Falls Count Anywhere match. | |
| April 23 (aired May 31) |
Eli Drake | Impact Wrestling | Drake invoked his Feast or Fired contract after Bram had been attacked by Lashley. | |
| July 14 (aired August 4) |
James Storm | Impact Wrestling | Drake invoked his Feast or Fired contract after Bram had been attacked by Lashley. | |
| August 11 | Lashley | Impact Wrestling | This was a Winner Takes All match, also for Lashley's TNA World Heavyweight Championship and TNA X Division Championship | |
| August 12 (aired August 18) |
Retired | Impact Wrestling | Lashley unified the championship with his TNA World Heavyweight Championship, however at the August 13 tapings of Impact Wrestling, TNA President Billy Corgan announced that the title would be deactivated and retired. | |
| TNA Grand Championship | ||||
| (Title created) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2 | Aron Rex | Bound for Glory | Defeated Eddie Edwards in a tournament final by split decision to become the inaugural champion. Edwards was a substitute for Drew Galloway, who was legitimately injured | |
| October 9 (aired December 1) |
Moose | Impact Wrestling | ||
| TNA World Tag Team Championship | ||||
| Incoming champions – The Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 31 (aired March 8) |
Beer Money, Inc. (Bobby Roode and James Storm) |
Impact Wrestling | Storm cashed in his Feast or Fired Tag Team Championship contract. | |
| March 19 (aired April 26) |
Decay (Abyss and Crazzy Steve) |
Impact Wrestling | Valley of Shadows match. | |
| October 2 | The Broken Hardys (Matt Hardy and Brother Nero) |
Bound for Glory | This was The Great War. The team was previously known as The Hardys, and Brother Nero was previously known as Jeff Hardy. | |
| TNA Knockouts Championship | ||||
| Incoming champion – Gail Kim | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 17 (aired April 5) |
Jade | Impact Wrestling | Three–way match also involving Madison Rayne. | |
| June 12 | Sienna | Slammiversary | Three–way match, also involving Gail Kim | |
| August 12 | Allie | Turning Point | Five–way match, also involving Madison Rayne, Jade, and Marti Belle | |
| August 13 (aired September 1) |
Maria Kanellis-Bennett | Impact Wrestling | ||
| October 2 | Gail Kim | Bound for Glory | ||
| October 9 | Vacated | Impact Wrestling | The title was vacated due to Gail Kim sustaining an injury | |
| October 9 (aired December 1) |
Rosemary | Impact Wrestling | Defeated Jade in a Six Sides of Steel match to win the vacant title. | |
NJPW
| IWGP Heavyweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Kazuchika Okada | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 10 | Tetsuya Naito | Invasion Attack | ||
| June 19 | Kazuchika Okada | Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall | ||
Incoming champion – Shinsuke Nakamura | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 25 | Vacated | – | Vacated due to Nakamura leaving NJPW | |
| February 14 | Kenny Omega | The New Beginning in Niigata | Defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the vacant title | |
| June 19 | Michael Elgin | Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall | This was a ladder match | |
| September 25 | Tetsuya Naito | Destruction in Kobe | ||
| Incoming champions – Bullet Club (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 4 | G.B.H. (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma) |
Wrestle Kingdom 10 | ||
| April 10 | Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) |
Invasion Attack | ||
| June 19 | The Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) |
Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall | ||
| October 10 | Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) |
King of Pro-Wrestling | ||
Incoming champion – Kenny Omega | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 4 | Kushida | Wrestle Kingdom 10 | ||
| September 17 | Bushi | Destruction in Tokyo | ||
| November 5 | Kushida | Power Struggle | ||
| Incoming champions – reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 4 | The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) |
Wrestle Kingdom 10 | ||
| February 11 | Matt Sydal and King Ricochet | The New Beginning in Osaka | This was a three-way match, also involving reDRagon | |
| April 10 | Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero) |
Invasion Attack | ||
| May 3 | Matt Sydal and King Ricochet | Wrestling Dontaku | ||
| June 19 | The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) |
Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall | This was a four-way elimination match, also involving reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) and Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero) | |
Incoming champion – Tomohiro Ishii | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 4 | Katsuyori Shibata | Wrestle Kingdom 10 | ||
| May 3 | Yuji Nagata | Wrestling Dontaku | ||
| June 19 | Katsuyori Shibata | Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall | ||
| November 5 | Evil | Power Struggle | ||
| November 15 | Katsuyori Shibata | Wrestling World in Singapore | ||
ROH
Incoming champion – Jay Lethal | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 19 | Adam Cole | Death Before Dishonor XIV | ||
| December 2 | Kyle O'Reilly | Final Battle | ||
Incoming champion – Roderick Strong | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 9 | Tomohiro Ishii | Honor Rising: Japan | ||
| May 8 | Bobby Fish | Global Wars | ||
| November 18 | Will Ospreay | Reach for the Sky Tour | ||
| November 20 | Marty Scurll | Reach for the Sky Tour | ||
(Title created) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2 | The Kingdom (Matt Taven, T. K. O'Ryan and Vinny Marseglia) |
Final Battle | ||
| Incoming champions – War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9 | The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) |
War of the Worlds | ||
| September 30 | The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) |
All Star Extravaganza VIII | ||
The Crash Lucha Libre
Incoming champion – Bestia 666[62] | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Vacated | N/A | Championship vacated for undocumented reasons[63] | |
| August 13 | Flamita | The Crash show | Defeated El Torito, Fly Warrior, Laredo Kid, Lince Dorado, Septimo Dragon, and Willie Mack to win the vacant title[64][65] | |
Incoming champion – Mirage[66] | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 12 | Black Boy | The Crash show | This was a five-way elimination match also involving Jinzo and Proximo and Septimo Dragon[67] | |
| July 24 | Black Danger | The Crash show | [68] | |
(Title created) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 26 | Sexy Dulce | The Crash V Aniversario | Dulce defeated Keira to become the first champion[71] | |
WWE
Raw and SmackDown
Following the reintroduction of the WWE brand extension in July, in which titles became exclusive to a brand and others were established as counterparts to the opposing brand's championships, Raw and SmackDown each had a world championship, a secondary championship, a women's championship, and a male tag team championship. A championship was also established for Raw's cruiserweight wrestlers.
Incoming champion – Roman Reigns | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 24 | Triple H | Royal Rumble | This was the Royal Rumble match, in which Roman Reigns defended the title. Triple H eliminated Reigns before lastly eliminating Dean Ambrose | |
| April 3 | Roman Reigns | WrestleMania 32 | ||
| June 19 | Seth Rollins | Money in the Bank | ||
| Dean Ambrose | Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract | |||
The title was renamed to WWE World Championship | ||||
The title became exclusive to the SmackDown brand following the Draft in July when Dean Ambrose was drafted to SmackDown and retained the title against Raw draftees Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match at Battleground. The title was renamed to WWE World Championship after the unveiling of the WWE Universal Championship for the Raw brand in July. | ||||
| September 11 | AJ Styles | Backlash | ||
The title was renamed back to WWE Championship | ||||
(Title created) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 21 | Finn Bálor | SummerSlam | Defeated Seth Rollins in a pinfall and submission-only match to become the inaugural champion | |
| August 22 | Vacated | Monday Night Raw | Finn Bálor suffered a legitimate shoulder injury in winning the title | |
| August 29 | Kevin Owens | Monday Night Raw | Fatal four-way elimination match for the vacant title, also involving Big Cass, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins | |
Incoming champion – Dean Ambrose | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 15 | Kevin Owens | Monday Night Raw | Fatal five-way match, also involving Tyler Breeze, Stardust, and Dolph Ziggler | |
| April 3 | Zack Ryder | WrestleMania 32 | Seven-way ladder match, also involving Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn, Stardust, Sin Cara, and The Miz | |
| April 4 | The Miz | Monday Night Raw | ||
The title became exclusive to the SmackDown brand following the Draft in July when The Miz was drafted to SmackDown and retained the title against Raw draftee Darren Young at Battleground. | ||||
| October 9 | Dolph Ziggler | No Mercy | Title vs. career match | |
| November 15 | The Miz | SmackDown Live | ||
Incoming champion – Alberto Del Rio | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 11 | Kalisto | Monday Night Raw | ||
| January 12 | Alberto Del Rio | SmackDown Live | ||
| January 24 | Kalisto | Royal Rumble | ||
| May 22 | Rusev | Extreme Rules | ||
The title became exclusive to the Raw brand following the Draft in July when Rusev was drafted to Raw and retained the title against SmackDown draftee Zack Ryder at Battleground. | ||||
| September 25 | Roman Reigns | Clash of Champions | ||
Incoming champion – Charlotte | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 3 | Retired | WrestleMania 32 | The Divas Championship was retired and replaced by the new WWE Women's Championship | |
(Title created) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 3 | Charlotte | WrestleMania 32 | Defeated Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks in a triple threat match to become the inaugural champion. Charlotte was the Divas Champion going into the match and that title was retired after the unveiling of the new Women's Championship | |
The title became exclusive to the Raw brand following the Draft in July when Charlotte was drafted to Raw. | ||||
| July 25 | Sasha Banks | Monday Night Raw | ||
| August 21 | Charlotte | SummerSlam | ||
The title was renamed to Raw Women's Championship on September 5 after the unveiling of the SmackDown Women's Championship | ||||
| October 3 | Sasha Banks | Monday Night Raw | ||
| October 30 | Charlotte Flair | Hell in a Cell | First women's Hell in a Cell match and first time a women's match was the main event of a WWE pay-per-view. Charlotte's ring name was lengthened to "Charlotte Flair" | |
| November 28 | Sasha Banks | Monday Night Raw | Falls Count Anywhere match | |
| December 18 | Charlotte Flair | Roadblock: End of the Line | 30-minute Iron Man match; Charlotte won 3–2 in sudden death overtime. Sasha Banks could no longer challenge for the title as long as Flair was champion (had Banks won, Flair could not have challenged for the title as long as Banks was champion). | |
(Title created) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 11 | Becky Lynch | Backlash | Defeated Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Naomi, Natalya, and Nikki Bella in a six-pack elimination challenge to become the inaugural champion | |
| December 4 | Alexa Bliss | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Tables match | |
Incoming champions – The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The title became exclusive to the Raw brand following the Draft in July when The New Day were drafted to Raw. The title was renamed to Raw Tag Team Championship on September 5 after the unveiling of the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. | ||||
| December 18 | Cesaro and Sheamus | Roadblock: End of the Line | Big E and Kofi Kingston represented The New Day. | |
(Title created) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 11 | Heath Slater and Rhyno | Backlash | Defeated The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) in the tournament final to become the inaugural champions | |
| December 4 | The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Randy Orton) |
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Wyatt and Orton won the match, but Harper was also recognized as champion under the Freebird Rule. | |
| December 27 | American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan) |
SmackDown Live | Fatal four-way tag team elimination match, also involving Heath Slater and Rhyno and The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso). Luke Harper and Randy Orton represented The Wyatt Family. | |
(Title created) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 14 | T. J. Perkins | Cruiserweight Classic | Defeated Gran Metalik in the tournament final to become the inaugural champion | |
| October 30 | The Brian Kendrick | Hell in a Cell | ||
| November 29 | Rich Swann | 205 Live | ||
NXT
Incoming champion – Finn Bálor | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 21 | Samoa Joe | NXT Live | ||
| August 20 | Shinsuke Nakamura | TakeOver: Brooklyn II | ||
| November 19 | Samoa Joe | TakeOver: Toronto | ||
| December 3 | Shinsuke Nakamura | NXT | An edited version of this match aired on the December 7 episode. The full match aired on the December 28 episode | |
Incoming champion – Bayley | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1 | Asuka | TakeOver: Dallas | ||
Incoming champions – The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) | ||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1 | American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan) |
TakeOver: Dallas | ||
| June 8 | The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) |
TakeOver: The End | ||
| November 19 | #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) |
TakeOver: Toronto | Two-out-of-three falls match | |
AAA Hall of Fame
| Inductee |
|---|
| Art Barr |
| Joaquín Roldán |
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
TNA Hall of Fame
| Inductee |
|---|
| Gail Kim |
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Wrestler of the Year | A.J. Styles |
| Most Outstanding | A.J. Styles |
| Tag Team of the Year | The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) |
| Most Improved | Matt Riddle |
WWE
WWE Hall of Fame
| Category | Inductee | Inducted by |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | Sting | Ric Flair |
| The Godfather | The Acolytes Protection Agency | |
| Big Boss Man | Slick | |
| Jacqueline | The Dudley Boyz | |
| Stan Hansen | Vader | |
| Group | The Fabulous Freebirds | The New Day |
| Celebrity | Snoop Dogg | John Cena |
| Warrior Award | Joan Lunden | Dana Warrior |
| Legacy | Mildred Burke | |
| Frank Gotch | ||
| George Hackenschmidt | ||
| Ed "Strangler" Lewis | ||
| Pat O'Connor | ||
| Lou Thesz | ||
| "Sailor" Art Thomas | ||
NXT Year-End Awards
| Poll | Presenter | Winner[72] |
|---|---|---|
| Breakout of the Year | Nigel McGuinness | Billie Kay and Peyton Royce |
| Match of the Year | Charly Caruso | The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) (c) vs. #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) in a two-out-of-three falls match for the NXT Tag Team Championship at NXT TakeOver: Toronto |
| Tag Team of the Year | Corey Graves | The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) |
| Female Competitor of the Year | Nigel McGuinness | Asuka |
| Male Competitor of the Year | Nigel McGuinness | Shinsuke Nakamura |
| Overall Competitor of the Year | Nigel McGuinness | Shinsuke Nakamura |
- January 4 – Marika Kobashi and Yuu
- January 23 – Erika Watanabe
- January 30 – Rezar
- February 13 – Mio Momono
- March 5 – Daiki Shimomura and Nobuhiro Shimatani
- March 12 – Tequila Saya
- March 17 – Calvin Tankman
- March 20 – Alejandro
- March 30 – Hana Kimura and Seigo Tachibana
- April 5 – Takuya Nomura
- April 22 – H.Y.O
- May 2 – Dragon Libre
- May 3 – Rin Kadokura
- June 16 – Maho Kurone
- June 25
- July 8 – Tiger Ruas (NXT/Independents)[73]
- July 24 – Ibis Sara and RiNO
- August 5 – Masato Kamino
- August 6 – Kid Lykos II
- August 8 – Spike Trivet
- October 17 – Yuki Ueno
- October 29 – Yuki Yoshioka
- November 20 – Ruaka
- December 3 – Logan James
- December 4 – Naomi Yoshimura and Yuni
- December 11 – Junta Miyawaki
- December 25 – Kohei Kinoshita
- Tyson Tomko (2002 – 2016)
- Cliff Compton (1998 - 2016)
- Mark Mercedes (1992-2016)
- Mr. Pogo (March 20, 1972 – 2016)
- Daniel Bryan (December 1999 – February 8, 2016) (first retirement and became General Manager of SmackDown; on March 20, 2018, Bryan was formally cleared to return to full-time in-ring action and had his first match back at WrestleMania 34)[74]
- The Grappler (1977-March 5, 2016)
- Jim Neidhart (1978-March 5, 2016)
- Bobby Eaton (May 1976-March 19, 2016)
- Maki Narumiya (March 19, 2011[75][76] – March 25, 2016[74])
- Sting (November 28, 1985 – April 2, 2016)[77] (first retirement; later debuted in All Elite Wrestling in December 2020 with a match at Revolution in 2021)
- Johnny Kidd (1978 – April 5, 2016, returned to wrestle in 2019)
- Brie Bella (September 15, 2007 – April 6, 2016) (semi, return in 2018)
- Cameron (July 7, 2011 – May 6, 2016) (full inactive, returned to wrestle AEW in July 2020)
- Necro Butcher (January 2, 1998 – June 11, 2016, returned to wrestling in 2018)
- Scott Hall (October 2, 1984 – June 17, 2016)
- Karsten Beck (2006 – July 2, 2016)
- Booker T (1989 – July 30, 2016)
- Scotty 2 Hotty (1989-September 2016) (became a trainer for NXT and returned to wrestling in January 2022)
- Sara Lee (August 25, 2015 – September 30, 2016)
- Darryl Sharma (January 2002 [78] – November 2016 [78])
- D-Von Dudley (1991 – December 17, 2016)
- Kouhiro Kanemura (December 20, 1990 – December 27, 2016)
- Rabbit Miu (August 7, 2011 – December 28, 2016)
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- January 9 – Bob Leonard, 74
- January 10 – The Wolfman, 80[79]
- January 17 – Mike Sharpe, 64[80]
- January 23 –
- Archie Gouldie, 79[81]
- Espectrito, 49[82]
- January 27 – Taras Bulba, 59
- February 4 – Axl Rotten, 44[83]
- February 10 – Tony Nardo (Moondog Spot), 51[84]
- February 11 – Kevin Randleman, 44[85]
- February 23 – Angel Gabriele, 59[86]
- February 24 – Eddie Einhorn, 80[87]
- February 25 – Mark Young, 48
- March 3 – Hayabusa, 47[88]
- March 3 – Lord James Blears, 92[89][90]
- March 10 – Mike Flowers (Moondog Puppy Love)[91]
- March 11 - Charlie Fulton, 67
- March 23 – Joe Garagiola, 90[92]
- March 24 – Randal Brown, 64[93]
- March 31 – Kris Travis, 32[94]
- April 1 – George Cavalaris, 84[95]
- April 7 – Blackjack Mulligan, 73[96]
- April 12 – Balls Mahoney, 44[97]
- April 14 – Christin Able, 32
- April 20 – Chyna, 46[98]
- May 6 – Billy Wicks, 84
- May 24:
- Frankie Laine, 73
- Buck Kartalian, 93
- June 15 – Gypsy Joe, 82[99]
- June 30 – Thunder, 34[100]
- July 3 – Muhammad Ali, 74
- August 4 – Jean Antone, 73
- August 28 – Mr. Fuji, 82
- September 9 – Lord Littlebrook, 87
- September 10 – Moose Morowski, 81
- September 16 – Don Bass, 70
- October 9 – El Mongol, 86
- October 21 – Frenchy Martin, 69
- November 18 – Ed Francis, 90
- November 28
- Haruka Eigen, 70
- John Cozman, 52
- December 9 – Mario Milano, 81
- December 15 – Harley Saito, 48
- December 22 – Mocho Cota, 62
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