2016 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
List of notable promotions These promotions held notable events in 2016. Promotion NameAbbreviationNotesCMLLDDT Pro-WrestlingDDTLucha Libre AAA WorldwideAAAThe "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-WrestlingNJPWPro Wrestling GuerrillaPWGRevolution Pro WrestlingRevProRing of HonorROHTotal Nonstop Action WrestlingTNAWorld Wrestling CouncilWWCWWE—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.
Calendar of notable shows 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 match4 TJPW Tokyo Joshi Pro '16 Tokyo Miyu Yamashita defeated Shoko Nakajima to become the inaugural Princess of Princess Champion This was the inaugural pay-per-view produced by Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10 Tokyo Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 5–7 TNA One Night Only: Rivals Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Mr. Anderson vs. Bram 7–930–31 TNA One Night Only: Joker's Wild Bethlehem, PennsylvaniaLondon, EnglandBirmingham, 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 (c) 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 22 CMLLNJPW Fantastica Mania(Tokyo shows) Tokyo Mephisto & Último Guerrero defeated Místico & Volador Jr. in a tag team match 23 Kazuchika Okada, Mephisto & Último Guerrero defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Místico & Volador Jr. in a 6-man tag match 24 Volador Jr. (c) defeated Mephisto to retain the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship 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 AmbroseFirst 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
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main event 11 NJPW The New Beginningin Osaka Osaka Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Hirooki Goto to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 14 NJPW The New Beginningin Niigata Nagaoka Kenny Omega defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the vacant IWGP Intercontinental Championship 19 ROHNJPW Honor Rising: Japan Tokyo Tomohiro Ishii defeated Roderick Strong (c) to win the ROH World Television Championship 20 Jay Lethal (c) defeated Tomoaki Honma to retain the ROH World Championship 21 WWE Fastlane Cleveland, OH Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose in a triple threat match to become the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 3225NJPWLion's Gate Project 1Tokyo, JapanYuji Nagata defeated Mitsuhiro Kitamiya in a Singles match 26 ROH 14th Anniversary Show Las Vegas, NV Jay Lethal (c) defeated Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly to retain the ROH World Championship 28 DDT Into The Fight 2016 Tokyo, Japan Harashima defeated Shigehiro Irie to determine the No. 1 contender to the KO-D Openweight Championship(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
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 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. defeated Negro Casas in a two out of three falls hair vs. hair match 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(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 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 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 10 NJPW Invasion Attack Tokyo Tetsuya Naito defeated Kazuchika Okada (c) to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 29 CMLL Arena México60th 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 3 NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Fukuoka Tetsuya Naito (c) defeated Tomohiro Ishii to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 8 ROHNJPW Global Wars Chicago Ridge, IL Jay Lethal (c) vs. Colt Cabana for the ROH World Championship ended in a no contest19NJPWLion's Gate Project 2Tokyo, JapanHiroyoshi 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(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 8 WWE: TakeOver: The End Winter Park, FL Samoa Joe (c) defeated Finn Bálor in a Steel Cage match to retain the NXT Championship 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 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 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 ChampionshipOn 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(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 ChampionshipFinal WWE PPV before the second brand split went into full affectAfter 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 Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main event Notes 11–14 TNA One Night Only: September Orlando, Florida Eddie Edwards vs. Lashley 14 NJPW G1 Climax Final Tokyo Kenny Omega defeated Hirooki Goto in the final of the 2016 G1 Climax tournament 16–17 TNA One Night Only: Against All Odds Orlando, Florida Matt Hardy vs. Ethan Carter III 19 ROH Death Before Dishonor Las Vegas, NV Adam Cole defeated Jay Lethal (c) to win the ROH World Championship 20 WWE: TakeOver: Brooklyn II Brooklyn, NY Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Samoa Joe (c) to win the NXT Championship 21 NJPW Super J-Cup Final Tokyo Kushida defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru in the final of the 2016 Super J-Cup 21 WWE: SummerSlam Brooklyn, NY Brock Lesnar defeated Randy Orton by TKO in a singles matchFirst WWE PPV after the second brand split went into full affect. 27 ROH Field of Honor Brooklyn, NY Adam Cole (c) defeated Jay Lethal, Tetsuya Naito and Hiroshi Tanahashi in a Four Corner Survival match to retain the ROH World Championship28 AAA Triplemanía XXIV Mexico City Psycho Clown defeated Pagano in a two-out-of-three falls lucha de apuesta, mask vs. hair match DDT Ryōgoku Peter Pan 2016 Tokyo, Japan Shuji Ishikawa defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) to win the KO-D Openweight Championship(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
September