2013 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
List of notable promotions These promotions held notable events in 2013. Promotion NameAbbreviationNotesCMLLJCWLucha 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 GuerrillaPWGPro Wrestling NoahNOAHRing 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 4 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 7 Tokyo Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) defeated Kazuchika Okada in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 6 WWC Euphoria Bayamon, Puerto Rico Ricky Banderas vs. Apolo 12 TNA One Night Only: X-Travaganza Orlando Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries Aired on PPV on May 3. 12 TNA One Night Only: Joker's Wild Orlando Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries Aired on PPV on May 3. 13 TNA Genesis Orlando Jeff Hardy (c) defeated Bobby Roode and Austin Aries in a Triple threat elimination match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship 27 WWE Royal Rumble Phoenix The Rock defeated CM Punk (c) to win the WWE Championship This defeat ended CM Punk's 434 day run as WWE ChampionJohn Cena won the Royal Rumble match and chose to challenge for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 29.(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
February Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main event 10 NJPW The New Beginning Hiroshima Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) defeated Karl Anderson in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 17 WWE Elimination Chamber New Orleans The Rock (c) defeated CM Punk to retain the WWE Championship(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
March
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main event 2 ROH ROH 11th Anniversary Show Chicago Ridge Kevin Steen (c) defeated Jay Lethal in a Singles match to retain the ROH World Championship 10 TNA Lockdown San Antonio Bully Ray defeated Jeff Hardy (c) in a Steel Cage match to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship 17 AAA Rey de Reyes Monterrey, Mexico Three-way elimination Rey de Reyes tournament final match 17 TNA One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown Orlando Knockouts Gauntlet match 17 TNA One Night Only: 10 Reunion Orlando Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle 17 TNA One Night Only: Hardcore Justice Orlando Jeff Hardy and Brother Runt vs. Team 3D (Bully Ray and Devon) 18 TNA One Night Only: World Cup Orlando Five-on-Five Elimination Tag Team match 18 TNA One Night Only: Tag Team Tournament Orlando Austin Aries and Bobby Roode vs. Team 3D (Bully Ray and Devon) 19 TNA One Night Only: Tournament of Champions Orlando Bobby Roode vs. Samoa Joe(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
April Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main event 5 ROH Supercard of Honor VII New York City Jay Briscoe defeated Kevin Steen (c) in a Singles match to win the ROH World Championship 7 CMLL Arena Coliseo 70th Anniversary Show Mexico City Dragón Rojo, Jr. (c) defeated La Sombra in a Best two-out-of-three falls match for the CMLL World Middleweight Championship 7 NJPW Invasion Attack Tokyo Kazuchika Okada defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) in a Singles match to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 7 WWE WrestleMania 29 East Rutherford John Cena defeated The Rock (c) to win the WWE Championship 26 CMLL 57. Aniversario de Arena México Mexico City, Mexico Último Guerrero, Volador Jr., and El Terrible defeated Máscara Dorada, Rush, and La Sombra by disqualification — two falls to one in a Best two-out-of-three falls six-man Lucha Libre rules tag team match(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
May Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main event 3 NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Fukuoka Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Minoru Suzuki in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 4 ROH Border Wars Toronto Jay Briscoe (c) defeated Adam Cole in a Singles match to retain the ROH World Championship 11 NOAH Final Burning in Budokan Tokyo Jun Akiyama, Keiji Mutoh, Kensuke Sasaki and Kenta Kobashi defeated Go Shiozaki, Kenta, Maybach Taniguchi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru 19 WWE Extreme Rules St. Louis Brock Lesnar defeated Triple H in a Steel Cage match(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
June Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main event 2 CMLL Sin Salida Mexico City, Mexico Steel cage elimination match Lucha de Apuestas 2 TNA Slammiversary Boston Bully Ray (c) defeated Sting in No Holds Barred match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship 16 AAA Triplemanía XXI Mexico City, Mexico El Hijo del Perro Aguayo defeated Cibernético 16 WWE Payback Rosemont John Cena (c) defeated Ryback 2–1 in a Three Stages of Hell match for the WWE Championship 22 ROH Best in the World Baltimore Jay Briscoe (c) defeated Mark Briscoe in a Singles match to retain the ROH World Championship 22 NJPW Dominion Osaka Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Togi Makabe in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
July Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main event Notes 14 WWE Money in the Bank Philadelphia Randy Orton defeated Rob Van Dam, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, and Christian in a Money in the Bank ladder match for a WWE Championship match contract This marked Rob Van Dam's return in WWE 29 CMLL Infierno en el Ring Mexico City, Mexico 10-man Infierno en el Ring, Lucha de Apuesta Hair vs. Hair Steel cage match(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
August Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main event1-11NJPWG1 Climax final TokyoTetsuya Naito defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in a G1 Climax tournament 11 JCW Bloodymania 7 Cave-In-Rock, Illinois 2 Tuff Tony and Vampiro defeated Kongo Kong and The Boogeyman 18 WWE SummerSlam Los Angeles Daniel Bryan defeated John Cena (c) to win the WWE Championship in a Singles match with Triple H as special guest referee, then Randy Orton cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated Daniel Bryan (c) to win the WWE Championship in a Singles match with Triple H as special guest referee30-31PWGBattle of Los AngelesReseda, CaliforniaKyle O'Reilly defeated Michael Elgin in a Battle of Los Angeles tournament (c) – denotes defending champion(s)
September Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main event Notes 13 CMLL CMLL 80th Anniversary Show Mexico City, Mexico La Sombra defeated Volador Jr. in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas, mask vs. mask match 15 WWE Night of Champions Detroit Daniel Bryan defeated Randy Orton (c) to win the WWE Championship Due to a controversial finish, Daniel Bryan was stripped of the title the next night on Raw 20 ROH Death Before Dishonor Philadelphia Adam Cole defeated Michael Elgin in Final match to win the ROH World Championship Tournament 21 WWC 40th WWC Aniversario Bayamon, Puerto Rico Sting defeated Carlito 29 NJPW Destruction Kobe Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Satoshi Kojima in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
October Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main event Notes 6 WWE Battleground Buffalo Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan for the vacant WWE Championship ended in a no contest This event received 114,000 buys worldwide, making it the second lowest number (behind ECW December to Dismember) in the last 17 years 13 NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling Tokyo Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 18 AAA Heroes Inmortales Puebla, Puebla La Parka defeated Chessman, Fénix and El Hijo del Fantasma 20 TNA Bound for Glory San Diego A.J. Styles defeated Bully Ray (c) in a No Disqualification match to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship Last PPV featuring A.J. Styles in TNA as he left TNA in December 26 ROH Glory By Honor Chicago Ridge Michael Elgin, Jay Lethal, Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander defeated Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly and Matt Taven in Eight-Man Elimination Tag Team match 27 WWE Hell in a Cell Miami Randy Orton defeated Daniel Bryan in a Hell in a Cell match for the vacant WWE Championship with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
November Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main event 9 NJPW Power Struggle Osaka Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Karl Anderson in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 24 WWE Survivor Series Boston Randy Orton (c) defeated Big Show in a Singles match to retain the WWE Championship(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
December Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main event Notes11WWETribute to the Troops Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WashingtonBig Show defeated Damien Sandow in a Singles match 14 ROH Final Battle Manhattan Adam Cole (c) defeated Michael Elgin and Jay Briscoe in a Three-way match to retain the ROH World Championship 15 WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs Houston Randy Orton (WWE Champion) defeated John Cena (World Heavyweight Champion) in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to unify the championships into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship This was the final event to feature the World Heavyweight Championship 29 TNA One Night Only: Hardcore Justice 3 Orlando Lethal Lockdown match 30 TNA One Night Only: #OldSchool Orlando Magnus (c) vs. Samoa Joe for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
Accomplishments and tournaments
AAA AccomplishmentWinnerDate wonNotesRey de ReyesEl MesiasMarch 18
JWP AccomplishmentWinnerDate wonNotesTag League the Best 2013Dash Chisako and Sendai SachikoApril 7
Ring of Honor AccomplishmentWinnerDate wonNotesROH World Championship TournamentAdam ColeSeptember 20
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling AccomplishmentWinnerDate wonNotesJoker's WildJames StormJanuary 12TNA X Division Championship #1 Contender TournamentChristian YorkJanuary 13British Boot Camp season 1Rockstar SpudJanuary 22Knockouts KnockdownGail KimMarch 7World CupTeam USA (Christopher Daniels, James Storm, Kazarian, Kenny King, Mickie James)March 18TNA Gut Check TournamentJay BradleyJune 2Jokers Wild Tag Team TournamentMagnusJune 30TNA X Division Championship TournamentManikJuly 25Turkey BowlThe BroMansNovember 28TNA World Heavyweight Championship TournamentMagnusDecember 19
WWE
Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes Royal Rumble Entry Tournament Bo Dallas January 26 Tournament was held for a member of NXT to join the Royal Rumble. Dallas last eliminated Leo Kruger to win. Royal Rumble John Cena January 27 Winner received their choice of a championship match for either the WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 29; Cena last eliminated Ryback and chose to challenge for the WWE Championship, which he subsequently won from The Rock. NXT Tag Team Championship Tournament British Ambition(Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey) January 31 Defeated The Wyatt Family (Luke Harper and Erick Rowan) in the tournament final to determine the inaugural NXT Tag Team Champions. NXT Women's Championship Tournament Paige June 20 Defeated Emma in the tournament final to determine the inaugural NXT Women's Champion. Money in the Bank ladder match Damien SandowJuly 14 Defeated Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Dean Ambrose, Fandango, Antonio Cesaro, and Jack Swagger to win a World Heavyweight Championship match contract. Sandow cashed in on champion John Cena on the October 28 episode of Raw, but was unsuccessful. Money in the Bank ladder match Randy Orton Defeated Rob Van Dam, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, and Christian to win a WWE Championship match contract. Orton cashed in the contract at SummerSlam and won the title from Daniel Bryan, who had just won the title from John Cena.
Title changes AAA AAA Mega ChampionshipNo title changes