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2020 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the professional wrestling industry worldwide in 2020. Many promotions cancelled or postponed booked events, with some being rescheduled for 2021. Other promotions, notably All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and WWE, instead held events behind closed doors. Other promotions began to follow suit as the year progressed. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) was one of the first promotions to reintroduce live fans in the second half of the year with a limited capacity, followed by AEW.
These promotions held notable events in 2020.
Promotion Name | Abbreviation | Notes |
---|---|---|
All Elite Wrestling | AEW | |
All Japan Pro Wrestling | AJPW | |
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre | CMLL | |
CyberFight | CF | Founded in July by CyberAgent, CyberFight is an umbrella brand that oversees and promotes four individual promotions: DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT), Ganbare☆Pro-Wrestling (GanPro), Pro Wrestling Noah (NOAH), and Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (TJPW). |
DDT Pro-Wrestling | DDT | The "DDT Pro-Wrestling" name has been solely used since 2004, but the DDT abbreviation had previously stood for the promotion's original name Dramatic Dream Team. In 2017, the promotion was purchased by CyberAgent. DDT then became part of a new umbrella brand titled CyberFight in July 2020. |
Impact Wrestling | Impact | |
International Wrestling Revolution Group | IWRG | |
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. |
Major League Wrestling | MLW | |
National Wrestling Alliance | NWA | |
New Japan Pro-Wrestling | NJPW | |
Pro Wrestling Noah | NOAH | In January, the promotion was purchased by CyberAgent. NOAH then became part of a new umbrella brand titled CyberFight in July. |
Ring of Honor | ROH | |
World Wonder Ring Stardom | Stardom | |
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. WWE divided its roster into five storyline divisions – referred to as brands where wrestlers exclusively performed on their respective weekly television programs. Raw, SmackDown, and NXT were their three main brands, while NXT UK and 205 Live were specialty brands that were promoted under the NXT banner. |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
8 | WWE: | Elimination Chamber | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Shayna Baszler defeated Natalya, Liv Morgan, Asuka, Ruby Riott, and Sarah Logan in an Elimination Chamber match to earn a WWE Raw Women's Championship match at WrestleMania 36 | |
13 | AAA MLW | AAA vs MLW | Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico | La Familia Real (L.A. Park, El Hijo de L.A. Park, and L.A. Park Jr.) defeated Psycho Clown, Nicho el Millonario, and Niño Hamburguesa in a No Disqualification trios match [10] | AAA and MLW's first co-promoted event. [11] |
16 | WWE: | 3:16 Day | Orlando, Florida, United States | Rey Mysterio defeated Andrade in a singles match | Aired as a special episode of Raw , celebrating 3:16 Day for Stone Cold Steve Austin. This show was originally scheduled to be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but had to be moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
20 | DDT | Judgement 2020: DDT 23rd Anniversary | Tokyo, Japan | Masato Tanaka (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita to retain the KO-D Openweight Championship | |
23 | WWE: | Raw 1400 | Orlando, Florida, United States | Aleister Black defeated Leon Ruff in a singles match | Aired as a special episode of Raw , marking the 1400th episode of Raw. This show was originally scheduled to be held in Fort Worth, Texas, but had to be moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
24 | Stardom | Stardom Cinderella Tournament 2020 | Tokyo, Japan | Giulia defeated Natsuko Tora in the 2020 Cinderella Tournament finals | |
25–26 | WWE: | WrestleMania 36 | Orlando, Florida, United States | Part 1 (aired April 4): The Undertaker defeated AJ Styles in a Boneyard match | This event was originally scheduled to take place in Tampa, Florida, solely on April 5 and to air live, but it was moved to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The date of the event was also moved up and it aired on tape delay on April 4 and 5. This was the first WrestleMania to be done over two nights, the first to be held without a live audience, the first to air on tape delay, and the first to promote the NXT brand, subsequently also being the first in which an NXT championship (the NXT Women's Championship) was defended at the event. The event also featured The Undertaker's final match. |
Part 2 (aired April 5): Drew McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar (c) to win the WWE Championship | |||||
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
8–10 | Impact | Rebellion | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | Part 1 (aired April 21): Ken Shamrock defeated Sami Callihan by technical submission in an unsanctioned match | This event was originally scheduled to air live on pay-per-view from New York City on April 19, but it was rescheduled and moved to a closed set at Skyway Studios in Nashville due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event aired on tape delay as a two-part special of Impact! |
Part 2 (aired April 28): Moose defeated Hernandez and Michael Elgin in a three-way match | |||||
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 | WWE: | Money in the Bank | Orlando, Florida Stamford, Connecticut, United States | Asuka defeated Carmella, Shayna Baszler, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, and Nia Jax in the women's Money in the Bank ladder match to win the WWE Raw Women's Championship [lower-alpha 1] Otis defeated Aleister Black, Daniel Bryan, King Corbin, AJ Styles, and Rey Mysterio in the men's Money in the Bank ladder match to earn a world championship match contract The men's and women's ladder matches happened at the same time, though the women's match concluded first. | This event was originally scheduled to take place in Baltimore, Maryland, but it was moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the matches took place live at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, while the event's two eponymous matches were pre-recorded at WWE's global headquarters in Stamford on April 15. |
23 | AEW | Double or Nothing | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | Matt Hardy and The Elite (Adam Page, Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) defeated The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana and Ortiz) in a Stadium Stampede match | This event was originally scheduled to take place in Paradise, Nevada, but it was moved to the Jacksonville Jaguars complex due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the matches took place live at Daily's Place, while the main event Stadium Stampede match was pre-recorded at the TIAA Bank Field stadium; recording began the night of May 22 and ended early morning of May 23. First event to feature the AEW TNT Championship. |
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | DDT | Wrestle Peter Pan | Tokyo, Japan | Konosuke Takeshita defeated Yoshihiko in a Last Man Standing match | First Peter Pan event to take place over two nights. |
7 | Tetsuya Endo defeated Masato Tanaka (c) to win the KO-D Openweight Championship | ||||
WWE: | TakeOver: In Your House | Winter Park, Florida, United States | Io Shirai defeated Charlotte Flair (c) and Rhea Ripley to win the NXT Women's Championship | First In Your House-branded event since 1999. First WWE Network event to be announced following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the matches took place live from Full Sail University, while the Backlot Brawl was pre-recorded on May 28 in the parking lot of Full Sail. | |
14 | WWE: | Backlash | Orlando, Florida, United States | Randy Orton defeated Edge in a singles match | This event was originally scheduled to take place in Kansas City, Missouri, but it was moved to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first WWE pay-per-view event announced following the start of the pandemic. Most of the matches took place live, while the main event was pre-recorded on June 7. |
22 | WWE: | Championship Monday | Orlando, Florida, United States | Apollo Crews (c) defeated Shelton Benjamin to retain the WWE United States Championship | Aired as a special episode of Raw . |
26 | WWE: | Tribute to The Undertaker | Orlando, Florida, United States | Jeff Hardy defeated King Corbin in a singles match | Aired as a special episode of SmackDown , paying tribute to The Undertaker's career. |
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | WWE: | The Great American Bash | Winter Park, Florida, United States | Night 1: Io Shirai defeated Sasha Banks (with Bayley) in a singles match | First The Great American Bash-branded event since 2012. The event aired as a two-part special of NXT ; the event was pre-recorded during the day on July 1—the first part aired that night with the second on July 8. |
Night 2 (aired July 8): Keith Lee (NXT North American Champion) defeated Adam Cole (NXT Champion) in a Winner Takes All match | |||||
AEW | Fyter Fest | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | Night 1: Kenny Omega and Adam Page (c) defeated Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent) to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championship | This event was originally scheduled to be broadcast on PPV from Wembley Arena in London, England, and be AEW's United Kingdom debut, but was moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event instead aired as a two-part special of Dynamite . Night 1 aired live, while Night 2 was pre-recorded on July 2 and aired on July 8. AEW invited sponsors of the venue who could also invite friends and family to attend the event as part of an experiment towards returning to live ticketed spectators. | |
2 | Night 2 (aired July 8): Chris Jericho defeated Orange Cassidy in a singles match | ||||
12 | NJPW | Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall | Osaka, Japan | Evil (New Japan Cup winner) defeated Tetsuya Naito (c) to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Intercontinental Championships | This event was originally scheduled to take place on June 14, but was postponed to allow the New Japan Cup tournament to take place, as the tournament was originally cancelled earlier in the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
15 | AEW | Fight for the Fallen | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | Jon Moxley (c) defeated Brian Cage by technical submission to retain the AEW World Championship | Aired as a special episode of Dynamite . |
18 | Impact | Slammiversary XVIII | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | Eddie Edwards defeated Ace Austin, Trey, Rich Swann, and Eric Young in a Fatal five-way elimination match to win the vacant Impact World Championship | |
19 | WWE: | The Horror Show at Extreme Rules | Orlando, Florida, United States | Bray Wyatt defeated Braun Strowman in a Wyatt Swamp Fight | This event was originally scheduled to take place in San Jose, California, but was moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the matches took place live at the WWE Performance Center, while the main event Wyatt Swamp Fight was pre-recorded at an undisclosed location about two hours outside of Orlando; recording began the night of July 16 and ended early morning of July 17. First Extreme Rules event to have an altered title. Final WWE PPV held at the Performance Center during the pandemic. |
25 | NJPW | Sengoku Lord in Nagoya | Nagoya, Japan | Evil (c) defeated Hiromu Takahashi to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Intercontinental Championship | |
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 | AEW | Tag Team Appreciation Night | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | Orange Cassidy defeated Chris Jericho in a singles match | Aired as a special episode of Dynamite . |
14 | Impact | Emergence | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | Part 1 (aired August 18): The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) (c) defeated The North (Ethan Page and Josh Alexander) to retain the Impact World Tag Team Championship | Aired on tape delay as a two-part special of Impact! . |
Part 2 (aired August 25): Deonna Purrazzo (c) defeated Jordynne Grace in a 30-minute Ironman match to retain the Impact Knockouts Championship | |||||
22 | AEW | Saturday Night Dynamite | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | Mr. Brodie Lee defeated Cody (c) to win the AEW TNT Championship | Aired as a special episode of Dynamite . |
WWE: | TakeOver XXX | Winter Park, Florida, United States | Karrion Kross defeated Keith Lee (c) to win the NXT Championship | TakeOver and SummerSlam were both originally scheduled to take place at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, but were moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic. TakeOver was moved to Full Sail University in Winter Park, while SummerSlam was moved to the Amway Center in Orlando, making it WWE's first PPV to be held outside of the WWE Performance Center since March; broadcasts of Raw , SmackDown , and PPVs were held at the Amway Center until December 2020. SummerSlam was subsequently the first WWE PPV to be presented in the WWE ThunderDome, a new virtual fan viewing experience. | |
23 | WWE: | SummerSlam | Orlando, Florida, United States [12] | "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt defeated Braun Strowman (c) in a Falls Count Anywhere match to win the WWE Universal Championship | |
27 | AEW | Thursday Night Dynamite | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | Sammy Guevara defeated Matt Hardy in a Tables match | First major wrestling to show to have ticketed fans during the COVID-19 pandemic, though to a limited capacity (10–15% capacity of Daily's Place). Aired as a special episode of Dynamite . |
29 | NJPW | Summer Struggle in Jingu | Tokyo, Japan | Tetsuya Naito defeated Evil (c) to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Intercontinental Championship | |
30 | WWE: | Payback [13] | Orlando, Florida, United States [12] | Roman Reigns defeated "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt (c) and Braun Strowman in a No Holds Barred Triple Threat match to win the WWE Universal Championship | First Payback event since 2017. |
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | WWE: | Super Tuesday | Winter Park, Florida, United States | Finn Bálor and Adam Cole tied two falls each in a 60-minute fatal four-way iron man match, also involving Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, for the vacant NXT Championship | The first part of a two-week special Tuesday event due to NHL playoff hockey on USA Network in NXT 's normal Wednesday time slot. |
4 | NJPW | Fighting Spirit Unleashed Week 1 | Port Hueneme, California, United States | Jay White defeated Flip Gordon in a singles match | The first part of a two-week event, promoted as part of New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America's weekly TV show, NJPW Strong . |
5 | AEW | All Out | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | Jon Moxley (c) defeated MJF to retain the AEW World Championship | This event was originally scheduled to take place in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, but was moved to Daily's Place in Jacksonville due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
8 | WWE: | Super Tuesday II | Winter Park, Florida, United States | Finn Bálor defeated Adam Cole to win the vacant NXT Championship | The second part of a two-week special Tuesday event due to NHL playoff hockey on USA Network in NXT 's normal Wednesday time slot. |
11 | NJPW | Fighting Spirit Unleashed Week 2 | Port Hueneme, California, United States | Kenta (c) defeated Jeff Cobb for the IWGP United States Championship challenge rights certificate | The second part of a two-week event, promoted as part of New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America's weekly TV show, NJPW Strong . |
14 | WWE: | In Your Face | Orlando, Florida, United States | Drew McIntyre vs. Keith Lee ended in a no contest | Aired as a special episode of Raw . |
22 | AEW | Late Night Dynamite | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | Shawn Spears defeated Matt Sydal in a singles match | Aired as a special episode of Dynamite . |
25 | CMLL | 87th Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | La Alianza de Plata y Oro (Carístico and Místico) (c) defeated AtrapaSueños (Rey Cometa and Espíritu Negro) to retain the CMLL World Tag Team Championship | |
27 | WWE: | Clash of Champions | Orlando, Florida, United States [12] | Roman Reigns (c) defeated Jey Uso to retain the WWE Universal Championship | This event was originally scheduled to take place in Newark, New Jersey, on September 20, but was moved and pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | Impact | Victory Road | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | Eric Young (c) defeated Eddie Edwards to retain the Impact World Championship | |
3 | Stardom | Stardom Yokohama Cinderella 2020 | Yokohama, Japan | Mayu Iwatani (c) defeated Syuri to retain the World of Stardom Championship | |
4 | WWE: | TakeOver 31 | Orlando, Florida, United States | Finn Bálor (c) defeated Kyle O'Reilly to retain the NXT Championship | First NXT event to be presented inside the "Capitol Wrestling Center," an homage to the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the predecessor to WWE; the Capitol Wrestling Center is hosted at the WWE Performance Center and is NXT's version of the ThunderDome used for Raw and SmackDown, but with a small live crowd included with all future NXT shows held here until further notice. This was also the first TakeOver event to air on traditional PPV in addition to the WWE Network. |
5 | AJPW | Champion Carnival Final | Tokyo, Japan | Zeus defeated Kento Miyahara to win the Champion Carnival tournament final | |
7 | AEW | Chris Jericho's 30th Anniversary Celebration | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho and Jake Hager) defeated The Chaos Project (Luther and Serpentico) in a tag team match | Aired as a special episode of Dynamite . This event had the final match of Mr. Brodie Lee, who died on December 26. |
9 | WWE: | 2020 WWE Draft Night 1 | Orlando, Florida, United States | "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt defeated Kevin Owens in a singles match | Aired as a special episode of SmackDown . |
11 | CF: | N-1 Victory Final | Osaka, Japan | Katsuhiko Nakajima defeated Kaito Kiyomiya to win the N-1 Victory tournament final | NOAH's first major event to be promoted under CF. |
12 | WWE: | 2020 WWE Draft Night 2 | Orlando, Florida, United States | Lana won a 13-woman dual branded battle royal by last eliminating Natalya to earn a WWE Raw Women's Championship match on the following week's episode of Raw | Aired as a special episode of Raw . |
14 | AEW | Dynamite One Year Anniversary Show | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | Jon Moxley (c) defeated Lance Archer to retain the AEW World Championship | Aired as a special episode of Dynamite . |
16 | WWE: | Fox Season 2 Premiere | Orlando, Florida, United States | Roman Reigns (c) defeated Braun Strowman to retain the WWE Universal Championship | Aired as a special episode of SmackDown . |
18 | NJPW | G1 Climax 30 Final | Tokyo, Japan | Kota Ibushi defeated Sanada to win the G1 Climax tournament final | |
19 | WWE: | 2020–21 Season Premiere | Orlando, Florida, United States | Braun Strowman defeated Keith Lee in a singles match | Aired as a special episode of Raw . |
24 | Impact | Bound for Glory | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | Rich Swann defeated Eric Young (c) to win the Impact World Championship | |
25 | WWE: | Hell in a Cell | Orlando, Florida, United States [12] | Randy Orton defeated Drew McIntyre (c) in a Hell in a Cell match to win the WWE Championship | This event was originally scheduled to occur on November 1, but was moved up as WWE's initial contract with the Amway Center expired on October 31. [14] |
28 | WWE: | Halloween Havoc | Orlando, Florida, United States | Io Shirai (c) defeated Candice LeRae in a Tables, Ladders and Scares match to retain the NXT Women's Championship | First Halloween Havoc-branded event since 2000 and the first under the WWE banner; the event was previously an annual World Championship Wrestling (WCW) pay-per-view until WWE purchased WCW in 2001. Aired as a special episode of NXT . |
30 | CMLL | Día de Muertos | Mexico City, Mexico | El Terrible defeated Euforia to win CMLL Rey del Inframundo Championship | |
31 | ROH | Pure Tournament Final | Baltimore, Maryland, United States | Jonathan Gresham defeated Tracy Williams to win the revived ROH Pure Championship | Match took place on August 23, 2020, but aired on tape delay on October 31. |
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | AEW | Winter Is Coming | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | Kenny Omega defeated Jon Moxley (c) to win the AEW World Championship | Aired as a special episode of Dynamite . This event featured the debut of Sting in AEW, which was his first appearance on TNT in over 19 years; his last appearance was on the final episode of WCW Monday Nitro on March 26, 2001. |
6 | WWE: | Tribute to the Troops | Orlando, Florida, United States | Drew McIntyre defeated The Miz in a singles match | Aired midday on FOX adjacent to the NFL broadcasts. The following night's episode of Raw was WWE's final show broadcast from the Amway Center during the COVID-19 pandemic as the ThunderDome was relocated to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, which began with the December 11 episode of SmackDown . WWE remained at Tropicana Field until April 2021. |
WWE: | TakeOver: WarGames | Orlando, Florida, United States | The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Roderick Strong, and Bobby Fish) defeated Team McAfee (Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Danny Burch, and Oney Lorcan) in a WarGames match | ||
11 | NJPW | World Tag League and Best of the Super Juniors 2020 Finals | Tokyo, Japan | Hiromu Takahashi defeated El Desperado to win the Best of the Super Juniors tournament final | |
Detonation Week 1 | Port Hueneme, California, United States | Jay White defeated Karl Fredericks in a singles match | The first part of a two-week event, promoted as part of New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America's weekly TV show, NJPW Strong . | ||
12 | Super J-Cup | El Phantasmo defeated A. C. H. to win the Super J-Cup tournament final | |||
Impact | Final Resolution | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | Rich Swann (c) defeated Chris Bey to retain the Impact World Championship | ||
AAA | Triplemanía XXVIII | Azcapotzalco, Mexico City, Mexico | Pagano defeated Chessman in a Lucha de Apuestas Hair vs. Hair match | This event was originally scheduled to take place on August 22, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was held behind closed doors. | |
18 | NJPW | Detonation Week 2 | Port Hueneme, California, United States | Kenta (c) defeated Brody King to retain the IWGP United States Championship challenge rights certificate | The second part of a two-week event, promoted as part of New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America's weekly TV show, NJPW Strong . |
ROH | Final Battle | Baltimore, Maryland, United States | Rush (c) defeated Brody King to retain the ROH World Championship | ||
20 | Stardom | Osaka Dream Cinderella 2020 | Yokohama, Japan | Utami Hayashishita (c) defeated Momo Watanabe to retain the World of Stardom Championship | |
20 | WWE: | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | St. Petersburg, Florida, United States | Randy Orton defeated "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Inferno match | First WWE PPV held at Tropicana Field during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
22 | WWE: | Christmas Day SmackDown | St. Petersburg, Florida, United States | Big E defeated Sami Zayn (c) in a lumberjack match to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship | Aired on tape delay on December 25 as a special episode of SmackDown . |
23 | MLW | Opera Cup Final | Orlando, Florida, United States | Tom Lawlor defeated Low Ki to win the Opera Cup tournament final | |
AEW | Holiday Bash | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) (c) defeated The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens and Max Caster) to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championship | Aired as a special episode of Dynamite . | |
WWE: | A Very Gargano Christmas | Orlando, Florida, United States | Adam Cole defeated Velveteen Dream in a singles match | Aired as a special episode of NXT . | |
30 | AEW | Brodie Lee Celebration of Life | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy, and Preston "10" Vance defeated Team Taz (Brian Cage, Ricky Starks, and Powerhouse Hobbs) in a six-man tag team match | A tribute show to Mr. Brodie Lee, who was an active member of the roster and leader of The Dark Order who died on December 26 at the age of 41. Aired as a special episode of Dynamite . |
(c) – denotes defending champion(s) |
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many promotions canceled or postponed their events. Others, such as WWE and AEW, began presenting empty arena shows. WWE began this with the March 13 episode of SmackDown , airing the show from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Their following episodes of 205 Live and Monday Night Raw were also broadcast from the Performance Center; WrestleMania 36 and subsequent pay-per-views were also held at this venue until August. NXT broadcasts continued to be held at NXT's home base of Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, but also behind closed doors. AEW began this format with the March 18 episode of Dynamite , as well as that day's tapings for Dark , broadcasting from Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida, though after a couple of weeks at this venue, they moved to The Nightmare Factory, AEW's de facto training facility in Norcross, Georgia, though shows returned to Daily's Place in May. Since AEW's first broadcast under this format, they used their wrestlers and other employees to serve as the live audience in place of fans for matches in which the wrestlers were not performing. WWE similarly began doing this starting with the May 25 broadcast of Raw, using their Performance Center trainees as the live audience; the promotion further expanded this to friends and family members of wrestlers, beginning with the June 15 episode of Raw. Impact Wrestling began doing shows behind closed doors in April.
AEW then invited 60 selected fans (who were sponsors of the venue who could also invite friends and family) to their Fyter Fest event in July, following COVID-19 protocols, becoming the first to have fans, albeit select ones, to attend a professional wrestling event since the start of the pandemic. [15] Beginning with the August 21 episode of SmackDown, WWE changed venues, with all future broadcasts of Raw, SmackDown, 205 Live, and PPVs being held in a bio-secure bubble called the WWE ThunderDome. WWE had nearly 1,000 LED boards to allow for rows and rows of fans to attend virtually for free—the ThunderDome was initially hosted at Orlando's Amway Center before moving to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, in December (and then the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida, in April 2021). In October, WWE moved NXT's shows, along with 205 Live, to the WWE Performance Center, which was redone as the Capitol Wrestling Center, NXT's version of the ThunderDome, though with a select few live fans also in attendance—the name was also an homage to WWE's predecessor, the Capitol Wrestling Corporation. [12] In following COVID-19 guidelines, AEW became the first promotion to sell tickets for shows, but only to a 10–15% capacity of the Daily's Place venue. Fans were required to wear masks for the entirety of the shows with friends and families placed in their own pods distanced from other fans; the fans were also placed in the upper seating area of the open air venue. This began with the August 27 episode of Dynamite. [16]
Original date | Promotion(s) | Event | Original location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
March 20 | CMLL | Homenaje a Dos Leyendas | Mexico City, Mexico | The event was scheduled to be held on March 20 but was moved to September 17, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
March 21 | AAA | Rey de Reyes | Merida, Yucatan, Mexico | The event was scheduled to be held on March 21 but was moved to May 1, 2021, in San Pedro Cholula, Puebla, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
October 10 | Triplemanía Regia II | Monterrey, Mexico | The event was scheduled to be held on October 10 but was moved to December 4, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
The following events were canceled and not rescheduled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scheduled date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
March 13 | ROH | 18th Anniversary Show | Sunrise Manor, Nevada, United States | |
March 14 | Past vs. Present | |||
March 28 | Impact | Lockdown | Windsor, Ontario, Canada | |
March 29 | PWG | Kobe | Los Angeles, California, United States | The event was scheduled to be held in tribute to NBA star Kobe Bryant, who had died in a helicopter crash on January 26. |
March 31 | NJPW | Sakura Genesis | Tokyo, Japan | |
April 3 | Impact | TNA: There's No Place Like Home | Tampa, Florida, United States | This would have been a Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) reunion show. |
April 4 | ROH | Supercard of Honor XIV | Lakeland, Florida, United States | |
WWE: | TakeOver: Tampa Bay | Tampa, Florida, United States | Matches scheduled and planned for the event were moved to weekly episodes of NXT beginning April 1. | |
April 10–11 | ROH | Pure Excellence | Columbus, Ohio, United States | Originally meant to host the ROH Pure Tournament for the reactivated ROH Pure Championship |
April 19 | NWA | Crockett Cup | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | |
April 23 | ROH | Battlestar | New York, New York, United States | |
April 24 | Quest For Gold | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Supposed to host a 16-woman tournament to crown the inaugural ROH Women's World Champion (the first women's champion in ROH since Kelly Klein, whose Women of Honor World Championship was retired after her firing) | |
May 3–4 | NJPW | Wrestling Dontaku | Fukuoka, Japan | |
May 6 | Dragon Gate | Dead or Alive | Nagoya, Japan | |
June 19 | ROH | Best in the World | Baltimore, Maryland, United States |
Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Copa Triplemanía Femenil | Lady Shani | December 12 | Defeated Lady Maravilla, Hades, Big Mami, Pimpinela Escarlata, Mamba, Chik Tormenta, Faby Apache, and La Hiedra to win. |
Accomplishment | Winner(s) | Date won | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Casino Ladder Match | Brian Cage | May 23 | Defeated Darby Allin, Colt Cabana, Orange Cassidy, Scorpio Sky, Kip Sabian, Frankie Kazarian, Luchasaurus, and Joey Janela to earn an AEW World Championship match, originally scheduled for the second night of Fyter Fest, but rescheduled for Fight for the Fallen due to COVID-19 pandemic-related issues; Cage was unsuccessful in winning the championship. |
AEW TNT Championship tournament | Cody | Defeated Lance Archer in the tournament final to determine the inaugural champion. | |
AEW Women's Tag Team Cup Tournament: The Deadly Draw | Diamante and Ivelisse | August 13 (aired August 22) | Defeated The Nightmare Sisters (Allie and Brandi Rhodes) in the tournament final to win The Deadly Draw Trophy. |
Casino Battle Royale (Men) | Lance Archer | September 5 | Last eliminated Eddie Kingston to earn an AEW World Championship match, which occurred on the Dynamite One Year Anniversary Show on October 14; Archer was unsuccessful in winning the championship. |
AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament | Kenny Omega | November 7 | Defeated Adam Page in the tournament final to earn an AEW World Championship match; Omega subsequently defeated Jon Moxley to win the title on the special Winter Is Coming episode of Dynamite on December 2. |
Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale | MJF and Orange Cassidy | December 2 | The cowinners of the 12-man battle royal face each other in a singles match for the AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring. MJF defeated Cassidy on the December 9 episode of Dynamite to win the AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring. |
Dates | Tournament | Final | |
---|---|---|---|
Start | Final | ||
June 30 | July 13 | 5th Asunaro Cup | Dan Tamura defeated Hokuto Omori to win the 5th Asunaro Cup |
September 12 | October 5 | Champion Carnival | Zeus defeated Kento Miyahara to win the 2020 Champion Carnival |
Dates | Tournament | Final | |
---|---|---|---|
Start | Final | ||
March 3 | April 26 | Ikkitousen Strong Climb | Daichi Hashimoto defeated Quiet Storm to win the 2020 Ikkitousen Strong Climb. |
Accomplishment | Winner(s) | Date won | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Reyes del Aire | Templario | January 14 | [18] [19] |
Family tag team tournament | Nueva Generación Dinamitas (El Cuatrero and Sansón) | January 16–17 | [20] |
Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles | Carístico and Forastero | February 14–28 | [21] |
Torneo de parejas familiares | Nueva Generación Dinamitas (El Cuatrero and Sansón) | February 24 | [22] |
Mexican National Tag Team Championship tournament | Atlantis Jr. and Flyer | March 13 | Won a 16-team tournament for the championship. [23] |
Mexican National Women's Tag Team Championship tournament | La Jarochita and Lluvia | October 17 | Defeated La Amapola and La Metálica in the finals for the vacant title. |
Leyenda de Azul | Angel de Oro | November 27 | Defeated Ephesto in the finals to win the elimination tournament. |
Dates | Tournament | Final | |
---|---|---|---|
Start | Final | ||
January 25 | January 26 | Ashiyanikki Cup Six Man Tag Team Tournament | Team Dragon Gate (Ben-K, Dragon Dia & Strong Machine J) defeated R.E.D. (Big R Shimizu, Eita & Kaito Ishida) to win the 2020 Ashiyanikki Cup Six Man Tag Team Tournament. |
May 15 | June 7 | King of Gate | Eita defeated Naruki Doi to win the 2020 King Of Gate. |
Dates | Tournament | Final | |
---|---|---|---|
Start | Final | ||
August 8 | August 23 | King of DDT | Tetsuya Endo defeated T-Hawk to win the 2020 King of DDT Tournament. |
November 22 | December 27 | D-Oh Grand Prix | TBD |
Accomplishment | Winner(s) | Date won | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Impact World Championship #1 Contender's Tournament | Ace Austin | June 2 | Defeated Wentz (who replaced his Rascalz teammate Trey) in the tournament final to win a future Impact World Championship match, but champion Tessa Blanchard was stripped of the title and released on June 25. Austin would later be involved in a five-way elimination match at Slammiversary for the vacant title, but was unsuccessful |
Impact Knockouts Championship #1 Contender's Gauntlet Match | Kylie Rae | July 18 | Last eliminated Taya Valkyrie to win a future Impact Knockouts Championship match. However, Rae failed to appear at Bound for Glory for her match against champion Deonna Purrazzo. Su Yung would later replace her and win the title. Rae subsequently announced her temporary retirement from wrestling two weeks later. |
Call Your Shot Gauntlet | Rhino | October 24 | Last eliminated Sami Callihan to win the Call Your Shot Trophy for a championship match of his choosing. Rhino also won an Impact contract for his tag team partner Heath. Had neither Heath or Rhino won the match, Rhino would've be fired. Rhino would later use the trophy to win the Impact World Tag Team Championship as a part of Violent By Design on the May 2 episode of Impact . |
Dates | Tournament | Final | |
---|---|---|---|
Start | Final | ||
June 14 | September 6 | Rey del Ring | Demonio Infernal (c) defeated Shun Skywalker to retain the 2020 IWRG Rey del Ring Championship. |
Dates | Tournament | Final | |
---|---|---|---|
Start | Final | ||
May 30 | June 28 | Okama Saikyou League | MUSASHI defeated Koji Kawamura to win the 2020 Okama Saikyou League. |
Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Opera Cup | Tom Lawlor | December 23 | Defeated Low Ki in the tournament final to win the Opera Cup. |
Accomplishment | Winner(s) | Date won | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
New Japan Cup | Evil | July 11 [24] | Defeated Kazuchika Okada in the tournament final to win. |
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship tournament | Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, and Yoshi-Hashi) | August 9 | Defeated Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and Sho) in the tournament final to win the titles. |
New Japan Cup USA | Kenta | August 21 | Defeated David Finlay in the tournament final to win. |
KOPW tournament | Toru Yano | August 29 | Defeated Kazuchika Okada, El Desperado and Sanada in a four-way match which acted as the finals of an eight-man tournament to become the first provisional champion. |
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship tournament | Suzuki-gun (El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) | September 11 | Defeated Los Ingobernables de Japón (Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi) in the tournament final to win the titles. |
Lion's Break Crown | Clark Connors | October 9 | Defeated Danny Limelight in the tournament final to win. |
G1 Climax | Kota Ibushi | October 18 | Defeated Sanada in the tournament final to win. |
World Tag League | Guerrillas of Destiny Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa | December 11 | Defeated Juice Robinson & David Finlay in the tournament final to win. |
Best of the Super Juniors | Hiromu Takahashi | December 11 | Defeated El Desperado in the tournament final to win. |
Super J-Cup | El Phantasmo | December 12 | Defeated A. C. H. in the tournament final to win. |
Accomplishment | Winner(s) | Date won | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
NWA World Television Championship tournament | Ricky Starks | January 24 | Defeated Trevor Murdoch in the tournament final to win the revived NWA World Television Championship; the title had been inactive since 2000. |
Dates | Tournament | Final | |
---|---|---|---|
Start | Final | ||
September 18 | October 11 | N-1 Victory | Katsuhiko Nakajima defeated Kaito Kiyomiya to win the 2020 N-1 Victory. |
Dates | Tournament | Final | |
---|---|---|---|
Start | Final | ||
July 5 | August 2 | Tenka-Ichi Junior | Shoki Kitamura defeated El Lindaman to win the 2020 Tenka-Ichi Junior. |
October 2 | November 1 | Fire Festival | Hartley Jackson defeated Tamura Hayato to win the 2020 Fire Festival. |
Accomplishment | Winner(s) | Date won | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
ROH Pure Tournament | Jonathan Gresham | August 23 (aired October 31) | Defeated Tracy Williams in the tournament final to win the revived ROH Pure Championship; the title had been inactive since 2006. |
Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Jaja Uma Tournament | Mei Hoshizuki | September 22 |
Accomplishment | Winner(s) | Date won | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Royal Rumble (Women) | Charlotte Flair | January 26 | Winner received their choice of a championship match for either the Raw Women's Championship, SmackDown Women's Championship, or NXT Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36; Flair from Raw last eliminated Shayna Baszler to win and chose the NXT Women's Championship, which she subsequently won from Rhea Ripley. |
Royal Rumble (Men) | Drew McIntyre | Winner received their choice of a championship match for either Raw's WWE Championship, SmackDown's Universal Championship, or the NXT Championship at WrestleMania 36; McIntyre last eliminated Roman Reigns to win and chose his own brand's WWE Championship, which he subsequently won from Brock Lesnar. | |
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic | The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne) | January 29 | Defeated The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson and James Drake) in the tournament final to win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Trophy and an NXT Tag Team Championship match at TakeOver: Portland, which they subsequently won from The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly). |
Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy Gauntlet Match | The Undertaker | February 27 | Last eliminated AJ Styles to win the Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy. Undertaker was a last-minute replacement for Rey Mysterio. |
Money in the Bank ladder match (Women) | Asuka | April 15 (aired May 10) | Defeated Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Nia Jax, and Shayna Baszler to win. On the May 11 episode of Raw, previous Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch revealed that she was going on hiatus due to pregnancy and that the ladder match was actually for the Raw Women's Championship instead of a contract that granted a women's championship match. The women's ladder match happened at the same time as the men's match but concluded first. |
Money in the Bank ladder match (Men) | Otis | Defeated AJ Styles, Aleister Black, Daniel Bryan, King Corbin, and Rey Mysterio to win a world championship match contract; however, The Miz defeated Otis to win the contract at Hell in a Cell on October 25. The Miz later successfully cashed in the contract at Elimination Chamber 2021 to win the WWE Championship from Drew McIntyre. The men's ladder match happened at the same time as the women's match but concluded second. | |
Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship tournament | El Hijo del Fantasma | May 27 (aired June 3) | As NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin of NXT UK was unable to defend the title in the United States as a result of a travel ban due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an eight-man round-robin tournament was held to crown an interim champion in the U.S. until Devlin's return. Fantasma defeated Drake Maverick in the tournament final to become the interim champion. Fantasma subsequently changed his ring name to Santos Escobar. |
WWE Intercontinental Championship tournament | AJ Styles | June 8 (aired June 12) | Defeated Daniel Bryan in the tournament final to win the vacant Intercontinental Championship. Previous champion Sami Zayn was stripped of the title after electing to refrain from competing during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
NXT UK Heritage Cup tournament | A-Kid | N/A (aired November 26) | Defeated Trent Seven in the tournament final to determine the inaugural NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion. The actual date the match took place is unknown. |
AEW World Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Chris Jericho | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
February 29 | Jon Moxley | Revolution | |
December 2 | Kenny Omega | Dynamite: Winter Is Coming |
AEW TNT Championship | |||
(Title created) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
May 23 | Cody | Double or Nothing | Defeated Lance Archer in the tournament final to determine the inaugural champion. |
August 13 (aired August 22) | Mr. Brodie Lee | Dynamite | |
October 7 | Cody | Dynamite: Chris Jericho's 30th Anniversary Celebration | Dog Collar match. For Cody's title defense at Full Gear, his ring name was lengthened to Cody Rhodes following a legal battle with WWE over the trademark for the name. This would in turn be Mr. Brodie Lee's final match before his untimely death on December 26. |
November 7 | Darby Allin | Full Gear |
AEW Women's World Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Riho | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
February 12 | Nyla Rose | Dynamite | First trans woman to win a women's championship in a major American promotion. |
May 23 | Hikaru Shida | Double or Nothing | No Disqualification and No Countout match. |
AEW World Tag Team Championship | |||
Incoming champions – SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 21 | Kenny Omega and Adam Page | Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea Part Deux: Second Wave | Aired on tape delay as an episode of Dynamite on January 22. |
September 5 | FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) | All Out | |
November 7 | The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) | Full Gear | Last Chance match where if The Young Bucks had lost, they would have never been able to challenge for the championship again. Additionally, FTR's manager Tully Blanchard was barred from ringside. |
FTW Championship | |||
(Title reactivated but not officially sanctioned) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
July 2 (aired July 8) | Brian Cage | Fyter Fest Night 2 | Awarded the championship by Taz due to AEW World Champion Jon Moxley unable to show up for their scheduled championship match as Moxley's wife had tested positive for COVID-19. |
CMLL World Heavyweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Último Guerrero [25] | ||||
No title changes |
CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Niebla Roja [26] | ||||
No title changes |
CMLL World Middleweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – El Cuatrero [27] | ||||
No title changes |
CMLL World Welterweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Titán | ||||
No title changes |
CMLL World Lightweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Vacant [28] | ||||
No title changes |
CMLL World Micro-Estrellas Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Chamuel [29] | ||||
No title changes |
CMLL World Mini-Estrella Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Shockercito [30] | ||||
No title changes |
CMLL World Tag Team Championship | ||||
Incoming champions – Alianza de Plata y Oro(Carístico and Místico) [31] | ||||
No title changes |
CMLL World Trios Championship | ||||
Incoming champions – Los Guerreros Lagunero (Euforia, Gran Guerrero and Último Guerrero) [32] | ||||
No title changes |
CMLL World Women's Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Marcela [33] | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
October 23 | Princesa Sugehit | Super Viernes |
CMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship | |||
Incoming champions – Esfinge and Tritón | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
April 29 | Vacated | CMLL Informa | Championship vacated after Tritón left CMLL in September 2019 |
NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Stuka Jr. | ||||
No title changes |
NWA World Historic Middleweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Carístico | ||||
No title changes |
NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Volador Jr. | ||||
No title changes |
Mexican National Heavyweight Championship | |||
Incoming champion – El Terrible [34] | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
September 25 | Diamante Azul | CMLL on Mexiquense | [35] |
Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship [36] | ||||
Incoming champion – Bárbaro Cavernario | ||||
No title changes |
Mexican National Welterweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Soberano Jr. [37] | ||||
No title changes |
Mexican National Lightweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Eléctrico [38] | ||||
No title changes |
Mexican National Tag Team Championship | |||
Incoming champions – Vacant | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
March 13 | Atlantis Jr. and Flyer | Super Viernes | Won a 16-team tournament [23] |
Mexican National Trios Championship [39] | ||||
Incoming champions – Nueva Generación Dinamita (El Cuatrero, Forastero, and Sansón) | ||||
No title changes |
Mexican National Women's Championship [40] | |||
Incoming champion – La Metálica | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
September 25 | Reyna Isis | CMLL 87th Anniversary Show | [41] |
Mexican National Women's Tag Team Championship [42] | |||
Incoming champions – Vacant | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
October 17 | La Jarochita and Lluvia | Super Viernes | Defeated La Amapola and La Metálica in the finals of a three-week tournament for the vacant title. |
Impact World Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Sami Callihan | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 12 | Tessa Blanchard | Hard To Kill | First woman to hold a men's world championship. |
June 25 | Vacated | N/A | Tessa Blanchard was stripped of the title after she was terminated by Impact for unfulfilled commitments and not being able to agree to new terms before her contract expired on June 30. |
July 18 | Eddie Edwards | Slammiversary | Fatal five-way elimination match for the vacant championship, also involving Trey Miguel, Ace Austin, Rich Swann, and Eric Young. |
August 15 (aired September 1) | Eric Young | Impact! | |
October 24 | Rich Swann | Bound for Glory |
Impact X Division Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Ace Austin | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
April 8–10 (aired April 21) | Willie Mack | Rebellion Night 1 | The two-part event was taped between April 8–10, but it is currently unknown which day this match was taped. |
July 18 | Chris Bey | Slammiversary | |
August 14 (aired August 18) | Rohit Raju | Emergence Night 1 | This was a Triple Threat match also involving TJP |
December 12 | Manik | Final Resolution |
Impact Knockouts Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Taya Valkyrie | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 18 (aired February 11) | Jordynne Grace | Impact! | |
July 18 | Deonna Purrazzo | Slammiversary | |
October 24 | Su Yung | Bound for Glory | |
November 14 | Deonna Purrazzo | Turning Point | No Disqualification match |
Impact World Tag Team Championship | |||
Incoming champions – The North (Ethan Page and Josh Alexander) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
July 19 (aired July 21) | The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) | Impact! | |
October 24 | The North (Ethan Page and Josh Alexander) | Bound for Glory | Defeated previous champions The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley), The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson), and Ace Austin & Madman Fulton in a Fatal Four Way Tag Team match |
November 14 | The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) | Turning Point |
TNA World Heavyweight Championship | |||
(Title reactivated but not officially sanctioned) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
April 8–10 (aired April 28) | Moose | Rebellion Night 2 | Declared himself the champion due to Impact World Champion Tessa Blanchard being unable to show up for scheduled championship match against Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards due COVID-19 travel restrictions. |
IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – El Hijo de Canis Lupus | ||||
No title changes |
IWRG Intercontinental Lightweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Vacant | ||||
No title changes |
IWRG Intercontinental Middleweight Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Imposible | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 1 | Vacated | N/A | Imposible changed his ring persona to "Fuerza Guerrera Next Generation" and the State of Mexico wrestling commission forced him to vacated the championship. [1] |
Demonio Infernal | Cinco Luchas en Jaula | Defeated Fuerza Guerrera Nueva Generacion, Pasion Cristal, Ave Rex, Emperador Azteca, El Hijo del Alebrije in a steel cage match [1] |
IWRG Intercontinental Tag Team Championship | ||||
Incoming champions – Bryce Benjamin and Marshe Rockett | ||||
No title changes |
IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship | ||||
Incoming champions – Centella de Oro, Multifacético, and Prayer | ||||
No title changes |
IWRG Intercontinental Welterweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Cerebro Negro | ||||
No title changes |
IWRG Junior de Juniors Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – El Hijo del Médico Asesino | ||||
No title changes |
IWRG Rey del Aire Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Dragón Bane | ||||
No title changes |
IWRG Rey del Ring Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Demonio Infernal | ||||
No title changes |
Distrito Federal Trios Championship | ||||
Incoming champions – El Infierno Eterno (Demonio Infernal, Eterno, and Lunatic Xtreme) | ||||
No title changes |
AAA Mega Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Kenny Omega | ||||
No title changes |
AAA World Cruiserweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Laredo Kid | ||||
No title changes |
AAA World Mini-Estrella Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Dinastía | ||||
No title changes |
AAA Latin American Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Daga | ||||
No title changes |
AAA Reina de Reinas Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Taya Valkyrie | ||||
No title changes |
AAA World Tag Team Championship | ||||
Incoming champions – Lucha Brothers (Fenix and Pentagón Jr.) | ||||
No title changes |
AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship | ||||
Incoming champions – Lady Maravilla and Villano III Jr. | ||||
No title changes |
AAA World Trios Championship | ||||
Incoming champions – Jinetes del Aire (El Hijo del Vikingo, Octagón Jr., and Myzteziz Jr.) | ||||
No title changes |
MLW World Heavyweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Jacob Fatu | ||||
No title changes. |
MLW World Tag Team Championship | ||||
Incoming champions – The Von Erichs (Marshall Von Erich and Ross Von Erich) | ||||
No title changes. |
MLW World Middleweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Myron Reed | ||||
No title changes. |
MLW National Openweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Alexander Hammerstone | ||||
No title changes. |
IWGP Heavyweight Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Kazuchika Okada | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 5 | Tetsuya Naito | Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome Night 2 | Double Gold Dash match in which Naito also defended the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. |
July 12 | Evil | Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall | |
August 29 | Tetsuya Naito | Summer Struggle in Jingu |
IWGP Intercontinental Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Jay White | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 4 | Tetsuya Naito | Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome Night 1 | |
July 12 | Evil | Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall | |
August 29 | Tetsuya Naito | Summer Struggle in Jingu |
IWGP United States Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Lance Archer | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 4 | Jon Moxley | Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome Night 1 | Texas Deathmatch. |
IWGP Tag Team Championship | |||
Incoming champions – Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 4 | FinJuice (David Finlay and Juice Robinson) | Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome Night 1 | |
February 1 | Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) | The New Beginning USA | |
February 21 | Golden☆Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi) | New Japan Road | |
July 12 | Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr.) | Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall |
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Will Ospreay | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 4 | Hiromu Takahashi | Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome Night 1 | |
August 29 | Taiji Ishimori | Summer Struggle in Jingu |
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship | |||
Incoming champions – Bullet Club (El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 5 | Roppongi 3K (Sho and Yoh) | Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome Night 2 | |
August 28 | Vacated | — | Title held up after Roppongi 3K were unable to defend due to Yoh's ACL tear. |
September 11 | Suzuki-gun (El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) | New Japan Road | Defeated Los Ingobernables de Japón (Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi) in the tournament final to win the titles. |
NEVER Openweight Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Kenta | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 5 | Hirooki Goto | Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome Night 2 | |
February 1 | Shingo Takagi | The New Beginning in Sapporo | |
August 29 | Minoru Suzuki | Summer Struggle in Jingu | |
November 7 | Shingo Takagi | Power Struggle |
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship | |||
Incoming champions – Taguchi Japan (Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe, and Toru Yano) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 5 | Los Ingobernables de Japón (Evil, Shingo Takagi, and Bushi) | Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome Night 2 | Five-team Gauntlet match, also involving Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii, Yoshi-Hashi, and Robbie Eagles), Suzuki-gun (Taichi, El Desperado, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru), and Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, and Chase Owens). |
August 1 | Vacated | — | Evil left Los Ingobernables de Japón to join Bullet Club, thus the title was vacated. |
August 9 | Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, and Yoshi-Hashi) | Summer Struggle | Defeated Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and Sho) in the tournament final to win the titles. |
KOPW | |||
(Title created) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
August 29 | Toru Yano | Summer Struggle in Jingu | Defeated Kazuchika Okada, El Desperado, and Sanada in a four-way match, which acted as the finals of an eight-man tournament, to become the first provisional champion. Due to the title's untraditional format, Yano was not officially recognized as the year's champion until he defeated Bad Luck Fale in a Bodyslam or No Corner Pads match on December 23. |
NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Nick Aldis | ||||
No title changes. |
NWA World Women's Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Allysin Kay | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 24 | Thunder Rosa | Hard Times | |
October 27 | Serena Deeb | UWN Primetime Live |
NWA National Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Aron Stevens | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
September 29 | Trevor Murdoch | UWN Primetime Live |
NWA World Television Championship | |||
(Title created) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 24 | Ricky Starks | Hard Times | Defeated Trevor Murdoch in the finals of an eight-man tournament to become the inaugural champion. |
January 26 (aired March 3) | Zicky Dice | NWA Power | |
October 20 | Elijah Burke | UWN Primetime Live |
NWA World Tag Team Championship | |||
Incoming champions – The Rock 'n Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 24 | Eli Drake and James Storm | Hard Times | Triple threat tag team match, also involving The Wild Cards (Royce Isaacs and Thom Latimer) |
November 10 | Aron Stevens and JR Kratos | UWN Primetime Live |
ROH World Championship | |||
Incoming champion – PCO | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
February 29 | Rush | Gateway to Honor |
ROH World Television Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Dragon Lee | ||||
No title changes. |
ROH Pure Championship | |||
(Title reactivated) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
August 23 (aired October 31) | Jonathan Gresham | ROH Pure Tournament Final | Won a 16-man tournament to crown a new champion of the revived title, last defeating Tracy Williams in the finals. |
ROH World Tag Team Championship | ||||
Incoming champions – Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham | ||||
No title changes. |
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship | |||
Incoming champions – Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, Brody King, and PCO) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 11 | Mexa Squad (Bandido, Flamita, and Rey Horus) | Saturday Night at Center Stage | Flip Gordon wrestled in place of PCO for Villain Enterprises during this match due to PCO defending the ROH World Championship later in the night. |
Women of Honor Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Kelly Klein | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 1 | Deactivated | — | Kelly Klein was stripped of the championship after her contract was not renewed by ROH. The Women of Honor World Championship was subsequently retired and replaced with the ROH Women's World Championship. |
The Crash Heavyweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Bandido | ||||
No title changes |
The Crash Cruiserweight Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Oraculo | ||||
No title changes |
The Crash Junior Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Terro Azteca | ||||
No title changes |
The Crash Tag Team Championship | |||
Incoming champions – La Rebelión Amarilla (Bestia 666 and Mecha Wolf) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
February 22 | Los Traumas (Trauma I and Trauma II) | The Crash Show | Three-way steel cage match, also involving El Mesías and Oráculo |
The Crash Women's Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Lady Flamer | ||||
No title changes |
Raw and SmackDown each have a world championship, a secondary championship, a women's championship, and a male tag team championship.
WWE Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Brock Lesnar | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
March 25 (aired April 5) | Drew McIntyre | WrestleMania 36 Part 2 | First Scottish and first UK-born wrestler to hold a world championship in WWE. The event was taped on March 25 and 26, but McIntyre confirmed in his memoir, A Chosen Destiny: My Story, that the WWE Championship match was taped on March 25. |
October 25 | Randy Orton | Hell in a Cell | Hell in a Cell match. |
November 16 | Drew McIntyre | Raw | No Disqualification, No Countout match. |
WWE Universal Championship | |||
Incoming champion – "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
February 27 | Goldberg | Super ShowDown | First wrestler to win a world championship after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. |
March 25 or 26 (aired April 4) | Braun Strowman | WrestleMania 36 Part 1 | The event was taped on March 25 and 26, but it is currently unknown which day this match was taped. |
August 23 | "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt | SummerSlam | Falls Count Anywhere match. |
August 30 | Roman Reigns | Payback | No Holds Barred Triple Threat match also involving Braun Strowman, who Reigns pinned. |
WWE United States Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Andrade | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
May 25 | Apollo Crews | Raw | |
August 30 | Bobby Lashley | Payback |
WWE Intercontinental Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Shinsuke Nakamura | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 31 | Braun Strowman | SmackDown | |
March 8 | Sami Zayn | Elimination Chamber | 3-on-1 Handicap match, also involving Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro as Zayn's partners. Zayn won the title by pinning Braun Strowman. |
May 12 | Vacated | Backstage | Sami Zayn was stripped of the title after electing to refrain from competing during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
June 8 (aired June 12) | AJ Styles | SmackDown | Defeated Daniel Bryan in the tournament final for the vacant title. |
August 21 | Jeff Hardy | SmackDown | On August 28, Sami Zayn returned with his own title belt, claiming to be the legitimate champion as he was never defeated. WWE did not recognize Zayn as champion; however, this led to the following match to determine the undisputed champion. |
September 27 | Sami Zayn | Clash of Champions | Triple threat ladder match also involving AJ Styles in which the winner had to retrieve both Jeff Hardy's belt and Zayn's faux belt to determine the undisputed Intercontinental Champion. |
December 22 (aired December 25) | Big E | Christmas Day SmackDown | Lumberjack match. |
WWE Raw Women's Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Becky Lynch | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
April 15 (aired May 10) | Asuka | Money in the Bank | Money in the Bank ladder match, also involving Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Nia Jax, and Shayna Baszler. On the May 11 episode of Raw , Becky Lynch announced that she was going on hiatus due to pregnancy and that the women's ladder match was actually for the championship instead of a contract that granted a championship match. Lynch then passed the title directly onto Asuka. |
July 20 (aired July 27) | Sasha Banks | Raw | The title could be won by pinfall, submission, disqualification, or count-out; Banks won via count-out. |
August 23 | Asuka | SummerSlam |
WWE SmackDown Women's Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Bayley | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
October 25 | Sasha Banks | Hell in a Cell | Hell in a Cell match. |
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship | |||
Incoming champions – The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 20 | Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy | Raw | Buddy Murphy's ring name was shortened to Murphy on February 7. |
March 2 | The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) | Raw | Last Chance match. |
October 12 | The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) | Raw | As a result of the 2020 WWE Draft, then-SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day were drafted to Raw while then-Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) were drafted to SmackDown. To keep the branded championships on their respective brands, WWE official Adam Pearce had the two teams trade championships. Also due to the draft and unlike previous reigns, Big E was not also recognized as champion under the Freebird Rule as he was drafted to SmackDown, thus splitting him from the team. |
December 20 | The Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin) | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs |
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship | |||
Incoming champions – The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
February 27 | The Miz and John Morrison | Super ShowDown | Big E and Kofi Kingston represented The New Day. |
April 17 | The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) | SmackDown | Triple threat match between Big E (representing The New Day), Jey Uso (representing The Usos), and The Miz (representing himself and John Morrison). Big E pinned Miz to win the title, with Kingston and Woods also recognized as champion under the Freebird Rule. |
July 19 | Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro | The Horror Show at Extreme Rules | Tables match. Big E and Kofi Kingston represented The New Day. |
October 9 | The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) | SmackDown | Unlike previous reigns, Big E was not also recognized as champion under the Freebird Rule as he was split from the team as result of the 2020 WWE Draft; Big E remained on SmackDown while Kingston and Woods were drafted to Raw. |
October 12 | The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) | Raw | As a result of the 2020 WWE Draft, then-SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) were drafted to Raw while then-Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits were drafted to SmackDown. To keep the branded championships on their respective brands, WWE official Adam Pearce had the two teams trade championships. |
NXT Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Adam Cole | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
July 1 (aired July 8) | Keith Lee | The Great American Bash Night 2 | Winner Takes All match in which Lee also defended the NXT North American Championship. |
August 22 | Karrion Kross | TakeOver XXX | |
August 26 | Vacated | NXT | Karrion Kross relinquished the title due to suffering a separated shoulder during his match at TakeOver XXX. |
September 8 | Finn Bálor | Super Tuesday II | A 60-minute fatal four-way iron man match occurred on the September 1 episode of NXT Super Tuesday between Finn Bálor, Adam Cole, Tommaso Ciampa, and Johnny Gargano for the vacant championship, but the match ended in a tie between Bálor and Cole. NXT General Manager William Regal then scheduled a sudden death match between the two for the next episode where Bálor defeated Cole to win the vacant title. |
NXT North American Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Roderick Strong | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 22 | Keith Lee | NXT | |
July 15 (aired July 22) | Vacated | NXT | Keith Lee voluntarily relinquished the title so that he could focus on defending the NXT Championship. |
August 22 | Damian Priest | TakeOver XXX | Defeated Bronson Reed, Cameron Grimes, Johnny Gargano, and Velveteen Dream in a five-way ladder match to win the vacant title. |
October 28 | Johnny Gargano | Halloween Havoc | Devil's Playground Match. |
November 11 | Leon Ruff | NXT | |
December 6 | Johnny Gargano | TakeOver: WarGames | Triple threat match, also involving Damian Priest. |
NXT Women's Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Rhea Ripley | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
March 25 or 26 (aired April 5) | Charlotte Flair | WrestleMania 36 Part 2 | First time an NXT championship was defended at WrestleMania. First wrestler to win an NXT championship before and after NXT became one of WWE's three main brands. The event was taped on March 25 and 26, but it is currently unknown which day this match was taped. |
June 7 | Io Shirai | TakeOver: In Your House | Triple threat match also involving Rhea Ripley, who Shirai pinned. |
NXT Tag Team Championship | |||
Incoming champions – The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
February 16 | The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne) | TakeOver: Portland | As a result of a travel ban due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Timothy Thatcher substituted for Dunne in title defenses, but was not officially recognized as champion. |
May 13 | Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) | NXT | Timothy Thatcher substituted for Pete Dunne in the title defense because of the COVID-19 pandemic travel ban. |
August 26 | Breezango (Fandango and Tyler Breeze) | NXT | |
October 21 | Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan | NXT |
NXT Cruiserweight Championship | |||
Incoming champion – Angel Garza | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 26 | Jordan Devlin | Worlds Collide | Fatal four-way match, also involving Travis Banks and Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, who Devlin pinned. The title became shared with the NXT UK brand due to Devlin's status as an NXT UK wrestler. |
May 27 (aired June 3) | El Hijo del Fantasma | NXT | As a result of a travel ban due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jordan Devlin was unable to defend the title in the United States. An interim champion was crowned to serve as titleholder in the U.S. until Devlin could return; Devlin still defended the title on NXT UK . Fantasma defeated Drake Maverick in the tournament final to determine the U.S.-based interim champion. On the June 10 episode of NXT, Fantasma unmasked himself and changed his ring name to Santos Escobar. |
WWE United Kingdom Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Walter | ||||
The title was renamed to NXT United Kingdom Championship during the January 17 taping of NXT UK . | ||||
No title changes. |
NXT UK Women's Championship | ||||
Incoming champion – Kay Lee Ray | ||||
No title changes. |
NXT UK Tag Team Championship | ||||
Incoming champions – Gallus (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) | ||||
No title changes. |
NXT UK Heritage Cup | |||
(Title created) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
N/A (aired November 26) | A-Kid | NXT UK | Defeated Trent Seven in the tournament final to determine the inaugural champion. The actual date the match took place is currently unknown. |
These titles are not brand exclusive. The colors indicate the home brand of the champions (names without a color are former WWE wrestlers, Hall of Famers, or non-wrestlers).
WWE 24/7 Championship | |||
Incoming champion – R-Truth | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
January 13 | Mojo Rawley | Raw | Pinned R-Truth on the entrance ramp after Truth had been attacked by Brock Lesnar. |
January 17 | R-Truth | WWE Live | |
Mojo Rawley | |||
January 18 | R-Truth | WWE Live | |
Mojo Rawley | |||
January 19 | R-Truth | WWE Live | |
Mojo Rawley | |||
January 27 | R-Truth | Raw | Truth rolled up Mojo Rawley in the ring after Rawley had successfully retained the title in a match against No Way Jose. |
Mojo Rawley | After losing the title to R-Truth, Rawley performed his finisher on Truth and pinned him to win back the title. | ||
February 10 | Riddick Moss | Raw | Following a tag team match, during which the 24/7 rule was suspended, Ross turned on his tag team partner Mojo Rawley and pinned him to win the title. |
March 22 | R-Truth | N/A | While Riddick Moss was out jogging in his neighborhood in Orlando, Florida, a referee pulled up beside him in a car and Truth, who was hiding in the trunk, surprised Moss and pinned him with a roll-up. Shown on WWE's website and social media accounts. |
March 25 or 26 (aired April 4) | Mojo Rawley | WrestleMania 36 Part 1 | Pinned R-Truth in the host's viewing area. Just prior to this reign, Rawley was moved to SmackDown. The event was taped on March 25 and 26, but it is currently unknown which day this title change was taped. |
March 25 or 26 (aired April 5) | Rob Gronkowski | WrestleMania 36 Part 2 | Following a scuffle with several other wrestlers, Gronkowski performed a dive on top of the group and pinned Mojo Rawley to win the championship. NFL player Gronkowski served as the host of the two-part WrestleMania 36. Seventh non-wrestler to win the title. The event was taped on March 25 and 26, but it is currently unknown which day this title change was taped. |
June 1 | R-Truth | N/A | Truth, disguised as a yard worker, rolled up Rob Gronkowski in Gronkowski's backyard to win the championship. Recorded during the afternoon and shown later that night on Raw . |
June 17 (aired June 22) | Akira Tozawa | Raw | R-Truth was originally scheduled to defend the championship against Tozawa in a singles match, however, Truth was attacked by Bobby Lashley. Tozawa then took advantage of the situation and pinned Truth to become champion. |
June 27 (aired June 29) | R-Truth | Raw | Singles match during which the 24/7 rule was suspended. |
July 20 | Shelton Benjamin | Raw | After R-Truth was confronted by MVP and Bobby Lashley backstage, Benjamin attacked Truth and pinned him to win the title. |
August 3 (aired August 10) | Akira Tozawa | Raw | Triple threat match, during which the 24/7 rule was suspended, also involving R-Truth, who Tozawa pinned. |
R-Truth | After Akira Tozawa was involved in a six-man tag team match, Truth pinned Tozawa on the entrance ramp. | ||
August 13 (aired August 17) | Shelton Benjamin | Raw | Attacked and pinned R-Truth at ringside. |
Cedric Alexander | After Shelton Benjamin was involved in a six-man tag team match, Alexander rolled up Benjamin at ringside to win the title. | ||
Shelton Benjamin | After Cedric Alexander had successfully defended the title against Akira Tozawa, Benjamin attacked Alexander and pinned him to win the championship. | ||
August 24 | Akira Tozawa | Raw | Fatal four-way match, during which the 24/7 rule was suspended, also involving Cedric Alexander and R-Truth, who Tozawa pinned. |
August 31 | R-Truth | N/A | Pinned Akira Tozawa in the parking garage where the referee was disguised as the parking garage attendant. Recorded during the afternoon and shown later that night on Raw . |
September 27 | Drew Gulak | Clash of Champions | After R-Truth found the referee's catering room backstage, Gulak rolled up Truth in the hallway to win the title. |
R-Truth | During Drew Gulak's backstage interview, Truth attacked and pinned Gulak to regain the title. | ||
September 28 | Akira Tozawa | Raw | Backstage, while one of Tozawa's ninjas presented R-Truth with a black belt contained within a briefcase, Tozawa snuck up behind Truth and pinned him with a rollup to win the title. |
Drew Gulak | Gulak, disguised as Akira Tozawa's ninja, attacked Tozawa with the briefcase and pinned Tozawa to win the title, unmasking himself afterwards. | ||
R-Truth | Truth attacked Drew Gulak with the briefcase and pinned him to win back the title. | ||
October 5 | Drew Gulak | Raw | Gulak, disguised as a janitor, pinned R-Truth backstage, who tripped over a mop bucket and slipped on the wet floor. |
R-Truth | Amidst a brawl inside a dumpster backstage that also involved Akira Tozawa, Truth pinned Drew Gulak to regain the title. | ||
November 2 | Drew Gulak | Raw | After Bobby Lashley had defeated R-Truth in a non-title match, Gulak came out and attempted to pin Truth, but Lashley attacked Gulak and laid Gulak's unconscious body on Truth, allowing Gulak to get the pinfall and win the title. Gulak was previously a member of the SmackDown brand, but was drafted to Raw in the 2020 WWE Draft. |
November 9 | R-Truth | Raw | After The Hurt Business attacked Drew Gulak backstage, Truth pinned Gulak to win the title. |
Akira Tozawa | Seven-way match, during which the 24/7 rule was suspended, also involving Drew Gulak, Erik, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, and Tucker. | ||
Erik | Following the seven-way match, Tozawa tried to escape the ring, but Erik rolled up Tozawa to win the title. | ||
Drew Gulak | Outside the ring, Gulak rolled up Erik to win the title. | ||
Tucker | In an attempt to get away from the other wrestlers outside the ring, Drew Gulak went back inside the ring where Tucker rolled up Gulak to win the title. | ||
Drew Gulak | While still locked up in the roll up, Gulak reversed it on Tucker to win back the title. | ||
Tucker | While still locked up in the roll up, Tucker reversed it on Drew Gulak to win back the title. | ||
Gran Metalik | Following a brawl with the other wrestlers, Metalik performed a top rope elbow drop on Tucker to win the title. | ||
Lince Dorado | After celebrating with his tag team partner Gran Metalik, Dorado rolled up Metalik to win the title. | ||
R-Truth | After an argument between Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado, Truth attacked both and performed the Attitude Adjustment on Dorado to win the title and escaped backstage. | ||
November 22 | The Gobbledy Gooker | Survivor Series Kickoff | Pinned R-Truth by the panelist table. The character was portrayed by Drew Gulak, however, WWE does not recognize this as a reign for Gulak. |
Akira Tozawa | Survivor Series | After being distracted by a trail of bird seed backstage, Tozawa performed a rollup on The Gobbledy Gooker to win the title. | |
R-Truth | Immediately after Akira Tozawa won the title, Truth appeared and attacked Tozawa with a bag of bird seed and pinned him to regain the title. | ||
December 31 | Angel Garza | TikTok's New Year's Eve Party | During the livestream while R-Truth was conversing with The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods), referee John Cone appeared to celebrate and then Garza, who had been flirting with Lana, rolled up Truth to win the title. |
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship | |||
Incoming champions – The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) | |||
Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
March 25 or 26 (aired April 4) | Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross | WrestleMania 36 Part 1 | The event was taped on March 25 and 26, but it is currently unknown which day this match was taped. |
May 26 (aired June 5) | Bayley and Sasha Banks | SmackDown | During their first reign, they went by the team name of The Boss 'n' Hug Connection. |
August 30 | Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler | Payback | |
December 20 | Asuka and Charlotte Flair | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs |
Inductee |
---|
La Parka [43] |
Inductee |
---|
Ken Shamrock [44] |
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony was postponed and merged with the 2021 event. The Class of 2020 was inducted alongside the Class of 2021 at the 2021 ceremony. Listed here are the Class of 2020 inductees.
Category | Inductee |
---|---|
Individual | John "Bradshaw" Layfield [45] |
The British Bulldog [46] (posthumous inductee) | |
Jushin "Thunder" Liger [47] | |
Group | New World Order ("Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Sean Waltman) [48] |
The Bella Twins (Brie Bella and Nikki Bella) [49] | |
Celebrity | William Shatner [50] |
Warrior Award | Titus O'Neil [51] |
Legacy | Ray Stevens [52] |
Brickhouse Brown [52] | |
Steve Williams [52] | |
Baron Michele Leone [52] | |
Gary Hart [52] | |
Luis Ignacio Urive Alvirde, better known by his ring name Místico, is a Mexican luchador enmascarado, who currently works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he is the current NWA World Historic Middleweight Champion, in his first reign. He also makes appearances for partner promotions All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is the current MLW World Middleweight Champion, in his first reign. Initially working as Místico, he later signed with WWE, where he was known under the name Sin Cara. Upon his return to Mexico, he worked under the name Myzteziz in AAA, before settling on the ring name Carístico upon returning to CMLL in 2015. In 2021, he regained the Místico name, due to his successor and tag team partner Místico II leaving CMLL.
José Jorge Arriaga Rodríguez is an American professional wrestler currently working on the Mexican independent circuit, under the ring name Cinta de Oro. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, under the ring name Sin Cara, where he was the longest-tenured wrestler to use the persona.
Jorge Luis Alcantar Bolly, is a Mexican professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Santos Escobar and is the leader of Legado Del Fantasma. He is a former member of the Latino World Order. He was also a former one-time NXT Cruiserweight Champion.
Máscara Dorada is the ring name of a Mexican luchadorenmascarado currently working for All Elite Wrestling (AEW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and on the independent circuit. He also regularly performs on the weekly shows of Ring of Honor, AEW's sister promotion under the ring name Metalik. He is best known for his time in WWE where he performed under the ring name Gran Metalik, as a member of Lucha House Party.
Manuel Alfonso Andrade Oropeza is a Mexican professional wrestler. As of January 2024, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Andrade and is the current and longest reigning WWE Speed Champion in his first reign. He is also known for his appearances in Mexico for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and in Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling under the ring name La Sombra and for the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Andrade El Idolo.
William Arturo Muñoz González is a Mexican luchador, known under the ring name Rush. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of La Facción Igobernable and a former member of The Don Callis Family. He is best known for his time performing for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) as well as the U.S. based Ring of Honor (ROH). Muñoz's father, Arturo Muñoz, is also a professional wrestler, most recently known under the ring name La Bestia del Ring. William's younger brothers are also professional wrestlers, using the ring names Dralístico and Dragon Lee. While most luchadors portray clear heroes or villains in the ring, Rush portrays a character that straddles that divide; his in-ring actions are often chaotic or brawling, with tendencies to cheat, but he is still popular with fans.
Carlos Muñoz González, better known by his ring name Dralístico, is a Mexican second-generation luchador enmascarado. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of La Facción Ingobernable. He is best known for his 11 year tenure with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), originally working under the ring name Dragon Lee, before he was given the ring name and mask of Místico, after the original Místico had left CMLL to work for WWE.
Titán is a Mexican luchador enmascarado currently signed to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he is the current CMLL World Welterweight Champion in his first reign. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He portrays a tecnico wrestling character. Titan's real name is not a matter of public record, as is often the case with masked wrestlers in Mexico where their private lives are concealed from the wrestling fans.
Dragon Lee is a Mexican luchador enmascarado, or masked professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand and is a member of the Latino World Order. Dragon Lee's real name is not a matter of public record, as is often the case with masked wrestlers in Mexico where their private lives are kept a secret from the wrestling fans.
David Michael Harwood is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Dax Harwood or Dax The Axe. Teamed with Cash Wheeler as FTR, Harwood is a two-time AEW World Tag Team Champion. He also makes appearances in their sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), as well as partner promotions Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he and Wheeler have won those promotions' respective tag team championships once each.
Daniel Marshall Wheeler is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Cash Wheeler where he is a former two-time AEW World Tag Team Champions with Dax Harwood together they form FTR. As FTR, Wheeler and Harwood also wrestle for AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), and appeared in AEW 's partner promotions Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where they held those promotions' respective tag team championships once each.
FTR is a professional wrestling tag team of Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood, who are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and are former two-time AEW World Tag Team Champions. Before coming to AEW, they were known for their tenure in WWE as The Revival, under the ring names Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson, respectively.
2016 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
2017 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
2019 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
2021 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant disruption to different combat sports, particularly during the years of 2020 into 2021.
2022 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
2023 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
Ana Stephanie Vaquer González is a Chilean-Mexican professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand.
Major League Wrestling and AAA Lucha Libre's collaboration continues on March 13 with a historic co-promoted card in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The MLW⨯AAA event will emanate from the historic Auditorio Fausto Gutierrez.