2014 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
List of notable promotions These promotions held notable events in 2014. Promotion NameAbbreviationNotesCMLLLucha 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 GuerrillaPWGRing of HonorROHTotal Nonstop Action WrestlingTNAWorld Wrestling CouncilWWCWrestle-1—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.
Calendar of notable shows January
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event 4 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 Tokyo Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (c) in a Singles match to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship 6 WWC Euphoria Bayamon, Puerto Rico Apolo defeat Gilbert 26 WWE Royal Rumble Pittsburgh Batista won the 30-man Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Roman Reigns to earn a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania XXX(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
February
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event Notes 2 TNA One Night Only: Joker's Wild 2 London, England 12-man Joker's Wild gauntlet battle royal 9 NJPW The New Beginning in Hiroshima Hiroshima Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship 11 NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka Osaka Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Hirooki Goto in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 21 ROH ROH 12th Anniversary Show Philadelphia Kevin Steen defeated Cliff Compton in an Unsanctioned Philadelphia Street Fight 23 WWE Elimination Chamber Minneapolis Randy Orton (c) defeated Daniel Bryan, John Cena, Cesaro, Christian, and Sheamus in an Elimination Chamber match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship 27 WWE: Arrival Winter Park Adrian Neville defeated Bo Dallas (c) in a Ladder match to win the NXT Championship WWE's first NXT-branded event and their first event streamed live on the WWE Network.(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
March
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event 2 TNAWrestle-1 One Night Only: Global Impact Japan Tokyo, Japan Kai vs. Magnus (c) for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship 9 TNA Lockdown Miami Team MVP (MVP, The Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards) and Willow) defeated Team Dixie (Bobby Roode, Austin Aries and The BroMans (Robbie E and Jessie Godderz)) in a Lethal Lockdown match with Bully Ray as special guest referee.The leader of the winning team received complete control of Wrestling Operations. Had Team Dixie won, Roode would have gained 10% ownership of TNA. 16 AAA Rey de Reyes Monterrey, Mexico Four-way elimination Rey de Reyes tournament final match 23 NJPW New Japan Cup Final Hyogo Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Bad Luck Fale in the tournament final to win the 2014 New Japan Cup 28 PWG PWG Mystery Vortex II Reseda, California Adam Cole (c) defeated Candice LeRae in a singles match for the PWG World Championship(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
April
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event 4 ROH Supercard of Honor VIII Westwego Adam Cole (c) defeated Jay Briscoe in the Ladder War V to retain the ROH World Championship 6 NJPW Invasion Attack Tokyo Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) in a Singles match to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship 6 WWE WrestleMania XXX New Orleans Daniel Bryan defeated Batista and Randy Orton (c) in a Triple threat match to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Bryan made Batista submit. 12 TNA One Night Only: World Cup Tokyo, Japan Five-on-Five Elimination Tag Team match 12 TNA One Night Only: X-Travaganza Orlando, Florida Five-on-Five Elimination Tag Team match 27 CMLL 58. Aniversario de Arena México Mexico City, Mexico Los Revolucionarios del Terror (Dragón Rojo Jr., Pólvora and Rey Escorpión) defeated Atlantis, La Sombra and Místico 27 TNA Sacrifice Orlando Eric Young (c) defeated Magnus in a Singles match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
May
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event 3 NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Fukuoka A.J. Styles defeated Kazuchika Okada (c) in a Singles match to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 4 WWE Extreme Rules East Rutherford Daniel Bryan (c) defeated Kane in an Extreme Rules match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship 10 ROH NJPW Global Wars Toronto Adam Cole (c) defeated Kevin Steen in a Singles match to retain the ROH World Championship 10 TNA One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown Orlando, Florida Knockouts Gauntlet match to crown the "Queen of the Knockouts" 10 TNA One Night Only: Victory Road Orlando, Florida 12-man Gauntlet battle royal match for a future shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship 17 ROH NJPW War of the Worlds New York City A.J. Styles (c) defeated Kazuchika Okada, and Michael Elgin in a Three-way match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 25 NJPW Back to the Yokohama Arena Yokohama A.J. Styles (c) defeated Kazuchika Okada in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 29 WWE: TakeOver Winter Park Adrian Neville (c) defeated Tyson Kidd in a Singles match to retain the NXT Championship(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
June
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event 1 WWE Payback Rosemont The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose) defeated Evolution (Triple H, Randy Orton, and Batista) in a No Holds Barred Elimination match 8 NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Tokyo Ricochet defeated Kushida in final match in Best Of The Super Junior 2014. 15 TNA Slammiversary Arlington Eric Young (c) defeated Lashley and Austin Aries in a Three-way Steel Cage match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship 21 NJPW Dominion Osaka Bad Luck Fale defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (c) in a Singles match to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship 22 ROH Best in the World Nashville Michael Elgin defeated Adam Cole (c) in a Singles match to win the ROH World Championship 29 WWE Money in the Bank Boston John Cena defeated Kane, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, Bray Wyatt, and Cesaro in a Ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
July
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event 20 WWE Battleground Tampa John Cena (c) defeated Kane, Randy Orton, and Roman Reigns in a Fatal 4-Way match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
August
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event 1 CMLL Juicio Final Mexico City Rush defeated Negro Casas in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas, Hair vs. Hair match 9 AAA Triplemanía XXII Mexico City El Hijo del Perro Aguayo defeated Cibernético, Dr. Wagner Jr. and Myzteziz in a Four-way elimination match for Copa Triplemanía XXII 10 NJPW G1 Climax Final Saitama Kazuchika Okada defeats Shinsuke Nakamura in the final of the 2014 G1 Climax 17 AAA Triplemanía XXII Mexico City, Mexico El Hijo del Perro Aguayo defeated Cibernético, Dr. Wagner Jr. and Myzteziz 17 WWE SummerSlam Los Angeles Brock Lesnar defeated John Cena (c) in a Singles match to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship29-31PWGBattle of Los AngelesReseda, CaliforniaRicochet defeated Johnny Gargano and Roderick Strong via pinfall to win the 2014 Battle of Los Angeles tournament (c) – denotes defending champion(s)
September
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event 5 TNA One Night Only: Turning Point Charlottesville, Virginia Jeff Hardy defeated MVP 6 TNA One Night Only: Rivals Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Jeff Hardy defeated Magnus 6 ROH All Star Extravaganza Toronto reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) (c) defeated The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) 2-1 in a 2-out-of-3 falls match to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship 11 WWE: TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way Winter Park Adrian Neville (c) defeated Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze, and Tyson Kidd in a Fatal 4-Way match to retain the NXT Championship 19 CMLL CMLL 81st Anniversary Show Mexico City, Mexico Atlantis defeated Último Guerrero in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas mask vs. mask match 21 WWE Night of Champions Nashville John Cena defeated Brock Lesnar (c) by disqualification in a Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship 21 NJPW Destruction in Kobe Kobe Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Bad Luck Fale (c) in a Singles match to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship 23 NJPW Destruction in Okayama Okayama Kazuchika Okada defeated Karl Anderson in a Singles match for the Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Championship challenge rights certificate(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
October
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event 12 AAA Heroes Inmortales San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico El Hijo del Perro Aguayo and El Texano, Jr. defeated El Mesías and El Patrón Alberto 12 TNA Wrestle-1 Bound for Glory Tokyo The Great Muta and Tajiri defeated The Revolution (James Storm and The Great Sanada) in a Tag team match 13 NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling Tokyo Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated A.J. Styles (c) in a Singles match to win IWGP Heavyweight Championship 25 WWC 41st WWC Aniversario Caguas, Puerto Rico Invader #1 Vs. El Bronco finished in a double disqualification 26 WWE Hell in a Cell Dallas Seth Rollins defeated Dean Ambrose in a Hell in a Cell match(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
November
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event 8 NJPW Power Struggle Osaka Shinsuke Nakamura (c) defeated Katsuyori Shibata in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship 23 WWE Survivor Series St. Louis Team Cena (John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Erick Rowan, and Ryback) defeated Team Authority (Seth Rollins, Kane, Mark Henry, Rusev, and Luke Harper) in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
December
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event 5 CMLL Infierno en el Ring Mexico City 10-man steel cage elimination match contested under Lucha de Apuestas, hair vs. hair match 7 AAA Guerra de Titanes Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico El Patrón Alberto defeated El Texano Jr. (c) in a Singles match for the AAA Mega Championship 7 NJPW World Tag League Final Nagoya Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata defeat Bullet Club (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) in the final of the 2014 World Tag League tournament. 7 ROH Final Battle New York City Jay Briscoe (c) defeated Adam Cole in a Fight Without Honor to retain the ROH World Championship9WWETribute to the TroopsColumbus, GeorgiaJohn Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback defeated Luke Harper and The Authority (Seth Rollins, Big Show & Kane) 11 WWE: TakeOver: R Evolution Winter Park Sami Zayn defeated Adrian Neville (c) in a Title vs. Career match to win the NXT Championship 14 WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs Cleveland Bray Wyatt defeated Dean Ambrose in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match(c) – denotes defending champion(s)
Notable events
January 27 – CM Punk walked out of that night's WWE Raw taping, ending his run with the company. February 24 – WWE launched the WWE Network in the United States, an over-the-top streaming service and digital television network, hosting thousands of hours of in-ring shows and all pay-per-views (PPV) from WWE and various promotions they have acquired over the years, such as Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling, as well as airing current WWE PPVs, NXT events, and other original productions. It had a staggered launch throughout the rest of the world. December 1 – New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) launched NJPW World, a worldwide streaming site for the promotion's events, including airing current events live as well as hosting events from the promotion's archives, dating back to 1972.