# 2012 in professional wrestling

2012 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

## List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events in 2012.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation | Notes |
| All Japan Pro Wrestling | AJPW | |
| Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre | CMLL | |
| Juggalo Championship Wrestling | JCW | |
| LN Promotions | LN | |
| Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide | AAA | The "AAA" abbreviation has been used since the mid-1990s and had previously stood for the promotion's original name Asistencia Asesoría y Administración. |
| New Japan Pro-Wrestling | NJPW | |
| Pro Wrestling Guerrilla | PWG | |
| Pro Wrestling Noah | NOAH | |
| Ring of Honor | ROH | |
| Total Nonstop Action Wrestling | TNA | |
| World Wrestling Council | WWC | |
| WWE | — | WWE stands for World Wrestling Entertainment, which is still the legal name, but the company ceased using the full name in April 2011, with the WWE abbreviation becoming an orphaned initialism. NXT became WWE's developmental territory in June, replacing Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), which ceased operations. |

## Calendar of notable shows
### January

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
| 4 | NJPW | Wrestle Kingdom VI | Tokyo | Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) defeated Minoru Suzuki in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship | |
| 6/7/8 | WWC | Euphoria | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Various | |
| 8 | TNA | Genesis | Orlando, Florida | Jeff Hardy defeated Bobby Roode (c) by disqualification in a singles match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship | |
| 29 | WWE | Royal Rumble | St. Louis, Missouri | Sheamus won the 30-man Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Chris Jericho to earn a world championship match at WrestleMania XXVIII | Sheamus chose to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship. This was Chris Jericho's first match in WWE since 2010 |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) ||||||

### February

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 11 | LN | A Nightmare To Remember II | Villa Rica, Georgia | Kyle Matthews defeated Jimmy Rave |
| 12 | NJPW | The New Beginning | Osaka | Kazuchika Okada defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) in a Singles match to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship |
| 12 | TNA | Against All Odds | Orlando, Florida | Bobby Roode (c) defeated Bully Ray, James Storm, and Jeff Hardy in a Four-Way match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship with Sting as the Special Guest Ringside Enforcer |
| 19 | AJPW NJPW NOAH | All Together: Mōikkai, Hitotsu ni Narō ze | Sendai | Hiroshi Tanahashi, Suwama and Takeshi Morishima defeated Go Shiozaki, Seiya Sanada and Tetsuya Naito in a Six-man Tag team match |
| 19 | WWE | Elimination Chamber | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | John Cena defeated Kane in an Ambulance match |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### March

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 4 | ROH | 10th Anniversary Show: Young Wolves Rising | New York City, New York | Adam Cole and Eddie Edwards defeated Team Ambition (Davey Richards and Kyle O'Reilly) in a Tag team match |
| 12 | AAA | Rey de Reyes | Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico | Rey de Reyes final four-way elimination match |
| 18 | TNA | Victory Road | Orlando, Florida | Bobby Roode defeated Sting in a No Holds Barred match |
| 25 | Progress | Progress Chapter One: In The Beginning | London, England | Nathan Cruz defeated El Ligero, Marty Scurll and Mike Mason to become the inaugural Progress World Champion |
| 30–31 | ROH | Showdown in the Sun | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Davey Richards (c) defeated Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong in a three-way elimination match for the ROH World Championship (Day 1) Davey Richards (c) defeated Michael Elgin in a Singles match for the ROH World Championship (Day 2) |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### April

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
| 1 | WWE | WrestleMania XXVIII | Miami Gardens, Florida | The Rock defeated John Cena in a singles match | This was The Rock's first WrestleMania match since WrestleMania XX in 2004 |
| 15 | TNA | Lockdown | Nashville, Tennessee | Bobby Roode (c) defeated James Storm in a Steel cage match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship | |
| 29 | WWE | Extreme Rules | Rosemont, Illinois | John Cena defeated Brock Lesnar in an Extreme Rules match | This was Brock Lesnar's first match in WWE since 2004 |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) ||||||

### May

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 3 | NJPW | Wrestling Dontaku | Fukuoka | Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Hirooki Goto in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship |
| 12 | ROH | Border Wars | Toronto, Ontario | Kevin Steen defeated Davey Richards (c) in a Singles match for the ROH World Championship |
| 13 | TNA | Sacrifice | Orlando, Florida | Bobby Roode (c) defeated Rob Van Dam in a Ladder match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship |
| 20 | WWE | Over the Limit | Raleigh, North Carolina | John Laurinaitis defeated John Cena in a No Disqualification match Had Cena won, Laurinaitis would have been fired, and anyone who interfered would have been fired. |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### June

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 10 | TNA | Slammiversary | Arlington, Texas | Bobby Roode (c) defeated Sting in a Singles match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship |
| 16 | NJPW | Dominion | Osaka | Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kazuchika Okada (c) in a Singles match to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship |
| 17 | WWE | No Way Out | East Rutherford, New Jersey | John Cena defeated Big Show in a steel cage match. Since Cena won, John Laurinaitis was fired, Had Show won, Cena would have been fired. |
| 24 | Progress | Progress Chapter Two: The March Of Progress | London, England | Nathan Cruz (c) defeated Marty Scurll score (2-1) in a Best two out of three falls match to retain the PROGRESS World Championship |
| 24 | ROH | Best in the World | New York, New York | Kevin Steen (c) defeated Davey Richards in the Anything Goes match for the ROH World Championship |
| 29 | CMLL | Infierno en el Ring | Mexico City, Mexico | 10-woman Infierno en el Ring, Lucha de Apuestas Hair vs. Hair Steel cage match |
| 30 | WWC | 39th WWC Aniversario | Bayamon, Puerto Rico | The Invaders defeated Mr. X & Masked Man |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### July

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 3 | WWE | SuperSmackDown LIVE: The Great American Bash | Corpus Christi, Texas | Zack Ryder won by last eliminating Kane in a 20-Man Battle Royal to determine the guest General Manager for next week's SmackDown. |
| 8 | TNA | Destination X | Orlando, Florida | Austin Aries defeated Bobby Roode (c) in a Singles match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship |
| 15 | WWE | Money in the Bank | Phoenix, Arizona | John Cena defeated Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, and The Miz in a Money in the Bank ladder match for a WWE Championship match contract |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### August

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 5 | AAA | Triplemanía XX | Mexico City, Mexico | Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Máscara Año 2000 Jr. (with Máscara Año 2000) |
| 11 | ROH | Boiling Point | Providence, Rhode Island | Kevin Steen (c) defeated Eddie Kingston in an Anything Goes match for the ROH World Championship |
| 1-11 | NJPW | G1 Climax final | Tokyo | Kazuchika Okada defeated Karl Anderson in a G1 Climax tournament |
| 12 | JCW | Bloodymania 6 | Cave-In-Rock, Illinois | 2 Tuff Tony (c) defeated Kongo Kong for the JCW World Heavyweight Championship |
| 12 | TNA | Hardcore Justice | Orlando, Florida | Austin Aries (c) defeated Bobby Roode in a Last Chance match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship |
| 19 | WWE | SummerSlam | Los Angeles, California | Brock Lesnar defeated Triple H in a No Disqualification match |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### September

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 1-2 | PWG | Battle of Los Angeles | Reseda, California | Adam Cole defeated Michael Elgin in a Battle of Los Angeles tournament |
| 9 | TNA | No Surrender | Orlando, Florida | Jeff Hardy defeated Bully Ray in the final of the 2012 Bound for Glory Series |
| 14 | CMLL | CMLL 79th Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | Rush defeated El Terrible in a two-out-of three-falls Lucha de Apuestas, Hair vs. Hair match |
| 15 | ROH | Death Before Dishonor | Chicago Ridge, Illinois | Kevin Steen (c) defeated Rhino in a No Disqualification match for the ROH World Championship |
| 16 | WWE | Night of Champions | Boston, Massachusetts | CM Punk (c) vs John Cena for the WWE Championship ended in a draw |
| 23 | NJPW | Destruction | Kobe | Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) defeated Naomichi Marufuji in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship |
| 30 | Progress | Progress Chapter Three: Fifty Shades Of Pain | London, England | Dave Mastiff and Greg Burridge defeated El Ligero and Nathan Cruz |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### October

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 7 | AAA | Heroes Inmortales | San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí | Jack Evans and La Secta Bizarra Cibernetica (Cibernético, Dark Cuervo and Dark Ozz) defeated Los Perros del Mal (Halloween, El Hijo del Perro Aguayo, Psicosis and Teddy Hart) |
| 8 | NJPW | King of Pro-Wrestling | Tokyo | Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) defeated Minoru Suzuki in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship |
| 13 | ROH | Glory By Honor | Mississauga, Ontario | Kevin Steen (c) defeated Michael Elgin in a Singles match for the ROH World Championship |
| 14 | TNA | Bound for Glory | Phoenix, Arizona | Jeff Hardy defeated Austin Aries (c) in a Singles match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship |
| 28 | WWE | Hell in a Cell | Atlanta, Georgia | CM Punk (c) defeated Ryback in a Hell in a Cell match to retain the WWE Championship |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### November

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
| 11 | NJPW | Power Struggle | Osaka | Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) defeated Yujiro Takahashi in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship | |
| 11 | TNA | Turning Point | Orlando, Florida | Jeff Hardy (c) defeated Austin Aries in a Ladder match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship | |
| 18 | WWE | Survivor Series | Indianapolis, Indiana | CM Punk (c) defeated John Cena and Ryback in a Triple threat match to retain the WWE Championship | This event was notable for the onscreen debut of The Shield |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) ||||||

### December

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
| 9 | WWE | Tribute to the Troops | Norfolk, Virginia | John Cena defeated Antonio Cesaro in a Singles match |
| 9 | TNA | Final Resolution | Orlando, Florida | Jeff Hardy (c) defeated Bobby Roode in a Singles match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship | |
| 14 | CMLL | Sin Piedad | Mexico City, Mexico | La Sombra defeated Tama Tonga in a Singles match for the 2012 La Copa Junior Tournament Final | |
| 16 | WWE | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Brooklyn, New York | Dolph Ziggler (contract holder) defeated John Cena in a Ladder match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank contract | This marked The Shield's in-ring debut |
| 16 | ROH | Final Battle 2012: Doomsday | New York, New York | Kevin Steen (c) defeated El Generico in the Ladder War IV for the ROH World Championship | This was El Generico's last match in ROH before signing with the WWE as the new ring name Sami Zayn on NXT |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) ||||||

## Accomplishments and tournaments
### AAA

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Rey de Reyes | El Hijo del Perro Aguayo | March 18 | |

### JWP

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Tag League the Best 2012 | Ran Yu-Yu and Toshie Uematsu | April 8 | |

### Ring of Honor

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won |
| Rise and Prove Tournament | TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste) | February 17 |
| March Mayhem Tournament | Tommaso Ciampa | March 13 |
| ROH World Tag Team Championship Tournament | S.C.U.M. (Jimmy Jacobs and Steve Corino) | September 15 |

### Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won |
| Wild Card Tournament | Magnus and Samoa Joe | January 8 |
| TNA X Division Championship Tournament | Zema Ion | July 8 |
| Turkey Bowl | Eric Young | November 22 |

### WWE

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Royal Rumble | Sheamus | January 29 | Winner received their choice of a championship match for either the WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXVIII; Sheamus last eliminated Chris Jericho to win and chose to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship, which he subsequently won from Daniel Bryan. |
| Money in the Bank ladder match | Dolph Ziggler | July 15 | Defeated Damien Sandow, Tyson Kidd, Christian, Santino Marella, Tensai, Cody Rhodes, and Sin Cara to win a World Heavyweight Championship match contract. Ziggler cashed in the contract on the April 8, 2013 episode of Raw and won the title from Alberto Del Rio. |
| Money in the Bank ladder match | John Cena | July 15 | Defeated Kane, Chris Jericho, Big Show, and The Miz to win a WWE Championship match contract. Cena cashed in the contract on the July 23 episode of Raw but won the match against champion CM Punk by disqualification thanks to interference from Big Show, thus Cena did not win the title. |
| Gold Rush Tournament | Seth Rollins | July 26 (aired August 29) | Defeated Jinder Mahal in the tournament final to win the inaugural NXT Championship. |
| WWE Tag Team Championship #1 Contender's Tournament | Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow) | October 22 | Defeated Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara in the tournament final to win a WWE Tag Team Championship match at Hell in a Cell, but were unsuccessful in winning the title from Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane). |

## Title changes
### AAA

AAA Mega Championship :
| Incoming champion – Jeff Jarrett |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| March 18 | El Mesias | Rey de Reyes | |
| December 2 | El Texano Jr. | Guerra de Titanes | |
AAA Latin American Championship :
* Incoming champion – L.A. Park ||||
* No title changes ||||
AAA World Mini-Estrella Championship :
* Incoming champion – Mini Psicosis ||||
* No title changes ||||
AAA World Cruiserweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Jack Evans |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| May 19 | Juventud Guerrera | Noche de Campeones | |
| December 2 | Daga | Guerra de Titanes | |
AAA Reina de Reinas Championship :
| Incoming champion – Sexy Star |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| No title changes |||||
AAA World Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – La Legión Extranjera (Abyss and Chessman) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| October 7 | Joe Líder and Vampiro | Héroes Inmortales | |
AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – La Sociedad (Alan Stone and Jennifer Blake) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| October 7 | Halloween and Mari Apache | Héroes Inmortales | |
AAA World Trios Championship :
| Incoming champions – Los Perros del Mal (Damián 666, Halloween and X-Fly) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| March 11 | Los Psycho Circus (Monster Clown, Murder Clown and Psycho Clown) | Sin Límite | |
| May 19 | El Consejo (Máscara Año 2000 Jr., El Texano Jr. and Toscano) | Noche de Campeones | |

### NJPW

IWGP Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Hiroshi Tanahashi |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 12 | Kazuchika Okada | The New Beginning | |
| June 16 | Hiroshi Tanahashi | Dominion 6.16 | |
IWGP Intercontinental Championship :
| Incoming champion – Masato Tanaka |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 12 | Hirooki Goto | The New Beginning | |
| July 22 | Shinsuke Nakamura | Kizuna Road | |
IWGP Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 4 | Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) | Wrestle Kingdom VI | |
| May 3 | Chaos (Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano) | Wrestling Dontaku | |
| June 20 | Vacated | – | Iizuka and Yano were stripped of the titles after a title match between them and Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) on June 16 ended in a no contest. |
| July 22 | Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) | Kizuna Road | Defeated Chaos (Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano) to win the vacant title. |
| October 8 | K.E.S. (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer) | King of Pro-Wrestling | |
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Prince Devitt |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| May 3 | Low Ki | Wrestling Dontaku | |
| July 29 | Kota Ibushi | Last Rebellion | |
| October 8 | Low Ki | King of Pro-Wrestling | |
| November 11 | Prince Devitt | Power Struggle | |
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – No Remorse Corps (Davey Richards and Rocky Romero) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 4 | Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi) | Wrestle Kingdom VI | |
| February 12 | No Remorse Corps (Davey Richards and Rocky Romero) | The New Beginning | |
| May 2 | Vacated | – | Title held up after Davey Richards was unable to attend Wrestling Dontaku 2012 due to travel issues. |
| June 16 | Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask | Dominion 6.16 | Liger and Tiger Mask defeated Suzuki-gun (Taichi and Taka Michinoku) to win the vacant title. |
| July 22 | Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero) | Kizuna Road | |
| November 11 | Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and Kushida) | Power Struggle | |
NEVER Openweight Championship :
| (Title created) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| November 19 | Masato Tanaka | Shodai NEVER Musabetsu Kyu Oza Kettei Tournament Final | Tanaka defeated Karl Anderson in the finals of a sixteen-man tournament to become the inaugural champion. |

### ROH

ROH World Championship :
| Incoming champion – Davey Richards |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| May 12 | Kevin Steen | Border Wars | |
ROH World Television Championship :
| Incoming champion – Jay Lethal |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| March 31 | Roderick Strong | Showdown in the Sun | |
| June 29 | Adam Cole | Ring of Honor Wrestling | |
ROH World Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – The Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark Briscoe) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| May 12 | Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin) | Border Wars | |
| June 24 | The All Night Express (Rhett Titus and Kenny King) | Best in the World 2012: Hostage Crisis | |
| July 10 | Vacated | N/A | |
| September 15 | S.C.U.M. (Jimmy Jacobs and Steve Corino) | Death Before Dishonor X: State of Emergency | |
| December 16 | The Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark Briscoe) | Final Battle 2012: Doomsday | |

### TNA

TNA World Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Bobby Roode |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| July 8 | Austin Aries | Destination X | Aries voluntarily vacated the TNA X Division Championship in exchange for a TNA World Heavyweight Championship match at the event. |
| October 14 | Jeff Hardy | Bound for Glory | |
TNA X Division Championship :
| Incoming champion – Austin Aries |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| July 8 | Vacated | Destination X | Austin Aries voluntarily vacated the TNA X Division Championship in exchange for a TNA World Heavyweight Championship match at the event. |
| July 8 | Zema Ion | Destination X | Ultimate X match for the vacant title, also involving Kenny King, Mason Andrews, and Sonjay Dutt. |
| October 14 | Rob Van Dam | Bound for Glory | |
TNA World Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – Crimson and Matt Morgan |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 12 | Magnus and Samoa Joe | Against All Odds | |
| May 13 | The World Tag Team Champions of the World (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian) | Sacrifice | |
| June 10 | A.J. Styles and Kurt Angle | Slammiversary X | |
| June 28 | The World Tag Team Champions of the World (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian) | Impact Wrestling | |
| October 14 | Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez | Bound for Glory | |
TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – Gail Kim and Madison Rayne |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| March 8 | Eric Young and ODB | Impact Wrestling | |
TNA Knockouts Championship :
| Incoming champion – Gail Kim |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| June 10 | Miss Tessmacher | Slammiversary | |
| August 12 | Madison Rayne | Hardcore Justice | |
| August 16 | Miss Tessmacher | Impact Wrestling | |
| October 14 | Tara | Bound for Glory | |
TNA Television Championship :
| Incoming champion – Robbie E |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| March 18 | Devon | Victory Road | |
| September 26 | Vacated | N/A | |
| September 27 | Samoa Joe | Impact Wrestling | |
| December 6 | Devon | Impact Wrestling | |

### WWE

WWE Championship :
* Incoming champion – CM Punk ||||
* No title changes ||||
World Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Daniel Bryan |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| April 1 | Sheamus | WrestleMania XXVIII | |
| October 28 | Big Show | Hell in a Cell | |
WWE Intercontinental Championship :
| Incoming champion – Cody Rhodes |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| April 1 | Big Show | WrestleMania XXVIII | |
| April 29 | Cody Rhodes | Extreme Rules | Tables match |
| May 20 | Christian | Over the Limit | |
| July 23 | The Miz | Raw 1000 | |
| October 16 (aired October 17) | Kofi Kingston | Main Event | |
| December 29 (aired December 31) | Wade Barrett | Monday Night Raw | |
WWE United States Championship :
| Incoming champion – Zack Ryder |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 16 | Jack Swagger | Monday Night Raw | |
| March 5 | Santino Marella | Monday Night Raw | |
| August 19 | Antonio Cesaro | SummerSlam Pre-Show | |
WWE Divas Championship :
| Incoming champion – Beth Phoenix |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| April 23 | Nikki Bella | Monday Night Raw | Lumberjill match |
| April 29 | Layla | Extreme Rules | Layla pinned Brie Bella to win the title from Nikki Bella after the twins switched places during the match while the referee was distracted. |
| September 16 | Eve Torres | Night of Champions | |
WWE Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – Air Boom (Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 15 | Primo & Epico | House show | |
| April 30 | Kofi Kingston and R-Truth | Monday Night Raw | |
| September 16 | Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan) | Night of Champions | |

#### NXT

NXT Championship :
| (Title created) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| July 26 (aired August 29) | Seth Rollins | NXT | Defeated Jinder Mahal in the tournament final to become the inaugural champion. |
| December 6 (aired January 9, 2013) | Big E Langston | NXT | No-disqualification match. |

## Awards and honors
### AAA Hall of Fame

* Inductee
* Octagón
* Perro Aguayo

### Pro Wrestling Illustrated

| Category | Winner |
| Wrestler of the Year | CM Punk |
| Tag Team of the Year | Kofi Kingston and R-Truth |
| Match of the Year | The Undertaker vs. Triple H (WrestleMania XXVIII) |
| Feud of the Year | Aces & Eights vs. TNA |
| Most Popular Wrestler of the Year | John Cena |
| Most Hated Wrestler of the Year | CM Punk |
| Comeback of the Year | Jeff Hardy |
| Most Improved Wrestler of the Year | Ryback |
| Inspirational Wrestler of the Year | Jerry Lawler |
| Rookie of the Year | Veda Scott |
| Woman of the Year | AJ Lee |
| Stanley Weston Award (Lifetime Achievement) | Bobby Heenan |

### TNA Hall of Fame

* Inductee
* Sting

### Wrestling Observer Newsletter
#### Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame

* Inductee
* Mick McManus
* Alfonso Morales
* John Cena
* Hans Schmidt
* Lou Albano
* Gus Sonnenberg

#### Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

| Category | Winner |
| Wrestler of the Year | Hiroshi Tanahashi |
| Most Outstanding | Hiroshi Tanahashi |
| Best Box Office Draw | The Rock |
| Feud of the Year | Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada |
| Tag Team of the Year | Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian) |
| Most Improved | Kazuchika Okada |
| Best on Interviews | CM Punk |

### WWE
#### WWE Hall of Fame

| Category | Inductee | Inducted by |
| Individual | Mil Máscaras | Alberto Del Rio |
| Individual | Edge | Christian |
| Individual | Ron Simmons | John "Bradshaw" Layfield |
| Individual | Yokozuna | Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso |
| Group | The Four Horsemen | Dusty Rhodes |
| Celebrity | Mike Tyson | D-Generation X (Shawn Michaels and Triple H) |

#### Slammy Awards

| Poll | Winner |
| Feat of Strength of the Year | Sheamus delivers White Noise to Big Show |
| Best Dancer of the Year | Brodus Clay |
| Top Social Media Ambassador | Charlie Sheen |
| Tweet of the Year | "Goat face is a horrible insult. My face is practically perfect in every way. In fact, from now on I demand to be called Beautiful Bryan." – Daniel Bryan |
| Insult of the Year | John Cena to Dolph Ziggler & Vickie Guerrero: "You're the exact opposite. One enjoys eating a lot of nuts and the other is still trying to find his." |
| Facial Hair of the Year | Daniel Bryan |
| Betrayal of the Year | Big Show knocks out John Cena at Over the Limit |
| Crowd Chant of the Year | "Feed Me More!" |
| WWE.com Exclusive Video of the Year | Jerry Lawler speaks to WWE.com about his miraculous return |
| Upset of the Year | Daniel Bryan defeats Mark Henry and Big Show at Royal Rumble |
| Diva of the Year | AJ Lee |
| "Tell Me I Didn't Just See That" Moment of the Year | Kofi Kingston handstands during the Royal Rumble match to avoid elimination at Royal Rumble |
| Comeback of the Year | Jerry Lawler |
| Kiss of the Year | AJ Lee and John Cena |
| Superstar of the Year | John Cena |
| LOL! Moment of the Year | The Rock throws John Cena's things into the Boston Harbor |
| #Trending Now of the Year | Ryback's #FeedMeMore |
| Newcomer of the Year | Ryback |
| Match of the Year | Hell in a Cell match: The Undertaker vs. Triple H – WrestleMania XXVIII |

## Debuts

* unknown date – Moose
* January 14 – Ayumu Gunji
* January 22 – Natsumi Sumikawa
* April 1 – Will Ospreay
* April 12 - Ilja Dragunov
* April 13 – Hideyoshi Kamitani
* May 12 - Reyna Isis
* July 11 – Drew Parker
* July 14 - Anthony Greene
* July 28 – Yoshihisa Uto
* August 8 - Mojo Rawley
* August 12 – Rydeen Hagane
* August 18 - Konosuke Takeshita
* September 1 - Aaron Henare
* September 22 - Jacob Fatu
* October 14 – Tank Nagai
* October 18 – Baron Corbin
* October 25 - Charlotte Flair and Enzo Amore
* October 28 – Kyuri
* November 15 – Sho Tanaka
* November 19 – Yohei Komatsu
* November 23 – Sagat
* December 2 – Chris Ridgeway
* December 4 - Shigeyuki Kawahara
* December 12 - El Hijo del Vikingo
* December 29 – SAKI and MIZUKI
* December 31 - Erin (Ice Ribbon), Rutsuko Yamaguchi (Ice Ribbon), Hiroko Terada (Ice Ribbon), Ayano Takeda (Ice Ribbon) and 235 (Ice Ribbon)

## Retirements

* Hulk Hogan (1977–January 27, 2012)
* Christina Crawford (July 8, 2010 – 2012)
* Chuck Palumbo (1998-2012)
* Doug Somers (1971 – February 23, 2012)
* Ron Simmons (1986-March 17, 2012)
* Sage Beckett (2007 - June 24, 2012) (return wrestling in 2014 and retired in 2018)
* Sylvester Terkay (2000 - March 31, 2012)
* Dominic DeNucci (1958-April 14, 2012)
* Kenny Jay (1958-June 16, 2012)
* Tiger Jeet Singh (1965-July 1, 2012)
* Road Warrior Animal (1982-July 17, 2012)
* Tyler Reks (February 2007 – August 22, 2012)
* Jerry Lawler (1970-September 10, 2012, had a heart attack and returned to wrestling in 2013)
* Sara Del Rey (2001 – September 2012) (moved to a trainer)
* Vladimir Kozlov (April 7, 2006 – October 16, 2012)
* Richie Steamboat (July 25, 2008 – October 25, 2012)
* Beth Phoenix (May 2001 – October 29, 2012) (Commentator in NXT, occasional wrestler)
* Ric Flair (December 10, 1972 – December 3, 2012) (full retirement, return for one in 2022 for Ric Flair's Last Match)
* Kelly Kelly (June 13, 2006 – December 4, 2012) (brief return in 2018 - Royal Rumble and WWE Evolution, 2020 event)
* Dave Finlay (1974 – December 22, 2012)

## Deaths

* January 12-
** MS-1 (wrestler), 55
** Savannah Jack, 63
* February 26 - Don Joyce (American football), 82
* February 29 - Woody Farmer, 76
* March 2 – Doug Furnas, 52
* March 12 - Dick Woehrle, 81
* March 13 - Joe McCarthy, 82
* March 22 - Joe Blanchard, 83
* April 3 – Chief Jay Strongbow, 83
* April 14 - Dom Travis, 31
* May 26 – Hans Schmidt, 87
* June 23 - Adorable Rubí, 68
* July 12 - Dara Singh, 83
* July 16 - Bob Babbitt, 74
* July 20 - Goldie Rogers, 61
* August 12 - Red Bastien, 81
* August 17 - Joey Kovar, 29
* September 29 - Eric Pomeroy, 79
* September 30 – Bobby Jaggers, 64
* October 10 - Alex Karras, 77
* October 18 – Brain Damage, 34
* c. October 19 – Mike Graham, 61
* November 1 – Brad Armstrong, 50
* November 15 - Awesome Kong, 54
* November 29 – Buddy Roberts, 65
* December 9 - Mike Boyette, 69
* December 22 - Rip Hawk, 82
* December 28 -
** Bill Dromo, 75
** Emilio Charles Jr., 56