# 2015 in professional wrestling

2015 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

## List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events in 2015.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation | Notes |
| Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre | CMLL | |
| Global Force Wrestling | GFW | |
| 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 | |
| Revolution Pro Wrestling | RevPro | |
| 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 served as WWE's developmental territory. |

## Calendar of notable shows
### January

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 3 | WWC | Euphoria | Bayamon, Puerto Rico | Carlito (c) defeated The Mighty Ursus in an Inferno match for the WWC Universal Championship |
| 4 | NJPW | Wrestle Kingdom 9 | Tokyo | Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) defeated Kazuchika Okada in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship |
| 25 | WWE | Royal Rumble | Philadelphia | Roman Reigns won the 30-man Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Rusev to earn a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 31 |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### February

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 11 | WWE: NXT | TakeOver: Rival | Winter Park | Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn (c) by referee stoppage to win the NXT Championship |
| 11 | NJPW | The New Beginning in Osaka | Osaka | A.J. Styles defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) in a Singles match to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship |
| 13 | TNA | One Night Only: Hardcore Justice | Orlando, Florida | Bobby Roode defeated Lashley in a Last Man standing match |
| 13 | TNA | One Night Only: Global Impact – USA vs. The World | Orlando, Florida | Team International's The Great Muta defeated Team USA's Mr. Anderson |
| 14 | NJPW | The New Beginning in Sendai | Sendai | Shinsuke Nakamura (c) defeated Yuji Nagata in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship |
| 14 | TNA | One Night Only: Joker's Wild | Orlando, Florida | 16-person intergender Joker's Wild gauntlet battle royal |
| 15 | TNA | One Night Only: X-Travaganza | Orlando, Florida | Ultimate X match |
| 15 | TNA | One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown | Orlando, Florida | Knockouts Gauntlet match to crown the "Queen of the Knockouts" |
| 15 | TNA | One Night Only: World Cup | Orlando, Florida | Six-on-Six Elimination Tag Team match |
| 16 | TNA | One Night Only: Gut Check | Orlando, Florida | Five-way elimination match |
| 16 | TNA | One Night Only: The TNA Classic | Orlando, Florida | Gunner defeated Bram |
| 22 | WWE | Fastlane | Memphis | Roman Reigns defeated Daniel Bryan in a Singles match to retain his spot as the #1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31 |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### March

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 1 | ROH | ROH 13th Anniversary Show | Las Vegas | Jay Briscoe (c) defeated Tommaso Ciampa, Michael Elgin and Hanson in a Four corner survival match to retain the ROH World Championship |
| 15 | NJPW | New Japan Cup Final | Hiroshima | Kota Ibushi defeated Hirooki Goto in the tournament final to win the 2015 New Japan Cup |
| 18 | AAA | Rey de Reyes | Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico | Four-way elimination Rey de Reyes tournament final match |
| 27 | ROH | Supercard of Honor IX | Redwood City | Jay Briscoe (c) defeated Samoa Joe in a Singles match to retain the ROH World Championship |
| 29 | WWE | WrestleMania 31 | Santa Clara | Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract during Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar's (c) singles match to make it a triple threat match and pinned Reigns to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### April

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 5 | NJPW | Invasion Attack | Tokyo | A.J. Styles (c) defeated Kota Ibushi in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship |
| 26 | CMLL | 59. Aniversario de Arena México | Mexico City, Mexico | Marco Corleone defeated La Sombra, Pólvora, Barbaro Cavernario, Dragon Lee, Kamaitachi, La Máscara, Ripper, Morphosis and Titán |
| 26 | WWE | Extreme Rules | Rosemont | Seth Rollins (c) defeated Randy Orton in a Steel Cage match to retain WWE World Heavyweight Championship with the RKO banned and Kane as the gatekeeper |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### May

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 3 | NJPW | Wrestling Dontaku | Fukuoka | Hirooki Goto defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (c) in a Singles match to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship |
| 12 | ROH NJPW | War of the Worlds | Philadelphia | Chaos (Kazuchika Okada and Shinsuke Nakamura) defeated The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) in a Tag Team match |
| 13 | ROH NJPW | War of the Worlds | Philadelphia | The Kingdom (Adam Cole, Matt Taven and Michael Bennett) defeated Bullet Club (A.J. Styles, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) in a Six-man tag team match |
| 15 | ROH NJPW | Global Wars | Toronto | ROH All Stars (Hanson, Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe, Ray Rowe and Roderick Strong) defeated Bullet Club (A.J. Styles, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) in a Ten-man tag team match |
| 16 | ROH NJPW | Global Wars | Toronto | Bullet Club (A.J. Styles, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) defeated Chaos (Beretta, Kazuchika Okada and Rocky Romero) in a Six-man tag team match |
| 17 | WWE | Payback | Baltimore | Seth Rollins (c) defeated Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Randy Orton in a Fatal 4-Way match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Had Rollins lost the title, Kane would have been fired as the Director of Operations. |
| 20 | WWE: NXT | TakeOver: Unstoppable | Winter Park | Kevin Owens (c) vs Sami Zayn in a Singles match for the NXT Championship ended in a no contest |
| 31 | WWE | Elimination Chamber | Corpus Christi | Dean Ambrose defeated Seth Rollins (c) by disqualification in a Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### June

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 7 | NJPW | Best of the Super Juniors | Tokyo | Kushida defeated Kyle O'Reilly in final match in Best Of The Super Junior 2015. |
| 14 | AAA | Verano de Escándalo | Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico | Myzteziz, La Parka and Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Johnny Mundo, El Mesias and Pentagón Jr. in a Six-man tag team match |
| 14 | WWE | Money in the Bank | Columbus | Seth Rollins (c) defeated Dean Ambrose in a Ladder match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship |
| 19 | ROH | Best in the World | New York City | Jay Lethal (c - TV) defeated Jay Briscoe (c - World) in a Winner Take All singles match to win both the ROH World Championship and ROH World Television Championship |
| 28 | TNA | Slammiversary | Orlando | Jeff Jarrett defeated Matt Hardy, Eric Young, Drew Galloway, and Bobby Roode in a King of the Mountain match to win the vacant TNA King of the Mountain Championship |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### July

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 4 | WWE | The Beast in the East | Sumida | John Cena and Dolph Ziggler defeated Kane and King Barrett in a Tag Team match |
| 5 | NJPW | Dominion | Osaka | Kazuchika Okada defeated A.J. Styles (c) in a Singles match to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship |
| 17 | CMLL | Sin Salida | Mexico City, Mexico | Último Guerrero defeated Rey Escorpión in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas hair vs. hair match |
| 19 | WWE | Battleground | St. Louis | Brock Lesnar defeated Seth Rollins (c) by disqualification in a Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship |
| 24 | GFW | One Night Only: GFW Amped Anthology – Part 1 | Las Vegas, Nevada | GFW Global Championship Tournament match |
| 24 | ROH | Death Before Dishonor | Baltimore | Jay Lethal (c) vs. Roderick Strong ended in a 60-minute time limit draw in a Singles match for the ROH World Championship |
| 25 | GFW | One Night Only: GFW Amped Anthology – Part 2 | Las Vegas, Nevada | GFW Global Championship Tournament match |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### August

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 9 | AAA | Triplemanía XXIII | Mexico City | Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Myzteziz |
| 16 | NJPW | G1 Climax Final | Tokyo | Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Shinsuke Nakamura in the final of the 2015 G1 Climax |
| 21 | GFW | One Night Only: GFW Amped Anthology – Part 3 | Las Vegas, Nevada | GFW Global Championship #1 Contenders Triple Threat match |
| 21 | GFW | One Night Only: GFW Amped Anthology – Part 4 | Las Vegas, Nevada | GFW Global Championship Finals match |
| 22 | ROH | Field of Honor | Brooklyn | Jay Lethal and Shinsuke Nakamura defeated reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) in a Tag Team match |
| 22 | WWE: NXT | TakeOver: Brooklyn | Brooklyn | Finn Bálor (c) defeated Kevin Owens in a Ladder match to retain the NXT Championship |
| 23 | WWE | SummerSlam | Brooklyn | The Undertaker defeated Brock Lesnar by submission in a Singles match |
| 28–30 | PWG | Battle of Los Angeles | Reseda, California | Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Chris Hero and Mike Bailey in an elimination three-way match to win the 2015 Battle of Los Angeles tournament |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### September

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 18 | CMLL | CMLL 82nd Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | Atlantis defeated La Sombra in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas, mask vs. mask match |
| 18 | ROH | All Star Extravaganza | San Antonio | Jay Lethal (c) defeated Kyle O'Reilly in a Singles match to retain the ROH World Championship |
| 20 | WWE | Night of Champions | Houston | Seth Rollins (c) defeated Sting in a Singles match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship |
| 23 | NJPW | Destruction in Okayama | Okayama | Togi Makabe (c) defeated Kota Ibushi in a Singles match to retain the NEVER Openweight Championship |
| 26 | WWC | 42nd WWC Aniversario | Bayamón, Puerto Rico | Tommy Diablo vs. Peter the Bad Romance (c) for the WWC Junior Heavyweight Championship |
| 27 | NJPW | Destruction in Kobe | Kobe | Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Hirooki Goto (c) in a Singles match to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### October

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 2 | NJPW / RevPro | Uprising | Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom | AJ Styles (c) defeated Marty Scurll and Will Ospreay in a Three-way match for the British Heavyweight Championship |
| 3 | NJPW / RevPro | Global Wars UK | Reading, United Kingdom | AJ Styles (c) defeated Jyushin Thunder Liger in a Singles match for the British Heavyweight Championship |
| 3 | WWE | Live from Madison Square Garden | New York City | John Cena (c) defeated Seth Rollins in a Steel Cage match to retain the WWE United States Championship |
| 4 | AAA | Heroes Inmortales | San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico | El Patrón Alberto (c) defeated Johnny Mundo in a Singles match for the AAA Mega Championship |
| 4 | TNA | Bound for Glory | Concord | Matt Hardy defeated Ethan Carter III (c) and Drew Galloway in a Three-Way match to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship with Jeff Hardy as special guest referee |
| 7 | WWE: NXT | TakeOver: Respect | Winter Park | Bayley (c) defeated Sasha Banks 3–2 in a 30-minute Iron Man match to retain the NXT Women's Championship |
| 12 | NJPW | King of Pro-Wrestling | Tokyo | Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated A.J. Styles in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship |
| 23 | GFW | GFW Amped Anthology – Part 3 | Las Vegas, Nevada | GFW Global Championship Finals match |
| 23 | ROH | Glory By Honor | Kalamazoo | The Kingdom (Adam Cole, Matt Taven and Michael Bennett) defeated Dalton Castle and War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) in a Six-man tag team match |
| 24 | ROH | Glory By Honor | Dayton | ROH Champions (Jay Lethal, Roderick Strong and The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Michael Bennett)) defeated ROH All-Stars (Moose, The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) and Dalton Castle) in an Eight-man elimination tag team match |
| 25 | WWE | Hell in a Cell | Los Angeles | Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### November

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 7 | NJPW | Power Struggle | Osaka | Shinsuke Nakamura (c) defeated Karl Anderson in a Singles match to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship |
| 13 | ROH | Survival of the Fittest | Milwaukee | Bullet Club (A.J. Styles and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)) defeated The House of Truth (Jay Lethal, Donovan Dijak and Joey Daddiego) in a Six-man tag team match |
| 14 | ROH | Survival of the Fittest | Hopkins | Michael Elgin defeated Jay Briscoe, Christopher Daniels, A. C. H. and Silas Young to win Survival of the Fittest tournament final Five-way elimination match. Winner will receive an ROH World Championship match |
| 22 | WWE | Survivor Series | Atlanta | Roman Reigns defeated Dean Ambrose in the tournament final to win the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship, then Sheamus cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated Reigns (c) in a singles match to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### December

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 8 | WWE | Tribute to the Troops | Jacksonville, Florida | Dean Ambrose, The Dudley Boyz, Ryback, Kane, The Bloodline (Roman Reigns & The Usos) defeated The League of Nations & The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman & The Reapers) |
| 13 | WWE | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Boston | Sheamus (c) defeated Roman Reigns in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship |
| 16 | WWE: NXT | TakeOver: London | London | Finn Bálor (c) defeated Samoa Joe in a Singles match to retain the NXT Championship |
| 18 | ROH | Final Battle | Philadelphia | Jay Lethal (c) defeated A.J. Styles in a Singles match to retain the ROH World Championship |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

## Notable events

* August 31 – WWE Performance Center shooting

## Tournaments and accomplishments
### AAA

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Rey de Reyes | El Texano Jr. | March 18 | |
| Alas de Oro | Drago | June 14 | Last eliminated Super Fly to win. |
| Copa Antonio Peña | Taurus | October 4 | Last eliminated La Parka to win. |

### JWP

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Tag League the Best 2015 | Aoi Kizuki and Kayoko Haruyama | March 22 | |

### Ring of Honor

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| ROH World Television Championship #1 Contender Tournament | Bobby Fish | July 17 | |

### Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won |
| Joker's Wild | Lashley | February 14 |
| Knockouts Knockdown | Awesome Kong | February 15 |
| World Cup | Team Hardy (Jeff Hardy, Gunner, Crazzy Steve, Davey Richards, Rockstar Spud, Gail Kim) | February 15 |
| TNA X Division Championship Tournament | Tigre Uno | June 27 |

### WWE

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Royal Rumble | Roman Reigns | January 25 | Last eliminated Rusev to win a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 31, but was unsuccessful in his match against champion Brock Lesnar due to Seth Rollins cashing in his Money in the Bank contract, converting the singles match into a triple threat match in which Rollins pinned Reigns to win Lesnar's title. |
| NXT Championship #1 Contender's Tournament | Finn Bálor | February 11 | Defeated Adrian Neville in the tournament final to win a match for the NXT Championship on the March 25 episode of NXT, but was unsuccessful against champion Kevin Owens. |
| Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal Qualifying Tournament | Hideo Itami | March 28 | Defeated Finn Bálor in the tournament final to win a spot in the battle royal, but was unsuccessful in winning the battle royal. |
| André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal | Big Show | March 29 | Last eliminated Damien Mizdow to win the André the Giant Memorial Trophy. |
| King of the Ring | Bad News Barrett | April 28 | Defeated Neville in the tournament final to win and be crowned King of the Ring. Barrett subsequently changed his ring name to King Barrett. |
| Money in the Bank ladder match | Sheamus | June 14 | Defeated Dolph Ziggler, Kane, Neville, Kofi Kingston, Roman Reigns, and Randy Orton to win a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match contract. Sheamus cashed in and won the title from Reigns at Survivor Series after Reigns had just defeated Dean Ambrose to win the vacant title. |
| Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic | Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe | October 7 | Defeated Baron Corbin and Rhyno in the tournament final to win the Dust Rhodes Tag Team Classic Trophy. |
| WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament | Roman Reigns | November 22 | Defeated Dean Ambrose in the tournament final to win the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship; previous champion Seth Rollins vacated the title due to suffering a legitimate injury. |

## Title changes
### AAA

AAA Mega Championship :
| Incoming champion – El Patrón Alberto |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| November 9 | Vacated | N/A | |
AAA Latin American Championship :
| Incoming champion – Chessman |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| August 31 | Psycho Clown | Sin Límite | |
AAA World Mini-Estrella Championship :
* Incoming champion – Dinastía ||||
* No title changes ||||
AAA World Cruiserweight Championship :
* Incoming champion – El Hijo del Fantasma ||||
* No title changes ||||
AAA Reina de Reinas Championship :
* Incoming champion – Taya ||||
* No title changes ||||
AAA World Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – Los Perros del Mal (Joe Líder and Pentagón Jr.) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| October 4 | Los Güeros del Cielo (Angélico and Jack Evans) | Héroes Inmortales IX | |
AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship :
* Incoming champions – La Sociedad (Pentagón Jr. and Sexy Star) ||||
* No title changes ||||
AAA World Trios Championship :
| Incoming champions – Los Hell Brothers (Averno, Chessman and Cibernético) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| June 14 | Los Hell Brothers (Averno, Chessman and Ricky Marvin) | Verano de Escándalo | |

### NJPW

IWGP Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Hiroshi Tanahashi |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 11 | A.J. Styles | The New Beginning in Osaka | |
| July 5 | Kazuchika Okada | Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall | |
IWGP Intercontinental Championship :
| Incoming champion – Shinsuke Nakamura |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| May 3 | Hirooki Goto | Wrestling Dontaku | |
| September 27 | Shinsuke Nakamura | Destruction in Kobe | |
IWGP Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – Bullet Club (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 4 | Meiyu Tag (Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata) | Wrestle Kingdom 9 | |
| February 11 | Bullet Club (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) | The New Beginning in Osaka | |
| April 5 | The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Michael Bennett) | Invasion Attack | |
| July 5 | Bullet Club (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) | Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall | |
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Ryusuke Taguchi |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 4 | Kenny Omega | Wrestle Kingdom 9 | |
| July 5 | Kushida | Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall | |
| September 23 | Kenny Omega | Destruction in Okayama | |
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 11 | The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) | The New Beginning in Osaka | This was a three-way match, also involving Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and Kushida). |
| April 5 | Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero) | Invasion Attack | |
| May 3 | The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) | Wrestling Dontaku | This was a three-way match, also involving reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly). |
| August 16 | reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) | G1 Climax 25 | |
NEVER Openweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Tomohiro Ishii |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 4 | Togi Makabe | Wrestle Kingdom 9 | |
| February 14 | Vacated | – | The title was vacated due to Togi Makabe being sidelined with influenza. |
| February 14 | Tomohiro Ishii | The New Beginning in Sendai | Defeated Tomoaki Honma to win the vacant title. |
| April 29 | Togi Makabe | Wrestling Hinokuni | |
| October 12 | Tomohiro Ishii | King of Pro-Wrestling | |

### ROH

ROH World Championship :
| Incoming champion – Jay Briscoe |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| June 19 | Jay Lethal | Best in the World | |
ROH World Television Championship :
| Incoming champion – Jay Lethal |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| October 23 | Roderick Strong | Glory By Honor XIV | |
ROH World Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champion(s) – reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| April 4 | The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) | Ring of Honor Wrestling | |
| September 18 | The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Michael Bennett) | All Star Extravaganza VII | |
| December 18 | War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) | Final Battle | |

### The Crash Lucha Libre

The Crash Cruiserweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Ángel Metálico |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| May 8 | Pentagón Jr. | The Crash show | This was a four-way match also involving Drago and Zarco |
| October 2 | Bestia 666 | The Crash show | |
The Crash Junior Championship :
| (Title created) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| July 3 | Star Dragón | The Crash show | |
| October 11 | Mirage | The Crash show | |
The Crash Tag Team Championship :
| (Title created) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| May 8 | Black Boy and Rey Horus | The Crash show | Defeated Bestia 666 and Mosco Negro, and Daga and Steve Pain in the Three way match to become the inaugural champions. |
| September 18 | Tony Casanova and Zarco | The Crash show | |

### TNA

TNA World Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Bobby Roode |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 7 | Lashley | Impact Wrestling | |
| January 31 (aired March 20) | Kurt Angle | Impact Wrestling | |
| June 25 (aired July 1) | Ethan Carter III | Impact Wrestling | |
| October 4 | Matt Hardy | Bound for Glory | This was a three-way match also involving Drew Galloway. Jeff Hardy was the special guest referee |
| October 6 | Vacated | — | Vacated due to a legal injunction filed by Ethan Carter III as part of the storyline |
TNA X Division Championship :
| Incoming champion – Low Ki |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 7 | Austin Aries | Impact Wrestling | |
| January 8 (aired January 16) | Low Ki | Impact Wrestling | |
| January 31 (aired March 20) | Rockstar Spud | Impact Wrestling | Spud invoked his Feast or Fired title opportunity. |
| March 15 (aired May 1) | Kenny King | Impact Wrestling | This was a four-way ladder match also involving Tigre Uno and Mandrews. |
| May 10 (aired May 29) | Rockstar Spud | Impact Wrestling | This was a gauntlet match featuring King, Suicide/Manik, Zema Ion, Mandrews, Argos, Crazzy Steve, and Tigre Uno. |
| May 10 (aired June 10) | Vacated | Impact Wrestling | Rockstar Spud vacated the title in exchange for an opportunity to wrestle for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. |
| June 24 | Tigre Uno | Impact Wrestling | Tigre Uno defeated Low Ki and Grado in a three-way elimination match to win the vacant championship. |
TNA World Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – The Revolution (Abyss and James Storm) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 30 (aired March 6) | The Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards) | Impact Wrestling | |
| March 13 (aired April 3) | Vacated | Impact Wrestling | |
| March 16 (aired April 17) | The Hardys (Jeff and Matt Hardy) | Impact Wrestling | |
| May 8 | Vacated | Impact Wrestling | Vacated due to Jeff Hardy suffering a broken leg. |
| June 25 (aired July 1) | The Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards) | Impact Wrestling | |
| July 28 (aired September 2) | Brian Myers and Trevor Lee | Impact Wrestling | |
| July 29 (aired September 9) | The Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards) | Impact Wrestling | |
TNA King of the Mountain Championship :
| (Title reactivated) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| June 28 | Jeff Jarrett | Slammiversary | The TNA Television Championship was reactivated on June 25 and renamed the "TNA King of the Mountain Championship." Jeff Jarrett defeated Matt Hardy, Drew Galloway, Eric Young, and Bobby Roode in a King of the Mountain match to win the reactivated championship. |
| July 27 (aired August 12) | Vacated | Impact Wrestling | The title was vacated after Jeff Jarrett became TNA General Manager. |
| July 27 (aired August 12) | PJ Black | Impact Wrestling | PJ Black defeated Lashley, Chris Mordetzky, Eric Young, and Robbie E in a King of the Mountain match to win the vacant title. |
| July 28 (aired September 2) | Bobby Roode | Impact Wrestling | |
TNA Knockouts Championship :
| Incoming champion – Taryn Terrell |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| June 25 (aired July 15) | Brooke | Impact Wrestling | Brooke was formerly known as Miss Tessmacher |
| July 29 (aired September 16) | Gail Kim | Impact Wrestling | Fatal four-way match also involving Awesome Kong and Lei'D Tapa. |

### WWE

WWE World Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Brock Lesnar |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| March 29 | Seth Rollins | WrestleMania 31 | Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract during a singles match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, thus making it a triple threat match. Rollins pinned Reigns to win the championship, thus becoming the first wrestler to cash in their Money in the Bank contract during a match as well as cash-in and win the title without pinning or submitting the champion. |
| November 4 | Vacated | WWE Live | Vacated after Seth Rollins suffered a torn ACL, MCL, and a damaged meniscus at a live show in Dublin, Ireland. |
| November 22 | Roman Reigns | Survivor Series | Defeated Dean Ambrose in a tournament final for the vacant title. |
| November 22 | Sheamus | Survivor Series | Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. |
| December 14 | Roman Reigns | Monday Night Raw | Title vs. career match |
WWE Intercontinental Championship :
| Incoming champion – Dolph Ziggler |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 5 | Bad News Barrett | Monday Night Raw | Dolph Ziggler originally retained his title against Barrett, but Director of Operations Kane made the match a two-out-of-three falls match, which Barrett won. |
| March 29 | Daniel Bryan | WrestleMania 31 | Seven-way ladder match, also involving Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Luke Harper, R-Truth, and Stardust. |
| May 11 | Vacated | Monday Night Raw | Vacated due to injury. |
| May 31 | Ryback | Elimination Chamber | Elimination Chamber match for the vacant title, also involving Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Mark Henry, R-Truth, and King Barrett (formerly Bad News Barrett). |
| September 20 | Kevin Owens | Night of Champions | |
| December 13 | Dean Ambrose | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | |
WWE United States Championship :
| Incoming champion – Rusev |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| March 29 | John Cena | WrestleMania 31 | |
| August 23 | Seth Rollins | SummerSlam | Winner Takes All match, in which Rollins also defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. |
| September 20 | John Cena | Night of Champions | |
| October 25 | Alberto Del Rio | Hell in a Cell | Open challenge. |
WWE Divas Championship :
| Incoming champion – Nikki Bella |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| September 20 | Charlotte | Night of Champions | |
WWE Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 22 | Tyson Kidd and Cesaro | Fastlane | |
| April 26 | The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) | Extreme Rules | Big E and Kingston won the match, but Woods was also recognized as champion under the Freebird Rule. |
| June 14 | The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) | Money in the Bank | Big E and Xavier Woods represented The New Day. |
| August 23 | The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) | SummerSlam | Fatal four-way tag team match, also involving The Lucha Dragons and Los Matadores. Big E and Kingston won the match, but Woods was also recognized as champion under the Freebird Rule. |

#### NXT

NXT Championship :
| Incoming champion – Sami Zayn |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 11 | Kevin Owens | TakeOver: Rival | Owens won when the referee decided that Sami Zayn was unable to continue. |
| July 4 | Finn Bálor | The Beast in the East | |
NXT Women's Championship :
| Incoming champion – Charlotte |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 11 | Sasha Banks | TakeOver: Rival | Fatal four-way match, also involving Bayley and Becky Lynch. |
| August 22 | Bayley | TakeOver: Brooklyn | |
NXT Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| January 15 (aired January 28) | Blake and Murphy (Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy) | NXT | During their reign, their ringnames were shortened to Blake and Murphy, respectively. |
| August 22 | The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) | TakeOver: Brooklyn | |
| October 22 (aired November 11) | The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson) | NXT | They won the titles as Dash and Dawson. During their reign, they were renamed to The Revival. |

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

* Inductee
* Héctor Garza
* El Hijo del Perro Aguayo

### Pro Wrestling Illustrated

| Category | Winner |
| Wrestler of the Year | Seth Rollins |
| Tag Team of the Year | The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) |
| Match of the Year | Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (NXT TakeOver: Respect) |
| Feud of the Year | Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker |
| Most Popular Wrestler of the Year | Dean Ambrose |
| Most Hated Wrestler of the Year | Seth Rollins |
| Comeback of the Year | The Undertaker |
| Most Improved Wrestler of the Year | Roman Reigns |
| Inspirational Wrestler of the Year | Bayley |
| Rookie of the Year | Moose |
| Woman of the Year | Sasha Banks |
| Stanley Weston Award (Lifetime Achievement) | Roddy Piper |

### TNA Hall of Fame

* Inductee
* Jeff Jarrett
* Earl Hebner

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

| Category | Inductee |
| Individual | Brock Lesnar |
| Individual | Shinsuke Nakamura |
| Individual | Perro Aguayo, Jr. |
| Individual | Ivan Koloff |
| Individual | Carlos Colón |
| Individual | Eddie Quinn |
| Group | The Assassins (Jody Hamilton and Tom Renesto) |

#### Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

| Category | Winner |
| Wrestler of the Year | A.J. Styles |
| Most Outstanding | A.J. Styles |
| Tag Team of the Year | The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) |
| Most Improved | Bayley |

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

| Category | Inductee | Inducted by |
| Individual | Randy Savage | Hulk Hogan |
| Individual | Rikishi | The Usos |
| Individual | Alundra Blayze | Natalya Neidhart |
| Individual | Larry Zbyszko | Bruno Sammartino |
| Individual | Tatsumi Fujinami | Ric Flair |
| Individual | Kevin Nash | Shawn Michaels |
| Group | The Bushwhackers | John Laurinaitis |
| Celebrity | Arnold Schwarzenegger | Triple H |
| Warrior Award | Connor "The Crusher" Michalek | Dana Warrior and Daniel Bryan |

#### Slammy Awards

| Poll | Winner |
| Tag Team of the Year | The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) |
| Best John Cena's U.S. Open Challenge | vs. Cesaro on Raw (July 6) |
| Hashtag of the Year | #SuplexCity |
| Celebrity Moment of the Year | Stephen Amell dives onto Stardust and King Barrett at SummerSlam |
| "Tell Me You Didn't Just Say That" Insult of the Year | Brock Lesnar coins "Suplex City" at WrestleMania 31 |
| Rivalry of the Year | The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar |
| Best Original WWE Network Show | Stone Cold Podcast |
| Double-Cross of the Year | Damien Mizdow eliminates The Miz from the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31 |
| Extreme Moment of the Year | Roman Reigns attacks Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Rusev, and Triple H with a steel chair at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs |
| Breakout Star of the Year | Neville |
| LOL! Moment of the Year | R-Truth mistakes himself of being in the Money in the Bank ladder match on Raw. (June 8) |
| The "OMG!" Shocking Moment of the Year | Kalisto executes Salida del Sol off the top of a ladder through another ladder on Jey Uso at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs |
| Superstar of the Year | Seth Rollins |
| "The Hero in All of Us" Award, presented by Coca-Cola | John Cena |
| Surprise Return of the Year | Sting returns, as Seth Rollins' statue, and attacks Rollins on Raw. (August 24) |
| Diva of the Year | Nikki Bella |
| "This is Awesome!" Moment of the Year | The Rock and Ronda Rousey attack Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 31. |
| Match of the Year | Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match at Hell in a Cell |

#### NXT Year-End Awards

| Poll | Winner |
| Tag Team of the Year | Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady |
| Female Competitor of the Year | Bayley |
| Male Competitor of the Year | Finn Bálor |
| TakeOver of the Year | NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn |
| Match of the Year | Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bayley for the NXT Women's Championship at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn |
| Overall Competitor of the Year | Finn Bálor |

## Debuts

* Date unknown – Alex Coughlin (NJPW)
* January 31 – Baliyan Akki
* February 13 – Kuma Arashi
* February 28 – Hyper Misao
* March 8 – Senza Volto
* April 4 – Akam and Ace Austin
* April 30 – Kazumi Kikuta
* May 2 – Delmi Exo and Lyra Valkyria
* May 6 – Flip Gordon
* May 7 – Nia Jax
* May 17 – Fuminori Abe
* May 31
** Maika Ozaki
** Nao Kakuta
** Natsupoi
** Saori Anou
** Tae Honma
* June 6 – Cole Radrick
* June 25 – Liv Morgan
* July 12 – Mika Iwata
* August 23
** Mao
** Mizuki Watase
* August 25
** Mandy Rose
** Sara Lee
* August 29 – Francesco Akira
* September 6 – Shu Asakawa
* September 11 – Kaito Ishida
* September 26 – Jeet Rama (NXT)
* October 24 – Otis
* November 1 – Ayato Yoshida
* December 22 – Nodoka Tenma
* December 30 – Sonya Deville

## Retirements

* Brazo de Oro (1975–2015)
* Road Dogg (1986-2015 , became a WWE producer)
* Mikey Whipwreck (1994–2015)
* AJ Lee (September 29, 2007 – April 3, 2015)
* Tomoka Nakagawa (September 19, 2004 – April 12, 2015)
* Takeshi Morishima (March 22, 1998 – April 21, 2015)
* El Matematico (1968-May 17, 2015)
* Johnny Saint (1958-June 13, 2015)
* David Otunga (May 29, 2009 - July 5, 2015) (became a color commentator)
* Serena Deeb (March 2005 - July 10, 2015) (returned in 2017 for the inaugural Mae Young Classic)
* Traci Brooks (2001 – July 18, 2015)
* Layla (August 16, 2006 – July 29, 2015)
* Jimmy Snuka (1968 – September 2015)
* Portia Perez (December 2003 – October 11, 2015)
* Ezekiel Jackson (June 27, 2007 – October 18, 2015)
* Mio Shirai (March 4, 2007 – September 20, 2015)
* Genichiro Tenryu (November 13, 1976 – November 15, 2015)
* Kid Kash (1990 – December 2015)
* Act Yasukawa (February 5, 2012 – December 23, 2015)
* Neko Nitta (March 2, 2011 – December 31, 2015)

## Deaths

* January 7 – Tim Arson, 38
* January 13 - Brutus Malumba, 93
* January 27 – Larry Winters, 58
* February 9 – Drew McDonald, 59
* February 10 – Daniel Brand, 79
* February 13 - Tony Charles, 79
* February 14 - Wim Ruska, 74
* March 4 – Iwao Horiuchi, 73
* March 20 – Cincinnati Red, 40
* March 21 – Perro Aguayo, Jr., 35
* April 5 – Steve Rickard, 85
* April 21 - Ron Wright, 76
* April 27 – Verne Gagne, 89
* April 28 - Ashura Hara, 68
* June 1:
** Tommy Rogers, 54
** Mike Lane, 82
* June 11 – Dusty Rhodes, 69
* June 21 – Cora Combs, 92
* June 22 – Buddy Landel, 52
* July 1 – Curly Moe, 53
* July 9 - Samoan Joe, 66
* July 31 – Roddy Piper, 61
* November 8 - Don Fargo, 84
* November 14 – Nick Bockwinkel, 80
* November 26 - Tommy Gilbert, 75
* November 28 - Stan Holek, 82
* December 5 – Hack Meyers, 41
* December 16 – Lizmark, 64
* December 21 – Emmanuel Yarbrough, 51