# 2004 in professional wrestling

2004 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

## List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events in 2004.
| Promotion Name | Abbreviation | Notes |
| Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre | CMLL | |
| Georgia Championship Wrestling | GCW | |
| 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 | |
| Ring of Honor | ROH | |
| Total Nonstop Action Wrestling | TNA | |
| World Wrestling Council | WWC | |
| World Wrestling Entertainment | WWE | WWE divided its roster into two storyline divisions, Raw and SmackDown!, referred to as brands, where wrestlers exclusively performed on their respective weekly television programs. |

## Calendar of notable shows
### January

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 4 | NJPW | Wrestling World | Tokyo, Japan | Shinsuke Nakamura (c) defeated Yoshihiro Takayama (c) in a Singles match for both the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (Nakamura) and the NWF Heavyweight Championship (Takayama). The NWF title was unified with the IWGP title. As a result, the NWF title was retired. |
| 25 | WWE: Raw SmackDown! | Royal Rumble | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Chris Benoit won by last eliminating Big Show in a 30-man Royal Rumble match for a world championship match at WrestleMania XX |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### February

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 14 | ROH | Second Anniversary Show | Braintree, Massachusetts | A.J. Styles defeated CM Punk in a tournament final for the inaugural Pure Wrestling Championship |
| 15 | WWE: SmackDown! | No Way Out | Daly City, California | Eddie Guerrero defeated Brock Lesnar (c) in a Singles match for the WWE Championship |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### March

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 14 | WWE: Raw SmackDown! | WrestleMania XX | New York City, New York | Chris Benoit defeated Triple H (c) and Shawn Michaels by submission in a Triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| 21 | AAA | Rey de Reyes | Naucalpan, Mexico | Jeff Jarrett defeated Latin Lover in a Singles match in the 2004 Rey de Reyes tournament final |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### April

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 18 | WWE: Raw | Backlash | Edmonton, Alberta | Chris Benoit (c) defeated Shawn Michaels and Triple H by submission in a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| 30 | CMLL | 48. Aniversario de Arena México | Mexico City, Mexico | Damian El Terrible defeated Máscara Mágica in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas hair vs. hair match |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### May

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 16 | WWE: SmackDown! | Judgment Day | Los Angeles, California | John "Bradshaw" Layfield defeated Eddie Guerrero (c) by disqualification in a Singles match for the WWE Championship |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### June

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 13 | WWE: Raw | Bad Blood | Columbus, Ohio | Triple H defeated Shawn Michaels in a Hell in a Cell match |
| 20 | AAA | Triplemanía XII | Naucalpan, Mexico | La Parka defeated Cibernético in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas "Mask vs. Mask" match |
| 27 | WWE: SmackDown! | The Great American Bash | Norfolk, Virginia | The Undertaker defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) in a Handicap Concrete Crypt match |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### July

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 11 | WWE: Raw | Vengeance | Hartford, Connecticut | Chris Benoit (c) defeated Triple H in a Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| 23 | ROH | Death Before Dishonor 2 | Wauwatosa, Wisconsin | The Second City Saints (CM Punk and Colt Cabana) (c) vs. The Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) in a Two Out of Three Falls match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship |
| 24 | ROH | Death Before Dishonor 2 | Chicago Ridge, Illinois | The Second City Saints (CM Punk and Ace Steel) vs. Dan Maff and B. J. Whitmer in a Chicago Street Fight |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### August

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 7-15 | NJPW | G1 Climax | Tokyo | Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi by submission in a G1 Climax tournament final |
| 10 | GCW | First Annual Fred Ward Memorial Show | Columbus, Georgia | Jason Cross defeated Johnny Swinger in a Finals tournament match |
| 15 | WWE: Raw SmackDown! | SummerSlam | Toronto, Ontario | Randy Orton defeated Chris Benoit (c) in a Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| 21 | WWC | WWC 31st Aniversario | Caguas, Puerto Rico | Carly Colón defeated Eddie Colón in a Singles match |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### September

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 11 | ROH | Glory By Honor 3 | Elizabeth, New Jersey | The Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes and Rocky Romero) (c) defeated B. J. Whitmer and Dan Maff and Generation Next (Jack Evans and Roderick Strong) and The Carnage Crew (DeVito and H. C. Loc) in an Ultimate Endurance Match for the ROH Tag Team Championship |
| 12 | WWE: Raw | Unforgiven | Portland, Oregon | Triple H defeated Randy Orton (c) in a Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| 17 | CMLL | CMLL 71st Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | Universo 2000 lost to Canek, also in the match: Dr. Wagner Jr. and Rayo de Jalisco Jr. in a Four-way Lucha de Apuesta mask vs. mask elimination match |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### October

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 3 | WWE: SmackDown! | No Mercy | East Rutherford, New Jersey | John "Bradshaw" Layfield (c) defeated The Undertaker in a Last Ride match for the WWE Championship |
| 16 | AAA | Verano de Escándalo | Orizaba, Mexico | Mosco de la Merced lost to Heavy Metal, El Intocable, Zorro and Los Vipers (Histeria and Psicosis) in a Steel cage match |
| 19 | WWE: Raw | Taboo Tuesday | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Randy Orton defeated Ric Flair in a Steel cage match |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

### November

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event | Notes |
| 7 | TNA | Victory Road | Orlando, Florida | Jeff Jarrett (c) defeated Jeff Hardy in a Ladder match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship | TNA's first monthly three-hour PPV event. |
| 14 | WWE: Raw SmackDown! | Survivor Series | Cleveland, Ohio | Team Orton (Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and Maven) defeated Team Triple H (Triple H, Batista, Edge and Gene Snitsky) in a 4-on-4 Survivor Series elimination match Whichever team won would each be in charge of Raw for the next 4 weeks | |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) ||||||

### December

| Date | Promotion(s) | Event | Location | Main Event |
| 5 | AAA | Guerra de Titanes | Naucalpan, Mexico | Cibernético and La Parka defeated La Legión Extranjera (Konnan and Rikishi) by disqualification in a tag team match |
| 5 | TNA | Turning Point | Orlando, Florida | America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm) defeated Triple X (Christopher Daniels and Elix Skipper) in a Six Sides of Steel match |
| 12 | WWE: SmackDown! | Armageddon | Duluth, Georgia | John "Bradshaw" Layfield (c) defeated Booker T, Eddie Guerrero and The Undertaker in a Fatal-4-Way match for the WWE Championship |
| 17 | CMLL | Sin Piedad | Mexico City, Mexico | Los Hermanos Dinamita (Cien Caras and Máscara Año 2000) defeated Pierroth and Vampiro Canadiense in a Best two-out-of-three falls tag team Lucha de Apuestas hair vs. hair match |
| 23 | WWE: SmackDown! | Tribute to the Troops | Tirikt, Iraq | Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio defeated Kurt Angle and Luther Reigns in a tag team match |
| 26 | ROH | Final Battle | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Samoa Joe (c) vs. Austin Aries in a Singles match for the ROH World Championship |
| (c) – denotes defending champion(s) |||||

## Accomplishments and tournaments
### AAA

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Rey de Reyes | Jeff Jarrett | March 21 | |

### AJW

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Japan Grand Prix 2004 | Kumiko Maekawa | August 1 |
| Tag League The Best 2004 | Kumiko Maekawa and Saki Maemura | December 26 | |

### Ring of Honor

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| ROH Pure Wrestling Championship Tournament | A.J. Styles | February 2 | |
| ROH Pure Championship Tournament | Doug Williams | July 17 | |

### TNA

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won |
| NWA World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Tournament | Jeff Hardy | October 12 |
| NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament | Kid Kash and Dallas | March 31 |
| 2004 TNA World X Cup Tournament | Team TNA | May 26 |
| 2004 TNA America's X Cup Tournament | Team TNA | |

#### TNA Year End Awards

| Poll | Winner(s) |
| Tag Team of the Year | America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm) |
| Babe of the Year | Traci Brooks |
| Finisher of the Year | The Canadian Destroyer |
| Who To Watch in 2005 | Héctor Garza |
| Memorable Moment of the Year | Primetime walks the Six Sides of Steel at Turning Point |
| X Division Star of the Year | A.J. Styles |
| Match of the Year | Six Sides of Steel Match: Triple X vs. America's Most Wanted at Turning Point |
| Mr. TNA | A.J. Styles |

### WWE

| Accomplishment | Winner | Date won | Notes |
| Royal Rumble | Chris Benoit | January 25 | Winner received their choice of a championship match for either Raw's World Heavyweight Championship or SmackDown!'s WWE Championship at WrestleMania XX. Benoit from SmackDown! last eliminated Big Show to win and chose to challenge for Raw's World Heavyweight Championship, which he subsequently won from Triple H in a triple threat match that also involved Shawn Michaels. |

#### WWE Hall of Fame

| Category | Inductee | Inducted by |
| Individual | Big John Studd | Big Show |
| Individual | Don Muraco | Mick Foley |
| Individual | Greg "The Hammer" Valentine | Jimmy Hart |
| Individual | Harley Race | Ric Flair |
| Individual | Jesse "The Body" Ventura | Tyrel Ventura |
| Individual | Junkyard Dog | Ernie Ladd |
| Individual | Sgt. Slaughter | Pat Patterson |
| Individual | Superstar Billy Graham | Triple H |
| Individual | Tito Santana | Shawn Michaels |
| Individual | Bobby "The Brain" Heenan | Blackjack Lanza |
| Celebrity | Pete Rose | Kane |

## Awards and honors
### Pro Wrestling Illustrated

| Category | Winner |
| PWI Wrestler of the Year | Chris Benoit |
| PWI Tag Team of the Year | America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm) |
| PWI Match of the Year | Triple H vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania XX) |
| PWI Feud of the Year | Triple H vs. Chris Benoit |
| PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year | John Cena |
| PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year | Triple H |
| PWI Comeback of the Year | Edge |
| PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year | Randy Orton |
| PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year | Eddie Guerrero |
| PWI Rookie of the Year | Monty Brown |
| PWI Woman of the Year | Victoria |
| PWI Lifetime Achievement | Pat Patterson |

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

* Inductee
* The Undertaker
* Bob Backlund
* Masahiro Chono
* Tarzán López
* Kazushi Sakuraba
* Último Dragón
* Kurt Angle

#### Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

| Category | Winner |
| Wrestler of the Year | Kenta Kobashi |
| Most Outstanding | no credit |
| Best Box Office Draw | Kenta Kobashi |
| Feud of the Year | Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H |
| Tag Team of the Year | Kenta and Naomichi Marufuji |
| Most Improved | Randy Orton |
| Best on Interviews | Mick Foley |

## Title changes
### NJPW

IWGP Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Shinsuke Nakamura |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 5 | Vacated | N/A | |
| February 15 | Hiroyoshi Tenzan | Fighting Spirit | |
| March 12 | Kensuke Sasaki | Hyper Battle | |
| March 28 | Bob Sapp | King of Sports | |
| June 2 | Vacated | N/A | |
| June 5 | Kazuyuki Fujita | The Crush II | |
| October 9 | Kensuke Sasaki | Pro Wrestlers Be Strongest | |
| December 12 | Hiroyoshi Tenzan | Battle Final | |
IWGP Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – Hiroshi Tanahashi and Yutaka Yoshie |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 1 | Minoru Suzuki and Yoshihiro Takayama | Fighting Spirit | |
| November 21 | Vacated | N/A | |
| December 11 | Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura | Battle Final | |
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Heat |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| No title changes |||||
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – Gedo and Jado |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| March 12 | American Dragon and Curry Man | Hyper Battle | |
| June 5 | Gedo and Jado | Best of the Super Jr. XI | |

### WWE

    – Raw
    – SmackDown
Raw and SmackDown each had a world championship, a secondary championship, and a tag team championship for male wrestlers. SmackDown also had a title for their cruiserweight wrestlers. There was only one women's championship and it was exclusive to Raw.
World Heavyweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Triple H |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| March 14 | Chris Benoit | WrestleMania XX | Triple threat match, also involving Shawn Michaels. |
| August 15 | Randy Orton | SummerSlam | |
| September 12 | Triple H | Unforgiven | |
| December 6 | Vacated | Monday Night Raw | The championship was vacated after a double fall occurred in a triple threat match, also involving Chris Benoit and Edge. |
WWE Championship :
| Incoming champion – Brock Lesnar |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 15 | Eddie Guerrero | No Way Out | |
| June 27 | John "Bradshaw" Layfield | The Great American Bash | Texas Bullrope match |
WWE Intercontinental Championship :
| Incoming champion – Randy Orton |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| July 11 | Edge | Vengeance | |
| September 6 | Vacated | Monday Night Raw | Vacated due to injury. |
| September 12 | Chris Jericho | Unforgiven | Defeated Christian in a ladder match for the vacant title. |
| October 19 | Shelton Benjamin | Taboo Tuesday | Due to the stipulation of the event, fans could vote for who would face Chris Jericho for the title; Benjamin had the most votes. |
WWE United States Championship :
| Incoming champion – Big Show |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| March 14 | John Cena | WrestleMania XX | |
| July 6 (aired July 8) | Vacated | SmackDown! | John Cena was stripped of the title after attacking SmackDown! General Manager Kurt Angle. |
| July 27 (aired July 29) | Booker T | SmackDown! | Eight-way elimination match for the vacant title, also involving John Cena, René Duprée, Kenzo Suzuki, Rob Van Dam, Billy Gunn, Charlie Haas, and Luther Reigns. |
| October 3 | John Cena | No Mercy | Fifth match of a Best of Five series. |
| October 5 (aired October 7) | Carlito Caribbean Cool | SmackDown! | |
| November 16 (aired November 18) | John Cena | SmackDown! | |
WWE Women's Championship :
| Incoming champion – Molly Holly |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 23 | Victoria | Monday Night Raw | Fatal four-way elimination match, also involving Jazz and Lita. Victoria pinned Lita to win the championship. |
| June 13 | Trish Stratus | Bad Blood | Fatal four-way match, also involving Lita and Gail Kim. Stratus pinned Lita to win the championship. |
| December 6 | Lita | Monday Night Raw | |
World Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – Evolution (Batista and Ric Flair) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 16 | Booker T and Rob Van Dam | Monday Night Raw | |
| March 22 | Evolution (Batista and Ric Flair) | Monday Night Raw | |
| April 19 | Chris Benoit and Edge | Monday Night Raw | |
| May 31 | La Résistance (Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier) | Monday Night Raw | |
| October 19 | Chris Benoit and Edge | Taboo Tuesday | Benoit and Edge were voted into this match as a result of neither winning the World Heavyweight Championship voting. Benoit won the title himself after Edge abandoned him midway through the match. |
| November 1 | La Résistance (Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier) | Monday Night Raw | |
| November 15 | Eugene and William Regal | Monday Night Raw | Three-way elimination match, also involving Rhyno and Tajiri. |
WWE Tag Team Championship :
| Incoming champions – The Basham Brothers (Doug and Danny Basham) |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 3 (aired February 5) | Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty | SmackDown! | |
| April 20 (aired April 22) | Charlie Haas and Rico | SmackDown! | |
| June 15 (aired June 17) | The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley) | SmackDown! | |
| July 6 (aired July 8) | Billy Kidman and Paul London | SmackDown! | |
| September 7 (aired September 9) | Kenzo Suzuki and René Duprée | SmackDown! | |
| December 7 (aired December 9) | Rey Mysterio and Rob Van Dam | SmackDown! | |
WWE Cruiserweight Championship :
| Incoming champion – Rey Mysterio |||||
| Date | Winner | Event/Show | Note(s) |
| February 15 | Chavo Guerrero Jr. | No Way Out | |
| May 4 (aired May 6) | Jacqueline | SmackDown! | Only woman under the WWE banner to win the title. |
| May 16 | Chavo Guerrero Jr. | Judgment Day | Guerrero won the title with one hand tied behind his back, though his father Chavo Classic untied it during the match. |
| May 18 (aired May 20) | Chavo Classic | SmackDown! | Triple threat match, also involving Spike Dudley. |
| June 15 (aired June 17) | Rey Mysterio | SmackDown! | |
| July 27 (aired July 29) | Spike Dudley | SmackDown! | |
| December 12 | Funaki | Armageddon | |

## Debuts

* Uncertain debut date
   * Christy Hemme
   * Davey Richards
   * Maria Kanellis
   * Mecha Wolf 450
   * Carmella DeCesare
* January 3 - Natsuki Taiyo
* January 5 - Katsuhiko Nakajima
* March 7 - Kenta Kosugi
* March 13 - Orange Cassidy
* March 27 – Pac (wrestler)
* April 20 - Zack Sabre Jr.
* June – Jon Moxley
* June 6 - Shinobu
* June 13 - Michael Dante
* June 16 - Asuka and Cherry
* July 1 - Kota Ibushi
* July 4 - Q. T. Marshall
* July 26 - Yujiro Takahashi
* August 8 – The Young Bucks
* August 14 - Matt Cardona
* August 21 - Seth Rollins and Joaquin Wilde
* August 29 – Kazuchika Okada
* October 13 – Choun Shiryu
* November 3 - Shoichi Uchida and Nic Nemeth
* November 7 – Daisuke Masaoka
* November 15 – Candice Michelle
* November 18 – Michelle McCool
* December 4 – Guts Ishijima

## Retirements

* Randy Savage (1973–December 5, 2004)
* Ángel Acevedo (1973-2004, returned for one match in 2017)
* Timothy Well (1987–2004)
* Dances With Dudley (1992-2004)
* Carmella DeCesare (October–November 2004)
* Shaniqua (2002–February 2004)
* Ron Simmons (1986-March 2004) (returned to wrestling in 2006 and retired in 2012)
* John Tenta (1987-2004)
* Terri Runnels (1990 – April 2004)
* Sable (1996 – August 10, 2004)
* The Fabulous Moolah (1949–September 21, 2004)

## Births

* August 11 – Hanan
* September 27 – Leon Slater
* December 3 – Kizuna Tanaka
* December 8 – Billie Starkz

## Deaths

* January 24 – Jack Tunney, 69
* January 27 - Hard Boiled Haggerty, 78
* March 6 – Hercules, 47
* March 11 - Michael Okpala, 64
* May 6 - Pepper Gomez, 77
* May 18 - Sambo Asako, 40
* June 1 – James Dudley, 94
* August 25 - Dave Levin, 91
* September 12 - Dr. Wagner, 68
* September 18 - Jim Barnett, 80
* September 22 – Big Boss Man, 41
* September 26 – Marianna Komlos, 35
* November 27 - Jack Donovan (wrestler), 76