2018 in professional wrestling


2018 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events in 2018.
Promotion NameAbbreviationNotes
Consejo Mundial de Lucha LibreCMLL
DDT Pro-WrestlingDDT
Impact WrestlingImpact
IWRG
Lucha 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.
Lucha Libre EliteElite
Major League WrestlingMLW
National Wrestling AllianceNWA
New Japan Pro-WrestlingNJPW
Pro Wrestling GuerrillaPWG
Revolution Pro WrestlingRevPro
Ring of HonorROH
The Crash Lucha LibreThe Crash
World Wrestling CouncilWWC
WWE—WWE stands for World Wrestling Entertainment, which is still the legal name, but the company ceased using the full name in April 2011, with the WWE abbreviation becoming an orphaned initialism.
WWE divided its roster into five storyline divisions – referred to as brands where wrestlers exclusively performed on their respective weekly television programs. Raw and SmackDown were their two main brands. Specialty brand 205 Live, which separated from Raw to become its own brand following WrestleMania 34, was also featured on WWE's main pay-per-views. NXT served as WWE's developmental territory, while specialty brand NXT UK was launched in July and promoted under the NXT banner.

Calendar of notable shows

August

Accomplishments and tournaments

Pro Wrestling Zero1

WWE

AccomplishmentWinnerDate wonNotes
United States Championship tournamentBobby RoodeJanuary 16Defeated Jinder Mahal in the tournament final to win the vacant United States Championship; the title was declared vacant after unsuccessful attempts at contacting previous champion Dolph Ziggler, who had abandoned the title belt in the ring on the December 17, 2017 episode of SmackDown Live.
Royal Rumble
Shinsuke NakamuraJanuary 28Winner received their choice of a championship match for either Raw's Universal Championship or SmackDown's WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34; Nakamura last eliminated Roman Reigns and chose his own brand's WWE Championship, but was unsuccessful against AJ Styles at the event.
Royal Rumble
AsukaJanuary 28Winner received their choice of a championship match for either the Raw Women's Championship or SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania 34; Asuka from Raw last eliminated Nikki Bella to win the inaugural match and chose to challenge for the SmackDown Women's Championship, but was unsuccessful against Charlotte Flair at the event.
Mixed Match Challenge 1The Miz and AsukaApril 3Defeated Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair in the tournament final to win.
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team ClassicThe Undisputed Era
April 7Defeated The Authors of Pain and Pete Dunne & Roderick Strong in the tournament final, which was a Winner Takes All match, in which The Undisputed Era retained the NXT Tag Team Championship and won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Trophy.
WWE United Kingdom Championship InvitationalLio RushApril 7Winner faced Pete Dunne for the WWE United Kingdom Championship on April 8. Rush was unsuccessful in winning the title.
NXT North American Championship InvitationalAkira TozawaApril 7Winner faced the NXT North American Champion on April 8. Tozawa was unsuccessful in winning the title.
NXT Tag Team Championship InvitationalMoustache Mountain
April 7Winner faced the NXT Tag Team Champions on April 8. Moustache Mountain were unsuccessful in winning the title.
NXT Women's Championship InvitationalDakota KaiApril 7Winner faced the NXT Women's Champion on April 8. Kai was unsuccessful in winning the title.
Cruiserweight Championship tournamentCedric AlexanderApril 8Defeated Mustafa Ali in the tournament final to win the vacant WWE Cruiserweight Championship; previous champion Enzo Amore was released from the company following allegations of sexual assault, thus the title was vacated.
WrestleMania Women's Battle RoyalNaomiApril 8Last eliminated Bayley to win the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal Trophy.
André the Giant Memorial Battle RoyalMatt HardyApril 8Last eliminated Baron Corbin to win the André the Giant Memorial Trophy.
Greatest Royal RumbleBraun StrowmanApril 27Last eliminated Big Cass to win the Greatest Royal Rumble Match and Championship.
Money in the Bank ladder match
Alexa BlissJune 17Defeated Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Natalya, Ember Moon, Lana, Naomi, and Sasha Banks to win a title match contract for her brand's women's championship.
Later that night, Bliss cashed in her contract on Nia Jax to win the Raw Women's Championship.
Money in the Bank ladder match
Braun StrowmanJune 17Defeated Bobby Roode, Finn Bálor, Kevin Owens, Kofi Kingston, Rusev, Samoa Joe, and The Miz to win a title match contract for his brand's world championship.
Cashed in on Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Hell in a Cell, but was unsuccessful as the match ended in a no contest.
United Kingdom Championship TournamentZack GibsonJune 18Winner faced Pete Dunne for the WWE United Kingdom Championship on June 19. Gibson was unsuccessful in winning the title.
Women's Battle RoyalNia JaxOctober 28Last eliminated Ember Moon to earn a match for her brand's women's championship. Faced Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, but was unsuccessful.
Mae Young ClassicToni StormOctober 28Defeated Io Shirai in the tournament final to win the Mae Young Classic Trophy, which aired as part of Evolution.
WWE World CupShane McMahonNovember 2Tournament to determine the "best in the world" in WWE. The final match was originally between SmackDown's The Miz and Raw's Dolph Ziggler, but Shane McMahon, who despite not being in the tournament, replaced Miz after Miz was deemed unable to compete due to a pre-match brawl. Shane then defeated Ziggler to win the WWE World Cup Trophy.
WarGames matchPete Dunne, Ricochet, and War Raiders November 17Defeated The Undisputed Era
Mixed Match Challenge 2R-Truth and CarmellaDecember 16Winners received the #30 spot of their respective men's and women's Royal Rumble matches at the 2019 Royal Rumble.

Title changes

ROH

WWE

Raw and SmackDown

Raw and SmackDown each had a world championship, a secondary championship, a women's championship, and a male tag team championship. Raw also had a championship for their cruiserweight wrestlers, which became exclusive to the 205 Live brand.

Awards and honors

WWE

WWE Hall of Fame

CategoryInducteeInducted by
IndividualGoldbergPaul Heyman
IndividualIvoryMolly Holly
IndividualJeff JarrettRoad Dogg
IndividualHillbilly JimJimmy Hart
IndividualMark HenryBig Show
GroupThe Dudley Boyz
Edge and Christian
Warrior AwardJarrius "JJ" RobertsonDana Warrior
CelebrityKid RockTriple H
LegacyBoris MalenkoN/A
LegacyCora CombsN/A
LegacyDara SinghN/A
LegacyEl SantoN/A
LegacyHiro MatsudaN/A
LegacyJim LondosN/A
LegacyRufus R. JonesN/A
LegacySputnik MonroeN/A
LegacyStan StasiakN/A
LegacyLord Alfred HayesN/A

Debuts

Retirements

Deaths