2005 in professional wrestling

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2005 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events in 2005.

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 Breed Wrestling Association	NBWA
New Japan Pro-Wrestling	NJPW
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla	PWG
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	Notes
4	NJPW	Toukon Festival: Wrestling World	Tokyo, Japan	Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in a Singles match to win the IWGP U-30 Openweight Championship
9	WWE: Raw	New Year's Revolution	San Juan, Puerto Rico	Triple H (with Ric Flair) defeated Edge, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Batista, and Randy Orton in an Elimination Chamber match to win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship with Shawn Michaels as special guest referee
16	TNA	Final Resolution	Orlando	Jeff Jarrett (c) defeated Monty Brown in a Singles match to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
30	WWE: Raw SmackDown!	Royal Rumble	Fresno, California	Batista won the 30-man Royal Rumble match by last eliminating John Cena to earn a world championship match at WrestleMania 21	Batista chose to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship.
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

February

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
13	TNA	Against All Odds	Orlando	Jeff Jarrett (c) defeated Kevin Nash in a Singles match to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
19	ROH	Third Anniversary Celebration: Part 1	Elizabeth, New Jersey	The Carnage Crew (H. C. Loc & Tony DeVito) vs. Generation Next (Roderick Strong & Jack Evans) vs. The Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos) vs. Special K (Azrieal & Dixie) vs. Special K (Izzy & Deranged) in a Scramble Cage Match
20	WWE: SmackDown!	No Way Out	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	John "Bradshaw" Layfield (c) defeated Big Show in a Barbed Wired Steel Cage match to retain the WWE Championship
25	ROH	Third Anniversary Celebration: Part 2	Dayton, Ohio	Jimmy Rave defeated A.J. Styles in a Singles match
26	ROH	Third Anniversary Celebration: Part 3	Chicago Ridge, Illinois	Austin Aries (c) defeated Samoa Joe in a Singles match to retain the ROH World Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

March

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
11	AAA	Rey de Reyes	Ciudad Madero, Mexico	Elimination match: finals of the 2005 Rey de Reyes tournament.
13	TNA	Destination X	Orlando	Jeff Jarrett (c) defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a Singles match to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
18	NBWA	Mike Lockwood Memorial Tournament	South Bend, Indiana	B. J. Whitmer defeated Nigel McGuiness (c) in a Singles match for the NBWA Heavyweight Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

April

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event	Notes
3	WWE: Raw SmackDown!	WrestleMania 21	Los Angeles, California	Batista defeated Triple H (c) (with Ric Flair) in a Singles match to win the World Heavyweight Championship	The event also featured the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin who started his part-time appearances with WWE at this event. First event to feature the Money in the Bank ladder match
8	CMLL	49. Aniversario de Arena México	Mexico City, Mexico	Los Perros del Mal (Damián 666, Halloween and Pierroth) defeated Dr. Wagner Jr., Místico and Negro Casas by disqualification
24	TNA	Lockdown	Orlando	A.J. Styles defeated Abyss in Six Sides of Steel match for an NWA World Heavyweight Championship match at Hard Justice
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

May

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
1	WWE: Raw	Backlash	Manchester, New Hampshire	Batista (c) defeated Triple H (with Ric Flair) in a Singles match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
5	N/A	Mark Curtis Memorial Reunion	Johnson City, Tennessee	Mick Foley and Shane Douglas (with Dominic DeNucci) defeated Al Snow and D'Lo Brown (with Les Thatcher)
15	AAA	Triplemanía XIII	Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico	Latin Lover, La Parka and Octagón defeated Los Hell Brothers (Chessman and Cibernético) and Fuerza Guerrera
15	TNA	Hard Justice	Orlando	A.J. Styles defeated Jeff Jarrett (c) in a Singles match to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship with Tito Ortiz as Special Guest Referee
22	WWE: SmackDown!	Judgment Day	Minneapolis, Minnesota	John Cena (c) defeated John "Bradshaw" Layfield in a "I Quit" match to retain the WWE Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

June

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event	Notes
12	WWE	ECW One Night Stand	New York City	The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) defeated Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman in a Tag team match	This event was The Dudley Boyz and Rhyno's last appearance in WWE until 2015 Last PPV appearance for many wrestlers including Mike Awesome First event produced by WWE to promote the former Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion. This would be the genesis of the launch of the ECW brand the following year.
18	ROH	Death Before Dishonor III	Morristown, New Jersey	CM Punk defeated Austin Aries (c) in a Singles match to win the ROH World Championship
19	TNA	Slammiversary	Orlando	Raven defeated A.J. Styles (c), Abyss, Monty Brown and Sean Waltman in the King of the Mountain match to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship	This event was Samoa Joe's debut in TNA
26	WWE: Raw	Vengeance	Las Vegas, Nevada	Batista (c) defeated Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

July

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event	Notes
17	TNA	No Surrender	Orlando	Raven (c) defeated Abyss (with James Mitchell) in Dog Collar match to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship	This event was Rhyno's debut in TNA
24	WWE: SmackDown!	The Great American Bash	Buffalo, New York	John "Bradshaw" Layfield (with Orlando Jordan) defeated Batista (c) by disqualification in a Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

August

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event	Notes
4-14	NJPW	G1 Climax final	Tokyo	Masahiro Chono defeated Kazuyuki Fujita in a G1 Climax tournament
6	GCW	Second Annual Fred Ward Memorial Show	Columbus, Georgia	David Young and Chris Stevens defeated Erik Watts and Sonny Siaki
14	TNA	Sacrifice	Orlando	Jeff Jarrett and Rhino defeated Raven and Sabu in a Tag team match
21	WWE: Raw SmackDown!	SummerSlam	Washington, D.C.	Hulk Hogan defeated Shawn Michaels in a Singles match	Last PPV appearance of Chris Jericho in WWE until late 2007, he lost to John Cena on the following night's Raw in a Loser Leaves WWE match as his contract expired after.
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

September

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
3–4	PWG	Battle of Los Angeles	Los Angeles, California	Chris Bosh defeated A.J. Styles in a Battle of Los Angeles tournament
11	TNA	Unbreakable	Orlando	A.J. Styles defeated Christopher Daniels (c) and Samoa Joe in a Triple threat match to win the TNA X Division Championship
16	CMLL	CMLL 72nd Anniversary Show	Mexico City, Mexico	Héctor Garza lost to Perro Aguayo Jr. and Universo 2000 in a Lucha de Apuestas hair vs. hair vs. hair elimination match
17	ROH	Glory By Honor IV	Lake Grove, New York	A.J. Styles (with Mick Foley) defeated Jimmy Rave in a Finishers match
18	AAA	Verano de Escándalo	Veracruz, Mexico	Electrified steel cage match "Loser has his head shaved" match.
18	WWE: Raw	Unforgiven	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Kurt Angle defeated John Cena (c) by disqualification in a Singles match for the WWE Championship
23	CMLL	International Gran Prix	Mexico City, Mexico	Místico defeated Último Guerrero by disqualification in a Best two-out-of-three falls match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

October

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event	Notes
9	WWE: SmackDown!	No Mercy	Houston, Texas	Batista (c) defeated Eddie Guerrero in a Singles match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship	Last PPV appearance for Eddie Guerrero before his death in November
23	TNA	Bound for Glory	Orlando	Rhino defeated Jeff Jarrett (c) (with Gail Kim) in a Singles match to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship with Tito Ortiz as special guest referee	The show was promoted as TNA's premiere PPV event and their equivalent to the rival WWE's WrestleMania.
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

November

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event	Notes
1	WWE: Raw	Taboo Tuesday	San Diego, California	John Cena (c) defeated Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels in a Triple threat match to retain the WWE Championship	Last PPV appearance of Christian in WWE until 2009. This event was also involved the SmackDown! roster.
5	WWC	32nd WWC Aniversario	Bayamón, Puerto Rico	Carlito defeated Shane
13	TNA	Genesis	Orlando	Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) and Rhino defeated America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm) and Jeff Jarrett (with Gail Kim) in a Six-man tag team match	This event was Christian (under new ring name Christian Cage)'s debut in TNA It was also dedicated to WWE wrestler Eddie Guerrero, who died the day of the show. It was Team 3D's first PPV match in TNA
27	WWE: Raw SmackDown!	Survivor Series	Detroit, Michigan	Team SmackDown! (Batista, Rey Mysterio, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Bobby Lashley, and Randy Orton) defeated Team Raw (Shawn Michaels, Kane, Big Show, Carlito, and Chris Masters) in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match	Eddie Guerrero was booked to be the captain of Team SmackDown! before his death, after his death he was replaced by Batista
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

December

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
2	CMLL	Juicio Final	Mexico City, Mexico	Universo 2000 defeated Halloween in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas, hair vs. hair match
10	AAA	Guerra de Titanes	Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico	Abismo Negro, Latin Lover and La Parka, defeated La Secta Cibernetica (Cibernético, Dark Cuervo, and Dark Escoria)
11	TNA	Turning Point	Orlando	Jeff Jarrett (c) defeated Rhino in a Singles match to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
17	ROH	Final Battle 2005	Edison, New Jersey	Kenta (c) defeated Low Ki to retain the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship
18	WWE: SmackDown!	Armageddon	Providence, Rhode Island	The Undertaker defeated Randy Orton (with Bob Orton) in Hell in a Cell match
19	WWE: Raw SmackDown!	Tribute to the Troops	Bagram, Afghanistan.	Shawn Michaels defeated Triple H in a Boot Camp match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Accomplishments and tournaments

AAA

Accomplishment	Winner	Date won	Notes
Rey de Reyes	La Parka	March 11

Ring of Honor

Accomplishment	Winner	Date won	Notes
Best of the American Super Juniors Tournament	Dragon Soldier B	April 2

TNA

Accomplishment	Winner	Date won	Notes
2005 TNA Super X Cup Tournament	Samoa Joe	August 14
Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament	Alex Shelley and Sean Waltman	August 16

TNA Year End Awards

Poll	Winner(s)
Tag Team of the Year	Team 3D (Brother Devon and Brother Ray)
Knockout of the Year	Jackie Gayda
Finisher of the Year	The Canadian Destroyer
Who To Watch in 2006	Christian Cage
Memorable Moment of the Year	Christian Cage debuts at Genesis
X Division Star of the Year	A.J. Styles
Feud of the Year	A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels
Match of the Year	Barbed Wire Massacre: Abyss vs. Sabu at Turning Point
Mr. TNA	A.J. Styles

WWE

Accomplishment	Winner	Date won	Notes
Royal Rumble	Batista	January 30	Winner received their choice of a championship match for either Raw's World Heavyweight Championship or SmackDown's WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21. Batista last eliminated John Cena to win and chose to challenge for his own brand's World Heavyweight Championship, which he subsequently won from Triple H.
Money in the Bank ladder match	Edge	April 3	This was the inaugural match. Edge defeated Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Christian, Kane, and Shelton Benjamin to win a world championship match contract. Edge cashed in the contract and won the WWE Championship from John Cena at the following year's New Year's Revolution after Cena had just retained the title in an Elimination Chamber match.
WWE Championship #1 Contender's Tournament	John Cena	February 20	Defeated Kurt Angle in the tournament final to win a WWE Championship match against John "Bradshaw" Layfield at WrestleMania 21, which Cena subsequently won.
WWE Championship #1 Contender's Tournament	John "Bradshaw" Layfield	April 26	Defeated Kurt Angle, Booker T, and Big Show in the tournament final to win a WWE Championship match against John Cena at Judgment Day. JBL, however, was unsuccessful in winning the title.
Gold Rush Tournament	Edge	May 16	Defeated Kane in the tournament final to win a World Heavyweight Championship match against Batista on the May 23 episode of Raw, but was unsuccessful in winning the title.

WWE Hall of Fame

Category	Inductee	Inducted by
Individual	Hulk Hogan	Sylvester Stallone
	"Rowdy" Roddy Piper	Ric Flair
	"Cowboy" Bob Orton Jr.	Randy Orton
	Jimmy Hart	Jerry Lawler
	"Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff	Bobby Heenan
	Nikolai Volkoff	Jim Ross
	Iron Sheik	Sgt. Slaughter

Awards and honors

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Category	Winner
PWI Wrestler of the Year	Batista
PWI Tag Team of the Year	MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro)
PWI Match of the Year	Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle (WrestleMania 21)
PWI Feud of the Year	Matt Hardy vs. Edge and Lita
PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year	John Cena
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year	Triple H
PWI Comeback of the Year	Road Warrior Animal
PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year	Batista
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year	Chris Candido
PWI Rookie of the Year	Bobby Lashley
PWI Woman of the Year	Trish Stratus
PWI Lifetime Achievement	Eddie Guerrero

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame

Category	Inductee
Individual	Paul Heyman
Individual	Triple H
Group	The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, and Buddy Roberts)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

Category	Winner
Wrestler of the Year	Kenta Kobashi
Most Outstanding	Samoa Joe
Best Box Office Draw	Místico
Feud of the Year	Batista vs. Triple H
Tag Team of the Year	America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm)
Most Improved	Roderick Strong
Best on Interviews	Eddie Guerrero

Title changes

NJPW

Date	Winner	Event/Show
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Hiroyoshi Tenzan
February 20	Satoshi Kojima	New Year Gold Series
May 14	Hiroyoshi Tenzan	Nexess VI
July 18	Kazuyuki Fujita	Summer Fight Series
October 8	Brock Lesnar	Toukon Souzou New Chapter

Date	Winner	Event/Show
IWGP Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura
October 30	Cho-Ten (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Masahiro Chono)	Toukon Series

Date	Winner	Event/Show
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Heat
January 4	Tiger Mask IV	Toukon Festival: Wrestling World
October 8	Black Tiger	Toukon Souzou New Chapter

Date	Winner	Event/Show
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Gedo and Jado
March 4	American Dragon and Curry Man	Big Fight Series
May 14	Hirooki Goto and Minoru	Nexess VI

TNA

Date	Winner	Event/Show
TNA X Division Championship
Incoming champion – Petey Williams
January 16	A.J. Styles	Final Resolution
March 13	Christopher Daniels	Destination X
September 11	A.J. Styles	Unbreakable
December 11	Samoa Joe	Turning Point

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.

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Vacant
January 9	Triple H	New Year's Revolution	Elimination Chamber match for the vacant title, also involving Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Batista, and Edge. Shawn Michaels was the special guest referee.
April 3	Batista	WrestleMania 21
The title became exclusive to the SmackDown! brand following the 2005 WWE draft lottery when Batista was drafted to SmackDown.

Date	Winner	Event/Show
WWE Championship
Incoming champion – John "Bradshaw" Layfield
April 3	John Cena	WrestleMania 21
The title became exclusive to the Raw brand following the 2005 WWE draft lottery when John Cena was drafted to Raw.

Date	Winner	Event/Show
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Incoming champion – Shelton Benjamin
June 20	Carlito	Monday Night Raw
September 18	Ric Flair	Unforgiven

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
WWE United States Championship
Incoming champion – John Cena
March 1 (aired March 3)	Orlando Jordan	SmackDown!
August 21	Chris Benoit	SummerSlam
October 18 (aired October 21)	Booker T	SmackDown!
November 22 (aired November 25)	Vacated	SmackDown!	Vacated when Booker T's title defense against Chris Benoit ended in a double pinfall.

Date	Winner	Event/Show
WWE Women's Championship
Incoming champion – Lita
January 9	Trish Stratus	New Year's Revolution

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
World Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Eugene and William Regal
January 16	La Résistance (Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier)	House show	Jonathan Coachman replaced Eugene in this match due to injury.
February 4 (aired February 7)	William Regal and Tajiri	Monday Night Raw
May 1	The Hurricane and Rosey	Backlash	Tag team turmoil match, also involving The Heart Throbs, Simon Dean and Maven, and La Résistance.
September 18	Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch	Unforgiven
November 1	Kane and Big Show	Taboo Tuesday	Kane and Big Show were voted into this match as a result of neither winning the WWE Championship voting.

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
WWE Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Rey Mysterio and Rob Van Dam
January 11 (aired January 13)	The Basham Brothers (Doug and Danny Basham)	SmackDown!	Fatal four-way tag team elimination match, also involving the teams of Mark Jindrak and Luther Reigns, and Booker T and Eddie Guerrero.
February 20	Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio	No Way Out
April 18 (aired April 21)	MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro)	SmackDown!
July 24	The Legion of Doom (Animal and Heidenreich)	The Great American Bash
October 25 (aired October 28)	MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro)	SmackDown!	Fatal four-way tag team match, also involving The Mexicools, and the team of Paul Burchill and William Regal.
December 13 (aired December 16)	Batista and Rey Mysterio	SmackDown!
December 27 (aired December 30)	MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro)	SmackDown!

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Incoming champion – Funaki
February 20	Chavo Guerrero Jr.	No Way Out	Six-way Cruiserweight Open, also involving Paul London, Akio, Shannon Moore, and Spike Dudley.
March 29 (aired March 31)	Paul London	SmackDown!	Seven-man battle royal.
August 2	Nunzio	Velocity
October 9	Juventud	No Mercy
November 15	Nunzio	House show
November 22 (aired November 25)	Juventud	SmackDown!
December 18	Kid Kash	Armageddon

Births

February 1 – Yuzuki

Debuts

Uncertain debut date

January 4 – Antonio Honda
March 5 - Jonathan Gresham
March 6 – Ram Kaicho
March 31 - Akebono Tarō
April 3 - Kamui
May 1 – Aoi Kizuki
May 15 – Violento Jack
July 15 - Brian Cage
August 14 – Guanchulo
September 20 – Dark Sheik
October 5 - Yūki Ōno
October 30 - El Phantasmo
November 4 – Serena
December 3 – Takoyakida
December 23 – Kankuro Hoshino

Retirements

Wendi Richter (1979–2005)
Joy Giovanni (2004^[1]–2005)
Metal Maniac (November 1991 – 2005)
Ron Reis (1994-2005)
Rochelle Loewen (2003-2005)
Lauren Jones (2004-2005)
Nathan Jones (11 October 1997 – 2005)
Nidia (2001–2005)
Tony Anthony (1980-2005)
Colonel DeBeers (1972-January 29, 2005)
Amy Weber (November 18, 2004^[2] – February 2005)
Molly Holly (August 2, 1997 – April 14, 2005) (since then has made occasional appearances)
Rico Constantino (1998 – July 2005) (although he had been fully inactive from in-ring competition since 2005, he briefly returned to have his full retirement match in 2012)
Muhammad Hassan (2002 – September 21, 2005)

Deaths

January 18 – Pez Whatley, 54^[3]^[4]
April 21 – Black Angus Campbell, 70
April 28 – Chris Candido, 33^[5]^[6]
May 12 – The Matador, 76
May 28 – Daniel Quirk, 22^[7]
July 11 – Shinya Hashimoto, 40^[8]
July 16 – Miguel Perez Sr., 68^[9]
July 16 – Rod Trongard, 72
July 21 – Lord Alfred Hayes, 76^[10]^[11]
August 8 – Dean Rockwell, 93
August 13 – Chris Tolos, 75^[12]
August 15 – Peter Smit, 43
August 18 – Chri$ Ca$h, 23^[13]^[14]
August 26 – Sailor White, 56^[15]
September 9 – Tarzan Taborda, 70
September 23 – Gene Stanlee, 88^[16]
October 22 – The Crusher, 79^[17]^[18]
October 22 – Franky Gee, 43
November 13 – Eddie Guerrero, 38^[19]^[20]

References

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