2017 In Professional Wrestling
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2017 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of
professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
.


List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable shows in 2017.


Calendar of notable shows


January


February


March


April


May


June


July


August


September


October


November


December


Notable events

*September 1 – CyberAgent purchased DDT Pro-Wrestling, which also included
Ganbare☆Pro-Wrestling , often abbreviated to GanPro, is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2013 as a sister promotion of DDT Pro-Wrestling. Although it originated as a special event by the parent company DDT, it has since become its own promotion. ...
and
Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling , often abbreviated to TJPW, is a Japanese joshi puroresu or women's professional wrestling promotion founded in 2012 as a sister promotion of DDT Pro Wrestling. Initially running alongside other shows such as live music and other idol performa ...
, with CyberAgent becoming their parent company. *December 7 – Alexa Bliss vs.
Sasha Banks Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sasha Banks. Banks previously wrestled on ...
during a WWE Live tour is the first women's match contested in the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, and specifically,
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...
,
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...


Tournaments and accomplishments


Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA)


All Japan Pro-Wrestling (AJPW)


Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL)


New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW)


Pro Wrestling Noah


Ring of Honor


TNA/Impact/GFW


WWE


Title changes


AAA


TNA/Impact/GFW


NJPW


ROH


The Crash Lucha Libre


WWE

: –
Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
: – SmackDown : –
NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * '' WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * '' NXT UK'', the British spi ...


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.


NXT


Awards and honors


''Pro Wrestling Illustrated''


''Wrestling Observer Newsletter''


Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame


Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards


WWE


WWE Hall of Fame


NXT Year-End Awards

The award winners were announced on NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia on January 27, 2018.


Retirements

*
Kyoko Kimura is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Throughout her 14-year career, she competed in Big Japan Pro Wrestling, Ibuki, Ice Ribbon, JWP Joshi Puroresu, NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling and World Wonder Ring Stardom, amo ...
(July 20, 2003 – January 22, 2017) *
Rosa Mendes Milena Leticia Roucka (; born October 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, valet and model. She was known for her time in WWE under the ring name Rosa Mendes. She managed former WWE Tag Team Champions Primo & Epico from 2011 ...
(November 2006 – February 13, 2017) * Kellie Skater (2007 – February 25, 2017) * Barry Darsow (1983-2001, 2007-2017) * Ricardo Rodriguez (August 11, 2006 – May 5, 2017) *
Shelly Martinez Shelly Leonor Martinez (born February 9, 1980) is an American model, actress, retired professional wrestler and valet. She is known for her work with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on its ECW brand under the ring name Ariel and for Total N ...
(December 2000 – May 17, 2017) * Tyson Kidd (July 23, 1995 – June 29, 2017) * Velvet Sky (2003 – July 6, 2017) (return in
ROH Roh or ROH may refer to: * ''Roh'' (film), a 2020 Malaysian horror film * Roh (name), a Korean surname * Roh, Maré, New Caledonia * Revoluční odborové hnutí, labour union in Czechoslovakia 1945–1990 * Ring of Honor, American professional ...
in 2019) * Bob Armstrong (1960 – July 13, 2017) (returned for a match in 2019) * Mark Henry (September 20, 1996 – August 2, 2017) *
Eva Marie Natalie Eva Marie Nelson (born September 19, 1984) is an American actress, fashion designer, model, and professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenures in WWE, from 2013–2017 and 2020–2021, where she performed under the ring name ...
(July 1, 2013 – August 4, 2017) (return in
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
in 2021) * Sid Eudy (1987 – August 5, 2017) * Bill Eadie (1973-August 12, 2017) *
Big Van Vader Leon Allen White (May 14, 1955 – June 18, 2018), better known by his ring names Big Van Vader or simply Vader, was an American professional wrestler and professional football player. Throughout his career, he performed for New Japan Pro-Wrestli ...
(1985-August 26, 2017) *
Danny Havoc Grant Amos Berkland (May 19, 1986 – May 31, 2020), better known by his ring name Danny Havoc, was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his work in Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), and was noted for mixing his technical style w ...
(July 30, 2005-September 9, 2017) (returned to wrestling in 2019 until his death in 2020) *
Terry Funk Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – a ...
(1965-September 23, 2017) * Atsushi Onita (April 14, 1974 – October 31, 2017) * Manami Toyota (August 5, 1987 – November 3, 2017) * Candice Michelle (November 15, 2004 – December 2, 2017) (full retirement, through full inactive since 2009) *
Great Kabuki , better known as , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is famous as the first to blow Asian mist in his opponents' faces. Professional wrestling career Mera was born on September 8, 1948 in Nobeoka, Japan. He started wrestling in 1 ...
(October 31, 1964 – December 22, 2017)


Deaths

* January 9 –
Timothy Well Timothy Alan Smith (September 8, 1961 – January 9, 2017) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Rex King and Timothy Well. He wrestled in several promotions, including All Japan Pro Wrestling, World Championship W ...
, 55 * January 15 –
Jimmy Snuka James Reiher Snuka (born James Wiley Smith; May 18, 1943 – January 15, 2017) was a Fijian American professional wrestler. He is better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Snuka wrestled for several promotions from the 1970s to 2010 ...
, 73 * January 25 –
Jun Izumida Junji Izumida (泉田純; Izumida Jun; October 28, 1965 – January 25, 2017) was a Japanese professional wrestler who worked for Pro Wrestling Noah. Career Sumo wrestling Before being a professional wrestler, Izumida was a sumo wrestler, mak ...
, 51 * February 2 –
Tom Drake Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...
, 86 * February 10 –
Bob Sweetan Robert Carson (born Robert Beier, July 4, 1940 – February 10, 2017), better known by his ring name Bob Sweetan, was a Canadian professional wrestler and convicted sex offender. Sweetan was nicknamed "Bruiser" and "Mr. Piledriver", the latter i ...
, 76 * February 11 –
Chavo Guerrero Sr. Salvador Guerrero Llanes (January 7, 1949 – February 11, 2017), better known as Chavo Guerrero or Chavo Guerrero Sr., and also known during the 21st century as "Chavo Classic", was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for ...
, 68 * February 16 –
George Steele William James Myers (April 16, 1937 – February 16, 2017), better known by his ring name George "The Animal" Steele, was an American professional wrestler, school teacher, author, and actor. His career lasted from 1967 until 1988, though he mad ...
, 79 * February 17 – Nicole Bass, 52 * February 18 –
Ivan Koloff Oreal Donald Perras (August 25, 1942 – February 18, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff. He was the third wrestler to hold the WWWF Championship. Early life Perras was b ...
, 74 * February 21 –
Bruiser Bedlam Ion William Croitoru (December 7, 1963 – February 21, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. To wrestling fans, he is better known by his ring names, Johnny K-9, Taras Bulba, and Bruiser ...
, 53 * March 7 –
Ron Bass Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...
, 68 * March 13 –
Dennis Stamp Dennis Stamp (December 6, 1946 – March 13, 2017) was an American professional wrestler and referee. He was best known for wrestling extensively during the 1970s and 1980s for the American Wrestling Association, and for the National Wrestling Al ...
, 70 * April 8 ** Joaquín Roldán, 63 ** Fishman, 66 * April 10 – Larry Sharpe, 66 * April 17 – Rosey, 47 * April 20- Katsuji Ueda, 71 * April 28 – Brazo de Oro, 57 * May 7 – Gran Apache, 58 * May 16 – Doug Somers, 65 * June 8 -
Ron Starr Bobby Eugene Nutt (April 3, 1951 – June 8, 2017), better known by his ring name Ron Starr, was an American professional wrestler. Starr was a mainstay for numerous wrestling territories throughout the 1970s and 80s, capturing almost three doze ...
, 66 * June 17 –
Buddy Wayne Buddy may refer to: People *Buddy (nickname) * Buddy (rapper), real name Simmie Sims III (1993–Present) * Buddy Rogers (wrestler), ring name of American professional wrestler Herman Gustav Rohde, Jr. (1921–1992) *Buddy Boeheim (born 1999), Am ...
, 50 * June 23 –
Mr. Pogo was a Japanese professional wrestler best known for his work under the ring name . He helped popularize hardcore wrestling in the 1990s with "death matches" in promotions such as Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, W*ING and Big Japan Pro Wrestlin ...
, 66 * July 2 –
Smith Hart Smith Stewart Hart (November 28, 1948 – July 2, 2017) was an American-Canadian professional wrestler and a member of the Hart wrestling family. His parents were Stu and Helen Hart. Smith was the first of their twelve children, being one of thei ...
, 68 * July 3 – Joe Robinson, 90 * July 6 –
Diane Von Hoffman Phyllis Burch (April 13, 1962 – July 6, 2017) was an American professional wrestler active from 1979 to 2013. Burch wrestled under the names Diane Von Hoffman, The Teutonic Terror, and Lady Beast. She wrestled in Memphis's United States Wr ...
, 55 * July 11 –
Buddy Wolfe Les Wolff (April 11, 1941 – July 11, 2017) was an American football player and professional wrestler, known by his ring name "Beautiful" Buddy Wolfe, who competed in North American regional promotions including the American Wrestling Associati ...
, 76 * September 14 –
Otto Wanz Otto Wanz (June 13, 1943 – September 14, 2017) was an Austrian professional wrestler and Boxing, boxer. He made his professional wrestling debut in 1968. He is a one time American Wrestling Association champion and former operator of the Catch W ...
, 74 * September 17 – Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, 72 * October 3 –
Lance Russell Lance Russell (March 18, 1926 – October 3, 2017) was an American Sports commentator, sports broadcaster and ring announcer, primarily serving as a professional wrestling announcer and Sports commentator, commentator in the Memphis, Tennessee, Mem ...
, 91 * October 15 –
Burrhead Jones Melvin Nelson (1936/1937 – October 15, 2017) was an American professional wrestler. He competed in the United States under the ring names Jimmy Jones and Burrhead Jones. As an African American wrestler, he was not permitted to wrestle again ...
, 80 * October 20 – Stan Kowalski, 91 * December 9 –
Tom Zenk Thomas Erwin Zenk (November 30, 1958 – December 9, 2017) was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder. He was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1986 to 1987, American Wrestling Association (AWA) 198 ...
, 59


See also

* List of GFW events and specials * List of MLW events *
List of NJPW pay-per-view events A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
*
List of Impact Wrestling pay-per-view events This is a list of pay-per-view (PPV) events held by the American professional wrestling promotion Impact Wrestling. From its inception, Impact Wrestling's main output was a two-hour weekly program broadcast exclusively on pay-per-view. Their firs ...
*
List of ROH pay-per-view events This is a list of pay-per-view events promoted by Ring of Honor (ROH). Past events 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Number of events by year *2007 – 5 *2008 – 5 ...
*
List of WWE Network events This is a list of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, detailing all professional wrestling cards promoted on pay-per-view (PPV) and the WWE Network by WWE. Due to the American version of the WWE Network merging under Peacock, and with the ...
* List of WWE pay-per-view events


References

{{Years in professional wrestling
professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...