2008 in professional wrestling explained

2008 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events in 2008.

Promotion Name	Abbreviation	Notes
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre	CMLL
	GCW
	JCW
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
Ring of Honor	ROH
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling	TNA
World Wrestling Council	WWC
World Wrestling Entertainment	WWE	WWE divided its roster into three storyline divisions, Raw, SmackDown, and ECW, referred to as brands, where wrestlers exclusively performed on their respective weekly television programs.

Calendar of notable shows

January

width=5%	Date	width=5%	Promotion(s)	width=15%	Event	width=15%	Location	width=40%	Main Event	width=20%	Notes
4	NJPW	Wrestle Kingdom II	Tokyo	Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) in a Singles match to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
6	TNA	Final Resolution	Orlando, Florida	Kurt Angle (c) defeated Christian Cage in a Singles match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
6	WWC	Euphoria	Bayamón, Puerto Rico	Mini Abismo Negro vs. Octagoncito
27	WWE	Royal Rumble	New York, New York		This was the first WWE PPV to be broadcast in HD. John Cena chose to challenge for the WWE Championship, but used his title shot at No Way Out instead of waiting until WrestleMania.
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

February

width=5%	Date	width=5%	Promotion(s)	width=15%	Event	width=15%	Location	width=40%	Main Event
10	TNA	Against All Odds		Kurt Angle (c) defeated Christian Cage in a Singles match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship with Samoa Joe as the special outside enforcer
17	WWE	No Way Out	Las Vegas, Nevada	Triple H defeated Jeff Hardy, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Umaga, and John "Bradshaw" Layfield in the Elimination Chamber match for a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XXIV
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

March

width=5%	Date	width=5%	Promotion(s)	width=15%	Event	width=15%	Location	width=40%	Main Event	width=20%	Notes
9	TNA	Destination X		The Unlikely Alliance (Christian Cage, Kevin Nash and Samoa Joe) defeated The Angle Alliance (Kurt Angle, A.J. Styles and Tomko) in a Six-man Tag team match
16	AAA	Rey de Reyes	Monterrey, Mexico	Rey de Reyes Finals Elimination match
16	ROH	Take No Prisoners	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Nigel McGuiness (c) defeated Tyler Black in a Singles match to retain the ROH World Championship
30	WWE	WrestleMania XXIV	Orlando, Florida	The Undertaker defeated Edge (c) by submission in a Singles match to win the World Heavyweight Championship	Ric Flair wrestled his last WWE match at this PPV against Shawn Michaels
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

April

width=5%	Date	width=5%	Promotion(s)	width=15%	Event	width=15%	Location	width=40%	Main Event
13	TNA	Lockdown		Samoa Joe defeated Kurt Angle (c) in a Six Sides of Steel Cage match to win TNA World Heavyweight Championship. If Joe had lost, he had to retire from professional wrestling.
18	CMLL	52. Aniversario de Arena México	Mexico City, Mexico	Héctor Garza and Místico (c) drew with Los Perros del Mal (Averno and Mephisto) - Double disqualification in a Best two-out-of-three falls tag team match for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship
27	WWE	Backlash	Baltimore, Maryland	Triple H defeated Randy Orton (c), John Cena, and John "Bradshaw" Layfield in a Fatal-4-Way elimination match to win the WWE Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

May

width=5%	Date	width=5%	Promotion(s)	width=15%	Event	width=15%	Location	width=40%	Main Event
11	TNA	Sacrifice	Orlando, Florida	Samoa Joe (c) defeated Kaz and Scott Steiner in a Three-way match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
18	WWE	Judgment Day	Omaha, Nebraska	Triple H (c) defeated Randy Orton in a Steel Cage match to retain the WWE Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

June

width=5%	Date	width=5%	Promotion(s)	width=15%	Event	width=15%	Location	width=40%	Main Event
1	WWE	One Night Stand	San Diego, California	Edge defeated The Undertaker in the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship
7	ROH	Respect is Earned	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black) (c) defeated TeamWork (Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson) in a Tag team match to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship
8	TNA	Slammiversary	Southaven, Mississippi	Samoa Joe (c) defeated Booker T, Christian Cage, Rhino and Robert Roode in the King of the Mountain match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship with Kevin Nash as special guest enforcer
13	AAA	Triplemanía XVI	Naucalpan, Mexico	Cibernético (c) defeated El Zorro in a Singles match for the AAA Mega Championship
13	CMLL	Infierno en el Ring	Mexico City, Mexico	10-man Infierno en el Ring, Lucha de Apuesta hair vs. hair Steel cage match
29	WWE	Night of Champions	Dallas, Texas	Triple H (c) defeated John Cena in a Singles match to retain the WWE Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

July

width=5%	Date	width=5%	Promotion(s)	width=15%	Event	width=15%	Location	width=40%	Main Event	width=20%	Notes
13	TNA	Victory Road	Houston, Texas	Samoa Joe (c) vs Booker T went to a no contest in a Singles match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
19	WWC	35th WWC Aniversario	San Juan, Puerto Rico	Ray Gonzalez defeated Carlito
20	WWE	The Great American Bash	Uniondale, New York	Triple H (c) defeated Edge in a Singles match to retain the WWE Championship	This PPV is notable for being the last TV-14 rated WWE PPV. Immediately after the PPV, WWE turned their product PG The event also determined the inaugural champion for the Diva Championship, new title for the SmackDown Divas, where Michelle McCool defeated Natalya.
25	CMLL	International Gran Prix	Mexico City, Mexico	Místico defeated Perro Aguayo Jr. (2-1) in a Best two-out-of-three-falls match, 2008 Leyenda de Plata tournament final
26	ROH	New Horizons	Detroit, Michigan	Bryan Danielson defeated Tyler Black in a Singles match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

August

width=5%	Date	width=5%	Promotion(s)	width=15%	Event	width=15%	Location	width=40%	Main Event
10	JCW	Bloodymania II		Corporal Robinson (c) defeated Raven for the JCW World Heavyweight Championship
10	TNA	Hard Justice	Trenton, New Jersey	Samoa Joe (c) defeated Booker T in the Six Sides of Steel Weapons match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
9-17	NJPW	G1 Climax final	Tokyo	Hirooki Goto defeated Togi Makabe in a G1 Climax tournament
17	WWE	SummerSlam	Indianapolis, Indiana	The Undertaker defeated Edge in Hell in a Cell match
29	CMLL	Sin Piedad		Blue Panther, Dos Caras Jr. and Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Black Warrior, Mr. Niebla and Rey Bucanero
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

September

width=5%	Date	width=5%	Promotion(s)	width=15%	Event	width=15%	Location	width=40%	Main Event
4	GCW	Fifth Annual Fred Ward Memorial Show	Phenix City, Alabama	Micah Taylor and Diane Hewes defeated Johnny Swinger and Quentin Michaels in an All or Nothing match for control of GCW
7	WWE	Unforgiven	Cleveland, Ohio	Chris Jericho defeated Batista, Kane, John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Rey Mysterio in the Championship Scramble to win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship
14	AAA	Verano de Escándalo	Zapopan, Mexico	Vampiro defeated El Mesías
14	TNA	No Surrender	Oshawa, Ontario	Samoa Joe (c) defeated Christian Cage and Kurt Angle in the Three Ways to Glory match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
19	ROH	Driven	Boston, Massachusetts
19	CMLL	CMLL 75th Anniversary Show	Mexico City, Mexico	Villano V defeated Blue Panther in a Lucha de Apuestas mask vs. mask match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

October

width=5%	Date	width=5%	Promotion(s)	width=15%	Event	width=15%	Location	width=40%	Main Event
5	WWE	No Mercy	Portland, Oregon	Chris Jericho (c) defeated Shawn Michaels in the Ladder match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
12	TNA	Bound for Glory	Hoffman Estates, Illinois	Sting defeated Samoa Joe (c) in a Singles match to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
13	NJPW	Destruction		Keiji Mutoh (c) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura Singles match to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
24	AAA	Antonio Peña Memorial Show	Veracruz, Mexico	La Legión Extranjera (Electroshock, Konnan, Rellik and Kenzo Suzuki) defeated Team AAA (Latin Lover, Octagón, La Parka and Super Fly) in a steel cage elimination match
26	WWE	Cyber Sunday	Phoenix, Arizona	Batista defeated Chris Jericho (c) in a Singles match to win the World Heavyweight Championship with Stone Cold Steve Austin as special guest referee.
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

November

width=5%	Date	width=5%	Promotion(s)	width=15%	Event	width=15%	Location	width=40%	Main Event
1-2	PWG	Battle of Los Angeles	Burbank, California	Low Ki defeated Chris Hero in a Battle of Los Angeles tournament
9	TNA	Turning Point	Orlando	Sting (c) defeated A.J. Styles in a Singles match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
14	N/A	Second Annual Sensational Sherri Memorial Cup Tournament	Montreal, Quebec	Misty Haven and Michael Von Payton defeated Kacey Diamond and Marko Estrada
22	ROH	Rising Above	Chicago Ridge, Illinois	Nigel McGuinness (c) defeated Bryan Danielson in a Singles match to retain the ROH World Championship
23	WWE	Survivor Series	Boston, Massachusetts	John Cena defeated Chris Jericho (c) in a Singles match to win the World Heavyweight Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

December

width=5%	Date	width=5%	Promotion(s)	width=15%	Event	width=15%	Location	width=40%	Main Event
5	WWE	Tribute to the Troops	Baghdad	John Cena, Batista and Rey Mysterio defeated Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and Big Show in a Six-man tag team match
6	AAA	Guerra de Titanes	Orizaba, Mexico	Steel Cage Match Luchas de Apuestas
7	TNA	Final Resolution	Orlando	The Main Event Mafia (Sting (c), Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner and Booker T) defeated The TNA Front Line (A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, Brother Ray and Brother Devon) in an Eight-man tag team match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
14	WWE	Armageddon	Buffalo, New York	Jeff Hardy defeated Edge (c) and Triple H in a Triple threat match to win the WWE Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Accomplishments and tournaments

AAA

AAA Hall of Fame

See main article: AAA Hall of Fame.

Ring of Honor

Accomplishment	Winner	Date won	Notes
ROH World Championship #1 Contender Tournament	Kevin Steen	February 22
ROH World Championship #1 Contender Tournament	Tyler Black	March 16
ROH World Tag Team Championship Tournament	The Age of the Fall (Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs)	June 6

TNA

Accomplishment	Winner	Date won	Notes
Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament	The Latin American Xchange (Hernandez and Homicide)	May 11
2008 TNA World X Cup Tournament	Team Mexico	July 13
Turkey Bowl	Rhino	November 27

WWE

Accomplishment	Winner	Date won	Notes
Royal Rumble	John Cena	January 27	Winner received their choice of a championship match for either Raw's WWE Championship, SmackDown's World Heavyweight Championship, or the ECW Championship at WrestleMania XXIV; Cena last eliminated Triple H to win but instead of waiting until WrestleMania, Cena used his championship opportunity to challenge Randy Orton for his own brand's WWE Championship at No Way Out. Cena did not win the championship at No Way Out, but still ended up being in the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania but was also unsuccessful there where Orton retained over Cena and Triple H in a triple threat match.
Money in the Bank ladder match	CM Punk	March 30	Defeated Carlito, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, Mr. Kennedy, Montel Vontavious Porter, and Shelton Benjamin to win a world championship match contract. Punk from Raw cashed in his contract and won SmackDown's World Heavyweight Championship from Edge on the June 30 episode of Raw after Edge had just received a beat down from Batista. The World Heavyweight Championship was transferred to Raw upon Punk's win.
King of the Ring	William Regal	April 21	Defeated CM Punk in the tournament final to win and be crowned King of the Ring.
Championship Chase Tournament	Edge	May 9	Last eliminated Batista to win a battle royal, which was a tournament final to determine The Undertaker's challenger for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship at Judgment Day; Undertaker had been stripped of the title for using a banned submission hold, Hell's Gate, on Edge in their match at Backlash. The match at Judgment Day, however, ended in a countout victory for Undertaker. The two faced each other again for the vacant title at One Night Stand where Edge defeated Undertaker to win the title.
WWE Intercontinental Championship #1 Contender's Tournament	CM Punk	December 14	Defeated Rey Mysterio in the tournament final to win an Intercontinental Championship match, which Punk received on the January 5, 2009 episode of Raw, but failed to win the title due to William Regal getting himself counted out. Punk gained the title in a rematch two weeks later that was contested under no disqualification rules.
Race To The Rumble Tournament	John "Bradshaw" Layfield	December 29	Defeated Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, and Chris Jericho in a fatal four-way match, which was the final of a tournament to determine the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship at the 2009 Royal Rumble. JBL, however, was unsuccessful against John Cena at the event.

WWE Hall of Fame

See main article: WWE Hall of Fame.

Category	Inductee	Inducted by
Individual
Group	The Brisco Brothers (Jack Brisco and Gerald Brisco)

Slammy Awards

See main article: Slammy Award.

Poll	Results
Best WWE.com Exclusive	John Morrison and The Miz present "The Dirt Sheet"
Breakout Star of the Year	Vladimir Kozlov
Best Musical Performance	R-Truth – "What's Up?" (SmackDown, Sept 15)
Announce Team of the Year	Todd Grisham and Matt Striker (ECW)
Best Impersonation	Charlie Haas as "The GlamaHaas" (Raw, Oct 27)
Tag Team of the Year	John Morrison and The Miz
Finishing Maneuver of the Year	Air Bourne (Evan Bourne)
Extreme Moment of the Year	Jeff Hardy gives Randy Orton the Swanton Bomb from the top of the Raw set (Raw, January 14)
Couple of the Year	Edge and Vickie Guerrero
Diva of the Year	Beth Phoenix
"OMG!" Moment of the Year	CM Punk cashes in Money in the Bank briefcase and defeats Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship on the June 30 edition of Raw
Match of the Year	Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania XXIV
"Damn!" Moment of the Year	The Great Khali hosts the Kiss Cam (SmackDown, November 7)
Superstar of the Year	Chris Jericho

Title changes

AAA

AAA Mega Championship
Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
March 16	Cibernético	Rey de Reyes
October 24	Vacated	Antonio Peña Memorial Show
December 6	El Mesias	Guerra de Titanes

AAA World Mini-Estrella Championship
Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
September 14	Mini Charly Manson	Verano de Escándalo

AAA World Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Mexican Powers
Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
April 27	La Familia de Tijuana	AAA Sin Límite TV Taping
September 14	La Hermandad 187	Verano de Escándalo

AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship
Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
September 14	Cynthia Moreno and El Oriental	Guerra de Titanes

NJPW

Incoming champion – Hiroshi Tanahashi
width=14%	Date	width=14%	Winner	width=14%	Event/Show	width=58%	Note(s)
January 4	Shinsuke Nakamura	Wrestle Kingdom II in Tokyo Dome
April 27	Keiji Mutoh	Circuit2008 New Japan Brave tour

Incoming champions – RISE
width=14%	Date	width=14%	Winner	width=14%	Event/Show	width=58%	Note(s)
February 17	The Most Violent Players	Circuit 2008 New Japan Ism

Incoming champion – Wataru Inoue
width=14%	Date	width=14%	Winner	width=14%	Event/Show	width=58%	Note(s)
June 16	Vacated	N/A
July 8	Tiger Mask	New Japan Trill
September 21	Low Ki	New Japan Generation

Incoming champions – Dick Togo and Taka Michinoku
width=14%	Date	width=14%	Winner	width=14%	Event/Show	width=58%	Note(s)
January 27	Prince Prince	Circuit 2008 New Japan Ism
February 17	Legend	Circuit 2008 New Japan Ism
July 21	Prince Prince	Circuit2008 New Japan Soul: Novello Sparks
October 13	No Limit	Destruction '08

ROH

width=14%	Date	width=14%	Winner	width=14%	Event/Show	width=58%	Note(s)
No title changes

Incoming champion(s) – The Age of the Fall
width=14%	Date	width=14%	Winner	width=14%	Event/Show	width=58%	Note(s)
January 26	No Remorse Corps	Without Remorse
April 12	The Briscoe Brothers	Injustice
May 10	Vacated	A New Level
June 6	The Age of the Fall	Up for Grabs
September 19	El Generico and Kevin Steen	Driven

TNA

TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
April 13			This was a six sides of steel cage title vs. career match
October 12			This was a match, where the loser can't get a rematch

TNA X Division Championship
Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
January 21	Johnny Devine	Impact!
February 10	Jay Lethal	Against All Odds
April 15	Petey Williams	Impact!
September 14	Sheik Abdul Bashir	No Surrender
December 7	Eric Young	Final Resolution
	Vacated

TNA World Beer Drinking Championship
Unsanctioned championship
Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
February 25	James Storm	Impact!
February 26	Deactivated	Impact!

TNA World Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Christian's Coalition
Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
April 15	Kaz and Eric Young/Super Eric	Impact!
April 15	Vacated	Impact!
May 11	The Latin American Xchange	Sacrifice
August 10	Beer Money, Inc.	Hard Justice
December 16	Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed	Impact!

TNA Women's World Championship
Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
January 7	Awesome Kong	Impact!
June 24	Taylor Wilde	Impact!
October 23	Awesome Kong	Impact!

TNA Television Championship
Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
October 23	Booker T	Impact!

WWE

– Raw

– SmackDown

- ECW

Raw and SmackDown each had a world championship, a secondary championship, a women's championship, and a male tag team championship. ECW only had a world championship.

width=14%	Date	width=14%	Winner	width=14%	Event/Show	width=58%	Note(s)
April 27	Triple H	Backlash	Fatal four-way elimination match, also involving John Cena and John "Bradshaw" Layfield.
November 23	Edge	Survivor Series	Triple threat match, also involving Vladimir Kozlov. Jeff Hardy had originally been scheduled to take part in the match, but did not participate after being (in storyline) attacked prior to the event. Triple H and Kozlov started the match before Edge was revealed as Hardy's surprise replacement.
December 14	Jeff Hardy	Armageddon	Triple threat match, also involving Triple H.

width=14%	Date	width=14%	Winner	width=14%	Event/Show	width=58%	Note(s)
March 30	The Undertaker	WrestleMania XXIV
April 29	Vacated	SmackDown	SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero stripped The Undertaker of the title for using the Hell's Gate submission hold, which she deemed to be dangerous.
June 1	Edge	One Night Stand	Defeated The Undertaker in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to win the vacant title. Per the pre-match stipulation, Undertaker was (kayfabe) banished from WWE.
June 30	CM Punk	Monday Night Raw	Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract
September 7	Chris Jericho	Unforgiven	Championship Scramble, also involving John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Batista, Rey Mysterio, and Kane. Jericho was a late replacement for champion CM Punk, who was attacked by The Legacy prior to the match.
October 26	Batista	Cyber Sunday	Stone Cold Steve Austin was the special guest referee.
November 3	Chris Jericho	Monday Night Raw	Steel cage match
November 23	John Cena	Survivor Series

width=14%	Date	width=14%	Winner	width=14%	Event/Show	width=58%	Note(s)
January 22	Chavo Guerrero Jr.	ECW	No Disqualification match.
March 30	Kane	WrestleMania XXIV
June 29	Mark Henry	Night of Champions	Triple threat match, also involving SmackDown's Big Show.
September 7	Matt Hardy	Unforgiven	Scramble match, also involving Finlay, The Miz, and Chavo Guerrero Jr..

width=14%	Date	width=14%	Winner	width=14%	Event/Show	width=58%	Note(s)
March 10	Chris Jericho	Monday Night Raw	No disqualification match
June 29	Kofi Kingston	Night of Champions
August 17	Santino Marella	SummerSlam	Winner Takes All Intergender tag team match in which both the Intercontinental and Women's Championships were on the line. Beth Phoenix teamed with Marella. The title was won when Phoenix pinned Mickie James, whose partner was Kofi Kingston.
November 10	William Regal	Monday Night Raw

width=14%	Date	width=14%	Winner	width=14%	Event/Show	width=58%	Note(s)
April 27	Matt Hardy	Backlash
July 20	Shelton Benjamin	The Great American Bash

width=14%	Date	width=14%	Winner	width=14%	Event/Show	width=58%	Note(s)
April 14	Mickie James	Monday Night Raw
August 17	Beth Phoenix	SummerSlam	Winner Takes All Intergender tag team match in which both the Women's and Intercontinental Championships were on the line. Phoenix teamed with Santino Marella. The title was won when Phoenix pinned Mickie James, whose partner was Kofi Kingston.

width=14%	Date	width=14%	Winner	width=14%	Event/Show	width=58%	Note(s)
July 20	Michelle McCool	The Great American Bash	Defeated Natalya to become the inaugural champion.
December 22	Maryse	SmackDown	Maria served as the special guest referee.

width=14%	Date	width=14%	Winner	width=14%	Event/Show	width=58%	Note(s)
June 29	The Legacy	Night of Champions	Rhodes was revealed to be DiBiase's mystery partner and turned on Hardcore Holly, resulting in a handicap match.
August 4	Batista and John Cena	Monday Night Raw
August 11	The Legacy	Monday Night Raw
October 27	CM Punk and Kofi Kingston	Monday Night Raw
December 13	John Morrison and The Miz	House show

width=14%	Date	width=14%	Winner	width=14%	Event/Show	width=58%	Note(s)
July 20	Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder	The Great American Bash	Fatal four-way tag team match, also involving Jesse and Festus and Finlay and Hornswoggle.
September 21	The Colóns	SmackDown

Awards and honors

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

See main article: List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards.

Category	Winner
PWI Wrestler of the Year	Triple H
PWI Tag Team of the Year	Beer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm)
PWI Match of the Year	Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair (WrestleMania XXIV)
PWI Feud of the Year	Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels
PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year	Jeff Hardy
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year	Chris Jericho
PWI Comeback of the Year	Chris Jericho
PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year	Cody Rhodes
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year	Ric Flair
PWI Rookie of the Year	Joe Hennig
PWI Woman of the Year	Awesome Kong
PWI Lifetime Achievement	Ric Flair

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame

See main article: Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.

Inductee
Paco Alonso
Martín Karadagian

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

See main article: List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards.

Category	Winner
Wrestler of the Year	Chris Jericho
Most Outstanding	Bryan Danielson
Feud of the Year	Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels
Tag Team of the Year	John Morrison and The Miz
Most Improved	The Miz
Best on Interviews	Chris Jericho

Debuts

• January 3 – Ryuichi Sekine
• February 11 - Takashi Okita (Kensuke Office)
• March 7 - Matt Taven
• March 11 – Shinya Ishikawa
• April 12 - Hamuko Hoshi
• April 19 – Shota
• April 26 - Adam Cole
• May 24 - Adam Page
• June 27 - Yuji Okabayashi
• July 13 - Nozomi Dai (NEO)
• July 20 - Hikaru Shida
• September 20 – Nikki Cross
• November 11 – Yumehito Imanari
• November 15 - Bo Dallas
• November 22 – Rusev
• December 4 – Ryuichi Kawakami

Retirements

• Roadkill (1996 – February 4, 2008) (brief return only in 2012)
• Billy Kidman (September 11, 1994 – February 23, 2008)
• Woody Farmer (1960s-April 12, 2008)
• Torrie Wilson (February 21, 1999 – May 8, 2008) (brief return only in 2009 and 2018)
• Jonathan Coachman (December 23, 1999 – June 2008)
• Danny Basham (1998–July 5, 2008)
• Ashley Massaro (June 27, 2005 – July 9, 2008)
• Carlos Colón (February 16, 1966 – July 19, 2008)
• Johnny Jeter (September 2001 – August 2008) (brief return only in 2014)
• Cherry (January 1999 – August 15, 2008)
• Sonny Siaki (March 1998 – September 17, 2008)
• Joey Mercury (October 12, 1996 – October 2008) (returned to wrestling from 2010 onwards)
• Peter Thornley (1964-October 29, 2008)
• KC James (December 15, 2001 – December 12, 2008)
• Misae Genki (August 28, 1994 – December 31, 2008)

Deaths

• January 17 - Ernie Holmes, 59
• February 15 – Johnny Weaver, 72^[1]
• March 6 – Don Curtis, 80
• March 16 – Gary Hart, 66^[2]
• March 20 – Bestia Salvaje, 46^[3]
• March 23 – Chase Tatum, 34^[4]
• March 23 - Luis Magana, 97
• March 28 – Ron Slinker, 62^[5]
• April 5 - Buffalo Jim Barrier, 55
• May 11 – Judy Grable, 72
• May 12 – Penny Banner, 73
• May 25 - Rudy Kay, 65
• June 17 - Jimmy Jackson (wrestler), 51
• July 12 - Evgeny Artyukhin Sr., 59
• July 30 – Alfonso Dantés, 65^[6]
• August 20 - Sonny Fargo, 80
• August 30 – Killer Kowalski, 81
• September 21 - Al Hobman, 83
• October 8 - Hogan Wharton, 72
• October 16 – Jack Reynolds, 71
• October 19 – Lia Maivia, 81
• October 26 – S. D. Jones, 63^[7]
• December 4 – Steve Bradley, 32
• December 14 – Mike Bell, 37^[8]

See also

• List of NJPW pay-per-view events
• List of ROH pay-per-view events
• List of TNA pay-per-view events
• List of WWE pay-per-view events

Notes and References

1. News: Johnny Weaver Dead at 72. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210510211554/https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/2008/02/15/johnny-weaver-dead-at-72/ . May 10, 2021 . February 15, 2008. May 15, 2022. Slam Wrestling.
2. Web site: Autobiography of Professional Wrestling Manager "Playboy" Gary Hart Released. 2011-06-15. 2011-06-15. PR.com.
3. http://www.pro-wrestling.com/displaynews.php?area=4&sid=15433 Bestia Salvaje dead at 46
4. Web site: Ex-pro wrestler dead of apparent overdose. MSNBC. 2009-12-09. 2008-03-27. https://archive.today/20120714213245/http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/23791949/. 2012-07-14. dead.
5. Web site: Ron Slinker. onlineworldofwrestling.com.
6. Web site: Schramm . Chris. Mexican great Alfonso Dantés dies. https://archive.today/20120629191423/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2008/07/30/6312326.html . usurped . June 29, 2012 . Canadian Online Explorer. SLAM! Sports . 2008-07-31.
7. News: S.D. Jones dies in Antigua. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210511093031/https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/2008/10/27/s-d-jones-dies-in-antigua/ . May 11, 2021 . October 27, 2008. October 27, 2008. Slam Wrestling.
8. Web site: Pro wrestler Mike 'Mad Dog' Bell found dead at 37. Los Angeles Times. 2010-08-25. December 19, 2008. Associated Press.