Linus O'Howell

4 days ago35 min read

My 2024 WWE Awards

2024 has been a pretty great year for both Professional Wrestling and WWE, and with the “season” coming to a close, it’s time for my Yearly Awards Article! In this list, there are 5 different categories with 10 nominees in each, and there will also be some honourable mentions at the bottom! As always, you will be able to vote for your choice too, and the way I choose is based on a number of things including in-ring work, storytelling, accolades, match quality, and more! So, as always, let’s start with My Male Superstar of the Year Nominees!

2024 Male Superstar of the Year Nominees

Drew McIntyre

What better place to start than with the “Hater of the Year”, Drew McIntyre! In “My Top 50 WWE Matches of 2024”, Drew appeared in 4 matches including two in the Top 5 which is pretty good going! Drew started the year by losing to Seth “Freakin” Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at Day 1 before he was eliminated in the Royal Rumble by CM Punk! McIntyre then headed to Australia to win the Elimination Chamber match before he beat Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, only to be cashed in on moments later (by Damian Priest)! This was all the beginnings of a hate feud between McIntyre and CM Punk, with Punk costing Drew the Title on multiple occasions, including in McIntyre’s home country of Scotland as well as at Money in the Bank after Drew cashed in his newly won contract! We then got a trilogy of matches between Punk and McIntyre, with Drew winning the first one (at Summerslam) whilst he went on to lose the next two, including a masterpiece of a contest inside Hell in a Cell (at Bad Blood)! Drew McIntyre then ended his year by beating Sami Zayn at Saturday Night’s Main Event, and all in all, it’s been a career-best year for The Scottish Psychopath!

Damian Priest

If you thought 2023 was a good year for Damian Priest, 2024 was a whole lot bigger! In “My Top 50 WWE Matches of 2024”, Damian appeared in 4 matches (all A- or higher) and he started the year having both a laugh and a rivalry with R-Truth! Priest would then defend and retain his Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships with his Judgment Day stablemate Finn Balor before they ultimately lost the belts in a terrific Ladder Match on Night 1 of WrestleMania 40! On Night 2 of WrestleMania XL, Priest pulled off a shocking cash-in to dethrone Drew McIntyre for the World Heavyweight Championship which began the era of “El Campeon”! During his Title reign, Priest would go on to pick up big wins over the likes of Jey Uso, Drew McIntyre, and Seth “Freakin” Rollins whilst also showing a great load of character work in both promos and backstage segments! Damian’s Title reign would eventually end at Summerslam after his partner Finn Balor turned on him, but this then led to Priest becoming over with the crowd as he formed “The Terror Twins” with Rhea Ripley! Priest would then go on to beat his Rivals at both Bash in Berlin and Bad Blood, but he was unsuccessful when it came to regaining his World Heavyweight Championship off Gunther at both Survivor Series and Saturday Night’s Main Event! Just like last year, Damian Priest is a big contender to win this whole thing!

Oba Femi

There is no doubt that Oba Femi has changed the game in 2024! In “My Top 50 WWE Matches of 2024”, Oba appeared in 3 matches, and he started the year by winning the NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament by defeating Riley Osbourne at NXT New Year’s Evil! Just a week later and Femi had already cashed in his Breakout Tournament contract to dethrone Dragon Lee for the NXT North American Championship, and then he would go on to have a legendary Title run which included a terrific Triple Threat against Josh Briggs and Dijak at Stand and Deliver, and wins over the likes of Ivar, Otis, and Wes Lee! Eventually, Femi’s record-breaking 273-day reign would end at the hands of Tony D’Angelo, but Oba’s year wasn’t done yet as he went on to win the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline! What a sensational first (proper) year for The Ruler!

Bron Breakker

Bron Breakker’s final run on NXT mixed with his first year on the Main Roster proved why he very much is a future World Champion! In “My Top 50 WWE Matches of 2024”, Bron appeared in 4 matches and he started the year by forming a fun alliance with Baron Corbin! Breakker would then put in a strong performance in the Men’s Royal Rumble before he and Corbin defeated Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams at Vengeance Day to be crowned as this year’s NXT Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic winners! “The Wolf Dogs” would then go on to defeat The D’Angelo Family to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions before the duo had a couple of great battles with Axiom and Nathan Frazer, eventually dropping the Titles on the NXT after Stand and Deliver! This would see the end of Bron in NXT as he was drafted to Raw and started to destroy everyone in his path in some of the best angles of the entire year! The Badass would then go on to “kill” Ricochet before he finally dethroned Sami Zayn (at Summerslam) for the Intercontinental Championship! To be fair, Bron didn’t hold the belt for too long as he was defeated by Jey Uso, but he was then able to win back the Gold less than a month later, and he’s since gone on to retain the Title in a great match against Ludwig Kaiser and Sheamus (at Survivor Series)! This has been a stacked year for Bron Breakker, with accolades and great moments galore, and I’m very intrigued to see how he tops it in 2025!

Gunther

One of the three Wrestlers to appear in this list every year since I started these Awards, Gunther once again proved that he is one of the Best in the World! In “My Top 50 WWE Matches of 2024”, Gunther appeared twice (both A- matches) and he started the year by once again having a strong showing in the Men’s Royal Rumble match before he retained his Intercontinental Championships over the likes of Jey Uso and Kofi Kingston! On Night 1 of WrestleMania XL, Gunther was finally dethroned for the IC Title by Sami Zayn, ending his Championship reign at 666 days! However, The Ring General quickly bounced back to beat a bundle of top names before he defeated Randy Orton in the Final at Saudi Arabia to be crowned as the new King of the Ring! Things then kept getting better for “The King General” as Gunther dethroned Damian Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship at Summerslam before he has since gone on to have successful Title defences over Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, and Damian Priest! Gunther did suffer a rare loss against Cody Rhodes for the inaugural Crown Jewel Championship, but that’s only a tiny nock on what has been another successful year for the reigning World Heavyweight Champion!

Sami Zayn

For the third-straight year, Sami Zayn is a contender for Male Wrestler of the Year! In “My Top 50 WWE Matches of 2024”, Sami appeared in 5 which sees him tied for third which is very, very good going! Sami started the year by entering the Royal Rumble at Number 30 before he earned his way to WrestleMania 40 after winning an entertaining Gauntlet Match! At Mania XL, Zayn achieved the biggest singles victory of his career to end Gunther’s record-breaking reign as the Intercontinental Champion before Sami went on to have a fun feud with Chad Gable which saw him ultimately come out on top! However, after originally winning at Money in the Bank, Zayn would lose his Intercontinental Championship to Bron Breakker (at Summerslam) before The Underdog from the Underground came close to dethroning Gunther again, this time for the World Heavyweight Championship! Sami then ended his year by reuniting himself with The O.G. Bloodline as Zayn managed to pick up the win inside of WarGames! Once again, Sami Zayn is a star!

Wes Lee

Whilst this might come as a bit of a surprise, Wes Lee deserves his spot on this list! In “My Top 50 WWE Matches of 2024”, Wes Lee appeared 7 times which is actually the highest amount of any singles Wrestler which says a lot! After originally being announced as being out for up to a year, Wes made his shocking return just 4 months later to confront NXT North American Champion Oba Femi at Week 2 of NXT Spring Breakin’ before Lee would go on to lose to Femi at both Battleground (in a Triple with Joe Coffey) and Heatwave! We then saw Wes team up with his former buddies The Rascalz which included him appearing on TNA’s Slammiversary show whilst also having a great match with Axiom and Nathan Frazer! Ultimately, MSK would lose that fight at The Great American Bash which is when Wes turned Heel in what was both an awesome and shocking moment! This then led to Lee and Wentz having two terrific matches, with Wentz winning at No Mercy whilst Lee got his revenge on NXT’s debut on the CW Network, and since then, Wes has been back to his best with terrific showings against the likes of Ethan Page and Je’Von Evans! I think when you take everything that Wes Lee has been through combined with the great in-ring performances, The Kardiak Kid is still firmly one of NXT’s best!

Cody Rhodes

For the first time, Cody Rhodes makes it on to the Nominees for my Wrestler of the Year! In “My Top 50 WWE Matches of 2024”, Cody appeared 4 times, with one of those coming when he won the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble for the second straight year! For a couple of months after, we got a great feud between Cody and The Rock which saw Rhodes get pinned by The Rock in a Tag Team match in the Main Event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 40 whilst in Night 2, Rhodes finally finished his story and dethroned the unbeatable Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship! After this, The American Nightmare would go on to retain his Title against AJ Styles and Logan Paul before he got into a feud with The Bloodline which eventually saw him beat Solo Sikoa with the help of Roman Reigns! Things then got very interesting as Rhodes decided to align himself with Reigns at Bad Blood (where they beat The Bloodline), but this just resulted in The American Nightmare getting attacked by his former friend Kevin Owens before the two fought at Saturday Night’s Main Event, with the Champ retaining! Whilst his Title reign hasn’t been the most exciting, a Royal Rumble win plus two Mania Main Events is pretty damn good for Cody Rhodes!

Trick Williams

2024 will always be known as the year that Trick Williams went from a Hype man to the Main Man! In “My Top 50 WWE Matches of 2024”, Trick appeared 4 times, and all 4 of them were graded A- or above which is very strong indeed! Trick started the year by facing double duty at NXT Vengeance Day, and it ultimately wasn’t a good night for him as he lost in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Final against Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker before he failed to capture the NXT Championship off Ilja Dragunov in the Main Event! After the match, Williams was attacked by his former friend and partner Carmelo Hayes before we got one of the biggest matches in NXT history, with Trick defeating Melo in the Main Event of NXT Stand and Deliver! At NXT Spring Breakin’, Williams managed to dethrone Dragunov for the NXT Title in what was one of the biggest pops I’ve heard all year before whilst he also had some great segments with Lash Legend of Meta-Four! At Heatwave, Trick Willy would watch as Ethan Page stole his NXT Championship away before Williams got into a heated feud with Pete Dunne which eventually resulted in Trick getting the upper hand in a Last Man Standing Match! On NXT’s premiere on the CW, Trick became a 2-time NXT Champion after retaking the Title from Ethan Page before the charismatic sensation has had successful Title defences over the likes of Ridge Holland and Eddy Thorpe! The “Whoop That Era” was strong in 2024, and I think the sky is the limit for old Trick Willy!

Roman Reigns

As always with this list, we end with Roman Reigns! In “My Top 50 WWE Matches of 2024”, Roman Reigns appeared 5 times which is the joint-third highest amount, and it’s actually insane when you consider that he’s only wrestled 6 matches all year! Roman started the year by retaining his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a Fatal 4-Way against AJ Styles, Randy Orton, and LA Knight at the Royal Rumble before Reigns was involved in a major WrestleMania storyline which included Cody Rhodes, Seth “Freakin” Rollins, and his cousin The Rock! Reigns would then go on to Main Event both nights, winning the Tag Match on Night 1 before his history-making 1,316-day reign as Champion was finally ended on Night 2 (to Cody Rhodes) in what was my match of the year! Also, we’ll talk about this more later, but Roman’s entrance was one of the best things of the entire year too! After losing his Championship, The Head of the Table took some time away, but Roman then made a dramatic return at Summerslam to cost his cousin Solo Sikoa the Undisputed WWE Championship before we got a dramatic video involving Reigns and Rhodes as the two men successfully teamed up at Bad Blood! The OTC would then reunite his old Bloodline to eventually defeat The current Bloodline inside of WarGames at Survivor Series, and the two best words to describe Roman Reigns are “Greatness”, and “Aura”!

My 2024 Male Superstar of the Year: Drew McIntyre

2024 Male Superstar of the Year

0%Drew McIntyre
0%Damian Priest
0%Oba Femi
0%Bron Breakker

2024 Female Superstar of the Year Nominees

Liv Morgan

When it comes to stepping up to the plate, I think that phrase is best suited to Liv Morgan! Liv started the year by being the runner-up in both the Women’s Royal Rumble and Women’s Elimination Chamber Matches before she missed WrestleMania entirely! This then led to Morgan turning into a Heel as she injured Rhea Ripley in a backstage segment before she would dethrone Becky Lynch for the Women’s World Championship at King and Queen of the Ring! Liv would then start to flirt with Dominik Mysterio as she also helped The Judgment Day win the World Tag Team Championships, and at Summerslam, Liv managed to retain her Women’s World Championship over the returning Rhea Ripley as Morgan and Mysterio finally became a couple! Liv then joined the brand-new Judgment Day before she again retained her Title over Ripley after having Raquel Rodriguez join her as her bodyguard! It then got better for Morgan as she defeated Nia Jax to become the inaugural Women’s Crown Jewel Champion before she has since fought in WarGames and beaten Iyo Sky at Saturday Night’s Main Event! Liv Morgan’s work as a Heel this year has been terrific, she’s done everything she’s needed to do and more, and it’s safe to say that The Liv Morgan Revenge Tour was certainly a success!

Bayley

Bayley will always be known as one of the best Women’s Wrestlers of all time! Bayley started the year by winning the Women’s Royal Rumble after lasting in the contest for over an hour before The Role Model was quickly kicked out of Damage CTRL by her former partners! This then led into Bayley dethroning Iyo Sky for the WWE Women’s Championship in what was a terrific WrestleMania match before she went on to retain the Title against Naomi and Tiffany Stratton in France, and Piper Niven in Scotland! Unfortunately, Bayley’s Championship reign was booked pretty poorly and she lost convincingly to Nia Jax at Summerslam before she again lost to Jax at Bad Blood! Bayley would then find herself on the winning side in WarGames, but The Role Model was unable to capture the Women’s United States Championship, losing to Chelsea Green in the Semi-Finals! Whilst her run as Champion was weak, Bayley’s first part of the year was terrific, and her match against Iyo at WrestleMania proved just how good she truly is!

Roxanne Perez

2024, The Year of The Prodigy! After being screwed out of the NXT Women’s Championship at Vengeance Day by a Lola Vice cash-in, Roxanne Perez turned Heel in a brilliant attack on Lyra Valkyria before she dethroned Valkyria for the NXT Women’s Title at NXT Stand and Deliver! Roxanne then defended her Title against Main Roster starts like Natalya and Chelsea Green, and she also beat TNA Knockout’s World Champion Jordynne Grace in a massive clash at Battleground! Perez then delivered more successful Title defences on big stages against the likes of Thea Hail, Lola Vice, and Jaida Parker before The Prodigy managed to pick up a big retention over Giulia on NXT’s premiere on the CW Network! The consistency of Roxanne Perez is what impresses me the most, she delivers every single time she’s in the squared circle, and she’s done a fantastic job as NXT Women’s Champion this year! Well done Roxy!

Iyo Sky

The fact that Iyo Sky competed in my two highest-rated Women’s Matches in 2024 says a lot about her brilliance! Iyo started the year as the WWE Women’s Champion, carrying the Title all the way till WrestleMania where she dropped it to her former Damage CTRL partner Bayley! Iyo would then move over to Raw in the WWE Draft where she would lose in both of the Queen of the Ring Semi-Finals and in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match! Sky would then go on a bit of a Babyface run as she teamed up with Kairi Sane in a feud against Pure Fusion Collective before The Genius of the Sky won a Battle Royal in Saudi Arabia to earn herself a shot at Liv Morgan and the Women’s World Championship! Whilst Iyo Sky would then go on to lose to Liv at Saturday Night’s Main Event, it was just another showcase as to why Iyo is one of the best in-ring wrestlers in the world, Male or Female!

Chelsea Green

“It’s Chelsea”, a line synonymous with one of the best characters in all of Professional Wrestling! After “maximising her minutes” earlier in the year (including a terrific Royal Rumble showing), Chelsea Green would end up unsuccessful in her attempt to win the NXT Women’s Championship before she also failed to capture the Women’s Money in the Bank Briefcase after putting in one heck of a shift! Green then got into a feud with Michin which would saw her lose in a Dumpster Match before she and her Tag Team partner Piper Niven failed to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships at Crown Jewel! However, Chelsea wasn’t to be denied as she brilliantly beat Bianca Belair, Blair Davenport, Bayley, and then Michin in the Final to be crowned as the inaugural Women’s United States Champion (at Saturday Night’s Main Event)! Chelsea Green is a terrific character, every backstage promo or segment she has is massively entertaining, and Ms. Green becoming the Women’s US Champ was just the icing on the cake!

Kelani Jordan

In her first full year on WWE TV, Kelani Jordan proved that she is in fact a Standout! Kelani started the year by working with Fallon Henley before the two of them and Thea Hail teamed up to take on Kiana James, Jacy Jayne, and Izzi Dame in a match that they won at NXT Stand and Deliver! Jordan would then use this momentum to climb the ladder at Battleground and become the first-ever NXT Women’s North American Champion! Lani would then go on to defend the Title over multiple months against the likes of Michin, Sol Ruca, Tatum Paxley, and Wendy Choo before she eventually dropped the Title at NXT Halloween Havoc in a Gauntlet Match to Fatal Influence’s Fallon Henley! Kelani then went on to Main Event an NXT show in the 2300 Arena which was pretty cool given the people she was teaming up with! Ultimately, the catchphrase “Nobody does it like Lani” feels very fitting when it comes to the young 26-year-old!

Tiffany Stratton

“It’s Tiffy Time”! Tiffany Stratton started the year by losing to Fallon at NXT New Year’s Evil which resulted in that fun video where Tiffany had to be a ranch hand for a day! Tiffany then made her Main Roster debut in a fantastic Royal Rumble showing before she received a massive amount of support from the Australian crowd when she appeared in the Women’s Elimination Chamber match! Stratton then suffered a loss in France when she attempted to dethrone Bayley for the WWE Women’s Championship before we started to get an alliance between Tiffy and Nia Jax! This then eventually led to Stratton becoming Miss Money in the Bank as she has since teased cash-ins on multiple occasions, including inside WarGames! Tiffany Stratton is amazing, I’ve rated her so highly since she first arrived in NXT, and Main Roster World Championships are certain in the near future for The Center of the Universe!

Naomi

In her first year back in the company, Naomi has certainly been made to work! After starting the year as the TNA Knockouts World Champion, Naomi made her return to WWE by coming out at Number 2 in the Women’s Royal Rumble as she lasted over 1 hour and 2 minutes! Naomi then appeared in Perth as she competed in the Women’s Elimination Chamber Match before she aligned herself with Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill as the three defeated Damage CTRL on Night 1 of WrestleMania 40! Naomi then appeared in France where she failed to capture the WWE Women’s Championship off of Bayley in a match that also contained Tiffany Stratton before The Glow also appeared in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match! Naomi then got into a feud with Nia Jax which saw her again miss out on winning a World Title before she picked up a win inside of WarGames, and she currently now finds herself as one-half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions alongside Belair! It has felt like Naomi has wrestled nearly every week since she’s returned, and I think that’s the main reason why she deserves a spot in this list!

Nia Jax

“All Hail the Queen”! Nia Jax started the year by beating Becky Lynch on the Day 1 edition of Monday Night Raw before she tied the record for the most eliminations in a Women’s Royal Rumble! Nia then Main Evented Elimination Chamber where she lost to Rhea Ripley before she lost to Becky Lynch in a fun Last Woman Standing Match! Jax then moved over to SmackDown and quickly became Queen of the Ring after defeating Lyra Valkyria in the Final before she started a partnership with Tiffany Stratton! This then led to Queen Nia dethroning Bayley for the WWE Women’s Championship at Summerslam before she has since gone on to retain the Title over Michin (in Berlin) and Naomi! However, the ending of the year has been slightly tougher for the WWE Women’s Champion as she did lose to Liv Morgan for the inaugural Women’s Crown Jewel Championship whilst she also found herself on the losing side of the Women’s WarGames Match! Still, 2024 has definitely been a renaissance year for Nia Jax, and she fully deserves her flowers!

Rhea Ripley

Rhea Ripley is looking to go back-to-back when it comes to winning my Female Superstar of the Year Award! Rhea started the year by Main Eventing Elimination Chamber in her home country of Australia where she managed to defeat Nia Jax before she went on to kickoff WrestleMania 40 with a great Women’s World Championship defence over Becky Lynch! An unfortunate would then scupper Ripley’s momentum, with her being forced to vacate her Women’s World Title before she failed to win it back at Summerslam after Dominik Mysterio “left her” for Liv Morgan! Rhea then aligned herself with Damian Priest to form The Terror Twins before she managed to pin Morgan in a Mixed Tag Team Match at Bash in Berlin! At Bad Blood, Rhea was again screwed out of winning back her Championship, this time by an old foe in Raquel Rodriguez before MAMI again pinned Liv, this time inside of WarGames! The injury hurt Rhea Ripley’s year, no doubt, but The Eradicator’s start to 2024 cannot be forgotten!

My 2024 Female Superstar of the Year: Roxanne Perez

2024 Female Superstar of the Year

0%Liv Morgan
0%Bayley
0%Roxanne Perez
0%Iyo Sky

2024 Breakout Star of the Year Nominees

Ethan Page

“All Ego” Ethan Page is the perfect person to start with when it comes to the 2024 Breakout Stars of the Year! Ethan Page made a shocking debut on NXT TV when he laid out the NXT Champion Trick Williams before he lost on debut at Battleground! However, after earning another Title opportunity for NXT Heatwave, Page managed to sneak a victory in in a terrific Fatal 4-Way against Shawn Spears, Je’Von Evans, and (the Champion) Trick to become the brand-new NXT Champion! Over the months that followed, Page proved himself to be a terrific promo and character as he starred in feuds with Joe Hendry and Oro Mensah before All Ego would eventually drop his NXT Title back to Trick Williams after being screwed over by CM Punk on NXT’s big premiere on the CW! Since then, Page has gone on to do more great work and win a particularly great match against both Wes Lee and Je’Von Evan whilst his performance in the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge also deserves praise! The future is bright for The Egomaniac!

Jade Cargill

Whether you like her or not, Jade Cargill’s star power is only continuing to grow! Jade Cargill made her WWE debut in the Women’s Royal Rumble where she put in a very strong performance, ultimately finishing third (behind Liv Morgan and Bayley)! Cargill then signed to SmackDown before she made her WrestleMania debut, teaming up with both Bianca Belair and Naomi to successfully defeat Damage CTRL! At Backlash, Jade and Bianca won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships off Damage CTRL before they quickly dropped the Titles to Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn at Clash at the Castle! However, at Bash in Berlin, Belair and Cargill would defeat Fyre and Dawn to recapture their Women’s Tag Team Titles before they successfully defended their belts in a Fatal 4-Way at Crown Jewel! Whilst Jade Cargill has now been written off of TV with an injury, and she’s not the most entertaining person to watch (in my opinion, Jade has still broken out!

Jacob Fatu

There are not many performers who can say they’ve made as big of an impact in as short a period of time as Jacob Fatu! Jacob Fatu made his WWE debut in late June, aligning himself with The Bloodline before him, Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga went on to defeat the trio of Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, and Randy Orton at Money in the Bank! Less than a month later, and Fatu found himself as a WWE Tag Team Champion after him and Tama dethroned DIY on the SmackDown before Summerslam! Fatu was then forced to hand over the Title to Tonga Loa to become Solo Sikoa’s Enforcer before Jacob had multiple great run-ins with Roman Reigns, including when The Bloodline defeated Reigns and The Usos at Crown Jewel! Jacob Fatu then ended his year with an MVP performance in the Men’s WarGames Match, and all in all, The Samoan Werewolf is a very strong contender for this award!

Motor City Machine Guns

For context, I’m talking about the Motor City Machine Guns breaking out on WWE TV, not in Wrestling in general because it’s well-known that Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin are one of the best Tag Teams in the entire world! On October 18th, Shelley and Sabin made their WWE debuts with a victory over A-Town Down Under and Los Garza before, just a week later, MCMG dethroned The Bloodline to become the brand-new WWE Tag Team Champions! Motor City Machine Guns then managed to retain their Titles in a No Contest against The Street Profits before they dropped the Titles to DIY after Johnny Gargano turned Heel! The thing is, the Motor City Machine Guns haven’t been around for long when it comes to being in WWE, but they won Tag Team Gold in just their second week which is more than good enough to be a nominee for this award!

Je’Von Evans

Given he’s 20 years old, Je’Von Evans might be the most exciting prospect WWE have had in a very long time! Je’Von Evans made his NXT TV debut with a win over Scrypts before he faced the NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov just a week later! Je’Von then managed to win a 25-Man Battle Royal to earn a shot at the NXT Championship before he competed in my NXT match of the year where he was pinned by Ethan Page in a Fatal 4-Way at NXT Heatwave! Evans then continued to show his amazing quality with standout performances against The Rascalz and alongside Cedric Alexander before he faced the biggest match of his career when he took on Randy Orton in Orton’s hometown of St. Louis, Missouri! The Young O.G. has since gone on to defeat Wes Lee twice as well as put on a heck of a performance in the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge, and honestly, I haven’t got enough words to describe how brilliant Je’Von Evans is!

Jaida Parker

There’s no doubt that Jaida Parker has become a fan favourite in the NXT Universe! Jaida Parker started the year by joining OTM (alongside Scrypts, Bronco Nima, and Lucien Price) before the group would enter a feud with The D’Angelo Family, eventually losing to them at NXT Vengeance Day! Jaida then earnt her way into a 6-Woman Ladder Match for the chance to be crowned the inaugural NXT Women’s North American Champion, but it was Kelani Jordan who scored the win before she got into a feud with Michin that resulted in a great Street Fight (which Parker won)! Parker then failed to dethrone Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women’s Championship at No Mercy before she got into a feud with Lola Vice which resulted in her picking up a win in a Hardcore Match in the 2300 Arena, but she then ultimately lost to Vice in an NXT Underground Match at NXT Deadline! There is no doubt that Jaida Parker’s stock has risen this year, she’s been in multiple feuds, appearing on plenty of Premium Live Events, and you have to think that Championships could soon be around the waist of Miss Parker!

Charlie Dempsey

Whilst very experienced, 2024 was the year for me that Charlie Dempsey really found his character! Back in February, Charlie Dempsey dethroned Noam Dar for the NXT Heritage Cup before him and the No Quarter Catch Crew got into a feud with The D’Angelo Family! This led to a 6-Man Tag at NXT Spring Breakin’ (which The Family won) before Tony D’Angelo would later go on to dethrone Dempsey for the Heritage Cup! Dempsey then spent some time in TNA, facing The Rascalz at Slammiversary before the Brit would win back the NXT Heritage Cup after some help from new stablemate Wren Sinclair! This is when we started to get some great character work from “Charles” who proved how great he is when it comes to his facial expressions, and he was also able to retain the Cup over the likes of Je’Von Evans and Lexis King! On the Christmas Eve edition of NXT, Dempsey would get screwed out of his Heritage Cup after Mr. Regal dropped Lexis King (which ultimately caused the Disqualification), but in the end, Charlie Dempsey is one of my favourite people to watch backstage, and I definitely wasn’t saying that 12 months ago!

Wren Sinclair

Having just briefly mentioned her, Wren Sinclair has been a joy to watch in the second part of 2024! Wren started the year by having a short feud with Lash Legend and Meta-Four (which she lost) before she also failed to qualify for the NXT Women’s North American Championship Ladder Match! However, things turned around for Sinclair when she joined No Quarter Catch Crew, turning Heel and helping Charlie Dempsey become the NXT Heritage Cup Champion! Wren would then show great character work in backstage segments, both with promos and her facial expressions before she would challenge Kelani Jordan for the NXT Women’s North American Title (which she failed to capture)! Sinclair would then find her way onto her Premium Live Event debut in the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge at Deadline, and whilst she failed to win the match, Wren put on one heck of a showing! In my opinion, the leader of the “WreNQCC” has a very bright future ahead of her!

Hank and Tank

One of my personal favourite Tag Teams, Hank and Tank have really grown in 2024! Hank and Tank started the year by losing to Axiom and Nathan Frazer in the First Round of the NXT Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic before they got into a Best-of-3 Series with Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe on Level Up (which they won)! Walker and Ledger then had a good showing in a losing effort to the New Catch Republic before they managed to pick up the biggest wins of their careers when they defeated The O.C.! Hank and Tank then managed to beat Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson again as well as OTM, and all the backstage segments they take part in are so much fun to watch! Honestly, I really hope Hank and Tank win Tag Team Gold next year!

Oba Femi

NXT Breakout Tournament Winner, Men’s Iron Survivor, and the longest-reigning NXT North American Champion in history! Need I say more?

My 2024 Breakout Star of the Year: Oba Femi

2024 Breakout Star of the Year

0%Ethan Page
0%Jade Cargill
0%Jacob Fatu
0%Motor City Machine Guns

2024 Tag Team/Faction of the Year Nominees

Axiom and Nathan Frazer

If you’ve read any of my NXT articles this year or caught up with My Top 50 WWE Matches of 2024, you will know that Axiom and Nathan Frazer are my favourite performers to watch! Axiom and Nathan started the year with a strong showing in the NXT Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic before they lost to Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker again at Stand and Deliver, only to defeat them three days later to become the brand-new NXT Tag Team Champions! FRAXIOM would then defend their Titles in terrific matches against Chase University and MSK before they would lose their Titles to Chase U in August! However, Axiom and Frazer weren’t to be denied as they recaptured their Titles at NXT No Mercy before they put in more great showings against Je’Von Evans and Cedric Alexander as well as No Quarter Catch Crew as their star continued to shine the brightest! Axiom and Nathan Frazer have reignited my love for Tag Team Wrestling this year, I mean they featured in a 1/5 of my Top 50 matches this year, and I honestly can’t praise them enough!

Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill

Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill have become one of the strongest partnerships in all of WWE this year! Bianca and Jade first teamed up (alongside Naomi) at WrestleMania where they managed to defeat Damage CTRL before they went on to beat The Kabuki Warriors in France to become the brand-new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions! Belair and Cargill would then quickly drop the Titles at Clash at the Castle to Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, but they would then regain their Gold at Bash in Berlin! Belair and Cargill have since gone on to have successful defences against The Judgment Day as well as in a Fatal 4-Way at Crown Jewel, but their year did end with Jade being taken out in a backstage attack! Still, for Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships twice this year fully earns them a place on this list!

Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker

Whilst the pairing of Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker didn’t last long, my goodness me was it a fun one! Forged together by the idea of wanting to win Gold, Baron and Bron did exactly that as they stormed through Gallus as well as Axiom and Nathan Frazer before they beat Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams in the Final at NXT Vengeance Day to win the NXT Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic! Corbin and Breakker would then go on to dethrone The D’Angelo Family for the NXT Tag Team Championships before they had successful Title defences over Chase University, Alpha Academy, and Axiom and Frazer at Stand and Deliver! Just 3 days later, The Wolf Dogs would lose their Titles to FRAXIOM in the third great match the two teams had together, and this ultimately saw Baron and Bron go their separate ways. Still, their backstage promos and in-ring work combined to just a fantastic few months, and hopefully one day we’ll see The Wolf Dogs again!

DIY

DIY! DIY started the year by failing to capture the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships off The Judgment Day before they showed out in their WrestleMania debuts, staring in a 6-Pack Ladder Match which they also failed to get over the line as the victors! DIY then failed again as they lost against The Awesome Truth before a move over to Friday Night’s finally resulted in success as DIY dethroned A-Town Down Under in Toronto to become the brand-new WWE Tag Team Champions! Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano would only hold the Titles for 28 days though, dropping them to The Bloodline before they would lose more and more which resulted in Ciampa going back to his old ways! However, in a match with the Motor City Machine Guns, Gargano would too turn Heel as DIY recaptured the WWE Tag Team Titles to end the year as 2-time Champs! DIY are easily one of the best Tag Teams in the world, and I think 2025 has the potential to be a lot greater for them (which is saying something because they’ve done a lot this year)!

Chase University

For one final time, class is in session at Chase University! Chase University started the year in debt, and had to be saved by Jacy Jayne making a “Ladies of Chase U” Calendar which is still one of the most bizarre things I have seen all year! Jayne would later turn Heel on the group as she got into a feud with Thea Hail (which Hail won at Spring Breakin’) before the group started to become close with Ridge Holland! This then led to a terrific match between Chase U and Axiom and Nathan Frazer at NXT Heatwave (honestly might be the best Tag Team match I’ve ever seen), but a loss here started to change things as Ridge substituted in for Duke Huson! However, this worked great as Chase and Holland proved to be a great pairing as they dethroned FRAXIOM for the NXT Tag Team Championships, only to give them back a few weeks later! After their defeat at NXT No Mercy, Ridge Holland would turn Heel on the group, defeating Andre Chase in an Ambulance Match at Halloween Havoc before another loss for Mr. Chase would see the end of his University as a whole! It’s been a crazy year for Chase University, but they managed to have 3 matches in my Top 50 list, and they won a Championship so good on them! Chase U, you will be missed!

Fatal Influence

Whilst some may call them a budget Toxic Attraction, Fatal Influence fully stands on its own as one of the best Female factions in the game! Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx (who were already a duo) found themselves an unlikely ally in the form of Fallon Henley, and the three would end up becoming a trio that saw them pick up a victory over Meta-Four on debut before they have since gone on to face Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Kelani Jordan as well as Main Event a big NXT show in the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania! Fatal Influence then got themselves into a feud with Kelani Jordan, and after picking a Gauntlet Match as their stipulation for Halloween Havoc, Fallon Henley would dethrone Jordan for the NXT Women’s North American Championship as the faction’s stock continues to grow! The Rockstar, The Pro, and The N.Y.X., now that’s a trio that can go places!

The Judgment Day

What a rollercoaster of a year it’s been for The Judgment Day! The Judgment Day started the year as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, with Rhea Ripley holding the Women’s World Championship and Damian Priest being Senor Money in the Bank! The Judgment Day were also in a fun little story with R-Truth before WrestleMania happened! At WrestleMania, Finn Balor and Damian Priest lost their Tag Team Titles in a great Ladder Match, Dominik Mysterio lost in a Tag Team match with Santos Escobar, but Rhea managed to retain her Women’s World Title whilst Priest would cash in successfully to become the brand-new World Heavyweight Champion! Unfortunately, Ripley was forced to relinquish her Championship after suffering a legitimate injury whilst Carlito started to insert himself in the group! During Ripley’s time away, Liv Morgan would start to flirt with “Dirty” Dom whilst she also helped Finn and JD McDonagh win the World Tag Team Championships! Whilst this was going on, Damian Priest was trying to carry the group as the World Champion before Rhea Ripley returned to start a feud with Morgan! Things would then all come to a head at Summerslam as Dominik chose Liv over Rhea whilst Balor cost Priest his Title! The “New” Judgment Day would then be revealed as Balor, Morgan, Mysterio, McDonagh, and Carlito as they got into a feud with The Terror Twins (Priest and Ripley) before Raquel Rodriguez would also join the group as Liv’s security! Ultimately, Balor and McDonagh would lose their World Tag Team Titles to The War Raiders as more dissension seems around the corner! My oh my, The Judgment Day have played such a big part in WWE again this year, but I’m not sure they’ve quite done enough to win this award for a second straight year!

Damage CTRL

Damage CTRL, one of the best Female Factions of all time! At the start of the year, The Kabuki Warriors captured the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships as Bayley went on to win the Royal Rumble! This then saw the end of the group as we knew it as Bayley was kicked out before all four women in the group wrestled at WrestleMania! On Night 1, Asuka, Kairi Sane, and Dakota Kai lost to Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Naomi whilst Iyo Sky would lose her WWE Women’s Championship to Bayley on Night 2 (in a match that appeared inside my Top 10 for this year)! At Backlash, Asuka and Sane would lose their Women’s Tag Team Titles to Belair and Cargill before the group started to turn Face in a feud with Pure Fusion Collective! Unfortunately, both Asuka and Dakota Kai were out injured meaning The Sky Pirates had to reunite, but they did a good job in a losing effort at Crown Jewel before a returning King Kota led them to defeat PFC in 6-Woman Tag Team action! Iyo Sky is the female in-ring worker in the world, Dakota Kai is great, and The Kabuki Warriors are a strong team! Whether Damage CTRL are still together by the end of 2025 is another thing entirely, but they’ve done well once again!

Meta-Four

After being on my honourable mentions list last year, Meta-Four are now a proper nominee for this award! The year started with Lash Legend putting in a great performance against the NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria whilst Noam Dar lost his NXT Heritage Cup to Charlie Dempsey! The group would then do a great job of hosting NXT Stand and Deliver before they would get into a storyline with Trick Williams, which included some great segments between Trick and Lash! Noam Dar would then be taken out for the rest of the year by a debuting Ethan Page which is when the group started to turn Babyface as Oro Mensah feuded with All Ego! At The Great American Bash, all three members would get a shot at Championship Gold, but Lash and Jakara Jackson would lose to Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn whilst Mensah would be defeated by Page! The “Meta-Girls” would then start to appear on the Main Roster, including at Crown Jewel where they lost in a Fatal 4-Way for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, but this also resulted in another Heel turn for the duo! There’s no doubt that Lash Legend has massively stepped up this year, same with Miss Jackson and Oro Mensah, but they will need Noam Dar back if they want to take that next step in 2025!

The Bloodline

The Bloodline ended the year a whole lot different to how they started it! The start of the year was mostly all about the alliance of The Rock and Roman Reigns, with the duo showing incredible character work whilst they went on to defeat Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Cody Rhodes in the Main Event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 40! On Night 2 of Mania XL, all of Roman’s past demons would come up to haunt him as his 1,316-day reign as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion was ended by Cody Rhodes before the group started to change! On an episode of SmackDown, Solo Sikoa would turn on his brother Jimmy Uso as Tama Tonga joined the fray, and at Backlash, Tonga Loa would also appear to help The New Bloodline defeat the duo of Kevin Owens and Randy Orton! If the group wasn’t already dangerous enough, Jacob Fatu was brought in as Solo Sikoa asserted himself as The New Tribal Chief! Paul Heyman didn’t agree to this which resulted in The Wiseman being put through a table before Sikoa would go on to fight for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Summerslam, only to be cost by the returning Roman Reigns! Two nights before that, however, The Bloodline would capture the WWE Tag Team Championships from DIY before they would later lose them to the Motor City Machine Guns! We then got into a Bloodline Civil War (Part 2) where Solo’s Bloodline managed to defeat Roman Reigns and The Usos at Crown Jewel, but The O.G. Bloodline would get the upper hand inside of WarGames! The Tribal Chief and The Final Boss at the start of the year was some of the best WWE television in years, Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu’s debuts were memorable, Paul Heyman getting taken out was a huge deal, and the way that Solo Sikoa has stepped up this year, particularly in recent months, deserves an awful lot of praise!

My 2024 Tag Team/Faction of the Year: Axiom and Nathan Frazer

2024 Tag Team/Faction of the Year

0%Axiom and Nathan Frazer
0%Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill
0%Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker
0%DIY

2024 Moment/Segment of the Year Nominees

Carmelo Hayes Turns on Trick Williams (NXT Vengeance Day)

After Trick Williams failed to dethrone Ilja Dragunov for the NXT Championship, Carmelo Hayes turned Heel, delivering a chop block to Trick before Hayes smashed Williams multiple times with a steel chair to the point that the chair bent in half! The crowd then became hostile at Melo as HIM shouted at the crowd “You made me do this”! At the time, I called this segment “perfection”, and gave it an A+ Grade as a result! I still think it was incredible, one of the best Heel turns I’ve ever seen, and Melo taking out Trick is definitely a big contender for this award!

Sami Zayn Dethrones Gunther (WrestleMania XL Night 1)

On Night 1 of WrestleMania XL, Gunther faced Sami Zayn with the Intercontinental Championship on the line! This was a terrific match, I gave it an A-, and part of the reason why it was so good was because Gunther destroyed Sami, but Zayn wouldn’t stay down! It was very kind of NXT style in that sense, and after 3 Helluva Kicks and a ridiculous brain buster, Sami was finally able to dethrone The Ring General for the Intercontinental Championship! Firstly, the pop was amazing! Secondly, this was the perfect way to end Gunther’s 666-day reign as IC Champion! And thirdly, you can just add this to the list of special WrestleMania moments including Sami Zayn!

Damian Priest Cashes In (WrestleMania XL Night 2)

After a great match between Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Drew McIntyre which saw Drew capture the World Heavyweight Championship, McIntyre got in the face of CM Punk and got taken out for his troubles! This is when The Judgment Day’s music hit as Damian Priest ran down, cashed in his Money in the Bank Briefcase, and dropped McIntyre with a South of Heaven to get the win and become the new World Heavyweight Champion! This was such a terrific cash-in, mainly because it came as a surprise, and it was honestly just a special moment that started the reign of El Campeon!

Roman Reigns’ Final Entrance as Champion (WrestleMania XL Night 2)

I’ve waited over 8 months to talk about this entrance, and honestly, the only thing I can really say is you should go and watch it! I mean, the band that was playing and the remixed version of Roman Reigns’ entrance was special, and I think what made it even more special was the fact that The Rock had been acting like The Final Boss, but this was like the perfect entrance for the biggest villain in the industry!

Cody Rhodes Finishes His Story (WrestleMania XL Night 2)

For 2 whole years, Cody Rhodes’ entire gimmick was that he needed to “Finish his Story” and become the WWE Champion! At WrestleMania 39, Rhodes failed, losing to Roman Reigns in the Main Event, but at WrestleMania XL, it wouldn’t be the same result! We all know how brilliant this match was, I mean I gave it an A+, but the ending of the match which saw Cody beat Roman to become the Undisputed WWE Champion was special, and so was the aftermath!

Trick Williams Wins Gold (NXT Spring Breakin’ Week 1)

Ilja Dragunov VS Trick Williams for the NXT Championship at NXT Spring Breakin’ Week 1 ranked 6th in my best matches of the year, it was terrific, the storytelling was so well done, and the amount of amazing near-falls were insane! However, the ending is what I want to focus on here because both men charged at each other in exactly the same way as at Vengeance Day, but unlike that night where Dragunov got there, Williams managed to nail The Mad Dragon with the Trick Shot to get the win and become the brand-new NXT Champion! The reaction here might have been the best one of the entire year honestly, the arena was literally shaking, and it was also the perfect way to cap off Trick Willy’s terrific journey!

Dominik Mysterio Turns Heel – Again (Summerslam)

The big story over the summer months surrounded Liv Morgan trying to get Dominik Mysterio to be with her as an act of revenge on Rhea Ripley! At Summerslam, Liv and Rhea collided with the Women’s World Championship on the line, and in what was a genuine surprise, Dominik turned on Ripley to help Morgan hit a second ObLIVion to retain her Title! After the match, Liv and “Dirty” Dom kissed before they walked off together, meaning Mysterio managed to turn Heel whilst already being a Heel! Now that’s talent!

Finn Balor Turns on Damian Priest (Summerslam)

Summerslam proved a major night in the history of The Judgment Day, as it wasn’t just Rhea Ripley who got kicked out of the group! In the penultimate match of the night, Damian Priest put his World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Gunther, and this was a really physical and tough to call contest! However, Finn Balor would change all of that by putting Gunther’s foot on the rope as Priest watched on the screen to see that his “former” brother had stabbed him in the back! Finn then continued to be a nuisance to Damian which ultimately helped Gunther end the reign of El Campeon, but I just remember all of this being amazing, especially Priest realising what had happened by watching the big screen!

Wes Lee Puts an End to MSK (NXT The Great American Bash Week 2)

At Week 2 of The Great American Bash, MSK reunited to take on Axiom and Nathan Frazer with the NXT Tag Team Championships on the line! I fully expected MSK to win the Titles here, so it was a big surprise when they didn’t! However, the surprise afterwards was a lot bigger as Wes Lee turned on The Rascalz by taking out by Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz before Lee screamed at Wentz “You left me alone” as he delivered a nasty-looking double knees to Zach on the steel steps! I gave this ending an A Grade, and the main reason was because I was going to get annoyed at The Rascalz if they turned on Wes, but for The Kardiak Kid to turn Heel, well that was a massive surprise! However, it was also very effective!

The New Day Kick Out Big E (Raw 02/12)

At The New Day’s 10 Anniversary Celebration, things were clearly not right, and it very much felt like this could be the end of the group! However, Big E came out to fix things, and it looked like we were just going to go back to the same New Day that we’ve been watching for donkeys! However, in the most shocking of shocks, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods turned on Big E, saying he abandoned them, and they even said “So what” when E talked about his broken neck! Kofi and Xavier then kicked Big E out of the ring to a chorus of boos as Kingston and Woods united! I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted how this segment went, it was special, I gave it an A at the time, and that was very much deserved!

My 2024 Moment/Segment of the Year: Carmelo Hayes Turns on Trick Williams

2024 Moment/Segment of the Year

0%Carmelo Hayes Turns on Trick Williams
0%Sami Zayn Dethrones Gunther
0%Damian Priest Cashes In
0%Roman Reigns' Final Entrance as Champion

Honourable Mentions

With WWE being so good right now, and so many different performers having great years, it can be really hard to choose these lists! Because of that, I’ve got a list of honourable mentions who at least deserve a little mention in this End of Year Article!