The John Report: 2024 WWE Johnny Awards
Welcome to the 2024 WWE Johnny Awards. They are the awards where I honor the hard-working men and women of World Wrestling Entertainment based on their work over the last year.
These are the very “prestigious” awards that I call the 16TH ANNUAL WWE Johnny Awards!
There are a few notes that I post every year before the Johnny Awards begin:
– This is World Wrestling Entertainment stuff ONLY. It says it in the title, but I want you to remember that when you ask why there’s no All Elite Wrestling, New Japan, TNA, Ring of Honor, or anything else in here. It’s WWE only! Why? Because I started doing these awards in 2009 and I don’t want to change.
– These awards are based on my personal choice. There were no polls or write-in votes. My name is on the awards, so I get to pick the winners. I don’t expect everybody reading this to agree with everything I write below, but I will do my best to explain all my choices. The awards are based on performance. It doesn’t necessarily matter if a person wins all their matches on television and titles aren’t that important. It’s about performance more than anything.
– Regarding NXT, WWE’s third brand is included in every award as well. The NXT brand is an important part of the company and I’m not going to ignore it. Anything that is WWE is considered for these awards. There have been NXT matches, wrestlers, feuds, etc. that have won awards in the past.
– Another thing to remember is I try to have fun when I write about wrestling. I don’t take it too seriously and I don’t take myself too seriously. If you disagree with something that’s cool. Please be respectful if you give me any feedback just like you would expect from me and don’t be shy about offering your take.
If you want to check out the previous year’s editions of these awards, just search “WWE Johnny Awards” with the year and you should find it easily.
I’ve used a similar intro for several years. I do that because it covers everything I need to say. I’ll write more words for the bigger awards and be more concise for some of the others.
There will be some award changes too and I’ll address those when I write about them. I used to have a lot of “worst” categories, but I don’t really want to push negativity and in the days of Triple H booking, there are less bad things on the shows compared to when it was Vince McMahon running the show. Just saying. Let’s get to it.
===
THE 2024 WWE JOHNNY AWARDS
Each award will have a description of what the award is, the previous winners of the award (if the award existed in the past), the winner of the award, the runners-up for the award, and then my extended thoughts on the award.
1. BEST MALE WRESTLER
To be given to the person that best combines workrate, character, promos and everything else into one. This is like WWE’s Superstar of the Year award when they did the Slammy Awards. Past winners – 2023: Cody Rhodes, 2022: Roman Reigns, 2021: Roman Reigns 2020: Drew McIntyre, 2019: Daniel Bryan, 2018: Johnny Gargano, 2017: AJ Styles, 2016: AJ Styles, 2015: Seth Rollins, 2014: Seth Rollins, 2013: Daniel Bryan, 2012: CM Punk, 2011: CM Punk, 2010: Randy Orton, 2009: Chris Jericho
Winner: Drew McIntyre (Runners-Up: Cody Rhodes, GUNTHER, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Randy Orton, Jey Uso, Roman Reigns, CM Punk)
I have been thinking about this one a lot in the last few weeks in anticipation of this award and it really came down to three guys: Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes and GUNTHER.
The reason Drew McIntyre stood out the most to me is because he was always very entertaining on the microphone, he carried the feud with CM Punk while Punk couldn’t wrestle for six months and the matches he has are always great too. I think back to Clash at the Castle when the Scottish crowd wanted Drew to win so badly, Punk screwed him out of it and the reaction that Drew did was amazing. He really has nailed it in terms of being a true main event level guy in WWE. Yes, Drew only held the World Title for five minutes at WrestleMania 40, but it also worked as a story for him. When Drew complains in a promo, they are logical complaints that fit his character. As an overall performer, I think Drew McIntyre is the best in WWE.
Cody Rhodes won this award last year because I enjoyed the tile chase immensely. This year he “finished the story” at WrestleMania 40 and everything prior to that was great. The feud with AJ Styles was okay while producing some excellent matches, but you know the title isn’t changing hands. The same goes for the summer feud with Solo Sikoa. I have enjoyed the recent rivalry with Kevin Owens. I just think that the chase to become a champion is more interesting than being the champion.
Gunther is an incredible overall performer who is thriving in this Triple H Era of booking because Triple H loves old school heels like this. That’s the kind of heel that Triple H was as a wrestler too. I also know some fans find Gunther boring because of how he wrestles and does promos. I’m not bored by him ever and I think he makes everybody around him better. He got a big run as the Intercontinental Champion, lost that title, won King of the Ring and the WWE World Title at SummerSlam. He’s one of the best in WWE. I look forward to more from him.
Guys like Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso and Randy Orton are experienced veterans who are always going to thrive no matter the situation they are in. All of them can thrive as faces or heels too.
Roman Reigns and CM Punk are both outstanding performers as well. They just aren’t active enough for me to really consider them. I just felt like mentioning them as runners-up because they were part of some huge stories and matches this year.
If I had to pick one person to be WWE Superstar of the Year it would be Drew McIntyre.
===
2. BEST FEMALE WRESTLER
To be given to the best female performer.Past winners – 2023: Rhea Ripley, 2022: Bianca Belair, 2021: Bianca Belair, 2020: Sasha Banks, 2019: Becky Lynch, 2018: Becky Lynch, 2017: Asuka, 2016: Charlotte, 2015: Sasha Banks, 2014: Paige, 2013: AJ Lee, 2012: Eve, 2011: Beth Phoenix, 2010: Natalya, 2009: Mickie James
Winner: Liv Morgan (Runners-Up: Rhea Ripley, Roxanne Perez, Bayley, Iyo Sky)
This was close between Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley. I think from a character standpoint, Liv grew up a lot this year because she was a babyface looking for revenge against Ripley and then she finally got that revenge by stealing Dominik Mysterio from Ripley. That made Liv into a massive heel. Liv has thrived as a heel and I feel like she’s way more interesting in that role. Liv gets a lot of TV time on Raw (especially when it was a three-hour) and she made the most of it to develop this character that is hated by the fans. In terms of matches, she’s solid but doesn’t really have matches that are exceptional like Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair and so on.
Rhea Ripley is one of the most popular wrestlers in WWE after starting the year as a heel. I think she’s better as a heel, but it made sense for her to turn face when she did. The Ripley match with Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 40 was probably her best singles match of the year.
Roxanne Perez has been the centerpiece of the NXT women’s division all year as the top heel woman on the brand. She is well on her way to a great career and she’s still in her early 20s. In terms of matches, she is very talented.
Bayley had a good run in the first half of the year and then kind of faded away after losing the WWE Women’s Title to Nia Jax at SummerSlam. I enjoyed the Bayley-Iyo Sky match at WrestleMania a lot.
Iyo Sky is clearly a favorite of Triple H as a booker since she won Money in the Bank last year, became WWE Women’s Champion and had that big WrestleMania match with Bayley this year. She has also been given title shots while staying in the spotlight. As an in-ring performer, Iyo is one of the best women in WWE.
It’s been a weird year for the women’s division. That’s because there are some big names who aren’t contenders because in the case of Charlotte Flair, she missed the whole year wit ha knee injury. Becky Lynch has been gone since May. Asuka has missed a lot of time with injuries too. I’m also leaving Bianca Belair out since she was mostly a tag team wrestler this year.
I know Nia Jax has been pushed a lot on Smackdown with Queen of the Ring and then the Women’s Title, but performance-wise I have a tough time ranking her near the top.
===
3. BEST FEUD
To be given to the best rivalry between two or more performers. Past winners – 2023: The Bloodline Led By Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens & Jey Uso, 2022: Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins, 2021: Edge vs. Seth Rollins, 2020: Sasha Banks vs. Bayley, 2019: Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano, 2018: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano,2017: Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman, 2016: AJ Styles vs. John Cena, 2015: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks, 2014: Daniel Bryan vs. The Authority, 2013: CM Punk vs. Paul Heyman/Brock Lesnar, 2012: CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan, 2011: Randy Orton vs. Christian, 2010: The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan, 2009: CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy
Winner:CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre (Runners-Up: Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns/The Rock/The Bloodline, Seth Rollins vs. Bronson Reed, Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley)
This feels like an easy choice. The Punk-McIntyre feud was a natural rivalry with McIntyre as a bullying type of heel who hated that Punk was cheered by WWE fans after leaving the company for a decade while guys like McIntyre were busting their asses to entertain the fans. It was an easy story to get into. Think about how much they got a cheap, fan-made bracelet over. The fans popped when it was used in matches too. Punk missed six months of action due to arm surgery, but the creative team kept the story going with Punk costing Drew the World Title on multiple occasions. They had three PLE matches with each guy winning one and then they had that epic Hell in a Cell match that saw Punk win the feud definitely. Thanks to that final match being so great, they solidified their spot as the best rivalry this year.
I think the Cody Rhodes story against Roman Reigns and The Rock, as well as the rest of The Bloodline, was a strong one. It was obviously something that was in the first four months of the year, but I think when you’re talking about a WrestleMania main event story it’s important to acknowledge how big it was.
That storyline with Bronson Reed attacking Seth Rollins elevated Reed big time. Smart booking made Reed look like a bigger threat and he was a top heel on Raw before he got hurt at Survivor Series.
The Liv Morgan-Rhea Ripley feud feels like it has been going on all year. It hasn’t been that long, but they have been interacting for a long time. It’s gotten a lot of TV time on Raw, that’s for sure.
===
4. BEST MATCH
To be given to the best match. Past winners – 2023:Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. The Usos @ WrestleMania 39, 2022: Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match @ Hell in a Cell, 2021: Ilya Dragunov vs. WALTER @ NXT Takeover 36, 2020: WALTER vs. Ilya Dragunov @ NXT UK October 29, 2019: Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole @ NXT Takeover New York, 2018:Unsanctioned Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa @ NXT Takeover New Orleans, 2017: John Cena vs. AJ Styles @ Royal Rumble, 2016: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn @ NXT Takeover Dallas, 2015: Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena @ Royal Rumble, 2014: The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield @ Elimination Chamber, 2013: Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk @ SummerSlam, 2012: The Undertaker vs. Triple H (Shawn Michaels as ref) @ WrestleMania 28, 2011: CM Punk vs. John Cena @ Money in the Bank, 2010: The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels @ WrestleMania 26, 2009: The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels @ WrestleMania 25
Winner: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre in a Hell in a Cell Match @ Bad Blood (Runners-Up: See below.)
The only WWE match that I rated at five stars (out of five) was the Punk-McIntyre match at Bad Blood. Here’s what I wrote in the Analysis part of my Bad Blood review for that match.
“It was an incredible match. It’s a five star match to me. Good luck to the rest of the card following this bloody battle. It was an epic Hell in a Cell match that had a lot of hype and I think they lived up to it. They used a lot of weapons around the ring, they used weapons in the ring and they took some big bumps along the way. That Punk bump through the table on the floor was nasty and then Drew took that huge bump on the steel steps in the ring and that was awful to see. They had a lot of chemistry together in terms of their moves, their nearfalls and just how believable it was as a fight. This wasn’t just some wrestling match. It was a very unique, bloody brawl that certainly lived up to the legacy of the great Hell in a Cell match. I also think this match solidified these two for the WWE Feud of the Year as well because the only thing that was missing was an amazing match and they delivered that here. These two veterans put on a masterful performance because they sold everything well, they took their time and they didn’t rush through it. A lot of wrestlers in today’s business can learn from this because it’s important to slow down, sell the big moves and make everything matter. When people go too quickly to do a bunch of cool moves, it’s not the right way to do a long match like that. Take your time, tell a story and do it this way. It’s a match that reminded us what made Hell in a Cell special when it started in 1997.”
I rated some more matches highly as well. These aren’t in order, but they are the ones that I’d pick to round out the top five in 2024.
Cody Rhodes vs. AJ Styles at Backlash France ****1/2
Sami Zayn vs. Gunther at WrestleMania 40 ****1/2
Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 ****1/2
Gunther vs. Randy Orton at Bash In Berlin ****1/2
There are plenty of matches at four stars or higher too. We are spoiled with great matches all the time.
===
5. BEST PREMIUM LIVE EVENT (PAY-PER-VIEW)
To be given to the best WWE Premium Live Event aka pay-per-view.Past winners – 2023: WrestleMania 39, 2022: Clash at the Castle, 2021: Money in the Bank, 2020: Royal Rumble, 2019: WrestleMania 35, 2018: Evolution, 2017: Royal Rumble, 2016: Money in the Bank, 2015: WrestleMania 31, 2014: WrestleMania 30, 2013: SummerSlam 2012: Extreme Rules, 2011: Money in the Bank, 2010: WrestleMania 26, 2009: SummerSlam
Winner: WrestleMania 40 (Runner-Up: SummerSlam)
I was at WrestleMania this year. It was the first one I’ve been to in eight years and the fifth overall that I’ve been to. It might by my last because I had so much fun. I thought it was an excellent show even though when it is spread out over two nights there are going to be some down points. There were plenty of great matches and memorable moments like Sami Zayn beating Gunther, The Rock pinning Cody in the Saturday main event tag team match and of course Cody Rhodes winning the WWE Title over Roman reigns to “finish the story” in the main event of WM Sunday. I enjoyed it immensely.
The others on there like SummerSlam, Backlash France, Bash in Berlin and Clash at the Castle in Scotland were all great shows. I rated SummerSlam the same as WrestleMania, so it’s close. The others benefitted form amazing crowds and some more outstanding matches.
Here’s how I ranked the five shows with a rating of 8 out of 10 or above and you can click on the links to read the reviews.
WrestleMania 40 – 8.5 (out of 10)
SummerSlam – 8.5
Backlash France – 8
Bash In Berlin – 8
The other PLE’s were all between 7.75 and 7.25 out of 10, so it shows that it was a very strong year.
What a great year for PLE shows. And they are cheap to watch too. We are spoiled wrestling fans, my friends.
===
6. BEST NXT PREMIUM LIVE EVENT
To be given to the best NXT PLE (fka Takeover) special. Past winners – 2023: No Mercy, 2022: Stand & Deliver, 2021: NXT Takeover Stand & Deliver, 2020: NXT Takeover Portland, 2019: NXT Takeover New York, 2018: NXT Takeover New Orleans, 2017: NXT Takeover Chicago, 2016: NXT Takeover Dallas, 2015: NXT Takeover Brooklyn
Winner: Heatwave (Runner-Up: Stand & Deliver, Deadline)
The Heatwave PLE was outstanding with four matches around the four-star level and a fifth match that was solid too. It was in early July, so it was right in the middle of the year and it was probably the point in the year when the NXT brand was peaking.
There were seven NXT PLE’s (I miss the Takeover name) in 2024, which is one more than last year. I think six or seven in a year feels just right because it’s not overdoing it.
Here is how they were ranked this year with links to those reviews.
Heatwave (June 7) – 8.5
Stand & Deliver (April 6) – 7.75
Deadline (December 7) – 7.75
No Mercy (September 1) – 7.5
Vengeance Day (February 4) – 7.5
Battleground (June 7) – 7.5
Halloween Havoc (October 27) – 7
As I’ve said in past years, the NXT brand is not at the level of 2015-2019 NXT Takeover shows, but it’s still good pro wrestling.
===
7. BEST TALKER/PROMOS
To be given to the best person at delivering promos.Past winners – 2023: LA Knight, 2022: Kevin Owens, 2021: Sami Zayn, 2020: Kevin Owens, 2019: Daniel Bryan, 2018: The Miz, 2017: The Miz, 2016: Chris Jericho, 2015: Paul Heyman, 2014: Paul Heyman, 2013: Paul Heyman, 2012: CM Punk, 2011: CM Punk, 2010: CM Punk, 2009: Chris Jericho
Winner: Drew McIntyre (Runners-up: Kevin Owens, Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, LA Knight, Paul Heyman, Liv Morgan)
I am going with Drew McIntyre for another award because like I said earlier, his feud with CM Punk saw them wrestle zero times for six months while Punk was home a lot, so it was Drew’s promos that really kept the feud going. Drew did his part to come off like a jerk and it worked because they gave us the feud of the year. I think Drew deserves a lot of credit for improving a lot as a talker in the last five years.
Kevin Owens has been one of the best talkers in WWE for the last decade, which is why he’s won this award twice in the past. His heel promos are even better than the babyface ones too.
Cody Rhodes is here because he gets a lot of promo time obviously and I think prior to WrestleMania, he was terrific with his promos. That promo in Las Vegas when he stood up to Roman Reigns & The Rock stood out to me.
CM Punk could certainly win this award again, as he did three years in a row over a decade ago. It’s just a matter of being active all year long and avoiding major injuries.
LA Knight won last year and his promos remain a strength of his. I think he lacked a great feud this year. Paul Heyman is always worth mentioning as an all-time great talker. Liv Morgan deserves her props because her promos got her a lot of heat.
If The Rock was around more then I think he’d be a top contender for this award, obviously.
===
8. BEST TAG TEAM
To be given to the two men that function best as a tag team. Past winners – 2023: Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens, 2022: The Usos – Jimmy & Jey Uso, 2021: The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso), 2020: The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins), 2019: The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish, 2018: The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro), 2017: The Usos, 2016:The New Day, 2015: The New Day, 2014: The Usos, 2013: Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns, 2012:Team Hell No (Kane & Daniel Bryan), 2011:Air Boom (Evan Bourne & Kofi Kingston), 2010: The Hart Dynasty, 2009: Chris Jericho and The Big Show
Winners: Nathan Frazer & Axiom (Runners-Up: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill, #DIY – Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano, The Street Profits)
There aren’t many NXT winners in these awards, but when it comes to the best WWE tag team this year, I’m going with the NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazer & Axiom. Some people call them “Fraxiom” as a team name. I don’t do that although I get why there are people who want to give them a team name. For Frazer & Axiom, it’s about the match quality. Any time they are on TV or in a PLE match, it’s going to be one of the best matches on the show. I write all the time about how they are incapable of having a bad match no matter who the opponents are. They recently had a four-star plus match with Myles Borne & Tavion Heights. No offense to Borne & Heights, but they aren’t exactly household names in WWE and that match showed how talented Frazer & Axiom are.
Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill were the focal points of the women’s tag team division this year. While their match quality may not always be great, they did have a good run as champions while also staying together pretty much all year long.
The #DIY boys Gargano & Ciampa won the WWE Tag Team Titles twice this year. The second win involved a heel turn, which was really executed well. A lengthy title reign for them would be a good idea.
The Street Profits are a team that I’ve enjoyed watching for many years, yet if they were to split up in 2025 I’d be cool with that. They haven’t held Tag Team gold in a few years even though they are still popular with the fans. I’m listing them here because the match quality is always good. I like Angelo and Montez a lot.
I’m glad that the Motor City Machine Guns duo of Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley are in WWE now. I don’t think they have had enough matches yet to be considered for this award.
===
9. BEST BABYFACE
To be given to the performer that is the best at receiving the adulation of the audience.Past winners – 2023: Cody Rhodes, 2022: Bianca Belair, 2021: Big E, 2020: Drew McIntyre, 2019: Kofi Kingston, 2018: Becky Lynch, 2017: AJ Styles, 2016: Dean Ambrose, 2015: John Cena, 2014: Dolph Ziggler, 2013: Daniel Bryan, 2012: John Cena, 2011:Randy Orton. The award began in 2011.
Winner: Cody Rhodes (Runners-Up: CM Punk, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, Jey Uso, Rhea Ripley, Sheamus, Trick Williams)
I think Cody Rhodes does a tremendous job as a John Cena-like babyface who is loved by the younger crowd and he’s respected by the adults too. That’s because a lot of us know his long journey to the top of WWE, so it’s easy to support a guy like that.
CM Punk is beloved by WWE fans and those cheers aren’t slowing down any time soon. With that said, I have always enjoyed Punk as a heel, so if he did turn heel I think it would be very entertaining.
Sami Zayn had a good run as the Intercontinental Champion and always gets strong reactions from the crowd. Since losing the IC Title, it has felt like he’s lost way more than he’s won, so I’d like to see him used better in
For guys like Seth Rollins and Jey Uso, they are so popular with the fans in part because of their catchy entrance music. That helps. I wouldn’t mind seeing another heel Rollins run while Jey should probably stay in the babyface role. I added Sheamus as well because he’s such a likable babyface that the fans want to see do well even though he does put over younger talent quite a bit.
Rhea Ripley is by far the most popular woman in WWE. I think the fans were behind her even when she was a heel too.
Trick Williams deserves a mention because he’s by far the most popular male wrestler in NXT. He’s grown a lot in the last few years.
===
10. BEST HEEL
To be given to the performer that is the best at drawing the ire of the audience and being a bad guy/girl. Past winners 2023: Roman Reigns and The Bloodline, 2022: Roman Reigns and The Bloodline, 2021: Roman Reigns, 2020: Randy Orton, 2019: Daniel Bryan, 2018: Tommaso Ciampa, 2017: The Miz, 2016: AJ Styles, 2015: Seth Rollins, 2014: Seth Rollins, 2013: Paul Heyman, 2012: Daniel Bryan, 2011:Christian. The award began in 2011.
Winner: Drew McIntyre (Runners-Up: GUNTHER, Liv Morgan, Kevin Owens, Bron Breakker)
I’m going with Drew McIntyre for this one too. After being a babyface from 2020 to 2023, he was back in the heel role this year and he absolutely killed it. I think what’s great about Drew as a heel is that he does these promos where he tells you that he’s telling the truth and there’s a lot of believability in what he says. However, his cheap attacks and his actions are what make him a ruthless heel.
Gunther is an excellent heel who has gotten more time to do promos to trash his opponents before their big PLE matches.
As mentioned earlier, Liv Morgan had a breakout year as a heel after years of being a babyface. The booking helps because she was put in a position to succeed, but performance-wise she’s doing great.
Kevin Owens has only been back in the heel role for a few months, but I’ve enjoyed it immensely. Even though Owens was very good and likable as a face, I feel like he’s a better performer as a heel.
Bron Breakker warrants a mention as a heel who had a great year. I liked his rivalries with guys like Sami Zayn and Jey Uso. Long term, Bron may have more potential as a babyface.
There are plenty of other good heels who got pushed a lot in 2024 like Solo Sikoa, Nia Jax and The Judgment Day as a group. They’re all solid, but I’m not ranking them as high as the others. I’m just saying the WWE roster is so deep that there’s a lot of depth on the heel side.
===
11. THE NEXT BIG THING AWARD
To be given to the wrestler who is most likely to be the “next big thing” in the new year.Past winners – 2023: Grayson Waller, 2022: Logan Paul, 2021: Bron Breakker, 2020: Bianca Belair, 2019: Keith Lee, 2018: Velveteen Dream, 2017: Rusev, 2016: Shinsuke Nakamura, 2015: Sami Zayn, 2014: Bray Wyatt, 2013: Roman Reigns, 2012: Dolph Ziggler, 2011: Cody Rhodes, 2010: Alberto Del Rio, 2009: John Morrison
The new rule that began in 2019 is that it must be somebody who hasn’t won a title in WWE yet whether on NXT, Raw or Smackdown.
Winners: Male – Je’Von Evans, Female – Giulia (Runners-Up: Stephanie Vaquer, Zaria)
Before I get into it, Jacob Fatu would have been my choice but when The Bloodline won the WWE Tag Team Titles, it was Jacob and Tama Tonga. In the weeks that followed, they put the titles on Tama and Tonga Loa, but Fatu still became a Tag Team Champion. That makes him ineligible for this award.
I’ve decided to go with a male winner and a female winner for this award because the WWE roster is so deep.
Je’Von Evans is only 20 years old (21 in April 2025), which means he was born about five years after I started writing about wrestling. Just saying. Anyway, as a performer, he is so talented athletically, he already has a connection with the fans and he has had several great matches already. I think he needs to put on some muscle, get more experience doing promos and work on some of his technical skills in the ring, but he’s certainly got all the tools to get better in those areas. This is a guy who can main event shows on the main roster within the next five years and he’d be only 25 years old at that point. I’m so impressed by this guy.
Giulia is one of three women international wrestlers that WWE brought into NXT in the second half of this year along with Stephanie Vaquer (from Chile) and Australia’s Zaria. Giulia is a talented Japanese wrestler who speaks English well enough that she’ll get by just fine. She’s probably going to beat Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women’s Title in a few weeks too.
I mentioned Vaquer and Zaria as well because it’s obvious they are going to be a big deal in NXT in the coming year. Vaquer will need to work on her English while I think character development will be important for Zaria, who is so impressive physically.
===
12. BEST STABLE
This award replaces Worst Feud. There are always stables in WWE in this era, so I think it’s important to give them an award.
Winner: The Bloodline (Runners-Up: The Judgment Day)
I think the answer is easily The Bloodline. I’m talking about all versions of the stable going back to the first four months of the year when The Rock was standing beside Roman Reigns. I think back to comments that Roman made earlier this year about the impact of the group because of how many people have become bigger stars from being involved with The Bloodline. It’s not about Roman Reigns main eventing for four years. It’s about elevating the talent and they have done that so well.
There are probably 10-15 people on the WWE roster right now who are in a better spot in their careers because of The Bloodline storyline over the last four years. To me, that makes it the best stable by far. Guys like Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, both Usos, Cody Rhodes and others come to mind. Do you think Solo Sikoa would main event SummerSlam two years after joining the main roster without this stable? No. Do you think Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa & Jacob Fatu would main event Survivor Series this year without this stable? No. People might complain about The Bloodline story being repetitive or boring at times and I get that, but I still think it’s one of the best groups and storylines in WWE history.
The Judgment Day gets so much TV time on Raw that it’s hard to ignore them. I think the stable has benefitted Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest because they have become top babyfaces because of it. On the other side, Liv Morgan has thrived because of this storyline while Dominik Mysterio is hated massively. Finn Balor could be poised for a big 2025 as a singles wrestler too.
A lot of other stables exist in WWE on the main roster and NXT where they are pushed to a decent level with some members winning titles, but they never really break through to where they get consistent TV time. I’m talking about LWO, Legado Del Fantasma, Final Testament, Wyatt Sicks, Pure Fusion Collective, The D’Angelo Family, Chase U (rest in peace), Fatal Influence, and so on.
===
13. MOST IMPRESSIVE NEWCOMER
This used to be “Worst Premium Live Event,” but I removed that category since the shows have been consistently good for a few years. For this award, I’m going with people who made their WWE debut during the year.
Winner: Jacob Fatu (Runners-Up: Ethan Page, Giulia, Zaria, Stephanie Vaquer)
The signing of Jacob Fatu midway through the year was one of the best moves that WWE made this year. The guy really is a special talent who has a lot of experience from being a top guy in MLW for a few years and a lot of us wondered why he wasn’t in WWE yet. I’m glad it finally happened because he’s showing what he can do every time he gets a chance to be in a big match. I love how he has been presented as a big deal and put in spots that make him stand out like a star. He’s already main evented PPVs across the ring from guys like Roman Reigns and CM Punk, but I want to see him in singles matches with those guys too. Also, the way he randomly shouts out “I love you Solo” about Solo Sikoa is hilarious. This guy is awesome.
Ethan Page isn’t a “new” wrestler because he has a lot of TV experience from his days in TNA and AEW. Plus, he has wrestled for over 15 years. I thought it was brilliant that WWE signed him and put him in a main event role in NXT right away. I think he has a bright future on the main roster.
I already praised that trio of women Giulia, Zaria and Vaquer. They are going to be massive stars in the future.
===
14. BEST RETURN
This spot used to be for Best WWE Network show, but in 2022 I decided to replace it with best return. This is for the best return whether it’s somebody coming back from injury, a long absence or another reason. 2023: CM Punk, 2022: Cody Rhodes.
Winner: The Rock (Runner-Up: Jesse Ventura)
I thought The Rock was absolutely fantastic as “The Final Boss” character on the road to WrestleMania. I know it wasn’t the initial plan as WWE covered in the WrestleMania XL Behind the Curtain documentary. Great job by WWE pivoting and then it was up to Rock to create this egotistical character even though he’s one of the most popular and most famous people in the world. That segment where he did the cheap attack on Cody Rhodes and then beat him up outside the building as it was raining was outstanding. I thought Rock was excellent in the WrestleMania 40 Saturday main event for his first long match in 11 years. I’m interested to see if he does more in 2025 too.
The legendary Jesse “The Body” Ventura came back to WWE to sit ringside at a show, but also to do commentary at Saturday Night’s Main Event. It was so great to hear Jesse on commentary during the Cody Rhodes-Kevin Owens match while siding with the heel Owens and trashing Cody for his actions. I’m glad that Jesse will be back for the other SNME events in the future because he still does that heel commentator job so well.
===
15. BEST TURN
To be given to the best babyface or heel turn that benefitted the performer the most.Past winners – 2023: Sami Zayn & Jey Uso, 2022: The Judgment Day 2021: Kevin Owens, 2020: Roman Reigns, 2019: Finn Balor, 2018: Daniel Bryan, 2017: Sami Zayn, 2016: AJ Styles, 2015: The New Day, 2014: Seth Rollins, 2013: Randy Orton, 2012: Big Show, 2011: Mark Henry, 2010: Kane, 2009: CM Punk
Winner: Kevin Owens (Runners-Up: Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, The New Day’s Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods, Roman Reigns & Jimmy Uso)
There are a lot of turns in WWE and I may be missing a few in the runners-up section because it’s hard to remember everything, but I feel like Kevin Owens was the best of the bunch.
I think the Kevin Owens turn stands out the most because he was a loyal friend to Cody Rhodes & Randy Orton, but then he lost his damn mind just because Cody teamed up with Roman Reigns at Bad Blood. The way the story was told was brilliant because as I mentioned with Drew McIntyre earlier, Owens is the kind of heel who speaks logically so we can sympathize with him. It makes sense that Owens was angry because he had that long rivalry with Roman Reigns and The Bloodline. Orton got involved because he teamed with Owens a lot, so Owens attacking Orton in a cheap way with the piledriver gets even more heat on Owens. I love how KO has been presented in the last three months of the year. Give him a WWE or World Title run. I’d love to see it.
I’ve covered Rhea and Liv a lot already. That SummerSlam match where Liv won thanks to Dominik made Liv into a massive heel while it made the fans want to see Ripley kick Liv’s ass. The title change may happen on January 6 on Raw.
The New Day celebrated ten years in WWE in November and it was one of the most memorable segments of the year. What’s wild about it is that I don’t think The New Day wrestled much on PLE’s this year, yet they’re still featured on Raw. We thought that maybe Xavier Woods would turn on Kofi Kingston, but instead, they turned heel together on Big E, who can’t wrestle due to a broken neck over two years ago. It was such an asshole turn by Woods & Kingston. I truly hope that Big E can wrestle again and that he kicks their asses when he does, but it may not happen. Anyway, as a story it was excellent. That’s one of those heel turn promos that we’re going to remember for a long time.
Roman Reigns is back in a babyface role after four years of being the top heel in the business. The reason he’s a runner up is because he didn’t do a promo about being a changed man or acting any differently. He’s just fighting against the bad guys now. I think Jimmy Uso’s role in the turn was an important part of the story.
===
16. MOST IMPROVED PERFORMER(S)
To be given to the performer that has shown the most improvement in the last year.Past winners – 2023: LA Knight, 2022: The Creed Brothers, 2021: Liv Morgan, 2020: Sonya Deville, 2019: Rhea Ripley, 2018: Velveteen Dream,2017: Braun Strowman, 2016: The Miz, 2015: Bayley, 2014: Damien Mizdow, 2013: Roman Reigns, 2012: Ryback, 2011: Zack Ryder, 2010: Cody Rhodes, 2009: Kofi Kingston
Winner: Oba Femi (Runners-Up: Bron Breakker, Jaida Parker, Kelani Jordan)
A year ago, Oba Femi had less than five televised matches and then on January 9th, he won the NXT North American Title for a record-breaking 272-day title reign. Most people don’t realize this guy is only 26 years old because he looks older. He has improved so much in the past year with several matches hitting that four-star level even though he’s still not that experienced in pro wrestling. Sometimes a character it’s hard to tell if he’s a heel or face, so I’d like to see that fixed moving forward. However, as an in-ring performer, he’s another guy who is going to be a massive superstar for many years to come.
I think Bron Breakker has improved in his first year on the main roster. I watched him get better in NXT for over two years, but now he’s at an even higher level working with some great talent on Raw. Within a year two, Bron is going to be a main event performer in WWE and he’s still under 30 years old, so his future is extremely bright.
Jaida Parker has really elevated her game in the last year. It seems like the light switch has come on because she knows how to do promos, she is very capable in the ring and as a character, she is a badass who looks like she can win a fight.
Kelani Jordan is a talented wrestler who only has a few years of experience in WWE. They put the NXT Women’s North American Title on her this year and she held her own against some great wrestlers. She’s another woman to get excited about.
The trio of Femi, Parker. and Jordan were all collegiate athletes who never wrestled before, but they attended WWE tryouts, they caught WWE’s eyes and they are thriving now. All of them have only three years or less experience. Look at them now. The WWE scouting department is absolutely crushing it.
===
17. BEST WEEKLY WWE TV SHOW
To be given to the best weekly WWE television (or internet) show. Past winners – 2023: Raw, 2022: Smackdown, 2021: Smackdown, 2020: Smackdown, 2019: NXT, 2018: NXT, 2017: Smackdown, 2016: Smackdown, 2015: NXT, 2014: NXT, 2013: NXT.
Winner: Raw (Runner-Up: Smackdown)
For this one, I just look at my weekly scores on the spreadsheet I have. Raw is at 7.56, Smackdown is 7.36 and NXT is at 7.19. I think all three shows averaging those kinds of numbers is impressive and it’s a testament to how good WWE programming is right now. I have been doing this for decades and trust me, we are spoiled by entertaining shows all the time.
Even if I didn’t look at the numbers, I would say Raw was better. The roster is deeper, especially in the main event scene, they don’t really skip a beat when key stars are injured or on a break and I just think it was superior to Smackdown. When Roman Reigns was gone from Smackdown for four months, it was noticeable in the main event scene.
Next year will be interesting because we know Smackdown is becoming a three hour show in January. It is also likely that Raw will be three hours on Netflix as well, so that will likely mean even more longer matches and more talent being on the shows. I think the Triple H Era, the three hour shows is not a bad thing because Raw was better in the first 8 months this year at three hours than it was in the last four months at two hours. I think Triple H and his creative team have figured out how to put on an entertaining three-hour show. The negative thing for me is it means my 5,000 word reviews for a two hour show will be about 7,500 for a three hour show, but I really don’t mind it in this era because of the strength of the show quality.
===
18. BEST ANNOUNCER
To be given to the best announcer in WWE. It could be a play-by-play or analyst. Past winners – 2023: Michael Cole, 2022: Wade Barrett, 2021: Pat McAfee, 2020: Corey Graves, 2019: Nigel McGuinness, 2018: Mauro Ranallo, 2017: Corey Graves, 2016: Corey Graves, 2015: Corey Graves, 2014: John Bradshaw Layfield, 2013: John Bradshaw Layfield, 2012: John Bradshaw Layfield, 2011: Booker T, 2010: Matt Striker, 2009: Jim Ross.
Winner: Vic Joseph (Runners-Up: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett)
I’m going with NXT’s Vic Joseph for this award. As the voice of NXT, Vic really knows how to get over stories well, he gets excited at the right times, and he is excellent at being disgusted when a heel does something dastardly. Some people hate Booker T besides Vic, but I don’t mind. I think Vic plays off Booker well and they make NXT an enjoyable watch.
I also think Michael Cole is doing the best work of his career, which I said last year as well. Wade Barrett is probably the best analyst in terms of being a heel and siding with the heels when they need it. I like Corey Graves too, but I’d like to see him be even more heelish than he is.
Pat McAfee is good in his role as an energetic fan who gets to be ringside to call the action. I’m more of a traditionalist who likes the analyst to be a heel, but that’s not a role for Pat.
Shoutout to Joe Tessitore who has done a terrific job in his first four months as the Raw play-by-play guy. Joe is a traditional sports announcer who has called a lot of football and boxing. He is also a legit WWE fan, who has fit in very well. Cole is taking over Raw in January, so I assume Joe is going over to Smackdown, which is fine with me.
===
19. BIGGEST NEWS STORY
The stories of the year that we’ll always remember when looking back at the year that was. Past winners – 2023: Endeavor purchases WWE and forms a company with UFC called TKO Group, 2022: Vince McMahon retires due to hush-money payments scandal, 2021: WWE releases 80 wrestlers,2020: COVID-19 leads to massive changes to the wrestling business, 2019: Roman Reigns returns from leukemia battle in February, 2018: Roman Reigns announcing he has leukemia,2017: Kurt Angle returning to WWE after 11 years away, 2016: WWE signs four top New Japan stars,2015: Injuries decimate the roster, 2014: CM Punk leaving WWE, 2013: The WWE Network Still Isn’t Here, 2012: Jerry Lawler’s heart attack, 2011: The death of Randy Savage, 2010: The departure of several big names (Shawn Michaels), 2009: Shane McMahon leaves WWE
Winner: Vince McMahon officially departs WWE after scandalous lawsuit (Runner-Up: WWE Raw moves to Netflix, The Rock returns to the ring, John Cena announces retirement in 2025)
It was on January 25th, just two days before the Royal Rumble, when it was announced that a massive lawsuit against WWE’s Vince McMahon was filed by a former employee Janel Grant claiming sexual harassment and sexual trafficking. Vince has been embroiled in lawsuits over the past two years, but this was terrible. I read the whole thing because we covered it on TJRWrestling all year long (and will continue to cover it in the years ahead) and it’s awful that this kind of behavior from Vince McMahon existed. Vince tried to pay Janel off with an NDA for millions, but then the payments stopped and that led to the lawsuit. I know that Vince is claiming it was all consensual, but this is a man in his late 70s with a woman half his age and doing some awful things. I’m not going into details here, but there are some crazy things mentioned in the lawsuit. Anyway, WWE owners Endeavor weren’t happy about it, so they essentially kicked Vince out of the company, made him sell all of his stock and he wasn’t allowed back in the building of the company he built for 40 years. It’s a sad end for Vince McMahon in WWE no matter what you think of the man, but it’s also his own fault. While some of us may respect the man for what he built in WWE, I lost a lot of respect for him because of this allegation by Grant and Vince’s past transgressions with women. I feel bad for his family for tarnishing their name. From a WWE standpoint, the company is better off being run by Triple H and Nick Khan clearly. Vince was well past his prime and he wasn’t going to step aside willingly, but now he’s been pushed out. That’s the best thing for WWE.
That lawsuit against Vince McMahon also implicated Brock Lesnar, which led to WWE not using Lesnar in the Royal Rumble. The lawsuit basically stated that Lesnar knew about Vince’s involvement with Grant, so it has led to WWE staying away from using Lesnar even though Triple H didn’t outright say that when asked about it in the past. Lesnar hasn’t worked for WWE since SummerSlam 2023 and who knows when we might see him again.
The month of January brought us the news of Netflix being the new home of Monday Night Raw and the Vince McMahon lawsuit. In any other year, the massive $5 billion deal that WWE struck with Netflix would have won this award. I just felt like Vince McMahon being pushed out of the company that he owns is a bigger news story. The move to Netflix puts WWE on a platform with over 280 million worldwide subscribers. Raw will be live worldwide in most countries around the world while those of us in international markets (here in Canada, UK, Ireland, etc.) will get Smackdown, NXT, PLEs and older WWE content on Netflix as well. It’s pretty cool. I’m very excited about the Netflix era of WWE. The exposure that Netflix will give WWE is massive and I think WWE is going to grow even more because of it.
It was great to see The Rock back in the ring for his first real match in 11 years. The 2016 “match” against Erick Rowan was a simple Rock Bottom, so I’m not counting that. As I mentioned earlier, The Rock got through it injury-free and delivered some memorable promos. I look forward to what he does next whether it’s at WrestleMania 41 or something else down the road.
John Cena announced in the summer that he’s going to retire as an active WWE wrestler in 2025. Cena will wrestle at a lot of biggest WWE shows this year and plans to make his retirement official at some point at the end of the year, so it’s probably in December. After 2025, Cena will still be part of WWE, but he’s adamant that he won’t wrestle again after 2025. I think it was smart for Cena to do that because a lot of fans are going to flock to arenas to see Cena for a final time, especially that generation of WWE fans who grew up with him as the top guy. Even a guy like me who is only three years younger than Cena, I have covered his whole career and I respect that man a lot, so I want to go to a show or two next year to see him perform again. From a storyline perspective, it will be cool to see Cena against familiar opponents like Randy Orton, CM Punk, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins and others one more time, but it would also be fun to see him against new opponents like Gunther or Bron Breakker too. Also, the story of whether Cena can win one more World Title in WWE would be a fantastic thing because a 17th World Title would break the tie he has with Ric Flair, so I look forward to see how that develops as well.
===
20. MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT
To be given to the most memorable moment of the year.Past winners – 2023: CM Punk returns to WWE at Survivor Series,2022: Cody Rhodes returns to WWE at WrestleMania 38, 2021: John Cena returns at Money in the Bank to confront Roman Reigns,2020: Edge returns at 2020 Royal Rumble, 2019: Kofi Kingston wins WWE Title at WrestleMania 35, 2018: Daniel Bryan announces his return to the ring after three years away, 2017: Hardy Boyz return to WWE at WrestleMania, 2016: AJ Styles debuts at Royal Rumble, 2015: Seth Rollins becomes WWE Champion at WrestleMania 31, 2014: The Undertaker’s undefeated streak ends at WrestleMania 30 when he loses to Brock Lesnar, 2013: Daniel Bryan wins WWE Title leading to heel Triple H/Orton, 2012: Brock Lesnar’s Return April 2 on Raw, 2011: CM Punk’s Promo June 27 on Raw, 2010 winner: Bret & Shawn embrace in the ring, 2009 winner: The Undertaker/Michaels match
Winner: Cody Rhodes wins WWE Championship at WrestleMania 40
Cody Rhodes beating Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 40 Sunday to win the WWE Championship was the best and most memorable moment of the year. I’m not going to list any runners-up because there’s a clear winner ahead of everything else. I’m going to insert comments from my WrestleMania 40 review because I felt like I nailed it there and there’s no point in writing it all out again.
“This was a lot of fun to watch in person and again on the broadcast today. It’s over four stars to me and if you really think about the emotion of the story, it was on another level above that. These guys have great chemistry together. You knew that the match was going to go long, so everything in the first 20 minutes was just building to the chaos later in the match. Once the chaos started, it was big moment after big moment and we were just going crazy reacting to it all. Jimmy Uso was taken out by Jey Uso, Solo Sikoa was taken out by John Cena and The Rock was even taken out by The Undertaker. That was really well booked. Then there was the other story where Reigns chose to hit Rollins with a steel chair in the back rather than finish off Cody, so that gave Cody time to come back and Cody found a way to win. Some WrestleMania main event matches are better than this as a match, but as a moment and just being there live, this is one of my favorite WrestleMania matches ever. I loved how it was booked, I loved all the interference that was legal due to the rules and I loved how the finish was done. This main event was WWE pro wrestling at its best.
I can tell you my reaction was doing high five celebrations with the people in the suite I was in. It wasn’t just because we were happy for Cody’s victory. It was because it’s such an awesome story and it meant so much to see Roman Reigns lose after 1,316 days as Universal Champion while Cody’s nearly 20-year journey to become WWE Champion was complete.”
Regarding the celebration, I thought that was incredible too.
“I loved this celebration. I probably heard Cody Rhodes’ theme song 50+ times while I was in Philadelphia and I didn’t mind it at all because it’s a great song. I’m also genuinely happy for Cody Rhodes accomplishing his wrestling dream of becoming the WWE Champion. The fact that this was a ten-minute celebration was fitting for the new WWE Champion of this new era. I’m glad that Cody had his close wrestling friends in the ring with him along with his family members. What a great moment.”
We could argue that maybe Cody Rhodes should have won the WWE Title at WrestleMania 39 instead of WrestleMania 40, but after seeing how it played out, I think WWE made the right call in making the American Nightmare wait one more year. I’ll never forget that crowd reaction when Cody beat Reigns to win the WWE Title. It was one of the loudest things I’ve ever heard in my life and it made me glad that I attended WrestleMania in person. It also made me genuinely happy for Cody, which is exactly how WWE wanted us to feel. It’s storytelling done right.
===
THE 2024 QUICKIE WWE JOHNNY AWARDS
Here are ten quick awards to wrap it up. Some of them were here last year while others are new this year.
MOST DISAPPOINTING RIVALRY – Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
There was a lot of excitement about the Jey vs. Jimmy Uso match at WrestleMania, but it just didn’t work. We’ve seen brother matches in the past like Bret vs. Owen Hart (amazing), Matt vs. Jeff Hardy (solid) and then this Usos match at WrestleMania was one of the worst matches at the two-night WrestleMania. I don’t think it was that bad, but it just failed to deliver.
By the way, I see a lot of slander about the Jey-Jimmy match at WrestleMania. Yes, it was disappointing, but it was still like a two star match. Some people talk about it like it was some all-time terrible match. It wasn’t close to that. The problem is that the standards of wrestling fans in today’s era are so high that a two star match that happened a lot 25 years ago is now considered terrible. Just saying.
BEST THEME SONG – Ethan Page
It might surprise some of you that I’m going with an NXT song. However, every time I hear this “Ego” song it gets a reaction out of me because I think it’s great. It fits Ethan Page’s egotistical heel persona so well too.
I still love Cody Rhodes’ theme song too, but that would have been an easy choice.
BEST FINISHING MOVE – Tsunami by Bronson Reed
The second half of the year saw Bronson Reed go from being just a guy on the Raw brand to being a legit main event talent. That August attack on Seth Rollins that saw Reed hit him with multiple Tsunami splashes off the top rope was incredible. They followed up with a memorable rivalry with Braun Strowman where the Tsunami onto a car was a cool visual.
WRESTLER POISED FOR A MASSIVE YEAR IN 2025 – Tiffany Stratton
I went through this whole awards column without really mentioning one of my favorite young talents: Tiffany Stratton. She’s another talent in her mid-20s who is going to be a massive star for many years to come. Tiffy Time won Money in the Bank, she’s teased cashing in several times and I think it’s only a matter of time until she gets sick of her buddy Nia Jax being a jerk to her and Tiffany will cash in to become a babyface WWE Women’s Champion. Stratton has only been wrestling for about four years and she’s going to get better too.
BREAKOUT STAR – Bron Breakker
It could be argued that Bron Breakker already broke out this year by becoming a two-time Intercontinental Champion. I think he’ll be in an even better spot a year from now and maybe he’s a guy that will win the 2026 Royal Rumble.
MOST DEVASTATING INJURY – CM Punk
CM Punk tore his triceps at the Royal Rumble in what was his first televised WWE match since coming back two months earlier. Punk missed about six months of action before his SummerSlam return.
Bronson Reed suffering a broken foot at Survivor Series was disappointing to see because he had a lot of momentum, and I wanted to see him continue that in 2025. We might not see him in the ring until the summer next year, but I’m sure he’ll do well when he returns.
Charlotte Flair missed the whole year due to a torn ACL & MCL in her knee, but her injury happened in December 2023 so I’m not picking her for this. I’m looking forward to her return.
BEST CROWD – Backlash France in Lyon, France
That crowd at Backlash was so amazing. I’ve watched YouTube videos playing the memorable chants from that event like when they sang Randy Orton’s entrance or the singing for AJ Styles. The Smackdown event plus Backlash in France really made that crowd the best of the year. There were plenty of fantastic moments that were made better by that crowd, but I loved the singing of Orton’s “Voices” song the most.
Will forever be grateful to that France crowd at Backlash for starting the trend of singing along to Randy Orton's "Voices" theme song 🥹❤️ pic.twitter.com/hjujKnFJur
— Wrestling Pics & Clips (@WrestleClips) December 13, 2024
There were plenty of other great crowds like at Bash in Berlin in Germany, Clash at the Castle in Glasgow, Survivor Series in Vancouver, and of course, being at WrestleMania in Philly was a thrill for me.
NXT STARS I WANT ON MAIN ROSTER NEXT YEAR – Oba Femi and Roxanne Perez
For the men, I’m going with Oba Femi. I know he’s a guy who could probably use more time in NXT to get better, but look how far he’s come in this calendar year. I think Oba Femi could be a main event guy on the main roster very quickly if they present him the right way. Ethan Page would be a fine pick because of how experienced he is and I think Trick Williams will be on the main roster too, but Oba Femi seems like more of a sure thing considering how good he is already.
Roxanne Perez is who I would pick for the women because she’s done it all in NXT as the babyface top woman and the heel top woman. There are other women like Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin to name a few who have been in NXT over three years, so maybe they should be on the main roster, but I don’t know how they would do there. I think Perez is so good already at 23 years old and the best is yet to come for her.
FUNNIEST PERFORMER – R-Truth
It is the award for R-Truth for as long as he continues to wrestle. There were some funny R-Truth moments this year including some comedic match wins and of course his ridiculous comments. The man is in his 50s and remains in great shape, so he’ll keep going as long as he can. R-Truth should be celebrated all the time for being such an entertaining man. I love that guy.
I gave this to Chelsea Green last year and she remains funny, but at least she’s booked more seriously now as the first Women’s US Champion.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A CELEBRITY – Jelly Roll
I couldn’t name a single Jelly Roll song other than “Liar” but that dude hit a perfect Chokeslam on Austin Theory at SummerSlam. Good job by him and of course Theory for taking the move perfectly.
===
FINAL THOUGHTS ON WWE IN 2024
Since I always like to rate the shows out of 10, how about a rating for the year? Here’s how I rated the years since 2009.
2009: 5.5, 2010: 5, 2011: 7, 2012: 7, 2013: 6.5, 2014: 5.5, 2015: 5.5, 2016: 6.5, 2017: 6, 2018: 6, 2019: 6.25, 2020: 5.75, 2021: 6.75, 2022: 7.5, 2023: 8
2024: 8
It’s an 8 out of 10 for the second year in a row. I don’t think I can rate this year higher than last year. It tells you that I’m a happy WWE fan who has enjoyed the product immensely over the last two years. As I mentioned with The Usos match at WrestleMania, there are so few “bad” matches in this era that people tend to overrate how bad a match actually is because we see so many good matches. Five years ago, it certainly wasn’t like that when Vince McMahon was calling the shots, so kudos to Triple H and his team for making the WWE product a lot better.
I think what stands out to me about the WWE roster right now is how deep it is. If a wrestler is out for a long period of time due to injury, there is so much depth and they don’t lose a beat. I can remember in a year like 2014 when CM Punk left, Daniel Bryan was injured, and there was this massive void in the main event scene, so WWE rushed the breakup of The Shield guys in order to fill some spots. When you think about the roster now, you can lose a CM Punk for six months, Roman Reigns can take a break for four months, Rhea Ripley can miss a few months and there’s so much depth that they can easily find the next person to fill the void. The reality of pro wrestling is that people are going to get hurt, so you are going to need to have depth and the depth in WWE right now is as good as ever, which means you could argue that the product is as good as ever right now.
There are some WWE PLEs where they only put five matches on the card. I get why it’s done because it gives those five matches plenty of time and it also gives time in between the matches for video packages. However, I think the roster is so deep and there are so many titles in WWE that they could easily get 7 or even 8 matches on a 3 hour (or 3.5 hours) PLE show. The 24 minute match could be just as good at 17 minutes and it would allow for other matches on the show. They also could cut down some of the time in between the matches because there are PLEs where there are 15 minutes between matches. I think if they improved that kind of thing then the shows would be even better.
As I have mentioned throughout the review, we are incredibly spoiled as WWE fans in this era. Yes, ticket prices are higher than ever and going up, but think about how cheap it is to watch a PLE at home. Most of us will be watching PLEs on Peacock (in the US) or Netflix (worldwide) at a very low price, especially compared to what it used to be decades earlier. I know there is too much WWE content and it’s tough for a lot of us to follow it, but if you miss things, it’s easy to catch up with streaming services or watching clips on YouTube or social media…or reading TJRWrestling. Yeah, we’re pretty good at what we do.
I’ve been a wrestling fan for over 35 years, my age starts with a 4 and I’ve been writing about this stuff for two decades. I don’t know if I’d still be doing it if it was a bad product, so believe me when I tell you nobody likes that WWE is fun to watch more than me. I’m a happy WWE fan who is looking forward to what’s next on January 6th when Raw debuts on Netflix, the build to WrestleMania 41, John Cena’s final year as an active wrestler, and so on. Bring it on.
===
In Closing
That’s a wrap after 11,000 plus words in this column alone. I want to thank you for reading, I want to thank the TJRWrestling team both on the site and behind the scenes for all they do to continue to put out a ridiculous amount of content on a daily basis. I’m proud of them all. Thank you to my friends Lyle, James, Craig and Mike for writing a ridiculous amount of news content all year long. I do the news posts too, but I love writing the reviews and this column more than anything. I haven’t owned TJRWrestling since July 2021 and I’m not the guy in charge, but it has been my life for nearly two decades. I’m just a guy who is a big part of the team now. I don’t plan on slowing down any time soon and we’ll keep putting out content as we usually do.
I keep this part in every year: This is my favorite column to write every year. If you’re one of those people that reads a lot of my work without writing this is one of those times where I’m asking for your thoughts because I want to know what you thought. Don’t be shy. I reply to nearly every email. You can also contact me on Twitter or Facebook.
Thank you to my good friend Steve Melo for the banner at the top of this post. He also does the banners for every one of my columns including the always fun “preferred” Raw Deal banners, Smackdown banners, NXT banners, PLE/PPV banners and more.
I wish you all a safe and happy New Year in 2025. I’ll keep writing and I hope you’ll keep reading.
As I said, please don’t hesitate to contact me. My contact info is below. Thanks so much for reading!
John Canton – mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter/X @johnreport