With apologies to Bryan Danielson, Orange Cassidy, and Willow Nightingale, we count down the best wrestlers who made 2024 a year to remember.
10. Harley Cameron
The multi-faceted Harley Cameron exploded in the latter-half of the year proving there was nothing she couldn’t handle. Strong in-ring work, adopting and immediately getting over wacky gimmicks such as HarleyGram, great comedy segments, and she even plays the guitar. 2025 should feel the wrath of Harley Cameron!
9. The Beast Mortos
Like Cameron, the Beast Mortos didn’t rack up many wins in 2024 but he showed up and showed out the entire year without having a bad match with anyone. He’s the perfect base for the highfliers of AEW and can slap some serious meat with larger competitors as well. His gimmick and ring style fit perfectly in AEW and here’s hoping for big things for him in 2025.
8. Darby Allin
No one puts their body on the line more in a match than Darby Allin. Not capitalizing on the title shot he earned dented Darby’s momentum a bit, but it’s obvious Tony Khan sees him as a future AEW Champion and, should Jon Moxley walk out of World’s End with the title, Darby remains the betting favorite to dethrone him.
7. Konosuke Takeshita
If you are looking for a blueprint to follow for Cameron and Mortos you need look no further than Takeshita who, like them, largely jobbed while showing out against the best of the division. But when his push came, damn if he didn’t make the best of it. Since, his rise in AEW has been a bit stop-and-start, but the current International Champion is a ready-made main event player for 2025.
6. Shelton Benjamin
Benjamin’s short run in AEW confirmed everything WWE fans have been complaining about for decades. This man is a star who deserved a push many, many years ago. AEW has revived both the business of hurting in the resurrected Hurt Syndicate and especially Benjamin’s career. I’d suspect we won’t have to wait long for some gold to be strapped around his waist in 2025.
5. The House of Black
Perhaps AEW’s best stable. Even if Malaki leaves for WWE sometime next year the House is in terrific shape with rising stars in Brody King and Julia Hart who together are my favorite pairing in wrestling. And Buddy Matthews can have great matches with anyone he steps into the ring with. Feuding with factions such as The Hurt Syndicate or Death Riders could lead to some really fun things in 2025, and I’m holding out hope for a Julia Hart run as AEW Women’s Champion before the end of the year. After all, the House always wins.
4. Hangman Adam Page
He did nothing wrong. It’s been often stated that Hangman is AEW’s original main character. After dropping the title his run seemed a bit listless until his feud with Swerve Strickland literally burned the house down in what is inarguably the most iconic wrestling shot of 2024. Family man turned deranged cowboy, Hangman finally has his sights set upon the AEW Championship again, and we know his feud with Swerve isn’t done yet.
3. Swerve Strickland
Who’s House? There is no one cooler in AEW than Swerve Strickland who was made a main event star in 2024. Swerve’s feud with Hangman demands to be reheated at some point, but until then he’s got business with the Syndicate and also apparently Ricochet to keep him peculating until his return to the main event scene. 2025 should be another great year for Strickland.
2. Toni Storm
Timeless. Toni Storm’s storyline with Mariah May was the best wrestling story of 2024, with Swerve and Hangman as a close second. The Timeless Toni Storm gimmick reinvigorated the entire women’s division which, admittedly, was a hurt a bit in her absence. Her return has reignited new possibilities for the character with another ongoing storyline of rediscovering just who Toni is which will inevitably lead back to Mariah. Hopefully 2025 remains Toni Time.
1. Will Ospreay
Ospreay! Ospreay! If you don’t like Will Ospreay you don’t like professional wrestling. You may prefer other wrestlers, but his talent is unfreaking deniable. He’s the feelin’, Bruv. From the day he first stepped into AEW it was obvious this man was a franchise player (to everyone, I guess, but WWE). The quality of his matches is unparalleled as there’s little difference between listing the best matches of the year and simply a list of Will’s best matches. Will’s mic work and connection to the crowd is undervalued. And his willingness to put over Swerve at Forbidden Door also shows his unselfishness to help other wrestlers and do his part to bolster the company overall. Will’s eventual AEW Championship reign is all but a certainty, but will it come in 2025 or will fans have to wait another full year to see him crowned?