For the tenth straight year, Wrestling Merchandise and Memories presents its Year End Awards, in which we ask our writers to vote in a number of key categories. We've also included how writers previously voted below each category.
Match Of The Year
Adam Zimmerman: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre (Bad Blood). This was a classic, brutal match. Exactly the kind I enjoy watching. Coincidently; WWE just recently released it on their YouTube channel which is pretty awesome of them to do.
The Big Rybowski: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre (Bad Blood). What a perfect way to close out one of the most captivating rivalries of the year. The build-up was masterful, with weeks of intensity and personal stakes raising anticipation for this match. When it came time to deliver, they didn’t just meet expectations – they shattered them. The brutality inside the Cell told a story of two men desperate to prove themselves, and it capped off their feud with a match that will be remembered as the best of the year. A truly special “big fight feel” match.
Canadian Bulldog: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre (Bad Blood). Was this the best technical match of the year? It's not even in the conversation. But I'm a sucker for great storytelling, and in that respect... nothing else came close to this match. You had the payoff for six-plus months of backstory being delivered in a brutal and devastating fashion. You had the right guy winning, and both men better off from the outcome. And just as importantly, you had two wrestlers who truly rehabilitated what the Hell In A Cell match needs to be after years of wrestlers tainting its brand. Well done, gentlemen!
Mike Rickard: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre (Bad Blood). Although Drew and CM Punk didn’t “save” the Hell in a Cell Match (fans need look no further back than WrestleMania XXXIX’s Edge vs Finn Balor Hell in a Cell Match to see a brutal and bloody affair), it showed there’s lots of life left in the match, once again proving it’s not so much the matches that get old, but the booking.
Previous Match Of The Year Winners
Male Wrestler Of The Year
Adam Zimmerman: MJF. If he were only booked better, he'd be the best there is by a mile. Even considering what he has to work with storyline-wise; he's still damn good. Always lives his character.
The Big Rybowski: Drew McIntyre. Last year, Gunther earned this accolade for his incredible work, and even though he was arguably even better in 2024, this year belonged to Drew McIntyre. As a heel, Drew became must-see television, excelling both in the ring and on social media, where his work continued to elevate his persona. Whether it was his trilogy against CM Punk, his huge wins at Elimination Chamber and Money in the Bank, or his short-lived but well deserved title win at WrestleMania, Drew delivered consistently throughout the year. Few wrestlers this year combined character work and in-ring performance as well as he did.
Canadian Bulldog: Cody Rhodes. Cody is a throwback to a simpler time in wrestling, where babyfaces did babyface things and defended their values against the compromised heels. But what I love about The American Nightmare is he does all that while still keeping fans glued to the edge of their seats and keeping current enough to not seem like a nostalgia act. He had great matches against the likes of Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Gunther and Kevin Owens while putting his all into his promos and angles, and that definitely feels like a Wrestler of the Year to me.
Mike Rickard: Cody Rhodes. Cody Rhodes somehow finds a way to play a traditional babyface without falling into the trap of playing a white-bread one. Cody has the fire fans want to see when he’s wronged, can charm a snake with his promos, and looks like a world champion. His matches are dynamite every night, and he’s the true “Total Package” of theWWE. Although his booking post-Mania has been anticlimactic, he seems capable of dealing
with it and the fans don’t seem to mind.
Previous Male Wrestler Of The Year Winners
Female Wrestler Of The Year
Adam Zimmerman: Rhea Ripley. Arguably one of the most dominant female wrestlers of all time. When it comes to women's wrestling, I've always been a fan of the "monsters" like Bull Nakano, Monster Ripper (Rhonda Singh), and Awesome Kong. Rhea fits right into that category.
The Big Rybowski: Toni Storm. There were cases for guys like Rhea Ripley, Roxanne Perez, and Liv Morgan, but Toni Storm gets the nod this year. While she wasn’t necessarily my personal favorite to watch, her work in AEW cannot be ignored. Storm’s character and performances elevated AEW’s women’s division to new heights, cementing herself as my Female Wrestle of the Year.
Canadian Bulldog: Liv Morgan. I was extremely skeptical when they turned Liv Morgan heel, believing that she would not have what it took to become a top character. I was proven wrong. She's gone from just being another woman on the roster to becoming one of the most compelling heels WWE has had in years. Her partnership with Dominik Mysterio was the storyline I didn't know I needed. All of Liv's matches have become must-see... not because they're all five-star classics, but because fans are so invested in her persona.
Mike Rickard: Tiffany Stratton. One of the hottest young talents in recent memory (figuratively and literally), Tiffany continues to improve in the ring and has everything she needs for a fast jump to the main event. While WWE has booked her terribly over the last few months thanks to her alliance with Nia Jax (a wrestler who is this generation’s Erik Watts), she manages to work through lousy booking and hopefully will get a solid push soon. Chelsea Green was excellent too but I give Stratton the honors this year.
Previous Female Wrestler Of The Year Winners
Non-Wrestler Of The Year
Adam Zimmerman: Dutch Mantel. Since he's long since retired as a wrestler and is a podcaster now; I think he'll count for this category. Aside from Jim Cornette's podcasts; The Dirty Dutchman's is my favorite. He always has great stories from his career and interesting views on today's product. I particularly like hearing some of his crazy stories from the years he spent in Puerto Rico.
The Big Rybowski: The Backlash France Crowd. It’s rare for an audience to steal the show, but the French fans at WWE Backlash this year made it happen. The energy in the arena was electric, with coordinated chants that felt more like a soccer match than a wrestling event. The atmosphere during AJ Styles’ main event – with the crowd so loud the cameras shook – was one of the most surreal and memorable moments of the year. France didn’t just watch Backlash; they became part of it, setting a new standard for live audiences
Canadian Bulldog: Eric Bischoff. Bischoff has found a second (really, third) career as a top-notch podcaster, not only recalling key parts of his career with Conrad Thompson, but also breaking down technical aspects of the industry in his Strictly Business podcast. In addition, his constant digs at Tony Khan and Dave Meltzer (sometimes nasty but usually valid points) have become particularly relevant as AEW's business took a turn downward this past year.
Mike Rickard: Wade Barrett. I’d nominate Joe Tessitore because he’s done such a fantastic job since debuting in the WWE but he hasn’t been on long enough. Instead, I’m going with Wade Barrett, who has crushed it on color commentary. His heel work is good but hedoesn’t stray into obnoxiousness like Pat McAfee or Corey Graves.
Previous Non-Wrestler Of The Year Winners
Rivalry Of The Year
Adam Zimmerman: Bloodline vs. OG Bloodline. What do I even really have to say? This rivalry has captivated everyone's attention all year long.
The Big Rybowski: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre. Although injuries sidelined CM Punk during parts of the year, this feud was a shining example of how to tell a story over time. Both Punk and McIntyre excelled at building anticipation and intensity, culminating in three matches that felt like marquee main events. Given major spots at key points in the year, they delivered performances that cemented their rivalry as the best of 2024.
Canadian Bulldog: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre. What began as a throwaway interview segment ahead of the Royal Rumble turned into something no one could have seen coming. While Punk was injured, McIntyre stepped up his game considerably, keeping the issue between the two red-hot. After some timely run-ins by Punk the two had an outstanding trio of matches where you could feel the tension between them. Quite honestly, I'd be very happy to see a repeat of this feud again in 2025; it was that good.
Mike Rickard: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre. You know a feud is hot when one of the people involved can’t wrestle for months yet fans are engaged week after week. Drew McIntyre’s bitter, violent, and self-righteous persona worked well against CM Punk and their matches were magic. One of the best feuds I’ve seen in years.
Previous Rivalry Of The Year Winners
Event Of The Year
Adam Zimmerman: Survivor Series. I'll be honest; I have the attention span to watch very few full events, if any. I'll watch matches. I'll see clips. I'll hear podcasters discuss things, etc, but I watch no full events. That being said; I'm gonna pick Survivor Series because War Games was my favorite yearly match as a kid and Survivor Series is its current home and it usually doesn't disappoint... if you don't count this year's women's War Games match, anyway. We can all just pretend like that one didn't happen. For that matter, I don't think we should count any match Nia Jax is in. Let's just pretend they all never happened.
The Big Rybowski: WrestleMania. No wrestling event in recent (or past) memory generated as much buzz as WrestleMania, and for good reason. Bringing The Rock into the Cody Rhodes/Bloodline storyline created moments that were pure cinematic magic, even if the direction shifted along the way. The card itself was stacked, delivering unforgettable matches: Gunther vs Sami Zayn, Bayley vs Iyo Sky, Logan Paul vs Kevin Owens vs Randy Orton, Rhea Ripley vs Becky Lynch, and an intense Tag Team Ladder Match. Add in the culmination of the Bloodline drama, and WrestleMania 2024 goes down as a truly iconic show.
Canadian Bulldog: SummerSlam. For the second year in a row, I attended SummerSlam live and for the second year in a row, that live experience helped me appreciate the night that much more. You had four title changes, two heel turns (both related to The Judgment Day), a red-hot first match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre, and of course, the surprise return of Roman Reigns to confront his successor in The Bloodline. The crowd in Cleveland was insane and it felt like a concert more than a wrestling show. WrestleMania was a great two-night event, but SummerSlam was way more fun for me, personally.
Mike Rickard: WrestleMania. WrestleMania wasn’t perfect but when you honestly assess the WWE’s flagship year, it never is. However, this year lived up to the hype with some fantastic matches and feuds driving them. Throw in surprises (such as El Senor Money in the Bank successfully cashing in his briefcase) and feel-good wins (Cody finally defeating Roman Reigns for the Undisputed Championship) and there was nothing like it. The two-night format
works well and it will be interesting to see how SummerSlam runs with a two-night format.
Previous Event Of The Year Winners
Promotion Of The Year
Adam Zimmerman: WWE. It used to be more of a toss-up but with AEW becoming weaker and weaker (in my opinion) and far less popular; WWE is winning this war pretty handily.
The Big Rybowski: WWE. This category wasn’t particularly close. WWE was on an entirely different level this year, delivering consistently strong programming, engaging storylines, and memorable matches across all of its brands.
Canadian Bulldog: WWE. By any conceivable metric, WWE was leaps and bounds ahead of anyone else this past year, and the promotion is seeing its highest levels of interest since (and possibly including) The Attitude Era. Credit goes to Paul Levesque and Lee Fitting for refreshing so much of the WWE product this year -- visually, creatively, you name it -- a sign that they are finally out of the shadows of Vince McMahon.
Mike Rickard: TNA. WWE had another great year business wise but creatively they’ve been hit-and-miss, resting on their laurels too much. Triple H seems afraid to rock the boat and frankly, there’s a low bar to beat (Vince’s last few years). His storytelling outside the main event is hit-and-miss and moves like a snail. TNA deserves credit for its relaunch and signing some bigger names (as well as booking them). While its recent budget cuts are not a good sign, 2024 was a very good year for the promotion in terms of creative and ticket sales.
Previous Promotion Of The Year Winners
Team Of The Year
As of 2022, we included trios and factions for consideration, in addition to traditional tag teams.
Adam Zimmerman: The Briscoe Brothers. I'm just doing this as a shoutout to one of my favorite teams that no longer exists because of Jay Briscoe's tragic death back in January. Since that occurred so early in the year; they had little to no matches this year but they were a team at the beginning of it and they were my longtime favorites on the scene.
The Big Rybowski: The Judgment Day. The Judgment Day faction carried Monday Night Raw through much of the year. Whether it was Damian Priest or Rhea Ripley delivering in the ring, or their ongoing involvement with Liv Morgan, Judgment Day was always in the spotlight. Add in Dominik Mysterio’s ability to draw nuclear heat and R-Truth’s comedic brilliance to balance things out, and you had one of the most entertaining groups in recent memory.
Canadian Bulldog: The Judgment Day. While the group isn't quite as dominant as they were in 2023, The Judgment Day was the most interesting team this year, almost by default. After some big early wins at WrestleMania, the faction was refreshed by getting rid of "The Terror Twins" and adding others in their place. Not sure how much more staying power The Judgment Day has heading into 2025, but they have had a great run.
Mike Rickard: The House of Black. AEW was all over the place in 2024 but The House of Black was good regardless of what program they worked. They are an effective trio that works well in tag or six-man matches. It’s a shame AEW doesn’t make them the center of one of their shows instead of some of the duds we’ve seen.
Previous Team Of The Year Winners
Wrestling Merchandise and Memories Article Of The Year
The Big Rybowski: Top 50 Wrestling Books. Wrestling Merchandise and Memories has been a go-to source for wrestling book reviews since its inception, so I really enjoyed this article and accompanying video that broke down the very best wrestling books of all time (No surprise that Mick Foley’s work took the top spot on a Canadian Bulldog Top 50 list!). A must-read for any wrestling fan looking to add some classics to their bookshelf!
Canadian Bulldog: I've spent the past year adding tons of video content to Wrestling Merchandise and Memories. The most successful video by far was Top 50 Tag Teams of the 1980s, which has been viewed more than 75,000 times! If I could ask one favor of the Wrestling Merchandise and Memories universe, it would be to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more great content!
Mike Rickard: 80s Wrestling Mania Returns. I enjoy many articles from Wrestling Merchandise and Memories but tend to focus on The Grappling Gamer. I particularly enjoyed his review of “80s Wrestling Mania Returns,” a fun
game which I wanted to get his take on.
Previous Article Of The Year Winners
Thank you so much for reading Wrestling Merchandise and Memories this year!
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