Billy Jack Haynes, one of the top stars in the Pacific Northwest during the 1980s, who also had short stints in the WWF and WCW, was charged with the second-degree murder of his 85 year-old wife. Haynes is currently awaiting trial.

Over a period of two months, former WWE stars MVP, Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley debuted on AEW programming. They quickly reprised their 2020-era role as The Hurt Syndicate and began feuding with Swerve Strickland.

TNA star Joe Hendry created a viral sensation this year with his song "I Believe In Joe Hendry." Not only did the song peak at # 4 on the UK Singles Download Charts, but the mass exposure led to a short stint with NXT.

In the months after WrestleMania XL, Solo Sikoa assumed the leadership position of Tribal Chief in The Bloodline. He kicked Jimmy Uso and Paul Heyman out the group, while recruiting family members Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa.

Kazuchika Okada, one of the biggest stars to come from New Japan Pro Wrestling in decades, signed a contract with AEW. Since joining, he turned heel and became part of The Elite, captured the Continental Championship and challenged for the AEW World Title.

Despite being in AEW since the promotion's very first show, Private Party had never tasted gold before this year. Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen defeated The Young Bucks on Dynamite to win their first AEW World Tag Team Championship.

At Wrestle Kingdom, Tetsuya Naito defeated Sanada to win his first IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and ending Sanada's record reign. Naito would then trade the title back and forth with Jon Moxley, regaining the belt at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view in June.

Swerve Strickland became one of AEW's top stars in 2024, even turning babyface mid-year. At AEW Dynasty, Strickland defeated Samoa Joe to capture his first AEW World Championship and would hold the gold for 126 days.

After a tumultous 2023, Jack Perry returned to AEW with a vengeance. He  quickly joined The Elite, capturing the vacant TNT Championship in a June ladder match. Perry also headlined the All Out PPV against AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson.

The long-dormant Ring Boy scandal, which allegedly saw WWF employees assault teeangers in the 1980s, resurfaced in 2024. Five men filed a lawsuit naming WWE, TKO Group, and Linda and Vince McMahon as defendants.

At Night One of WrestleMania XL, Sami Zayn upset Gunther to win the Intercontinental Championship. This not only marked Zayn's second WrestleMania title win in a row, but it ended Gunther's record-setting 666-day I-C title reign.

Alan Rogowski, known as Ole Anderson, passed away at the age of 81. Anderson was a member of the famed Minnesota Wrecking Crew team, as well as an original member of The Four Horsemen, as well as being an influential booker.

It's rare than a ring announcer leaving WWE would make headlines, but Samantha Irvin leaving the WWE became big news, given how integral she had become to WWE's presentation. Irvin was replaced by Lillian Garcia.

After CM Punk discussed his departure from AEW on Ariel Helwani's MMA Hour show, the promotion retaliated by airing unreleased, audio-free backstage footage of an incident that happened between Punk and Jack Perry at the 2023 All In pay-per-view.

After years of teasing that he may leave AEW during "the bidding war of 2024," Maxwell Jacob Friedman returned to AEW, showing off a tattoo with the company logo on it. MJF would soon turn heel and capture the International Title, renaming it the Americas Title.

Sid Eudy, who competed as Sid Vicious, Sid Justice and Sycho Sid, passed away at the age of 63. A major star in the WWF and WCW, Eudy held the title in both promotions and main-evented WrestleMania VIII against Hulk Hogan.

At All In London, Bryan Danielson captured his first AEW World Championship by defeating Swerve Strickland in the main event. Danielson had been teasing retirement in the lead-up to the match, and later agreed to retire from full-time competition should he lose the title.

On an episode of Dynamite, AEW owner Tony Khan welcomed Jack Perry back to the promotion, only to have Perry (and his new allies The Young Bucks) attack the boss, flattening him with a very weak-looking Meltzer Driver.

Kevin Sullivan, one of the most influential bookers in wrestling history, passed away at the age of 74. A top heel in Florida, Jim Crockett Promotions and other territories, Sullivan later became a top booker in WCW during its glory years.

After a tumultous time apart, Roman Reigns was able to get on the same page with Bloodline members Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso and Sami Zayn, as the four (along with CM Punk and Paul Heyman) defeated Solo Sikoa's Bloodline at Survivor Series: War Games.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson returned to his wrestling roots once again, joining the Board of Directors for TKO Group Holdings. In exchange for his participation ,Johnson was given stock in the WWE and UFC parent, as well as ownership to his nickname "The Rock."

After months of misunderstandings and argument, New Day members Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods celebrated 10 years of the group in WWE. Just as it looked like they would break up for good, Big E returned and tried to reunite the group. Shockingly, Kingston and Woods turned on Big E together, ending the trio.

TKO Group announced that, beginning in 2025, WWE's flagship show Raw will be streamed exclusively on Netflix. The streaming deal, believed to be for about $500 million per year, will also include WWE PLEs and other original programming.

One of the biggest feuds in recent memory featured CM Punk and Drew McIntyre. The rivalry began at the Royal Rumble, continued through Punk's subsequent injury, and featured a trio of matches concluding with a Hell In A Cell match at the Bad Blood PLE.

One of the biggest stories of 2024 emanated from new allegations against former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon by ex-employee Janel Grant. McMahon faces a lawsuit from Grant, as well as a federal government investigation. He also ended his relationship with TKO and had his controversial lifestyle exposed in the Netflix documentary "Mr. McMahon."

More than 20 years after the demise of World Championship Wrestling, Vice and The Rock's Seven Bucks Productions co-produced a series investigating the downfall of WCW. The show featured interviews with Eric Bischoff, Kevin Nash, Booker T and others.

WWE Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield made his first non-WWE appearances in roughly 30 years, appearing at shows for AAA, Game Changer Wrestling, Major League Wrestling and TNA and randomly giving people a Clothesline From Hell.

Michael Jones, best known as Wrestling Superstar Virgil, passed away after a short illness. Best known as The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase's bodyguard, as well as a stint as Vincent in the nWo, Virgil was actually a spokesperson for our predecessor website.

The 20th edition of Slammiversary was highlighted by a six-way elimination match for the TNA World Championship. Nic Nemeth defeated Moose and four others to win the gold.

After holding the TNT Championship for all of three minutes in 2023, WWE Hall of Famer Adam Copeland regained the gold from his longtime frenemy Christian Cage during an I Quit match on AEW Dynamite.

It's just me, Uce.... Despite being in WWE for almost 25 years, Main Event Jey Uso had never won a singles title until this year. On an episode of Raw, Uso defeated Bron Breakker to capture the Intercontinental Championship. YEET!

Just as Impact Wrestling was transforming back to TNA, parent company Anthem Sports relieved President Scott D'Amore of his duties. Universally loved within the company, D'Amore resurfaced later in the year, launching Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling.

Both Drew McIntyre and Tiffany Stratton won their respective Money In The Bank briefcases at WWE's annual PLE. McIntyre unsuccessfully cashed in his title shot that night, while Stratton still has her briefcase.

The 2024 Royal Rumble PLE saw Cody Rhodes punch his ticket to WrestleMania for the second year in a row. It also saw Bayley recieve her first Royal Rumble win, which led to her splitting from Damage Control en route to WrestleMania.

Fresh off defeating Willow Nightingale to win the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, Mariah May shockingly turned against her mentor Toni Storm.  May went on to defeat Storm for the AEW Womens World Championship at All In.

Liv Morgan defeated Becky Lynch to capture the Womens World Championship at the King and Queen of the Ring PLE. As part of her Liv Morgan Revenge Tour, she had injured previous champ Rhea Ripley the prior month.

The first episode of NXT on The CW Network was seen as a tremendous success. With appearances by Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, the main event saw Trick Williams regain the NXT Championship over Ethan Page, with CM Punk as guest referee.

WWE Hall of Famers Sika and Afa Anoa'i, a pair of brothers who teamed as The Wild Samoans, passed away within two months of each other. Beyond their in-ring accolades, they were known as patriarchs of wrestling's well-documeted Samoan dynasty.

In the past, WWE stars were largely prevented from appearing in other promotions. In 2024, they showed up in Bloodsport and Pro Wrestling NOAH, while there was also a lengthy cross-promotional talent exchange between NXT and TNA Wrestling.

Four major titles changed hands at SummerSlam from Cleveland. Gunther captured the World Heavyweight Championship; Nia Jax won the WWE Women's Championship; Bron Breakker became Intercontinental Champion, and LA Knight won the U.S. Championship.

Mercedes Mone signed with All Elite Wrestling at its Big Business episode of Dynamite. The former Sasha Banks would proceed to turn heel and capture both the TBS and New Japan Strong titles in 2024.

WrestleMania XL (Night Two) began with Seth Freakin' Rollins defending the World Championship against Drew McIntyre. McIntyre won the gold and then provoked a fight with CM Punk, leading to Damien Priest quickly cashing in his Money In The Bank briefcase and winning the title.

Dirty Dominik Mysterio lived up to his nickname at SummerSlam. For months, his Mami Rhea Ripley was injured due to Liv Morgan. At the match between the two women, Dominik cost Rhea the match, and then made out with Liv at ringside.

Jon Moxley not only won the AEW World Championship at WrestleDream from Bryan Danielson, but also ordered their former Blackpool Combat Club teammates Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta (along with Pac and Marina Shafir) to potentially take Danielson out for good.

At AEW's Dynasty PPV, not only did the World and Tag Team titles change hands, but Will Ospreay defeated Bryan Danielson in what Dave Meltzer called "probably the greatest match that has ever taken place in the United States."

Following his loss at WrestleMania XL, Roman Reigns went on a four-month hiatus as Solo Sikoa took over his Bloodline faction. Reigns returned during the main event of SummerSlam to attack Sikoa and reassert his dominance as the OTC: Original Tribal Chief.

In what will no doubt be one of the Top 50 Wrestling Headlines of 2025 as well... John Cena announced at Money In The Bank that 2025 would be his final year as a wrestler. Accordingly, Cena agreed to work roughly 36 dates during a retirement tour that will include all major WWE PLEs.

WWE and TNA Hall of Famer Sting retired after an iconic 40-year career following a tag team match with Darby Allin at AEW Revolution. His match against The Young Bucks featured participation from Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat and Sting's two sons.

Leading up to WrestleMania XL, The Rock promoted he would be challenging his cousin Roman Reigns in the main event. Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes (eventually) refused that direction, leading to the Samoans facing Rhodes and Seth Rollins in an epic tag team match.

The biggest wrestling headline of 2024 occurred when Cody Rhodes finished his story and defeated longtime rival Roman Reigns to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Not only did The American Nightmare end Reigns' record-setting title reign, but it also helped push WWE into its biggest streak of popularity since the Attitude Era, with Rhodes as the company's new standard-bearer.