B/R Awards: 7 WWE and AEW Stars Who Had Their Finest 12 months in 2024

2024 was a banner yr for a few of professional wrestling’s brightest and most promising stars, because of renewed pushes, first-time alternatives, championship victories, and WrestleMania major occasions.

It was the breeding floor for stars of the long run and greats of in the present day, with phenomenal in-ring performances and stellar character work fueling them to their most interesting yr thus far.

Wanting again on all that the yr in WWE and AEW gifted followers, these are stars who had their most interesting years in 2024, with loads of potential to construct on it transferring ahead, listed in no specific order.

Swerve Strickland entered 2024, driving momentum following an emphatic near 2023 and a star-making efficiency towards “Hangman” Adam Web page at Full Gear.

To construct on it, he feuded with Samoa Joe, beat him for the AEW World Championship, overcame the manipulative and conniving Christian Cage, and headlined the largest occasion of the yr, All In, towards Bryan Danielson.

Alongside the way in which he had Match of the 12 months candidates with Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada, and wrote the newest (last?) chapter in his rivalry with Web page in an unforgettable Lights Out Metal Cage Match at All Out.

Strickland signed one of many largest contracts in AEW historical past and firmly established himself as one of many firm’s high stars, wrapping up his profession yr and setting the bar extraordinarily excessive for 2025.

It appears relatively troublesome to argue that Drew McIntyre had his greatest yr in 2024 when, 4 years earlier, he gained the Royal Rumble, captured the WWE Championship on two completely different events, and was the face of Monday Night time Uncooked.

Nonetheless, The Scottish Warrior bested even that run in 2024 because the WWE Universe was launched to a brand new facet of him.

Nonetheless bitter over being screwed out of the WWE title two years earlier in Scotland, he lashed out towards Jey Uso and Sami Zayn for making that occur. He injured CM Punk and trolled him on-line for months. Then, when Punk reacted and value him the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, then once more at Conflict on the Fort in Scotland, he unleashed livid vengeance on The Finest within the World.

Their rivalry was the most effective of the yr, bringing an old-school depth and what felt like, at instances, a real dislike, to the product. Its fruits, inside Hell in a Cell at Unhealthy Blood in October, was arguably the most effective match of the yr from any promotion, too.

Because the yr winds down, McIntyre is poised to stay a major occasion participant in WWE and certainly one of its most participating performers, because of his willingness to be the dangerous man each on digital camera and throughout social media, the place his troll stage has hit a strong 11.

Toni Storm proved “Timeless” was greater than only a nickname in 2024.

She immersed herself in her character, a delusional throwback to basic Hollywood whereas taking over a protege in Mariah Could. She conquered the competitors because the AEW girls’s world champion and had some very good matches alongside the way in which, together with profitable title defenses towards Thunder Rosa, Serena Deeb, Mina Shirakawa, Deonna Purrazzo, and Hikaru Shida.

It was in that storyline with Could, and the underling’s surprising betrayal of Storm, that her yr went from robust to extraordinary. The picture of a bloodied Storm crying in shock and agony as Could attacked her with a shoe, her obvious break after dropping the title to The Glamour at All In, and her return underneath her earlier rockstar persona as if nothing had ever occurred, was all character work that captivated followers past her skill to thrive as an in-ring employee.

Storm developed as a storyteller in 2024 and may have loads of followers enthusiastic about the place this newest twist is headed.

Damian Priest cashed in Cash within the Financial institution at WrestleMania 40 to win his first World Heavyweight Championship and by no means appeared again.

Within the months after, The Archer of Infamy developed right into a babyface, broke freed from Judgment Day, feuded together with his previous teammates, shaped the Terror Twins with Rhea Ripley, and have become one of the vital common stars on WWE Uncooked.

A central determine and bonafide major eventer on the flagship present, he was on the coronary heart of high rivalries, and championship matches, and headlined premium stay occasions. A gifted huge man who gained confidence whereas incomes administration’s belief and gaining the followers’ assist during the last 12 months, he’s now set as much as be one of many foundational items of WWE’s inventive plans for 2025.

Not dangerous for a man who beforehand thought he was a candidate for his launch, as he revealed in his WWE Peacock documentary, which was additionally launched in 2024.

Kyle Fletcher emerged from the tag group of Aussie Open, stepped out of the shadow of Will Ospreay, and have become his personal man this yr. The result’s a performer with the instruments and uncooked skill to be one of many faces of AEW’s future and a world champion in ready.

The reigning ROH TV champion at first of the yr, Fletcher shined early within the yr in an AEW World Title Eliminator Match towards Strickland and by no means appeared again.

From there, he joined the Don Callis Household, had one other stellar match with MJF for the AEW American Championship, stole the present with Okada, betrayed Ospreay, and defeated The Aerial Murderer at Full Gear in his largest match thus far.

If all of that was not sufficient, he put an exclamation level on his yr with constantly nice performances within the Continental Traditional, persevering with to construct on the status and customary he set for himself over the earlier 12 months. A star within the making, he’s burning as brightly as ever as 2025 approaches.

Liv Morgan could also be the most effective success story in 2024.

At all times a performer who had that “it” issue to be an even bigger star than she was, she had flirted with the highest of the ladies’s division in 2022 earlier than dropping her title again to Ronda Rousey and seeing her singles run flame out.

Quick-forward and also you had Morgan coming back from damage, brought on by Rhea Ripley, and promising to enact the “Liv Morgan Revenge Tour,” and did she ever.

The New Jersey native injured Ripley, price her the ladies’s world title by forfeit, defeated Becky Lynch to win the title, stole Mami’s boy toy Dominik Mysterio, beat her at SummerSlam, and reigned over the Uncooked girls’s division for almost all of the yr.

Alongside the way in which, she turned one of many model’s cornerstones, a featured star who competed in major occasions and top-level storylines and loved essentially the most tv publicity of her profession. She had the best yr of her profession, was extra over with crowds than ever earlier than, and thrived underneath the immense highlight directed at her by administration, proving she is right here to remain as a headliner.

A lot was product of Cody Rhodes ending his story in 2024, one thing he did by profitable the Royal Rumble, proving is reference to followers was better than any late-game plans to introduce The Rock into the WrestleMania 40 major occasion, and defeating Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship in one of the vital emotional moments in fashionable wrestling historical past.

That’s not the place his yr ended, although.

Rhodes proceeded to have a Match of the 12 months candidate towards AJ Kinds at Backlash, beat him once more at Conflict on the Fort, efficiently retained towards Logan Paul and Solo Sikoa alongside the way in which, dealt Gunther simply his second major roster defeat at Crown Jewel, and efficiently retained towards Kevin Owens not as soon as, however twice.

All whereas being the face of WWE in media, advertising, and promotional settings.

He embodied what it meant to be a champion, put within the work between the ropes, and lived the lifetime of a QB1, as he likes to place it, paying off an extended journey to the highest of the mountain in skilled wrestling.

Given how nice a few of the years he had main as much as it had been, it was relatively troublesome to think about a state of affairs the place he would eclipse them and stay as much as the expectations that got here alongside together with his defining second in Philly.

He did simply that.