The 1st Annual Wrestling Almanac Year End Awards
Hello everyone, we are here with the 1st of many years to come, with our rendition of year end awards. This year was littered with Great and God-Awful moments, matches, and memories. We here at the Wrestling Almanac are here to highlight the up’s and down’s that happened in the Year 2024. We have 16 mammoth awards to give out, so let’s get to them!
THE “X-PAC HEAT” WRESTLER OF THE YEAR - Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho is a GOAT, there is no denying that, but times have not been kind to Y2J. “X-Pac Heat” for those out of the know, is meaning for general dislike for a wrestler, that the fans just want to go away and not come back for a while. Jericho went from a “Le Sex God” with runner up for this award Sammy Guevara to feuding with Hook and starting yet another group in AEW, The Learning Tree, to ROH Champion. People are tired of Jericho and want to see him cool off and show up somewhere else.
RELOCATION OF THE YEAR - Ethan Page
No one benefited a change of scenery than Ethan Page. Ethan came to AEW after the breakup of The North in TNA, and set his sights on breaking out in AEW. Ethan soon got lost in the shuffle and eventually was a 3rd Hardy Boy. Ethan moved to NXT and was an instant success. Ethan would dethrone Trick Williams and gain gold quickly in NXT, and show the world what “All-Ego” is all about.
WRESTLING MEDIA MAKER OF THE YEAR - Brian Zane (Wrestling with Wregret)
If you are a fan of wrestling, you are usually a fan of other fans talking and commentating on wrestling. And if you want a genuine opinion and unbiased look, you can look no further than our winner this year, Brian Zane, and his channel, Wrestling with Wregret. From looking at defunct promotions, to failed runs for some wrestlers, to his Classic PPV reviews, Brian has got it on his channel.
https://www.youtube.com/c/wrestlingwithwregret
TURN OF THE YEAR - Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens did nothing wrong. Let’s get that out of the way. Cody Rhodes aligned himself with a man and family who tortured and demolished Kevin Owens, over and over. Kevin Owens “turn” as it is loosely termed here, was one that made sense, and has about half the fanbase on his side. I’ll say it again, Kevin Owens did nothing wrong, except the piledriver on Randy maybe…
THE “JIM CORNETTE” TALKER OF THE YEAR - Drew McIntyre
Jim Cornette is a legend who is still talking to this day. Jim got himself in hot water many times with his words, so it is only natural to name an award after an icon. And this year we have a clear cut “Talker” in the Scottish Psychopath, Drew McIntyre. Drew cut down every opponent in his way this year from Seth Rollins, to Sami Zayn, to Jey Uso. And went word for word against the “PipeBomb” himself CM Punk.
SKIPPY’S BOOB OF THE YEAR - Ricochet
If you have been a fan of any of our work, you know Skippy. The reliable buddy of the page, and he was given an award. He chose to point out the biggest “boob” of the year, and it went to the once admired Ricochet. From starting fights with fans on X, to putting on non-wrestling aerial ballet shows inside the ring, Ricochet has definitely destroyed any aura he had creating pre-WWE and in NXT. Mr. Ricochet, you deserve to be covered in TP, you big boob!
TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR - Axiom & Nathan Frazer
This year was not the greatest when it came to Tag Team wrestling, but one team stuck out over the others, as they stayed in the Title picture nearly all year. Axiom and Nathan Frazer is our Tag Team of the year. Fraxiom as some call them might have had some rocky moments, but in the end they kept getting the job done and ensured they held onto the gold to end the year.
THE UNSTOPPABLE FINISHER OF THE YEAR - Tsunami (Bronson Reed)
Bronson Reed was on the short list for breakout wrestler of the year, but was barely beaten (more on that later). But one thing that can be guaranteed was that Bronson Reed cemented himself as a scary presence, and partly was due to his often-injurying Finisher the Tsunami. The big man took down the likes of Braun Strowman, Eric, and Seth “Freaking” Rollins with multiple splashes from the big man. I’m betting he won’t be invited to many pool parties this coming year.
FEUD OF THE YEAR - CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre
Feud might not be the right word to use with these two. War of the year might be closer. Starting at the Royal Rumble, with Drew injuring Punk’s arm, and costing him a match at Mania, moved to Punk costing Drew his newly won Title at Mania. Once Punk was cleared to wrestle, these two went to war that culminated in bloody Hell in a Cell match, with Punk being (barely) the winner. Only knock on this would be the inclusion of a bracelet substory. Yuck.
WORST MOMENT OF THE YEAR - AEW show Backstage footage of Brawl with Perry/Punk
This didn’t need to happen. This didn’t need to be seen. This was an obvious ploy for ratings, but storyline? Merch? Future Plans? Nope didn’t effect any of this and it has hurt AEW since. Ratings started to dip starting here (plus other underlying problems), but this moment definitely was the fart in church, and everyone knew it.
EVENT OF THE YEAR - WrestleMania XL (40)
WrestleMania is the granddaddy of them all, and this year they fully put their money where their mouth was. Some of the last few years, Mania has been a one match pony here and there, with somethings just thrown in. This year was a cohesive show with only one glaring turd of a match (i.e. Uso Superkick crapfest). The Rock returned as the final boss, Rollins gave every ounce of his being, Dakota Kai was hot, and Cody finished his story. This show stood over all others this year.
BREAKOUT STAR OF THE YEAR - Oba Femi
This big man made his way into NXT this year and made NXT his hunting grounds all year long. From holding the North American Title for so long, to earning the number one contendership for the NXT Title, Femi showed no sign of stopping in 2025. The main roster will be calling very soon, and just like NXT, WWE might soon be on notice from Big Oba Femi.
BEST MOMENT OF THE YEAR - Bryan Danielson wins one more World Title in London
Its easy to say Cody “finishing his story” is the best moment of the year, but that seemed obvious at this point. Danielson was getting old and he only had a few left in him, so in front of a UK crowd Danielson turned back time and dethroned rising superstar Swerve Strickland to win the AEW World Title. Celebrating with his family in the ring and winning that last one for the gipper was feel good from the start.
WOMAN WRESTLER OF THE YEAR - “Timeless” Toni Storm
This was a landslide of a victory this year. Toni Storm reinvented herself and dominated the AEW Women’s division for the majority of the year. Even though she lost to protege Mariah May, Toni was still the talk of women’s wrestling all year, and even to the end of the year with her “Rookie” Toni Storm character. But most importantly…watch for the show!
MATCH OF THE YEAR - (tie) Ospreay/Danielson (AEW Dynasty) & Punk/McIntyre (WWE Bad Blood)
We have a tie in one of the most important categories of our awards. The reason being that both were the best at what they were trying to do. If you are looking for the best “Wrestling Match” you go with Ospreay/Danielson. If you are looking for the “Best Grudge Match” and the best emotion filled match, then you go with Punk/McIntyre. You can’t go wrong with either of these matches, so enjoy both.
MALE WRESTLER OF THE YEAR - Gunther
There is not doubt that about 10 different men could walk away with this award this year, but one stood out above all others. Gunther revived the IC Title, until he dropped it in a great banger against ultimate underdog Sami Zayn. Gunther, instead of crying about it, went on to win the King of the Ring and then winning the WHC at SummerSlam. Gunther has held the title since, and isn’t dropping it anytime soon. The Ring General was the 2024 General.
Well folks that was 2024’s but, lets just wait and see how 2025 plays out and we will convene next Year for the next set of award winners!
