My 2025 WWE Awards
- Linus O'Howell
- Dec 31, 2025
- 48 min read
We have successfully made it through another year of WWE programming, and with that, we have to recap the year with my Yearly Awards Article! In this article, there will be 5 different awards up for grabs, with 10 different nominees in each category (plus some honourable mentions at the end)! I do my awards based on multiple different things, including in-ring work, storytelling, number of matches, accolades, and match quality (and sometimes even more)! So, just like usual, let’s start with the nominees for My 2025 Male Superstar of the Year!
2025 Male Superstar of the Year Nominees
John Cena
Let’s be honest, we couldn’t really start this list with anyone other than the Greatest of All Time! John Cena had 5 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, with all of those matches actually being rated A- or above (which is more than anyone else achieved)! John officially kicked off his Retirement Tour by appearing at the Raw on Netflix premier show, before he finished as runner-up in the Men’s Royal Rumble! Cena would then go on to win the Elimination Chamber, booking his ticket to WrestleMania, before arguably the most iconic moment of the entire year took place as Cena finally turned Heel, aligning himself with The Rock and Travis Scott (those were the days)! Cena then appeared many times during WWE’s European Tour, blaming the fans for everything, and stating that he’s going to “ruin Wrestling”! This then led into WrestleMania, where John defeated Cody Rhodes to not only become the Undisputed WWE Champion, but also the first person in history to hold a World Championship on 17 different occasions! “The Never Seen 17” would then go on to face the likes of Randy Orton, R-Truth, Jey Uso, and CM Punk, before, on a random episode of SmackDown, John just decided to start being a good guy again! A few days later, Cena lost his WWE Championship back to Cody Rhodes, before Mr. Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect started to put on great matches against Logan Paul, AJ Styles, and Dominik Mysterio (we’ll quickly ignore the Brock Lesnar feud)! Speaking of Dominik Mysterio, Cena actually managed to defeat Dom in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts, to win the Intercontinental Championship and finally become a Grand Slam Champion! Cena would soon lose the Title back to Mysterio at Survivor Series (due to the returning Liv Morgan), before Cena would tap out to Gunther in his final-ever match! In total, John Cena has wrestled 18 televised matches in 2025, scoring 9 pinfall/submission victories, whilst he’s also been pinned/submitted on 5 different occasions! It’s been quite the stacked year for John Cena; the GOAT really has done a lot, and I’ve personally very much enjoyed Cena’s final run!
Trick Williams
Whilst the “Whoop That” era may have come to an end at the start of the year, there’s no doubt that Trick Williams stepped up on a whole other level in 2025! Trick Williams had 4 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, with 3 of those 4 being graded A- or above (it’s also worth mentioning that this doesn’t include some of his strong TNA performances)! Trick’s start to the year didn’t go exactly to plan, losing the NXT Championship to Oba Femi at New Year’s Evil, before he lost to Eddy Thorpe in a Strap Match at Vengeance Day! Williams then got his revenge on Thorpe by defeating him in NXT Underground, before he Main Evented Stand and Deliver for the second-straight year, coming up short in a Triple Threat against both Femi and Je’Von Evans (in what was one of the best matches of the entire year)! Trick then started to appear on TNA, turning Heel by attacking Joe Hendry at Rebellion, before Williams made history when he defeated Hendry at NXT Battleground to become the brand-new TNA World Champion! This very much kicked off the “Hollywood Trick” era, with Trick successfully retaining his Title over the likes of Elijah and Josh Briggs, before Trick would somehow steal the victory over Mike Santana (pinning Joe Hendry) to leave the New York City crowd stunned at TNA Slammiversary! Williams would then continue his great Heel work before realigning himself with Carmelo Hayes for NXT Homecoming, defeating DIY, before he walked out on Team NXT at NXT Showdown! Finally, at TNA’s biggest show, “Bound For Glory”, Trick’s 140-day reign as TNA World Champion would come to an end at the hands of Mike Santana, before Williams was unsuccessful in his multiple attempts at trying to become a 3-time NXT Champion (which included another great match with Ricky Saints)! In total, Trick Williams has wrestled 32 televised matches across NXT and TNA in 2025, scoring 9 pinfall/submission victories, whilst he’s also been pinned/submitted on 10 different occasions! I honestly think it’s impossible to do Trick Williams’ 2025 justice; his promos, character work, look, and music videos were done to a very, very high standard!
Dominik Mysterio
After nearly making it onto my 2023 list, Dominik Mysterio has fully earned himself a shot at being called 2025’s Wrestler of the Year! Dominik Mysterio had 4 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, with his best match coming against John Cena at Survivor Series! After failing to win the Royal Rumble, Dominik’s first glorious moment of 2025 came when he pinned his fellow Judgment Day partner Finn Balor at WrestleMania to become the brand-new Intercontinental Champion! This was honestly one of the biggest crowd reactions all year; Las Vegas loved him! Mysterio would then go on to defend his Title successfully over Penta at Backlash, Octagon Jr. at Money in the Bank, and AJ Styles at Summerslam, before he came up short in his attempts to leave AAA’s biggest show “TripleMania” as the AAA Mega Champion (due to interference by Styles)! Dom would then break the hearts of everyone in Paris when he once again beat AJ to retain his IC Title, before The King of the Luchadores returned to Vegas to defeat El Hijo del Vikingo at Worlds Collide, becoming AAA Mega Champion in the process! Dominik would then continue his successful IC Title reign with defences over Rusev and Penta (on both Raw and Saturday Night’s Main Event), before Mysterio’s 204-day reign would come to an end at the hands of John Cena! However, at Survivor Series: WarGames, “Dirty” Dom would recapture his Intercontinental Championship by defeating Cena with the help of his returning girlfriend Liv Morgan, meaning Dominik Mysterio left his hometown stadium of San Diego, California, with both Liv and his two Championships! In total, Dominik Mysterio has wrestled 30 televised matches across WWE and AAA in 2025, scoring 16 pinfall/submission victories, whilst he’s also been pinned/submitted on 7 different occasions! No one can deny the year that Dominik Mysterio has had; it’s been an incredible year for the double Champ!
Je’Von Evans
What a crazy year it has been for The Young O.G.! Je’Von Evans had 9 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, the most of anyone across the whole year! Je’Von Evans’ 2025 started with a bit of a blood feud between him and Ethan Page, with Je’Von losing at Vengeance Day, but winning the war in a vicious New York City Street Fight at Roadblock! Evans would then enter the biggest match of his career as he faced Oba Femi and Trick Williams in a Triple Threat Match for the NXT Championship in the Main Event of NXT’s biggest show of the year, “Stand and Deliver”! Unfortunately for Evans, he would eventually come up short here (despite a very impressive showing), before The Young O.G. would make his Main Roster debut when he teamed with Rey Fenix to take on Los Garza (in a losing effort)! Je’Von would then continue to fail to capture gold, coming up short at Worlds Collide (whilst trying to win Ethan Page’s NXT North American Championship), before he lost to Oba Femi at Heatwave! Je’Von Evans would then answer Sami Zayn’s United States Championship Open Challenge (losing again), before he bounced back with a win over Josh Briggs at NXT No Mercy! Evans would then represent NXT against TNA at Showdown, before Je’Von would challenge Leon Slater for the TNA X-Division Championship at TNA Bound For Glory, in what was one of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen (until the finish)! Evans would then start to team with Slater, whilst also facing Gunther in John Cena’s Last Time is Now Tournament and appearing in AAA! Je’Von would finally win a big match at Deadline, becoming the 2025 NXT Men’s Iron Survivor, only to be screwed out of winning the NXT Championship by Ricky Saints just a few days later, before he appeared on John Cena’s final-ever show, facing AJ Styles and Dragon Lee (alongside Leon Slater)! In total, Je’Von Evans has wrestled 38 televised matches across WWE, TNA, and AAA in 2025, scoring 11 pinfall/submission victories, whilst he’s also been pinned/submitted on 12 different occasions (making the BFG finish look even worse)! Je’Von Evans’ body of work in 2025 is pretty unbelievable; he’s wrestled everywhere, and to say this guy’s future is incredibly special would be putting it mildly!
Gunther
Gunther makes history as the only male wrestler to appear in my nominees for the Wrestler of the Year every single year (since I started them in 2022)! Gunther had 3 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, with none of those matches appearing on a Premium Live Event (interesting)! Gunther started the year by successfully retaining his World Heavyweight Championship against Jey Uso at Saturday Night’s Main Event, before he would go on to have showcase matches against Otis, Akira Tozawa, and Axiom! At WrestleMania 41, Gunther’s 259-day reign as World Heavyweight Champion would come to an end when he tapped out to Jey Uso, leading to an irate Ring General attacking both Pat McAfee and Michael Cole on the Raw after WrestleMania! This led to a great little feud between Gunther and McAfee, which ended with Gunther winning at Backlash, before he finally defeated Uso to become a 2-time World Heavyweight Champion on a random episode of Monday Night Raw (in Arizona)! At July’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, Gunther would finally put an end to the career of Goldberg, before the big Austrian went on to lose his World Heavyweight Title again, this time to CM Punk in the Main Event of Summerslam (Night 1)! We then didn’t see Gunther for over 3 months, with his return coming emphatically as he had great matches with the likes of Je’Von Evans, Carmelo Hayes, Solo Sikoa, and LA Knight to win The Last Time is Now Tournament, meaning he earned the right to face John Cena in Cena’s Retirement Match! Whilst this felt like an odd decision at the time, The Ring General proved to be the right choice, making Cena tap out at Saturday Night’s Main Event, creating an even bigger monster Heel in the process! In total, Gunther has wrestled 16 televised matches in 2025, scoring a massive 14 pinfall/submission victories, with only the two losses to his name! Whilst I wasn’t sure whether he’d make the list to begin with, holding the World Heavyweight Championship twice, starting WrestleMania, Main Eventing Summerslam, and retiring both John Cena and Goldberg equates to Gunther having a pretty strong 2025!
CM Punk
For the first time ever, The Best in the World appears in my Best Wrestlers of the Year list! CM Punk had 3 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, with one of those being the absolute best at WrestleMania (against Roman Reigns and Seth “Freakin” Rollins)! CM Punk’s 2025 started by defeating Seth “Freakin” Rollins on the Raw on Netflix Premier Show, before Punk would eliminate both Rollins and Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble, only to be eliminated himself by Logan Paul (of all people)! Punk would then get screwed out of winning the Elimination Chamber by Seth Rollins, before Punk was again screwed over, this time by Roman Reigns (allowing Seth to win their Steel Cage Match)! At WrestleMania, CM Punk would finally get to live out his dream of Main-Eventing WrestleMania, coming down to the ring with Paul Heyman, but it wasn’t meant to be on the night, as Punk got stabbed in the back by his best friend (Heyman)! Punk would then start his revenge tour on The Vision, but with a slight detour in Saudi Arabia, as he faced his long-time rival John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Night of Champions (where he came up short)! CM Punk would then finally capture gold by defeating Gunther in the Main Event of Summerslam Night 1, only to quickly lose the Title afterwards to a scheming Seth “Freakin” Rollins! Punk would then get screwed over again, this time by Becky Lynch (in Paris), before Punk would reunite (on screen) with his real-life wife, AJ Lee, defeating Rollins and Lynch at Wrestlepalooza! An injury to Seth Rollins would then result in Punk defeating Jey Uso to become a 2-time World Heavyweight Champion, before The Best in the World lost to The Vision at WarGames (due to more shenanigans)! In total, CM Punk has wrestled 21 televised matches in 2025, scoring just 6 pinfall/submission victories, whilst he’s also been pinned/submitted on 5 different occasions! I definitely think it’s been a pretty strong year for CM Punk; he deserves to be on this list!
Ethan Page
Speaking of deserving, maybe no one deserves to be on this list more than “All Ego” Ethan Page! Ethan Page had 6 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, the second-most of any WWE Superstar! After viciously breaking Je’Von Evans’ jaw to close out 2024 (and having a backstage segment with The Rock), Ethan Page would successfully defeat Evans at NXT Vengeance Day, before he would go on to lose to Je’Von in a cracking New York City Street Fight at Roadblock! Ethan would then lose to Ricky Saints whilst challenging for the NXT North American Championship in the opening match of WrestleMania Weekend (at Stand and Deliver), before he would again come up short against Joe Hendry and Frankie Kazarian for the TNA World Championship at TNA Rebellion! On the 27th of May edition of NXT, Ethan Page would shockingly defeat Saints to become NXT’s latest North American Champion, before he would again beat Ricky to successfully retain his Title at The Great American Bash! We then got a fabulous segment which saw Ethan unveil a brand-new Canadian flag-themed version of the North American Championship, resulting in a great little feud with Santino Marella (which still holds up as one of the funniest segments of the entire year), before Page would fail to capture the AAA Latin American Championship at Worlds Collide! Page would then go on to have successful Title defences against NXT legend Tyler Breeze, TNA’s Mustafa Ali, AAA Latin American Champion El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., and his brilliant partnership with fellow Canadian Chelsea Green would result in All Ego winning the AAA Mixed Tag Team Championships to become a Double Champion! In total, Page has wrestled 30 televised matches across WWE, AAA, and TNA in 2025, scoring 15 pinfall/submission victories, whilst he’s been pinned/submitted on 6 different occasions! Ethan Page has been unbelievable in 2025; he’s firmly established himself as one of the best Heels in all of Professional Wrestling, and my goodness, does he look good whilst doing it!
LA Knight
YEAH! LA Knight had 2 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, but I don’t think that tells you the whole story! LA Knight started his year out on SmackDown, making his debut appearance in the Royal Rumble, before he defeated Shinsuke Nakamura on the March 7th edition of Friday Night SmackDown to become a 2-time United States Champion! Unfortunately for Knight, he only managed to hold onto the US Title for 43 days, as he was dethroned by Jacob Fatu on Night 1 of WrestleMania 41! LA would then fail to win the US Championship back at Backlash (in a strong Fatal 4-Way against Fatu, Drew McIntyre, and Damian Priest), before The Megastar would earn his way into the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, only to see Seth “Freakin” Rollins grab the briefcase first! LA Knight then went on to have a pretty strong feud with Seth Rollins, beating The Visionary at Saturday Night’s Main Event, before he failed to win the World Heavyweight Championship off of Rollins on multiple occasions (including in another Fatal 4-Way, this time at Clash in Paris)! LA would then continue to feud with The Vision (whilst also having issues with Jey Uso), before Knight would end up losing to Gunther in The Last Time is Now Tournament Final! In total, LA Knight has wrestled a ridiculous 48 televised matches in 2025, scoring 16 pinfall/submission victories, whilst he’s also been pinned/submitted on 12 different occasions! I’ve put LA Knight in this list because the fact that he’s wrestled 48 televised matches across 2025 is deserving of an award in itself: that’s the most of anyone in WWE this year, and it’s mightily impressive (and commendable)!
Oba Femi
After a fantastic 2024, Oba Femi only went and backed up his hype to an even higher rate than before! Oba Femi had 5 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025; 2 more than he achieved in 2024! Oba Femi started the year off in style by dethroning Trick Williams for the NXT Championship at NXT New Year’s Evil, before Oba would go on to have successful Title defences over both A-Town Down Under and Moose! Femi would then walk into NXT’s biggest stage, “Stand and Deliver”, and defeat both Trick Williams and Je’Von Evans in the Main Event to close the show as Champion, before he garnered more successful defences against the likes of Myles Borne, Jasper Troy, Josh Briggs, and Yoshiki Inamura! Oba would then survive against Je’Von Evans at Heatwave, before his 263-day reign as NXT Champion would finally come to an end at No Mercy with a loss to Ricky Saints! However, after some time away, Oba Femi returned rejuvenated, recapturing the NXT Championship over Saints at Deadline, before The Ruler walked into John Cena’s final-ever show to go one-on-one with the reigning Undisputed WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes (in a match that ended as a No Contest)! In total, Oba Femi has wrestled 21 televised matches across WWE and TNA in 2025, scoring 13 pinfall/submission victories, whilst he’s only been defeated once! Everything that Oba Femi does has aura, from the entrances to the promos to the in-ring work, this guy really has it all!
Seth “Freakin” Rollins
And finally, we end with Mr. WrestleMania himself, Seth “Freakin” Rollins! Seth “Freakin” Rollins had 3 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, with one of those being my Number 1! At the Raw on Netflix Premier, Seth Rollins came up short in his match with CM Punk, and he also got eliminated by Punk at the Royal Rumble! Straight after that moment, Seth delivered the greatest Stomp that you will ever see to destroy Roman Reigns, before Rollins would manage to “beat” Punk in their Steel Cage rematch (after previously costing his rival at Elimination Chamber)! All of this then led into a great 3-man feud between Rollins, Reigns, and Punk, with it culminating in them all Main-Eventing Night 1 of WrestleMania 41 (in what was my match of the year)! After many shenanigans, Seth would pin Roman Reigns to win in the Main Event of WrestleMania, aligning himself with Paul Heyman, before Bron Breakker soon aligned with his Vision! Rollins would then deal with Sami Zayn (with the help of Bronson Reed), before The Visionary won the Money in the Bank Ladder Match (for the second time in his career)! We then thought that Seth had got seriously hurt during his match with LA Knight at Saturday Night’s Main Event, but this just proved to be the “ruse of the century”, with Rollins returning at Summerslam to end the night as the brand-new World Heavyweight Champion! Rollins then aligned himself with his real-life wife Becky Lynch, leading to them facing CM Punk and AJ Lee at Wrestlepalooza, before Seth would cap off his wonderful year by defeating Cody Rhodes in Perth, Australia, to become the 2025 Crown Jewel Champion! Unfortunately, a spot in that match actually got Seth Rollins injured, meaning the leader of The Vision was kicked out of the group by his stablemates, resulting in him being stripped of the World Heavyweight Championship (due to injury)! In total, Seth “Freakin” Rollins has wrestled 18 televised matches in 2025, scoring 10 pinfall/submission victories, whilst he’s been pinned/submitted on 3 different occasions! Whilst the injury sucks, you cannot take away from just how brilliant a year Seth “Freakin” Rollins has had; the accolades from this year speak for themselves!
My 2025 Male Superstar of the Year: Ethan Page
2025 Female Superstar of the Year Nominees
Iyo Sky
Iyo Sky, perhaps the greatest in-ring worker in the history of the WWE Women’s Division! Iyo Sky had 4 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, which is the most I’ve ever given to the same female wrestler in a single year! Iyo started the year by lasting 1:06.45 in the Women’s Royal Rumble, before she shockingly defeated Rhea Ripley on the 3rd of March episode of Monday Night Raw to become the brand-new Women’s World Champion! Sky would then face Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair in WrestleMania Sunday’s opener, with The Genius of the Sky successfully retaining the Gold in what was my highest-rated women’s match of 2025! On the Raw after WrestleMania, Iyo Sky would face off with the NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer, before Sky would go on to deal with both Giulia and Roxanne Perez on both Raw and NXT! At Evolution, Iyo would put on another classic with Rhea Ripley, only to lose her Title due to a successful cash-in by Naomi (ending her reign at 132 days), before the Japanese sensation would fail to recapture her Title in another Triple Threat at Summerslam! After Naomi’s pregnancy, Iyo Sky would get another shot at the Women’s World Championship, but she lost against Stephanie Vaquer at Wrestlepalooza (in a match to crown the new Champion), before Iyo would start to align herself with Rhea Ripley in a battle against her former family in The Kabuki Warriors! This eventually led to Sky’s team winning over Asuka and Kairi Sane in WarGames, but I do want to quickly mention that The Genius of the Sky did take a little detour back home to Japan to face Mayu Iwatani at Marigold World Destiny (in what is an incredibly highly rated match)! In total, Iyo Sky has wrestled 24 televised matches across WWE and Marigold in 2025, scoring 10 pinfall/submission victories, whilst she was also pinned/submitted on 4 different occasions! Iyo Sky is an absolutely incredible Professional Wrestler; she’s been involved in my two highest-rated female matches for the past two years, and Iyo shows no signs of slowing down!
Stephanie Vaquer
The 2025 WWE Women’s Division has firmly been about the rise of Stephanie Vaquer! Stephanie Vaquer had 3 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, which is not bad for her first “proper” year in the company! After winning at New Year’s Evil, Stephanie made her debut appearance in the Women’s Royal Rumble, before she defeated Fallon Henley in a great match at NXT Vengeance Day to become the brand-new NXT Women’s North American Champion! This then led to Vaquer facing Giulia at Roadblock in a “Winner Takes All” match, with La Primera coming out on top to make history as the first woman to ever hold both the NXT Women’s and North American Championships at the same time! After relinquishing her North American Title, Stephanie would then successfully retain her NXT Women’s Championship over Giulia, Jordynne Grace, and Jaida Parker at Stand and Deliver, before she would also go on to retain against Roxanne Perez (as well as Grace again at NXT Battleground)! Just two days after Battleground, Stephanie Vaquer’s NXT Title reign would come to a shocking end at the hands of Jacy Jayne, resulting in a Main Roster call-up that saw Vaquer compete in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match! At Evolution, Stephanie won the 20-Woman Battle Royal to earn herself a shot at the Women’s World Championship, an opportunity La Primera took full advantage of when she defeated Iyo Sky at Wrestlepalooza to become Champion again! Vaquer wasn’t done collecting gold yet, though, as the Chilean star ended Tiffany Stratton’s undefeated streak in Perth, Australia, to become the Women’s Crown Jewel Champion, before La Primera achieved more successful Title defences against Raquel Rodriguez and Nikki Bella! In total, Stephanie Vaquer has wrestled 37 televised matches this year, scoring 23 pinfall/submission victories, whilst she’s only been pinned twice (by Shotzi and Jacy Jayne)! I don’t know what else I can say to explain the year that Stephanie Vaquer has had; winning 4 different Championships in a single year is absolutely unbelievable!
Jacy Jayne
Jacy Jayne, take a bow! Jacy Jayne had 2 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, which is her best total to date! Jacy spent the first third of the year wrestling across NXT, TNA, and Reality of Wrestling, before she and Fallon Henley came up short on the Countdown to Stand and Deliver! Then, out of absolutely nowhere, Jacy Jayne shockingly defeated Stephanie Vaquer on the May 27th episode of NXT to become the new NXT Women’s Champion! Jacy would then go on to successfully defend her Title against the likes of Lainey Reid and Jordynne Grace, before at TNA Slammiversary, Jayne made history by becoming the first woman ever to hold both the NXT Women’s and TNA Knockouts World Championships at the same time (after defeating Masha Slamovich in “Winner Takes All”)! At NXT Heatwave, Jacy would drop her TNA Title after just 36 days to Ash By Elegance (in a match that also included Slamovich), before The Rockstar Main Evented NXT Homecoming alongside her Fatal Influence partners against the trio of Rhea Ripley, Stephanie Vaquer, and Lyra Valkyria! Jacy then had another successful Title defence in a great match with Lola Vice at No Mercy, before she captained Team NXT to a win over Team TNA at Showdown! Jayne would then finally drop the belt to Tatum Paxley at Halloween Havoc, ending her reign at 151 days, only to win the Title back in the Main Event of Night 1 of NXT Gold Rush! In total, Jacy Jayne has wrestled 33 televised matches across WWE, TNA, and ROW in 2025, scoring 13 pinfall/submission victories, whilst she’s only been pinned/submitted 3 times in all singles matches across 2025! I don’t think anyone had Jacy Jayne breaking out as a singles star on their 2025 bingo card, let alone her having 3 separate Title reigns (including becoming a double Champion)!
Roxanne Perez
My 2024 Winner is back for more after a very different 2025 than what made Roxanne Perez win last year’s award! Roxanne Perez may have only had 1 match graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, but she was the best thing about that entire Rumble! Roxanne’s start to 2025 didn’t go to plan at all as she lost her NXT Women’s Championship to Giulia at New Year’s Evil, before her and Cora Jade came up short against Giulia and Bayley in Tag Team action! Then, at the Royal Rumble, Roxanne lasted a record-breaking 1 hour and 7 minutes to finish as runner-up (to Charlotte Flair), in what was one hell of a statement performance! Perez would then fail to recapture the NXT Women’s Title at Vengeance Day, whilst she also competed inside of Elimination Chamber for the first time in her career! After a weird appearance on the Stand and Deliver Countdown Show (the less said about that the better), and another NXT Title loss (this time to Stephanie Vaquer), Roxanne would finally become a full-time Main Roster star as she aligned herself with fellow up-and-coming star (and former rival) Guilia! That alliance wouldn’t last long, but it did allow them to compete in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, with Perez once again being the star of the show! Then, after an injury to Liv Morgan, Roxy would officially join The Judgment Day to partner Raquel Rodriguez, simultaneously gifting The Prodigy her first Main Roster Championship (in the form of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships)! Roxanne and Raquel would then prove to be a pretty great pairing, successfully retaining their Titles at Evolution, before they dropped the Gold to Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair at Summerslam! Roxanne Perez would then team up with fellow Judgment Day stablemate Finn Balor to take on Lola Vice and Mr. Iguana at Worlds Collide, before The Prodigy would continue to wrestle on Raw nearly every week (losing more times than winning)! In total, Roxanne Perez has wrestled an incredible 43 televised matches in 2025, scoring 10 pinfall/submission victories in singles matches, whilst she’s also been pinned/submitted on 21 different occasions! Whilst the Win-Loss record hasn’t been great, and her performing on the Stand and Deliver Countdown Show felt like a massive kick in the teeth, the year that Roxanne Perez has managed to put together has been superb; 43 televised matches is an incredible feat, especially when you consider that this was her first year on the Main Roster!
Lyra Valkyria
After being a nominee for Breakout Star of the Year in 2023, 2025 is the year where Lyra Valkyria has finally put herself on the nominees list for Women’s Superstar of the Year! Lyra Valkyria had 2 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, including the opener to Evolution! 2025 started perfectly for Lyra Valkyria as she defeated Dakota Kai to make history as the first-ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion! Lyra would then go on to successfully retain her IC Title over Ivy Nile (in Buffalo), Raquel Rodriguez (in Glasgow, Scotland), and Bayley (in Minneapolis), before she reunited with Becky Lynch to defeat Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, meaning Valkyria left WrestleMania 41 as a Double Champion! However, that would only last for a day, as Morgan and Rodriguez would win the gold straight back, before Becky turned Heel on Lyra! This then led to a feud between the two Irishwomen, with Lyra initially retaining at Backlash, before Lynch would win the rematch at Money in the Bank, ending Valkyria’s Intercontinental Title reign at 145 days! Lyra would then fail to recapture the IC Title from Becky Lynch at both Evolution and Summerslam, before The Morgen would start to align herself with Bayley, leading to multiple feuds against The Judgment Day and The Kabuki Warriors! In total, Lyra Valkyria has wrestled 23 televised matches in 2025, scoring 9 pinfall/submission victories, whilst she’s also been pinned/submitted on 8 different occasions! Lyra Valkyria has to be up there as one of the best in-ring workers in the WWE Women’s Division; some of the stuff she’s able to do is incredible, and the future of Valkyria is very bright indeed!
Chelsea Green
For the third-straight year since her return, Chelsea Green has easily been one of the best characters in the WWE Women’s Division! Chelsea Green may have only had 1 match graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, but that doesn’t nearly tell you the full story! Chelsea started the year by successfully retaining her Women’s United States Championship over Michin, before she lasted over 26 minutes in the Women’s Royal Rumble! Green then retained again over Michin (in a Philadelphia Street Fight) and Sol Ruca (on NXT), before Green’s 1st US Title reign ended at 132 days as she lost to Zelina Vega on the first SmackDown after WrestleMania! Chelsea Green then went on a decently long losing streak before she started to appear more regularly on NXT alongside Ethan Page! This resulted in not only Green and Page beating the Olympic duo of Tavion Heights and Tyra Mae Steele at NXT Heatwave, but them dethroning La Hiedra and Mr. Iguana at AAA Day of the Dead to become the brand-new AAA Mixed Tag Team Champions! The Greatest North Americans would then continue to hold onto the Gold, whilst on the 7th of November episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Chelsea Green shockingly defeated Giulia (inside 2 minutes) to become a 2-time Women’s United States Champion! In total, Chelsea Green has wrestled 32 televised matches across WWE and AAA in 2025, scoring 9 pinfall/submission victories, whilst she’s pinned on 15 different occasions! The character work of Chelsea Green is always incredibly strong; there’s a reason as to why she’s so highly rated, but when you combine that with her accolades, 2025 may well have been the best year of Chelsea Green so far!
Giulia
Whilst not always the easiest, 2025 has still been a pretty good year for The Beautiful Madness! Giulia had 2 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, with her best match being against Jordynne Grace (on NXT)! At NXT New Year’s Evil, Giulia’s 2025 got off to the perfect start as she defeated Roxanne Perez to become the brand-new NXT Women’s Champion! Giulia would then appear in her first Royal Rumble, before she successfully retained her Title for the first time in a Fatal 4-Way against Perez, Cora Jade, and Bayley in the Main Event of Vengeance Day! Giulia then wanted to prove herself as the absolute best woman in NXT, which set up a “Winner Takes All” match at Roadblock between her and (her good friend) Stephanie Vaquer, only for Vaquer to win, ending Giulia’s reign at just 63 days! The Beautiful Madness would soon return to NXT, turning Heel by attacking Vaquer, before she came up short in a Fatal 4-Way for the NXT Title at NXT Stand and Deliver! After losing to Jordynne Grace in a great matchup, Giulia officially arrived on the Main Roster, alongside Roxane Perez, as she earned her way into the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match! Whilst she may not have won that match, success would soon follow as on the 27th of June episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Giulia defeated Zelina Vega to become the new Women’s United States Champion! Giulia then went on to align herself with Kiana James, scoring successful Title defences over Vega and Michin, before she looked set to start a feud with the WWE Women’s Champion, Tiffany Stratton! However, after that seemingly went nowhere, Giulia would shockingly drop her US Title to Chelsea Green, but not before The Beautiful Madness would make history as the longest-reigning Women’s United States Champion ever! In total, Giulia has wrestled 22 televised matches in 2025, scoring 10 pinfall/submission victories, whilst she’s only been pinned/submitted on 4 different occasions! I’ve been impressed by Giulia; she’s an incredibly talented in-ring performer, and a Women’s NXT and United States Championship in her first full-year is pretty good going!
Sol Ruca
For the first time, Sol Ruca is a nominee for Female Wrestler of the Year! Sol Ruca had 1 match graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, with that coming against Kelani Jordan (at NXT Battleground)! Sol started 2025 with some Tag Team action with Zaria, before she had the best week of her career, defeating Candice LeRae to win the Women’s Speed Championship, before Ruca came out victorious in a Ladder Match at Stand and Deliver to become the brand-new NXT Women’s North American Champion! As a Double Champion, Sol would successfully retain both of her Titles on numerous occasions over the likes of Kelani Jordan, Izzi Dame, Ivy Nile, and Alba Fyre, before ZaRuca challenged for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships at Evolution! After being on the winning team at Showdown, Ruca would get “injured” following her match on SmackDown, resulting in her losing both of her Titles! At Gold Rush, Sol failed to recapture the Gold from Blake Monroe, before Ruca also came up short in the Iron Survivor Challenge! However, on a more positive note, Sol Ruca did manage to make quite the statement when she defeated Bayley on John Cena’s Final Show! In total, Sol Ruca has wrestled 27 televised matches in 2025, scoring 14 pinfall/submission victories, whilst she’s only been pinned 3 times all year (not including ZaRuca matches)! Sol Ruca has been exceptionally talented for a while now; we were just waiting for WWE to push her, but that certainly started this year! I expect big things for Sol moving forward!
Tiffany Stratton
2025 was a near-perfect year for Tiffany Stratton! Tiffany Stratton didn’t have a single match graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, which feels like quite the shift given she’s been in my highest-rated women’s match the previous 3 years! After initially helping her friend Nia Jax, Tiffany would shockingly turn on Nia, successfully cashing in her Money in the Bank Briefcase to become the brand-new WWE Women’s Champion! Tiffany then scored her first successful Title defense over Bayley, before she soon went on to team up with Hall of Famer Trish Stratus at Elimination Chamber, successfully defeating the duo of Nia Jax and Candice LeRae! On WrestleMania Saturday, Tiffany Stratton would earn the biggest win of her career by defeating Royal Rumble Winner Charlotte Flair, before Stratton went on to have more matches with Jax! At Evolution, Stratton would add another feather to her cap by defeating Trish Stratus, before The Centre of the Universe once again successfully defended her Title at Summerslam, this time against Jade Cargill! However, at Crown Jewel in Perth, Australia, Tiffany’s undefeated streak would finally come to an end at the hands of Stephanie Vaquer, before just a few weeks later at Saturday Night’s Main Event, Stratton would lose comfortably to Cargill, ending her WWE Women’s Championship reign at a very strong 302 days! In total, Tiffany Stratton has wrestled 22 televised matches in 2025, scoring 14 pinfall/submission victories, whilst she’s only been pinned twice all year! Whilst she is definitely a way better Heel than a Babyface, without a doubt, SmackDown in 2025 firmly ran on “Tiffy Time”!
Rhea Ripley
Rhea Ripley: the only Female Wrestler to be nominated for Superstar of the Year every year on LOH Sports since its inception! Rhea Ripley had 4 matches graded B+ or higher by me in 2025, meaning she tied with Iyo Sky for the highest amount for any female in a single year! On the Raw on Netflix Premier Show, Rhea finally managed to get her revenge on Liv Morgan by defeating her to become a 2-time Women’s World Champion! Ripley would then successfully retain her Title over Nia Jax at Saturday Night’s Main Event, before she shockingly dropped the Title to Iyo Sky on a random Raw episode in March! After more shenanigans involving Sky and Bianca Belair, the three all went to war to kick off Night 2 of WrestleMania 41, with Iyo leaving the match still as Champion! Rhea then went on to compete in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match, before she managed to defeat Raquel Rodriguez in a Street Fight in Saudi Arabia (at Night of Champions)! MAMI then went on to have a thrilling match with Iyo Sky at Evolution, only for Naomi to come in and successfully cash in her MITB Briefcase, before Ripley would once again come up short in her attempt to recapture the Women’s World Championship, this time at Summerslam (against Naomi and Sky)! Rhea would then pick up the winning pinfall over NXT Champion Jacy Jayne at NXT Homecoming, before The Eradicator has started to team up with Iyo Sky, most notably when they won inside WarGames! In total, Rhea Ripley has wrestled 25 televised matches in 2025, scoring 11 pinfall/submission victories, whilst she’s only been pinned/submitted on 3 different occasions! Rhea Ripley has always been incredibly good in the ring, but I think her wrestling with Iyo Sky so much has only pointed that out even more! MAMI won this award back in 2023, and she’s probably not far off winning it again this year, too!
My 2025 Female Superstar of the Year: Stephanie Vaquer
2025 Breakout Star of the Year Nominees
Ricky Saints
“This is the Revolution”! On the February 11th edition of NXT, Ricky Saints made his WWE debut by appearing in the crowd to a pretty large reaction from the NXT Universe! Ricky would then make his WWE in-ring debut by teaming up with Je’Von Evans to take on the pairing of Ethan Page and Wes Lee, before on April 1st, Saints made history when he defeated Shawn Spears to become the brand-new NXT North American Champion! Ricky would go on to hold the North American Championship for 56 days, successfully retaining over Ethan Page at Stand and Deliver, before he shockingly lost the Title to Page on the final NXT of May! At The Great American Bash, Ricky would come up short against Ethan in a crazy Falls Count Anywhere Match, before he went on to have a short feud with Jasper Troy! Then, after defeating Josh Briggs, Ricky Saints would go on to shock the world, dethroning Oba Femi at No Mercy to become the new NXT Champion! Over the next couple of months, “Absolute” Ricky Saints would lead NXT into battle against TNA, before multiple successful Title defences followed against Trick Williams (including a great Last Man Standing Match)! However, at NXT Deadline, Saints’ reign would come to an end at just 70 days, losing the Title back to Femi, before Ricky turned Heel the following Tuesday, costing Je’Von Evans the Title! In total, Ricky Saints has wrestled 19 televised matches in 2025, with 12 pinfall wins compared to 4 pinfall losses! I would say that, as far as “Breakout Years” go, winning 2 Championships and having the same amount of matches graded B+ (or above) as Trick Williams, Rhea Ripley, and Iyo Sky is about as good as it gets!
Blake Monroe
From 1 person who jumped ship to another, it’s time to talk about the one and only, Blake Monroe! After making a shock appearance in the crowd, newly-renamed Blake Monroe made her WWE in-ring debut in the Main Event of The Great American Bash, where she and Jordynne Grace defeated Fatal Influence! One night later, though, at Evolution, Blake would turn Heel, costing Grace her NXT Women’s Championship shot! These two feuded for months, with Monroe winning at NXT Heatwave, whilst “JG” got her revenge in a Weaponised Steel Cage Match at No Mercy! After an injury to Sol Ruca, Blake Monroe was able to defeat Zaria at Halloween Havoc to capture the NXT Women’s North American Championship, before she successfully defended her Title against Ruca at Gold Rush (after Zaria threw in the towel)! However, Blake’s year wouldn’t end on a particularly good note, with a “botched pinfall” meaning Monroe lost her North American Title to Thea Hail after only holding it for 52 days! In total, Blake Monroe has wrestled 10 televised matches in 2025, scoring 6 victories compared to 3 losses! “Glamour is Forever” according to Miss Monroe, and who are we to argue when she has one of the best theme songs in all of WWE!
Rey Fenix
What a talent Rey Fenix is! After multiple vignettes, Rey Fenix made his WWE debut by defeating Nathan Frazer on the 4th of April episode of Friday Night SmackDown, before Fenix made his WrestleMania debut, replacing an injured Rey Mysterio to face El Grande Americano (in a losing effort)! Rey then started to team up with a bunch of different guys over the next couple of months, with him failing to capture the NXT North American Championship at Worlds Collide! Fenix would then form a great little Tag Team with Andrade, resulting in both men showing out at Summerslam in what an absolutely insane 6-Pack TLC Match! Rey Fenix would then continue to show out, answering Sami Zayn’s United States Championship Open Challenge, before he got into a feud with Solo Sikoa and the MFTs! In total, Rey Fenix has wrestled 22 televised matches across WWE and AAA in 2025, scoring the same amount of pinfall/submission victories as losses (6-6)! I’ve really enjoyed watching Rey Fenix for the first time this year, and featuring in 3 different matches in My WWE Matches of the Year article is proof of Fenix’s quality!
Raquel Rodriguez
Whilst we’ve always known her potential, the second half of 2025 was the year that Raquel Rodriguez finally unlocked it! Earlier in the year, Raquel Rodriguez captured the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships multiple times alongside Liv Morgan, including winning them straight back the night after WrestleMania, but it was a legitimate injury to Morgan that opened things up for Rodriguez to shine! See, after losing a great match with Rhea Ripley at Night of Champions, Rodriguez was partnered with Roxanne Perez, and that duo proved to be one of the best in the company! After Rodriguez and Perez lost the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles to Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair at Summerslam, Rodriguez wrestled at AAA’s biggest show of the year, “TripleMania”, scoring the win for The Judgment Day by pinning Lola Vice! Since then, Raquel has competed in many singles matches, with her challenging Stephanie Vaquer to the Women’s World Championship in December! In total, Raquel Rodriguez has wrestled 31 televised matches across WWE and AAA in 2025, scoring just the 4 pinfall victories, compared to 8 pinfall losses (not including Tag Team matches)! Raquel Gonzalez was a beast back in NXT, and based on this year, Raquel might finally be getting to those levels on the Main Roster!
Kendal Grey
It’s been a pretty strong end to the year for Kendal Grey! After appearing a few times in 2024, Kendal Grey returned to TV on Evolve, competing in the first-ever match on the revised show alongside her Tag Team partner Carlee Bright (against Dani Palmer and Kali Armstrong)! Grey would then continue to compete on Evolve before appearing more regularly on NXT, aligning herself with Wren Sinclair (in the WreNQCC)! At Evolve Succession, Kendal Grey finally defeated Kali Armstrong to become the brand-new Evolve Women’s Champion, before she successfully retained her Title against the likes of Lash Legend and Lainey Reid (with the latter being at NXT Gold Rush)! And then, to cap off her year, Kendal shocked the world, winning the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge to earn herself a shot at Jacy Jayne and the NXT Women’s Championship (at New Year’s Evil)! In total, Kendal Grey has wrestled 20 televised matches in 2025, scoring 12 pinfall/submission victories, whilst she’s only been pinned/submitted on 3 different occasions!
Myles Borne
2025 was a very positive year if your name is Myles Borne! After plenty of Tag Team matches (including against The Hardys), on the 6th of May episode of NXT, Myles Borne stunned everyone into silence when he won a Number 1 Contenders Battle Royal to earn a shot at the NXT Championship! Whilst he may have gone on to lose to Oba Femi at Battleground, this gave Myles the confidence he needed to defeat Charlie Dempsey in a Rounds Match, allowing him to leave the No Quarter Catch Crew! Borne would then start his run as a singles star, feuding with Lexis King over the summer, eventually winning the feud in a Lights Out Match! Myles was then picked to represent NXT against TNA at Showdown, before he beat Trick Williams to earn his way into the Iron Survivor Challenge (which he failed to win)! In total, Myles Borne has wrestled 20 televised matches in 2025, with 11 wins compared to 7 losses! I think Myles Borne has done a really good job in 2025; he’s established himself as a singles star, and if lots of NXT’s top guys move up to the Main Roster in 2026, Borne will be well in Championship contention!
Stephanie Vaquer
NXT Women’s North American Champion, NXT Women’s Champion, Evolution Battle Royal Winner, Women’s World Champion, Crown Jewel Champion, and a double Champion on two different occasions? I’d say that’s the definition of a perfect breakout year for Stephanie Vaquer!
El Grande Americano
From out of absolutely nowhere, El Grande Americano has established himself as one of the most popular Luchadores in all of Professional Wrestling! After hearing about his past as one of the greatest Luchadores of all time, El Grande Americano made his WWE in-ring debut by defeating Dragon Lee on the 24th of March episode of Monday Night Raw, before he made his WrestleMania debut with a grand old entrance as he defeated Rey Fenix! Then, on May 7th, Americano managed to secure his first Championship in WWE when he defeated Dragon Lee to become the brand-new Speed Champion! Americano would then compete in the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match, before he would return in July with a completely different look/physique! This would serve El Grande well as he started to form a bit of an alliance with Dominik Mysterio, before he would come up short in his attempt to win the AAA Mega Championship at TripleMania! Whilst he may have gone on to lose his Speed Title to Jasper Troy on NXT, Americano continued to be a global phenomenon, a fan favourite in Mexico, with him even beating El Hijo del Vikingo at AAA in a match that was given 4 and 1/2 stars by Dave Meltzer! In total, El Grande Americano has wrestled 22 matches across WWE and AAA in 2025, scoring 12 pinfall/submission victories, whilst he’s only lost 3 times! Now, whilst it’s unclear as to which El Grande Americano is the real, original one, what we do know is that Americano has done very well for himself!
Jacy Jayne
We’ve already spoken about Jacy Jayne, but I’m putting her as a nominee for Breakout Star of the Year for the fact that she went from just being a member of a group (for the second time in her career) to being seen as one of the top names in the best Women’s Division in the World, winning the NXT Championship twice, whilst also making history by winning the TNA Knockouts World Championship at Slammiversary!
Penta
I don’t think many people have worked harder in their first year in WWE than Penta! After a tease for his debut on the debut episode of Raw on Netflix, Penta made his WWE in-ring debut a week later, defeating Chad Gable! Penta would then go on to last longer than anyone in the 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble, before he made his WrestleMania debut, challenging for the Intercontinental Championship (in a match that was won by Dominik Mysterio)! Penta would then get a few more opportunities at the IC Title, but he just wasn’t able to beat Mysterio before he competed in the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match! After short feuds with The Vision and The New Day, Penta would once again go after Dominik’s Intercontinental Championship, but he would once again fail to win the Title in a Triple Threat at Saturday Night’s Main Event (against Mysterio and Rusev)! Unfortunately, Penta would suffer a shoulder injury in his Quarter-Final matchup with Solo Sikoa in The Last Time is Now Tournament, but that didn’t stop him from returning on the final Raw of the year to help out Rey Mysterio! In total, Penta has wrestled 40 televised matches in 2025, scoring 17 pinfall/submission victories, whilst he’s been pinned/submitted on 10 different occasions! I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a fan of Penta at the start of his WWE run, but I will say that his in-ring ability has grown on me!
My 2025 Breakout Star of the Year: Jacy Jayne
2025 Tag Team/Faction of the Year
FRAXIOM
After comprehensively winning this award in 2025, can FRAXIOM become the first people ever to go back-to-back?! Axiom and Nathan Frazer started the year by appearing on TNA, successfully retaining their NXT Tag Team Championships against The Rascalz and The Nemeth Brothers, before they retained again in an outstanding match against Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura at NXT Vengeance Day! At Roadblock, Axiom and Frazer would come up short against The Hardys, before they would finally drop the NXT Tag Team Championships after 230 days to Hank and Tank, in what was my Number 1 NXT Match of 2025! Less than a week later, FRAXIOM made their Main Roster debuts (as a team), defeating Los Garza, before they went on a winning run by defeating the likes of Pretty Deadly, The Street Profits, and DIY! Axiom and Nathan then challenged The Street Profits for the WWE Tag Team Championships, only for the match to be ruined by a number of different teams, before they made their Summerslam debuts in a ridiculous 6-Pack TLC Match! Things would then start to cool off for FRAXIOM, with them only wrestling 3 more matches on SmackDown for the rest of the year, losing all of them! In total, FRAXIOM have wrestled 18 televised matches across WWE and TNA in 2025, winning 9 of them, whilst they’ve been pinned on 6 different occasions! Yes, the end of their year hasn’t been the best, but Axiom and Nathan Frazer’s work in the first two-thirds of 2025 was excellent; hence the fact that they had 3 matches in my Top 7 this year!
The New Day
You cannot fault The New Day’s character work as Heels! After feuding with (and beating) The LWO at the start of the year, The New Day defeated The War Raiders at WrestleMania to become the brand-new World Tag Team Champions, meaning they left the show as 13-time Champions! The New Day would only successfully retain their Titles once, however, losing the gold after just 72 days to The Judgment Day! Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods would then start to form an alliance with Grayson Waller, leading to a feud with Penta, which saw them start a petition to get the Mexican Destroyer banned! That case wouldn’t last long, and Kingston and Woods ended the year by losing to The Usos! In total, The New Day have wrestled 13 televised matches in 2025, scoring 5 victories, whilst they’ve been pinned/submitted on 6 different occasions! I don’t think the matches tell the full story of The New Day’s 2025, as the character work from Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods has been very, very strong! I also really like their alliance with Grayson Waller, and whilst WWE definitely didn’t capitalise on their seismic Heel turn as much as they should’ve, I still think New Day deserves to be on this list (over some of the others)!
Ethan Page and Chelsea Green
I couldn’t not mention the two Greatest North Americans to ever live, could I?! In August, Chelsea Green started to appear on NXT alongside Ethan Page, resulting in the two defeating Tavion Heights and Tyra Mae Steele at Heatwave (in a match where the American crowd cheered the Canadians)! Ethan and Chelsea would then continue to work together, before at AAA Day of the Dead, Page and Green defeated La Hiedra and Mr. Iguana to become the brand-new AAA Mixed Tag Team Champions! The two would then celebrate in style on Tuesday (it didn’t end well, however), before Green would win the United States Championship on the following SmackDown, meaning both Page and Green were now double Champions! At Gold Rush, Ethan and Chelsea successfully retained their Tag Team Titles over the duo of Joe Hendry and Thea Hail, whilst the pair would continue to remain Champions in their own right! Whoever came up with the idea to pair Chelsea Green and Ethan Page together deserves a raise, because that was an incredible decision! Page and Green’s gimmicks gel so well together, and the fact that they have American, Canadian, and Mexican Gold firmly makes them The Greatest North Americans Alive!
DIY
DIY! DIY started the year with a small alliance with Pretty Deadly, before they successfully retained their WWE Tag Team Championships in a 2-out-of-3-Falls match against the Motor City Machine Guns at the Royal Rumble! However, in Barcelona, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano would lose their Tag Team Titles to The Street Profits, ending their (second) reign at 98 days! On the SmackDown after WrestleMania, DIY came up short in their attempt to win back the WWE Tag Team Championship, in what was a massively well-perceived Triple Threat Tag Team TLC Match with The Street Profits and the Motor City Machine Guns! DIY then started to receive help from Gargano’s real-life wife, Candice LeRae, before DIY showed out once again, this time in another TLC Match at Summerslam (which saw Ciampa, Gargano, and LeRae all take horrendous bumps)! DIY also then made their triumphant return to NXT, only to lose to Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes at Homecoming! In total, DIY have wrestled 16 televised matches in 2025, scoring just 2 pinfall/submission victories, whilst they’ve been pinned/submitted on 10 different occasions! Whilst that is a pretty horrendous record, there’s no doubt that Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano are one of the best Tag Teams in WWE, hence why they had 3 of the highest-rated Main Roster Tag Team matches all year!
The Vision
There’s no doubt that The Vision have been the Main Event act on Monday Nights! After Paul Heyman aligned himself with Seth “Freakin” Rollins in the Main Event of WrestleMania Saturday, Bron Breakker joined them on the Raw after WrestleMania, forming “The Vision”! At Saturday Night’s Main Event in May, Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker were able to defeat CM Punk and Sami Zayn with the help of a returning Bronson Reed, only further making the group an unstoppable force! At Money in the Bank, Rollins managed to win the Money in the Bank Ladder Match (for the second time in his career), before Breakker and Reed came up short against Roman Reigns and Jey Uso at Summerslam! Then, later on that night, Seth Rollins returned from a fake injury to successfully cash in his MITB Briefcase on CM Punk to become the new World Heavyweight Champion! At Clash in Paris, Becky Lynch started to align with the group, helping Seth Rollins retain his Title, before Rollins and Lynch would lose to CM Punk and AJ Lee at Wrestlepalooza (whilst the Brons would defeat The Usos)! At Crown Jewel, it was the perfect event for The Vision, with Bronson Reed defeating Roman Reigns, whilst Rollins beat Cody Rhodes in the Main Event to become the 2025 Crown Jewel Champion! However, after a promo of celebration on Raw 2 days later, later on that night, Bron Breakker would shockingly Spear Seth “Freakin” Rollins out of his boots, with Reed and Heyman also turning on Rollins to kick the leader out of his own faction! Logan Paul would then join The Vision, with Paul Heyman very happy with Paul’s stardom, before The Vision would successfully win at WarGames, with a masked man (soon to be revealed as Austin Theory) helping them to achieve that! In total, Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed have wrestled 11 Tag Team matches together in 2025, scoring 6 wins compared to just 2 losses! I’ve really enjoyed The Vision throughout 2025; Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Paul Heyman’s character work was excellent, whilst Bron and Bronson have proven to be real Main Event stars!
Hank and Tank
What a crazy ride Hank and Tank have been on! After entering the year as the ROW Tag Team Champions, Hank and Tank couldn’t buy a win on NXT, losing for 4 straight weeks! However, after finally taking the right advice from teams such as The Hardys, Hank and Tank ran the Gauntlet to earn their way to NXT Stand and Deliver! Then, at Stand and Deliver, Walker and Ledger would battle Axiom and Nathan Frazer in my NXT Match of the Year, defeating FRAXIOM to become the brand-new NXT Tag Team Champions! After successful Title defences over Briggs and Inamura, The Culling, and Chase University, Hank and Tank would lose the Gold to DarkState at Heatwave, ending their reign at 127 days! Hank Walker and Tank Ledger would then fail to recapture NXT Gold before they headed over to Japan to compete at Pro Wrestling Noah! Amazingly, Hank and Tank would have a short run as the GHC Tag Team Champions before they returned to America with a win over OTM! In total, Hank and Tank have wrestled 26 matches across WWE, ROW, and Pro Wrestling Noah, scoring 14 victories compared to 10 pinfall/submission losses! Whilst Hank and Tank could only make it onto my honourable mentions list 12 months ago, the year that “The Belly Bandits” have had is well deserving of making it onto the proper list this time around!
The Kabuki Warriors
After appearing in this list as “Damage CTRL” last year, The Kabuki Warriors “stand alone” in 2025! After both women missed the large majority of the first half of the year due to respective injuries, Asuka would save Kairi Sane from a Judgment Day beatdown, resulting in The Kabuki Warriors being reformed! At Evolution, The Kabuki Warriors came up short in their attempt to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, before tensions started to rise between Asuka and former Damage CTRL stablemate Iyo Sky! Eventually, this led to Asuka turning Heel on both Sky and Rhea Ripley, with a reluctant Kairi Sane being forced to follow suit! At Crown Jewel, Asuka and Sane lost to RHIYO, but they would then go on to shockingly dethrone Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, making them 3-time Champions (as a duo)! Asuka would then lead her own team into WarGames, with Becky Lynch losing the match for them! In total, The Kabuki Warriors have wrestled 9 televised matches in 2025, ending up with a positive winning record of 5-3! Not only did The Kabuki Warriors win Tag Team Gold once again, but the character work from both Asuka and Kairi Sane during their storyline with Iyo Sky was so, so good!
The Street Profits
The Street Profits are a hard team to truly rate in 2025! The Street Profits made their return at the Royal Rumble, turning Heel as they screwed over the Motor City Machine Guns! On the March 14th episode of Friday Night SmackDown, live from Barcelona, Spain, Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins defeated DIY to become the brand-new WWE Tag Team Champions! The Profits would then successfully retain their Tag Team Titles in a crazy TLC Triple Threat against DIY and MCMG, before they would have a couple of testing battles against FRAXIOM! In July, the reign of The Street Profits would end at 119 days, losing to The Wyatt Sick6, before they were involved in another insane TLC Match at Summerslam (which they didn’t win on this occasion)! Ford and Dawkins then earned multiple rematches against Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumis, but they just weren’t able to recapture the Gold! In total, The Street Profits have wrestled 16 televised matches in 2025, winning 8 of them, whilst they’ve been pinned/submitted on 4 different occasions! The reason I find The Street Profits such a hard team to grade in 2025 is the fact that their matches have been quite good, especially the TLC ones, but their presentation just wasn’t it (and neither was their entrance music)!
Fatal Influence
2025 has been quite the year for Fatal Influence! Fatal Influence started the year by losing to Chemical X (Shotzi, Gigi Dolin, and Tatum Paxley) at NXT New Year’s Evil, before Fallon Henley would lose her NXT Women’s North American Championship after 111 days to Stephanie Vaquer at Vengeance Day! Fatal Influence would then appear on the Countdown Shows for both NXT Stand and Deliver and TNA Rebellion, before Jacy Jayne would shockingly defeat Vaquer (a small measure of revenge for Henley) to become the new NXT Women’s Champion! Fallon and Jacy would then lose to Jordynne Grace and Blake Monroe at The Great American Bash, before Jayne would shock the world again, defeating Masha Slamovich to make history as the first person to ever hold both the NXT Women’s and TNA Knockouts World Championships at the same time! Henley and Jazmyn Nyx would then fail to capture the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Titles at TNA Emergence, before Jayne would subsequently lose her TNA World Title to Ash By Elegance just over a week later! Despite a big improvement from Jazmyn Nyx, Fatal Influence would continue to lose, including against Rhea Ripley, Lyra Valkyria, and Stephanie Vaquer at NXT Homecoming, before Nyx would subsequently get kicked out of the group! At No Mercy, a hooded figure would assist Jacy in her successful Title defence over Lola Vice, with that person soon being revealed as Lainey Reid (the same person who took out Jazmyn)! At Halloween Havoc, Jayne’s 151-day reign as NXT Women’s Champion would come to an end at the hands of Tatum Paxley, but it wasn’t all over for Fatal Influence as The Rockstar, The Pro, and The Number 1 Draft Pick all got Title opportunities of their own at NXT Gold Rush! Now, whilst Lainey Reid may have come up short to Kendal Grey in a match for the Evolve Women’s Championship, Fallon Henley would defeat Zaria to become the new Women’s Speed Champion, whilst Jacy Jayne would write the wrongs of Halloween Havoc, defeating Paxley to become a 2-time NXT Women’s Champion! In total, Fatal Influence has wrestled 21 Tag Team matches across WWE and TNA in 2025, posting a terrible record of 6-15! I’ve really enjoyed Fatal Influence’s work across NXT and TNA, with Jacy Jayne being a double Champion, Fallon Henley holding multiple Titles, and Jazmyn Nyx massively growing as an in-ring competitor! Now, given the potential of Lainey Reid, Fatal Influence should continue to thrive!
The Judgment Day
We end this section with the only Tag Team/Faction to get nominated for the same award every year, The Judgment Day! On the Raw on Netflix Premier Show, Liv Morgan’s successful reign as the Women’s World Champion came to an end at the hands of former member Rhea Ripley, before JD McDonagh would suffer both broken ribs and a punctured lung after a horrendous bump into the edge of the announce table! On the 24th of February edition of Monday Night Raw, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez defeated Bianca Belair and Naomi to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, before both Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio set their sights on the Intercontinental Championship! At WrestleMania, Mysterio would pin Balor to become the new IC Champion, whilst Morgan and Rodriguez lost their Titles to Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria! However, Liv and Raquel quickly recaptured the gold just 1 day later! In June, Liv Morgan suffered an injury, resulting in Roxanne Perez taking her place as Champion alongside Raquel Rodriguez, whilst Balor and McDonagh would defeat The New Day to become World Tag Team Champions, meaning everyone in The Judgment Day was carrying gold! At Evolution, Perez and Rodriguez would successfully retain in a Fatal 4-Way, before they would go on to lose the belts to Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair at Summerslam! Now, The Judgment Day would also start to make appearances on AAA, with them winning at TripleMania, whilst Balor and Perez lost to Lola Vice and Mr. Iguana at Worlds Collide! However, on that very same night at Worlds Collide, Dominik Mysterio would successfully defeat El Hijo del Vikingo to become the brand-new AAA Mega Champion! The Judgment Day would then go on to lose the World Tag Team Championships to AJ Styles and Dragon on the 20th of October edition of Monday Night Raw, before Mysterio would drop his IC Title to John Cena after a 204-day reign! However, at Survivor Series: WarGames, “Dirty” Dom would reclaim his Intercontinental Championship by defeating Cena with the help of a returning Liv Morgan! In total, The Judgment Day have wrestled 30 Tag Team matches across multiple combinations in both WWE and AAA in 2025, with them having over 7 different Championship reigns throughout the year! I don’t understand why people don’t like The Judgment Day; Dominik has had an insane year, Finn and JD are such good wrestlers, Raquel and Roxanne have proved to be quite the duo, and Liv is a bona fide star!
My 2025 Tag Team/Faction of the Year: The Judgment Day
2025 Moment/Segment of the Year Nominees
Tiffany Stratton Cashes in (Friday Night SmackDown 03/01)
Towards the end of Nia Jax VS Naomi, Tiffany Stratton ran down to cash in her Money in the Bank Briefcase, only for this to be a ruse as Tiffany smashed Naomi in the face with her pink Briefcase, allowing Jax to successfully retain her Title! However, there were more shocks to come as Stratton wacked Jax in the back with her MITB Briefcase, before Bianca Belair (who didn’t see what happened) dropped Nia with a K.O.D.! After removing Belair, Tiffy successfully cashed in her MITB contract by nailing Nia Jax with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever to get the win, meaning Tiffany Stratton kicked off the new year as the new WWE Women’s Champion! This was such a great moment; not only the pop from the crowd, but also how this whole thing made Tiffany look like a genius! I gave this a B+ Grade at the time, and it arguably deserved more!
Bron Breakker Spears IShowSpeed (Royal Rumble)
After Carmelo Hayes attacked Akira Tozawa (during Tozawa’s entrance), Triple H called an audible by putting YouTuber/Streamer IShowSpeed into the match! Speed got a pretty decent reaction from the crowd, but one man who clearly wasn’t happy to see him was Bron Breakker! See, whilst IShowSpeed was livestreaming, Breakker “nearly killed” Speed with the most outrageous Spear you’ve ever seen! Seriously, I recommend anyone to go and see this if you haven’t already, it’s absolutely insane, but it was a fabulous moment!
Entrant After Entrant (Royal Rumble)
At Number 23, John Cena’s music hit as The Greatest of All Time arrived for his final-ever Royal Rumble appearance! Cena’s path crossed with Roman Reigns, before CM Punk arrived next! Then, just when you thought it couldn’t get any more ridiculous, Seth “Freakin” Rollins’ music hit, and he wasn’t waiting around, charging straight for his foe Punk! Not only was this an insane moment, seeing four of the best to ever do it, but it was made even better by the fact that the Number 26 entrant was none other than Dominik Mysterio! Genius!
John Cena Turns Heel (Elimination Chamber)
For weeks on SmackDown, The Rock told Cody Rhodes that he wanted The American Nightmare to be his Champion, and all of that build-up led to the ending of Elimination Chamber! See, after John Cena won his final Elimination Chamber match, Cody came down to the ring to acknowledge his WrestleMania opponent, before both The Rock and Travis Scott (of all people arrived! When The Rock asked for Cody’s answer, Rhodes responded by telling Dwayne to “go f himself”, before Rhodes and Cena embraced! However, after The Rock pulled the same gesture he did back at Bad Blood, Cena shockingly turned on Rhodes to completely stun the wrestling world! I gave this segment an A at the time, and I’m not surprised; this was an all-time iconic moment in Professional Wrestling, a moment many people had waited over 20 years to see, and a Heel Cena standing alongside a Heel Rock is some visual!
Paul Heyman Aligns with Seth “Freakin” Rollins (WrestleMania 41 Night 1)
After an epic build-up, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Seth “Freakin” Rollins battled in the Main Event of WrestleMania Saturday, with the story firmly centered around Paul Heyman’s loyalty! See, Roman Reigns is his Tribal Chief, but CM Punk is his best friend! Paul was also in Punk’s corner for this match, due to the favour he gifted Punk in 2024, and after everything, Heyman chose Reigns over Punk, nailing The Best in the World with a low-blow! However, The Wiseman would then prove his true allegiance (at Allegiant Stadium) by also nailing Reigns, allowing Rollins to get the win! Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman then headed up the ramp to end Night 1 of WrestleMania 41, and yeah, this was definitely one of the WWE’s best moments in 2025!
Trick Williams Wins TNA Gold (NXT Battleground)
In the Main Event of NXT Battleground, NXT’s Trick Williams challenged Joe Hendry for the TNA World Championship! Not only was the match great, but the ending was shocking, with Williams nailing Hendry with a Trick Shot to get the win! The reason I’ve put this moment on here is that the partnership between NXT and TNA was great, but the one criticism of it was that nobody was winning Titles from the other company! However, that changed here, with Trick firmly beginning the “TrickNA Era”!
Jacy Jayne Stuns Stephanie Vaquer (NXT 27/05)
After successfully retaining in a great match with Jordynne Grace at Battleground, Stephanie Vaquer was ready to defend her NXT Women’s Championship again, this time against Jacy Jayne! After Fatal Influence looked to be imploding in front of our very eyes, Fallon Henley struck Stephanie with a faint kick before Jacy nailed Vaquer with a Rolling Encore to get the shock win! This was completely bonkers; it didn’t feel real, but given how it’s gone over the rest of the year, Jacy Jayne defeating Stephanie Vaquer to become NXT Women’s Champion wasn’t just a shock; it was also the right call!
AJ Lee Returns to WWE (Friday Night SmackDown 05/09)
After Becky Lynch screwed CM Punk over at Clash in Paris, a return that everyone had been waiting for for over a decade took place in front of a rowdy Chicago crowd! After Seth “Freakin” Rollins gave out a grand entrance to his wife Becky, Lynch continued to mock both Punk and Chicago as a whole! This led to CM Punk coming down to the ring and stating that whilst he won’t hit a lady, he knows someone who will! This led to the return of AJ Lee, a moment that became huge worldwide, and this was done to set up the Mixed Tag Team Match for Wrestlepalooza! In terms of returns, AJ Lee returning in Chicago is one of the biggest ones that WWE will ever be able to pull off, and the outpour of reactions very much proved why!
NXT Homecoming
If you’re a big fan of NXT (like me), it was impossible not to love NXT Homecoming! William Regal, Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair, Candice LeRae, Shayna Baszler, Sami Zayn, Montez Ford, and Bobby Roode all made appearances, whilst Finn Balor's return with his iconic entrance theme was special! Tyler Breeze returning to face Ethan Page was such a cool moment, Trick Melo Gang VS DIY was a battle between four of the best superstars in NXT history, whilst having Fatal Influence Main Event against Rhea Ripley, Lyra Valkyria, and Stephanie Vaquer was well earned! Definitely one of my favourite shows of the entire year!
The Vision Betray The Visionary (Monday Night Raw 13/10)
After winning the Crown Jewel Championship two days before, Seth “Freakin” Rollins was on cloud nine, basking in the glory that is The Vision! Seth stated that, unlike Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, he doesn’t need anyone to win, a comment that seemed to bother Bron Breakker! Later in the show, Rollins continued to be in a positive mood, telling Breakker, Bronson Reed, and Paul Heyman about just how much he loves them, whilst also stating that the whole weekend was the highlight of his professional career! At the end of the night, it looked like The Vision were once again set to stand tall to close Monday Night Raw, only for Bron Breakker to shockingly Spear Seth Rollins from out of absolutely nowhere, whilst Bronson Reed followed up with a TSUNAMI to end The Vision as we knew it! This really was a shock at the time; there was no reason to believe that The Vision would split this early, but destroying Seth “Freakin” Rollins like they did only made Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed look even stronger than they already were!
My 2025 Moment/Segment of the Year: John Cena Turns Heel
Honourable Mentions
It’s honestly very hard sometimes to create these lists, with there being an awful lot of talent in WWE, so like every year, we end this list with some Honourable Mentions!
2025 Male Superstar of the Year
Cody Rhodes
Drew McIntyre
Ilja Dragunov
Ricky Saints
2025 Female Superstar of the Year
Becky Lynch
Jordynne Grace
Lola Vice
Naomi
2025 Breakout Star of the Year
Aleister Black
Maxxine Dupri
Tatum Paxley
2025 Tag Team/Faction of the Year
Motor City Machine Guns
The Bloodline/MFT
The Green Regime
ZaRuca
2025 Moment/Segment of the Year
Alexa Bliss’ Royal Rumble Return
Say His Name and He Appears!
The Ruse of the Century
Dolph Ziggler Returns to WWE
John Cena Bids Farewell
Excellent as always! A beast of an article