With the halfway point of 2025 in the rear-view mirror, the Social Suplex Newsletter Team has decided to assemble a roundtable of our top writers and contributors to reflect on the year in wrestling so far: its biggest stories, brightest stars, most astonishing feuds, and, of course, its greatest matches. We’ve largely kept things positive, but we have also afforded our writers a little space to bemoan some of the angles, trends, and characters that have stood out for all the wrong reasons.

We’d like to stress that these are not our writers’ official end-of-year votes and, in putting this piece together, we’ve encouraged our team to focus on the narratives and events that have defined 2025 for them personally, rather than forcing them to adhere to a strict criteria.

Before we begin, we’d like to thank: Eric Addy, Alice V. Bell, Peter Edge, Emiliana Rico-Toro, David Hayter, Micah Hey, Tim Hunter, Trish Speirs, and Chris Whitehead for taking part…

…And without further ado, let’s review the best and worst that 2025 has had to offer, starting with every wrestling fan’s favourite topic: the match of the year.

Match of the Year so far

Criteria: Keeping things nice and simple, please name your top three matches of the year through June 2025.

© STARDOM

1st Place –  Saya Kamitani vs Tam Nakano

STARDOM: “All Star Grand Queendom” – April 27th 2025

There isn’t a world in which this won’t be my match of the year, because it’s the single most impactful wrestling match of my life. There have been many great wrestlers and wrestling matches that entranced me and made me love the art of pro wrestling, but none have ever touched me deep inside my soul like Tam Nakano has—and this was her magnum opus. It was perfect from the beginning seven years ago until this epic conclusion. I don’t know if I will ever be able to watch this match again, and I don’t know if wrestling will ever be able to be this significant for me again.

– Tim Hunter

I’m not ashamed to admit that this match is the second piece of media I’ve ever cried to, the other being the airport scene in Love Actually. The lead-up to this fight was perfect, the match with all its great callbacks was perfect, and the post-match was perfect. As my favourite match of all time, I do not see this being topped. No words will do this feud—and final match—justice.

– Eric Addy

Combining cutting edge strong style wrestling with an incredible depth of emotional drama and physical storytelling, perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay to this perfect match was that in spite of all the evidence to contrary and any sense of rationality, for 26 fabulous minutes, they made the world believe that Tam Nakano might somehow win. She didn’t, of course, but this beautiful and ungodly violent finale will stand as both Tam and Saya’s magnum opus.

– David Hayter

I hadn’t followed much of Stardom until this point, but you didn’t need the whole backstory to understand what was at stake even before the bell rang. The match itself was incredible, just great work from two great workers. And the ending, both of the match and the final shot of the show, was something unforgettable.

– Alice V. Bell

Not always does the finale of a long-term story combine with a five-star classic. The times in history that the two have coalesced perfectly are legendary enough that those matches are known simply by the dates they happened. Nakano and Kamitani told their story, their way, while never deviating from their characters’ truths. They expressed pure hatred via headbutts and head drops in a five-star classic, only to reveal—once it was too late—that it was actually love binding them together. Combine that match and its memorable post-match, throw in the biggest crowd in company history, and maybe years from now we will refer to this match simply as 4/27/25.

– Chris Whitehead

© NJPW

2nd Place – Gabe Kidd vs Kenny Omega

NJPW: “Wrestle Dynasty” – January 5th

It’s easy to forget matches that happened within the first week of the year, but it’s very hard to forget this one. A returning hero with question marks on his health takes on a brutal up-and-comer more than willing to end someone to make a name.

Take away the pomp and sizzle (a big return to action, a rising star, a cross-promotion fight, a feud that blurred lines), and it’s still a classic. Incredible wrestling. Incredible story. This made/remade both wrestlers. It had that ‘big fight feel.’

This is the sort of match that makes new fans. It’s a match that encourages people to expand what they watch. It can make people fall in love with pro wrestling, or remind them why it’s the best entertainment around.

– Micah

I have to be honest here—this probably edges out my third-place pick purely due to the infamous “live bump.” Being there in the Tokyo Dome was magical. Kenny went absolutely superhuman like he usually does in the Dome, and the match was absolutely incredible—a masterclass of the craft. The funny thing is, I have never watched my first or second pick for MOTY a second time, because I feel like preserving the magic of the moment is of utmost importance.

– Tim Hunter

It has become somewhat of a joke over the years to say seeing Kenny Omega in the Tokyo Dome is just different from what we see in AEW, but once you experience it, you can never unsee it. What felt even more incredible about this match, though, was not Omega’s superstar presentation, or his ability to come back after diverticulitis and instantly deliver a surefire match of the year candidate, but that the story and chemistry between him and Gabe Kidd was so strong that they were able to make Kidd the face and really launch him as a star to both the Japanese and global audiences. A true masterclass in making someone just using a match—and one of my favourite matches I have ever experienced live.

– Trish

© AEW

3rd Place –  Toni Storm v Mariah May

AEW: “Revolution” – March 9th

There is nothing more powerful to me than standing up to someone who hurt you—especially if you love them—because that breeds the most delicious type of hate. The violence of this match cannot be understated—these women loathed each other. Though they had bumps in the road in the build to this match, the match itself sent me to a sacred place. Sometimes you just have to kill each other. I have called this a “bite-sized” deathmatch, because it went shorter than some men’s division deathmatches even in AEW. But it hit every beat one could want and didn’t overstay its welcome. Would have loved to see it main event the show, as the final shot of Toni and Mariah will live on in my memory for as long as I live.

– Emiliana

This match was a sprint that never let up for a second; a perfect end to an incredible story.

– Alice V. Bell

On a card with Mercedes vs Momo Watanabe, an Ospreay/Fletcher cage match, Omega vs Takeshita, and the “Hangman”/MJF match so good I wrote a piece about it, this match arguably should have been the main event. And I’ll argue it.

It was a barn-burning ender to the best saga in AEW’s women’s division history. Coming out of the match, both wrestlers cemented their name among the elite. A memorable match with great action, great build over a long period, and a great story. In the end, the hero stands triumphant, and one of the best angles in AEW history got the ending it deserved. I think if this match had ended the show instead of Mox/Cope, the PPV would have been talked about as one of the best AEW has ever done.

– Micah

Honourable Mentions

Hangman Adam Page v Will Ospreay – AEW “Double or Nothing” – May 25th

This match played off its build perfectly, with Ospreay almost looking past Page at the start before his overconfidence began to fall into frustration and then despair by the end. Page only has one goal throughout, though, and is laser-focused—meaning he comes out the victor at the end after three straight years of setbacks and missed opportunities. The pace of this one meant it built to a perfect ending that came at exactly the right time, lighting up the crowd after a long evening in the desert.

– Trish

There was too much at stake in this match for it not to be a MOTY contender. From the story building to the match, to the story told within the match, this is the kind of stuff that makes me love pro wrestling. This was a reminder to the world that, despite Hangman wrestling fewer dates in the past couple of years than he did at the start of AEW, he can put on a classic and is worthy of the “Best In The World” moniker. This match was also an eye-opener to me, as I saw what Will Ospreay can do from a psychological standpoint within the story told in (and out of) the ring.

– Emiliana

I couldn’t watch this live, which was probably for the best since I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much if I was spending the entire time stressing about the ending. As it was, the match was a culmination of so much for Hangman, a wrestler who I unabashedly love. The way this match was laid out and the story being told was great.

– Alice V. Bell

Syuri vs Sareee I / II – “Sareee-ISM VII” / “Stardom: The Conversion” – March 10th / June 21st

These matches were my wrestling nirvana: the two biggest bad-arse killers in the world of joshi wrestling, with completely opposing philosophies in life, going head-to-head – engaging in two ultra-hard-hitting technical classics. Syuri vs Sareee represents the immovable object versus the irresistible force for over 60 combined minutes. Amidst all the brutally accurate striking, what made the matches truly otherworldly was the quality of both the submission holds and the selling (particularly as Syuri battled to make the ropes). This is truly state-of-the-art wrestling, influenced by MMA with rock-solid fighting logic and unrelenting intensity, without sacrificing any of the deliciously over-the-top drama that makes modern Japanese pro wrestling great.

– David Hayter

This match (Syuri vs Sareee I) encapsulates everything that I love about pro wrestling. It has a clear throughline story that is being told about two hard heads who just want to one-up each other—who need to be stronger than the other person—but in the process, realise that they have underestimated the task and suffer greatly for it. The struggle in this match is something you will rarely see. These two are right up there with the great in-ring storytellers of all time. Rarely has a wrestling match made me grab a pillow and white-knuckle it like the painful desperation in Sareee’s selling while Syuri was wrenching her arm into grotesque positions. Nobody won this match—both wrestlers survived each other.

– Tim Hunter

Masaaki Mochizuki vs YAMATO – Dragongate: “Rainbow Gate” 2025 – June 4th

The Open the Dream Gate Championship match between the 55-year-old Mochizuki and defending champion YAMATO perfectly captures why professional wrestling is unmatched. It’s a simple yet compelling story: the old, grumpy ass-kicker who once dominated YAMATO is now fighting desperately, pouring every ounce of his being into overcoming him. Mochizuki and YAMATO first met in a title match back in 2010, where Mochizuki decisively kicked YAMATO’s arse. Now the roles are reversed. This match must be seen and felt—Mochizuki’s performance genuinely makes you suspend disbelief. You feel that he wants that title one more time more than anything in the world. Within just 22 minutes, Mochizuki takes a casual Dragongate viewer like myself from muted anticipation to passionately yelling at the screen, urging him to escape a single-leg Boston crab. I’ll probably never witness a better match involving a wrestler in their 50s (sorry, Sting).

– Eric Addy

Zack Sabre Jr. vs Hirooki Goto – NJPW: “New Beginning” in Osaka – February 11th

There are many great wrestling matches, but not too many where the result feels so important that you are watching it with your heart going a mile a minute. The culmination of the journey of Hirooki Goto in front of a rabid crowd in Osaka is a beautiful emotional journey supported by a great wrestling match, where both performers play their roles perfectly and the ending is an absolute triumph in execution and as a moment of its own.

– Trish

Seth Rollins vs CM Punk vs Roman Reigns – “WrestleMania” 41 – Apr. 19th

Most people I’ve talked to don’t even have this match as the best at WrestleMania 41. And I get it. It is that WWE style—all sports entertainment and melodrama. The match included the never-on-TV-but-still-overexposed Roman Reigns, the incredibly divisive CM Punk (in the twilight of his ability), and everyone’s favorite bridesmaid-never-a-bride, Seth Rollins. 

On a snoozy night with little to speak of, this one match saved the show. Weaving the history of all three men, the future of the company, the trials of friendship, the backstage power struggles, and three morally grey characters all imperfectly striving for their dreams into one epic main event. It included personal betrayal, the fall of an empire, and clever imagery that evoked the story by telling, not showing. I think it is going to age quite well.

– Micah

© NJPW

El Desperado vs. Jun Kasai – “Death Pain Invitational” – June 24th

Jun Kasai can be the most gruesome, murderous, violent wrestler while being endearing and relatable at the same time. This match caps off a feud stretching several years. Their most notable bout, in 2022, came at a time when Despe was at a low point, saying he didn’t care whether he died in the ring. Kasai, after the match, gave the promo of the year, telling Despe not to be a fool—that death is not to be welcomed by any man. He reminded Despe that he was living his dream in NJPW as one of the best junior heavyweights.

Fast forward three years, and this fight encapsulated everything Kasai told him. Despe had become fearless and brutal in his deathmatches, and in 2025 he beat Kasai after putting him through everything he could think of and more. After the match, Kasai once again cut an amazing promo, in tears, saying he wished it wasn’t their last singles match and that he wouldn’t know what to do without chasing Despe. Backstage, Kasai posed in front of a poster of himself, saying age is meaningless and that, after 27 years underground, he had made it to an NJPW Korakuen Hall main event. That moment made me tear up. Matches are more than just what happens between the bells, and this one certainly didn’t let me down in that aspect.

– Eric Addy

YOH vs Kosei Fujita – NJPW: “Best of the Super Jrs Final” – June 1st

When the BOTSJ 2025 field was announced, this was the final I was hoping for: the clash of my two favourite juniors with Kosei Fujita, the hottest young star of a promotion desperately in need of a shot of adrenaline, winning the big one at the first time of asking. What I didn’t necessarily expect was that, given the time and opportunity, YOH and Fujita would put on a technical masterclass that had the crowd screaming from beginning to end as the two heartthrobs battled over submissions and YOH paid heartfelt tribute to his CHAOS mentors past and present.

– David Hayter

The Death Riders (Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir) vs Swerve Strickland & Willow Nightingale – AEW: “Dynamite” – April 2nd, 2025

I don’t know how I ever lived without the mixed tornado tag as a format. I don’t watch much indie wrestling, so forgive me if I don’t understand that stuff like this happens damn near every week. But this truly opened my eyes to what intergender wrestling could look like on a mainstream platform. Some might say that there were weaknesses and flaws to this match, but as someone who notices very little of that kind of stuff, I was floored by how intense and fun this match was. Whatever flaws it might have had, I saw nothing. All I saw was Willow beating Mox’s ass and Swerve showing no mercy.

– Emiliana

Mayu Iwatani vs Syuri – Stardom “All Star Grand Queendom” – April 27

This match likely won’t hit the same way for everyone that it did for me, given that I was living and dying with every near-fall, knowing that while the officially promoted stakes of the match were the IWGP Women’s Title, the unspoken and unpromoted stakes were Mayu Iwatani’s Stardom career, with it having been inevitable for many months that she was headed to Marigold. Consequently, my emotional stakes were higher than most matches in years (except for the main event of the same show), and I found myself leaping off my couch multiple times in the final minutes of this match, and likely feeling more defeated than Mayu did once she eventually succumbed to Syuri’s “Syu-Sekai“ ultra-death finishing move.

– Chris Whitehead

Wrestler of the Year so far

Criteria: For the purposes of this roundtable, we have asked that our writers answer this question on their own terms. It is up to each individual to determine how much emphasis they place on overness, cultural importance, drawing power, in-ring quality, and a broader contribution to wrestling in 2025. But let’s see which stars our writers believe have defined the year to date.

© AEW

1st Place – Hangman Adam Page – AEW

The man who has turned around the fortunes of his promotion, both in the ring and in terms of vibes almost single-handedly. From great matches, promos, and the connection with fans not just in the US, but in Mexico – Page has been the standout in 2025 so far. He’s even made MJF sound interesting.

– Peter Edge

I think Hangman has once again proven this year that nothing in AEW really matters if not his touch. A miracle worker, making both MJF and the Death Riders compelling, he has to be manifested as the ace of the promotion for a long time to come. His win over Will Ospreay at “Double or Nothing” singlehandedly made me regain hope in the world of pro wrestling.

– Tim Hunter

Disclaimer: I love him. I don’t have to explain anything to you, but I will: he makes me feel alive. The end.

– Emiliana

This one will be a popular choice. When he’s on screen, he’s breathing life back into the promotion. When he’s not, both his fans and the ratings are depressed. Both his match with Ospreay and the one with MJF probably deserved a spot in best matches of the year. He’s had multiple promo of the year contenders, across two different languages. What more could you want?

He’s the complete package as a wrestler. Great as a face, great as a heel, great at drama, great at comedy, great on the mic, great in the ring, executes great stories, hits the little touches and the big moments alike, and right now he’s on his best, second best, or third best run, depending on taste. It isn’t a question for me who is the best this year.

– Micah

Much of what I feel about Toni Storm also applies to Hangman, but with the added factor of not being on top of the division for most of the year and having to fight upwards for that spot. His ticket and TV drawing ability is still underrated, despite a strong performance—saving more than a few AEW shows this year. He is clearly being framed as a centrepiece of the promotion going forward, with the in-ring, character, and storytelling to back it up.

– Alice V. Bell

© STARDOM

2nd Place – Saya Kamitani – STARDOM

Saya’s presence is genuinely difficult to describe. Her entrance at “All Star Grand Queendom” marked the definitive arrival of Japan’s newest top star. Not only does she have a unique charisma, but she’s also at the centre of what I consider the year’s best feud so far (and probably the definitive feud of the decade), playing the perfect counterpart to Tam Nakano in what might be the greatest retirement storyline ever. Beyond her storytelling, Saya has consistently delivered in-ring. In the drama of the post-match in her last Nakano match, people often forget the match itself was still amazing, if not a tiny smidge below their Korakuen Hall match on 3rd March. As if her in-ring achievements weren’t enough, she is a proven draw, co-headlining the biggest joshi wrestling crowd in possibly two decades alongside Tam and currently leading a thriving Stardom that effortlessly fills Korakuen Hall with over 1,400 fans while putting on random eight-person tag matches. Her storyline with Tam has kickstarted a hot period of business for Stardom. For me, there’s no competition. Saya is unmatched so far this year.

– Eric Addy

A promotion and its fortunes are usually linked to the champion of that company, and Saya Kamitani should get her dues for the year-on-year increases of Stardom this year.

– Peter Edge

Don’t be shocked if Saya Kamitani tops my list come the end of the year, because after all it takes quite some star power to take a hot promotion and, not only make it hotter, but make it the hottest it has ever been in its history. What’s even more impressive is that Saya is leading Stardom to the pinnacle at a time when big stars have left, retired or fallen to injury and, unlike Zandokan and OZAWA, she’s pairing the best looks, promos and storylines in wrestling with five-star matches and generational moments. She’s also working hard to become a mainstream star, who is all over Japanese TV and radio, working an intense promotional schedule that makes even Cody Rhodes look lazy by way of comparison.

– David Hayter

Saya Kamitani is a wrestler who has figured herself out, she is comfortable in her character, her ability to lead a company like Stardom and is a tremendous in-ring worker. Her feud with Tam Nakano throughout the spring captured the attention throughout and led to growth for the company that was largely unforeseen just indeed a year ago with the creation of Marigold and the exodus of many top talents. Departures create talent vacuums as well as opportunities though, and Kamitani has stepped up to lead the company, delivering in every sense at the top of a company which remains on the upswing.

– Trish

© AEW

3rd Place – Toni Storm – AEW

There is not one wrestler that I can think of this year to date that has pulled out banger after banger of a promo with every passing segment on television. Every match she’s had this year has been exciting and fun to watch. She also has the number one spot for MOTY so far for me, so it’s simply impossible not to put her at the top of this list as well. No one wrestler has been as entertaining so consistently as Timeless Toni Storm.

– Emiliana

Toni has it all right now. She’s incredibly over, her character work is impeccable, the in-ring is great, and she’s well established as a draw in her own right. Despite being in the same position for months, nothing feels stale and she keeps finding new and hilarious ways to keep fans invested and entertained, which is a testament to her talent and creativity. Love to be living in the time of Timeless Toni Storm.

– Alice V. Bell

I think Toni Storm has a chance to end up with wrestler of the year. She has carried a division and elevated it. In the lead up to “All In”, she held her own against a legend and remained unmissable. The division floundered without her, and since her return she’s been firing on all cylinders.
Does she have the best gimmick in wrestling? I can’t think of a better one. It is so good that it is easy to forget she’s got world-class grappling, too. The real test will be if she gets a chance with the ball as THE feature attraction. With the reactions she’s getting, I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets there by the end of the year.

– Micah

Honourable Mentions

Hirooki Goto – New Japan Pro Wrestling

In a year of <gestures broadly at the state of the world>, Hiroki Goto stood atop NJPW in the first half of 2025 as one of the only shining beacons of babyface joy across the world of wrestling. His title win in February is the undeniable feel-good moment in wrestling so far this year, a spark of heat from the dying embers of the New Japan fire. On top of that, Goto has been delivering in the box office and in the ring, and holding the main event scene down, despite the seeming tanking of the ship occurring across the rest of the NJPW booking. The pure joy of that “he fucking did it!” moment in Osaka is enough for me to have him in #1 at the halfway point.

– Chris Whitehead

It is hard to think about where New Japan would be at this point without Hirooki Goto carrying the promotion through the spring and early summer. A reign that came about off the back of a late New Japan Cup switch has been the one major highlight during a period of high-profile departures, uncertainty and questionable booking. Goto has been a surprisingly strong draw, whose babyface in-ring work has led to his matches outperforming expectations on a regular basis, very much justifying him being put in the position in the first place.

– Trish

© NOAH

OZAWA – Pro Wrestling NOAH

OZAWA is the reason I picked up NOAH again full-time. OZAWA was thrown to the top of their promotion out of nowhere following his excursion in Europe. The match on New Year’s Day told everyone they needed to know about OZAWA and why they had made that decision. OZAWA is probably the most charismatic wrestler right now, in the sense he captures the audience—so much so that NOAH have to keep him stuck in a HoT-style heat factory faction such as Team 2000X just to not babyface him too early. He has completely turned the business of NOAH around in 2025, and they are the best-drawing promotion at Korakuen Hall this year, built around his title defences. His in-ring ability has a very high ceiling, but he has still not figured out a way to put on a compelling, dramatic, MOTY-contender-type of main event. His best matches have come against Kiyomiya, which have been excellent, but once he shores up that weakness, OZAWA will truly be unstoppable.

– Eric Addy

OZAWA’s title match sell-out streak at Korakuen Hall might have come to an end in early June, but make no mistake the young heel GHC World Heavyweight champion and leader of Team 2000x is the sole reason for NOAH’s remarkable revival in 2025. He might not be an elite wrestler just yet and the swerve-laden heel antics of his faction can be tiresome, but OZAWA remains the man of the moment: a shining example of the good things that can happen when a down-on-its-luck promotion bets the house on the right young stallion.

– David Hayter

The emergence of OZAWA has turned NOAH on its head, brought in a whole new set of fans that have lit up their live event business in the first half of this year and made the product feel cool and fresh to its audience for the first time in forever. His charisma masks that he is actually a very strong in-ring worker as well. What has been most impressive, for me, though, is his ability to adapt during his run to stop the babyfaces going against him being overrun, with both Kaito Kiyomiya and Tetsuya Endo now feeling much stronger after going against him than they did coming in.

– Trish

Tam Nakano – STARDOM

It has been over two months since we’ve seen or heard anything from her and I still can’t not put her at my number one spot here. Not only has she crafted an amazing story for herself, she has also elevated an entire promotion to heights it had never seen before and set up her successor better than any wrestler has ever been set up before. Even after her end, the promotion continues to soar, which proves how effective her last journey was. Truly a one of a kind talent and creative mind and she will be missed forever.

– Tim Hunter

Despite retiring in April, Tam’s impact on Stardom is still going strong. Her work in elevating Saya Kamitani as her de facto heir, and the clear impact that feud had on increasing Stardom’s attendance and maintaining it after her departure, was just phenomenal. Those last few months were heartbreaking as the inevitable became clear, but the fact that she had such an emotional impact on so many speaks for itself.

– Alice V. Bell

© STARDOM

Sareee – Freelance

The nomadic queen of the Japanese independent scene, Sareee, effortlessly moves from promotion to promotion, consistently delivering matches of outstanding quality. Sareee’s match catalogue is simply incredible, which she added to significantly in the first half of 2025. She began the year by dropping titles to Utami Hayashishita in Marigold and VENY in SEAdLINNNG, put over Meiko Satomura magnificently during Satomura’s retirement year at Sareee’s own produce show, drew with Syuri in a technically perfect 30-minute Match of the Year contender, and then teamed with Takumi Iroha to capture the AAAW Tag Team Championship in Marvelous. Additionally, on her road to challenging Syuri for the IWGP Women’s Championship, Sareee elevated younger talents like Aya Sakura and Ranna Yagami, providing them with some of the best matches of their young careers. She finished off the first half of the year having yet another MOTY contender with Syuri at Stardom “The Conversion”. Simply put, Sareee does not have bad matches—it’s genuinely impossible. I have watched 19 Sareee matches this year and would put, at minimum, 15 of those in the “great” to “excellent” category. She doesn’t have a high volume of matches, but her hit rate is only comparable to Konosuke Takeshita, and she has a solid drawing case to back it up with her own produce shows and Stardom “The Conversion” with a near sell-out of 2,521 fans at Yoyogi National Gymnasium #2.

– Eric Addy

There is no doubt in my mind that Sareee is currently the best in-ring wrestler in the world. She lays everything in, she makes every match look like a real struggle, nothing looks cooperative, but most importantly, she knows how to rope an audience into a match, whether she plays the villain or the hero. And if that wasn’t enough, she also produces and books shows that are can’t miss to watch and sold out every single time. If it wasn’t such an exceptional year for other candidates, Sareee would probably deserve every one of these best of the year awards.

– Tim Hunter

Zandokan Jr – CMLL

The King of The Wold, the loveable pirate rudo rogue Zandokan Jr has given the white hot CMLL something it has been lacking for many a year: a cool heel that the fans love to hate. Zandokan has taken 2025 by storm by claiming both Star Jr’s mask in the year’s biggest main event and defeating Mascara Dorada to win the Copa Jr 2025. Is he the best wrestler in the promotion? Of course not, but he is the man of the moment whipping crowds into a frenzy without having the crowd turn on the tecnicos. Don’t be surprised if he hangs on to the top spot, because he’s just set his sights on Mistico.

– David Hayter

Seth “Freakin” Rollins – WWE

The rest of the year is a question mark, but the first half is a testament to Seth Rollins. Started with a definitive loss to CM Punk. Lost the Rumble. Lost the Chamber. Going into “Mania”, got added to a three-way that had fans asking if maybe it’d be better as a one-on-one.

Despite that, he put in great in-ring performances, great promos, told great stories, and found his way into being the most electric and alive part of the Main Event of “WrestleMania” night 1. The slow build of his takeover means it’s hard to predict if it will fizzle or not. But he was given the mantle to fill the ‘Bloodline’ spot and has made it work. His performances have carried a show that sometimes has little else, even during obviously filler months. Can he stick the landing this year? That remains to be seen.

– Micah

Mistico- CMLL

Is Mistico a victim of his own never-ending success in Arena Mexico (and beyond) and somewhat doomed to be always the bridesmaid for the best of the year awards in the 2020s? In some ways, he may have the strongest case for #1 this year and yet given his place as ‘old reliable’ I found myself drawn to the more exciting options. My apologies to the King of Arena Mexico, maybe by the year’s end I’ll feel differently.

– Chris Whitehead

Swerve Strickland – AEW

Many of the best television matches of the year have been at the hands of Swerve Strickland. In much the same way as Toni and Hangman, he manages to keep us entertained and holding onto his every word. He’s the coolest dude in pro wrestling, and he takes every opportunity to prove to you he’s the best—whether it be cutting a backstage promo on Ricochet that’s so tense you immediately sit up, or stoking the fire of an outraged Hangman, or hitting a crisp House Call out of nowhere on an unwitting opponent—Swerve Strickland knocks it out of the park every damn time.

– Emiliana

Will Ospreay – AEW

He’s still the best wrestler in the world bell-to-bell and still showing signs of improvement, more in his character work—as the days after “Double or Nothing” showed.

– Peter Edge

Moment of the Year so far

Criteria: The Moment of the Year can be positive or negative, but we’ve asked our writers to discuss the moments that have defined 2025 in wrestling from their point of view. This is a wide-ranging topic that encompasses everything from heartfelt retirement ceremonies through to thrilling championship wins, shocking corporate acquisitions and spectacular Hollywood endings

© NJPW

1st Place – Goto Wins The Big One – NJPW

It’s surreal, your favourite moments as a wrestling fan are supposed to happen when you are young and impressionable, by the time you approach 40 you’re supposed to become cynical, detached and business orientated, but somehow 2025 has been my most emotional year as a wrestling fan. But seeing Goto, the ultimately-nearly-not-quite man, winning the IWGP title for his son and daughter after so many famous failures was simply a joy to behold – a victory for middle-aged dreamers everywhere.

– David Hayter

Cinderella stories are rare in wrestling these days but the shoe did fit for Hirooki Goto. Even the biggest Zack fan (ok, not my dad) couldn’t begrudge Goto’s moment in the sun and with a feeling of euphoria that followed the occasion, positive feelings developed around the promotion based on this one moment. Shame it didn’t last.

– Peter Edge

A feel-good story that revitalised the company. An indefatigable Hirooki Goto, refusing to give up at any cost, finally won the prize that had eluded him. It was a surprise, the sort of thing that doesn’t happen, until it does.

Maybe you’re like me and Goto isn’t your favourite. You still have to admit that this moment, and his reign afterwards, brought lots of joy and increased attention to a company in need of it. And the reaction to the end of his reign only further shows how meaningful this moment was. I can’t help but wonder if we won’t look back and point to his loss as a turning point in momentum—and not in a good way.

– Micah

A truly cathartic moment which will live with me for a long time, told off the back of a beautiful, emotional story after the passing of Goto’s father a year prior to his triumph. The reaction of the Osaka crowd was the kind of joy you feel/witness very rarely in wrestling and was incredibly moving. As he stood in the ring and lifted his belt and children aloft, you could feel every part of his journey up to that point displayed in his emotions. A truly remarkable moment that I am very glad we got to see.

– Trish

© Marvelous

2nd Place – “Senka Akatsuki: Unbowed, unbent, unbroken” – Marvelous

After midnight, in a small room, at the end of a long Las Vegas day, Senka Akatsuki provided A Perfect Moment in Pro Wrestling, through the furious nature of her fighting spirit being on full display when she flatly refused to be pinned by Aja Kong for even a one-count. This simple moment made the crowd of a few hundred people go as wild as any moment I saw earlier in the year at the significantly larger crowds in the Tokyo Dome or the Staples Center. Despite my exhaustion, it made me jump out of my chair, to pogo and vibrate with joy. Senka Akatsuki is the hottest rookie in all of wrestling — buy stocks now before it’s too late.

– Chris Whitehead

Senka coming in as an unknown rookie into a random show in Las Vegas on “WrestleMania” weekend and blowing the roof off the place by simply refusing to get pinned is the purest essence of what makes pro wrestling great.

– Tim Hunter

Senka Akatsuki was my gateway into the world of smaller Japanese independents, and honestly, I’ve never been happier. Discovering wrestlers like Senka and watching their meteoric rise in both notoriety and confidence makes every hour (and dollar) spent on these promotions feel completely worth it. Her breakout moment in Marigold on 30th March was something special. It wasn’t a technical clinic, but it was the kind of match that grabs your curiosity and makes you want to follow her journey. Watching other fans, in real time, realise how special she was during Las Vegas weekend will go down as one of my all-time favourite wrestling moments.

– Eric Addy

© AEW

3rd Place – A Neon Cowboy Desert Night – AEW

I don’t have enough time or mental clarity to care about any other wrestling promotion than AEW, okay? And my mental wellness constantly hinges on whether or not a certain cowboy gets his day. I don’t know that I can express the utter relief and euphoria of seeing Hangman beat Will Ospreay in the main event of “Double or Nothing”. Apart from the fact that I think the story made the most sense if Hangman won, it also cemented a validation in the story for me that I felt was necessary: as much as Hangman needs to win the AEW men’s world championship, I needed Hangman to prove he was better than Will Ospreay. All my bets were placed on Hangman, and we cashed out big.

– Emiliana

Listen, I did not believe this was going to happen. Right until the three count and his music started playing, I still did not believe. And I’ve never been happier to be so wrong.

– Alice V. Bell

Honourable Mentions

Tam Nakano’s Career Fades To Black – Stardom

I’m not normally one who gets emotional watching wrestling (in fact I’ve been diagnosed with dry eyes), but just thinking about the sight of Tam Nakano and Saya Kamitani walking up the ramp arm-in-arm, bathed in a lone spotlight, as black and white feathers fall, only to sit down together in front of the biggest crowd in Stardom history with tears in their eyes, sharing a quiet moment and then just as Tam points to the horizon… boom… fade to black – it brings a tear to my eye even now. Unquestionably, my favourite moment in wrestling history – let alone 2025.

– David Hayter

It was the perfect ending to a perfect match, to a perfect story arc that spanned over many years. It was emotional, it was heart-breaking, it was wholesome and a moment of true happiness all at the same time. It was artistically done as well as anything in pro wrestling will ever be. Tam sitting atop the ramp with a despondent Saya Kamitani cowering next to her, a big smile on her face, pointing to the sky as the screen fades to black will forever be etched into my mind.

-Tim Hunter

Makoto toppling VENY – SEAdLINNNG

Makoto coming out to challenge her best friend VENY for the Beyond The Sea Championship won’t become an iconic historical moment like Austin 3:16 or Punk’s pipebomb, but it’s unquestionably one of the best promos I’ve seen in 2025. The concept is beautifully simple: Makoto overcoming years of self-doubt, having never challenged for the title despite spending seven years in the promotion, and finally stepping up, poignantly against her closest friend. When she mentioned how everyone always calls VENY her best tag team partner, yet no one considers Makoto as VENY’s best partner, you could feel the emotion. Makoto began to visibly well up, Arisa Nakajima was crying at ringside, and the entire arena fell silent. Makoto’s heartfelt delivery made it impossible not to be emotionally invested. The moment was capped off when Makoto actually went on to defeat VENY and win the title in an emotionally charged, hard-hitting fight on 17th June.

– Eric Addy

Kenny Omega’s Tokyo Dome Return – NJPW

Kenny Omega in the Tokyo Dome is something special and I was so thrilled to see him back in the ring looking (and hopefully feeling) the best he has in years.

– Alice V. Bell

© AEW

Mistico’s entrance at Grand Slam Mexico – AEW

The fans singing the theme trope might be a little overused (we can all agree WWE fans singing Voices is the moment that trope jumped the shark, right?) but the magic of Mistico’s entrance and it showcasing how much the 2006 Flair/Thesz winner and Observer Hall of Famer is beloved was actually really emotional to see.

– Peter Edge

The Hardest Role You’ll Ever Play – AEW

What I loved about this moment, this angle, this promo from Toni was that she was not only speaking to herself, to Mariah, and to us, but she was also speaking to AEW as a whole. An important theme in AEW this year has been the issue of its own self-identity, figuring out what it is and what it wants to be in the aftermath of awful, regrettable decisions. In much the same way that Toni Storm the shoot wrestler shed the skin of Rocker/Rookie Toni in her first few years in AEW, AEW shed its skin of being something that just “opposes” the wrestling monopoly and is instead burgeoning into what it should’ve been all along – itself.

– Emiliana

The Hollywood Ending

It was the culmination to the longest-running and most important storyline in the history of AEW’s women’s division and it was perfectly executed. The image of those two blood rivals lying broken, bloody and bruised with Toni Storm back on top while “The End” is displayed on the big screen behind them—what a perfect moment to end this gigantic feud and to end a great show on. What’s that? It didn’t end the show?! Well that’s fucking stupid.

– Tim Hunter

John Cena Turns Heel – WWE

Moment of the year doesn’t mean the best moment of the year. But as far as memorable, meaningful, impactful, and shocking? There’s none bigger than John Cena’s ill-advised heel turn.
Somehow, an angle fans have wanted for years, executed perfectly, involving one of the biggest stars in history, with one of the biggest movie stars in the world by his side, against the quarterback of their best era, has ended the hot streak that WWE was on for years.
The effects of it went on to cool their top babyface, stank up the main event of their biggest show, and became a tangled mess so ineffective and strange that the same fans who normally want coherent stories are begging them to just retcon it. We’ll be discussing it for years.

– Micah

Satomura losing her title to Hashimoto – Sendai Girls

You may wonder why this was so specific, why not Satomura’s retirement show? Put simply, the post-match promo from Sendai Girls’ ace, Chihiro Hashimoto, was amazing. We all know what to expect from a retirement show, and Satomura’s retirement show WAS great. But Hashimoto crying her eyes out after beating her mentor in an excellent match bumped that match from notable to a MOTY contender for me. Hashimoto normally plays the “straight woman” in any comedy match she’s in, I’ve watched so many matches of hers and it is very rare for her to have an off switch. Hashimoto displaying the rare moment of vulnerability realising it would be the last singles match between them was so beautiful.

– Eric Addy

© NJPW

Sumie Bye Bye: Sumie Sakai Retires – New Japan Strong

Coming a week after “Wrestle Kingdom”, it may have somewhat flown under the radar but Sumie Sakai’s retirement match was 20 minutes or so that represented what people have long been told about Sumie: fun, heart-warming, perhaps a little silly and never without her “kids” by her side. All of that was on show here, as her hand-picked group of misfit toys had more fun in and around a ring than anyone else this year. May we all be so lucky to be so loved.

– Chris Whitehead

The Ungovernable One leaves NJPW

I somehow managed to find myself walking a rather naughty alpaca when this news broke, finding myself stunned in a muddy, rainy Staffordshire field as I tried to take in that a man who has spent his entire career in New Japan whilst others had departed for fame and money elsewhere, who had given his body to the company to the point it was disintegrating in front of him, was done as of “Wrestling Dontaku”. It was mind-blowing to think about, but also felt like a sense of finality had come in regards to the close of the 2010s golden era of New Japan, on top of ending the most successful faction in Japan over the past decade. It is midsummer, and Tetsuya Naito is no longer a wrestler for New Japan Pro Wrestling, and I still find it hard to believe.

– Trish

London Lightning Loses Loser Leaves Match, What Happens Next Will Shock You – Mystery Wrestling

What happens after a wrestler loses a Loser Leaves Town match? He wanders the streets with only a bindle and cameraman for company for twenty minutes in the middle of a wrestling show, and it is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. For all we know he’s still out there somewhere still being denied service at a Tim Hortons for not wearing pants. 100/10.

– Alice V. Bell

Syuri wrestling on UK soil – Pro Wrestling EVE

Seeing one of the best workers of the decade live and up close was an unbelievable experience but if you take a step back, Syuri defending the IWGP Women’s Title on British soil was something that would have been unimaginable even 4 years ago for a multitude of reasons that would break David’s 150 word rule.

– Peter Edge

A Special Gift For Exposing People For Who They Truly Are – AEW

Swerve Strickland, like AEW, is the iron upon which other wrestlers sharpen. Ricochet had to learn this the hard way, but rather than be exposed as a fraud, he proved that he could stand toe-to-toe with an all-star player in Swerve. This promo that Swerve cut on Ricochet backstage reminded us of the man that Swerve could be: ruthless. But apart from that, the exchange between the two men showed us the extent of Swerve’s growth – ruthless though he may be, he has weaknesses that can be exploited. He isn’t just some one-sided evil villain anymore – everything he has gone through with Hangman has taken a toll on him, and he has come out of it a more multi-faceted character.

– Emiliana

Iyo Rules The Roost At “WrestleMania” – WWE

This was a tough choice, because I was very tempted to include either Nanae Takahashi or Meiko Satomura’s brilliant retirement ceremonies, but I thought it would be best to spread the love around and 2025 will be defined by joyous as well as tearful moments. And when I think of moments that made me smile from ear to ear, it’s hard for anything to beat the moment when Iyo hit the Over The Moonsault and simultaneously crushed Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley to retain WWE Women’s World Championship in a five-star classic that absolutely stole the show at “WrestleMania”. Iyo was overjoyed and her energy was truly infectious as the pint-sized, Japanese-speaking star soaked in the euphoria of 61,000 screaming fans.

– David Hayter

Hangman Breaks MJF’s Soul – AEW

To my mind, this is the moment that started the road to this year’s All In. MJF and Hangman, fighting in the shadow of the company’s main events, defined both their characters, their rivalry, and the future of the company.

Hangman goes in conflicted and full of rage, MJF goes in certain he’s going to expose the lie of Adam Page. Only there is no lie, and over the course of the match both characters are forced to come face to face with the indisputable truth of the hero Hangman has become. Hangman rises to the occasion and MJF emotionally breaks. It’s just an incredible moment, and it set the trajectories now leading to their biggest show.

– Micah

WWE purchases AAA

The WWE purchase of AAA was an absolute shocker that I am not sure anyone saw coming. AAA, a name that resonates more than its actual product at times these days, has had financial issues for some time that likely made this pickup viable. WWE is looking to expand its presence in the Mexican marketplace but is also escalating its global cold war with AEW to a degree none of us expected, particularly after UFC’s issues with antitrust and WWE’s more recent run-in with MLW and failures to get NXT Japan off the ground and sustain NXT UK. The short-term and long-term results of the deal, due to be completed in late summer, remain unknown, but what we do know is that WWE is very much on a global expansion pathway, and that Mexico’s second-biggest promotion is now a large part of it.

– Trish

Pink Sand: CrazyFest Lives Up To Its Name – Barb Sasaki Produce: Barb Sasaki Refereeing Life 25th Anniversary CRAZY FEST

Barb Sasaki is a popular referee seen across Japanese promotions, from Stardom to FREEDOMS. After 25 years of his career, he threw himself an anniversary party, with friends and colleagues performing in his honour. The main event was a Fluorescent Light & Glass Board Xtreme Three Way Death Match that saw Jun Kasai defeat El Desperado and Masashi Takeda, after 30 minutes of traditional deathmatch chaos which by its end saw the black mat coated in a layer of “pink sand”, which was formed from the shards of glass destroyed throughout the match mixing in with the copious volume of each wrestler’s blood and the crushed remains of Despe’s red roses, providing a truly unique image.

– Chris Whitehead

Storyline of the Year so far

Criteria: Another straightforward category. Traditionally, we’d have asked our writers to simply list the best feuds of 2025, but given the more amorphous nature of storytelling in modern wrestling, we’ve left some scope for the inclusion of more long-running and multi-faceted sagas too.

© STARDOM

1st Place – Tam Nakano vs Saya Kamitani – STARDOM

I feel like I’m repeating myself at this point. Listen, this feud is a masterpiece, simply put. The storytelling is intricate and full of nuances, the matches are perfect and they stuck the landing flawlessly. It spans over so many years on and off, and Tam made a star like nobody has made a star since maybe Tanahashi and Okada. Maybe even stronger than that.

– Tim Hunter

Tam Nakano’s retirement road was a wild one: a blend of brilliant in-ring action (including two five-star matches) with outrageous trolling outside the ring as Saya Kamitani sought to take everything away from Tam. Saya’s hubristic attempts to steal Tam’s protégé, Sayaka Kurura, ended in disaster for the Phenex Queen, but her Twitter trolling and ridiculous antics (including learning to drive just to run over Tam) were more effective. Honestly, the entire feud was a riot—like watching your two campest, best-dressed, and most acerbic friends do everything in their power to tear one another down. I hope these two queens will be sassing each other in the retirement home one day.

– David Hayter

Saya, like the brat she is, threw a tantrum like a child who’s too young to realise how much they love their parents, and bullied Tam for months on end, torturing her during shows and at public events. It was only once the dust had settled that Saya realised what she had done, and burst into tears, displaying a moment of vulnerability and wanting to share one last moment with her first wrestling love. A beautifully told story from start to finish. Out of kayfabe, when Saya first turned heel, there was a lot of apprehension and “let it play out”. It took the masterful storytelling ability of Tam Nakano to really get the best out of Saya and allow her former protégé to finally find her place in the wrestling world. One last gift from Tam to Saya. No matter which way you slice it, this feud is perfection.

– Eric Addy

Having already voted for them for MOTY, for the event that match took place at as Event of the Year, voting them as Heroine and Villain of the Year, of course this is the Storyline of the Year.

– Chris Whitehead

I said you didn’t need the backstory to understand the emotional weight of their final match, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t well worth watching.

– Alice V. Bell

© AEW

2nd Place – Hangman Adam Page’s Redemption – AEW

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: a teacher turned cowboy has his heart broken by a world too cruel to stand. Wrecked with insecurity and a belief he’ll never be enough, he has his home broken into, and is forced to face the fact that he cannot protect his family (or his company) as the good man he is.

The cowboy tries to become the monsters he has failed against, only to find he cannot live with the destructive man he has become. He is forced to dust himself off, get back on the horse, and take responsibility for his failures.

He’ll learn to accept that he cannot stop bad things from happening, but he damn sure can fight hard to make them right. He’ll have to fight for his family and his company once more. He’ll have to forgive and learn to trust others again, to love them, and hardest of all, to learn to love himself. Yee-fucking-haw.

– Micah

It’s obviously not just Hangman who has led to the vibe shift in AEW since the start of the year, but his storyline has been one of an upwards trajectory towards overcoming his inner demons and his opponents to (hopefully!) triumph once again as the main character of AEW.

– Alice V. Bell

From his struggles as a heel without any screen time early on in the year, to the incredible Christopher Daniels retirement story, slowly starting his redemption arc, getting a good feud out of the worst wrestler in the world MJF, to his incredible run through the Owen Hart Cup and now even making the Death Riders palatable, the man is nothing less than a miracle worker and I decided to count his entire year as one story arc to get him to my number 2 spot on this list. Because I can.

– Tim Hunter

The Hangman redemption arc is, by its very nature, a messy and amorphous storyline that has encompassed multiple years of AEW programming, but it came perfectly to a head when he was confronted by Will Ospreay. Ospreay was the key—not only because he’s the best wrestler in the world and a legitimate dream match opponent for Page—but because he’s such an intrinsically real human being who is driven to provide for his family and whose every action is born of a specific place. Ospreay brought the humanity and desire out of Hangman, as two of the best babyfaces in the business forced one another to reveal the very characteristics that make them so beloved the world over.

– David Hayter

Despite everything that may have gone wrong in the past seven months, one thing that has always hit me differently is the relationship between Hangman and Swerve. And yes, this is a story. It is a central point of the overarching world title scene, and it has made all of it all the more interesting. Six months past their blow-off match, Hangman and Swerve have slowly been revolving around each other, as the embers of Hangman’s rage have slowly subsided once he realised it did nothing to help him, and as Swerve’s come to reckon with his own hand in his own demise. Whether they converge for a momentary truce at “All In” to defeat the Death Riders or not, nothing is more enticing than whatever the f*ck these two (and their golden retriever Will Ospreay) got going on.

– Emiliana

The “Hangman” character felt somewhat lost at the start of the year, unable to overcome the anger of the Swerve programme despite tasting victory at “All Out” in a steel cage match, and having pretty much lost its voice. Then came a Texas Death Match with Christopher Daniels, and everything changed. Finding out he had ended the career of one of his mentors, as well as running back into old rival MJF, reignited the Hangman to remember who he was, but also, what he can be. Adam Page now heads into “All In” having toyed with finally moving forward after everything that has happened with Swerve Strickland (although the final remnants are being expertly built into the story) and having grown to the point where he can stand with confidence both on his own and with others alongside him. AEW’s “main character” is ready to return to the top after three years in the wasteland.

– Trish

© AEW

3rd Place – Toni Storm and Mariah May – AEW

This feud has been going on for far longer than just this year, but the ending—from Toni’s return to Grand Slam to their Hollywood Ending—was great.

– Alice V. Bell

This feud is one of the best AEW has ever done. A protégé who plotted against her mentor. Now the mentor returns, as unhinged as ever, and looking for revenge. It started a little shaky with the whole amnesia thing, but the thing with these two is, even the dumb stuff is usually fun.
When she revealed the ruse and went back to the black and white, Toni and Mariah entered into a blood rivalry that was full of manic murderous intent. Toni, who was caught unaware when they last fought, is now the one playing mind games while Mariah is the one to unravel. The ending of the feud was clear, but the real joy was in the journey leading up to the incredible Hollywood Ending.

– Micah

Honourable Mentions

Sareee vs Syuri – Sareee-ISM/STARDOM

Two and a half years after it was inaugurated, the IWGP Women’s title (for the first time ever) actually feels like it matters, because Sareee has spent so much time telling us that it matters to her, and by spending two years showing us that she matters (and trying to gaslight us all that Inoki-ism matters). Hence, her quest to take the title by having to go through Syuri—first by attempting to beat her to become the no. 1 contender and later by having to beat her to win the title—has made something that was shapeless take its shape as meaningful, and in turn headline a Stardom PPV for the first time ever.

– Chris Whitehead

This story on the surface looks like a relatively simple competitive feud over the IWGP Women’s Championship, from the number one contendership match to the supposedly first defence. Once you dig a little bit deeper, however, you quickly realise just how much this title and those four letters mean to these two women personally, including full-on emotional breakdowns from Syuri and hate-fuelled rants from Sareee. To top it off, the feud birthed two of the best matches you’ll ever see — two matches that are already guaranteed to both be in many top ten lists at the end of the year.

– Tim Hunter

OZAWA vs. Kaito Kitomiya/Tetsuya Endo – NOAH

1st January 2025. New year, new start, and OZAWA’s coming-out party. Kiyomiya was the perfect dance partner: an annoyingly straight-laced, goody two-shoes who had grown stale, representing a NOAH that felt like it was on its last legs. Then, from the ashes, rose the Real Rebel. The crowd immediately latched onto OZAWA, discarding their old, broken toy in favour of something shiny and new. Kiyomiya was pushed down to the literal undercard, getting squashed by WWE’s Omos, while OZAWA stepped into the spotlight with a string of main event title matches—middling in quality but strong in drawing power. Then, at NOAH’s biggest show of the year, Kiyomiya returned to challenge OZAWA, and got booed out of the building. He wasn’t blind to it; instead, he leaned into the reaction, debuting a darker edge to his character and giving OZAWA the second-best match of his career (the first also being against Kiyomiya). They are yin and yang, and perfectly get under each other’s skin in a subtle way. These two are destined to dance together for years to come. A double turn would make me build a shrine to NOSAWA (NOAH’s booker).

– Eric Addy

There have been times this year where Team 2000X may have felt like they were going down a House of Torture path, or that the popularity of GHC Heavyweight Champion OZAWA was detrimental to the overall outlook of the promotion as a whole due to the damage popular babyfaces from before its existence were incurring. However, the thrill of seeing a new man at the top, grabbing NOAH by the scruff of the neck and pulling it forward, has now materialised into revitalising babyfaces around him and setting up Tetsuya Endo as a genuine potential top babyface, after a very well-executed return to the babyface for the former DDT man. The strands of this story have been largely predictable but have been inherently enjoyable, and largely responsible for turning around sentiment towards Pro Wrestling NOAH so far this year.

– Trish

Swerve vs Ricochet – AEW

This feud laid much of the groundwork for Swerve & Ricochet’s characters coming into 2025. Ricochet, newly minted as a psychopathic heel, needed to go beyond the pale in order to cement himself in AEW. Swerve, suffering multiple losses after “All In” last year, needed to prove himself and undergo a change of direction. Once toppled down the hierarchical ladder of ‘most insane psychopaths in AEW,’ his character started to see the consequences of his actions and philosophies; Swerve was forced to look around, and his once-cold heart softened as he was able to re-evaluate his relationships with others (Nana, Willow, Ospreay, to some degree, Hangman), where once he had “no regard for anybody.” This would propel him back into the main event scene and into the main story of AEW, but it would not have happened without his stellar feud with Ricochet.

– Emiliana

Becky Lynch’s Psychology Masterclass – WWE

Becky Lynch has been a fantastic paranoid promo in 2025, but her feud with Lyra Valkyria (and now Bayley) has been phenomenal to follow through their wrestling alone. Becky is one of wrestling’s great psychologists. Her body is limited by both injury and an innate lack of athleticism, but both she and Lyra are masterful at weaving narratives with their work. Across two brilliantly distinct gimmick-free matches, Lyra and Becky have created the kind of gripping ebbs and flows that no promo, no matter how eloquent, could hope to match.

– David Hayter

Koguma’s Bear Magic vs God’s Eye – STARDOM

Sometimes all you need in wrestling is a silly little undercard programme to keep people busy and maybe give a rookie some showcase matches, which is exactly what happened in the first few months of the year as Koguma terrorised the members of God’s Eye with the power of the bear pose; ultimately leading to a match in which Syuri’s chosen rookie Ranna Yagami lost and was forced to pose like a bear, but benefited greatly from so much ring time with a veteran like Koguma.

– Chris Whitehead

© AEW

Harley vs Mercedes – AEW

“But Emi, why didn’t you pick Toni vs Mariah?” Because there is something so commendable about how these two managed to pull off such a great story despite one of them lacking skill in the other’s departments. This is the epitome of, “you scratch my back, I scratch yours.” Where Mercedes lacked in promo ability, Harley more than made up for it by being the perfect person to bounce dialogue off of. Where Harley lacked in technical ring prowess, Mercedes made her look like a star. They played off each other so well that every segment was entertaining. It was a perfect feud that lacked nowhere.

– Emiliana

Z-Brats vs. …EVERYONE – Dragongate

Z-Brats are the “big mean top heel faction” done right. They put NJPW’s House of Torture and AEW’s Death Riders to shame. The entire promotion revolves around them, yet they never feel stale. Their match quality remains consistently high—just look at their showing in the Rey de Parejas tournament or the Rainbow Gate Korakuen Hall shows. Their out-of-ring brawling strikes the perfect balance: chaotic, entertaining, and drawing exactly the kind of heat you want. They are currently feuding with all four top babyface factions in Dragongate simultaneously. After dismantling D’courage, they’ve given the perennial Dragongate protagonists a clear target heading into the second half of 2025. Their second-in-command, the newly turned Madoka Kikuta, is off doing a side quest tormenting the leader of Natural Vibes, Strong Machine J. Z-Brats are feuding with Love & Peace, as they clash for the Z-Brats’ Twin Gate and Triangle Gate championships at Kobe World on 13th July. That’s not all. At the centre of it all is their arrogant leader, Shun Skywalker, closing out the first half of the year in dominant fashion as he goes to claim what he feels is rightfully his: YAMATO’s crown. YAMATO belongs to his own unit called PARADOX. Z-Brats are going after everyone and anyone, and each has their own storyline. The Z-Brats aren’t even just a group of misfits—they have outstanding talent. Homare, a likely Rookie of the Year contender, joined Z-Brats on his first day in the company. They have two tippy-top stars, Shun and Kikuta. They have established veteran talent who are great workers in KAI, Jason Lee, and Kota Minoura. They have one of the most fun, charismatic, and enjoyable heels in the industry, ISHIN. I could not think of a better way to book a dominant heel stable.

– Eric Addy

The Architect of the Future – WWE

The Seth Rollins/Paul Heyman storyline leading into “WrestleMania” and the faction that rose out of it has been some of the most nuanced and compelling character work in the business.
Seth transforming his work as Shield of the WWE (in the Cody match last year) into the Architect of its Future has been great to watch. Paul Heyman’s promos about the how and why of his betrayals, and how for once he saw himself as the Good Guy, should be required viewing. The true test, however, will be the effect on Bron, Bronson, and whatever third Bron-named person they add.

-Micah

Show of the Year so far

Criteria: Another classic, straightforward topic for our writers to tackle – name the best major show of 2025.

© STARDOM

1st Place – “All Star Grand Queendom” 2025 – STARDOM

This is a no-brainer given it contained not only my match, moment and storyline of the year (so far) in the form of its main event, but because the undercard was ungodly loaded too. Mayu Iwatani’s phenomenal final Stardom match with Syuri offered technically precise brutality, while Mei Seira and Suzu Suzuki provided blood thirsty carnage. The highs were so high, that excellent matches like Starlight Kid vs AZM and Maika vs Chichiro Hashimoto merely felt like par for the course.

– David Hayter

Nothing much to say that hasn’t already been said about this show: a phenomenal card top-to-bottom. And considering it is almost certainly the highest attendance for a joshi show in around 20 years, it should be celebrated as an overwhelming success on all fronts.

– Alice V. Bell

This show will not only be the show of the year—it is gonna be high in the running for show of the decade and a defining show in all of STARDOM’s history. The in-ring work and the pomp & circumstance are incredible, but the importance and the weight of it are monumental. It signifies the start of a new era and the departure of legends.

– Tim Hunter

With five matches in my notebook ranked 4 stars or higher, including two rated 5 stars, two emotional endings (one promoted and one implied), a double juice grudge match, and the end of the first year(ish) of Taro Okada’s booking run closing out many carefully plotted threads, “All Star Grand Queendom” wasn’t just the best show of this year—it might be the single best top-to-bottom show I have ever seen.

– Chris Whitehead

© AEW

2nd Place – “Double Or Nothing” – AEW

It rocked. The highs were exponentially high and the lows were maybe just middling. That’s literally all I could ask for at the time.

– Emiliana

This was a feel-good show that emphasized all of AEW’s strengths—from its ability to deliver world-class matches in the main event fueled by story and emotion, to not being afraid to run a match which is utter chaos but is some of the most fun you can have watching wrestling right beforehand, to highlighting the wrestlers it has made into real stars and incredible characters. It had stakes, it had drama, it had crazy spots, and perhaps most importantly after a year of the promotion going ridiculously heavy on heat—it had triumph. A complete whirlwind from start to finish that felt a world away from the issues of the previous PPV just a month or so beforehand.

– Trish

© AEW

3rd Place – “Revolution” 2025 – AEW

This pay-per-view is slept on because the main event was dull, but it has Hangman Page vs. MJF, Mercedes vs. Momo Watanabe, Ricochet vs. Swerve, Okada vs. Brody King, Kenny Omega vs. Takeshita, and Ospreay vs. Fletcher in the cage. It is in the top 100 pay-per-views of all time on Cagematch, three 5-star matches from Dave, and managed all that during a down period in AEW’s momentum. It’s a great show! And the very end has that Batman-like stomp from Swerve out of nowhere, so like, what’s not to love?

– Micah

Hero of the Year so far

Criteria: We purposely built some ambiguity into this question: if our writers simply wanted to keep it kayfabe and name the best babyface in 2025, they were welcome to—but they also had scope to look beyond the ring when naming their hero.

© NJPW

1st Place – Hirooki Goto – NJPW

Sometimes, the hero we all need has been hidden in plain sight all along. Hirooki Goto, a man who felt like he would climb the mountain numerous times, only to fall at the cusp, finally made it to the top and took everyone who has ever invested in his journey up there with him. The themes of family, of never giving up, and courageously fighting back no matter what is thrown at you have resonated with the audience. New Japan fans were proud to have Hirooki Goto as their champion, proud of what he represents, and proud to take the message of endurance he represents into struggles in their own lives.

– Trish

I don’t have a particularly strong emotional connection to Hirooki Goto. I only watch NJPW’s major shows, and I missed most of his glory years by being burnt out on wrestling and simply not knowing any better. But when I sat down to answer this and asked myself who comes to mind when I think of the word “hero” in wrestling, Goto was the only name that stuck, even after thinking it over longer. A hero isn’t necessarily someone chasing glory; it’s someone who does what needs to be done, simply because it needs doing. Goto winning the title one final time for his children, delivering one of the best title reigns in recent memory as a fighting champion, all while holding the fort while the company decides who the next heir should be—is some of the most heroic shit you’ll ever see in wrestling. (Post-EDIT: Fuck you, Gedo, he’s still my hero).

– Eric Addy

© STARDOM

2nd Place – Tam Nakano – Stardom

Unquestionably, she is not only the hero in kayfabe—the Cosmic Angel tragically vanquished by the evil Phenex Queen—but she is also the hero for the promotion in reality, as they are more successful than ever before, being elevated to new heights coming off of Tam Nakano’s incredible storytelling (and probably booking efforts).

– Tim Hunter

Within kayfabe, I cannot confidently tell you if Tam Nakano completed stage 11 of the hero’s journey or stage 17. Only time will tell. Regardless if this is the true end, or merely the interregnum before The Return, she has walked the hero’s path like few others. She became the top star of a company by willpower alone and put her career on the line in an effort to protect it from someone she saw as a pure evil. Outside of kayfabe, Tam did everything she could to make her nemesis into the biggest possible star: she lost to her in three successively bigger and higher-stakes matches, she allowed herself to be humiliated multiple times along the way, and used every shred of media attention to shine the biggest light she could on Kamitani. Not since Tanahashi was Rainmaker-shocked has wrestling seen a more selfless ‘top guy’.

– Chris Whitehead

© AEW

3rd Place – “Timeless” Toni Storm – AEW

When it comes to Toni, I am Marge Simpson holding up a potato and saying, “I just think they’re neat.”

– Alice V. Bell

Honourable Mentions

Hangman Adam Page – AEW

No wrestler in the entire world makes me feel the way he makes me feel. There is no character so nuanced, so tragic, so undeniably beautiful, so frustratingly guilty, so abysmally pathetic and human in who he is. He connects with the crowd in a way no one else does. He brings others up to his level, he forces them to think about their motives and desires and contempt, he makes every other wrestler have to think twice about what they’re going to say so they don’t look utterly shallow in comparison. He’s an efficient, emotional promo and a stiff brawler, a high-flyer and strong base. He is him, and he’s my hero. This year and every year.

– Emiliana

Mistico – CMLL

It’s funny—when you think about all the great white-hot babyfaces in pro wrestling today (Cody Rhodes, Tam Nakano, Will Ospreay, Hangman Page, Rhea Ripley, Jey Uso, Toni Storm, etc…)—Místico is the only one who gets routinely booed. Not often, but whenever a fancy new attraction comes to town, the cool kids in the crowd tend to turn on Místico. So why then is he the Hero of the Year? Because of his tremendous staying power, because the fans always come back around, and because, after all these years, no one can rival the impossible smoothness of his comeback. He is the eternal babyface. There might be better wrestlers in CMLL, but be warned: you will miss him when he’s gone. He wows and draws over 10,000 fans every week to see his silky tijeras—an act that never gets old.

– David Hayter

Will Ospreay- AEW

I’m taking this category as the character who stands as the best, purest hero of the year. And it’s hard to choose anyone else except Billiam Goat Ospreay, the “bruv”-shouting cinnamon roll who, for months, has pleaded with everyone in AEW to just get along and play nice.

His plucky attitude is infectious. In every promo? He’s too naïve for this world. He gets betrayed by Fletcher and still tries to be friends with all sorts of broken people because he sees something in them even when they don’t. He’s the best friend character in the RPG. He’s just trying his best, going around trying to stitch together an Avengers-like team to take down the Death Riders. True hero material.

– Micah

Villain of the Year so far

Criteria: You can’t have great heroes without despicable villains, but the question remains: where are the biggest antagonists to be found—inside or outside the ring—in 2025? Let’s see what our writers had to say.

© STARDOM

1st Place – Saya Kamitani – STARDOM

Obviously. She is the yin to Tam’s yang; every hero needs a great villain, and despite Saya’s difficulty in getting a firm grasp on her character for many years, she slipped into this heel role like a glove and has played her part brilliantly—not only taking the torch from Tam, but raising the stakes and the attendance records for the promotion continuously ever since she vanquished her arch-enemy.

– Tim Hunter

Saya Kamitani took everything she could from Tam Nakano. First she took her title and some of her dignity, then she tried to take her prize rookie, then she took her Stardom career, and then she retired her. She smiled and laughed while doing it all. Many of us shed real tears along the way. What more is there to say other than Villain of the Year: Saya Kamitani.

– Chris Whitehead

© AEW

2nd Place – Ricochet – AEW

The turnaround from his initial floundering debut in AEW has been night and day. He’s nailed down the best, most pathetic-yet-dangerous heel character we’ve seen in AEW for a while.

– Alice V. Bell

This is not the best era for villains. The two top ones, John Cena and Jon Moxley, haven’t exactly been lighting the world on fire. Most matches are now shades of grey or two heroes fighting each other. Heels tend to be too cool, too boring, or too quick to fall back on cheap heat and overdone interference.
That’s what makes Ricochet a breath of fresh air. He’s violent when he needs to be, but he’s never cool. He’s charismatic while also being punchable. He does rad things in the ring but never takes the shine away from who he’s fighting. He’s leaned into his dork side and found a character that you’ll pay to see get his ass kicked over and over again. And the scissors? What a psychopath!

– Micah

© AEW

3rd Place – Jon Moxley – AEW

At the risk of being slaughtered by my colleagues, Jon Moxley has been one of the best villains of the first half of 2025. And by villain, I don’t mean someone generating comical or “play-along” heat like MJF; I mean someone who genuinely embraces being the bad guy. Someone you truly want to lose, and desperately want a babyface to overcome. The early days of the Death Riders sucked. But Moxley has gradually figured out how to be a compelling heel without putting on crap matches. Now, the heat with me is exactly where it should be: I appreciate the quality of his work, but I still badly want to see him get beat. His recent performances, especially alongside Hangman’s compelling character work, are a big reason why “All In” is one of my most anticipated shows of the year.

– Eric Addy

Honourable Mentions

WWE

Whether it’s allegedly creating a rape culture environment that doesn’t empower people to stand up against or denounce abuse and harassment, or counter-programming AEW, or committing wrestling imperialism, or taking blood money from a dangerous place, or firing R-Truth and pretending it was a work, or never once being prepared to answer a hard-hitting question, or not allowing people to ask the hard-hitting questions, or releasing a multitude of their queer wrestlers, or re-packaging Chad Gable for the 187th time and making him hail from the “Gulf of America,” or being near-synonymous with the far-right agenda, or just straight up sucking really bad—it is always F*** the Fed hours in my house.

– Emiliana

Gunther – WWE

This was a very tough category, as genuine heels appear to be in short supply in 2025, and I didn’t want to pick a cool heel (like Zandokan, Ozawa or Kamitani), so I alighted on a shortlist of three: Gunther, Jon Moxley and EVIL. Given that there are aspects of Mox’s act that, while hugely effective, I find hard to enjoy—and given the House of Torture are nigh on unwatchable—I went for Gunther. He is smug, confident, credible and cruel: the perfect non-cheating champion heel. That’s not to say he’s exactly honourable—he attacks innocents out of frustration, he takes the easy way out (proudly wrestling as little as possible) and, on the biggest stage of them all, he tapped out—just like a good heel should.

– David Hayter

OZAWA

NOAH’s cool cat has finally figured out just how to get the babyfaces opposing him over, meaning he now has a number of viable opponents who fans are ready to get behind in hopefully relinquishing him of the title. He brings a freshness to the top of the promotion that has badly needed it for some time, and his performance against Kaito Kiyomiya—where he essentially allowed Kaito to kick the shit out of him—has seemingly done more for Kaito than all the traditional put-overs we have seen in the past few years. OZAWA is often compared to Tetsuya Naito in regard to the reasons behind his appeal, meaning that as great as he is currently as a heel, there is also likely an even bigger babyface run to come in the future.

– Trish

Worst Gripe of the Year so far

Criteria: We decided not to put any limits on our writers for this category; we just wanted to know what’s been grinding their gears. Be it a bad match, horrible storyline, an appalling statement, or despicable real-life behaviour, we wanted to know what our writers were fed up with seeing or hearing in 2025.

© AEW

Winner – MJF & The Hurt Syndicate

This one was very tough for me to parse. Obviously, in the world of pro wrestling, there is no greater evil than the WWE. Morally and creatively bankrupt, they are trying everything within their might to destroy the rest of the pro wrestling business with tactics that would be prohibited by antitrust laws in any civilized country, and they have done so for over 40 years at this point. Their recent purchase of AAA is once again fanning the flames of a global wrestling war between the two big companies that will surely have nothing positive to bring for the future.

I did, however, decide to not even treat this company that seemingly only exists as a wallpaper for shady advertisers and authoritarian regimes and content farm for social media and streaming services at this point as a part of the measurable world of pro wrestling anymore. I will simply not even give them the grace of calling them pro wrestling. Because that’s not what they do.

Instead, I guess, I decided to go for the thing that comes closest to what the WWE does inside of a product that I still enjoy: MJF and the Hurt Syndicate. Just awful, bottom-of-the-barrel, non-wrestling television in a seemingly never-ending will-they/won’t-they storyline chock-full of awful misogyny and racism, while burying the entire AEW tag team division underneath the earth in the process and hogging more television time than even Max’s big idol Paul Levesque managed to do in his heyday. The day this guy finally finds his way into Stamford will be a day of great celebration for All Elite Wrestling.

– Tim Hunter

The fact that so many men are being so defensive over this is very telling. This is offensive. It is offensive to me, it is offensive to other women, it is offensive to men who have any sense at all of what is acceptable and what is not. These men are saying and doing misogynistic things on this show. And no, posting that what happened on screen wasn’t really the whole story doesn’t retcon it into not being vile. The Hurt Syndicate have done nothing but damage the tag division, so you can’t even argue they’re doing something positive while they speak about and treat women like objects to be gifted to other men. And then do a segment where a car is gifted to a man just to hammer home that comparison. Anyway, it’s disgusting and needed to be stopped ideally months ago, but the second-best time is now.

– Alice V. Bell

MJF hasn’t learnt anything from his mistakes in his creative. Hurt Syndicate aren’t putting anyone over. There was only one decent segment in this whole thing when MJF lost his cool and Lashley throttled him in his response.

– Peter Edge

“I won’t spend too much time on this,” I said to myself while I typed this out, only just realizing in this moment that Tony Khan never thought this same sentence once to himself when planning out the Hurt Syndicate and MJF segments. That’s it, that’s my blurb.

– Emiliana

Honourable Mentions

The Rock Steals A Soul, Then Bounces – WWE

The worst thing in wrestling is probably Vince McMahon. But in an on-screen, not real-world perspective, the worst thing is probably The Rock/Travis Scott and the program that wasn’t.

The Rock’s presence hijacked a big match between mentor and protégé, during the retirement of a legend, set to be the main event of WrestleMania, and then prompted the turn of the century. He implied a big story involving the stealing of souls and temptation of riches and power and influence and control.

Then he never showed up again. Not even for the main event of “WrestleMania”, though he did send his non-wrestling lackey. That man then also never showed up again. To do something so monumental, so many consequences in motion, so much story implied, and then drop it all? Terrible. Tanked “Mania”. Tanked the Cena run. Tanked the Golden Era. The worst booking I’ve seen in years.

– Micah

Megaton runs riot – Marigold

My gripe of the year is putting Megaton in multi-tag matches with Mayu Iwatani. I have a no-Megaton policy, but a “watch every Mayu match” policy. What am I supposed to do??

– Eric Addy

Watching John Cena Wrestle – WWE

As the main WWE reviewer for the Social Suplex, I am simply running out of ways to describe just how abominably boring it is to watch John Cena getting the heat in 2025. I don’t actually think prime John Cena was a bad wrestler; he was an effective babyface with a crowd-pleasing comeback routine, but now he’s an ineffective heel with a joy-crushingly laborious approach to working over his opponent. Make it stop.

– David Hayter

© WWE

The usage of Evolution as a pawn – WWE

Needless to say, if there are two things I am not a fan of, it is tokenism and using something such as the progress of women in a traditionally male-dominated industry as a marketing tool. In both aspects, WWE’s upcoming PLE fits the bill, and to make matters worse, it is now being run on the same weekend as AEW’s “All In” show as a part of WWE’s counter-programming efforts that weekend. I do not believe that a women’s-only PLE tossed on the back of a “SNME” is a way of highlighting the division; it is a ploy for quick applause and to quiet down the voices who point to how the progress of female performers on the main roster has been stunted in recent years, meaning there have been only 2 PLEs over the past 3 years to be headlined by a women’s match.

– Trish

Sorry about your my damn luck – Multiple Promotions

In the first half of 2025, I have seen some fantastic things live at wrestling shows: the Tokyo Dome. The Hollywood Ending. SENKA. I have also seen an all-time run of bad matches: The Tokyo Dome main event. Mox and Cope. Butterbean. Mickie and Maki. I will potentially end up having made it to half of the Worst Match of the Year list. There are more great matches than bad matches in my list of live shows this year, and yet I cannot bring myself to focus on the good stuff.

– Chris Whitehead

Promo, Angle, or Segment of the Year so far

There is some potential overlap with our moment of the year choices here, but we wanted our writers to have the opportunity to discuss a standalone angle, segment, or promo that really captured their imagination in the first half of 2025.

© AEW

Winner – Hola, Mi Nombre Es Hangman – AEW

Hola, mi nombre es Emiliana, y yo soy Latina. On the day that Hangman cut a live mic promo in front of a standout Arena Mexico crowd, I was busy helping a friend. I think he would appreciate that, given the context of what he had to say. The reason I consider this one higher above the other stellar moments mentioned previously is because it’s not just about pro wrestling, it’s about changing the world. Though the theme of his promo ties into the kayfabe plot of AEW wrestlers needing to work together to take down the Death Riders, it is also a very human, very relevant theme for those of us who live in the world right now and are feeling downtrodden by the negative impacts of global and domestic politics. It was a stark reminder that we are all united in our decency, resilience, and hope for a better world, and I don’t think the promo could have come at a better time or have meant so much coming from somebody else. Choosing to address the crowd in their native tongue (and mine) showed a respect and humility that you don’t often see nowadays.

– Emiliana

It is one thing to deliver a promo in your first language and get your wording and timing right whilst conveying the required emotion and taking in the reactions of the crowd; it is quite another to do so in a second language, when introducing an entire country to the product you represent. The immense confidence that Adam Page has to not only pitch the idea of it but to then go out in Arena Mexico and earn the respect of the arena audience as well as the wider one in Mexico illustrates why he is ready to lead the company this time in a way he perhaps wasn’t in 2021. The anticipation of the crowd responses, as well as being able to place emphasis so that the emotion came across regardless of if you could understand the promo or not without translation, was particularly impressive. Great example of taking the ball and running with it.

– Trish

If he wasn’t already the great babyface of this decade, by walking into the ring at Arena Mexico, and speaking in note-perfect Spanish for almost five minutes, while praising his CMLL hosts, the concept of guest workers from Mexico, and the Mexican people as a whole, Adam Page let you know there was no doubt that he was the perfect person to do it.

– Chris Whitehead

© WWE

Honourable Mentions

John Cena Turns Heel – WWE

For one night, for a brief fleeting moment, it was perfect. Cody Rhodes had just told the Final Boss (and in some senses his literal boss) to go fuck himself and he embraced John Cena in a congratulatory hug. It seemed we were on course for a babyface–babyface main event, a Warrior–Hogan for 2025, until John Cena’s expression dropped, The Rock made the throat slit gesture and Cena punted Cody square in the balls. The follow-up has been a bit of a train wreck, but it’s hard to think of a better single angle than this one. Oh and Travis Scott was there, too.

– David Hayter

Makoto challenging VENY – SEAdLINNNG

Makoto coming out to challenge her best friend VENY for the Beyond The Sea Championship won’t become an iconic historical moment like Austin 3:16 or Punk’s pipebomb, but it’s unquestionably one of the best promos I’ve seen in 2025. The concept is beautifully simple: Makoto overcoming years of self-doubt, having never challenged for the title despite spending seven years in the promotion, and finally stepping up, poignantly against her closest friend. When she mentioned how everyone always calls VENY her best tag team partner, yet no one considers Makoto as VENY’s best partner, you could feel the emotion. Makoto began to visibly well up, Arisa Nakajima was crying at ringside, and the entire arena fell silent. Makoto’s heartfelt delivery made it impossible not to be emotionally invested.

– Eric Addy

“Hangman” Adam Page Post-DoN Promo – AEW

Sometimes it’s just nice to have a wrestler you like come out and say things you like. When Hangman stood there and talked about struggling through the past several years, thanking the fans for standing behind him, and how the AEW Men’s World Championship, “was to be about competition, it was about creativity, it was about compassion, passion, and the human dignity with which we all treat each other,” – it was just really, really nice. And the fact that it was perfectly combining reality and kayfabe (Mox certainly doesn’t care for any of those things as the men’s world champion) was also an added bonus from a performer who is an expert at weaving those things together.

– Alice V. Bell

© STARDOM

Tam Nakano in Okinawa 22/3/2025 – STARDOM

This was another tough ask for me, as there was so much brilliance in the storyline of the year alone, never mind all the other great angles in the Toni/Mariah feud, or anything Hangman Adam Page related. I don’t know how many people have this one on their radar as the Okinawa shows have mostly been forgettable outside of the great vacation outfits for some of the roster members, but the promo Tam gave after their 5v5 elimination match left me paralysed with amazement as I watched it in my bed on a hungover Sunday morning. Tam, with a spray-painted face, lay next to Saya Kamitani gushing blood from her nose in the middle of the ring for minutes before they both rose to their feet. Tam tasted Saya’s blood, which seemingly sent her into ecstasy as she began ranting and raving and cut a heart-wrenching promo about just how much STARDOM means to her. There is no STARDOM without Tam Nakano and there is no Tam Nakano without STARDOM.

– Tim Hunter

“Pray For Her” – AEW

In the lead-up to the Hollywood Ending, Mariah May and Toni Storm had a sit-down interview with Renee Paquette. It is just two minutes long, but even if you had never seen them before, it conveys both characters, their feud, and their hatred.

In truth, the storyline had felt a little past due at this point, which is part of what makes the segment so incredible. It reheats the rivalry, escalates the tension, and sells the unhinged nature of the match to come so well. It is both strange and understandable, compelling and unsettling. Mariah losing her mind without the belt, Toni at peace with what will happen, Renee’s reactions in the background. It both brings the viewer up to speed and foreshadows the story of the Hollywood Ending to come. The definitive promo for a long, storied rivalry.

– Micah

Hope for 2025

Ending on the most positive of notes, we asked our writers for one hope for the remainder of 2025: it could be realistic, a fanciful wish or a general sentiment in terms of the direction of the wrestling industry.

© AEW

Winner – Hangman Adam Page

Good Vibes Turning To Great

Fellow contributor Micah recently wrote in the 7th edition of the newsletter about the “Vibe Shift” happening with AEW and WWE. I personally hope the vibes keep trending ever upwards for AEW this summer and through the rest of the year. I hope Hangman wins the AEW Men’s World Title and we get months of banger title defences and the storytelling he excels at. Hot Hangman Summer, baby, let’s go!

– Alice V. Bell

Hangman Page wins the AEW World Title at “All In”

Please Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please let this happen at “All In”.

-Peter Edge

A Hangman High Noon

I don’t know what else anyone expected from me. I want to see Hangman Adam Page win the AEW Men’s World Championship from Jon Moxley. I want to see Swerve Strickland (and, hell, even Will Ospreay) help him take down the Death Riders and restore the soul of AEW once and for all. I want to see that big beautiful gold belt pulled out of that briefcase and held up high over Hangman’s beautiful mane of (potentially blood-stained and humidified) blonde curls. Literally what could be more perfect than that? If Darby Allin doesn’t show up, it will be the greatest thing I’ll ever see with my own two eyeballs from atop the Rangers dugout. Cowboys are revered in my home state of Texas. This is the only one that is worth his salt.

– Emiliana

Redemption thy name is Hangman

AEW has always been the ultimate vibes promotion. The vibes have always been at their best when the Vibe Provider in Chief has been Hangman Adam Page. If AEW can focus the second half of their year on Hangman the World Champion, the vibes may reach a new peak for AEW.

– Chris Whitehead

Honourable Mentions

Promotions Accessibility

This might just be a me problem, but I hate pirating shows: the delays, the video quality, the general hassle. Choosing not to pirate has meant a pretty significant financial outlay being funnelled toward various smaller promotions. The current distribution model for companies like SEAdLINNNG, Diana, Ice Ribbon, and WAVE makes it incredibly expensive—almost $80 a month per promotion if you want to watch live without pirating. Some promotions offer a standard monthly subscription, but these ones not only charge for every individual PPV, they also have an additional subscription service, and if you opt for that, you’re still watching shows on a one-month delay. I get it, they’re in a tough financial spot as smaller companies, but my main hope for 2025 is that more promotions move toward better accessibility, and in doing so, attract more fans who are willing to support them legitimately. Paying $10 for a 1-month delay is too much in 2025 where it is impossible not to get spoiled within that timeframe. Marvelous has taken the first step, moving from the “only PPV” model to a hybrid model with Wrestle Universe, but even they have 3-week delays. The best model that doesn’t completely sacrifice income would be Stardom’s, which streams most house shows live on their $5/month service, Stardom World, and offers additional PPVs for big shows. You want to charge for a Korakuen? Sure, you only have 4–6 of them a year, I’m game! You want to charge $15 for a 3-match house show card in front of 50 people at Post di Amistad? Why, Diana? Smaller Japanese companies: be confident in your product!

– Eric Addy

Ticket Price Deflation

I used to work in the music industry, so I know all the tricks when it comes to getting cheap (usually last-minute) tickets, but from a purely consumer point of view: I want to see ticket prices fall. I 100% understand the business logic behind ever-increasing prices: yes, fans will pay for special events and there is high demand and limited supply, yes, re-sale sites have revealed the true value of live event tickets, and 100% yes, I want the profits to go to the companies and the performers, not third-party leeches… BUT I don’t want to live in a world where even families with two income streams, working good jobs, are priced out of attending events. I felt genuinely bad when I bought my ticket to “SmackDown” at the O2 Arena an hour before the show and paid the reduced sum of £75 (what used to be a high price), knowing I was sitting next to a family of five who’d spent over £200 (before fees) for each individual ticket. And don’t get me started on gigs! £368 to sit in the stands at Billie Eilish in a seat which, for the same artist, at the same venue, cost £90 just two years ago—yikes!—and she’s not even the most expensive ticket in town.

– David Hayter

A Sign of Life

So far, I don’t think my mind has yet internalised that this was supposedly it for Tam Nakano. Forever. I still cannot reconcile with that fact. Ever since the screen faded to black at the end of “All Star Grand Queendom”, however, we have not seen or heard a single thing from Tam Nakano. Her social media went silent. No public appearances. She did not even show up for Saori and Natsupoi’s 10-year anniversary show, two of her closest friends since the very start of her career. Natsupoi, who she fought epic battles against and alongside with, they won tag team gold and even recorded music albums together. They mentioned Tam at the end of the show as a light in the sky looking down upon them from the heavens.

Even worse yet, Stardom announced Tam Nakano memorial merchandise. As in, Tam Nakano didn’t just retire, Tam Nakano has passed on. Taro Okada has hinted that STARDOM might have a place for Tam Nakano in a creative role in the future if she ever chose to do so. It doesn’t even have to be in an on-screen capacity. All I need is a sign of life.

– Tim Hunter

An Indie Revival

Indies are everywhere, of course. GCW is out there. Defy is going strong. RevPro. Pro Wrestling Revolver.

But I miss the era when every PWG show was an explosion across the internet. When NJPW, ROH, and Impact talent popped up left and right. When vlogs were can’t-miss and it felt like big names were everywhere doing big things.

Some of it is that talent has so many more full-time places to work now, and I love that. Some of it is that anytime someone starts to get a name, they get signed. But that golden era of the indies as a sort of Wild West territory is over, and the whole scene seems a little quieter.

I want to see the emergence of a promotion to take that old PWG spot. I want to see new stars become town-making sensations. And I want to see AEW and WWE and NXT stars start popping up in unexpected places, especially during the “down” periods where they are on the bench.

– Micah

New Japan figures it out with Hiromu

In all honesty, I could have written this same response for every year since 2020, but with Tetsuya Naito out of the company and a lack of real underdog babyfaces outside of now-vanquished champion Hirooki Goto, it is beyond time to move Hiromu Takahashi up to heavyweight and set him new challenges. Takahashi is one of New Japan’s most popular wrestlers, has exhausted all options in the Junior division, and has drawn any time he has stepped up to challenge Heavyweight World Title holders, on top of his strong record as a Junior. His performances during the tag run with Naito and his ability to work from underneath make me believe it is a colossal error to not get more from him during the company’s transitional period.

– Trish

Check out these other articles from this week!

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CMLL Fantasticamania

Bandido rounded out one of the biggest week’s of his career so far by pinning Mistico in the main event of “Fantastica Mania” to set up a singles match between the two this weekend, back in Arena Mexico.