10. Mad Dog Connelly (64 ballots, 4254 points)
Average Rank: 22.48
Last Year’s Rank: 105
High Vote: Padraig (1)

Recommended Matches

• vs. 1 Called Manders (SLA, 1/26)
• vs. Camaro Jackson (SLA, 3/29)
• vs. Demus (ACTION, 4/4)
• vs. AJ Gray (PPW, 5/10)
• vs. Chase Holliday (SLA, 5/31)
• vs. Tank (SCI, 7/12)
• vs. Erron Wade (SCI, 7/13)
• vs. 1 Called Manders (SLA, 7/26)
• vs. Erron Wade (SCI, 9/7)
• vs. Jake Something (DPW, 9/15)
• vs. 1 Called Manders (wXw, 10/4)
• vs. Alpha Zo (WCPW, 10/11)
• vs. Hunter Drake (TWE Chattanooga, 11/9)
• vs. Kevin Blackwood (DPW, 12/8)
• vs. Anakin Murphy (SLA, 12/13)

“Mad Dog’s case for WOTY is not found in the brain but in the heart. Might not have won on spreadsheets but no wrestler found a way to make feel something as often as Mad Dog did. The most genuine wrestler felt all year.  Live your truth “ ~ Padraig

“Mad Dog has become something of a cult hero, through the sheer belief in what he’s doing. Still baffled by how hard he threw that trash can at Demus.  “ ~ Stevan S.

“It took awhile but my heart has grown three sizes seeing Austin Connelly crack through into international recognition. The most violent man in indepentent wrestling, every match he has is a Mad Dog match. There are certain wrestlers I say that about, where their style needs a level of engagement to make work so if the other person is forced to play along. It isn’t necessarily a negative but it isn’t an outright positive. Man, Mad Dog though? No one does it like him so every Mad Dog Match is a gift from the Devil himself. The bell will ring and he will punch any person across from him in the mouth and they are immediately forced to sink or sweep.

I don’t want to go into a full review of Demus and Mad Dog, you know the match. I don’t know if there can be a scenario where I ever think this is not the greatest match I’ve ever seen live. I thought similar about the SCI 2016. But when Demus tackles you, that is impossible to replicate baby. Anyway, Mad Dog has other great matches, from other dog collar matches to WWF Attitude Era tribute matches. Go check ’em out. “ ~ Sam DiMascio

“Nobody was doing more with less, in 2024, than Mad Dog Connelly. He was regularly creating buzz-worthy matches , with opponents with little name value. When he did get to face opponents with any kind of reputation, these matches massively over-delivered.

Connelly is so singular in his vision, that his opponent is almost irrelevant. They will be forced into the Mad Dog template of gritty violence. It’s such a compelling formula that it’s impossible to think of anyone that wouldn’t make an interesting opponent for him.” ~ Nick Yeoman

“LIVE YOUR TRUTH. The King of the Dog Collar sure fuckin validated that nickname last year huh. I mean there isn’t much to write about Connelly when you can just go watch his work and instantly see why he’s special. Both Manders matches from SLA and of course the DEAN~!! classic with Demus are must see, truly just some peak “run through a wall” energy. Having the Abe and Jake Something matches under his belt to show his range is great and all, but really just stop reading this and go watch the Demus match its the sickest fucking thing from 2024” ~ Andy/Shrimp

“Mad Dog probably deserves to be on this list purely off of the Demus match, not just THE match of the year, but probably one of the singular greatest matches ever. However, when you think about the touring Mad Dog vs. Manders feud, you could genuinely make an argument that the DEAN~! match isn’t even the most notable thing about the wild man’s year. Stomping, punching, and trailblazing his way through the indies and our hearts.” ~ Stephen W. 

“2024 was the year Mad Dog broke out. He took a chain wrapped fist and punched his way into our hearts. Everything he did in the ring felt like he was reacting authentically to the match he was in, and he often reacted as viscerally and violently as possible. He gained a lot of notoriety in 2024, and it would be easy to accuse him of being a one note or even one gimmick performer, but there is a sneaky variety to his work that could be overlooked. He was good in squash matchs, and working from underneath. He could get over with a new audience and evolve in front of audiences that had seen him for years. He was good in big main events and undercard showcases. He could be a vicious brawling heel and an ace champion. Mad Dog was able to do so much because you never doubted that he believed in what he was doing.” ~ Conor S.

9. Roderick Strong (68 ballots, 4465 points)
Average Rank: 20.31
Last Year’s Rank: 121
High Vote: Andy/Shrimp, Marilyn, Simon, Nathan A., Maggie (4)

Recommended Matches

• vs. Matt Sydal (AEW, 1/20)
• vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW, 3/3)
• vs. Rocky Romero (AEW, 4/13)
• vs. Kyle O’Reilly (AEW, 4/21)
• vs. Fuminori Abe (DPW, 5/19)
• w/ Trent Beretta vs. Orange Cassidy & Will Ospreay (AEW, 5/22)
• vs. Will Ospreay (AEW, 5/26)
• vs. Lio Rush (AEW, 5/30)
• vs. Swerve Strickland (AEW, 6/5)
• w/ Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher vs. Kyle O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy (AEW, 6/12)
• w/ Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Dante Martin, Kyle O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy (AEW, 6/19)
• vs. Timothy Thatcher (Prestige, 7/12)
• vs. Tomohiro Ishii (AEW, 7/20)
• vs. Mark Briscoe (ROH, 7/26)
• w/ Matt Taven & Mike Bennett vs. Dustin Rhodes, Marshall Von Erich & Ross Von Erich (AEW, 7/27)
• w/ Rush & The Beast Mortos vs. Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy & Tomohiro Ishii (AEW, 7/31)
• w/ Matt Taven, Mike Bennett & The Beast Mortos vs. Cash Wheeler, Darby Allin, Dax Harwood & Mark Briscoe (AEW, 8/1)
• w/ Rush & The Beast Mortos vs. Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood & Orange Cassidy (AEW, 8/7)
• vs. BEEF (AEW, 9/11)
• vs. Shane Taylor (AEW, 11/2)

“all the fun conglomeration tags AEW put on this year needed a heel and strong was that heel and he played that role perfectly. Also able to perform in bigger time matches like the ROH title match against mark briscoe.” ~ Padraig

“One of the biggest Market Corrections of the year, as AEW finally let Roderick Strong be Roderick Strong. “ ~ Stevan S.

“Frankly, didn’t expect we would get Roddy going Full Roddy again. WWE has a way of knocking that sort of gear out of you. Shame on me, he absolutely still can take it there on any given night.” ~ Sam DiMascio

“Is Roderick Strong the single most consistent wrestler of all time? Well that question doesn’t matter because this is just about 2024 (but yes he is). Roddy had a similar run to Briscoe last year, a very varied run with peaks of all different sorts. He delivered in the big singles matches with the aforementioned Mark as well as Orange Cassidy and Kyle O’Reilly, he had the surprisingly fun random one offs with Abe, Thatcher, and Ishii. But Roddy’s real strength for 2024 is what makes him so special in general: that consistency. The amount of good-to-great matches he had this year, especially ones that didn’t need to be great, is shocking. From the Kingdom multimans to the late year Collision run, Roddy proved that a “decent TV match” doesn’t just have to be a decent TV match. If short on time, watch the Mark, OC, and Abe matches, but really if you’re short on time you won’t be able to truly appreciate why Roddy is a top tier talent in 2024.” ~ Andy/Shrimp

“Glad AEW finally got its head out of its ass, took the Rod Dog out of that goddamned wheelchair, and let one of the best wrestlers of the last 20 years cook, as it resulted in almost certainly his best year since that God Tier 2015 run. Best TV worker of the year, and that’s WITH him not being in the C2; if he was, he probably could have been the best wrestler of the year, period.” ~ Stephen W.

8. Chihiro Hashimoto (63 ballots, 4514 points)
Average Rank: 16.43
Last Year’s Rank: 32
High Vote: Cole (1)

Recommended Matches

• w/ Mika Iwata vs. Mio Momono & Sareee (Sendai Girls, 1/12)
• vs. Sareee (Sareee-ism, 1/16)
• w/ Yuu vs. Mio Momono & Yurika Oka (Sendai Girls, 2/11)
• w/ Sareee vs. Natsupoi & Saori Anou (Stardom, 3/9)
• w/ Yuu vs. Nanae Takahashi & ZONES (Sendai Girls, 3/17)
• vs. Shinya Aoki (DDT, 4/7)
• w/ Yuu vs. Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Seigo Tachibana (Sendai Girls, 4/14)
• w/ Manami vs. Mio Momono & Yurika Oka (Sendai Girls, 5/10)
• w/ Yuu vs. Mio Momono & Yurika Oka (Sendai Girls, 5/18)
• w/ Yuu vs. Meiko Satomura & Takumi Iroha (Fortune Dream, 6/12)
• vs. Jordynne Grace (Sendai Girls, 7/15)
• w/ Yuu vs. Maria & Riko Kawahata (Marvelous, 8/8)
• w/ Yuu vs. Manami & VENY (Sendai Girls, 8/24)
• w/ VENY vs. Mayu Iwatani & Sareee (Saree-ism, 9/2)
• w/ Yuu vs. Mio Momono & Yurika Oka (Sendai Girls, 9/27)
• w/ Yuu vs. Mio Momono & Yurika Oka (Marvelous, 10/27)
• w/ Yuu vs. Lena Kross & VENY (Sendai Girls, 11/9)
• vs. Sadie Gibbs (Sendai Girls, 11/17)
• w/ Yuu vs. Mika Iwata & Sareee (Sendai Girls, 12/8)
• w/ DASH Chisako vs. Meiko Satomura & Mika Iwata (Tenryu Project, 12/15)

“Hashimoto is one half of the tag team of the year in Team 200kg. Spends most of the year having great matches in Sendai Girls which got a roster now when having great matches is becoming easy. Hashimoto pops up in places like the Sareee-ism shows where she shows how great she is but her real highlight is the time limit draw against Shinya Aoki. hard hitting and got the best suplex in the business.” ~ Padraig

“Every time I watch Hash, I leave more and more convinced that she’s the most complete wrestler on the planet. “ ~ Stevan S.

“The perfect blend of matwork, brutality, and absolute hoss power, she is the best women’s wrestler in the world and it’s not particularly close. From intergender matches to showing up everyone in the indie joshi circuit, Big Hash proves to be versatile, and deadly” ~ Squill

“Hashimoto is able to thread the needle of being both a dominant powerhouse and an excellent technical grappler about as well as anyone in wrestling. She was exciting to watch whether she was smashing through her opponents or grinding them down on the mat. And 2024 gave her plenty of opportunities to do both, whether it was as part of Team 200kg, standing toe to toe with rivals like Sarree or going hold for hold Shinya Aoki. “ ~ Conor S.

7. Konosuke Takeshita (70 ballots, 4543 points)
Average Rank: 23.04
Last Year’s Rank: 28
High Vote: Robert Jackson, KungFu Grip, Daiem (2)

Recommended Match

• vs. Darby Allin (AEW, 1/3)
• w/ Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Darby Allin & Sting (AEW, 1/10)
• vs. Will Ospreay (AEW, 3/3)
• vs. Komander (AEW, 3/13)
• vs. Yuma Aoyagi (DDT, 3/17)
• vs. Swerve Strickland (AEW, 3/27)
• vs. Shunma Katsumata (DDT, 4/4)
• w/ Kyle Fletcher & Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy (AEW, 6/12)
• w/ Kyle Fletcher, Roderick Strong & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Dante Martin, Kyle O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy (AEW, 6/19)
• vs. Tommy Billington (AEW, 7/10)
• vs. Yota Tsuji (NJPW, 7/20)
• vs. Jeff Cobb (NJPW, 7/23)
• vs. Yuya Uemura (NJPW, 7/25)
• vs. David Finlay (NJPW, 7/31)
• vs. Hirooki Goto (NJPW, 8/4)
• vs. El Phantasmo (NJPW, 8/7)
• vs. Oleg Boltin (NJPW, 8/10)
• vs. Yota Tsuji (NJPW, 8/15)
• vs. The Beast Mortos (AEW, 9/6)
• vs. Yuni (DDT, 11/10)

“Soup might have the most frustrating match catalog of anyone on my list, but the highs of the G1 run and TV matches proved what he can be capable of on a consistent basis. “ ~ Stevan S.

“Takeshita continued to be one of the best big moves wrestlers in the world. He brings weight to his strikes and big throws in a way that so few seem capable of. He was awesome as a fireworks workrate guy in AEW with stuff like the Allin and Ospreay matches. He even managed to brighten up a very dire New Japan, and immediately become one of their key attractions. He even managed to stay DDT’s favorite prodigal son and added to any of their big shows he made an appearance for. He may have been split between 3 companies, but he always stood out no matter where he was.” ~ Conor S.

6. Sareee (63 ballots, 4721 points)
Average Rank: 15.03
Last Year’s Rank: 29
High Vote: Henry/Cheese, Tim Hunter, NMC (1)

Recommended Matches

• w/ Mio Momono vs. Chihiro Hashimoto & Manami (Sendai Girls, 1/7)
• vs. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sareee-ism, 1/16)
• w/ Kizuna Tanaka vs. Nanae Takahashi & Yuu (Masato Yoshino Produce, 2/15)
• w/ Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Natsupoi & Saori Anou (Stardom, 3/9)
• vs. Yurika Oka (Sendai Girls, 4/14)
• w/ Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Hanako Nakamori, HIroyo Matsumoto & Miyuki Takasi (SEAdLINNNG, 4/21)
• vs. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom, 4/27)
• w/ Bozilla vs. Giulia & Utami Hayashishita (Marigold, 5/20)
• vs. Giulia (Marigold, 7/13)
• w/ Natsupoi vs. AZM & Takumi Iroha (Sareee-ism, 7/29)
• w/ Mayu Iwatani vs. Chihiro Hashimoto & VENY (Sareee-ism, 9/2)
• vs. Mai Sakurai (Marigold, 9/8)
• vs. Miku Aono (Marigold, 9/16)
• vs. Nanae Takahashi (Marigold, 9/23)
• w/ Miku Aono vs. Bozilla & Nagisa Nozaki (Marigold, 10/7)
• vs. Bozilla (Marigold, 10/24)
• w/ Miku Aono vs. Nanae Takahashi & Utami Hayashishita (Marigold, 11/2)
• w/ Aja Kong vs. Manami & Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls, 11/17)
• w/ Miku Iwata vs. Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu (Sendai Girls, 12/8)
• vs. Nanae Takahashi (Marigold, 12/13)

“the booker of the year also found time to be one of the best wrestlers of the year.  Outside of her own shows Saree would pop up all over the place on the joshi scene and usually give whatever promotions she was wrestling for their match of the year. “ ~ Padraig

“Sareee greatly benefited from not being bound to one promotion (as well as booking her own shows). Wherever she appeared, it felt special, often delivering in high profile singles and a variety of tags as well. “ ~ Stevan S.

“In a world where legitimate stars are hard to come by, Sareee feels like one whenever she steps into the ring. It feels like last year she truly conquered Joshi, with her self produced shows being must-watch events and her crossovers into bigger promotions exposing how sterile they’ve become. She’s a great singles star and a great tag worker, and I look forward to her future.” ~ Squill

5. Mark Briscoe (69 ballots, 4725 points)
Average Rank: 18.71
Last Year’s Rank: 34
High Vote: Andrew L. (1)

Recommended Matches

• vs. Brody King (AEW, 2/10)
• w/ Jay Lethal & Jeff Jarrett vs. Brody King, Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black (AEW, 3/7)
• vs. Eddie Kingston (ROH, 4/5)
• w/ Adam Copeland & Eddie Kingston vs. Brody King, Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black (AEW, 4/21)
• vs. Kyle Fletcher (ROH, 6/20)
• w/ Dante Martin & Lio Rush vs. El Phantasmo, Jack Perry & Konosuke Takeshita (AEW/NJPW, 6/26)
• w/ Anthony Bowens, Darby Allin, Max Caster & Swerve Strickland vs. Adam Page, Jack Perry, Kazuchika Okada, Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson (AEW, 7/24)
• vs. Roderick Strong (ROH, 7/26)
• w/ Orange Cassidy & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Roderick Strong, Rush & The Beast Mortos (AEW, 7/31)
• w/ Cash Wheeler, Darby Allin & Dax Harwood vs. Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Roderick Strong & The Beast Mortos (AEW, 8/1)
• vs. The Beast Mortos (ROH, 8/11)
• vs. Lance Archer (AEW, 9/6)
• vs. Matt Taven (ROH, 10/2)
• vs. Chris Jericho (AEW, 10/12)
• w/ Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Big Bill, Bryan Keith & Chris Jericho (AEW, 11/6)
• vs. Shelton Benjamin (AEW, 11/27)
• vs. Kazuchika Okada (AEW, 12/4)
• vs. Daniel Garcia (AEW, 12/7)
• vs. Kyle Fletcher (AEW, 12/12)
• vs. The Beast Mortos (AEW, 12/21)

“Mark Briscoe had a very versatile year. As the top guy of a promotion with a ROH title run, in which he had stellar matches against Eddie Kingston and Roderick Strong. But also showed himself as a fantastic TV wrestler either in the continental classic or in tags with the Conglomeration.” ~ Padraig

“One of the best babyfaces on the planet, and I wish AEW gave him more to do. Nonetheless, he is simply too good to not shine with whatever he was given. “ ~ Stevan S.

“The word of the day is emotion! Drawing emotions out of the fans was something that Briscoe is in the top tier of, if not the best at it. Whether that be laughter from his insane promos with the Conglomeration, the fighting spirit from his permanent status as an underdog or the joy of seeing him finally win the ROH World Championship at Supercard of Honor early in the year. Despite a lackluster feud with the Learning Tree in the back half of the year, Briscoe’s energy brought a must-needed fire to both AEW and ROH last year.” ~ M0ndo

“Gimme back my bullets. Put ‘em back where they belong.” ~ Stephen W.

“Mark Briscoe really did a little of everything in 2024. He had emotional epics, with all timer ROH Title matches against Eddie at Supercard and Roddy at Death Before Dishonor. The Supercard match being a surprisingly violent, but fittingly impactful fight. Bully Eddie returns to make sure Mark has a real fuckin mountain to climb if he wants to bask in the opportunity of the moment. Because sometimes the obvious moment is the correct one, and this hit genuinely hard. The Roddy match is a different beast, the joy is gone and now Mark has to fight for his life to keep the gold. Its a perfectly paced match, building on itself every minute and featuring one of the single greatest kickout-at-one’s of the year (and possibly ever). Bloodied up Mark defying Roddy’s Jay Driller is a “run through a wall” moment that I don’t know will ever be topped for me being at the e-sports arena live in person. Mark spends the summer around that match being fun as hell in various Clonglameration multi-mans. The Glommers and the Kingdom really keep Collision alive throughout that stretch, AEW really uses the TV tag formula well with Mark, Orange, and Kyle. Plus we get a great babyface tournament run to close the year in the C2, with vet face Briscoe being perfect fuel for a revamped Kyle Fletcher to hone his heel-ness on. In a year where Mark really could have floundered around, he decided to show everyone that he’s still got it, with more variety than any of his peers.” ~ Andy/Shrimp

“Brought something to every single match he was in. It’s obvious that one of the best tag wrestlers of the century would be able to make any trios or tag match he was in work, but getting the ROH title run and being one of the consistent workhorses of the Continental Classic let him stand out even more. He was one of the best brawlers of the year and one of the most endearing babyfaces in a roster full of them.” ~ Conor S.

“Mark’s first full year without Jay is another roaring success. I never thought we’d get to see him this often, much less at this level. TK needs to actually push him. Could still have a superstar run in him. Though I’ll gladly take him having world class matches on tv all year.” ~ Dan Rice

4. Zack Sabre Jr. (77 ballots, 5835 points)
Average Rank: 11.66
Last Year’s Rank: 14
High Vote: Cam, Sol, Siddharth, Jacob Shearin (1)

Recommended Matches

• vs. Bryan Danielson (NJPW, 2/11)
• vs. Daniel Makabe (Prestige, 4/14)
• vs. Jeff Cobb (NJPW, 5/3)
• vs. Hikaru Sato (NJPW, 6/10)
• w/ Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher & Roderick Strong vs. Dante Martin, Kyle O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy (AEW, 6/19)
• w/ Michael Oku vs. Averno & Volador Jr. (CMLL, 6/21)
• vs. Hechicero (CMLL, 6/22)
• vs. Virus (CMLL, 6/24)
• vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW/NJPW, 6/30)
• w/ Bad Dude Tito vs. Hechicero & Virus (NJPW/CMLL, 7/13)
• vs. Great-O-Khan (NJPW, 7/20)
• vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 7/21)
• vs. Gabe Kidd (NJPW, 8/8)
• vs. SANADA (NJPW, 8/12)
• vs. Yota Tsuji (NJPW, 8/18)
• vs. Hechicero (RevPro, 8/24)
• vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 11/4)
• w/ Ryohei Oiwa vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI (NJPW, 11/27)
• w/ Ryohei Oiwa vs. Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji (NJPW, 12/2)
• w/ Ryohei Oiwa vs. Shota Umino & Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 12/23)

“in a year where Zack won the G1 and the  IWGP World Heavyweight Champion the only work i’m really interested in is his time outside of NJPW. from his tour in CMLL, to the match against Makabe and the time limit draw against Jake De Leon. Zack shows he’s really good when facing good wrestlers. “ ~ Padraig

“Both in Japan and abroad, a refreshing slate of opponents gave Zack so much more to do, which really made the difference compared to most of his years in this decade. “ ~ Stevan S.

“He has a finisher called “Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than The Last” and his 2024 was better. I’d say that the inexorable march of progress led Zack Sabre Jr. to happiness.” ~ M0ndo

“Zack Sabre Jr. built himself quite an interesting list of matches last year. Obviously the end of his 2024 was defined by the build to and eventual winning of the IWGP World title, but even before that rise, he was giving us plenty of one off bangers, the peak of which being the Bryan rematch in Osaka. An easy MOTY contender, it forgoed a lot of the “dream” of the 2023 Seattle match and instead kept everything grounded, literally and figuratively. The first half is so much fun just watching them work around each other, and when the second half starts getting bigger and grander it all feels better for it. A wonderful finish as well, leaving the door open for hopefully one more go (submission match at Forbidden Door in London please Tony). Zack then spent a lot of his year traveling to work random fantastic matches, against the likes of Daniel Makabe in Portland, Jake De Leon in the Philippines, and Hechicero in Mexico. Those three are must watch matches, ZSJ has absolutely nailed the touring act. Coming to your house to twist and tie up your favs. It’s a great concept for a year, and Zack makes every match feel important too. The IWGP win is lovely, sure, but 2024 was full of joy and excitement when it comes to Sabre Jr. work. Also my god the Hikaru Sato match is sick as hell too go watch that.” ~ Andy/Shrimp

“n kayfabe this may have been Zack Sabre Jr’s greatest year. Winning the G1 Climax and the IWGP championship to finally become the top guy in New Japan are huge accomplishments for Sabre, but in reality becoming the top foreign star in 2024 New Japan by being the one who stuck around didn’t exactly set Sabre up to have a great in ring year. The actual great stuff for Sabre this year was him doing the same thing that got him so much attention when he first started blowing up, taking his singular style to a bunch of different places and applying it against a bunch of different people. Whether it was America, Mexico, or the Phillipines Sabre had great matches all over and reminded people just how excellent he is when he’s not stuck as the figurehead of a promotion that sticks him in main events with Tetsuya Naito and Shota Umino” ~ Conor S.

3. Hechicero (74 ballots, 6278 points)
Average Rank: 9.07
Last Year’s Rank: 56
High Vote: Marilyn, Aubie, Ryan B.,Stephen W., jon, Andy L., Pen R., Jose R., Dan Rice, Flae, Sam DiMascio, Cameron Hootsoot (1)

Recommended Matches

• w/ Solar I vs. Negro Navarro & Virus (Wrestling Brothers, 1/27)
• vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW, 2/3)
• vs. Atlantis Jr. (NJPW/CMLL, 2/19)
• w/ Magnus & Zandokan Jr. vs. Flip Gordon, Star Jr. & Titan (CMLL, 3/5)
• vs. Heddi Karaoui (Lucha Memes, 4/21)
• vs. Zandokan Jr. (CMLL, 5/3)
• vs. Connor Mills (RevPro, 5/19)
• vs. Blue Panther (CMLL, 6/11)
• w/ Blue Panther & Templario vs. Kaoma, Kastigador & Xelhua (Indy, 6/13)
• vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (CMLL, 6/22)
• w/ Virus vs. Bad Dude Tito & Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW/CMLL, 7/13)
• vs. Xelhua (Lucha Memes, 7/28)
• vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (RevPro, 8/24)
• vs. Esfinge vs. Euforia vs. Valiente (CMLL, 9/13)
• vs. Golden (Lucha Memes, 11/3)
• vs. Komander (AEW, 11/20)
• vs. Mistico (CMLL, 11/29)
• w/ Rocky Romero & Villano III Jr. vs. Flip Gordon, Mascara Dorada & Mistico (CMLL, 12/6)
• vs. Lio Rush (NJPW, 12/15)
• w/ Barbaro Cavernario & Volador Jr. vs. Atlantis Jr., Neon & Star Jr. (CMLL, 12/27)

“Hechiceros entrance has him holding fire!! What more could you need? Well being the technical wrestler of the year probably also helps. Hechicero is so masterful in his control of a submission sequence, it’s a joy to watch. Most of the time he’s 50% of the reason a CMLL tag is good and he proves himself in singles matches against the likes of Mistico, blue panther, bryan danielson and Zack Saber Jr.” ~ Padraig

“No shortage of magic from this alchemist, in what was a truly complete year. Every singles match felt like it was must-see, and the Apuesta victory was the emotional high point of a promotion on fire right now.” ~ Stevan S.

“If you said you saw this coming, you are a bold-faced liar. No wrestler benefitted from CMLL turning into the 2013 New Japan like Hechicero. And frankly, no one more deserving. Working the indies for years with little fanfare to breaking out in the pocket of online communities due to his series with Charlies Lucero in 2013 to now being a bonafide international attraction, it makes you believe good things can happen in wrestling still. In CMLL he’s been very good for sometime but this year seem to shake him out of cruise control. Honestly, a bit disgusting that his base level is one of the most entertaining grapplers in the world he can add a little pizzaz to any trios match while being an incredible base for any flyer looking to make his mark.

But 2024 was different. With CMLL getting that boost in awareness from the bonehead lucha skeptics finally realizing they are the dumbest fans on earth, Hechicero got every opportunity under the sun. It is like a craftsman who finally had a reason to use all of his tools. The Zack match from CMLL is exactly the technical showcase you would hope for, the Lio Rush from NJPW lets Hechicero be a more dominant presence, and there is a trios match in December that reminds you that at the best style in the world, he might still be the best. God bless Hechicero.” ~ Sam DiMascio

“Fitting that, for many in the USA, their eyes were opened to Hechicero this year, via his match with Bryan Danielson, as while stylistically the comparison between the two may be obvious, their careers developed further similarities in 2024.

 Both would spend the year battling fellow technicians Blue Panther and Zack Sabre Jnr, but more significantly , like Danielson before him , “The mad scientist “was able to overcome, what felt like the indifference of his employer and ride fan support to a headline grabbing win in CMLL’s biggest show of the year (the fact that Hechicero’s victory was after sustaining a significant injury, surely solidifies it as the single best in-ring performance of the year).” ~ Nick Yeoman

“Bryan Danielson, Zack Sabre Jr., Blue Panther. I mean not many people can say they have 3 MOTY contenders in a single year. Throw in the Aniversario four way and Hechi feels undeniable. One of the most impressive guys to watch, someone who balances deep technical work with all the excitement and pace that’s associated with lucha libre. He just gets it.” ~ Andy/Shrimp

“When I thought about who my #1 contenders were, I would often find nagging criticisms or nitpicks to detract from their cases a little; Danielson’s weird creative choices and retirement/hiatus, Darby Allin missing time for various reasons, Mistico’s formula getting a little stale as the year wore on, etc. And when I got to Hechicero I genuinely just couldn’t find something to bring his case down, which is a part of why he was my wrestler of the year. The other, more significant part was that he just kicked so much ass from January to December. Everytime he was in a match, whether it was a standard trios in CMLL or a 15 minute TV match with Danielson or even the smaller scale stuff in Lucha Memes or against Negro Navarro and Virus, Hechicero always made the affair significantly better because of his presence. Obviously, his technical skill speaks for itself, but the thing that I keep coming back to is his showmanlike performance in the four way apuestas on the CMLL Aniversario show, one of the most bombastic apuestas performances this side of the two big Atlantis mask vs. mask matches in the last decade. One-of-a-kind year from a brilliant professional wrestler, and if he keeps this up in 2025, we should probably be discussing him for a different list in 2026.” ~ Stephen W. 

“Hechicero was given possibly the biggest spotlights of his career in 2024. He had feuds and showcase matches with some of the top stars in all of wrestling. He was the winner of the Aniversario apuestas match. There are more fans of Hechicero all around the world leaving 2024 than there were heading into 2024. It’s hard to imagine a more successful year for a wrestler in Hechicero’s position, and the most wonderful part about it is that he didn’t really change anything to get there. Hechicero was the same great wrestler he has always been, and he was great whether he was a major focus or not. He was great in trios, in singles matches, on big shows or small ones. He was great showing up big stars and he was great lifting up other talent. He could put on a technical showcase or he could anchor a major emotional spectacle. Hechicero handled the spotlight with ease and it was incredible watching him do it.” ~ Conor S.

“A real life fucking wizard. Stood out as the best in the world while sharing the ring with killers all year long. Feels like he went from being a smart fans favorite midcard/upper midcard CMLL wrestler to an actual STAR.” ~ Dan Rice

2. Darby Allin (75 ballots, 6364 points)
Average Rank: 8.51
Last Year’s Rank: 8
High Vote: TyPls, Austin Shermer, Simon, Zrk, Nathan A., Aran E., Tanner, Joseph Montecillo (1)

Recommended Matches

• vs. Konosuke Takeshita (AEW, 1/3)
• w/ Sting vs. Anthony Henry & JD Drake (AEW, 1/6)
• w/ Sting vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Powerhouse Hobbs (AEW, 1/10)
• vs. Jeff Hardy (AEW, 1/17)
• w/ Sting vs. Big Bill & Ricky Starks (AEW, 2/7)
• w/ Sting vs. Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson (AEW, 3/3)
• vs. Jay White (AEW, 3/13)
• w/ Bryan Danielson, Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood vs. Jack Perry, Kazuchika Okada, Matthew Jackosn & Nicholas Jackson (AEW, 5/26)
• vs. The Beast Mortos (AEW, 7/20)
• vs. Adam Page (AEW, 7/31)
• w/ Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood & Mark Briscoe vs. Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Roderick Strong & The Beast Mortos (AEW, 8/1)
• vs. The Butcher (AEW, 8/7)
• vs. Jon Moxley (AEW, 9/25)
• vs. Brody King (AEW, 10/12)
• vs. Claudio Castagnoli (AEW, 11/20)
• vs. Brody King (AEW, 11/27)
• vs. Komander (AEW, 12/7)
• vs. Will Ospreay (AEW, 12/18)
• vs. Claudio Castagnoli (AEW, 12/21)
• vs. Ricochet (AEW, 12/22)

“watch that spot again where Darby falls through the glass and tell me he’s not one of the best in the world, you can’t do it. Darby found new ways to almost kill himself every week and I thank him for it. The sickest guy to be on TV wrestling in years, decades even.” ~ the_padraig

“AEW is significantly better when Darby is regularly featured, and that’s a quality not many on their roster have. The catalog speaks for itself, this year more than any. “ ~ Stevan S.

“Is there anyone who gets the most out of his opponents like Darby? Not hyperbole I genuinely think hes given more people their best match ever than any other wrestler. Kicking off the year with that sick ass Takeshita match and staking his claim as best TV wrestler early, his entire tag run with Sting will go down in history. In the span of 3 months, they capitalized perfectly on the pairing that has given both guys more life since Sting’s debut. The Sting Bye-Bye is an all timer, a match that fully encapsulates what pro wrestling can make you feel more than anything else in 2024. Darby being a freak helps that match, but its how in-the-moment he works that match that really sells it. The bumps are great, but the commitment to them is magic. His summer is spent doing more sick ass shit against the elite, and having more brilliant TV matches against the likes of Mortos and Hanger. Through all his injuries, (hit by a fucking bus like come on of course hes the guy that happens to) his end of the year effort more than makes up for time lost. From the David/Goliath masterclass with Mox at Grand Slam, the coming out party for Brody at Wrestledream (like I said earlier Darbys just makes everyone look awesome), to ending with a fun C2 run that ties all the Death Rider story beats together, Darby stamped his name onto the best of the year lists before dipping to go climb everest. Shame we don’t have him now when he is really missed, but man what a fuckin year to leave us with for now. “ ~ Andy/Shrimp

“The best big bump stunt wrestler of all time? He did the craziest bump on a major pay per view since Mankind fell off the top of Hell in a Cell, and just watching what he will do next is one of the great attractions in modern wrestling, but what really elevates him is that he has great matches and performances beyond the big stunts. Whether it was helping Sting have one of the great final runs, having a great tournament run filled with unique matches in the continental classic, or just being a guy who can make any match he is in just work Allin is more than just a stunts and bumps guy, and hopefully he doesn’t die on a mountain and we get more of what made his 2024 so great.” ~ Conor S.

1. Bryan Danielson (81 ballots, 7547 points)
Average Rank: 4.90
Last Year’s Rank: 1
High Vote: Xiomax, Andy/Shrimp, Robert Jackson, HD, Alvaro Merino, KungFu Grip, Kadaveri, kelly summers, Squill, Charles Fluit, pto, Nick Yeoman, M0ndo, Raiden, MC, Alex B., Stevan S., Adrian R., CJS, Kyle Ginsbach, Daniel L., Conor S., Daiem, Haven, Jon B., Greed, Maggie, Bucky, Tsunami Papi, Orchid, Nick, Justin H., Lucas E., M. Smith, Brennan (1)

Recommended Matches

• vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 1/4)
• w/ Claudio Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston & Ortiz (AEW, 1/20)
• vs. Yuji Nagata (AEW, 1/27)
• vs. Hechicero (AEW, 2/3)
• w/ Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley vs. Hechicero, Mascara Dorada & Volador Jr. (AEW, 2/7)
• vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 2/11)
• vs. Jun Akiyama (AEW, 2/24)
• vs. Eddie Kingston (AEW, 3/3)
• vs. Shane Taylor (AEW, 3/7)
• vs. Katsuyori Shibata (AEW, 3/16)
• w/ Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley & Matt Sydal vs. Blue Panther, Mistico, Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr. (CMLL, 3/29)
• vs. Blue Panther (CMLL, 4/5)
• w/ Claudio Castagnoli vs. Kyle Fletcher & Powerhouse Hobbs (AEW, 4/13)
• vs. Will Ospreay (AEW, 4/21)
• vs. Adam Page (AEW, 7/10)
• vs. Jeff Jarrett (AEW, 8/7)
• vs. Swerve Strickland (AEW, 8/25)
• vs. Nigel McGuinness (AEW, 9/25)
• vs. Kazuchika Okada (AEW, 10/2)
• vs. Jon Moxley (AEW, 10/12)

“I get the arguments against it, but I couldn’t go anywhere else with Dragon on a pure “heart over head” basis. There wasn’t anything that anchored my enjoyment of pro wrestling in 2024 like Bryan’s final run did. I’ll miss him a lot. “ ~ Stevan S.

“a man so great that talking about how great he is has become boring. Yes Bryan had a lot of great matches, yes he main evented wembley winning the world title in a moment that made me cry, yes he’s probably the best of all time. Big whoop. Bryan’s real best performance is his last match with Moxley, the way it told me that my hero couldn’t hang with the best of them any more is a moment I’ll never forget.” ~ the_padraig

“In his final year, it would have been enough for Bryan Danielson to just take a victory lap. Nobody has earned it more. He did the bucket list activities and wrestled the dream opponents and each one met the high expectations placed upon them.

However what sets “The American Dragon” apart, is he also was able to have the two most emotionally resonant matches of the year. The first , with Swerve Strickland, a story about the triumph of someone willing their failing body to perform at it’s peak, one final time. The second,  against Jon Moxley, it’s ugly counterbalance, a  nightmare about being unable to summon your former, best self, when it’s really needed.

Even a failure to get a good match out of Jack Perry, seemed to only show that he was a mortal man with limits and make him even more likeable.” ~ Nick Yeoman

“Dread it. Run from it. Dragon arrives all the same. DOO DOO DOO DOO, DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO.” ~ Stephen W.

“It’s almost annoying how good of a year Bryan Danielson had last year. Like come on. I could fill a page just going through every great or interesting match Dragon had in 2024, so instead I’ll just mention a couple that really stand out. The match with Eddie at Revolution (and it’s fun as hell build with a few classics in there on top) is a match that I think will age so incredibly well. Its a match with literally zero wasted movement, those two fill the space with dense narrative ideas better than maybe any two wrestlers ever. A personal GME dark horse contender for me. The Nigel match at Grand Slam being 10 times better than it needed to be. What should have been a playing the hits nostalgia showcase instead literally innovating and continuing where they left off is insane. More will be said in the Nigel blurb but Bryan works this thing with such perfect character work it’s beautiful. And of course, the Assassination of Bryan Danielson by the Coward Jon Moxley. A personal match for me, having flown to Seattle with my girlfriend to see in person. From the cutting off of the “Final Countdown” chorus drop, to the genuine pit in my stomach as we walked back to the car in silence, no match has hit me with such realness in a long time, if ever. An arena full of people, in 2024 where the body of kayfabe only gets colder 6 feet deep, fully invested in fake fighting. There was no clapping, no “what a match” sentiment. For that moment, that one single night, they made us feel. Truly a magical match, executed perfectly by the goat. A fitting close to a great, but more importantly interesting, final year that only Bryan could give us.” ~ Andy/Shrimp
“The American Dragon was finally able to end his career as a full time wrestler on his own terms, and at the height of his powers. Danielson not only got to match up with the modern false idols (Okada, Ospreay) and show them up at their own style of match, but he also fought some of wrestling’s true heroes (Kingston, Hechicero) and living legends (Jarrett, Blue Panther) and made them look as great as they are. He had some of the biggest main events of the year, while still being one of the most consistent TV wrestlers. He had one of the great triumphs of the year in Wembley and then a tragic finale with Jon Moxley in what could end up being his last match. He was not perfect, but he was the beating heart of wrestling for so much of 2024 and it was incredible.” ~ Conor S.

“I hope Danielson ranks highly. It’s about time he got some recognition on Violent People.” ~ Dan Rice