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PWM Top 100 Wrestlers Of The Year Part 2 - 80-61

Writer's picture: Patrick EirePatrick Eire

Updated: Feb 3

Welcome to the second issue of the PWM top 100 wrestler of the year series. If you missed the previous issue you can view it here:



Remember the criteria for the list was as follows:


Matches - quality and quantity of matches in the year 2024


Kayfabe accomplishments - Title wins, defences, days held, tournament performances, major event wins, feud wins etc.


Intangibles - Charisma, promos, stories told, look, presentation etc.


Influence - drawing power, importance to promotion, merch sales, social media buzz, records broken, number of promotions/countries wrestled in, general influence on the industry.



The List - Part 2 80-61


80. Titan - The highest achievement for Titan in 2024 was winning the Copa Independencia at CMLL’s 91st Anniversario against Mascara Dorada. And while this is a very solid achievement, I couldn’t help but feel like he was underused in 2024. Another one of his highlights is a fantastic match against Villano II Jr on 9/22 for the CMLL WOrld Welterweight Championship. Titan is a great talent who is often working in many promotions such as NJPW, Revpro, AEW, and ROH. I hope they give him more big opportunities in 2025. - Foos (@elClubLucha)


79. Alex Shelley - It was a big year for Alex Shelley as he bid farewell to the indies and TNA and signed with WWE alongside fellow Motor City Machine Gun Chris Sabin. The Guns had a very successful 2024 holding DPW and WWE tag team gold. It is the singles title success that sets Shelley apart from his tag partner this year though. Shelley started the year as TNA World Champion before dropping the title to Moose at Hard To Kill. He was also one of the most successful names on the indies this year holding singles gold in Prestige and Revolver - Patrick (@PatrickEireWres)


78. Pac - ‘The Bastard’ PAC was badly injured in 2023 during a match with Gravity, being out of action for several months, but returned in March saving Eddie Kingston and Death Triangle partner Penta. AEW Dynasty had PAC kick off the show challenging Kazuchika Okada for the AEW Continental Title, and take on reigning AEW World Trios and ROH World Six-Man Tag Team champions Jay White, Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn AEW Double Or Nothing alongside Penta and Rey Fenix, both times unsuccessful. PAC continued to be unsuccessful in title opportunities, with Will Ospreay winning a Casino Gauntlet match to challenge for the AEW World Title as Forbidden Door, and falling in the Semi-Final of the Owen Hart Foundation 2024 Tournament to eventual winner, Bryan Danielson. However, July began a change in fortune, as he won the #1 Contendership to the AEW International Title, and surprisingly won the AEW World Trios titles alongside Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli in front of his fellow countrymen at AEW All In London. At AEW All Out, despite losing to International Champion Will Ospreay, PAC ended the night as an official member of the soon-to-be named Death Riders alongside Claudio, Wheeler, Marina Shafir and leader Jon Moxley. Since then, PAC has been an integral part of the stable as they terrorise the AEW roster, defending the Trios Titles four times against Komander & Private Party, the Dark Order, Action Andretti & Top Flight, and the Conglomeration (Kyle O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe & Tomohiro Ishii). Despite the current discourse on whether the Death Riders is succeeding or not, PAC continues to be an ever guarantee of quality whether in matches or just through his aura, and one day may even get his own chance with the AEW World Title. - Samuel Preston (@BigBadaBruce)


77. Eddie Kingston - ‘The Mad King’ began 2024 with his stock at its highest, having ended the previous year as the reigning NJPW Strong Openweight Champion, the ROH World Champion, and the first ever AEW Continental Champion. The first three months of the year saw Kingston defend all three titles simultaneously, successfully defeating Trent Beretta and Wheeler Yuta, as well as pushing back competitors like Willie Mack and Bryan Keith in Proving Ground matches. Continuing his bitter feud with Bryan Danielson culminated in possibly Eddie’s best singles match, beating Danielson at AEW Revolution and in the process, earning the respect of one another. Afterwards, Eddie moved onto a battle against the corrupt Elite, losing the Contienntal Championship to the newly debuted Kazuchika Okada, ending his 81 days as the first ever American Triple Crown Champion. At the beginning of April, in a match that honoured the late and beloved Jay Briscoe, Eddie dropped the ROH World Title to Mark Briscoe in an emotionally charged war. Kingston seemed primed to transition into a leading role as the heart of AEW battling against the Elite, but unfortunately during a No Rope Last Man Standing match where he dropped the Strong Openweight Title to Gabe Kidd, Eddie suffered a horrendous injury (tibial fracture, torn ACL and torn meniscus), putting him on the shelf for the rest of the year. Despite being out of action for seven months of the year, Eddie’s tremendous work representing all of New Japan, Ring of Honor and AEW made him a highlight of the year, and his return, expected for May 2025, cannot come soon enough for many fans. Samuel Preston (@BigBadaBruce)


76. CM Punk -  2024 was a thoroughly intriguing year for CM Punk. Off the back of returning for WWE at November 2023’s Survivor Series, he immediately tore his triceps in his very first on-screen wrestling match, in January’s Royal Rumble. Despite this, the ‘Voice of the Voiceless’ remained a lightning rod for engagement and attention on screen for WWE, igniting a rivalry with Drew McIntyre that dominated WWE programming for much of the year.


His matches with McIntyre at SummerSlam and Hell in A Cell felt like welcome throwbacks to a forgotten grittier time. They provided an incredibly unique look at what wrestling was and still could be in a WWE environment, given the opportunity and the correct performers in place. - Mark O’Brien (@WrestleMobs)



75. Atlantis Jr. - One of the biggest winners of the AEW/CMLL Partnership in 2024 was Atlantis Jr. Despite starting 2024 with a rough Chris Jericho match, Atlantis Jr was able to find a great opponent in Kyle Fletcher. Their Arena Mexico match for the ROH TV title was good, but their Collision match on 10/17 was even better and among the best of the partnership. Atlantis Jr would also be featured on a few ROH TV tapings, although those matches weren’t as polished as his more high profile challenges.


Domestically, Atlantis Jr had a solid year as well making it to the finals of El Torneo Increible de Parejas alongside Soberano Jr, coming up a little short but still putting on a great performance. Other domestic highlights for Atlantis Jr include making the finals for the Campeonato Universal, a great challenge for the CMLL World Tag Team Championships alongside Star Jr, great singles matches against Angel de oro and Soberano Jr, a good performance in the International Grand Prix, and a plethora of good to great Friday Trios matches. - Foos (@elClubLucha)


74. Roderick Strong - The Undisputed Kingdom’s workhorse, Roderick Strong delivered an awful lot of quality in 2024. Alongside Matt Taven and Mike Bennett, Strong stole many a show opposite The Conglomeration, initially taking Orange Cassidy’s International Title at Revolution. Most notably though, Strong turned Death Before Dishonor into a time machine, producing a throwback ROH classic with Mark Briscoe. - Joe Hulbert (@JoeHulbert)


73. Becky Lynch - Unfortunately, Becky was only active for about half the year but her star power still shined through. She kicked the year off with an entertaining feud with Nia Jax and an Elimination Chamber victory in Perth, Australia. She was unsuccessful in challenging Rhea Ripley for the WWE Women’s World Title but did have a terrific match in the process. As fate would have it Becky would get another shot at the title winning it in a battle royal on an episode of Raw. She would drop the title quickly to Liv Morgan. Despite taking half the year off Becky still showed she is one of the most influential women in the industry. - Patrick (PatrickEireWres)


72. Luis Mante - Mante held the Dream Gate championship for the first half of the year, with bright spots against Susumu Yokosuka and Ben-K. However, the real highlight of his year has been his incredible tag output, with must-see matches like the Kobe World Twin Gate 4-way, tags with Flamita against Jacky Kamei and Riiita and Los Golpeadores and a great Triangle Gate challenge against Natural Vibes. He also took part in NOAH's N-1 tournament, beating Kaito Kiyomiya. - Amy (@amyhay___)


71. Go Shiozaki - It was a good year for Go Shiozaki as he claimed the Zero1 World Heavyweight Title, defeating Akitoshi Saito in the Nippon Budokan for the honour. He managed three successful defences before the end of the year including a belter against Shuji Ishikawa. He also had a fantastic match with Kenoh in January for the GHC Heavyweight Title and a remarkable tag team match teaming with Jun Akiyama against Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura for his 20th anniversary. - Patrick (PatrickEireWres)


70. Bron Breakker - 2024 was a year which saw Bron Breakker continue to rise in the WWE ascendancy and develop into a very dependable tv wrestler with a number of good matches. First he won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic alongside Baron Corbin, later the duo would win the NXT Tag Titles and hold them for 56 days. At Summerslam he defeated Sami Zayn in just 5 minutes to win his first Intercontinental Title. His first reign was short but he would quickly regain the title against Jey Uso on Raw. - Patrick (@PatrickEireWres)


69. Mei Seira - The Ultimate Shooting Star ruled over Stardom's High Speed Division by holding the High Speed Title for over 250 days over two reigns in 2024, while defeating the likes of Yuna Mizumori, Momo Kohgo, Fukigen Death and Saya Kamitani in great matches that made the division shine to it. Next to her singles success, Seira also won the Goddess of Stardom Championship from Saya Kamitani & Utami Hayashishita together with Suzu Suzuki. While they weren't able to hold onto the titles for long, their incredible match against FWC was one of the best bouts in all of japan. Seira also competed in the annual 5STAR Grand Prix tournament, where she defeated Tam Nakano & Momo Watanabe. - Peps (@Peps_Wrestling)


68. Yuya Aoki - Yuya Aoki reigned at the top of the BJW Strong division in 2024 with his 529 day reign not coming to an end until the 14th of October, cementing himself in the upper echelon of the company. Aoki defended his title successfully 6 times including some great matches against the likes of Leyton Buzzard and Takuya Nomura. - Patrick (@PatrickEireWres)


67. El Desperado - El Desperado started his year off Strong at Wrestle Kingdom 19, defeating Hiromu Takahashi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title. Although his reign was short (50 days), he went on to win Best of the Super Juniors for the first time, defeating Taiji Ishimori in the finals. He went on to regain the Junior Heavyweight Championship from SHO in a cagematch. His reign was once again short, losing the belt to DOUKI a mere 19 days later. Just before taking some time off to rehab injuries, El Desperado faced Chris Brookes at DDT’s Peter Pan event, defeating him in a highly regarded No Disqualification match.


Alongside his title reigns and BOSJ win, El Desperado also hosted his first ever wrestling event in June, a mystery vortex show called the Despé Invitacional, an event that drew 1,500 fans to Korakuen Hall just off his name value and teases of talent that will be appearing. - Charlie (@chx_rliex)


66. Axiom - One half of arguably the best tag team in the world in Fraxiom. Him and Nathan Frazer created an amazing duo and exceeded all the expectations as partners. They're currently holding NXT Tag Team Titles in their second reign. Can't count how many times they ended up delivering match of the night on NXT shows. Axiom brings his great technique and unique wrestling brain to the team. He's the calm and composed half of the duo. He also shined in multiple singles matches this year against Oba Femi or Ethan Page. Raion (@Raion74_)


65. Nathan Frazer - The other half of Fraxiom, current NXT Tag Team champions. His speed and athleticism is truly insane, one of the fastest wrestlers in the entire world. He's the troublemaker of the duo but they always end up being fine. Fraxiom had many fantastic tag team matches this year, including one of the best trilogies in 2024 against Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin or breathtaking bouts against Chase U. Frazer also had few singles opportunities, he challenged for Heritage Cup and also competed in Iron Survivor Challenge. - Raion (@Raion74_)


64. Angel De Oro - Seeing Angel de Oro might surprise some people, but he truly had one of the best years of any CMLL wrestler in 2024. Some of Angel De Oro’s best matches this year included singles matches against Atlantis Jr., Templario, & Mascara Dorada. His biggest accomplishments this year were definitely winning La Leyenda de Plata, being the runner up for La Copa Jr. VIP, and continuing his very successful CMLL world tag title reign with his brother Niebla Roja. His world tag title reign with his brother has been so successful that they have not only passed 1000 days as champions, but they have broken the defense record previously held by Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero at 18 defenses. He defended the CMLL world tag titles alongside his brother 7 times in 2024 which got them up to 19 title defenses.


Angel De Oro’s biggest international opportunity in 2024 was when he went 2-0 during Fantasticamania UK and earned himself a title shot at the RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight title against Michael Oku. Angel De Oro was one of CMLL’s most important rudos and seen as someone they could easily rely on for a lot of situations. His drawing power in general was more towards women as you could clearly hear a lot of them scream every single time he would make his entrance this year in Arena Mexico, and it made total sense due to him presenting himself as a handsome yet great rudo that can work any style in the ring. - Floke (@FHisntReal)


63. Templario - If there’s one wrestler that gained a lot of international eyes on him this year from CMLL, it would have to be Templario. Templario had some incredible bouts this year against Mascara Dorada, Soberano Jr., Volador Jr., & Ultimo Guerrero. He successfully defended his CMLL world middleweight championship twice and won the 2nd edition of La Gran Alternativa in 2024 with his rookie Legendario. Unlike Dorada & Hechicero, Templario was only able to present himself in New Japan Pro Wrestling & RevPro when it came to international appearances. The lack of international appearances didn’t stop Templario from challenging for the AEW International Championship and proving that he is very much ready for any opportunity outside of Mexico when the time comes. The biggest moment for Templario this year would have to be when he became a tecnico after being sick & tired of Ultimo Guerrero. Templario’s tecnico turn boosted his popularity even more then when he was a rudo and solidified his position as one of CMLL’s top tecnico draws. - Floke (@FHisntReal)


62. Ilja Dragunov - 2024 was an eventful year for Unbesiegbar. Dragunov began the year as NXT Champion and had a pair of incredible title matches with Trick Williams, not to mention a fine title defence vs Tony D’Angelo. The accomplishments slowed following a call up to Monday Night Raw but he still put on some great performances in matches against the likes of Ricochet, Bron Breakker and Gunther. - Patrick (@PatrickEireWres)


61. Yota Tsuji - It's tough to find a better male tournament competitor than Tsuji this year, who not only won the New Japan Cup in March, but also made it to the final of the prestigious G1 Climax tournament, where he came short to Zack Sabre Jr. The Gene Blaster, who stands out next to his peers with his charisma & look, was able to get his first Championship of his career in 2024 with a short run of the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champion together with BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi. His feud with David Finlay was one that fans talked about a lot and led to a major match for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom. - Peps (@Peps_Wrestling).



Check back tomorrow for the next issue which will reveal numbers 60-41!

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