After running through some of the matches and wrestlers who impressed us the most over the past year, we copped out went with a catch-all category for our final year-end favorites.
As with matches, we’re not necessarily trying to convince you that these were the empirically best scenes from the hundreds of hours of pro wrestling promotions sent our way this year. We’re just gonna talk about the ones we loved, and maybe even personally believe are the best — and encourage you to do the same.
John Cena finally turning heel, and GUNTHER’s promo after retiring him
by Geno
Mrosko
Here’s the deal — John Cena’s heel turn sucked by the end of it because it was clear his heart wasn’t in it and they didn’t have the right story to back it up. It never felt genuine, and The Rock and Travis Scott left them out to dry, floundering with a story that was never going to wrap up in a satisfying way. But I don’t care what anyone says, that moment, when Cena gave The Rock that look and then stepped back and kicked Cody Rhodes in the nuts, was incredible.
I also wanted to shout out GUNTHER for his promo after retiring Cena. They didn’t need to reinvent the wheel, just keep the heat on the man after Triple H was getting much of it in the wake of the decision to have Cena tap. GUNTHER did exactly that by brutally pointing out that Cena “tapped out like a little bitch.” Money.
“Whatever happened to Mariah May?”
by Sean Rueter
This interview has been weaponized a bit online, but I’m still buying Blake Monroe stock. Plenty of talents need time to find themselves in the massive content machine that is WWE, and Monroe is trying to figure out how to use what got her over in AEW without simply repeating what she did there — which wouldn’t be easy even if Chef Shawn’s kitchen hadn’t been a hot mess most of the year. Bottom line is, I still haven’t seen a Tiffany Stratton program that I wouldn’t rather see given to someone like Monroe. I’m not here to defend the Woman From Hell though… I’m here to praise the one who sent her there.
Everyone is great in this interview. Mariah distills her entire AEW run into her performance, and this is another reminder that we collectively take for granted how special a pro wrestling talent Renee Paquette is. But it’s the Timeless One who doesn’t just bring the curtain down, but sets fire to everyone on stage with the most intimidating speech since a mostly-still-dead Westley made Prince Humperdinck fill his drawers.
It’s at the end, after May pitched the “Hollywood Ending” they always dreamed of, and would turn into Cain’s match of the year at Revolution. The Timeless One replies:
“You do not deserve the dignity of death. I sentence you to a lifetime of mediocrity. Your life will continue. Your career will continue, and it’ll be good — but never great. People will like you, but never love you. Because the star that you are will not compare to this monster you’ve become. So you will dwindle, be replaced and be forgotten. Then one day, many years from now, someone will ask, ‘“Whatever happened to Mariah May?‘
“She finds out what happens when you try to kill god.”
What can you do but throw a chair and tell Renee to pray for Toni?
I’ll concede it’s burial-esque, but it’s clearly linked to this specific storyline (including the inclusion of the title to one of the films which inspired it, a moment worthy of the “Leo pointing at the screen” meme) and the entire interview and storyline includes tons of praise for Mariah.
But there certainly might be lingering consequences to being on the receiving end of the coldest bars we heard in 2025.
(Was planning to throw an honorable mention to Swerve’s “I know”, which is one of my favorite things I’ve seen as an adult wrestling fan, and the key moment in a nuanced babyface turn that took the larger story of All In Texas from great to all-time great… but Claire’s write-up of it below is perfect, so just go read that.)
Bron Breakker spears IShowSpeed in the Royal Rumble
by Cain A. Knight
Cena’s heel turn is the obvious answer for best moment of the year. But just for the sake of adding some variety to the list, I’d like to highlight Bron Breakker’s spear on IShowSpeed at the Royal Rumble. The grotesque impact that occurs as a result of Bron’s out-of-control velocity combined with Speed not seeing it coming makes for one of the best celebrity bumps in WWE history. This YouTuber is just completely destroyed, and it somehow gets even better when you watch it on a loop over and over.
Shane Strickland admits he deserved to have his house burned down
by Claire Elizabeth
I’m not the only one here to wax poetic about “Hangman” Adam Page’s rise back to the AEW Men’s World Championship, but the best part of all of it for me has been he and Shane “Swerve” Strickland turning their rivalry into an alliance of hard-fought mutual respect and it all started in a small moment late in the April 2 episode of Dynamite.
Show-closing backstage chaos, Swerve is looking for Moxley, Hanger is looking for Swerve, security pulls them apart as they bicker over how they feel wronged by each other, Page tells him point blank he deserved to have his house burned down… and Shane, fire in his belly… admits that Hangman is right.
It’s just a pitch perfect moment of humility, of the facade melting away for a moment, the first stone in a sturdy foundation laid and cemented in place. Wrestling is a broad strokes business— get the ending right and you’ll be forgiven any number of missteps along the way. But when you do take your time and get the details right, when you let them matter, boy howdy, that’s the stuff right there.
And also it’s cool when your beautiful small moment gets followed immediately by somebody getting put through a window that’s in a backstage hallway for what I’m sure was a very good reason. Wrestling, baby!
‘Hangman’ Adam Page Reclaiming the AEW Championship
by Marcus Benjamin
I’ve said before that the Hangman and Swerve Strickland saga is my favorite story in wrestling. It might be my favorite feud of all-time. A huge part of that story was Hangman coming back to the light after getting Swerve him dragged through the dank sewers. Hangman redeemed himself this year through making amends with old friends, respecting his foes, and being the guy to topple the Jon Moxley empire. Best of all, he did it with a little help from his arch rival.
Hangman Page dethroning Jon Moxley
by Manolo Has Pizzazz
AEW built so much story over months for the grand pay-off of Hangman Page winning the world championship from Jon Moxley. The journey was very frustrating at times, so there was a lot of pressure for AEW to nail the landing. All of the character elements came together perfectly for an amazing moment of glory and hope.
AJ Lee’s return
by Kyle Decker
Nothing gets me like seeing one of my faves return to the business. And I’ve been clamoring for an AJ Lee return for awhile now. She sometimes felt like the most entertaining member of the women’s (then diva’s) division for a long time and she left before things really seemed to get better. I knew that her return wasn’t likely while her husband CM Punk was away. But when he returned in 2023, that door opened.
But a couple years passed and we still didn’t get it. Until they finally started hinting at it during a CM Punk/Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch feud. It was telegraphed so not a true surprise. But it didn’t matter. Hearing her music play for the first time since 2015 was perect.
The whole segment was great, and huge props for Becky Lynch for selling the hell out of it. I’ve watched it multiple times.
The follow up hasn’t been fantastic. She’s very part time and still rusty in the ring. But that will likely change on both accounts as they build up until WrestleMania. And even if it doesn’t, it doesn’t detract from her return. Seeing a favorite back after a good decade is some of the best stuff.
The OTC Comes to San Diego
by M. G0MEZ
When I learned I’d be attending Survivor Series in my hometown of San Diego as a member of the press, my mind drifted to the city’s great sports storytellers — Ted Leitner, Nick Canepa, and Jack Murphy — writers and voices who balanced emotion with journalistic rigor when chronicling historic moments for the Padres and Chargers.
But as the familiar drum beat of Roman Reigns’ music echoed throughout Petco Park, I felt a pull to experience the moment fully. Like the other 46,000 fans in attendance, I stood as Reigns made his entrance. A sea of ones washed over the stadium as Reigns peppered Brock Lesnar with Superman punches — like Tony Gwynn hitting line drives against the Dodgers.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a true San Diego sports experience unless the “home team” lost. In this case, Reigns’ squad fell short.
Still, the experience of seeing Reigns live met every expectation I had. This was the first time I’d seen him wrestle live since 2017, and the first since he became the Tribal Chief. For all the superlatives I have used to describe Reigns over the past five years, witnessing him in person confirmed why his presence commands attention — the chanting, the deference, the aura.
Was it the best moment of the year? Objectively speaking, no. Instead, this is a deeply personal choice — one that marked my 40th anniversary as a wrestling aficionado and a career highlight as a writer. As both, I can finally say: “I saw the Tribal Chief.”
Those are just the picks of a handful of internet blowhards, though. There are A LOT of moments, promos, and segments in 2025. Tell us about the one or ones you thought were the best in the comments below, or start a conversation about your choice in The Feed!
