10 WWE Stars Who Had Their Best Match EVER This Year
Let's just say the Triple H era of WWE is working out for these wrestlers!
Some of WWE's top stars and midcarders alike will let a single tear roll down their cheeks come 11:59pm on 31 December. Then, they'll pull up the calendar on their phones, kiss the date and softly say: 'Goodnight, my sweet prince'. Sans OTT drama, they'll be gutted to see 2024 give way to 2025.
Excited? Sure, because many of them will unthinkably top what they achieved this year, but they'll be sad nonetheless. This year has been real kind to some on WWE's roster, because they've actually worked their best matches ever. That covers a lot of ground, but the mix of critical acclaim, storytelling and execution couldn't be matched by anything beforehand.
You'll raise an eyebrow seeing some of the names featured, but they're all fully deserving of a place on this honour roll. Their in-ring excellence wasn't strictly confined to PLEs either - some of the best bouts between January-the publishing of this piece in October happened on free television.
Raw and SmackDown had some gems too, and they're all well worth your time if you fancy knocking through some modern day classics.
Try and top these bangers!
10. Bronson Reed
When: Raw (30 September)
Opponent: Braun Strowman
A recurring theme for most of the matches here is that they melded drama with purpose. Each one ruled in the moment, but crucially helped one (or more) of the workers involved long-term. That was defo the case for WWE's "Last Monster Standing" collision in late September. Good lord, it was fun.
Braun Strowman has been an on and off wrecking ball monster since 2016-ish, but he's no longer a main event priority for the company. That, mind you, doesn't mean Braun needs to lose every match he's in or look subpar - his rivals can still look killer even in defeat, and Bronson Reed did.
This is a match he'll point to in years to come as incredibly helpful on his road to success.
The pair's ring-destroying antics popped the crowd, and the violence was sufficient enough to follow up on prior brawls. Seth Rollins then returned to act as the cherry on top and cost Reed the win. Everything about this was so well done. It's Reed's best match by a mile.