With 2025 nearly at an end, it’s once again time for Features of Wrestling to recognise the big winners of the year.
2025 has once again been an interesting year for notable wrestling events both in and out of the ring. In WWE, the dominating storyline on TV has been the year-long retirement tour, which saw a heel turn, a record-breaking 17th WWE Championship reign, and a rare tap-out loss to Gunther to bring things to a close. Although the tour has been met with criticisms from a creative standpoint, Cena’s legacy will not be forgotten anytime soon. Another divisive character arc was that of Jey Uso, who won the Royal Rumble and the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. While there is no denying that Uso’s Yeeting has been insanely popular in live venues, the internet fans have let their opinion be known on Uso throughout the year. In more positive news, he likes of Dominik Mysterio, Bron Breakker and Stephanie Vaquer all had landmark years that shows strong signs for the company’s future.
Raw debuted on Netflix in a show that saw The Rock ignore his rivalry with Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley win the Women’s World Championship, and Hulk Hogan booed out of the building in what was his final pro wrestling appearance before his passing.
Notable outside the ring headlines saw WWE announce WrestleMania 42 for New Orleans, but then switch it back to Las Vegas a few weeks later, followed by the more controversial announcement that WrestleMania 43 will air live from Saudi Arabia, marking the first time the show has been held outside of North America. Additionally, WWE took fans behind the scenes with the first season of Unreal, which also saw footage from the writers’ room for the first time ever.
In AEW, the company went back to 2 shows a week as the new media rights deal does not include Rampage. Kicking off the year with a collaboration with NJPW on the Wrestle Dynasty show, Kenny Omega made his return to the ring after more than a year away. 2025 alos saw Adam Page end Jon Moxley’s death grip on the World Championship, Mercedes Mone win championships all around the world, and Kris Statlander win the AEW Women’s Championship for the first time in her career. Also, Kyle Fletcher had a breakout year, which included a reign as TNT Champion, and Konosuke Takeshita but on great matches all year, which saw him win the prestigious NJPW G1 Climax tournament, which went on to him dethroning Zack Sabre Jr. to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career.
TNA saw Joe Hendry finally win the World Championship, along with the Scottish star making multiple WWE appearances as part of the crossover agreement between both sides. The Hardys also retired Team 3D, and the company secured a new media rights deal with AMC.
With 2025 once again being a standout year from in-ring wrestling, here are the picks for the Features of Wrestling awards…
Features Of Wrestling End-of-Year Awards 2025
Men’s Wrestler Of the Year: Konosuke Takeshita
Competing in more than 90 matches all around the world in 2025 alone, Takeshita looks set to imminently unseat Kazuchika Okada as the new number one Japanese wrestler in the world. On top of his match of the year contenders with the likes of Kenny Omega, Will Ospreay and Bandido, Takeshita also won the prestigious NJPW G1 Climax tournament and defeated 2024 winner Zack Sabre Jr. to hold the top prize in New Japan, the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Also a strong contender to win the AEW Continental Classic, 2026 looks set to be an even bigger year for the 30-year-old standout star.
Runner-up: Adam Page
2024 winner: Cody Rhodes
Women’s Wrestler Of The Year: IYO SKY
Across the wrestling landscape as a whole, there have been very few who have been active all year and have consistently put on great matches. From the critically acclaimed WrestleMania triple threat to her Evolution main event battle with Rhea Ripley that ended with Naomi cashing in her Money in the Bank contract, SKY has continued to entertain and put on great performances with every opportunity presented to her.
Runner-up: Naomi
2024 winner: Toni Storm
Breakout Star Of The Year: Stephanie Vaquer
At the start of the year, Vaaquer was still a relatively new WWE signing who had a handful of matches in NXT. However, Vaquer has found championship success throughout 2025 by holding the NXT Women’s North American and NXT Women’s Championships at the same time before being quickly called up to the main roster. After Naomi relinquished her Women’s Championship due to pregnancy, Vaquer and IYO SKY battled it out at Wrestlepalooza over the vacant title. In a match that very much saved the show from being a disaster, Vaquer defeated SKY to win her first main roster championship and cement herself as one of the top stars in the division just over a year after her debut.
Runner-up: Bron Breakker
2024 winner: Joe Hendry
Rivalry Of The Year: Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley
When Jon Moxley defeated Bryan Danielson at WrestleDream 2024 to win the World Championship, it became clear that the one to defeat Moxley would be the conquering babyface to overcome all the odds for the fans. Much like the Kenny Omega reign in 2021, it was Adam Page tasked with being the main character in this story. Thanks to help from Bryan Danielson, Darby Allin and former enemy Swerve Strickland, Page defeated Moxley in a brutal Texas Death match that had everything fans had wanted and more.
Runner-up: Toni Storm and Mariah May
2024 winner: CM Punk and Drew McIntyre
Show Of The Year: AEW Revolution 2025
With 3 match of the year contenders on one show, it’s no surprise that Revolution was the one that left the biggest impression. From the violent crescendo of Toni Storm vs. Mariah May, to the equally bloody steel cage match between Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher, followed by the wrestling war between Kenny Omega and Konosuke Takeshita, Revolution was a stacked card that saw the undercard save itself from a disappointing main event, which saw Jon Moxley survive Adam Copeland and Christian Cage to retain the World Title once more. Despite the fact that many were not happy with the finish, what happened before more than made up for the end result. Double or Nothing was a very close second, but the trio of 5* classics pushed this one over the finish line in the number 1 position.
Runner-up: AEW Double or Nothing
2024 winner: WWE WrestleMania 40
Promotion Of The Year: AEW
WWE has definitely lost a lot of goodwill with the fans in 2025. On top of the nonsensical ending to WrestleMania 41, ticket prices climbing even higher and the WrestleMania Saudi Arabia announcement, fans have struggled to connect with the show in the same way that they did in 2024. Additionally, the booking not being as exciting as it has been and the reluctance to push younger stars has left many struggling to justify watching. While there still have been some problems in AEW, most notably the Jon Moxley World Title reign, the likes of Revolution, Double or Nothing and All In: Texas showcased why the promotion is currently home to the best in-ring work in the world.
Runner-up: WWE
2024 winner: WWE
Match Of The Year: IYO SKY vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair At WrestleMania 41
Heading into this match, fans were concerned at how the booking was set to turn out. Although IYO SKY was the champion walking into the show, WWE put Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley firmly at the forefront, the latter of which was only added to the match via persistent interference as opposed to earning her right to compete for the top prize at the biggest show of the year. While it felt like another title change was on the cards on night 2 of WrestleMania, it was SKY who emerged the victor following an all-action opener that no one has been able to top all year. Even though Dave Meltzer’s star ratings continue to divide fans, no one protested when this match was given five stars.
Runner-up: John Cena vs. AJ Styles at WWE Crown Jewel
2024 winner: Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson at AEW Dynasty
