Table of contents for Spring 2025 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated

AS WE BEGAN SENDING out this year’s Achievement Award plaques, we noticed an emerging trend among the winners. In 2023, the movie Barbie was a massive commercial and critical success. And in pro wrestling, 2024 seemed to be the year of the blond bombshell. If you’re reading this column, you’ve probably already perused the cover. Three of the industry’s most captivating stars—Liv Morgan, Toni Storm, and Mariah May—are posed with their PWI Award plaques. At the risk of getting a bit “inside baseball,” I’d like to draw back the curtain regarding how that cover came about. As typically happens in mid-to-late-December, Awards voting closed. Votes were tallied, and winners were determined. Plaques were made up. Finally, in the thick of the holiday season, official photoshoots began to take place. Before…

FOR PERIOD ENDED DECEMBER 15, 2024 For decades now, Pro Wrestling Illustrated has helped readers keep tabs on the best and brightest grapplers from around the world. Now, our widely read Ratings section is bigger and better than ever! HEAVYWEIGHT 1 CODY RHODES (1) WWE Undisputed Universal champion Atlanta, GA 2 GUNTHER (3) WWE World heavyweight champion Vienna, Austria 3 JON MOXLEY (2) AEW World champion Cincinnati, OH 4 ZACK SABRE JR. (4) IWGP World heavyweight champion Isle of Sheppey, U.K. 5 NIC NEMETH (5) TNA World champion Hollywood, FL 6 ALBERTO EL PATRON (10) AAA Mega champion San Luis Potosi, Mexico 7 KAITO KIYOMIYA (8) GHC heavyweight champion Saitama, Japan 8 BRON BREAKKER (-) WWE Intercontinental champion Atlanta, GA 9 MOOSE (-) TNA X division champion Atlanta, GA 10…

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCqek9mb4Hc KELANI JORDAN HAS burst onto the wrestling scene and made an undeniable impact in a short span of time. Although she failed to win the NXT Women’s Breakout tournament to close out 2023, the Michigan State grad broke out nonetheless. Thanks to her superlative athletic skills, competitive nature, and evident desire to be the best, Jordan flew up the ranks of NXT. At Battleground, she climbed the proverbial and literal ladder to become women’s North American champion—besting five other top NXT women for the glory of being the inaugural titleholder. The fact that the top two runners-up in our voting this year are also two women from NXT shows the kind of stiff competition Jordan faced on a regular basis in 2024. Despite her impressive…

WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT MAIN ROSTER WWE UNDISPUTED CHAMPIONSHIP 04.07.24 | Cody Rhodes def. Roman Reigns WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP 04.07.24 | Drew McIntyre def. Seth Rollins 04.07.24 | Damian Priest def. Drew McIntyre [Money in the Bank cash-in] 08.03.24 | Gunther def. Damian Priest WWE WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP 04.07.24 | Bayley def. Iyo Sky 08.03.24 | Nia Jax def. Bayley WWE WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 04.22.24 | Becky Lynch won a battle royal [Filled title vacated by Rhea Ripley on 04.15] 05.25.24 | Liv Morgan def. Becky Lynch WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP* 04.06.24 | A-Town Down Under def. Judgment Day [Six-pack ladder match for Raw & Smackdown tag team titles] 07.05.24 | DIY def. A-Town Downunder 08.02.24 | The Bloodline def. DIY 10.25.24 | Motor City Machine Guns def. The Bloodline 12.06.24…

NEVERENDING FAMILY DRAMA: The Bloodline → Justin Ballard, Boston, MA BLOOD & GORE AWARD: Swerve Strickland vs. “Hangman” Page at All Out → Franky D “THE FACTIONS ARE RUNNING THE ASYLUM” AWARD: MLW → Jon Weber, Voorhees, NJ THANK YOU, F YOU, BYE BYE: Vince McMahon → Jimmy Nance, Myrtle Beach, SC CROWD OF THE YEAR: WWE Backlash, Lyon, France → Matt Gehm, Centereach, NY WHEN REVENGE AND SELLING OUT LOOK THE SAME: CM Punk → David Chamberlain, San Diego, CA THE “FEUD I DIDN’T KNOW I WAS ASKING FOR” AWARD: Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes → Jon Weber, Voorhees, NJ BLOODY HELL (& WATCH OUT FOR THE SHOE) AWARD: Mariah May’s Vicious Turn on Toni Storm in Calgary, Alberta, Canada → Dan Ball, Lockport, NY THE RON SIMMONS MONOSYLLABIC AWARD:…

December 8 | Sendai, Japan Sendai Girls’ Pro Wrestling takes over Sun Plaza Hall in Sendai to present its “Big Show,” the culmination of a year’s work and a highly entertaining event. Opening with Chi Chi making her first defense of the Sendai Girls’ junior heavyweight championship over YUNA, a hard-hitting, feel-good tone is set for the evening … and it continues throughout. Miyuki Takase wins a delightful battle royal; Bob Bob Momo Banana (Mio Momono & Yurika Oka) endure attempted murder at the hands of VENY & Lena Kross to capture the Sendai Girls’ tag title; and the night builds well to the drama of DASH Chisako defending her singles championship against company founder and living legend Meiko Satomura. Perhaps Satomura’s greatest student, DASH goes particularly hard on her…