I never understood why pretty much all legendary wrestlers name randy orton or Eddie Guerrero as a dream opponent. I understand why now. I actually started realizing that during his tag run with riddle. Randy is absolutely awesome. Fantastic pro wrestler
@@screwdarulez1000well of course you won't get that answer. It's easy to just say some random claim without actually backing up his opinion. He's also in the thread bad mouthing storm and praising "all of Punk's wrestling"
@@marvin5019It's not done for ratings lmao, it's character work. Says more about you that you think to women kissing is for ratings rather than to tell a story involving queer characters.
Bayley not being on this list is highway robbery. - Record breaking Women’s Royal Rumble performance and win - Incredible and vindicating babyface turn fueled by genuine fan response - Best women’s match of the year so far against IYO SKY at WrestleMania - 2nd best women’s match of the year so far against Naomi and Tiffany Stratton at Backlash - Great match against Piper Niven at Clash at the Castle
I'm torn on that opinion, because they keep bringing up character work, but sware this list is about "in ring". If it's both, then Trick Williams should be in the top 10.
If punk is there (which is an awful pick), seth Rollins definitely needs to be there. He wrestled for 3 months with a torn meniscus. That's Ludacris. Tony storm and liv Morgan were also snubbed. Both should be top 10
Seth for sure he was great in the build to Mania (personally outside of the rock I think he did the best promo work) plus then had two matches (with a torn knee) and put over Drew so well and sacrificed a lot of himself to help put over Cody as well. I would say the fact he hasn't been able to work in ring for about 3 of the 6 months puts him about but Punk is there so.....
It's cody for me. It's the most emotional I've ever been over a wrestling match and it finished the story. Will has had better in ring performances but no one has come close to eliciting the emotion from me like cody has.
@@boycottactivision when you watch the video you will see my foreshadow joke will make you know where he sit on to. Also I like Swerve and he deserve to be in on top of any list this year for being amazing good at what he can do in the ring.
@@TeamGhostRyderINC Like they said in the Video, his matches had good ratings, & supposedly this list is about in ring performance. Which makes it funny you don't have these complaints about CM Punk who hasn't wrestled outside of the Rumble..
while i love takeshita as much as the next guy, other than that will match at revolution and the blue thunder bomb spot at forbidden door, he hasnt really done much. all the potential in the world tho.
Rhea got votes despite missing two months and vacating the title, while Toni Storm didn’t get in the Top 15? But Punk wrestled 15 minutes in the Rumble and is #10. So weird.
Alot of current punks validation is based on his general reputation tbh If we were judging him based on the last year he's only really messed with Drew and talked about not too much ratio wise
Seeing the top of the list does make me miss Kenny, I do hope he's able to return to the ring one day and make us all remember who was known as the best bout machine.
If this was just for in-ring, yes Will Osprey is the best wrestler. But being a wrestler is not just your in-ring work, its also your character work, storytelling and ability to connect with the fans uniquely while putting on good matches. With these things combined, wrestler of the year so far in my opinion is Cody Rhodes.
It's true. Rhodes has been plagued with uninspiring opponents, but he's way better than Ospreay overall for the first six months through to the time these votes were done for this video. That being said after this video was made Ospreay was masterful on June 30 and somebody big is going to have to build Cody up in the 2nd half for him to catch Ospreay who may be about to catch fire. Scuttlebutt has it that Ospreay had a lot to do with the booking of June 30 and he apparently has an excellent nose for business. Obviously WrestleTalk has an inherent bias for Ospreay and probably AEW as a result.
true, but i would go 1 further.. he wouldnt even be on my list for total package everything .. find his character stuff boring and crinchy and makes me wanne skip to the next segment.
based on total package: 1 Seth Rollins 2 Cody Rhodes 3/4 Bayley, Rhea 5 Guther 6 Chad Gable 7 Randy Orten 8 Drew Mcintyre 9 Toni Storm 10 rest are to close to call without rewatching hours of wrestling. Most improved, Tiffany Stratton Most underappreciated, Saraya Also in writing this i realised how little i care for most AEW characters, It rally is just in ring stuff for me.
@@marvin5019 is this best character of the year list? Is this best sports entertainer of the year list? Nope… so clearly shows you have zero clue what you are even talking about. Shows all you see is wwe and believe that’s the only way wrestling is supposed to be. That’s clearly not the case. The world has evolved and moved on to better ways. You sound outdated af.
I agree with everything you guys said about Cody, but I think he needs more than the same wobbly voice promo and talking about his dad. He needs to come into his own now and have a great fued or two that isn't just filler stuff until the rock or roman comes back
Not only is it insane that he’s not on the list, not only is it insane he didn’t get an honorable mention, BUT IT IS INSANE THAT NONE OF THE COMMENTS ARE EVEN POINTING IT OUT- HOW IS DAMIAN PRIEST NOT ON THIS LIST AT ALL?! He’s had consistent bangers, cashed in MITB at wrestlemania, and is a literal World Champion right now! He belongs in the top 10 over a LOT of these guys!
To have CM PUNK on this list is absurd. Toni Storm performs every week and has won over crowds. Punk has wrestled in one match. Punk talking segments have been underwhelming. This guy continues to be the most overrated person in all of wrestling
@@marvin5019 my dude, punks segments have been some of the weakest l on the show. Drew is carrying the feud. Punk has showed up maybe 7 times total including ple and TV time
Yall should be embarrassed for not having Seth on this list. The MVP of wrestlemania who wrestled 2 matches injured and still interfered in the main event. Let’s not forget him returning WAY earlier than anyone ever thought. This is embarrassing 😂
There's a lot of Will Ospreay bias on WrestleTalk, and I get it because he's British and you guys are British. The only reason he is first, in my opinion, is because he's British and has the best matches. But you need more than just having the best matches to be considered the best wrestler in the world. In my opinion, the best wrestler isn't just about in-ring performance; it's also about promo work, character work, and storytelling. Will Ospreay does not have the best promo or even the best character. What is his character, even? And what stories has he told this year that are the best? The best wrestler should either be Danielson or Cody Rhodes because they check all those boxes. That's just my opinion. I love this podcast, by the way. I'm not hating in any way; I'm just sharing my opinion, and you don't have to agree with it at all if you don't think it's right.
As someone returning to wrestling (who never knew Punk) his promo work this year may have been the best of all time. It certainly got me to research him extensively and I wanted to see EVERY moment of Punk this year. Steroid ridden Superstar Billy Graham was pretty amazing, but Punk at his best tops that. Rock probably better on peak average and awesome this year, but I'd nudge Punk over him. I'm not sure who was the better wrestler.😆 I'd say for impact at that time Superstar probably the GOAT. My take on this list is that it is unreliable at picking the lower ranks, so no problem with Punk being ahead of so many with just a Royal Rumble performance. At the rate Punk is going with injuries he may want to transition to going for manager of the year.😢
@@meles3740 no one disputes Punk’s career. Or his mic skills. But it’s “wrestler of the half year”. He wrestled half of one match. It’s embarrassing to put him on the list. It’s like putting Paul Heyman on the list because he “took a bump” last week.
I was surprised to see him so high after a worse push than Cody after gaining the title, but it sure loos like he'll be moving up the list by the end of the year. Drew is probably a very weak #3 right now as he's not quite getting over despite excellent promo skills.
@@meles3740 Yeah I agree. They just need to capitalize off Swerves momentum from his feud with Ospreay, and continue to book him like an actual champion lol. They seem to be finally letting him be the Swerve that got him over instead of a generic baby face.
I'm sorry, but this list is silly. Will above Cody? He's a great wrestler, but hasn't had THAT good of a year so far compared to Cody. And where is Seth???? The man overperformed at WM40 with an injured knee. I appreciate everyone's opinion, but this notion that pure wrestling skills and not selling, is above overall skills+promo+performance altogether.
@@Mythsforall Far better than Rhea or Punk have been in the first 6 months of this year. More great matches than both of those combined, top notch character work, top champion of her division, she's far more deserving than those two or several of the others on this list.
Kind of extremely disappointing.Bayley isn't on this list. She was the best part of the Royal Rumble.She was the best Part of WrestleMania. Damage control carried smackdown when roman wasn't their
Osprey I think is a guy who was gunna be a top guy anywhere. I remember back in the day I assumed he was just a flippity dude, then he put on some weight and worked on his ground game. I also assumed he couldn't talk, maybe not the best promo, but he is very likable, I want to hang out with guy any time he speaks. And he's so young, I hope he stays healthy, because I wanna see him have a long long career
How can it be so shocking for you guys that a lot of people value character work just as much or even over in-ring work? A great wrestling match without a story is like watching an action scene taken out of a movie. It's impressive, it's really well done and people deserve a ton of credit for it. But who is gonna care about it?
I like this idea. People tend to be partial to the second half of a year when rating yearly performance, which makes sense since its hard to remember everything.
Like The Rock, Roman just didn't wrestle enough for many His Stuff leading up to Mania was excellent but he's been on a well deserved vacation/movie making break ever since So I can understand why
@heylolp9 I understand that argument but, to counter, Roman drew more money/viewers and had better matches than anyone on this list except for Cody and maybe Osprey. I'm sorry but "being there every week" does not make someone a good wrestler or get them over. Just look at what's happened to Swerve since he got the belt
@@ethanbecker2744 basically it boils down to recency bias, Roman was amazing these past YEARS since winning the title Now it's someone else's time, it's fine
I would love a list during this middle of the year awards of stars that deserve more. Like who would you push in the second half of the year that isn’t pushed currently
I think I'd have Cody ahead of Ospreay simply because I think Cody is a more total package as a star, whereas Ospreay is a guy who puts on very good wrestling matches. His promos and stuff aren't bad by any stretch, but his entire character is basically "the good wrestling match guy". His "feuds", if you can even call them that, have been very threadbare stuff like he and Danielson wrestling to determine "who is the best in the world". The guy was booked as a pure babyface while still being a member of a heel faction for months, and then just sort-of... left finally, with no real repercussions or follow up. So if your criteria is best in-ring performer of the year so far - sure, vote for Ospreay. But I consider being a "professional wrestler" to be more than just your ability to put on excellent pretend fights. It's about character, and connection to the audience. I'll catch an Ospreay fight if I hear it's very good, but I couldn't care less about an Ospreay promo. I don't get excited about the next development in an Ospreay storyline. You could just book him in "dream matches" with no build or story whatsoever, and I think the impact would be the same.
My Wrestler of the Year candidates: 1. Swerve Strickland 2. Cody Rhodes 3. Will Ospreay 4. Sting (sentimental) 5. Brian Danielson 6. John Moxley 7. Damien Priest 8. Rhea Ripley 9. Samoa Joe 10. Randy Orton
Idk if you'd like to do it at the beginning of the calendar year, the wrestling year, i.e. post Wrestlemania, or some other time, but this makes me wonder what a kind of wrestling fantasy draft could look like and if it could be fun.
26:43 i take some issue to that. No cody is rocking with the same moves but it's more natural in a sports entertainment style. That idealist americana works for wwe but that ideal doesnt work for a company born from indie sentinment
First… this was one my favorite videos you have made. Keep it up. Second how is there only 1 female on this list and she has been injured for months now? The women’s division in WWE is great and I’ve heard AEW has a great women’s division as well.
Perhaps the ladies will take over in the 2nd half. Mami should be fire when she returns to deal with Liv Morgan. Things are taking shape in AEW for the 2nd half and we'll see what is on the table for Wembley shortly.
In terms of match quality, Ospreay has it in the bag by miles. In terms of success, Cody Rhodes gets it for having an amazing culmination of his story and being the face of WWE. Swerve, Gunther, Toni Storm, Sami Zayn, Trick Williams and Joe Hendry are also contenders imo
Ilja: Started year as NXT with amazing matches, then lost it in an amazing match, and got called up to RAW to have amazing matches Trick: Most over guy in NXT, arguably the company, and won the NXT dethroning Ilja
Thirty-three and a half minutes of yet another RUclips video praising Will Ospreay to the high heavens, I assume? One day I will actually understand his appeal I'm sure... but that time hasn't come yet
I do like the in ring performance but for me wrestling means drama and stories told through in ring action, promos connection with audience so for me CODY is better thn Osprey
How did Punk get top 10 and Toni Storm didn’t even get an honorable mention? Also what’s up with the Penta vote, but he at least has had plural matches this year.
26:09 I love Cody, hes comfortably my favorite guy in the company, but I would comfortably put Daniel Bryan before his first retirement up against him as the best pure main event babyface of the modern era.
Very WWE heavy crew here at Wrestletalk. I would have the following. 1- Osprey 2- Rhodes 3- Toni Storm 4- Swerve 5- Gunther 6- Danielson 7- McIntyre 8- Sami 9- Sting 10- Orton HM- Jericho, Garcia, Willow, Solo Bayley should be on the list, but WWE treat her like crap.
I love that Randy Orton is basically going through his version of the John Cena US title run where everyone was like "oh crap he can wrestle".
@@JustDonny oh my god....this is so well put...a perfect comparison..made my day!
I never understood why pretty much all legendary wrestlers name randy orton or Eddie Guerrero as a dream opponent. I understand why now. I actually started realizing that during his tag run with riddle. Randy is absolutely awesome. Fantastic pro wrestler
Randy Orton has always bored me to tears
Glad ZSJ got an honorable mention. He's really found his groove.
Very surprised Punk and ripley are here but Toni Storm isn’t. She’s had incredible character work and good matches all year
@@marvin5019 I’m curious why you feel that way? The timeless gimmick certainly isn’t for everyone but I’ve been loving her work
@@screwdarulez1000well of course you won't get that answer. It's easy to just say some random claim without actually backing up his opinion.
He's also in the thread bad mouthing storm and praising "all of Punk's wrestling"
The match she had against Serena Deeb is one of my favorite matches this year
@@marvin5019It's not done for ratings lmao, it's character work. Says more about you that you think to women kissing is for ratings rather than to tell a story involving queer characters.
Bayley not being on this list is highway robbery.
- Record breaking Women’s Royal Rumble performance and win
- Incredible and vindicating babyface turn fueled by genuine fan response
- Best women’s match of the year so far against IYO SKY at WrestleMania
- 2nd best women’s match of the year so far against Naomi and Tiffany Stratton at Backlash
- Great match against Piper Niven at Clash at the Castle
Real
@@HandsomeSassage Her road to wm story was non existent.
Sure the WM stuff was good but nothing really crazy before that. She was treading water until the turn.
WWE underhyping her is a shame
Yet it feels like she’s done nothing this year
not having Toni Storm on the list is CRAZY
Lol she's been really good for sure.
Yeah seriously
Facts
No Toni Storm is craaazy
Props to Swerve for being the only Black Wrestler on the list.
I'm torn on that opinion, because they keep bringing up character work, but sware this list is about "in ring". If it's both, then Trick Williams should be in the top 10.
If punk is there (which is an awful pick), seth Rollins definitely needs to be there. He wrestled for 3 months with a torn meniscus. That's Ludacris.
Tony storm and liv Morgan were also snubbed. Both should be top 10
Seth for sure he was great in the build to Mania (personally outside of the rock I think he did the best promo work) plus then had two matches (with a torn knee) and put over Drew so well and sacrificed a lot of himself to help put over Cody as well. I would say the fact he hasn't been able to work in ring for about 3 of the 6 months puts him about but Punk is there so.....
No, that's Seth.
It's cody for me. It's the most emotional I've ever been over a wrestling match and it finished the story. Will has had better in ring performances but no one has come close to eliciting the emotion from me like cody has.
Swerve Strickland has to be nominated..
No, he isn't as good as the number forth pick. He never stood a chance. So I'm agreeing with their forth pick in this review of the best.
@@TeamGhostRyderINC I wish I understood what you just said, but Swerve has some of the best moves, & some of the best matches
@@boycottactivision And some of the best promos
@@boycottactivision when you watch the video you will see my foreshadow joke will make you know where he sit on to.
Also I like Swerve and he deserve to be in on top of any list this year for being amazing good at what he can do in the ring.
@@TeamGhostRyderINC Like they said in the Video, his matches had good ratings, & supposedly this list is about in ring performance.
Which makes it funny you don't have these complaints about CM Punk who hasn't wrestled outside of the Rumble..
SAY HIS NAME AND HE APPEARS!!!!
That fraud should not be in the list
@@JohnJohn-vv4ns have you seen any of his matches?
@@JohnJohn-vv4nsWomp Womp put some more respect on the name of your next TNA WORLD CHAMP
I BELIEVE IN JOE HENDRY!
@@eliramon420👏🏾👏🏾
I'm a little surprised that Takeshita didn't even make HMs.
I have a feeling next year or this next half a year will be pivotal for him.
He's done nothing though. I understand why he complained in that Japanese interview. His booking really has been atrocious
He’s not a Pokémon, he can’t learn HMs
while i love takeshita as much as the next guy, other than that will match at revolution and the blue thunder bomb spot at forbidden door, he hasnt really done much. all the potential in the world tho.
@juniorkhomari1850 that interview was done in kayfabe I thought because he says Don callis helped him adjust and that's why he was in the family.
Rhea got votes despite missing two months and vacating the title, while Toni Storm didn’t get in the Top 15?
But Punk wrestled 15 minutes in the Rumble and is #10. So weird.
Yeah, this was such a weird list.
Alot of current punks validation is based on his general reputation tbh
If we were judging him based on the last year he's only really messed with Drew and talked about not too much ratio wise
YEAH & WWE FANS ARE THE IWC AND THEY RUN THE POLLS & LIST NOT EXCLUSIVE TO INSIDERS
some people are stars and some aren't
@@antoniohristov8729 clown response
Seeing the top of the list does make me miss Kenny, I do hope he's able to return to the ring one day and make us all remember who was known as the best bout machine.
I love the videos when Luke gets to do his spreadsheets and is clearly very happy about it
If this was just for in-ring, yes Will Osprey is the best wrestler. But being a wrestler is not just your in-ring work, its also your character work, storytelling and ability to connect with the fans uniquely while putting on good matches. With these things combined, wrestler of the year so far in my opinion is Cody Rhodes.
It's true. Rhodes has been plagued with uninspiring opponents, but he's way better than Ospreay overall for the first six months through to the time these votes were done for this video. That being said after this video was made Ospreay was masterful on June 30 and somebody big is going to have to build Cody up in the 2nd half for him to catch Ospreay who may be about to catch fire. Scuttlebutt has it that Ospreay had a lot to do with the booking of June 30 and he apparently has an excellent nose for business. Obviously WrestleTalk has an inherent bias for Ospreay and probably AEW as a result.
true, but i would go 1 further.. he wouldnt even be on my list for total package everything .. find his character stuff boring and crinchy and makes me wanne skip to the next segment.
I would put drew at my number 1. His in ring work is amazing and his promo and feud with punk has been a must see every week
See all that stuff you just said Will Ospreay has in spades as well.
@@fscorpion678 So Will Ospreay is more over than Cody Rhodes, Really?????
So you have Punk and Ripley, but no Toni Storm???
based on total package:
1 Seth Rollins
2 Cody Rhodes
3/4 Bayley, Rhea
5 Guther
6 Chad Gable
7 Randy Orten
8 Drew Mcintyre
9 Toni Storm
10 rest are to close to call without rewatching hours of wrestling.
Most improved, Tiffany Stratton
Most underappreciated, Saraya
Also in writing this i realised how little i care for most AEW characters, It rally is just in ring stuff for me.
Punk and Rhea had no business on this list
Hi guys FYI on the Spotify upload tempest sounds fine but Luke and Pete sound very quiet
I would put any of the 5 who missed out above Punk.
💯
Word
@@marvin5019 That’s not what wrestler of the year is
@@marvin5019 So why isn’t Toni Storm on the list? Great character, promo, is over and has great matches.
@@marvin5019 is this best character of the year list? Is this best sports entertainer of the year list? Nope… so clearly shows you have zero clue what you are even talking about. Shows all you see is wwe and believe that’s the only way wrestling is supposed to be. That’s clearly not the case. The world has evolved and moved on to better ways. You sound outdated af.
I agree with everything you guys said about Cody, but I think he needs more than the same wobbly voice promo and talking about his dad. He needs to come into his own now and have a great fued or two that isn't just filler stuff until the rock or roman comes back
It should always be Penta
Tempest’s mic is too loud
1. Cody Rhodes
2. Seth Rollins
3. Damian Priest
4. Drew McIntyre
5. Toni Storm
6. Swerve Strickland
7. Chad Gable
8. Gunther
9. Will Ospreay
10. Oba Femi
Wouldn't say Rock, Roman, CM Punk, Rhea, MJF & similar people who haven't wrestled much.
Shoutout to Konosuke Takeshita too
Not only is it insane that he’s not on the list, not only is it insane he didn’t get an honorable mention, BUT IT IS INSANE THAT NONE OF THE COMMENTS ARE EVEN POINTING IT OUT- HOW IS DAMIAN PRIEST NOT ON THIS LIST AT ALL?! He’s had consistent bangers, cashed in MITB at wrestlemania, and is a literal World Champion right now! He belongs in the top 10 over a LOT of these guys!
To have CM PUNK on this list is absurd. Toni Storm performs every week and has won over crowds. Punk has wrestled in one match. Punk talking segments have been underwhelming. This guy continues to be the most overrated person in all of wrestling
@@marvin5019 my dude, punks segments have been some of the weakest l on the show. Drew is carrying the feud. Punk has showed up maybe 7 times total including ple and TV time
Yall should be embarrassed for not having Seth on this list. The MVP of wrestlemania who wrestled 2 matches injured and still interfered in the main event. Let’s not forget him returning WAY earlier than anyone ever thought. This is embarrassing 😂
There's a lot of Will Ospreay bias on WrestleTalk, and I get it because he's British and you guys are British. The only reason he is first, in my opinion, is because he's British and has the best matches. But you need more than just having the best matches to be considered the best wrestler in the world. In my opinion, the best wrestler isn't just about in-ring performance; it's also about promo work, character work, and storytelling. Will Ospreay does not have the best promo or even the best character. What is his character, even? And what stories has he told this year that are the best? The best wrestler should either be Danielson or Cody Rhodes because they check all those boxes. That's just my opinion. I love this podcast, by the way. I'm not hating in any way; I'm just sharing my opinion, and you don't have to agree with it at all if you don't think it's right.
You what bruv?
I was saw Dynasty live in STL. The building was shaking during Danielson and Osprey. Greatest match Ive ever seen live
Has Luke become Dan Layton?
“Just the hint of a bosom”
Yes
He wishes
Punk on the list is embarrassing
Honestly yeah. My guy did absolutely nothing this year
The hype machine is real. Bayley and Toni should be on there.
@@num1Jaysta Toni and Bayley did more than Punk or Rhea
As someone returning to wrestling (who never knew Punk) his promo work this year may have been the best of all time. It certainly got me to research him extensively and I wanted to see EVERY moment of Punk this year. Steroid ridden Superstar Billy Graham was pretty amazing, but Punk at his best tops that. Rock probably better on peak average and awesome this year, but I'd nudge Punk over him. I'm not sure who was the better wrestler.😆 I'd say for impact at that time Superstar probably the GOAT. My take on this list is that it is unreliable at picking the lower ranks, so no problem with Punk being ahead of so many with just a Royal Rumble performance. At the rate Punk is going with injuries he may want to transition to going for manager of the year.😢
@@meles3740 no one disputes Punk’s career. Or his mic skills. But it’s “wrestler of the half year”. He wrestled half of one match. It’s embarrassing to put him on the list. It’s like putting Paul Heyman on the list because he “took a bump” last week.
After Forbidden door, swerve is even more solidified on this list
I was surprised to see him so high after a worse push than Cody after gaining the title, but it sure loos like he'll be moving up the list by the end of the year. Drew is probably a very weak #3 right now as he's not quite getting over despite excellent promo skills.
@@meles3740 Yeah I agree. They just need to capitalize off Swerves momentum from his feud with Ospreay, and continue to book him like an actual champion lol. They seem to be finally letting him be the Swerve that got him over instead of a generic baby face.
Having Punk in the top 10 wrestlers of the half year while excluding Toni Storm and Tiffany Stratton from even the top 15 is laughable
Give bayley respect she should be in list no cm punk or rea riple
Relax...She's the no. 1 on ESPN's Top 10 women's wrestlers of 2024.
Drew is wrestler of the year for me.
Can't wait for the Tri-monthly awards!!!
Would absolutely have Toni over Rhea.
Not having Toni Storm on the list makes this list questionable.
Feels like this could have been just a 2 man and a bobblehead doll panel
I'm sorry, but this list is silly. Will above Cody? He's a great wrestler, but hasn't had THAT good of a year so far compared to Cody. And where is Seth???? The man overperformed at WM40 with an injured knee. I appreciate everyone's opinion, but this notion that pure wrestling skills and not selling, is above overall skills+promo+performance altogether.
Tempest blowing out my ear drums lmao
hes the worst
He talks way too much
No Toni Storm on this list is embarrassing.
How? She isn’t that hype like calm down and yes I been watching AEW…She is great but not top 10…
@@Mythsforall Far better than Rhea or Punk have been in the first 6 months of this year. More great matches than both of those combined, top notch character work, top champion of her division, she's far more deserving than those two or several of the others on this list.
@@MythsforallYou're saying her run this year hasn't been better than Punk or Rhea? Embarrassing.
She finally has a character, there are better female wrestlers 😮
@@fscorpion678it hasn't
Punk is part of the feud of the year and she was in a queer baiting angle
Kind of extremely disappointing.Bayley isn't on this list. She was the best part of the Royal Rumble.She was the best Part of WrestleMania.
Damage control carried smackdown when roman wasn't their
Swerve is number 1
Whoever gave the penta top nomination I LOVE YOU MAN
Loving the shirt Luke! Really suits you, looking very sharp!
I'm not a wwe guy, but how did Roman not make the top 11??
Probably because he has wrestled 3 matches this year and not been on TV in 3 months
Dude was on screen for less than an hour all year
Osprey I think is a guy who was gunna be a top guy anywhere. I remember back in the day I assumed he was just a flippity dude, then he put on some weight and worked on his ground game. I also assumed he couldn't talk, maybe not the best promo, but he is very likable, I want to hang out with guy any time he speaks. And he's so young, I hope he stays healthy, because I wanna see him have a long long career
Funny thing is next year we're going to get quarterly best wrestler list but they're going to call it Luke Owen's Tri-Monthy Best Wrestler list
Love the 3-count reference
CM punk has wrestled in 1 match this year and somehow he still has the best story going this year.
Not having Iyo Sky on this list hurt my soul
Will Ospraey?! Are you having a laugh 😂😂😂😂😂😂
I figured it would be will, I wouldn’t have had him but it’s the UK crowd voting
I feel like praising Cody for doing the exact same thing that they criticized Swerve for doing on AEW surely was interesting
How can it be so shocking for you guys that a lot of people value character work just as much or even over in-ring work?
A great wrestling match without a story is like watching an action scene taken out of a movie. It's impressive, it's really well done and people deserve a ton of credit for it. But who is gonna care about it?
I think you should do one on angle of the year or feud of the year. Thank you guys love all the content
I dont know about you guys but for me the wrestler of the year should be the one who draws the most and is good in ring and also is a full timer
I like Trixie and all...but I LOVE Brian. Take care, and we'll see you when you're ready ❤
I like this idea. People tend to be partial to the second half of a year when rating yearly performance, which makes sense since its hard to remember everything.
Why is Tempest Always so loud and Luke so calm?
People always talk about how terrible the wwe women's tag team titles are, but look there.... Talent Name took the number 2 spot
Roman Reigns not even getting an honorable mention is ABSURD
Like The Rock, Roman just didn't wrestle enough for many
His Stuff leading up to Mania was excellent but he's been on a well deserved vacation/movie making break ever since
So I can understand why
@heylolp9 I understand that argument but, to counter, Roman drew more money/viewers and had better matches than anyone on this list except for Cody and maybe Osprey. I'm sorry but "being there every week" does not make someone a good wrestler or get them over. Just look at what's happened to Swerve since he got the belt
@@ethanbecker2744 basically it boils down to recency bias, Roman was amazing these past YEARS since winning the title
Now it's someone else's time, it's fine
@@heylolp9he wrestled more than Punk did
@@ChrisPayneHBTW twice as many matches iirc
I would love a list during this middle of the year awards of stars that deserve more. Like who would you push in the second half of the year that isn’t pushed currently
Luke spent too much time with Dan and it shows
I think I'd have Cody ahead of Ospreay simply because I think Cody is a more total package as a star, whereas Ospreay is a guy who puts on very good wrestling matches. His promos and stuff aren't bad by any stretch, but his entire character is basically "the good wrestling match guy". His "feuds", if you can even call them that, have been very threadbare stuff like he and Danielson wrestling to determine "who is the best in the world". The guy was booked as a pure babyface while still being a member of a heel faction for months, and then just sort-of... left finally, with no real repercussions or follow up.
So if your criteria is best in-ring performer of the year so far - sure, vote for Ospreay. But I consider being a "professional wrestler" to be more than just your ability to put on excellent pretend fights. It's about character, and connection to the audience. I'll catch an Ospreay fight if I hear it's very good, but I couldn't care less about an Ospreay promo. I don't get excited about the next development in an Ospreay storyline. You could just book him in "dream matches" with no build or story whatsoever, and I think the impact would be the same.
My Wrestler of the Year candidates:
1. Swerve Strickland
2. Cody Rhodes
3. Will Ospreay
4. Sting (sentimental)
5. Brian Danielson
6. John Moxley
7. Damien Priest
8. Rhea Ripley
9. Samoa Joe
10. Randy Orton
i think he likes aew
No Seth Rollins in the top 10 when he was the mvp of wrestlemania is crazy 😂
Ospreay's best match is war dogs united empire Dog Pound
Idk if you'd like to do it at the beginning of the calendar year, the wrestling year, i.e. post Wrestlemania, or some other time, but this makes me wonder what a kind of wrestling fantasy draft could look like and if it could be fun.
26:43 i take some issue to that. No cody is rocking with the same moves but it's more natural in a sports entertainment style. That idealist americana works for wwe but that ideal doesnt work for a company born from indie sentinment
How has Rhea Ripley made this list? She hasn't even done as much as Bayley or Becky this year.
@str6014 She's literally over even without being present. An injury stopped her reign, but not her momentum.
Rhea is still talked about weekly and its because of her that this Liv/Dom story is as big as it is…..
@PilotZaku Exactly same with Roman and the Bloodline. He's bot there but he's over.
First… this was one my favorite videos you have made. Keep it up. Second how is there only 1 female on this list and she has been injured for months now? The women’s division in WWE is great and I’ve heard AEW has a great women’s division as well.
Perhaps the ladies will take over in the 2nd half. Mami should be fire when she returns to deal with Liv Morgan. Things are taking shape in AEW for the 2nd half and we'll see what is on the table for Wembley shortly.
Recorded before FD. I wonder if Swerves ranking would have been higher if recorded after his match vs Ospreay.
Glad to see even tho Dan couldn't make it, his spirit made it thru Luke's shirt
In terms of match quality, Ospreay has it in the bag by miles. In terms of success, Cody Rhodes gets it for having an amazing culmination of his story and being the face of WWE.
Swerve, Gunther, Toni Storm, Sami Zayn, Trick Williams and Joe Hendry are also contenders imo
Just about to watch this and I already know number one will be JOE HENDRY.
This will be interesting to see how these wrestlers stack come the end of the year
I always think that about the Cultaholic half year awards
Replace cm junk with tony storm
💯
Ilja: Started year as NXT with amazing matches, then lost it in an amazing match, and got called up to RAW to have amazing matches
Trick: Most over guy in NXT, arguably the company, and won the NXT dethroning Ilja
If this were after Forbidden Door, Swerve would be higher.
In my opinion Drew McIntyre is the Best wrestler in 2024
I wish I could go back to wrestlemania and watch the sami/Gunther match again. I lost my voice screaming for Sami.
Thirty-three and a half minutes of yet another RUclips video praising Will Ospreay to the high heavens, I assume? One day I will actually understand his appeal I'm sure... but that time hasn't come yet
Christ take a shot every time they say aura in this video
Where's Toni Storm.
Penta deserves honorable mention just for being Penta.
Baseline, doing nothing of note Penta is still better then most wrestlers 👍
I do like the in ring performance but for me wrestling means drama and stories told through in ring action, promos connection with audience so for me CODY is better thn Osprey
How did Punk get top 10 and Toni Storm didn’t even get an honorable mention? Also what’s up with the Penta vote, but he at least has had plural matches this year.
26:09 I love Cody, hes comfortably my favorite guy in the company, but I would comfortably put Daniel Bryan before his first retirement up against him as the best pure main event babyface of the modern era.
Definitely disagree with Will at 1 but hey it’s an opinion 🤷🏾♂️
I really really would’ve had Randy, Copeland, or Willow at 10 before Punk
My best wrestler of the year is Bryan Danielson
Three words: Hangman...Adam...Page. P.S. But yeah it is Ospreay.
Not surprised...🙄😏
Dwayne the Rock should be #1
The greatest luchador of all time Dominik Mysterio was screwed. This list is invalid.
I Think Ospreay, Swerve, Rhodes, McIntyre, Gunther is on The list
This is a good idea because a lot of wrestlers get terrible booking in like half a year
Curious where Swerve would have been ranked had this been recorded after Forbidden Door.
Very WWE heavy crew here at Wrestletalk. I would have the following.
1- Osprey
2- Rhodes
3- Toni Storm
4- Swerve
5- Gunther
6- Danielson
7- McIntyre
8- Sami
9- Sting
10- Orton
HM- Jericho, Garcia, Willow, Solo
Bayley should be on the list, but WWE treat her like crap.