Happy New Year wrestling fans!
Wow, would ya look at that? 2025 is already behind us. What a year it was, eh?
It was certainly a year for me, both good and bad, but I've decided to highlight the good here and remember 2025 for what it was. My first, full-calendar year with the Wrestling Vault. I made a lot of changes to how I work and write and I think that I've laid a solid foundation for the blog for next year.
But, let's not get too ahead of ourselves here, let's take a peek at what 2025 looked like, yeah?
Blog Stats
Editors Note: This post was drafted on 12/31/25. The statistics are accurate as of this date.
Number of posts: 80
Total blog views: 15,235
Top posts: Something I'm really glad I did in the recent months was change up my Weekly Watchlist formatting, right down to how I title my posts. At first, I wasn't sure how much of a difference the improved naming scheme would make, but I think the mere fact that a post that has been live for less than a month has nearly outperformed my Wrestlemania post, speaks volumes for how a simple change can make a world of difference.
Top countries: Singapore! What's good, homies?! How on earth is Canada, my home and native land, sitting in the number three spot? And the United States, just a bit lower in number four? I guess I'm just a hit with the international markets. Need to do some more Singapore, and maybe even Brazil, wrestling in the new year?
Wrestling Stats
Matches watched: 1,040 (9 matches watched twice)
2025 was the year I finally cut the cord from WWE. Once Wrestlemania came and went, I gave up on The 'Fed and haven't looked back since. Since then, I've been a week-to-week AEW viewer, as you can plainly see. This is a fair warning for 2026, I will be watching every episode of Dynamite and Collision in 2026. Expect these numbers to increase by a considerable degree.
DPW, to no surprise, comes in at second place, and theyefinitely would have had a much higher number if I didn't end up out of work in the summer and, as a result, need to cut back on subscriptions to save money. I only paused my sub until November, hence why I started reviewing DPW again last month, so I'll be chugging through the remainder of their library next year.
The only reason CZW is up as high as it is is because of Three Ring Circus which, if you don't read my crawler at the top of my blog, was once on temporary hiatus and is now cancelled indefinitely. Why? Well, keep reading and you'll find out why.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - 72
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - 535
⭐⭐⭐ - 314
⭐⭐ - 43
⭐ - 14
DUD - 62
Now, let's keep in mind what DUD means. If a match runs under 5 or so minutes, I find it hard to rate those matches properly, so they receive a DUD. Some are good, some are outright bad, but a lot are just... nothing at all. So I keep it fair and give them a DUD.
The Worst of the Worst:
And now, it's time to stand a laugh at these miserable excuses for wrestling. A murders row of grim, horrendous spectacles. Why I subjected myself to 14 of these matches is beyond me, but that's just what a reviewer needs to do. Wade through the shit to find the gold.
So, for those of you curious as to why Three Ring Circus stopped, look at this. Look at how many CZW matches got 1 star this year. Now only that, but a lot of the 2 star matches from this year were from early CZW as well. Something I talked about with my therapist after pulling the plug on TRC was realizing that watching horrible wrestling that featured rampant slurs and frequent degradation of women was not good for someone whose mental health was already in the toilet. It's for that simple reason that TRC will not be coming back. But fear not! I have something that will fill the void in the new year! Keep your ears open and eyes on the podcast feed.
Cliff Morgan's Top Picks
Wrestlers of the Year:
This year, I've decided to shake it up for my Wrestler of the Year rankings. You'll see a list of top names that I think had an exceptional 2025 below, in no particular order. At the bottom, however, I've sorted the top three names in order of bronze, silver, and gold. Obviously, the rankings speak for themselves, but it shouldn't be a mark against the person in bronze that they didn't earn silver or gold. I watched a lot of wrestling this year. Mostly AEW, but a lot of current NJPW, DPW, as well as AJPW. I had a pretty deep list to pull from and was very particular about who I picked for these top names. Everyone here is truly exceptional and the top names are just that, the top wrestlers in the world, according to little 'ol me. All three in the medal positions are truly incredible wrestlers and made 2025 another fantastic year for the sport of kings.
But, that's enough preamble. Let's start breaking these names down, shall we?
Mark Briscoe
Really breaking out as the perfect sentimental babyface in 2025, Mark Briscoe proved that he's more than just one half of one of the greatest tag teams to ever grace a wrestling ring. Putting on fantastic matches against Ricochet and Kyle Fletcher, the newly minted TNT Champion had an incredible 2025 that had him always playing a prominent role as a reliable, trustworthy guy you could put in the ring with just about anyone. Well done, Chicken.
Jon Moxley
Despite his suffocating strangle hold over the AEW Men's World Championship for the first half of the year, Mox turned things around in the back half of 2025 after losing the title to Hangman at All In and continued to show up week after week. Initially, I felt this was the wrong move, believing Mox should disappear for a while, but his presence on TV was always additive, giving up submission victories to Kyle O'Reilly and being more than willing to be vulnerable for a change despite being the unkillable leader of the Death Riders for over a year. It's times like this where you remember why Mox really is the Ace of AEW.
Toni Storm
Spending more time this year without gold than with it, the Timeless one continued to keep herself not only relevant, but also fresh. Always making tiny tweaks to what it means to be "Timeless," Toni storm was always received with heaps of love and adoration from the fans whether she was on her own or tagging up against her "wife" Mina Shirakawa as one half of the Timeless Love Bombs. Her inclusion in Blood and Guts was incredibly exciting and reminded everyone that Toni is, and always has been, more than just a character. An exceptional year for the Timeless one.
"Speedball" Mike Bailey
A recent signing by AEW, Bailey was already an established name on the indies that could be trusted to have exceptional matches with most everyone he stepped in the ring with. The idea of Bailey crossing it up with some of the best in AEW was a tantalizing thought, and it proved to be just as good as people had hoped. Nearly every single time Bailey had a big match, he outperformed in every conceivable way. Naysayers proven wrong in moments and fans validated with every move, Bailey shone in his first year with the company and proved why he is someone that you are going to need to keep a very close eye on in the future.
Bandido
I've made it no secret that I haven't always been able to get behind Bandido and, truth be told, I really can't pinpoint why. There's something about him that I just can;t get past, but I can't deny that he was on an exceptional run this year. Reigning as not only the Ring of Honor World Champion but also one half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions while alongside Brody King, 'Dido put on some exceptional matches this year, one of which could easily be a Match of the Year contender in his bout against Hechicero from the summer. Repeatedly defying my expectations, Bandido always put on a match I'd be hard pressed to forget and worked overtime to make 2025 his year.
Brodido
The perfect "odd couple" pairing, Brody King and Bandido were seen as a completely random pairing at the start, but quickly turned into a crowd favourite in short order. Quickly having stellar matches against just about every team they stood across from, most notably FTR, the unique pairing of the serious and burly Brody with the carefree and perseverant Bandido gave way to a team that won over the hearts and minds of many of the fans. And, in surprising fashion, won the AEW World Tag Team Championships as well! At the start of 2025, I was hopeful that this would be a breakout year for Brody King. I was right, but in the wrong way, as it turns out.
🥉 "The Alpha" Konosuke Takeshita
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| IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Takeshita |
Proving to the world that he is "The Alpha" in more than just name alone, Takeshita not only won one of the most prestigious tournaments in professional wrestling, he then went on to challenge for and win the biggest prize in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Winning his first major world championship at only 30 years old, the ceiling for The Alpha is utterly limitless. From having stellar matches with just about every single person that has been put in front of him to working a gruelling, no-days-off schedule, and being a top dog in two of the biggest promotions in the world, Takeshita has put the weight of the world on his shoulders in 2025 and has still been able to walk into every arena like it weighs nothing at all. An absolute star and someone to watch out for for years to come. Hopefully, his reign as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion is lengthy and it leads to further World Title reigns in the future.
🥈 "The Protostar" Kyle Fletcher
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| Former AEW TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher |
To quote myself from a year ago;
Fletcher has been a breakout star in the back half of 2024 after joining forces with Don Callis. He's proven that he's greater than the sum of his parts after Aussie Open disbanded and has been able to hold his own in blisteringly good matches in the Continental Classic. 2025 will be a big year for the Protostar.I think I made the right call last year, yeah? What a year Fletcher has had. Some of the best TV and PPV matches of the entire year, a TNT Championship run, and not a single miss any and every time he was on TV. There were still some people in 2024 that couldn't see the writing on the wall for Fletcher, but it became completely undeniable in 2025. Here is my bold prediction for 2026. Kyle Fletcher will be AEW Men's World Champion before the end of 2026. Remember these words when the bell finally rings for the Protostar.
🥇 "Hangman" Adam Page
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| Former AEW Men's World Champion Adam Page |
In one of the most perfect and poetic story arc's that wrestling has seen in many, many years, the redemption of Adam Page took him through literal hell and back, fighting demons in 2024 and in the early half of 2025 until he finally started to listen to the people that have had his back since the very beginning. In the wake of Moxley's mission statement of "burning down the forest to plant a new one," Page sought to walk through those flames and come out the other side a changed man. Taking on the challenge of dethroning the tyrannical leader of the Death Riders, Page's redemption arc came full circle in one of the most emotional, cathartic victories in recent memory. I will forever remember the moment that Page held the AEW Men's World Championship above his head and tell myself "he never gave up, and neither will I." No matter how far he got knocked down, The Hangman always found a way to get back up and push forward again. For being the main character of AEW since the very beginning, the heart and soul of the company, Adam Page is the 2025 Wrestler of the Year.
Matches of the Year:
Wanting to maintain the trend I established last year, I was going to list a handfull of my favourite matches here. But, with the Match of the Year tournament ongoing this year, I decided I'd list all of my runner-up matches in that post so you could see a definitive list of my absolute favourite matches from the year that was and make your decision about what you want to check out from that post. So, if that sounds interesting to you, keep your eyes peeled for the MotY post coming 01/19/2025
And, with that, 2025 has come to a close.
What a year it has been. First off, I want to pat myself on the back for staying consistent for a full 365 days of writing. This has, far and away, been the most challenging year of my life. From being out of work and my mental health deteriorating, it's been a real slog more often than not to get anything done in my life, including this blog. But having regular deadlines and a brain that hates to miss even the most arbitrary deadline, I've forced myself to write even on days when I'd rather just boot up my PlayStation and veg out for 6-8 hours.
And lastly, I want to thank you, the reader, for this past year. Sure, I know my reader numbers aren't huge and I still haven't gotten a single piece of feedback in my inbox, but seeing my numbers pop up on Saturdays means I must be doing something right for people to know to check in on Saturday for the Watchlist. To all of you, wether you've been a silent day one reader, a here-and-there checker, or just found me now, I appreciate any amount of time you are willing to give to me. It does not go unnoticed. Thank you.
I wish each and every one of you a safe, happy, and healthy new year. On to bigger and better things in 2026!
Until next time my friends, be kind and love one another.
cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
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