Grapple Theory End of Year Awards 2024

2024 has been a crazy year for wrestling here in the UK, making this year’s awards particularly hard to dish out. There’s been no shortage of incredible matches, moments and of course the wrestlers themselves.

So without any further delay, here are our award winners for 2024…

Men’s Wrestler of the Year - Luke Jacobs

What a year it’s been for Luke Jacobs! He’s been on fire! He became the only wrestler to ever hold the top belts in both RevPro and PROGRESS at the same time and has had some seriously stand out matches.

Those title winning abouts, against Michael Oku and Kid Lykos respectively, have put him at the very top of the BritWres pyramid. While his trilogy match with Tomohiro Ishii was the perfect closer to a three match series that produced some instant classics.

With Ethan Allen now back at his side the entirety of indie wrestling better watch out because The Young Guns are about to take over!

Honourable mentions: Michael Oku, Nico Angelo, Leon Slater, Dereiss

Women’s Wrestler of the Year - Rhio

Now, I normally don’t like splitting these awards into men’s and women’s categories, but for the two top prizes there were SO many candidates that I thought splitting them was the only fair way to highlight as many people as possible.

Rhio claims our Women’s Wrestler of the Year award after an absolutely incredible 12 months in the ring! She’s defended her PROGRESS Women’s Championship 20 TIMES in just over a year holding the belt, including an amazing match recently at the Electric Ballroom against Lizzy Evo.

She’s also picked up the TNT tag titles with Emersyn Jayne, and the pair also enjoyed a solid run with the NORTH tag belts as well.

Honourable Mentions: Nina Samuels, Emersyn Jayne, Kanji

Best Young Wrestler - Zozaya

It’s fair to say that Zozaya has taken the UK by storm! Since breaking out at RevPro he’s now being featured in more places and consistently having match of the night contenders!

I’d urge anyone to check out the trio of matches he had with Leon Slater - two at RevPro and one at Riot Cabaret - they are absolutely phenomenal and show both wrestlers at their absolute best.

There’s no reason why Zozaya can’t be one of the biggest names in Europe by the end of next year!

Honourable mentions: Safire Reed, Zizi, Kid Lykos II

Breakout Star - Kanji

Okay hear me out on this, I know Kanji has been around for a while and I know she’s been excellent for a lot of that time, but this was her year.

She’s been hampered by years of injuries that have always halted any upwards momentum she was gaining, but this year has been different, it’s been a year of consistent growth and showing the world exactly what we all knew she was capable of.

She’s been having standout matches, epic moments and finally got to lift the Resurgence title after a beautiful match with Charli Evans. 2024 has been the year of Kanji and she deserves every single bit of it.

Honourable mentions: Connor Mills, Leon Cage

Tag Team of the Year - Mark Trew and Kieron Lacey

There have been a lot of great tag teams on the scene this year. Of course you have the usual suspects; Sunshine Machine, Greedy Souls, Lykos Gym. Then you also have the newer teams like Anita Vaughan and Debbie Keitel in EVE, or Rhio and Emersyn Jayne in TNT and NORTH.

But for my money this boiled down to two teams; CPF and Trey and Lacey, both were fully deserving but I decided on the latter as I feel like this is the year the country really sat up and took notice of them.

CPF, to their credit, won the RevPro Trios Grand Prix and have made their way into mainland Europe, but I felt the country was already well aware of them. But this has been a defining year for Trew and Lacey in terms of making their mark.

Promotion of the Year - NORTH Wrestling

This was a really tough one to decide, because a lot of companies have had fantastic years! RevPro ran both Copper Box and Crystal Palace again, doing brilliant numbers; EVE have had probably their strongest and most consistent year since pre-lockdown and New Wave’s growth has been incredible to see.

But this year I’ve been impressed the most by is once again NORTH Wrestling. The guys up in Newcastle are doing stellar work, month after month they sell out shows and their booking has been top notch. They also had yet another triumph at the Walker Dome in the summer as well.

Honourable mentions: RevPro, New Wave Wrestling, True Grit Wrestling

Best Show - Wrestling Resurgence - The Magnificent Seven

Resurgence celebrated seven years in style in November. Not one but two shows on one day and they closed their calendar year out with an absolute bang.

As well as having the final clash between Kanji and Charli Evans, which was absolutely incredible as you’d expect, they had a host of terrific and wacky matches that showed the true joy in variety that the promotion has become known for over their 2,500+ days in business.

This show was truly special and the main event was the perfect crowning moment for Kanji to boot.

Honourable mentions: ATTACK! Pro Wrestling: Boar Games, Pro Wrestling EVE: Halloween Forever, PW Ceasefire (All In weekend debut show)

Best Region - Wales and the South West

While I think NORTH has been the best individual promotion this year, in terms of consistency and growth and producing the best talent, 2024 has been ALL about Wales and the South West.

Attack! New Wave, Chaos and SWW have all been KILLING it this year and making the scene a thriving place where the best talent in the country can be found. You only need to look at the talent out there and the years they’ve had; Nico Angelo, Jay Joshua, Eddie Dennis, Harrison Bennett, Aluna, Echo, Boar, Greedy Souls, Leon Cage! Damn what a crop of talent!

Best Match - Kanji vs Jordon Breaks: Pro Wrestling Ceasefire

Okay hear me out here; clearly Will Ospreay vs Michael Oku is one of the best wrestling matches on British soil - but everyone knew it was going to be a barn burner.

But my favourite match of the year was Kanji against Jordon Breaks at PW CEASEFIRE’S debut show. On a Thursday night, on the biggest weekend of the year for British wrestling, in a tiny venue near Waterloo, this match had NO RIGHT being as good as it was…absolutely exceptional.

Kanji and Breaks showed why they’re two of the best in the country but also two underrated gems on our scene who deserve so much more recogniton.

Honourable mentions: Will Ospreay vs Michael Oku: RevPro High Stakes, Kanji vs Charli Evans: Resurgence - The Magnificent Seven

International Wrestler of the Year - Miu Watanabe

At the back end of last year her match with Hyan was absolutely brilliant, and she carried that momentum into 2024. Firstly winning the TJPW Princess of Princess title off Miyu Yamashita in March and then defending it throughout the rest of the year in some more stand out matches.

Fans of more Western wrestlers should check out the contest she had with Vert Vixen which was incredible. She’s gone from strength to strength with the belt to back her and shows no signs of slowing down in 2025.

Honourable mentions: Jessica Troy, Mao, Max The Impaler

International Promotion of the Year - PWA (Pro Wrestling Australia)

For my money, PWA has been the best indie promotion in the world this year. Not just in Aus/Asia, but across Europe, Africa and the Americas as well. They have been on fire.

We sometimes forget about the Aussie scene because they’re so far away (time zones are a bitch), but PWA are proving exactly why you SHOULD NOT be sleeping on this scene and what it delivers.

They’ve had more than a handful of outstanding shows this year, topped off by their Colosseum double header in which Jessica Troy and Charli Evans did battle for the title - before Chevs ruthlessly betrayed her former best friend.

Check PWA out, you won’t regret it!

Honourable mentions: DEFY, BZW, Hoodslam

Best Feud - Ivy vs Zizi, True Grit Wrestling

True Grit have been smashing it this year! They’ve had a real breakout 12 months which has seen them really challenge the established promotions in the north of England.

A big part of that was the brilliant rivalry between Ivy and Zizi. Starting just after Christmas and running until the end of the year, these two played out a rivalry that spanned a number of shows, with the seeds being sewn long before that as Zizi worked her way up through the ranks at TGW.

This of course caught Ivy’s attention and she went about trying to dismantle Zizi’s hard work. The pair had an amazing No DQ match at the very start of the year and would feud the entire year. Things came to a head after a show in December when Ivy jumped Zizi and cut her hair. This was the last straw and a ‘Loser Leaves TGW’ match was booked.

It was a brilliant contest and you could tell it meant so much to both women to have it and to prove themselves. Zizi won and ended Ivy’s incredible time at TGW. This really was a brilliant rivalry.

Honourable mentions: Will Kroos & Rampage vs Liam Slater & Rory Coyle - NORTH, Michael Oku vs Luke Jacobs - RevPro

Power Couple - Michael Oku and Amira

Two years on the trot, someone’s got to stop them but it certainly won’t be this year. Once again Michael Oku and Amira - both as a pair and as individuals - have shown why they’re at the top of the BritWres couples’ table.

Oku has been incredible once again and despite losing his belts in the likes of Riot Cabaret and RevPro has been having standout matches and helping bring through the next generation. He also wrestled on AEW, how fucking cool is that!

Meanwhile, Amira continues to be criminally underrated on this scene. Yes, she’s been a powerhouse manager for Oku, the best manager in British wrestling and to be honest probably beyond that. But in the ring she’s improved so much. She’s a great comedy wrestler, something you can tell she absolutely loves - just ook at her corpsing in the ring when something tickles her. But she’s also improved her technical abilities too and had a stand out match at Resurgence’s seven year anniversary show against Alex Windsor to highlight that.

Best Return - Ethan Allen & Rayne Leverkusen

*Photo credits: @beyondgorilla & @theheaddrop*

I couldn’t pick between these two. Both have fought back from career threatening injuries and had the returns they both deserved this year.

Ethan has bounced back in style, absolutely flying at RevPro and PROGRESS and reuniting one of the most exciting young tag teams in this country in the process. We all hope he stays injury free because if he does he’s still on course for a truly special career.

As is Rayne, whose journey was equally as inspiring. Through various promos on social media she detailed her slow return to the ring, and then when it finally came it was absolutely worth the wait. She’s now a regular on the likes of ATTACK!, Chaos and EVE - as well as winning back the Hustle title.

Best Merch - LA Taylor

There is a lot of great merch in British Wrestling, but this year’s award is going to LA for one reason that puts her above the rest - variety. I’ve not seen many merch areas that have the variety of different items to buy and at different price points. There are of course the classics, like shirts and prints, but also badges and totes and coasters.

It’s a really good idea for those who maybe just want a cheaper memento from their show than a pricier shirt etc.

Honourable mentions: Nico Angelo, Dereiss

Inspiration Award - James Castle

There’s been plenty of people to be inspired by this year, the likes of Ethan Allen and Rayne Leverkusen who I mentioned in the ‘best return’ category who battled through injury to make their way back.

But this year I wanted to highlight a man who fought through so much and inspired so many with his battle. James Castle was a favourite in British Wrestling. Amongst his friends, his colleagues and the fans. He touched so many lives during his career and we all followed his story as he fought his battle with cancer.

This brave, brave man fought until the very end, even at the times when it must’ve been so damn hard to do so. We should all take inspiration from how strong he was and we all miss him so damn much.

James Castle was a fighter, a warrior, and he will be remembered as such.

Grapple Theory End of Year Awards 2024

REVIEW: Wrestling Resurgence - The Magnificent Seven