In some years, singling out the best wrestling promotion in the world is a simple job. In 2025, it was anything but.
In some years, singling out the best wrestling promotion in the world is a simple job. In 2025, it was anything but.
Over the past 12 months, WWE and AEW both made compelling cases from opposite directions, turning what in some years can be a throwaway award instead into a genuine argument. Both promotions had their milestone hits and major misses. Both promotions doubled down on their respective ethos, exposed their flaws, and forced us to ask the question of what "Promotion of the Year" should actually mean in the first place. So given all the good, great and terrible we saw from 2025, let the debate begin.
Argument: 2025 was AEW's year
Robert Jackman: Something strange happened at WWE’s frigidly cold Dec. 13 press conference after John Cena’s retirement. Once the crowd had finished jeering Triple H for the supposedly unconscionable decision to have Cena lose, they started belting out an old number that we haven’t heard on a WWE broadcast for years now: "A-E-Dub! A-E-Dub!"
Was it just a bit of harmless trolling? A couple of years ago, you could've probably assumed as much. But when it comes on the back of what has to be the strongest run in years for Tony Khan’s wrestling promotion, you can’t help but question whether there's something more in the air. Is AEW once again becoming the preferred promotion for wrestling aficionados?
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves: AEW remains a much smaller product than WWE, with a fraction of the cash and viewership. It also started this year from a low base, having shed viewers for much of 2024. But after a stuttering start back in January and February, things quickly began to improve in spades. And by the end of this past summer, AEW was practically on fire.
You can see that in shows like May's Double or Nothing spectacular, which will surely go down as a modern classic. It wasn’t just the numerous five-star matches throughout the year — AEW has always had those — but all the other things in between. The fact that, unlike for much of last year and the one before it, the televised product actually revolved around satisfying narratives rather than just spot after spot.
And what narratives they were. "Hangman" Adam Page’s cathartic rise to the top and triumph over the Death Riders; Toni Storm rediscovering her inner goddess to deliver one of the most memorable title runs ever; the Young Bucks being forced to start all over again with just the shirts on their backs. All of those angles stand out as some of the best that AEW has produced since the pandemic.
Khan's promotion did a great job of building up new stars, too. After a truly formative year, the 27-year-old Kyle Fletcher looks destined to be a future marquee name. There was also Athena, who picked up one of most crowd-pleasing wins of the year in the Casino Gauntlet match at AEW All In: Texas. And let’s not forget about Bandido — one-half of the best odd-couple tag team in years and perhaps the most watchable cruiserweight in professional wrestling right now.
But perhaps the biggest cause for AEW’s success is the obvious one: Tony Khan. Indeed, AEW’s millennial chief executive seems to have embarked on his own Toni Storm-esque quest to find his inner hero. In press conferences and interviews, Khan comes across like a changed man: At ease, confident, and in control. Gone is the reactive boss who famously aired the CM Punk backstage footage in a flailing attempt to boost ratings.
The self-discipline has served him well. AEW emerged the winner from this year’s counter-programming skirmish, when WWE began deliberately booking some of its special shows against AEW’s. Despite some pressure, Khan stuck to his guns, moving forward some U.S.-based shows by a few hours to minimize the time clash. The strategy worked: AEW pay-per-view buys increased year over year, leaving WWE looking rattled.
All things considered, it caps off what has to be one of the best years on record for Khan’s company — and one that gives AEW sizable momentum heading into 2026. They’re still underdogs in the grand scheme of things, but their position is infinitely better than this time last year. As we recap the events of the year, that has to deserve some applause.
Argument: WWE is the clear pick
Brad Gilmore: There are certain eras in sports where the debate about “who’s the best” almost feels unnecessary. When Michael Jordan ruled the NBA in the 1990s, or when LeBron James ascended from Cleveland to Miami, greatness wasn’t seasonal — it was constant. You could make the case that either man was the league’s MVP every year they stepped on the floor.
For me, that same argument applies to WWE in 2025.
Year after year, WWE finds a way to move professional wrestling forward. Not just by being bigger, but by being bolder — breaking records, reshaping distribution, innovating presentation and expanding wrestling’s global footprint. In 2025, that pattern continued in a way no other promotion could match.
The year began with a seismic shift when "Monday Night Raw" moved to Netflix. This wasn’t simply a new home for a television show; it was a fundamental change to how wrestling exists in the modern media ecosystem. WWE once again proved it understands the future before the rest of the industry catches up, much like it did with the launch of the WWE Network years earlier. The company secured a 10-year, $5 billion deal with the world’s leading streaming platform, and this was only year one. Netflix’s global reach immediately elevated WWE’s biggest events — WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam — into true worldwide spectacles.
Then came Elimination Chamber, where WWE delivered the defining moment of professional wrestling in 2025. John Cena’s heel turn was not only the biggest shock of the year, but arguably the greatest heel turn in WWE history. After his surprising Royal Rumble loss to Jey Uso, Cena won the Chamber match and did the unthinkable — aligning himself with The Rock in an attack on Cody Rhodes. In a vacuum, across every promotion and every storyline in 2025, there was no moment that carried more weight, attention, or cultural impact.
That moment carried directly into WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, which felt massive even by WrestleMania standards. Viewership increased by more than 100% year over year from WrestleMania 40, an event many already considered an all-timer. Was WrestleMania 41 as creatively satisfying as its predecessor? Personally, I don’t think so. I didn’t love Cena winning his 17th world championship and the heel turn left some ideas unexplored. But WrestleMania isn’t judged solely on narrative perfection — it’s judged on scale, spectacle and significance. WrestleMania 41 felt bigger than anything WWE had ever done before.
Creatively, the event still delivered in unforgettable ways. Iyo Sky, Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley produced a women’s triple threat that stole the weekend. Joe Hendry appeared as TNA World Champion against Randy Orton, a moment that symbolized wrestling’s increasingly open ecosystem. That same weekend, WWE announced its acquisition of AAA, instantly strengthening its presence in Mexico and expanding its global talent pipeline.
That pipeline matters more than anything else in wrestling. Talent is the industry’s only true natural resource, and in 2025 no promotion invested in it more effectively than WWE. Early in the year, the company launched the WWE ID program, partnering with elite wrestling schools across the country to formalize development at the independent level. This coincided with increased NIL recruitment at the Performance Center and produced immediate results, with Oba Femi emerging as a standout in NXT.
WWE also fully embraced its partnership with TNA Wrestling. Trick Williams became the first WWE-contracted talent to win the TNA World Championship, while Jacy Jayne and Kelani Jordan captured TNA gold as well. These moments weren’t stunts — they were statements about collaboration and growth.
On the main roster, Seth Rollins continued to position himself as this generation’s Triple H, forming a faction alongside Paul Heyman, Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed that feels foundational to WWE’s future. Even after Rollins went down with a knee injury, the group evolved, incorporating Logan Paul and potentially Austin Theory, reinforcing WWE’s ability to produce top-tier male stars.
The women’s division may have been the strongest example of WWE’s dominance in 2025. Jade Cargill fully came into her own, while Stephanie Vaquer delivered one of the most remarkable single-year runs in company history, capturing multiple championships across brands in a way few performers ever have. Veteran returns like Nikki Bella served not as nostalgia acts, but as tools to elevate younger talent.
Cena’s final run was another defining thread of the year. His matches with CM Punk, AJ Styles and Orton reminded fans of his enduring greatness, while his SummerSlam clash with Cody Rhodes stood as a Match of the Year contender. His retirement bout against Gunther in Washington, D.C. featured a finish that will be debated for years, but one that I found rich in symbolism.
The moments kept coming. Becky Lynch returned. AJ Lee returned. Paul Heyman betrayed Roman Reigns and CM Punk to align with Seth Rollins. Seth Rollins executed a masterful fake injury and surprise cash-in at SummerSlam. Brock Lesnar returned. WWE announced its premium live events would stream on ESPN, partnering with one of the world’s most recognizable sports brand. Wrestling no longer lives in the shadows of sports culture. It stands alongside it.
The numbers back it all up. Millions of global viewers tuned in weekly on Netflix. WrestleMania 41 drew more than 124,000 fans across two nights and generated over a billion social media views. Merchandise and sponsorship revenue shattered previous records. Roxanne Perez set a Royal Rumble endurance record that symbolized the rise of the next generation.
There are plenty of promotions doing good work. But in 2025, WWE wasn’t just the biggest — it was the most impactful. Financially dominant, creatively ambitious, globally expansive and unwilling to rest on its position at the top.
That’s why, without hesitation, WWE was the top promotion in professional wrestling in 2025.
Argument: Actually, you're both wrong
Phil Schneider: CMLL has been running lucha libre shows in Mexico since 1933, is the longest continuously-running wrestling promotion in the world, and there's a strong argument that 2025 was its most successful year ever, selling out 50 shows this year and well over 1 million tickets. It has always historically been a successful business — the lucha promotion owns its arenas, which makes it easier to remain profitable even in slower times — however this year’s level of ticket sales were relatively unprecedented. There have been many years where CMLL hasn’t sold out any shows at all, and in previous strong years it might sell out three or four of the promotion's biggest attractions.
There has long been discourse in pro-wrestling about attracting “casual fans." A consistent criticism about AEW is that Tony Khan's organization only book for hardcores, but American wrestling overall has been a product marketed toward diehard fans for almost the entire 21st century. There was some talk about WWE's "Raw" move to Netflix bringing in non-fans who want to check out something new, but there's no real evidence of that actually happening. CMLL is the real exception — it's developed a product which is very attractive to non-wrestling fans, and has become part of the accepted tourist culture in Mexico City. Anecdotally I have had multiple friends of mine, who don’t care about wrestling at all, but know what a freak I am, send me pictures of their trip to Arena Mexico and say how much fun they had at CMLL events, and the crowd shots of CMLL shows are often filled with foreign tourists.
This is not purely a financial argument either — the actually quality of the shows in 2025 was tremendous. Mistico is an unquestioned superstar, a real-life superhero who has mastered the in-ring role of a top star. He may be the last great babyface in pro-wrestling — in a shades of grey world, he is a blinding white light. He works an incredible schedule; Cagematch has him listed as wrestling 240 times this year, which is almost assuredly a significant undercount. A promotion success is always going to be based on the success of their top star, and Mistico had a year to remember.
Because Mistico is so good as the protagonist, he's also elevated the villains who have come against him. Soberano Jr. has blossomed into a top star as a Mistico antagonist, as has Los Hermanos Chavez. Old enemies like Averno and Ultimo Guerrero have had major career highlights in the autumn of their careers, and CMLL has integrated outside stars in really compelling ways, bringing in AEW and MLW wrestlers and showcasing them strongly. This included a Match of The Year contender at September's 92nd Anniversario show with MJF taking on Mistico in a title vs. mask match, and Claudio Castignoli coming in and winning the CMLL Heavyweight Title from Gran Guerrero in November.
A legendary promotion reaching its greatest financial heights in its 92nd year, solidifying itself as a legitimate cultural phenomenon, delivering week after week incredible matches in the ring, and shining brightest in its biggest moments? Yeah, CMLL is the real promotion of the year.
Category: General Sports
