Ranking WWE and AEW's Top 5 Storylines of 2025

Professional wrestling is about many things, but more than anything else, it is about the stories told by the men and women who step into the ring.

Between WWE and All Elite Wrestling, some of the most memorable storylines of the modern era played out in 2025, highlighted by title victories and emotional retirements.

While both companies handle the art of professional wrestling differently, neither shied away from the heart of this proud sport.

John Cena played out his final year in a long retirement filled with highs and lows from ill-advised heel turns to a controversial final match with Gunther.

Seth Rollins tried to take over WWE, backed by The Vision and Paul Heyman, after defeating both CM Punk and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 41.

"Hangman" Adam Page ended the reign of terror of The Death Riders in an emotional Texas Death match.

"Timeless" Toni Storm reclaimed her flair and her title before putting Mariah May through a Hollywood Ending.

These stories and more highlighted a great year of stories, and the following were the top five storylines to come out of WWE and AEW.

Honorable Mentions

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This is a spot to highlight some of stories that were not quite big enough to make the cut or are primarily connected with another company outside WWE or AEW.

Jacy Jayne Becomes Undeniable

After suffering through multiple bad stories, stuck in the shadow of others no longer with WWE, Jayne became the ace of the NXT women's division and massively upped her game as a performer.

In one year, she became a two-time NXT women's champion and one-time TNA Knockouts champion and still is the leading star of a women's division that has outshined the main roster multiple times in 2025.

Dominik Mysterio Breaks Out

The pop for Dirty Dom winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 41 was a truly special moment and has been backed up by multiple memorable wins for the 28-year-old phenom.

If he keeps this momentum, he could soon be WWE's top star, which would be a massive feat when most of WWE's main event scene has at least 10 years on him.

Hiroshi Tanahashi's Final Year

While this list does not focus on New Japan Pro-Wrestling, it is worth shouting out the other legend on a retirement year.

Tanahashi did get in one last fun match in AEW as a part of Forbidden Door, but most of his time has been spent putting over the future in Japan and setting the stage for a memorable retirement in a sold-out Tokyo Dome in January.

The Legend of Místico Reborn for American Audiences

While Mexico has supported Místico for a long time and he now rivals the all-time great luchadors, U.S. fans mainly know him for his ill-fated time as Sin Cara in WWE.

Thanks to a great feud with MJF and especially a magical entrance in Arena México to La Quinta Estación's "Me Muero," American audiences got to see the legend in all his glory in 2025.

5. The Vision is Realized

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The second biggest story in WWE in 2025 has been The Vision. It has been the central story of Raw on Netflix throughout the year, beginning after WrestleMania 41.

Seth Rollins' shocking heel turn and alliance with Paul Heyman at The Show of Shows set a standard for WWE programming through the rest of the year.

This was the moment for The Visionary to truly define himself as one of the era's greatest performers.

He aligned himself with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed, won the men's Money in the Bank match, cashed in successfully to dethrone CM Punk as world heavyweight champion, then defeated Cody Rhodes to become men's Crown Jewel champion.

Meanwhile, Breakker was on his own ascent, breaking the internet multiple times over with his ridiculous Spears, especially ones to Carlito and I Show Speed.

While the story has often moved too slow over the year, it was certainly the real draw to watch Raw each week.

Unfortunately, the storyline hit a snag when The Visionary suffered a shoulder injury in October that may keep him out through WrestleMania 42.

As a pivot, Breakker turned against Rollins, putting him on the shelf and taking the group for himself.

Without Rollins, WWE has struggled to keep The Vision interesting, mainly relying on Breakker's Steiner blood to carry him through wild promos.

It feels like the true vision for The Vision will not be realized until 2026 when Breakker likely wins the World Heavyweight Championship and eventually feels the wrath of Rollins.

With The Visionary healthy and still around, this could have ranked higher, even with the sometimes frustrating pacing behind this angle.

4. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada

Kazuchika Okada is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and has effortlessly transitioned to AEW where he is the longest reigning champion in company history.

At 38 years old and with many grueling years in Japan weighing on his body, The Rainmaker may not be wrestling at the highest level for much longer.

Someone needed to step in and take the torch from one of Japan's all-time greats. Enter Konosuke Takeshita.

The Alpha has taken over professional wrestling in 2025. He is the IWGP world heavyweight champion, the last man to defeat Hiroshi Tanahashi on American soil and possibly the third man to win the Continental Classic.

Takeshita and Okada are stablemates, but it is hard to see them as anything but rivals as they constantly butt heads on AEW TV.

It has been fantastic television and delivered incredible PPV matches like their battles with Brodido and El Sky Team. They have not fought one-on-one yet, though.

The problem with any end-of-the-year list in December is that the final month of the year can get ignored.

This is a story that has not completed but will likely reach its first true climactic battle at Worlds End when Okada and Takeshita collide in the Continental Classic finals.

At the time of writing, this is a prediction rather than a guarantee, but signs have pointed to this as the final big moment of the year for AEW for many months.

This could look like a ridiculous ranking if Okada does not face Takeshita in the C2 final and AEW delays that match until 2026, but that feels unlikely.

This has been the most anticipated match in all of AEW for the second half of the year and is likely to only intensify into 2026 as both head to WrestleKingdom hoping to win big in a sold-out Tokyo Dome.

3. John Cena's Retirement Tour

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In an ideal world, John Cena's retirement tour would be the biggest and best story of 2025. It was supposed to be a final chance to encapsulate the career of a WWE legend.

Instead, the company fumbled the ball several times on this road and left The GOAT to pick up the pieces late, delivering in the ring when nothing else was working.

Cena's heel turn at Elimination Chamber on March 1 remains one of the most shocking moments in wrestling history.

In hindsight, it was a mistake as WWE did not have enough time to sell fans on a new version of Cena, who hated wrestling for what it had done to him as a person.

It came off as a hollow imitation of the real John Cena, the one fans simply wanted to celebrate in his final year. By SummerSlam 2025, after a string of messy, overbooked title matches, the authentic Cena finally returned.

He redeemed his painful WrestleMania 41 match with Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam and followed up with great performances against Logan Paul and especially AJ Styles.

However, so much time had been wasted that Cena barely had dates left to appear on TV, mostly relying on his PLE opponents to sell their upcoming matches.

While controversial, Cena's final match with Gunther was a poetic final chapter for The GOAT, giving up when his body could no longer handle the physical exertion of fighting the unrelenting Ring General.

Cena gave back to the business for one last year, and he made the most of bad creative and his own physical limitations to deliver some of the most memorable moments of 2025.

2. 'Timeless' Toni Storm's Hollywood Ending

It seems unreal to realize "Timeless" Toni Storm vs. Mariah May ended in March at Revolution, but it was not so long ago that The Timeless One delivered some of her greatest work.

Following the memorable return of the true Storm in December 2024, May did her best to avoid The Timeless One or try to end her for good.

Their battle raged on into Grand Slam: Australia where Storm reclaimed her Women's World Championship in her home country.

They agreed to one last brutal fight to seal the deal: a Hollywood Ending. In one of the most brutal fights AEW has seen, the two nearly bled each other dry to seal the victory.

In the end, Storm not only defeated May; she ended her AEW run entirely. No one has seen The Glamour since (though others might note her remarkable resemblance to Blake Monroe in WWE NXT).

This was one of the greatest rivalries in AEW history, and while it was a shame May left afterward, it still solidified Storm as one of the company's greatest character workers.

1. 'Hangman' Adam Page vs. The Death Riders

How good was The Death Riders' story in AEW? At times, it was arguably the weakest part of the show, not living up to the wild action across the rest of the product.

At other times, it was something truly special, developing the ultimate villain in AEW who needed to be conquered.

Over time, the second side of this story took over fully, particularly once Will Ospreay and "Hangman" Adam Page were ready to step up to Jon Moxley and his crew.

The Cowboy especially brought a new edge to the Death Riders angle tinged in the deep regret of a man who had gone off the deep end.

Over the course of 2024 into 2025, AEW's main character became a monster of his own (and Swerve Strickland's) making, and it was only when he went too far against his friend, Christopher Daniels, that he began to see the light.

What started in that moment became one of AEW's greatest stories, a path to redemption for a man the fans never lost faith in. He won the men's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament and earned his shot at Moxley at All In.

It was the biggest show in terms of audience attendance AEW had ever delivered on American soil, and the competitors gave the fans the ultimate crowd-pleasing finish.

The Cowboy made the original Death Rider tap out, giving up the AEW Men's World Championship and his iron grip on the company.

No matter how rough The Death Riders story got at times, it was all worth it to finally see Hangman remove the championship from a briefcase at All In and raise it high with tears in his eyes.

This stands as arguably the greatest story in AEW's history, and the defining storyline of 2025 for all of professional wrestling.