Ranking WWE's 10 Best and 10 Worst Moments of 2025
WWE in 2025 was anything but perfect. Unlike the critically acclaimed first two years under Triple H, there was backlash from fans unhappy with some disjointed storytelling and creative misfires.
Still, despite justified backlash, there were also some celebratory moments that had fans taking to social media to discuss the developments and hype up the figures at the center of them.
From championship victories to long goodbyes, they were the moments that kept fans invested even when things may not have been great elsewhere.
These are the 10 best and 10 worst moments in WWE in 2025.
Worst Moments Nos. 10-6
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10. Failing Giulia
Since arriving on the main roster, Giulia has been miscast and underutilized in relation to her skill set. First, she captured the Women's United States Championship, but did not have an abundance of talent to work with or readily available stories to tell. Her partnership with Kiana James feels forced, and while she has some light momentum on her side amid her renewed rivalry with Chelsea Green, her inital run on the main roster feels wasted.
9. Jacob Fatu loses the United States Championship
Jacob Fatu was among the hottest stars on the main roster in the spring and early summer months of 2025. Then, he lost the United States title to Solo Sikoa at Night of Champions following a split from the new Bloodline. Less-than-stellar matches against Sikoa, rife with run-ins and overbooking, and the second-generation star lost momentum before suffering a year-ending injury. He may rebound in 2026 but it was staggering how far he fell after that questionable booking decision in Saudi Arabia.
8. Brock Lesnar squashes John Cena at Wrestlepalooza
If Brock Lesnar returning in the closing moments of SummerSlam was not already a polarizing creative decision, booking him to squash John Cena in the opening match of Wrestlepalooza sure was. Not only did it infuriate the fans who did not want to see their hero suffer a one-sided loss, but it also left viewers tuning into the first ESPN live stream underwhelmed by the presentation of the night's most star-studded contest.
7. Charlotte Flair wins the Royal Rumble
Rather than giving fans a reason to throw their support behind Charlotte Flair on her return to the squared circle for the first time in over a year at the Royal Rumble, WWE Creative did what it always does: Overpushed her to the dismay of the audience. She won the 30-woman Rumble match to moderate fanfare but was booed out of the building the next night, rendering her triumphant comeback a failure right out of the gate. Thankfully, an unlikely pairing with Alexa Bliss gave her greater purpose later in the year.
6. The Rock returns at Raw on Netflix debut
The first of The Rock's appearances on our "worst of" list comes as a result of his appearance on the January 6 Raw on Netflix debut, where he asked the fans to disregard the Final Boss character he had portrayed the previous year, buddied up with top rival Cody Rhodes and took a victory lap for WWE and its debut on the leading streaming platform. It felt more like a PR move and ate up valuable television time that could have gone to the rushed CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins main event.
Best Moments Nos. 10-6
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10. Dirty Dom strikes gold at WrestleMania
Dominik Mysterio spent two years developing and evolving into the most hated villain in WWE, going as far as to poke fun at himself when necessary to get his act or story across. It was that commitment to his character and entertaining the audience that earned him an enormous reaction when he won the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 41 and commanded an encore celebration.
9. Jade Cargill's return
Jade Cargill ended the year as WWE women's champion, but she kicked her 2025 off with an unforgettable return at Elimination Chamber, rushing the ring and unleashing months of pent-up rage on the woman who sidelined her, Naomi. The angle was the start of a rivalry with her former Big Three teammate, which would culminate in two PLE wins over her, including one at WrestleMania 41.
8. Paul Heyman betrays CM Punk, Roman Reigns
One thing is for certain in professional wrestling: Paul Heyman is gonna be Paul Heyman, and that means betraying even his closest allies if it means seeing a brighter future ahead for himself. Such was the case at WrestleMania, when he turned his back on Roman Reigns and CM Punk to align himself with Seth Rollins and his vision for the future of WWE. That vision would eventually lead to betraying The Architect, too, all while leading Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker to the top of Raw.
7. Naomi cashes in
Naomi was one of the brightest stars in WWE in 2025, a veteran performer who reinvented herself and earned rave reviews from her peers and fans alike. After winning the women's Money in the Bank ladder match a month earlier and losing to Cargill earlier in the broadcast, she interrupted the main event of Evolution, cashing in her guaranteed title opportunity in the middle of Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky's Match of the Year candidate.
She won the WWE Women's Championship before later vacating the title when she revealed, alongside husband Jimmy Uso, that she was pregnant with their first child together.
6. Raw debuts on Netflix
To suggest Raw debuting on Netflix was not a major accomplishment for WWE would be a mistake. While some complained about making the audience pay for another platform in order to watch the shows, it provided greater exposure and an opportunity for crossovers.
The debut episode saw Rhea Ripley pay off a year-long journey back to the top of the women's division with a Women's World Championship victory over Liv Morgan and concluded with CM Punk (momentarily) besting Seth Rollins in a match a year in the making.
Worst Moment No. 5: R-Truth Replaces Ron Killings
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When R-Truth revealed WWE was not renewing his contract this past summer, the wrestling world reacted with great negativity. His peers and fans came to his defense, demanding he return to the company and WWE listened, offering him a new deal.
At Money in the Bank in June, he interrupted the main event, attacking John Cena and setting up his loss. From there, he introduced fans to Ron Killings, the ultra-serious side of himself they had only seen fleetingly in his WWE career.
Every once in a while, he would revert back to R-Truth, but it never came without a reminder that Killings was just a flip of the switch away.
Then, when Cena became a babyface again, Truth took over and any semblance of the Killings character was abruptly dropped.
Was it for the best? Maybe, but it was a shining example of the disjointed nature of WWE Creative in 2025 and a disservice to the performer himself.
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Best Moment No. 5: Gunther Basks in the Boos
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Just 48 hours after tapping out John Cena and retiring him, Gunther took to the squared circle on the December 15 episode of Raw in Hershey, Pennsylvania to address the WWE Universe.
Except, fans did everything to prevent him from talking, drowning out his words with relentless jeers. They booed louder than he talked. He stomped off, returning once to further bask in the disdain of the live audience.
It was a brilliant use of The Ring General, one that allowed him to build momentum as the biggest heel WWE had seen in years, in front of an audience ready to unleash its anger on him for dispatching their hero with a defeat.
As 2026 arrives, the two-time world champion is more hated and red-hot than ever before.
Worst Moment No. 4: Tiffany Stratton Goes Off-Script
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On the road to WrestleMania 41, WWE women's champion Tiffany Stratton sought to stand up for herself and not allow Charlotte Flair to dominate her on the mic ahead of the biggest match of her young career.
On the April 4 episode of SmackDown, Stratton answered The Queen's verbal jabs with a steel chair shot to the face, going off-script to attack Flair's personal life, including her recent divorce from Andrade.
While it drew gasps from the fans and had the wrestling world talking about a rivalry that was relatively cold otherwise, it was a breach of trust, which is a key element of everything pro wrestlers do.
That the feud and WrestleMania match ultimately ended up none the better for it only enhanced how ineffective and unnecessary the whole thing was.
Triple H addressed the situation on WWE Untold, insisting Stratton apologize to Flair.
Best Moment No. 4: Jey Uso Wins World Heavyweight Championship
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From the moment The Bloodline story began, it was clear Jey Uso was poised for big things. He was the first to challenge Roman Reigns' ascent to Tribal Chief status, came within seconds of defeating him on two separate occasions, and he served as the moral center of the overarching epic.
Uso was the first to break from Reigns and embark on his own journey, seeking to be his own man, without relying on his family name.
The year kicked off with him doing the seemingly impossible by eliminating John Cena to win the men's Rumble match. From there, he went to WrestleMania 41 and channeled all of his frustration, anger and determination into one offensive flurry that ended with him tapping out the seemingly unbeatable Gunther.
Uso's reign itself proved to be underwhelming, and the creative behind him as champion was not as strong as it should have been.
However, the moment itself was the culmination of a star-making four-year journey.
Worst Moment No. 3: Triple H Laughs Off The Fans
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As the crowd in Washington D.C. booed his presence following John Cena's last match against Gunther, Triple H hopped on the ring apron and visibly laughed as he shared a lighthearted moment with The Unseen 17.
While no one faults him for enjoying the moment with a guy against whom he had many battles and with whom he had worked to craft the retirement tour, the optics of the WWE chief content officer laughing amid boos weren't great.
It felt like a slap in the face to close out a year in which criticism was hurled at him on more than one occasion, only to be brushed off by the head of WWE's creative efforts.
For a man who has repeatedly expressed the importance of listening to the audience, it felt like a tone-deaf response to what had gone from a celebratory crowd to a hostile audience frustrated over the outcome of a match.
Best Moment No. 3: Seth Rollins Cashes In
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Just moments after CM Punk survived a grueling contest with Gunther to win the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of SummerSlam, "Burn It Down!" exploded over the PA system and Seth Rollins made his way to the stage, limping with the assist of a pair of crutches and Paul Heyman by his side.
What looked to be a warning from Mr. Money in the Bank proved to be more as he tossed the crutches aside and rushed the ring. He cashed in his guaranteed title opportunity, laid out Punk, and won the championship to the shock of fans at MetLife Stadium.
It was a great cash-in and a moment that reminded the audience there will always be events that catch them off-guard and result in some of the most unforgettable responses of all time.
Worst Moment No. 2: WrestleMania Main Event
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Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena, two months after the latter's shocking heel turn, should have been a slam dunk success as the main event of WrestleMania 41.
Instead, it was the worst match at this year's event, a boring slog of a match that relied on a run-in that never came.
With the eyes of the wrestling world trained on the entrance way, waiting for The Rock to appear, WWE instead trotted out rapper Travis Scott.
While the multi-platinum singer had been involved in Cena's heel turn at Elimination Chamber on March 1, he was not the megastar the crowd wanted. The Final Boss never came and in his place was Scott, who took an age to get to the squared circle before sleepwalking his way through his involvement.
Cena won his historic 17th world title but instead of his Undisputed WWE Championship victory, it was the Scott "run-in" that dominated the conversation and made for an unsatisfactory ending to a mediocre WrestleMania.
Best Moment No. 2: AJ Lee Returns
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After a decade away from professional wrestling, AJ Lee returned to WWE in 2025, joining her husband, CM Punk, for a marquee mixed tag team match against Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch at Wrestlepalooza.
Long recognized as one of the most influential competitors in women's wrestling, Lee was welcomed back with open arms by fans who had missed seeing her show off her abilities inside the squared circle.
Lee and Punk earned the win that night and the former Divas champion returned to the squared circle once more at Survivor Series: WarGames, partnering with Iyo Sky, Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, and Alexa Bliss to defeat Lynch, Nia Jax, Lash Legend, Asuka, and Kairi Sane in the same-titled women's match.
Though she has not consistently appeared on TV outside of the builds to her PLE contests, Lee figures to be a high-profile star for WWE entering 2026, with a WrestleMania 42 match almost certainly in play.
Worst Moment No. 1: John Cena's Heel Turn
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Yes, John Cena's heel turn at Elimination Chamber on March 1 was an internet-breaking moment that both captivated and stunned fans.
It should have been the start of a historic run for The GOAT and the rejuvenation of the WWE product after a colder winter than expected.
Except, that did not happen.
The Rock's determination to own the soul of the undisputed WWE champion was the inspiration for the turn, but he never appeared in the role of The Final Boss again, which left WWE Creative and Cena to figure out where to go with the character from there.
Travis Scott, who was supposed to play a key role in a PLE match later in spring or summer, also removed himself from the equation.
From there, Cena's heel run limped to an unsatisfying conclusion, with the legendary Superstar reverting to his babyface ways just six months after the unforgettable turn.
Some may question its recognition here as the worst moment of the year, but it is the best example of what happens when WWE opts to book for moments and social media engagement rather than coherent stories.
That one moment nearly ruined Cena's last run with the company and cost fans valuable months with the hero they knew and loved. It all could have been avoided had there been a plan in place instead of simply booking a moment to drum up interest for WrestleMania.
Best Moment No. 1: The Farewell
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For 12 months, fans around the globe said goodbye to one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling as John Cena embarked on his retirement tour.
Never exactly what they envisioned, the tour featured an ill-fated heel turn and questionable creative decisions, but it also provided nostalgic matchups with Randy Orton, CM Punk, R-Truth, and AJ Styles that fans wanted from their favorite wrestler.
Then came Saturday Night's Main Event on December 13 and Cena's final match against Gunther.
While some denounce the tap-out finish that saw The GOAT give up by submitting to the sleeper hold that had defeated so many of his peers, it was the best and most effective finish possible for him to go out on.
Content with his career, accomplishments, successes, failures and feeling relief from the pressure of having to carry the company on his back, Cena flashed a smile and tapped out. Less a submission and more of him clocking out, he went out on his own terms.
He never let Gunther put him out unconscious and in the process, allowed The Ring General the type of career-defining victory that would catapult him onward and upward.
It was a selfless move that made a bigger star out of a younger competitor and ensured he did for the future of the industry what guys like Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, The Undertaker, Triple H and Shawn Michaels had done for him when he arrived at the top of the card.
The strolls down memory lane, the emotional video packages and Cena leaving his sneakers and wristbands in the ring as he took his final bow gave closure to fans who had ridden the roller coaster with him over the 23 years since his WWE debut.
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