Report Card Grades For WWE's Biggest Stars in 2024

WWE's 2024 saw a full year of Triple H's creative plans come to fruition, resulting in some names becoming more popular than ever before, while others seized new opportunities to make themselves central figures of the company.

They headlined premium live events, delivered Match of the Year candidates and padded already-impressive resumes with more championship gold.

Who are they and what grade did they muster for their efforts this year? Find out in this review.

The following are Superstars who had a meaningful impact in WWE in 2024 and the grades they have earned through their work on Raw, SmackDown and PLEs.

Liv Morgan

Morgan returned from injury, began her revenge tour, sidelined Rhea Ripley, defeated Becky Lynch to win the Women's World Championship, lured Dominik Mysterio from The Eradicator, successfully defended her title against Mami, defeated Nia Jax to win the women's Crown Jewel Championship and established herself as a legitimate headliner on Raw.

Not bad for a breakout year in which the 30-year-old earned legitimate consideration for Superstar of the Year honors, even if her feud with Ripley dragged on and did not quite hit the notes it should have.

Grade: A

Gunther

The Ring General dropped the Intercontinental Championship to Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 40 and almost immediately leveled up, working through the summer to become the No. 1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship after winning the King of the Ring tournament.

In his first shot at the gold, he knocked off Damian Priest to claim the title and embark on his run atop of Raw.

A lack of booking as champion hurt the Austria-born star's typically strong work and diminished his certain "A" grade. Still a top performer on the flagship show, his story revolves around confidence and his ability to retain the title on his own.

Grade: B+

LA Knight

The Megastar entered 2024 as one of the hottest wrestlers on the planet and while he cooled off some thanks to his exit from the world title picture, he still had a very strong year.

it kicked off with a feud with AJ Styles that resulted in one of the hidden gems on the WrestleMania 40 card. It continued with a United States Championship victory over Logan Paul at SummerSlam and featured strong in-ring work along the way, all while remaining as immensely over as he has ever been.

He lost the U.S. title to Shinsuke Nakamura at Survivor Series: War Games, but he has reignited his rivalry with The Bloodline to end the year and potentially set himself up for a high-profile start to 2025.

Grade: B

Jey Uso

Uso became his own man in 2024, evolving into one of the most popular and beloved Superstars on the WWE roster.

He defeated his brother, Jimmy, at WrestleMania in a match that was—to put it mildly—less than celebrated, but he bounced back by challenging Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship and taking Gunther to the limit on two different occasions.

Uso won the Intercontinental Championship from Bron Breakker in one of the most memorable outcomes of 2024 and stood side-by-side with Roman Reigns amid the reunion of The OG Bloodline but as a star on his own merit.

Grade: A

Solo Sikoa

The new Tribal Chief exploded into the main event stratosphere in the absence of Reigns following WrestleMania 40. He took over The Bloodline, booted out the weak links and replaced them with his hand-picked foot soldiers, ensuring the group was meaner, nastier and more dangerous.

He competed for the Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes, feuded with the returning Reigns, and he established himself as one of the central figures on SmackDown.

The 31-year-old became more confident on the mic, explored his on-screen personality and proved he could hang with the top stars in the company.

Grade: B+

Drew McIntyre had a career year in 2024, turning heel and becoming one of the most engaging Superstars in WWE.

The Scottish Warrior took exception to CM Punk's return and Jey Uso's emergence as a wildly popular babyface, rightly pointing out the issues they had caused him and the rest of the WWE Universe over the years.

He won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 41 by defeating Seth Rollins, only for Punk to cost the Scot the title by attacking him, opening the door for Damian Priest to cash in Money in the Bank.

McIntyre's rivalry with The Second City Saint would be the best of the year, a months-long saga of hatred and disdain that saw each suffer personally and professionally at the hands of the other before culminating in one of the best matches of the year: inside Hell in a Cell at Bad Blood on October 5.

McIntyre lost more than he won in 2024, but it hardly mattered. He was as engaging a promo and great an in-ring worker as WWE had, and he did so while working with a heavy heart after the death of his aunt days before Bad Blood.

A brilliant year for one of the more underappreciated wrestlers in the game, 2024 was the start of something magical for McIntyre and a run that appears set to continue through the start of the new year and well beyond.

Grade: A+

CM Punk's year started on a devastating note when he suffered a torn triceps in the men's Royal Rumble match that sidelined him from in-ring competition for months.

Instead of slinking off, though, The Straight Edge Superstar stayed relevant and visible, remaining on WWE television and instigating one of the best feuds of the year with McIntyre.

Their three matches (SummerSlam, Bash in Berlin and Bad Blood) made for the trilogy of the year in WWE and reminded any doubters that Punk still has the goods between the ropes.

On the mic, the 46-year-old remains one of the best to do it, engaging in verbal warfare with McIntyre, Seth Rollins, Gunther and Roman Reigns and highlighting the conviction with which he speaks that makes him so popular with fans.

The Hell in a Cell battle with McIntyre was an all-timer, a great return to the savagery and brutality of the matchup that served as the appropriate end for that particular rivalry. It was a Match of the Year candidate and one of the best to take place inside the steel structure.

As 2025 draws near, Punk finds himself feuding with Rollins in what should be another super-program, the first match being their January 6 showdown on the Raw Netflix premiere. He should be a candidate to compete for a world title at WrestleMania 41, presumably in one of the show's two main events.

This year was great for Punk, but it feels very much like a catapult to even bigger, better and healthier things in 2025.

Grade: B+

Rhea Ripley realized her full potential as a main event star in WWE in 2024.

Even with an injury setback or two, she made the jump from "immensely popular performer" to "main event Superstar," thanks in large part to Triple H and WWE Creative recognizing her star potential and acting on it.

The Australian kicked off the year by serving as the focal point of all marketing and advertising efforts for Elimination Chamber in her home country. There, she defeated Nia Jax to retain the Women's World Championship in the main event, standing tall to close out the show.

A month later, she entered Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia for WrestleMania 40 amid a live performance from Motionless in White of her theme song "Brutality" in one of the more memorable arrivals at this year's sports-entertainment showcase. She defeated Becky Lynch to retain her title and make it a solid year as champion.

An injury threatened her momentum and resulted in her dropping the title but her rivalry with Liv Morgan, and separation from The Judgment Day and boy toy Dominik Mysterio on her return officially launched her into the stratosphere of top-level stars in WWE.

She still hasn't taken back the title, and the creative surrounding that program fell off considerably despite the feud being unfinished. Still, it's impossible not to recognize WWE has established the 28-year-old as a star on the level of Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns.

Ripley is the woman in WWE, and her 2024 helped get her there.

Grade: A

Roman Reigns retained the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against AJ Styles, LA Knight and Randy Orton at the Royal Rumble, rolled into WrestleMania as the central figure of all the ever-changing creative plans and headlined two nights of the biggest show in WWE history.

Most importantly, he did the right thing by dropping the title to Cody Rhodes to close out WrestleMania Sunday and create one of the most memorable moments of the entire year, all while escalating his issues with Seth Rollins.

That match with Rhodes was, arguably, the best of the year and exactly what one looks for in a WrestleMania epic.

Fast-forward three months and not even a lengthy hiatus could halt The OTC's status as the star of this era as he returned at SummerSlam as a beloved hero, the babyface WWE had always wanted him to be but failed to build him into.

A feud with the new Bloodline, eased tensions with Rhodes and the reunion with his OG Bloodline mates (The Usos, Sami Zayn) helped continue his four-year run as the most interesting and layered character in the company.

A generation-defining star, Reigns again proved that less is better sometimes. His absences are felt, but his returns are felt even more thanks to the fans' support.

The 39-year-old is poised to play a huge role on the Road to WrestleMania 41 and may even have some unfinished business with Drew McIntyre on the way. Either way, Reigns sits at the head of the table in WWE for a reason, all of which was on full display in 2024.

Grade: A

Cody Rhodes became QB1 in WWE in 2024.

He was already there entering the year, but The Rock's return and ever-changing WrestleMania 40 booking threatened to take away a story-finishing moment that had been built for two years.

Luckily, the overwhelming fan support for The American Nightmare helped secure his spot in the main event of The Show of Shows, where he defeated Reigns and captured the Undisputed WWE Championship.

Feuds with AJ Styles, Logan Paul, Gunther and Kevin Owens have helped make Rhodes' title reign great, with the in-ring action living up to the promo work and storytelling that preceded it.

Away from the squared circle, the 39-year-old continued to be the face of WWE in media appearances and across mainstream talk shows. He represented the company like a champion should, working to bring more eyes to the product and keep the hot streak alive.

He was everything Triple H claimed him to be at the end of WrestleMania 40: the star of a new era in WWE and the man around whom shows and stories will revolve in the future.

It takes a special breed, but Rhodes proved he was more than up to the task in 2024.

Grade: A+