B/R Awards: Ranking Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns and 10 Best WWE Matches of 2024

The year 2024 has produced some superb in-ring action in WWE.

Championships changed hands, feuds came to bitter ends, tournaments churned out bangers and WrestleMania again proved to be the place for instant classics.

Taking into consideration the action itself, historical significance, storytelling and crowd response, these are the 10 matches that left the greatest impression and helped define the year that was in professional wrestling's most prominent promotion.

During the first King of the Ring tournament since 2021, Ilja Dragunov and Ricochet squared off on Raw in a match that perfectly meshed the former's in-ring ferocity and the latter's high-flying arsenal.

Back-and-forth action, near-falls and a hot crowd accompanied a grueling effort from the competitors, each looking to cash their ticket to the next round.

Ultimately, The Mad Dragon bested The One and Only, using a superplex and H-Bomb to put his opponent away in one of the best television matches of the year.

A year-long story wrote its latest chapter in November at Survivor Series: WarGames when the Roman Reigns-captained OG Bloodline squared off with Solo Sikoa and his new Bloodline in the namesake match.

A story-heavy match that saw Reigns, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Sami Zayn and CM Punk trust one another to secure victory, it captivated fans in Vancouver and saw the babyface team beat Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Jacob Fatu and Bronson Reed in a compelling and unpredictable main event.

It also planted the seeds for a Reigns-Punk main event down the road, thanks to the mysterious favor Paul Heyman owes The Best in the World for working with his Tribal Chief.

On the heels of a stellar King of the Ring finale that did not end without controversy, Gunther battled Randy Orton for a second time in a premium live event, this time with his World Heavyweight Championship at stake in Berlin.

An intense and physical battle, it saw Gunther nurse an injured arm while faced with kicking out of the RKO to preserve his reign. He did, but Orton overcame his opponent's trademark powerbomb, too. The champion overcame being driven through the announce table, latched onto The Viper with his rear naked choke, and scored the victory by referee's decision when Orton passed out.

A great main event between two premier workers in professional wrestling, it is a testament to the rest of this list that it does not rank higher.

Chad Gable was the hottest heel in WWE by the time Clash at the Castle rolled around in mid-June.

The megalomaniacal leader of Alpha Academy had spent weeks disrespecting, humiliating and degrading Otis, Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri en route to challenging Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship in Scotland.

A near-flawless mix of in-ring action and storytelling, the contest featured involvement from the Alpha Academy members, including Dupri, whose bump off the apron led to Otis carrying her to the locker room, allowing Zayn to rock Gable with the Helluvah Kick uninterrupted and secure the victory.

High drama through the superb story that accompanied the match, and an obvious in-ring chemistry between champion and challenger helped land this on our countdown.

Bayley's victory in the women's Royal Rumble match and subsequent excommunication from Damage CTRL led her to Philadelphia and WrestleMania 40, where she challenged former teammate Iyo Sky for the WWE Women's Championship.

The champion excelled, delivering the performance of her lifetime as she targeted her opponent's knee and relentlessly answered everything Bayley threw at her for most of the match.

She soared through the air late with her Over the Moonsault, but The Role Model moved and the champion crashed to the mat.

A back-and-forth exchange saw Bayley finally deliver the Bayley-to-Belly, a top-rope elbow drop a la Randy Savage and the Rose Plant to score the victory in a near show-stealer of a match and the women's division's sole entry on this countdown.

Take two bruising strikers and give them something to fight for such as a spot in the second round of the King of the Ring tournament, and watch them create magic.

Such was the case with Sheamus and Gunther on the May 6 episode of Raw.

The brutes beat the life out of each other in a physically grueling matchup. Gunther bested The Celtic Warrior, surviving a late Brogue Kick and clasping on a half Boston Crab for the submission victory.

The welted and bruised bodies of both competitors told the story of a brutal war between two of the best wrestlers in the world.

An electric crowd in Lyon, France greeted Cody Rhodes for his first defense of the Undisputed WWE Championship against AJ Styles with a superb atmosphere that enhanced what was already an extraordinary match.

Rhodes fought through the pain of a shoulder injury, not willing to allow The Phenomenal One to spoil his title reign a month into it. The American Nightmare answered with a powerbomb through the announce table that drove the air out of the challenger.

Styles recovered and broke out the 450 splash, followed by a Burning Hammer moments later but was unable to keep the champion down. Rhodes answered with a super Cody Cutter and finished Styles off with the Cross Rhodes to retain his gold.

A brilliant match, it may have ranked even higher on this list had it had as much meaning as others.

For 666 days, Gunther had reigned as intercontinental champion. He beat and vanquished all challengers, proving his superiority as a pro wrestler and securing a historic run with one of the most prestigious belts in the industry.

Sami Zayn, on the other hand, was the underdog who had overcome obstacles throughout his career to return to the WrestleMania stage.

Gunther controlled the majority of the action and was in such a position of dominance that he taunted Zayn's wife at ringside. The challenger responded accordingly, firing up and dropping the champion on his head in a rare brainbuster onto the top turnbuckle.

One Helluva Kick later and the challenger was now champion.

This was another classic from two men who spent the previous year's WrestleMania stealing the show.

For four years, Roman Reigns ruled over WWE as the Tribal Chief of The Bloodline and professional wrestling.

For two years, Cody Rhodes devoted himself to dethroning the second-generation star and finishing his story by winning the one prize his father did not: the WWE title.

At WrestleMania 40, the eyes of the wrestling world watched what they had hoped would be Rhodes' crowning achievement with bated breath.

Unlike the year before, there was an answer for every hurdle Reigns threw in his opponent's way. Jimmy Uso interfered and Jey Uso took him out. Solo Sikoa tried to influence the outcome of the Bloodline Rules match only for John Cena to remove him from the equation.

The Rock appeared moments later and took down Cena, only to succumb to a chokeslam from The Undertaker. Finally, Seth Rollins entered the ring and served himself up to Reigns, a distraction The Tribal Chief could not resist. Rhodes capitalized, delivered Cross Rhodes three times and won the title in an unforgettable moment.

A magical main event that held the top spot on this list for six months until the return of an iconic match type and the culmination of one of the great rivalries of the last decade.

CM Punk and Drew McIntyre entered Hell in a Cell at Bad Blood with two goals in mind: settle their rivalry and return the popular gimmick match to the barbarism it was once known for.

After nearly 30 minutes of brutality, violence and bloodshed, they did just that.

Punk absorbed a tremendous beating but stayed alert long enough to dodge a Claymore and send his opponent crashing back-first into the unforgiving steel steps. From there, he fed the Scot the beads of a broken friendship bracelet that had been a centerpiece of the feud and then put him to sleep for the definitive victory.

It was a perfect match, one the feud and fans deserved. It was tonally different from anything else on this list, a throwback to classic encounters inside the same structure, with a flare for 1980s Jim Crockett Promotions and the iconic battles that occurred in steel cages there.

That McIntyre performed to the level he did despite a laceration that left him needing 16 staples in the head was even more impressive.