Ranking the 5 Best WWE and AEW Surprises of 2024 Thus Far

Six months in, and 2024 has already proved to be a banner year for the world of pro wrestling.

WWE has been excelling both creatively and financially since the start of the year with numerous sold-out shows, record-breaking gates for international events, compelling storylines and much more.

All Elite Wrestling has had its fair share of highs and lows throughout the year—specifically in regards to television ratings and talent injuries—but the product itself has remained consistently engaging.

The influx of fresh faces has also helped freshen things up and set the stage for an exciting summer season and beyond.

Thankfully, the art of getting fans buzzing with a genuine surprise has not been lost on WWE and AEW in 2024.

The beauty of competition in wrestling is that the audience never knows what to expect other than to be entertained. Anyone can show up anywhere at any time, and both companies are always trying to outdo the opposition.

The biggest beneficiaries in the 2024 wrestling "wars" are the fans themselves.

It remains to be seen what the rest of the year will have in store, but it will be tough to top these awesome shockers from the first six months.

Virtually everything relating to The Bloodline post-WrestleMania 40 has been one pleasant surprise considering how stale the saga had become prior to 2024.

Roman Reigns losing the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship after a historic near-four year run needed to result in him taking an extended hiatus from WWE TV. Sure enough, he hasn't been seen since 'Mania, and The Bloodline has been infinitely more interesting in his absence.

Solo Sikoa immediately took the reins of the feared faction on the April 12 edition of SmackDown by exiling Jimmy Uso and recruiting longtime New Japan Pro-Wrestling stalwart Tama Tonga into the ranks.

Within weeks, Tanga Loa also debuted to reunite with his Guerrillas of Destiny partner and join The Bloodline. Jacob Fatu—an exceptional athlete who has long deserved a shot in WWE—was the latest family member to make their presence felt and fall in line.

The storyline entered its next chapter on Friday's SmackDown in unbelievable fashion when Sikoa ordered an attack on The Bloodline's resident Wiseman, Paul Heyman.

Now the WWE Universe awaits the imminent return of Reigns and what is bound to be a game-changing babyface turn.

One of the wrestling world's first major surprises of the year came early on when Kazuchika Okada announced his pending departure from NJPW, a promotion he had called home and had been the face of for well over a decade.

He soon put pen to paper with AEW and debuted as the newest member of The Elite alongside The Young Bucks. They were then joined by the returning Jack Perry at Dynasty.

In order to cement themselves as the top heel faction in the company, they needed to do something drastic in addition to collecting championships. That came on the April 24 edition of Dynamite.

During Perry's face-to-face confrontation with Tony Khan, the self-proclaimed Scapegoat laid out the AEW president with a punch to the gut. The Bucks followed that up with an assisted piledriver to send the executive out on a stretcher.

Khan has hardly had a physical presence on AEW programming in the past five years, so The Elite attacking him was unprecedented and sent the message that they weren't to be messed with.

It's debatable whether AEW has been successful so far with what it set out to do with the angle (especially with Khan being back on TV a month later), but it was quite the shocking development nonetheless.

WWE has never been known to play well with others.

After all, it was Vince McMahon Jr.'s acquisition of countless companies soon after he took over from his father in the 1980s that led to the fall of the territories and the rise of WWE as pro wrestling monopoly.

As such, few—if any—working relationships it's had with other organizations over the years have ended well. The mere mention of TNA/Impact, in particular, was traditionally frowned upon by WWE higher-ups despite them never truly being competition.

That's why it came as such as a surprise to see reigning TNA Knockouts world champion Jordynne Grace in the 2024 women's Royal Rumble. Mickie James also entered the Rumble with that title two years prior, but it made sense to a degree with her having been established in the eyes of the WWE audience.

Grace, on the other hand, had never once appeared on WWE programming and went on to have a stellar showing in the annual Battle Royal. That alone would have been remarkable, but she then resurfaced as a challenger for NXT women's champion Roxanne Perez in late May.

That marked the beginning of a partnership between the two promotions that has since seen Tatum Paxley and other NXT stars show up in TNA and longtime TNA talent such as Frankie Kazarian and the uber-popular Joe Hendry compete on NXT TV.

It's injected new life into both products and given fans more of an incentive to tune in to see what will happen next.

Sting's three-year stint in AEW was practically perfect.

He had an unforgettable debut, exceeded all expectations every time he wrestled (which was frequently) and was never booked to lose, ensuring he maintained his mystique the entire time he was there.

Historically, wrestlers almost always lose in their last match so they can put over the talent of tomorrow on their way out. Sting is an old-school competitor and looked to be the latest example of this when he had his retirement match at Revolution.

The fact that he and Darby Allin won the AEW World Tag Team Championship prior to the pay-per-view all but guaranteed they would drop them to The Young Bucks, the veteran's handpicked final opponents.

However, the Bucks had nothing to gain (other than capturing the titles, of course) from spoiling his sendoff. Tony Khan was adamant about giving the Charlotte, North Carolina crowd what they wanted and he did just that.

Sting stunned everyone watching worldwide when he submitted the Bucks with his signature Scorpion Deathlock and had his hand held high afterward in triumph, still one-half of the tag champs.

It was the ultimate feel-good ending to one of the most iconic careers of all time.

WWE has proved in the past that when push comes to shove, it can change course creatively no matter the occasion.

The most infamous example was Daniel Bryan's road to WrestleMania in 2014, and history just so happened to repeat itself a decade later.

The Rock vs. Roman Reigns collision had been highly anticipated by fans for years, but The Great One returned to WWE at the worst possible time to make that dream match a reality.

Cody Rhodes was fresh off winning the men's Royal Rumble for the second straight year and was on the verge of finally finishing his story by becoming undisputed WWE universal champion at WrestleMania 40.

Rock vs. Reigns was clearly the direction WWE was headed until it realized the overwhelming amount of backlash from fans—both online and at shows—was unavoidable. Booking anything other than Reigns vs. Rhodes in the main event of 'Mania would have been inexcusable.

Less than a week later, WWE held a press conference in Las Vegas to switch lanes and make Reigns vs. Rhodes official. This was the catalyst for The Rock turning heel for the first time in nearly 20 years and blessing the audience with incredibly entertaining content week after week ahead of The Show of Shows.

Rhodes vs. Reigns was a modern-day masterpiece as it paid off The American Nightmare's redemption arc beautifully, making the rocky road leading up to the monumental moment very much worth it.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.