{"id":129153,"date":"2024-12-28T10:12:07","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T15:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=129153"},"modified":"2024-12-28T10:12:31","modified_gmt":"2024-12-28T15:12:31","slug":"overlooked-wrestlers-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/12\/28\/overlooked-wrestlers-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Overlooked Wrestlers Who Deserve Their Flowers for 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Every year in pro wrestling, we, as fans, love evaluating wrestlers, their performances, and how they make us feel. Yes, plenty of us revel in negativity, but we equally enjoy giving wrestlers their flowers for their achievements.<\/p>\n<p>Living up to or defying expectations, making headlines, impacting the business or our emotions, it\u2019s cathartic to give recognition where it\u2019s due.<\/p>\n<p>Often, credit and praise go to the wrestlers at the top\u2014those who help confirm, create, or shift our perspectives of the industry. We also love underdogs or reinventions. We like to talk about who\u2019s next, who\u2019s underrated and deserves more.<\/p>\n<p>Yet each year, some wrestlers are overlooked for varied reasons, whether related to perceptions of them, their promotions, or another reason.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a handful of wrestlers from the US indies, ROH, TNA, AEW, and WWE who deserve acknowledgment for their own unique achievements. If I\u2019ve missed anyone who you think deserves their flowers, leave a comment and explain why.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no gatekeeper to the garden. Get your own flowers and hand them out!<\/p>\n<h3><strong>US Indies <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ioetTs1VdeE?si=8kG7oEVMKT9fWeBG\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Honorable Mentions<\/strong>: Kevin Blackwood continues to be a significant presence in the Indies. Marcus Mathers likewise has stood out and earned himself noticed by the WWE.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of which, Zayda Steel was the <a href=\"https:\/\/recruit.wwe.com\/wwe-id\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">first wrestler announced<\/a> as part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/10\/29\/wwe-id-launches-a-new-indie-wrestling-development-program\/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGO67VleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHeW1pmTxF3u4cCZs8k7TYbJ-8uvk0Iv_fNt1IY4Q_jnf5kfxb4C77U9nwA_aem_c3fl6T3bx7OkTiWSAVIfCA\" target=\"_self\">WWE ID program<\/a>. This year, Steel has shown she is more than the WWE-ready diva-inspired character she embodies.<\/p>\n<p>Having competed against men across the Indies and in Japan for Marigold, you can find out why Zayda Steel is the real deal in this in-depth profile.<\/p>\n<p>GCW\u2019s Richard Holliday has had the busiest year of his pro wrestling career after overcoming stage 4 Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma. Holliday lives up to his nickname as \u201cThe Most Marketable,\u201d having branched out into selling coffee and podcasting in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Holliday has achieved a lot. Competing in AEW in dark and enhancement matches, challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, or putting Charles Mason in prison, Holliday has not played it safe.<\/p>\n<p>Holliday deserves his flowers for his continual evolution. A full profile on Holliday\u2019s career can be read <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2023\/12\/11\/richard-holliday-interview\/\" target=\"_self\">here. <\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Ring of Honor<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1ow9NbO9vDo?si=QTHESRD3TWUC5uu9\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Honorable Mentions<\/strong>: MxM Collection for doubling down on what seemed like a half-formed Zoolander model gimmick and becoming one of the best comedy acts in wrestling. Lee Moriarty, thank you for continuing to develop with the ROH Pure championship around his waist.<\/p>\n<p>Behind the online pay wall, ROH in 2024 has been defined by the reign of the forever ROH Women\u2019s World Champion, Athena, and the inevitable ascent of her Minion in Training, Billy Starkz.<\/p>\n<p>However, Lexy Nair, the third person in this storyline, deserves just as much credit. Nair has been more than just connective tissue between the characters and the storyline.<\/p>\n<p>Shining with personality and comic timing, Nair has been a perfect foil to Starkz as Athena tries to manipulate them both. Her recent expulsion from MIT will likely be the emotional driving force for Starkz and Athena\u2019s third match. Without Nair, this story and its characters would have lost dimensions.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, the ROH Women\u2019s TV champion, Red Velvet year has seen continual improvement. Refusing to go stale in your momma\u2019s kitchen, Velvet\u2019s performances in ROH and CMLL deserve recognition.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>TNA Wrestling<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5q7SIe_p3b8?si=_ccDk7DMnfVQ9DB9\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Honorable Mentions<\/strong>: Although Rhino recently left TNA, The Manbeast\u2019s role as a utility player throughout his time in the company deserves recognition. That mantle passes to Frankie Kazarian, who deserves praise for choosing personal satisfaction in wrestling over financial security.<\/p>\n<p>Masha Slamovich is appreciated for her abilities and in-ring work and is now the TNA Knockouts Champion. However, what The Russian Dynamite deserves flowers for is getting herself in the position to maintain and carry the Knockouts division after Jordynne Grace\u2019s exit. Since Grace\u2019s Royal Rumble appearance, it just seemed inevitable that WWE would call.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the kayfabe booking, Slamovich\u2019s growth and presentation this year have prepared her to carry the division\u2019s weight and prestige into 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Some wrestlers never get over that one career-destroying moment. AJ Francis, the former Top Dolla, deserves flowers for turning his WWE flop into a springboard.<\/p>\n<p>Making waves in GCW and then MLW, in-ring and as a character, Francis has capitalized on his reputation and challenged fan perceptions of his abilities. A fun watch throughout his time in TNA, Francis has carved out a niche for himself as a dislikable heel.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>AEW<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YoILiDHAGq4?si=9zXZrGCHPn5SrisN\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Honorable Mention<\/strong>: Harleygram has been demoted to a mention after the surprising revelation that the luchadora was Harley Cameron, whose success I\u2019ve discussed <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/10\/31\/maximizing-her-minutes-aews-harley-cameron\/\" target=\"_self\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Roderick Strong has found his groove as a character and a wrestler. In the ring, Strong had an incredible 2024, but it\u2019s been criminally overlooked.<\/p>\n<p>From winning the AEW International championship, an excellent outing with Will Ospreay, and giving HOOK his most competitive and credible victory. Strong has put on banger after banger.<\/p>\n<p>The lingering Devil storyline, plus strong performances by others, make it easy to overlook the Messiah of the Backbreaker. Strong\u2019s static and artificial storylines exemplify an issue with the creative reliance on <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/06\/14\/aews-polarising-present-the-limitations-of-where-the-best-wrestle\/\" target=\"_self\">\u201cwhere the best wrestle.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Often, comparing young cruiserweight luchadors to Rey Mysterio feels like a lazy clich\u00e9. Having seen the former Aramis\u2019 work in MLW and AAA, however, I believe there is some warrant for the comparison.<\/p>\n<p>Easily overlooked due to injury, primarily competing on Collision, and bias against Tony Khan due to Hologram being a \u201cpet project,\u201d some fans have missed out. Hologram deserves flowers because he will be one to watch in 2025.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>WWE<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Honorable Mention<\/strong>: In modern wrestling, it\u2019s extremely difficult to maintain a monster aura as a heel. Bronson Reed deserves credit for overcoming these issues and becoming such a consistent and relevant big-man obstacle.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pu_a7tzs0kw?si=6W54uadGmBWn98F0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>WWE is scorching hot. While some of its women in the main event, like <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/07\/23\/liv-morgan-and-rhea-ripley-why-wwe-fans-dont-care-about-its-flaws\/\" target=\"_self\">Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley, are grabbing mainstream attention, the mid-card and below have<\/a>\u00a0been underdeveloped.<\/p>\n<p>Chelsea Green has gotten her flowers and a championship. However, her opponent at Saturday Night\u2019s Main Event, Michin, deserves praise for being a steady hand holding up the rest of the SmackDown division. Michin has been one of the most reliable women in the division in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>At first, the Wyatt Sicks might seem like a strange inclusion for flowers. However, much of the praise has centered on the creative choices, the introduction, the presentation, and the gaga.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YZMicz-oX4k?si=VphYqsLjGu8ZgGuV\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The focus is more on WWE creative than the individuals, excluding Bo Dallas. All these elements, the costumes, and spooky lights would be hollow, lifeless shells without the five individual performers who bring life and reality to these roles.<\/p>\n<p>The group\u2019s early vignettes melded real pain and suffering into the storyline. Fans were able to grieve along with Dallas, Erik Rowan, Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy, and Nikki Cross, each bringing their own stories, experiences, and uniqueness to their roles. They&#8217;ve made the faction a success.<\/p>\n<p>In recent months, some fans have felt that history is repeating itself with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/05\/20\/how-aews-timeless-toni-storm-achieved-what-wwes-fiend-could-not\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">same mistakes made with Bray Wyatt<\/a>. The issue again falls on booking rather than the wrestlers themselves.<\/p>\n<p>If nothing else, the initial way they captured the magic and spirit of Bray Wyatt was an overachievement. It was never guaranteed.<\/p>\n<h3>More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/h3>\n<p><em>Header photo &#8211; AEW &#8211; Stay tuned to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_self\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a>\u00a0for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every year in pro wrestling, we, as fans, love evaluating wrestlers, their performances, and how they make us feel. Yes, plenty of us revel in negativity, but we equally enjoy giving wrestlers their flowers for their achievements. Living up to or defying expectations, making headlines, impacting the business or our emotions, it\u2019s cathartic to give [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4960,"featured_media":129158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4677,6,2192,8,8959,317,4,3,320],"tags":[8782,8961,9097,6925,8893,6946,2585,280,9083,9079],"class_list":["post-129153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aew","category-north-america","category-wrestling","category-roh","category-tna-wrestling","category-women","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","category-wwe-women","tag-aj-francis","tag-hologram","tag-lexi-nair","tag-masha-slamovich","tag-michin","tag-red-velvet","tag-richard-holliday","tag-roderick-strong","tag-the-wyatt-sicks","tag-zayda-steel"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4960"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129153"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129160,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129153\/revisions\/129160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}