10 Gifts WWE and AEW Wrestling Fans Deserve in 2024

All in all, the year of 2023 has been quite kind to WWE and AEW fans as the landscape continues to evolve and be as unpredictable as ever before.

WWE's televised product continues to improve week by week with the monthly premium live events being recurring highlights. AEW's own pay-per-views have also been excellent in addition to some strong storylines and breathtaking matches.

Adam "Edge" Copeland and CM Punk swapping companies in the past few months alone should indicate that 2024 will be an even more monumental year for wrestling, especially with several key contracts coming due in the next few months.

Wrestling fans are so diverse in what they want that it can difficult to determine what would appease to the vast majority, but during such an exciting time in the history of the business where almost anything can happen, there are some fantasy scenarios that most would love to see become a reality.

In the spirit of the holiday season, these are the 10 gifts WWE and AEW fans deserve in 2024. Whether the designated Santa Claus in charge of each company–Triple H and Tony Khan, respectively–intend to deliver on these Christmas miracles remains to be seen.

The end of this ongoing era with Roman Reigns as the Undisputed WWE Universal champion is well past its expiration date.

The time for him to finally lose was at WrestleMania 39, but WWE dropped the ball by booking Reigns to retain instead. What we've gotten with Reigns since then hasn't been bad, but it was painfully apparent that the Bloodline saga peaked post-SummerSlam and is now running on fumes.

There is no reason for Reigns' run to extend beyond WrestleMania 40. He's broken enough records in the past three-plus years, and although holding the gold until September would see him surpass Hulk Hogan's first WWE Championship reign, it isn't worth it.

SmackDown is in desperate need of a full-time champion, and the Reigns' character can't progress until he drops the prestigious prize. Of course, Cody Rhodes "finishing his story" by beating Reigns at 'Mania would make the most sense with the story that's been told with them up to this point.

It will be a massive moment when Reigns suffers his first singles loss in over four years and a new champion is crowned, at which point WWE can close the book on The Bloodline's dominance and move forward.

AEW was a logical landing spot for the former Edge as there wasn't much left for him to do creatively in WWE, whereas the change of scenery has helped make him feel fresh again.

He wasted no time in setting his sights on Christian Cage and making his intentions clear of wanting to reunite as a tag team. Christian refused, and now the two are embroiled in a ruthless rivalry over the AEW TNT Championship, which could culminate with their No Disqualification match at Worlds End.

The endgame for the angle should be for them to put their differences aside and join AEW's stacked tag team division, ideally as babyfaces. It doesn't necessarily have to be soon but rather sometime in 2024.

It's unknown how much longer Copeland intends to wrestle for and how long his stay in AEW will be, so it's imperative this happen on the sooner side. Between The Young Bucks, FTR, The Lucha Brothers and so many others, the match possibilities are endless.

Perhaps they can capture tag team title gold one last time as well.

The organic, rapid rise of LA Knight in 2023 has been fascinating to follow.

He started the year as just another member of the SmackDown roster and ends it as one of the biggest babyfaces on the brand. That includes a pay-per-view main-event with Undisputed WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel and a slew of other high-profile victories along the way.

The other thing that eluded him this year–other than championship gold–was winning the men's Money in the Bank briefcase. He came close to clinching it at July's event but fell short to Damian Priest.

That would be his golden ticket to another opportunity at a top title, which he should win before 2024 is through. He can challenge for (and win) the United States Championship in the meantime, but either the Undisputed title or the World Heavyweight Championship should be his ultimate goal.

LA Knight as Mr. Money in the Bank is a match made in heaven, and it'd only be appropriate for him to right that wrong from 2023.

Will Ospreay will go down as one of the most important acquisitions in AEW history if he can stay healthy and live up to his full potential.

The former IWGP World Heavyweight champion is inarguably one of the best wrestlers in the world today and is bound to make a major splash once he joins AEW full-time at the onset of 2024. From Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega to MJF and Swerve Strickland, there are many matches that must happen.

Ospreay was involved in the first-ever All In event at London's Wembley Stadium in August where he beat Chris Jericho, but now that he's officially under contract to AEW, it'd be booking malpractice for him not headline this next installment.

The AEW World Championship picture can change drastically between now and then, but Ospreay against either Danielson or MJF with the gold up for grabs would obviously deserve top billing on a show of that magnitude.

Ospreay walking out of All In 2024 the new AEW World champ would be nothing short of a surreal sight.

Jade Cargill made wrestling headlines on a handful of occasions in 2023, first by becoming AEW's longest-reigning champion ever and then by leaving the promotion and putting pen to paper with WWE shortly thereafter.

WWE quickly capitalized on her signing by putting her all over Raw, SmackDown and NXT for a few weeks in a row, and although she hasn't appeared on-screen since October, the belief is that she's currently training at the Performance Center ahead of her eventual arrival on WWE TV.

Cargill would be a welcome addition to either the Raw or SmackDown women's divisions at the time, but she could just as easily end up in NXT and work her way through the ranks, just as she did in AEW.

Regardless of which show she signs with, it would be a surreal sight to see her cross paths with Bianca Belair at one point or another.

The two have long been compared to each other thanks to their similar athletic backgrounds and larger-than-life auras. It could be considered the biggest dream match WWE could book with Cargill, so holding off on it until the time is right is understandable.

However, a quick interaction in the women's Royal Rumble would be a nice preview of what to expect when they inevitably go one-on-one.

It's been over seven months since we last saw the incredibly accomplished Mercedes Moné compete. She suffered an ankle injury in a NJPW Strong Women's Championship match with Willow Nightingale back in May and has yet to resurface.

Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer reported in November that Moné currently has no dates left with either New Japan Pro-Wrestling or Stardom, effectively rendering her a free agent.

Despite appearing at AEW All In, Fightful Select's Sean Ross Sapp reported on Dec. 15 that there are no longer any working plans for her to be brought into the promotion. That doesn't completely rule out a run for her there, but it isn't looking likely at the moment.

With Bayley's exile from Damage CTRL imminent, Moné returning to her roots as Sasha Banks in WWE and reuniting with her former friend would be an amazing story to tell.

It's irrelevant which company she chooses to sign with, but she belongs on a big stage that only WWE and AEW can provide her with in 2024. An extended stint in Japan would be fun if that's where she's happiest, but WWE and AEW fans are anxiously awaiting the day she can mix it up with the top talent those two promotions have to offer.

Roman Reigns shouldn't be the only long-running champion dethroned in 2024. Gunther is also in the midst of a historic reign as Intercontinental champion but is ready to take that next step toward main-event glory.

Before he can do that, he must first be beaten for the Intercontinental Championship, and Chad Gable is the perfect person for such a spot.

The two had several spectacular matches over the summer, but Gable was never able to pin Gunther and take the title. He made it abundantly clear in the aftermath of their feud that he will not rest until he finally conquers Gunther for his coveted championship.

The multi-time tag team champion has done nothing of note on his own since last losing to Gunther, so he'll need to start racking up victories in order to feel like a legitimate threat to the title again.

CM Punk being back all but confirms Gunther won't be challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40, meaning Gunther and Gable running it back on The Grandest Stage of Them All is a definite possibility along with Gable getting his just due.

Jamie Hayter has sorely been missed on AEW programming since being sidelined with an injury back in May and can't come back soon enough.

Prior to her hiatus, Hayter was the crown jewel of the women's division. She reigned as AEW Women's World champion for a solid six months, brought the best out of everyone she worked with and broke out as a big star that the live crowds were very much behind.

The title scene has largely lacked excitement in her absence, though Toni Storm striking gold with her current character has helped tremendously. Once Hayter is ready to return, Storm will be waiting to pick up where they left off.

Storm was the one who ended Hayter's run as champ at Double or Nothing and, in storyline, is the reason why she was put out of action. They've waged war on a number of occasions over the last two years and never cease to have high quality matches together.

Thunder Rosa returning recently provides the division with a big boost, but Hayter could prove to be even more of a difference-maker.

This selection is a bit more out of left field but not entirely implausible.

CM Punk is one of the front-runners to win the 2024 men's Royal Rumble, but regardless of whether he can come out on top, it is virtually guaranteed that he will headline WrestleMania 40 with Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship.

What isn't as set in stone is the outcome of that highly-anticipated clash.

Rollins could feasibly retain the title, which would send the message that Punk is owed nothing after being gone for nearly a decade and will need to pay some dues before getting a championship run. Punk becoming champ would arguably be the more satisfying finish, but how he's able to pull it off will be extra interesting.

The ultimate swerve would be Punk cheating to beat Rollins, turning heel and reuniting with Paul Heyman soon after.

If The Bloodline collapses at WrestleMania and Roman Reigns takes time off, Heyman will need someone to manage in the meantime and Punk is a prime candidate given their checkered past. Punk and Heyman were a money pairing back in 2012-2013 and are undoubtedly capable of recreating that same magic over a decade later.

In the last year-plus, MJF has done an exceptional job of raising the profile of the AEW World Championship and making it feel like the most prestigious prize in the company.

The time has come for him to pass the torch to someone else for the foreseeable future, and although Samoa Joe could very well knock off MJF for the title at Worlds End, Swerve Strickland could be the better bet given his current career trajectory.

It doesn't necessarily have to be MJF who he beats to become champion, but it would make sense following their face-off backstage last Wednesday on Dynamite and it being a first-time-ever matchup.

Strickland's stock has soared in the last three months and he finds himself on the brink of breaking through to the main-event scene. Being at the upper echelon of the card won't be enough; he must wear world championship gold at some point in 2024.

It would almost be egregious for him not to. He possesses all the tools necessary to be a franchise player for the promotion for years to come, starting with a reign as AEW World champion sooner rather than later.

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.