The 2025 WWE Slammy Awards

The Slammy Awards are a time-honored tradition in WWE history. Well, some of the time. Sometimes it’s a black-tie award show. Sometimes it is part of an episode of Raw. Sometimes they’re given away by Todd Pettingill and Stephanie Wiand on WWF Mania. And like other major award shows, sometimes in 2020 they’re given away by Zoom calls.

Their most recent comeback was last year, as unbiased journalist Cathy Kelley and former WWE Champion Big E hosted the 2024 Slammy Awards, which I covered here. They emanated from WWE World on the morning of WrestleMania Night Two, airing on YouTube.

That’s where we are again in 2025. My pal Cathy is joining Big E again this year to host the awards in the epicenter of fandom, WWE World. This year we are kicking off at 1 p.m. EST and again we are exclusively on YouTube.

Twelve categories are up for grabs this year. Let’s check it out!

Then. Now. Forever. TOGETHER. Or else. But not you, Alberto Del Rio.

We’re introduced to our hosts, Cathy Kelley and Big E. Cathy is, as always, stunning in a rose gold dress while Big E has a nice blue and black blazer. Very dapper. They’re immediately interrupted by Austin Theory and Grayson Waller, sitting across the set in recliners. Austin says they’d be better hosts. Cathy asks the camera to pan to the audience, the true beautiful people of the world. E asks for applause as the fans are the voters for this event.

Big E notices Boogeyman in the crowd in full gear. Cathy tells him how much she misses him, while Boogey scares poor Austin out of his chair. Grayson threatens a takeover. E threatens to have security remove them if needed.

Cathy brings out our first presenters, R-Truth and (not so little) Jimmy Hart. What a pair. Hart questions why Truth doesn’t call him Lil’ Jimmy like he used to, and Truth is confused. Truth tells Jimmy to not use the megaphone as we see the nominees for Most Memorable Entrance of the Year.

The nominees: Cody at WrestleMania XL, Jey Uso and Travis Scott on Netflix Raw, Roman at Mania XL, The Rock at Mania XL, Bayley at Mania XL, Randy Orton at Bash in Berlin, Seth Rollins at Mania XL, Sami Zayn on Raw (where he enters from backstage through the crowd), Logan Paul and MGK at SummerSlam, Sami at WrestleMania XL, Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan at Bad Blood, Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle. My personal pick is Jey just because he’s been the entrance of the year all year.

Jimmy can’t believe R-Truth wasn’t nominated. And the winner is: Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania. Yeah, I get it. Cody couldn’t be here, but has accepted via video. Cody joins us from his bus, shouting out mask maker Jason Baker, seamstress Sandra, Triple H, Road Dogg for helping rehearse it, and Brandi of course.

Truth joins E and Cathy, who thank him. Then he just doesn’t leave. They keep thanking him and E motions towards the entrance. Truth thanks them as well as Cathy tries to hint it’s time to exit. Truth promises to not get in the way if he sticks around as the fans chant “let him stay.” Truth goes and sits next to “Crocodile Hunter and my childhood hero John Cena’s illegitimate godson.” Truth argues with Grayson and Austin about where to sit, so Truth goes back and drags out a third recliner that he sticks next to Austin.

Our next presenters for the next two awards are Vic Joseph and Corey Graves of NXT. They both shake hands with the growing on-stage audience. Vic reminisces on what a WrestleMania Saturday it was and how it started with NXT Stand & Deliver. Corey is still buzzing over the NXT Championship triple threat. Vic notes how fitting it is that they are here as they are presenting NXT Superstar of the Year.

The nominees: Oba Femi, Roxanne Perez, Trick WIlliams, Ethan Page, Giulia, Kelani Jordan. Out of those choices, it’s hard to go against Oba for me.

The winner is Roxanne Perez! Rox is here with us, coming on stage to collect her Slammy. She says it’s really cool because she grew up watching the Slammys. One of us! She fake cries then says she’s going to be Superstar of the Year every year forever, saying “I was NXT” and that she’s the future, the present and the prodigy. Austin and Grayson wonder after the award about why they weren’t nominated, and Vic mentions you have to win in NXT to be nominated.

Vic and Corey present our next category, Breakout Superstar of the Year.

The nominees: Bron Breakker, Lyra Valkyria, Penta, Oba Femi, Giulia, Tiffany Stratton, Jacob Fatu, Chelsea Green, Stephanie Vaquer. It’s hard for me to go against Bron or Penta here.

The winner, as voted by the fans: Stephanie Vaquer. Yeah, I absolutely get it. Stephanie is here and accepts her trophy from Vic. She says it is beautiful, and says she feels blessed and will never forget the love and support she has given us. She thanks her family and says she’s come a long way, but was born to be part of WWE and is living her dream.

Cathy and Big E congrat the winners and thank Truth for being himself. Our next presenters are the very pretty Zelina Vega and “another guy who claims to be pretty,” Tyler Breeze. Zelina thanks Big E and “whatever her name is” (rude), as Tyler remembers that last year Drew McIntyre won this last year – Social Star of the Year – and Chelsea Green stole it. We watch a video of Logan Paul wondering why he isn’t a nominee.

Our nominees: Drew McIntyre, Chelsea Green. We run through highlights of each doing things on social media, Chelsea being hilarious and Drew being the meme king.

And our Social Star of the Year is Drew McIntyre. He’s present to accept as he was last year, kilt and all. He snatches the trophy from Breeze as the fans sing for him with Truth really getting into the song. Drew starts talking and Chelsea’s theme hits, with Piper Niven and Alba Fyre appearing to hype up the U.S. Champion. Alba says there has been an injustice towards their champion. Drew says the voting was 90/10 and Piper declares it fake as Alba grabs the trophy and runs as Piper holds Drew back.

R-Truth comes running back out with the trophy as Piper goes running. Truth doesn’t want to let go, saying he always wanted to ask Drew if he can do a Celtic Workout with him. Drew says he might be confused, and Truth says he is incognito. Truth tells Drew that his spray tan and wig are great. “You’re starting to turn into a baddie, dawg!” That cracks Drew as Truth chases him to the back.

E and Cathy reel the whole show back in, but notice Boogeyman is still out in the crowd. Boogey gets the crowd to do a “tick tock” chant( kind of) as he throws worms into the crowd. Cathy introduces Cactus Jack and The Miz, the most random of pairings.

Foley is in Jack gear and all (somewhat) as Miz says there is a hardcore legend on stage – and also Cactus Jack. Jack bang bangs and says perhaps the rivalry we’ll be talking about next year would be Miz and Cactus Jack. Miz asks if the crowd would like to see that match at WrestleMania 42. Jack says it would be amazing to have one more match against a certifiable WWE legend – “or the Miz.” We go to Rivalry of the Year.

The nominees: CM Punk vs Drew McIntyre, Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes, Liv Morgan vs Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest vs Finn Balor, Kevin Owens vs Cody Rhodes, Nia Jax vs Tiffany Stratton, The OG Bloodline v The New Bloodline. I vote Punk and Drew.

And the winner is: CM Punk vs Drew McIntyre. Drew’s music hits as he is going to attempt to collect another Slammy without incident. The fans chant for Punk, and Drew says they’re wasting their break because Punk always lets them down. Drew has nothing positive to say about Punk, but has some written statements instead. He reads the “one man wolfpack” speech from Hangover off his phone, modifying it slightly to mention the Grammys.

Grayson says he’s about to fall asleep, maybe needing better presenters or hosts. He threatens to get Jackie Redmond out and Cathy tries to lunge at him, Big E stopping her. We get a “Cathy” chant. Up next, Big E is happy as an eight-time tag champion for the impending award. He introduces Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae.

Waller calls the fans cringe as they chant for Johnny Wrestling. Candice calls them jealous because Johnny is clearly here to present the award to himself. Johnny asks for three Slammys to take home.

Our nominees for Tag Team of the Year: #DIY, Awesome Truth, A-Town Down Under, Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair, Motor City Machine Guns, The Bloodline, The War Raiders, The Judgment Day, The Street Profits, Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez. I vote Jade & Bianca just mostly because the men’s side has been weak this year.

Johnny says the winner is obvious and that we don’t need to open the envelope. Candice really wants to do it, so we do. The winners: Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair. They aren’t present, with Waller complaining that they aren’t even a tag team now. Candice sends us to a video as Johnny protests. Bianca thanks the fans and said they put a lot into it and she’s proud. Jade thanks the fans for her first Slammy, saying it’s conflicting but makes her think of the good times. Gargano continues to protest.

Big E welcomes Johnny and A Town Down Under to leave, but Waller says they aren’t leaving and threatens to do an hour-long Hall of Fame acceptance speech. Theory says they’re leaving because they need food. Grayson tells the fans that he hates every one of the fans and was only here because he was contractually obligated.

Cathy welcomes our next two presents, the hosts of the Raw Recap, Sam Roberts and Megan Morant. Megan has a fantastic Yokozuna jacket on as Sam plugs the WrestleMania Recap after the show tonight as well as their podcast. They discuss favorite OMG Moments and Sam thinks hosting Raw Recap, the press conference with Rock putting him over, and Dom Mysterio existing. Megan chooses Raw Recap and having a baby. That’s a big one, yes.

The nominees for OMG Moment of the Year: Cody Rhodes wins the Undisputed WWE Title, Dominik Mysterio turns on Rhea Ripley, Kevin Owens turns on Randy Orton & Cody Rhodes, New Day turn on Big E, Tiffany Stratton cashes in Money in the Bank, Damian Pirest cashes in Money in the Bank, The Wyatt Sicks debut, Bron Breakker spears IShowSpeed, Bronson Reed Tsunamis Braun Strowman on a car, John Cena turns on Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns returns. Iyo Sky wins Women’s World Title. I feel like Cena is the pick, but the Wyatts was huge too at the time.

And the winner is: John Cena. I imagine he probably isn’t here. Maybe we just can’t… no, I’m not making that joke. Sam tells the fans to not cheer for John as he broke up with us and accepts on his behalf. “John, we see you.”

Mankind appears to join Cathy and E in what we’ll call Mick loosely doing Mankind cosplay. He’s here to help present the WTF Moment of the Year and also promises to re-enact the rap battle between Michael Cole and Jim Ross. And he does, doing Jim Ross’s half and sending us to the video package.

Your nominees for WTF Moment of the Year: R-Truth calls Triple H “Ciampa,” Kevin Owens gets interviewed in a car, Chelsea Green is slammed into a dumpster, Dominik Mysterio dangles from the shark cage, iShowSpeed attempts to help Logan Paul, LA Knight enjoys Logan Paul’s pool, R-Truth wrestles with John Cena, Tama Tonga’s rabid noises, Jacob Fatu loves Solo Sikoa, the Wyatt Sicks debut. Chelsea! Pick Chelsea!

Our winner, says Mankind, is the Wyatt Sicks debut. I get it. I’m fine with it. They’re not present but have sent a message. We get a Wyatts-style video saying “we made them remember.” E thanks them for the video and introduces our next presenter, Ludwig Kaiser.

Ludwig Kaiser appears (an extra introduction later) looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. He demands gratitude and says he knows a thing or two about great matches, noting that Gunther should be a lock to win. The fans chant “yeet” as he sends us to the nominees.

The nominees for Match of the Year: Roman vs Cody (Mania XL), Punk vs McIntyre (Hell in a Cell – Bad Blood), Roman & Rock vs Cody & Seth (WrestleMania), Liv vs Rhea (SummerSlam), Priest vs Gunther (SummerSlam), Cody vs AJ (Backlash France), Mens’ WarGames match (Survivor Series), Bayley vs Iyo (WrestleMania XL), Sami vs Gunther (WrestleMania XL), Gunther vs Orton (Bash in Berlin), Rollins vs Punk (Raw on Netflix debut). How can you not go with Cody and Roman?

The winner: Kaiser says he doesn’t disagree and will go to the higher ups, but it’s a 35% tie at top. The first winner is Cody vs Roman. Cody joins us again via video to accept, this time on a plane. He says he finished the story and thanks the fans for voting. Our second winning match is Hell in a Cell, with Kaiser saying nobody is here to accept on their behalf even though Drew has been here the entire show. Punk thanks us via video, saying this one means more than most of his Slammys due to where he is in his career and it shows he can still contribute to this industry, though sharing it with Drew sucks. “He’s a terrible piece of shit human being.”

Cathy notes that most award shows present awards prior to the show, and they had a few as well. Cathy notes they are more tired than Booker T at the Hall of Fame. E: “Yeah, he’s asleep.”

Most Aura: Jey Uso

Villain of the Year: Liv Morgan & Dominik Mysterio

Mic Drop of the Year: Cody Rhodes tells The Rock “Go Fuck Yourself”

We have a video package! Cody thanks the fans for this one as well, saying that sometimes it pays to say bad words – then say don’t use foul language. Jey says the hard work pays off and yeets. Liv and Dom laugh and Dom says they aren’t villains. “They hate us because they ain’t us.”

YES BOY plays as we have a surprise appearance by Pretty Deadly. Finally, the real entertainment arrives. Elton Prince mentions how nice it is to see Big E’s hips moving, then asks E to dance. They question if the crowd is “feeling Slammy” and are here to talk about Faction of the Year.

The nominees: The OG Bloodline, The Judgment Day, American Made, The New Bloodline, Damage CTRL. I’m going New Bloodline.

And the winning faction… The OG Bloodline. Yeah, I get it. They are not present, but we have a message from our new World Champion Jey Uso. Use says nobody was coming close to winning and shouts out his Bloodline.

We’re down to the final two awards, and Cathy brings back Slammy thief Piper Niven and Braun Strowman. Piper was just trying to help! Braun is a very large man. Braun thanks the fans and Piper receives a message from her earpiece, noting Cathy Kelley should be marked for harassment.

Our nominees for Female Superstar of the Year: Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley, Bayley, Nia Jax, Tiffany Stratton, Chelsea Green, Iyo Sky. Gotta be Rhea, right? I know this fanbase voted hard.

Piper hopes for Chelsea, but our winner… Liv Morgan. Oh really! I could see that too, and she earned it. Liv joins us via video to say that if she was ever going to win, this past year was the one. She says it feels good to be acknowledged for her hard work and to get her flowers, but twists and says nobody else was going to win and runs through her accomplishments. “If you don’t like it, you can cry about it.”

Braun says they’re bringing out help to introduce the last category, and Piper introduces Dude Love. Mick indeed moves like Dude Love should be moving in 2025. Dude says he knows what Piper has in her shirt and that it doesn’t belong to her, and he’s referring to the Slammy peeking out. She hands over the Slammy which belongs to Liv. Now though, it’s time for the men.

The nominees for Male Superstar of the Year: Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Gunther, CM Punk, Damian Priest, Drew McIntyre, Jey Uso, Seth Rollins. Pretty clear Cody is winning, right? His fans voted HARD. And he’s the right choice.

The winner is… Cody Rhodes for the second year in a row. Cody joins via video one more time. He thanks the voters and feels like he is building a dynasty, saying they have the best roster ever assembled in wrestling.

Cathy and Big E are at the podium, wrapping it up for the year. They thank the nominees and winners as well as the live crowd, the voters, and those watching (primarily me, I could tell Cathy was shouting me out), and every person except for A Town Down Under.

I enjoyed it! I think it was a step up from last year, where technical difficulties plagued the show a bit. I can’t really disagree with the winners and they align pretty well with how the fan bases react. If you have some spare time, watch it or skim through it. Big E and Cathy are naturals as hosts as well.