Leighty’s 2024 Countdown: The Matches of WWE Main Event

-It’s time for my annual column where I rank every match I reviewed this year from WWE Main Event. I started this column in 2020 after I took over Main Event duties following the tragic passing of the great Larry Csonka. I always loved when Larry would do rankings of every match from WrestleMania weekend or rank a wrestlers WrestleMania matches. I have always been a sucker for countdown shows and columns since I was a kid. As I have noted in the past, these are my rankings and should only be taken as my opinion. Like everyone else I have favorite wrestlers, and styles of wrestling so they will get the nod in these rankings. Feel free to offer any comments and your own takes, but just be respectful. Let’s get to it!

104) Natalya vs. Xia Li (04.18.24) *

103) Bronson Reed vs. Akira Tozawa (01.04.24) *

102) Bronson Reed vs. Akira Tozawa (06.13.24) *

101) Xia Li vs. Gigi Dolan (02.01.24) *1/2

100) Dante Chen vs. Skylor Clinton (09.05.24) *1/2

99) Tavion Heights vs. Brooks Jensen (10.17.24) *1/2

98) Eddy Thorpe vs. Brooks Jensen (10.03.24) *1/2

97) Gigi Dolan vs. Chelsea Green (01.25.24) *1/2

96) Maxxine Dupri vs. Shayna Baszler (10.24.24) *1/2

95) Myles Borne vs. Duke Hudson (01.11.24) *1/2

94) Katana Chance and Kayden Carter vs. Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn (12.19.24) *1/2

93) Authors of Pain vs. The Creed Brothers (06.27.24) *1/2

92) Authors of Pain vs. The Creed Brothers (05.23.24) *1/2

91) Ludwig Kaiser vs. R-Truth (11.07.24) *1/2

90) Sol Ruca vs. Tatum Paxley (10.10.24) *1/2

89) Katana Chance and Kayden Carter vs. Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn (05.09.24) *1/2

88) Jinder Mahal vs. Tozawa (04.04.24) *1/2

87) Natalya vs. Chelsea Green (04.04.24) *1/2

86) Ivy Nile vs. Alba Fyre (8.08.24) *1/2

85) Natalya vs. Kiana James (05.23.24) *3/4

84) Brinley Reece vs. Jacy Jayne (07.25.24) **

83) Apollo Crews vs. Jinder Mahal (02.22.24) **

82) Authors of Pain vs. Alpha Academy (08.29.24) **

81) Dante Chen vs. Josh Briggs ** (12.25.24)

80) Gallus vs. Alpha Academy (10.03.24) **

79) Katana Chance and Kayden Carter vs. Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn (05.30.24) **

78) Alba Fyre vs. Ivy Nile (07.25.24) **

77) Ivy Nile vs. Islan Dawn (08.01.24) **

76) Piper and Chelsea vs. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter (05.02.24) **

75) Katana Chance vs. Shayna Baszler (03.28.24) **

74) Alpha Academy vs. Indus Sheer (03.14.24) **

73) Zoey Stark vs. Ivy Nile (06.20.24) **

72) Alba Fyre vs. Ivy Nile (07.11.24) **

71) Lyra Valkyria vs. Alba Fyre (10.24.24) **

70) Wes Lee vs. Dion Lennox (12.19.24) **

69) Ludwig Kaiser vs. Otis (04.18.24) **

68) Natlaya vs. Zoey Stark (03.21.24) **

67) LWO vs. Authors of Pain (11.21.24) **

66) Authors of Pain vs. LWO (8.02.24) **

65) Carter and Chance vs. Sonya Deville and Shayna Baszler (10.31.24) **

64) Carter and Chance vs. Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler (04.11.24) **

63) Tegan Nox and Natalya vs. Chelsea Green and Piper Nevin (02.08.24) **

62) Myles Borne vs. Brutus Creed (01.25.24) **

61) Dante Chen vs. Oba Femi (08.15.24) **

60) Akira Tozawa vs. Karrion Kross (09.26.24) **

59) R Truth vs. Chad Gable (11.14.24) **

58) Natalya vs. Isla Dawn (12.05.24) **

57) Dante Chen vs. Tavion Heights (01.18.24) **

56) Otis vs. Pete Dunne (12.12.24) **

55) Lyra Valkyria vs. Lola Vice (08.22.24) **

54) Otis vs. Pete Dunne (10.24.24) **

53) Chelsea Green vs. Natalya (03.14.24) **1/4

52) Luca Crusifino vs. Julius Creed (02.01.24) **1/4

51) OTM vs. Alpha Academy (09.12.24) **1/4

50) Lyra Valkyria vs. Izzi Dame (08.29.24) **1/4

49) Gallus vs. The Creed Brothers (04.25.24) **1/4

48) Berto and Angel vs. The Creed Brothers (05.02.24) **1/4

47) The Creed Brothers vs. LWO (Joaquin Wilde and Dragon Lee) (07.11.24) **1/4

46) Bronson Reed vs. Javier Bernal (01.11.24) **1/4

45) Dakota Kai vs. Ivy Nile (11.28.24) **1/4

44) The Creed Brothers vs. New Catch Republic (05.09.24) **1/4

43) Akira Tozawa vs. Dante Chen (02.15.24) **1/4

42) Malik Blade vs. Riley Osborne (09.05.24) **1/4

41) Candice LeRae vs. Chelsea Green (03.07.24) **1/4

40) Dante Chen vs. Uriah Connors (09.12.24) **1/4

39) Alba Fyre vs. Natalya (05.26.24) **1/2

38) Ivy Nile vs. Dakota Kai (06.06.24) **1/2

37) Chelsea Green vs. Tegan Nox (02.15.24) **1/2

36) Ivar vs. Julius Creed (04.11.24) **1/2

35) Ivy Nile vs. Xia Li (02.29.24) **1/2

34) Giovanni Vinci vs. Apollo Crews (03.21.24) **1/2

33) Luca Crusifino vs. Joaquin Wilde (07.18.24) **1/2

32) Katana Chance and Kayden Carter vs. Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn (11.14.24) **1/2

31) Lyra Valkyria vs. Zoey Stark (09.26.24) **1/2

30) Hank and Tank vs. Edris Enofe and Malik Blade (03.28.24) **1/2

29) Sol Ruca vs. Alba Fyre (09.19.24) **1/2

28) The Creed Brothers vs. LWO (Joaquin Wilde and Dragon Lee) (07.04.24) **1/2

27) Gallus vs. Alpha Academy (09.19.24) **1/2

26) Malik Blade vs. Pete Dunne (07.18.24) **1/2

25) Bronson Reed vs. Apollo Crews (02.08.24) **1/2

24) Julius Creed vs. Dragon Lee (10.10.24) **1/2

23) Pete Dunne vs. Akira Tozawa (11.07.24) **1/2

22) Pete Dunne vs. Akira Tozawa (08.08.24) **1/2

21) Bron Breakker vs. Otis (11.21.24) **1/2

20) Bronson Reed vs. Tyler Bate (06.06.24) **1/2

19) Gallus vs. The Creed Brothers (03.07.24) **3/4

18) Ivy Nile vs. Kiana James (05.16.24) **3/4

17) Lyra Valkyria vs. Zoey Stark (11.28.24) **3/4

16) Apollo Crews vs. Ivar (04.25.24) **3/4

15) Ivar vs. Apollo Crews (02.29.24) **3/4

14) Tozawa vs. Pete Dunne (07.04.24) **3/4

13) Tozawa vs. Joaquin Wilde (06.27.24) ***

12) Ivar vs. Johnny Gargano (01.04.24) ***

11) Julius Creed vs. Apollo Crews (01.18.24) ***

10) The Creed Brothers vs. Hank and Tank (02.22.24) ***

9) LWO vs. The Creed Brothers (12.05.24) ***

8) Dragon Lee vs. Pete Dunne (12.25.24) ***

7) The Street Profits vs. Los Garzas (10.17.24) ***

6) Ludwig Kaiser vs. Dragon Lee (12.12.24) ***

5) Tyler Bate vs. Julius Creed (06.20.24) ***

4) The Creed Brothers vs. New Catch Republic (06.13.24) ***1/4

-Brutus and Dunne start us out as this is another match we have seen on Main Event previously. Brutus tries to over power Dunne, but he gets slugged down and we get small joint manipulation. Tag to Bate who comes off the middle rope and clips Dunne’s shoulder so he can flip forward for a Senton. That was different. Brutus rips Tyler’s head off with a clothesline and holds him up for a vertical suplex. Blind tag to Julius and Tyler gets passed off while still in vertical suplex position. Cool! Julius finishes the suplex! All four men in the ring and New Catch clears the ring. Suicide Dive from Bate and a moonsault to the floor from Dunne as we head to our break at 2:58.

-Back at 5:03 with Dunne trying to stomp the fingers of Julius, but he avoids and gets an overhead belly to belly suplex. Tag to Brutus and he lands a few knees and tag back to Julius. Brutus tosses him onto Dunne for a two count. Julius hooks a bear hug as the crowd rallies Dunne. EAR MANIPULATION as Dunne twists the ear to break. AWESOME! Dunne fights out, but a short-arm clothesline snuffs that rally. Back to the bear hug, so Dunne goes to the eyes and then a headbutt. Release German Suplex leaves both men down. Each man makes the tag, but Bate controls. Head scissors to Julius. Bate off the middle rope with an elbow to Julius. Brutus eats a right hand and a springboard forearm for two as Julius makes the save. Bate in and more finger breaking! Dunne and Julius both end up on the floor. Discus Clothesline gets two from Bate! AIRPLANE SPIN! Tag to Dunne for double finger stomp and then head kick. Bate gets low bridged by Creed which leaves Dunne alone. Brutus backdrops out of a suplex attempt and Dunne lands on his knee. That is enough on an opening for The Creeds to hit The Brutus Ball for the pin at 10:00.

Winners: The Creed Brothers via pin at 10:00
-Fun match here! I believe this makes them 1-1 on Main Event so we need a rubber match. Even with the commercial break we rarely get matches going 10 minutes on this show. Good stuff here and one of the best matches of the year for this show. Working matches with Dunne and Bate will only do wonders for The Creeds.

3) Ilja Dragunov vs. Dante Chen (08.22.24) ***1/4

-Nice to see Ilja back on my screen and in the ring. Chen keeps getting chances on this show and I wonder if that means they are wanting to bring him up soon. I worry his ceiling is NXT Gatekeeper, but won’t know unless the man is given a chance to prove himself. Chen with a side headlock, but Dragunov breaks with a belly to back suplex. Chen goes right back to the side headlock. They charge at each other and Dragunov gets a shoulder tackle. Another running of the ropes and Chen with the side headlock again. Dragunov out, but Chen hits a super kick. He tries a pump kick, but Dragunov blocks and gets a spinning back first. Running knee in the corner and a running boot to the face. That looked great as we take a take at 2:32.

-Back at 4:40 with Ilja lighting up Chen’s chest with chops. “One more time,” from the crowd as James compares them to the crowd chanting for The Gladiators. Chen fires up and throws kicks and strikes as he tries to survive. Dragunov shakes it out and gets a German Suplex. “One More Time,” from the crowd again. Modified German Suplex with a bridge gets a two count. Sweet! Chen gets a backdrop and hits an enziguiri to buy him some time. Chops from Dante and to the corner for more chops. He tries one chop to many as Dragunov catches him and they start trading blows as the crowd cheers and boos. Running clothesline from Chen and a forearm. Inverted Atomic Drop, but the Pump Kick is blocked. Spinning back fist, but Chen fires up again and gets the Pump Kick. Sit-out chokeslam gets two as they are crushing it right now. Gentle Touch is blocked and Dragunov gets The Constantine Special. Powerbomb from Dragunov and Torpedo Moscow finishes at 9:39.

Winner: Ilja Dragunov via pin at 9:39
-This was a Main Event BANGER! This will likely end up Top 5 for Main Event Matches in 2024. Best match I have ever seen from Chen as he brought the fight. Ilja was doing Dragunv thinks because he is awesome.

2) Ludwig Kaiser vs. Dragon Lee (08.15.24) ***1/4

-This has potential to be a MAIN EVENT BANGER! Nice to see Dragon Lee back as this match should give him a chance to work off some rust. Lockup to start and Kaiser lands some forearms after getting chopped in the chest. He takes Lee over with a side headlock as we get a “Les Go Dragon,” chant. Kaiser with a chop and he plays to the crowd. He clowns Lee by pulling at his mask. Lee back with a chop and he bounces off the ropes to get an armdrag. He sends Kaiser to the floor and tries a suicide dive, but Kaiser punches him in the face. He then hits a DDT on the floor to send us to a break at 1:28.

-Back at 2:58 with Kaiser still in control. He charges in the corner, but blocks a boot and lands another chop. Another go and this time Lee is able to reverse in the corner and sets Kaiser on top. They chop each other as Kaiser just gets down off the ropes. Smart! Lee with a drop toe-hold into the middle buckle. He lands kicks and snaps off a head scissors. Lee with a flip dive over the top. He slingshots back into the ring and lands a kick to the face. Basement Dropkick in the corner gets two. Sweet! Kaiser goes to the eyes and goes back to the uppercuts. CHOP! Enziguiri from Dragon Lee! Running PK gets two for Kaiser! Lee with a roll-up for two, but then Kaiser gets his own enziguiri! Kaiser teases taking the mask off, but Lee lands a strike. That gets Kaiser caught in the Tree of Woe. Lee off the top with a double stomp for two! Kaiser counters a head scissors and tosses Lee throat first on the top rope. Kaiser with a twisting DDT for the pin at 8:21.

Winner: Ludwig Kaiser via pin at 8:21
-Wonderfully fun match between these two as expected. Things got really good after the break and they had the crowd rolling along with them. Kind of sucks to see Lee lose his first match back but Kaiser is the one being pushed right now. This was quite enjoyable.

1) Pete Dunne vs. Dijak (05.30.24) ***1/2

-Great to see Dijak back on Main Event! This could be fun and I believe they have faced off on Main Event previously under their other names. Lockup to start and Dunne gets a go behind, but Dijak controls the arm as we get dueling chants. Dunne reverses and Dijak gets to the ropes to force a break. Heavy forearm to the jaw from Dijak! Side headlock, but Dunne pushes off and ends up connecting with a dropkick. Dunne with a kick to the head and heads up top. He hits a moonsault press and lands on his feet as Dijak ends up on the floor. Slingshot crossbody to the floor and again, Dunne lands on his feet. He goes for the fingers for SMALL JOINT MANIPULATION. Dunne up top again, but comes off and gets caught with a boot to the face as we take a break at 3:32.

-No real break though as we fade to black and then come right back to the match. Nice! Another dueling chant as the crowd is getting into this one. Delayed suplex from Dijak as he tries to shake off the arm work that Dunne has been doing. Dijak kicks Dunne around the ring which pisses him off. Forearm from Dijak and another as we get a “Lets Go Pete” chant. He fires up and lands a series of strikes and kicks in the corner. He comes off the middle ropes with a knee to the arm. Rebound snap German Suplex gets a two count! Double stomp to the hands and Dunne gets a triangle choke, but Dijak powers up and hits a sit-out choke bomb for two. The crowd was buying that one! Feast Your Eyes escaped as Dunne goes to the eyes. Dijak gets a goozle, but Dunne goes to the damaged fingers. Dijak responds with a superkick and Dunne kicks him right back, so DIJAK KICKS HIS HEAD OFF WITH A BIG BOOT! THIS IS GREAT! Feast Your Eyes is countered again as Dunne gets a small package for the pin at 7:11.

Winner: Pete Dunne via pin at 7:11
-We have our leader for Main Event Match of the Year! This was wonderful as they sucked the crowd in and I popped when they started kicking each other’s heads off. Check this match out!

-Pete Dunne and Dijak add their names to the list below. I appreciate the work of everyone that has appeared on Main Event as it’s not the glamour spot people want, but they still go out there and work with the constrains they are given. Thanks to everyone that has read my reviews throughout the year and later this week we start the journey to see who claims the top spot in 2025. Thanks for reading!

2023 Main Event Match of The Year: Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Bate
2022 Main Event Match of The Year: Mustafa Ali vs. T-Bar
2021 Main Event Match of The Year: 2 Out of 3 Falls: Mustafa Ali vs. Ricochet
2020 Main Event Match of the Year: Ricochet vs. Mustafa Ali