Four other stars were close to making the cut, including former WWE Tag Team Champion who pledges his devotion to the New Bloodline Tribal Chief, Solo Sikoa, regularly, a disciple that literally stabbed her mentor with a shoe to become the current AEW Women's World Champion, and wrestlers who carried the top world titles in AEW and "WWE NXT."

"I mean, when I hear the term 'Breakout Star,' I think of people like Jacob Fatu," Hardy added.  "I think about Ethan Page. He had a big breakout year coming to 'NXT' and doing his thing... I even think Swerve [Strickland], in some ways, was...a breakout star. Mariah May. She was a big breakthrough star this year. There were a lot of people that had really good years, and they really solidified their positions as players this year."

Hardy also named a WWE star his best talker of 2024 during the awards ceremony, admitting that it was another close contest. The former WWE and AEW star praised wrestlers from both promotions, but one stood out as the best of the best.