Voices of Wrestling 2025 Match of the Year: #5 (Toni Storm vs. Mariah May – March 9)

Toni Storm and Mariah May’s Hollywood Ending comes in as the #5 match in Voices of Wrestling’s 2025 Match of the Year countdown!

Voices of Wrestling 2025 Match of the Year Countdown

• Introduction, Project History, Voters/Media Outlets & Honorable Mentions
• Matches #100-76
• Matches #75-51
• Matches #50-26
• Matches #25-11
• Match of the Year Statistical Analysis & Top 10 Early Reveal (FlagshipPatreon.com)
• Match #10 (Sareee vs. Syuri – March 10)
• Match #9 (El Desperado vs. Jun Kasai – June 24)
• Match #8 (Bandido vs. Konosuke Takeshita – July 11)
• Match #7 (Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano – April 27)
• Match #6 (Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – February 11)
• Match #5 (Toni Storm vs. Mariah May – March 9)
• Match #4 (Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley – July 12)
• Match #3 (Adam Page vs. Will Ospreay – May 25)
• Match #2 (Mistico vs. MJF – September 9)
• Match #1 (Kenny Omega vs. Gabe Kidd – January 5)

Voices of Wrestling’s 2025 Match of the Year Voter List

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(Note: some voters chose not to include websites/affiliations and/or Twitter/X/Bluesky handles)

Wrestling Media Representation in Voices of Wrestling’s 2025 Match of the Year

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#5
Toni Storm defeats Mariah May
03/09
AEW

Overall Points: 647
Total Votes: 91
Percentage of Ballots: 44.61%
10 First-Place Votes

That was an unbelievable sprint, and one of the best sub-15 minute matches I’ve ever seen. It’s a true example of maximizing your time, and making everything count. Many people have said – rightfully, in my opinion – that this match should’ve main evented Revolution. Instead, three other matches followed it, and while two of them were good, those two and the main event itself – the AEW World Title match between Jon Moxley and Adam Copeland – couldn’t hold a candle to this.

It was a cascade of violence told in a frantic manner, which is exactly what was promised. There was no feeling out process between these women. Things had gone completely off the rails by the time we got here, and their match showed that well. It was brutal, bloody, and shocking at times. I can’t go as far as some have said by calling it the most violent women’s match of all time. Akira Hokuto and Shinobu Kandori from Dream Slam I in 1993 will likely hold that distinction until the end of time.

But as far as American Women’s Wrestling goes? Yeah, this is fucking violent all right! I enjoyed how they stayed within the Hollywood theme that the match was built around. Whether it be the Hollywood table, or the use of champagne glasses as weapons, it was a nice story touch. And speaking of champagne bottles, who expected these two to have a Taipei Death Match in 2025? Taping glass to their hands was awesome to see, and a great visual.

This match altogether was just visually pleasing, even if it was visually horrific at times, too. Mariah bled more here than she ever has, while Toni had her Muta Scale moment at the same time. You just don’t see the women getting this violent in the United States, so when it happens, it’s stunning. But, that’s why it works every time! The closing sequence of the match was well done, as Toni got her revenge for the beatdown Mariah gave her the prior summer.

Whipping her with the title belt, and hitting her across the head with the shoe were fantastic callbacks, and great for those who have been paying attention to the story threads to this point. I also enjoyed Toni’s selling, as she still showed remorse in these moments of malice, which indicated that she will always have a place in her heart for her pupil, even if Mariah couldn’t give a shit about her. The closing shot, of Toni embracing an unconscious Mariah on the stage, with “The End” playing above them, was an artistic choice, and a fitting one for this Hollywood themed bloodbath.

A wonderful finale to my favorite AEW storyline, one of the best the company has ever done, and one of the best Women’s wrestling stories ever told in Pro Wrestling. It had all the glitz and glamour that all great Hollywood classics are known for, mixed in with the blood and glass that Pro Wrestling specializes in. It also did a fantastic job in telling a story of two former friends whose hatred had reached an all time high.

Unlike The Godfather, this third part is the best in the trilogy, and an all time classic. – Daniel Everhart (DanTheWrestlingFan)

This was the best match of the year. It’s too bad Maria had to retire at the end of it. – Andrew Lacelle (Newsstand vs Newsletter )

Truth be told, when this match was announced…I was not that excited. Their feud had been going on forever and Toni winning the title back in Australia seemed like a good end point. As it turns out, I am a complete moron and there was a lot of juice left between these two. I don’t think a match has ever surprised me this much, I was kind of dreading it going into it and now here it is in my top 5 of the year. – Swarles (tIr Wrestling Podcast)

Say what you will about this feud and the story leading up to this match, but it’s hard to say that these two didn’t knock the blow off match out of the park. Incredible believable violence and hatred. – Kevin Skiffington (TIR Wrestling Podcast)

What separated this from most blowoff matches was its confidence. It didn’t rush to get big reactions. It trusted the months of buildup, allowed moments to breathe, and let the crowd react to emotional beats as much as physical ones. The violence felt personal, not excessive. The callbacks landed because they were earned. – Brian Zilem (Pwtorch)

Everyone says this is one of the best women’s matches of all time, and while I don’t disagree, I think it’s much more fair to say that it’s just one of the best matches of all time. Had it not been for Mariah leaving AEW soon after, this would have main evented the show, and the fact that it didn’t is a real shame. It’s going to be a while before any women’s match tops this. – Sam Palmer (Wrestling Inc.)

For the plunder match feud blowoff this was this was perfect it did everything it needed to do and it didn’t overstay or under-stay its welcome. – Jason Turner (WhiteTail Wrestling)

I just checked and apparently this went a shade under 13 minutes. That’s astounding to me.

For a match to feel so epic within such constraints is an incredible achievement. Toni and Mariah did all the necessary groundwork over the course of the feud, but this payoff cleared the bar by an outrageous distance. – Jack G. King (Jack the Jobber)

Quite simply, this may be the best North American women’s wrestling match of all time. – Steve Case (Voices of Wrestling)

The culmination of one of AEW’s most satisfying stories. A bloody, intense, and balls-out match that felt like the absolute perfect way to end things. – Will Young (Voices of Wrestling)

What a beautiful ending to what was the best story AEW has ever told. My only gripe about this is that it should have gone on last. – Cody Milkman (Goon Squad / Bodyslamnet)

How this didn’t main event is beyond me. The Hollywood Ending Match had such poignancy and depth in its storytelling that it soaked the angle’s finale in blood, and fans were left all the more satisfied for the payoff. – Corey Michaels (Wrestling Observer Network, Last Word on Pro Wrestling, BodySlam)

This is probably the most unhinged (laudatory) match that I have ever seen in person. As wild as it came across on television, it was truly bonkers to witness live. The blood pouring onto the mat hits differently when there’s a faint aroma of iron in the air. The moment when they dipped their hands in glass before they started slugging it out, hearing 15,000+ people taking a sharp inhale of breath at the same time is a moment that will live in memory for a long time.

Beyond the brutal nature of this match, it was made all the better for being the culmination of the best long-term story AEW ever told that didn’t feature Adam Page, as the story earned and paid off every drop of blood that was spilled in a way that many bloodbaths don’t. Truly, this was remarkable piece of ‘violence as art.’ – Chris Whitehead (Social Suplex Newsletter)

A throwback in many ways to a proper blowoff match of a personal feud. Yes, there was plenty to like from both wrestlers but very rarely does a blowoff match actually match a feud that is presented as deeply personal as this one. This just showed what’s still possible in pro wrestling with the right commitment and set a standard for its time. Fairly or probably unfairly, I’ll find myself thinking of it any time two wrestlers have a feud ender. Once again, the violence was additive, not the main feature. – Andrew (cero1max) (Cero1MAX Wrestling)

Absolute cinema. – Liam Jones (TNA History Pod)

There was an argument at the time, and even today a lot of people will make the statement, that this should’ve main evented AEW Revolution. The Hollywood Ending match, finally bringing to a close the long-running feud between May and Storm, lasted just shy of 13 minutes, but the hardcore nature of it meant that more damage was done and a quicker finisher than normal made sense. The end of the segment camera work, lighting, and production was top-notch and would’ve fit at the end of Revolution itself. – Greg Parks (Pro Wrestling Torch)

What a bloody beautiful ending. For a feud that started with pure feelings of cringe from my part, from Mariah’s turn to this match it was just great stuff. This match is something that has not gotten out of my mind. From putting glasses on their hands and hitting each other to Storm breaking a heel on May’s face and then piledriving her to win, it was full of moments that rewarded those that loved the feud, yet it still worked for those that suffered through it. – Abraham Delgado (Voices of Wrestling)

Best plunder match of the year with the best story. A fitting end to Mariah May, wherever she may be now. – Nikki Derella (Monthly Voyage Podcast)

This is a candidate to be the best women’s match of all-time. Phenomenal from start to finish, and an incredible end to this feud, and Mariah May’s sendoff to WWE. – Tyler Forness (Voices of Wrestling)

The shortest match on my list, but perfect for what it was and what they were trying to do. Given how awful Mariah May has looked in NXT, Toni Storm and AEW deserve a lot of credit for how they built this feud and blew it off. And I’m not even a fan of Toni’s gimmick, which just isn’t for me. Not going to let that prevent me from giving this match its due or yuck your yum because joy can be so rare these days. Given the wet fart of a main event, which was as silent as any I can recall and certainly in AEW by a country mile, they should have main evented with this one. – Eric Krol (Pro Wrestling Torch)

The bloody, violent ending to the feud that had taken Toni Storm from being a top worker in AEW to being one of their greatest stars. It should have headlined the PPV. – Chris Gannon (Social Suplex Newsletter)

This match is what I like to call the perfect bite-sized banger. No fat on these bones. They knew exactly what it called for and they did it. The only problem I have with this match is that it did not end the show, and that’s frankly not these women’s fault, because they made sure we knew it deserved to be the main event. I love blood, I love women, and more importantly I love bloody women who want to destroy each other. It was the perfect end to Mariah May’s career. – Emiliana Rico-Toro (Social Suplex Newsletter)

The perfect ending to a perfect story. This match deserved to main-event the show. It was one of the most beautifully violent matches I’ve ever seen, delivering the most satisfying conclusion to a rivalry I can remember. – Floyd Johnson (All Things Elite on Social Suplex)

This was the blow off match between Mariah May and Toni Storm for the AEW World Women’s Championship. Toni didn’t even get to do a full entrance because Mariah met her out on the ramp to kick her ass. The match is falls count anywhere and the first pinfall attempt happens on the ramp before Mariah shows off a taser and shit canning Luther I think she may have killed him. They waste no time diving off of the stage through a table showing everyone right way what this match means and the stakes that it has. This match was very hard hitting and physical both women going in knew that they had to bring it and boy did they ever. Toni takes a stump piledriver from Mariah on the ring steps and she is bleeding badly. Later Toni introduces a broken champagne bottle into the match this is about to turn into a Tapei Death Match before our very eyes. Toni punches Mariah in the mouth with the broken glass and Toni dumps the bucket of broken glass in the ring. They both use the glass from the broken champagne bottle to beat the hell out of each other. Eventually Mariah hits a hurricanrana from the second rope on to the broken glass this match is insane. There’s an awesome overhead shot during the match of Toni lying on the mat covered in blood as glass surrounds her. Lets be perfectly clear I typically do not like these matches because to me it goes beyond what wrestling is meant to be but this match made a great use of the elements and with the feud that these two women had I can’t say that nothing that happened in this match was out of place. This match if it’s not the overall match of the year which it could be it’s the best women’s match of 2025 absolutely incredible match and a perfect ending to a great feud what a send off for Mariah May as this would be Mariah’s final AEW match and what a way to go by having one of the best matches of the entire calendar year. – Nathan Neumann (WrestleCast Radio)

masterclass in efficiency. It absolutely should have been the main event; a brutal, concise match that was nothing short of perfect. It serves as definitive proof that you can deliver an all-time classic without needing to go long. – yaron kfir (top 7)

A beautiful, bloodsoaked blowoff to one of the finest storylines AEW has ever done. Impeccably paced with maximum brutality with little downtime, and an incredible storyline throughout. – Ryan Mac (Ryan’s Reviews)

An amazing story that 👏🏾 put on a fantastic match. I thought it did stuff that could come off as silly very well and I love how it all fit together the gimmicks and the ending of this feud. – Conrad Kushman (Everything Pro Wrestling )

“Timeless” Toni Storm can sometimes be a bit cute for my tastes. I generally like her, and think she’s excellent in the ring, but especially early on, the character didn’t do much for me. A shame too, because I love classic Hollywood, and thought something cool could be done with her. Enter Mariah May (and RJ City) to make something completely different and original.

“All About Eve” is a personal favorite, and I was immediately intrigued at the idea of how to do the story in a pro wrestling context. They all pulled it off perfectly, they made a movie out of an angle about a movie (about Eve). In the film, the madness continues when the titular Eve is confronted by her own obsessed fan. This couldn’t be the case in AEW however, as Mariah May had made the decision to leave the company. Logic and pro wrestling tradition would dictate that she go out while putting over Toni strong. “Hollywood Ending” was a perfect title because this had all the bombast of a big budget blockbuster. They made sure to not leave anything on the table in their last chance together.

AEW women’s hardcore matches have a ridiculously high hit rate, but this not only ranked with them, it blew them all away. Both women were so giving, and did so many dangerous and breathtaking things with each other. AEW has done more to promote deathmatch wrestling in the mainstream than any other promotion in history, and that goes double for women doing deathmatches. While some may decry that influence, I’m overjoyed that this is a style of wrestling that is given as much respect and appreciation as Heichecero’s technical wizardry, or Hologram’s flips. This doesn’t work if the participants don’t hold up their end of the bargain, and this was a shining example of what makes AEW different from other mainstream American wrestling companies. While much will be made of the “mediocrity” promo while Blake Monroe flounders, we should never forget that she did once produce something special.

– Jamie Sessions (Raised by the Ring)

While I question her decision to leave for uncertain pastures in Orlando, Florida, Mariah May left AEW with a BANG against Toni Storm – Andrew Gelinas (Long Story Sport)

Fair play. They managed to conclude a very silly feud with underwhelming matches prior to this with a really fun and shocking blood fest that manages to wrap up the obvious symbolism of the shoe while keeping the violent imagery of it all. I don’t really rate the two on their odd day, but here, they totally let go of their usual idea of a great match. They let loose and just did violent things and actually had a great match. It was a very well executed match from start to finish. Well done. **** – MC (Shoot Style and Other Stuff)

While I can’t go as far as saying that all the Timeless Toni stuff was worth it for this, this match blew me away. We all know Toni can be great, that’s why the gimmick is so frustrating. We didn’t really know that Mariah could rise to that level. It was a plunder heavy year and this was probably the best 1 vs 1 hardcore match I saw. – Jeremy Sexton (Voices of Wrestling)

Living up to the name “Hollywood Ending,” what should have absolutely been the main event of Revolution was a show-stopping finale to one of AEW’s major feuds of the year. Instantly starting with violence on the outside and only ramping up over the course of the match, Toni & Mariah bled buckets in this masterclass of believing the hatred between two rivals. Could very well go down as the best hardcore match of the decade. – Nick Johnson (Cagematch.net)

The Hollywood Ending match delivered exactly what it promised. This was not a feud that opened with a nice little collar-and-elbow. Mariah met Toni at the top of the ramp before the champion even reached the ring, and not even two minutes in, Toni was powerbombed May off the stage through a table. That moment made it clear: they were not holding back.

I had worried the match might fall short of its promised brutality. AEW has set a high bar for grudge matches, and with all the blood and chaos teased in the build, anything less would have been a letdown. But once they reached the ring, the violence escalated quickly. Toni bled heavily, a crimson mask that felt like something out of a true hardcore classic. They pushed the match into Taipei deathmatch territory, smashing champagne bottles into sensitive areas and stacking the brutality with callbacks to their feud. The Storm Zero on a table at the top of the ramp ended it all, the only possible finish to this relentless, high energy, shotgun blast of a match.

Many have complained it was only 13 minutes. I would not have wanted it any other way. The pacing was excellent, and they made the most of every second, proving you do not need a 30-minute epic to have a match be truly excellent. A true AEW classic. – Warren Hayes (Voices of Wrestling / The Mr. Warren Hayes Show)

To say that the Toni Storm/Mariah May storyline had its fair share of ups and down would be a massive understatement. It had some really great moments, some….not so great moments….and a couple of solid matches along the way, but everything culminated at the Revolution PPV with the Hollywood Ending. Going into that PPV, I felt this had the potential to be a pretty entertaining hardcore match. However, what we ultimately got was an absolute bloodbath, with both women bleeding buckets as they battered each other with broken glass taped to their fists (along with an assortment of other weapons). The level of violence and sheer brutality we got in this one was off the charts, and the finishing sequence of the match perfectly brought the feud full-circle as Toni Storm got her ultimate revenge by stabbing Mariah May with a high-heeled shoe the same way that Mariah battered Toni several months prior when she first turned on her. These two women absolutely knocked it out of the park, and continued the long tradition of the AEW women’s division having wild and crazy hardcore matches. Regardless of your opinions on the storyline and the feud as a whole, they finished it off on an incredible high note, and when I think of pro-wrestling from 2025, this will absolutely be one of the matches I’ll always think of. – Sean Sedor (Voices of Wrestling)

I’ve been fairly outspoken over the last year about not enjoying this feud or Toni’s character in general; I’m someone that prefers the serious side of wrestling and relatable, real-life characters. This storyline has moved at a glacial pace with sometimes illogical arcs (the reveal of Toni faking amnesia for one) and I think that’s been to the detriment of this title with Mercedes’ titles now feeling more important. However, this match was undeniable. This is the best feud-closer match I’ve seen in many a year and both women deserve enormous credit for their gutsy, bloody performances. – Ed Mills (WrestlingClique)

Matches like this, surely, are the reason we all pour so much of our time, our hearts, and our emotion into the beauty of pro wrestling. An extended feud, super hot from the get-go, never outstaying its welcome, peppered with memorable and fiery promos, stakes rising incrementally as time goes on, finally culminating in a blowoff match for the ages that encapsulates everything that was so memorable about the feud. These women went to war for barely 13 minutes in a super bloody and appropriately violent match, packing so much brutality into that time. Storm using the shoe that started it all to lead into the finish was such a neat touch (and by God did she hammer home those shots to the head with it?!). And yes, this absolutely should have been the main event. – Theo Sambus (411mania)

The best AEW women’s plunder match ever, and maybe their best women’s match period. Made me proud to watch this company. – Elliot Imes (Super J-Cast)

A fitting bloody brawl to end a long personal feud filled with betrayal and hatred. The weapons and extreme lengths that both Toni and Mariah went to were justified given their history. You couldn’t ask for a better blow-off match. It was a perfect ending. – Adam Berger (Voices of Wrestling)

A violent ending to one of the best feuds in AEW history and one of the most violent matches you’ll ever see in a mainstream wrestling promotion. – Brynn Jade (Brynn’s Blog of Wrestling Randomness)

The perfect deathmatch sprint and one of the most unique matches you’ll see in American wrestling. – Rob Hutton (Eternal Couch Potato)

I only have one question: why wasn’t this the main event? – Kristen Ashly (Pro Wrestling Illustrated)

There is a certain type of fan who thinks the feud between these two was amazing. I disagree with that. I thought it was very middling to bad at many points.

But this match blew away my every expectation.

A perfect blowoff. A 13 minute bloodbath sprint where both of them absolutely destroy each other. Everything it needed to be, and everything I love in my pro wrestling. – Matthew Lovallo (The Monumental Podcast)

“You do not deserve the dignity of death. I sentence you to a lifetime of mediocrity. Your life will continue; your career will continue. And it’ll be good, but never great. People will like you, but never love you. Because the star that you are will not compare to this monster that you’ve become. So you will dwindle; be replaced, and be forgotten. Then one day, many years from now, someone will ask: ‘whatever happened to Mariah May?’ She found out what happens when you try to kill God.” Toni Storm with perhaps the promo of the decade to encapsulate the most important women’s feud in the US and a match that should have main evented. This match and feud was a brutal throwback in the very best of ways to the best of All Japan Women with memphis sprinkled in. Melodramatic but earned in violence and blood and oh so very final. – Arturo Galletti (The P[w]rescription)

The perfect sendoff to both the Storm/May feud and Mariah May’s run in AEW. Despite all the complaints at the time of AEW Revolution that Storm and May didn’t main event, it was their match that will stand the test of time as the most memorable of the show. – TDE (TDE Wrestling)

The Hollywood Ending was just a bloody spectacle that was incredible to watch. Toni Storm and Mariah May went out of their way to try and kill each other in a way that just fit the tone of the feud. And unlike a lot of big, gory spectacles in modern wrestling this was an actual blow off. When the put “The End” on the screen, they meant it. It’s a shame that Mariah retired from wrestling after this. – Erika Warrens (Wednesday Night Fake Fights )

Not just the MOTY but also the greatest women’s match to ever take place outside of Japan. The whole feud felt like something out of a previous era, in that a heel comes into the company, feuds with the Ace, has 3 big matches and after the blowoff leaves to another territory. Not intentional of course, but maybe it being so great is because wrestling just suits that format sometimes. – Kadaveri (Segunda Caida)

The very best women’s match in AEW history & the culmination to one of the company’s greatest Storylines. 14 mins of hatred, love, brutality and emotion that was unlike anything seen all year. – Sid Pullar III – SP3 (Tru Heel Heat Wrestling / Sports Illustrated / Fightful)

It was the perfect ending to their feud – Frank Peteani (Pro Wrestling Torch)

Great way to end a feud, great way for Mariah May to exit the company to go on to do lesser things. Great violence, great crowd investment, just an almost perfect match that was able to take everything that had happen previously and pay it off in a satisfying way. Almost my favorite match of the year. – Jeri Evagood (Voices of Wrestling)

The match that the Toni Storm gimmick and Toni Storm the wrestler finally clicked together and propelled a really great title reign form most of the year. – Syd Moss (Strawberry letter 123!)

What a great plunder match. Perfect ending to this whole storyline, leading to May leaving the territory. – Filip Pejic (Fil Me In Podcast)

The perfect so long, farewell sendoff to enhance Mariah May’s career toward her newfound journey in WWE. There are so many friends turned bitter rivals storylines out there, but this one truly captures what it means to “have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” I appreciate the humanism this storyline brought where fans and casual viewers could be in the moment throughout their love affair/student and teacher relationship. – Brie Coder (The Bonzo Gonzo/Wrestling Inc. )

This was Exquisite. Art. Cinema. Theatre. The Gayest thing I’ve ever seen in Wrestliong and I once saw Scott Hall tell Dustin Rhodes “I don’t want your belt I want your ass.” – Ella Tailor (Wednesday Night Fake Fights)

Toni Storm cemented herself as the top women in AEW by putting on the greatest women’s match in company history. This 18+ month story had a few ups, and many downs that made the journey to get here pretty grueling, but these two absolutely aced the Hollywood Ending. They worked completely within themselves, pushing themselves to their absolute limits, without being too ambitious and making a fool of themselves. The brutality and call backs all worked here. – TayKZY (Youtube.com/@taykzy)

That’s a wrap. – Andrew Rich (Voices of Wrestling / Music of the Mat Remix)

Voices of Wrestling 2025 Match of the Year Countdown