PUEBLO, Colo. — Whether you watched on in-person from the greater Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, tuned into various CBS Sports Network and RidePass broadcasts or kept up via @PBR social media channels and PBR.com, fans know by now that the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast and Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo did NOT disappoint!
From INSANE 95-point rides and one of the best Kid Rock concerts in history to watching the rodeo world’s most impressive contestants put on a show while crowning the 2024 World Champion, Bull of the Year and beyond, it’s safe to say this was easily one of the most exciting two-week sessions in Western sports history.
While fans, riders, tour personnel and beyond spent most of Monday returning home, resting up and reflecting on the epic experience, PBR.com is back in action as we recap the Top 8 takeaways from the 2024 PBR World Finals!
No. 1: Dominant Dias = Iron Man 2.0 Sitting atop the Unleash The Beast World Championship standings for all but two weeks (as Austin Richardson enjoyed consecutive premier series wins early on in the season), 2024 World Champion Cassio Dias both allowed No. 2 John Crimber to creep drastically close to stealing the show while holding off the surging 18-year-old on his way to collecting his first World Championship honors.
Going 2-for-3 inside Cowtown Coliseum during the tour’s warm-up sessions inside Cowtown Coliseum, eventually carted out of the venue via backboard, the talent suffered one of the nastier-looking wrecks of the season. But between his J.W. Hart-inspired “Iron Man” mentality and perhaps a little healing power from his hero Lane Frost watching from above, the man found himself back in action the following weekend inside Jerry World.
Sporting Frost’s shirt on his way into the area and keeping his chaps on throughout the weekend, the talent did what he needed to in order to win not only the world title, but secure the 2024 PBR Rookie of the Year honors as well. Just 2-for-4 overall inside the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, he was technically at the mercy of Crimber several times throughout the event, but his 92.5 and 79.5-point efforts were enough to get the job done at the end of the day! While it may not have been the grandest of finishes for the Brazilian, his standout rookie season in general was enough to fuel him to the victory circle. Plus, we’re not sure how many riders would’ve even been able to show up with the injury he sustained just seven nights prior, let alone convert in two of the four attempts!
No. 2: John Crimber A Threat For Years to Come Entering AT&T Stadium sitting tied alongside several legendary riders from over the years with the most second-place finishes in PBR history (6), he broke that very record via his runner-up effort when the scoreboard was finalized Sunday. He very much would’ve been the 2024 World Champion in an alternate universe where Dias didn’t soak up all of the wisdom from his PBR Teams coaches Guilherme Marchi and J.W. Hart, let alone bring an insane 550-plus-point lead into Cowtown Coliseum. But that’s the reality we live in, so Crimber will need to revisit the early-season drawing board if he’s to overcome the Kansas City Outlaws’ top-tier standout next season. That said, Crimber enjoyed quite the stellar rookie season himself, going 29-for-66 overall while applying some late-season pressure by outperforming Dias down the postseason stretch.
If he ends up getting drafted by his father’s Florida Freedom No. 1 overall, Crimber’s skillset will only improve should he continue to work side-by-side with a former bull riding star in his own right, Paulo Crimber. And after producing the highest overall score of the 2024 campaign, not to mention the highest since Jose Vitor Leme teamed up with Woopaa for PBR’s all-time high score (98.75 points) back in 2021, we KNOW he’s got world title aspirations and abilities. It’s simply only a matter of time before we see him achieve that goal. For now, he’ll turn his attention to joining two-time PBR Teams MVP in Leme as the only other man to earn said honors, should he end the summer series with the top overall combined aggregate score throughout his 5-on-5 campaign.
Perhaps the most impressive part of his season overall? His character. Who he is as a person. Regularly chatting with Kate Harrison, PBR.com and all sorts of external media and tour partners, the Decatur, Texas, native could’ve have made his parents, and the community overall, more proud than when he joined Dias and company on the stage. Gracing not only Dias, but the entire pack and dedicated fans who stayed around for the endgame awards, he’s very much the voice of the PBR right now, if Dias is the face.
No. 3: It’s Not About How You Finish, It’s About How You Start? Normally it’s very much the other way around. But after seeing both No. 1 Dias and 2024 YETI World Champion Bull Man Hater hold off their respective pack competitors despite less than perfect World Finals slates, it shows just how dominant the pair was during their regular season appearances.
RELATED: #InCaseYouMissedIt: Cassio Dias and Man Hater earn 2024 PBR World Championships
With the standout bovine running into a bit of late-season sickness, he produced just 44.5 and later 42.25-point scores during his pair of outs at Eliminations out as stock contractors Jane Clark and Gene Owen raised their eyebrows, wondering what was wrong. But after getting him healed up and ready to rip, he returned to his typical greatness, turning in the second-highest score of World Finals by dispatching world title contender Eduardo Aparecido during Sunday’s third round.
Similar to Dias, who was also banged up entering the final weekend of competition, Man Hater was able to lean on his WICKED regular season efforts for the ultimate advantage. Having regularly produced eye-popping scores, including eight-straight 45-plus-point bull scores and a trio of 47-plus-pointers, his average score was coming in at least a point higher than his closest competition in No. 2 Red Demon. Returning to elite form inside Jerry World, he eventually sealed the deal with another epic 47.25-point effort en route to earning his first 2024 YETI World Champion Bull honors.
RELATED: Ever-dominant Man Hater finishes standout season as 2024 YETI World Champion Bull
As far as Dias is concerned, who teamed up with the talented bovine twice throughout the season, converting in both of his opportunities, his tour-leading efforts on several fronts allowed him to coast into AT&T Stadium with a 447.5-point lead. Endless short round appearances, and several wins to complement; seven regular season event titles (to Crimber’s lone win in Jacksonville, Florida), the most 90s on tour, etc. etc. etc.
He put the work in, appearing in each of the tour’s 23 regular season events, and it very much ended up paying off for him, in the form of several big checks, a year’s worth of Michelob ULTRA, a pair of shiny new buckles and the honors of drinking from the Jerome Robinson Cup. It doesn’t get much better than that … even if he did entertain some extra drama with Crimber’s postseason run!
Sure, one more qualified ride for Crimber likely shakes a WHOLE LOTTA stuff up in the overall season rankings, World Finals event title race, Rookie of the Year honors, etc., but Crimber will have the next six month to drum up ways to become a little more consistent for the 2025 season. Most importantly, he needs to find a way to turn some of those no-ride appearances at regular season events from the 2024 season (six of the 23) into some additional productivity. Furthermore, with his record-setting seven runner-up appearances … If he was able to convert one more of those into a victory, we could be celebrating the 18-year-old rookie, rather than the 22-year-old Dias.
No. 4: Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo Was Nothing Short of ELECTRIC A lot of time, tons of planning and even more nerves went into planning and executing the most anticipated concert of the year inside AT&T Stadium Friday night. And with fans standing from the moment Kid Rock took the stage to inviting Jelly Roll up for some fun until the rock n roll star’s show-ending finale, we’d say the year one event was quite successful!
Making his grand entrance in the back of a custom Tesla Cybertruck, smoking cigars and acknowledging the country and flag we’re all blessed to call home, the entertainment side of things was nothing short of a true spectacle. But when the competition got started and fans began to understand the rodeo round formats, disciplines and more about the contestants and coaches themselves, that’s when it turned into a party.
Jerry World was truly an awesome venue to show off the talents of the barrel racing, breakaway roping athletes and beyond with all of the dirt space AT&T Stadium offers. And with Team Free Riders coming out of left field to win it all, an underdog story only fueled the heroics of the head-to-head, game-changing showcase.
Sure, it went a little long. But it looked like almost 100% of the event’s attendees stayed around until the end. And we’d say the late night was more than worth it!
RELATED: Inaugural Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo entertains rowdy crowd with dramatic finish, tons of tunes
No. 5: Homey, Historic Fort Worth Stockyards Shines Again Cowtown Coliseum was a bit smaller of a venue than the premier series is used to performing in, but we made it work! And the place was packed for a majority of the six sessions hosted inside the historic venue. Seeing the entire pack of qualifiers duke it out during four intense Eliminations rounds, fans couldn’t have been closer to the action! And hell, staff personnel and riders themselves for that matter, as attendees were regularly mixing it up with talent and tour leaders almost everywhere you looked!
And the riders?
They held up their end as well, with Nashville Stampede star Kaiden Loud netting a welcomed $150,000 for his Eliminations win!
There’s just something special about putting on a show in such a lore-forward establishment. With Ride For Redemption rounds returning to Cowtown for two midweek affairs, there were plenty of opportunities for fans to engage in the old-school vibes Fort Worth Stock Yards bring out as well. From Ariat 5K Boot Trots to endless musical performances and a couple of beverages along the way, fans appeared to be in their element. And that’s always great to see!
No. 6: Drama, Drama, Drama! Eliminations saw the 45-man pack quickly melt down to 20, with the final five spots later claimed at Ride For Redemption, which marked the final opportunity for cowboys to punch their respective Championship tickets. Hell, tons of top-tier talent including the likes of seven-time PRCA World Champion Sage Steele Kimzey was nearly sent home early had he not gotten the job done in Cowtown Coliseum in week 1. But after producing a quality 88-point score aboard Jersey Tuff during the final of four Eliminations rounds, he found himself competing inside AT&T Stadium in week 2. An opportunity he didn’t take for granted!
RELATED: Kimzey finishes frustrating season with 2024 PBR World Finals event title
While each of the other four men (Silvano Alves, Claudio Montanha Jr., Andrew Alvidrez and Dener Barbosa) who used the Eliminations format very much deserved their chances as well, the drama continued during the second stage of the new World Finals format, as Ride For Redemption brought out the best in several guys who understood the two-out showdown represented their final chance to qualify.
Featuring a unique group of cowboys including Shane Scott, Mauricio Gulla Moreira, Bob Mitchell and JaCauy Hale, the tour was looking for the hottest riders come season’s end, and this was the pack that answered the call. More or less, fans could feel the drama throughout each of the three stages, as the ride-or-go-home mentality was extremely evident, with both of the final Ride For Redemption and Eliminations rounds bringing the World Finals vibe we’d been craving!
No. 7: Kaiden Loud, Menace to Be if you weren’t one of the 2,000 some fans packed into Cowtown for the opening sessions of bull riding, you may have missed Nashville Stampede pillar Kaiden Loud’s standout start, as the rookie went 3-for-4 en route to exiting the first of three postseason stages with plenty of momentum and a nice chunk of change for his efforts. But the rising star wouldn’t stop there, as he finished the postseason strong courtesy of his fourth-place finish during his first-ever trip to the World Finals stage. Ending the season by converting in five of his eight playoff opportunities, he stamped the highest ride of Eliminations, a now career-high 91.75-point dance with Doze You Down.
Barely missing the 90-point mark in both of his Championship qualified rides, he had to have been making coach Justin McBride and company feel pretty good about their chances during this summer’s third season of 5-on-5 action. Turning in a quality 89.5-point effort (atop July) during Round 1 inside AT&T Stadium before doubling down on Championship Sunday’s third go (89.75 points aboard Miller Time), the 19-year-old, Kaufman, Texas, resident truly put on a show for his home crowd.
Had the season-culminating showdown donned its typical one-event, eight-round format of years past, Loud would’ve walked away with the 2024 PBR World Finals event title, but with the honors belonging to Kimzey, the only man to ride three of his four bulls in the Championship rounds, he’ll look to bring any sour feelings he’s summoned into his second season riding with Nashville. With the 2024 PBR Teams New Rider Draft set to take place May 29 in his Stampede’s stomping grounds, will he have some additional talent to work with in attempting to put another run together for the yellow and blue squad?
No. 8: Star Power Shines Bright Between the most talented bull riders in the world, top-ranked rodeo athletes, endless music and Hollywood personalities and beyond, to say the weekend was on the radar of elite entertainment would be quite the understatement with so many coaches, legends and celebrities around.
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Not to mention the many rookies and fellow youngsters who took collective steps in becoming the future stars of our sport!
Which, naturally, helped ensure AT&T Stadium was packed to the nines on all three days of competition. From old hats to new faces, UFC fighters, NASCAR drivers, TV personalities (including Dr. Phil himself, who’s becoming quite the PBR player these days!)
RELATED: New PBR broadcast deals to give fans live events in regular Friday through Sunday windows
Endless PBR World Champions, some of the biggest names to ever grace the rodeo circuit, internet influencers, MLB pitchers, NCAA star athletes, rock n roll stars, Jerry Jones himself, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys … So, when we say this event commanded the attention of power players more than any other, we mean it!
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
