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This was incredibly tough for me, because generally speaking, I have more of an affinity for tag teams than I do singles performers, but wanted to recognize more discrete acts, so a few of these picks are representatives of larger groups, and I decided to honorable mention acts that I would’ve otherwise included as a single entity if this worked that way. 1. Jon Moxley (AEW, 35) - What hasn’t been said about Mox at this point? He was an effective standard bearer for the company and reliably put on good matches with everybody. Very interested where his focus goes now that he’s dropped the title, but I hope he takes all the paternity leave he needs. 2. Hangman Page (AEW, 29) - The emotional core of AEW and probably the most relatable wrestling character I’m aware of. We’re over a year into a journey examining imposter syndrome and toxic friendships, and I’m deeply invested in where it goes next now that he’s Dark Order in all but name. 3. Brodie Lee (AEW, 41) - This is functionally a recognition of the whole Dark Order, but Brodie was obviously the element that made the whole thing coalesce. I hadn’t watched wrestling regularly in almost 15 years, so I had no exposure to Brodie’s body of work before AEW, but this forum had me rooting for him to get his release and he totally delivered. It’s an absolute loving crime that he was stuck on the shelf for no good reason for so long, as he really was everything you look for in a top guy, and I’m glad his match with Dustin drew as well as it did. 4. Eddie Kingston (AEW, 39) - Another revelation of a guy who I had no knowledge of and now I just want more and can’t believe he hadn’t hit it big sooner. He hits the same emotional resonance for me as Page, but plays entirely different notes. 5. Thunder Rosa (AEW/NWA, 34)- The highlight of the women’s division this year for me, probably the closest thing to a complete star the AEW women’s division has, and I really hope she’s wrapped up long term and continues to feed Mission Pro performers to Dark. 6. Ricky Starks (AEW, 30) - To me Ricky’s going to be the most immediate breakout star from Team Taz, and he has a similar energy to Sammy Guevara where he’s such a great heel, but you can tell there’s also a great babyface in there and I can’t wait for him to have the chance to show it. 7. The Butcher (AEW, 43) - Butcher and Blade are probably my favorite tag team of the year, really hitting everything I liked about the Acolytes as a kid, but leveled up. Giving the nod to Butch on his own based on his whole aura and the obvious work he’s been putting in on his conditioning to get better. 8. Hikaru Shida (AEW, 32)- Put the AEW women’s division on her back this year and always puts on entertaining matches with absolutely magnetic charisma. I don’t know that I’d say AEW has set her up to succeed this year, but she has anyway. 9. Lee Moriarty (Freelance, 26) - If I could pluck one dude off the indies right now and put him on TV, it’d be Lee. Wrestles a style I love and successfully sold me more shows than I planned on buying during the Collective solely due to his presence on the cards. 10. Chris Dickinson (Freelance, 33) - If I somehow got a second TV contract to hand out, it’d go to Dickinson. Again, is incredibly good at a style of wrestling I love, and has such a natural ring charisma I’ll watch him fight anyone. Honorable Mentions: Best Friends & OC - I love these dudes and only honorable mentioned them because I couldn’t pick just one to represent the full group. Obviously put the tag division on their back during the Atlanta shows, and I hope they get some run with the belts next year now that the titles are no longer tied up in the dissolution of the Elite. Santana & Ortiz - Two of the most versatile performers on the AEW roster who can switch between comedy and absolute killers with no dip in credibility, their feud with Best Friends is probably my favorite feud of the year. Britt Baker - The heel turn did everything it needed to to justify Britt being the first woman signed to AEW, even if it took a few months for them to recognize that. The injury probably kept her out of my top 10, but she made the most of her TV time and I’m looking forward to the blowoff with Thunder Rosa and what’s next. Tay Conti/Anna Jay/Leyla Hirsch/Red Velvet - despite how relatively limited screen time has been for the AEW women’s division on Dynamite, they’ve added a number of prospects that all have high ceilings that has me feeling bullish about what the division could look like at the end of the year, especially once the new show kicks off and increases TV time available by 50%. I particularly enjoyed the limited exposure these 4 got in the second half of the year. Edited for formatting and to add promotions/ages. Lead Pipe Cinch fucked around with this message at 00:36 on Jan 2, 2021 |
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Jan 2, 2021 00:25
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A note to everyone rightfully selecting Ricky Starks: Google is wrong about his age being 26, he’s actually 30 (or was at the time of recording of whatever podcast I listened to him on).
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Jan 4, 2021 01:27
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