Welcome to the 8th Annual Pro Wrestling Year-End Awards, here at Enuffa.com, where I celebrate the highs (and lows) of the year that was, inside the squared circle!
After 15 or so months of wrestling shows being held in front of virtual, or no, crowds, 2021 saw the welcome return of real, in-person wrestling fans. For WWE it was Wrestlemania 37 that began the renaissance of live crowds, albeit in a limited capacity, and for AEW the May PPV Double or Nothing was the first of the year to feature a packed Daily's Place. NJPW had been running shows with limited audiences for months prior, but since fans in Japan aren't allowed to vocalize, it wasn't as stark a contrast. Regardless though, touring wrestling shows with packed houses was something we'd all dearly missed during quarantine.
As far as wrestling content, the quality from the big three companies was quite varied.
WWE once again struggled to present a consistently good product or elevate new stars without later cutting their legs out. Bianca Belair began the year with a gutsy Royal Rumble win on her way to capturing the Smackdown Women's Title in the main event of WrestleMania Night 1, only to get squashed by a returning Becky Lynch four months later. While she's likely to finally win back the title at this year's 'Mania, the abrupt title change made her look pretty silly and the subsequent Lynch heel turn hasn't been working much at all.
Rhea Ripley was once again poised to be a top women's star, defeating RAW Women's Champ Asuka at 'Mania before losing the title to Charlotte Flair only three months later, basically duplicating the push-derailing loss to Charlotte at 'Mania 36. Since then Rhea has been stuck in a go-nowhere tag team with Nikki ASH. Once again the company failed to truly pull the trigger on this unique star.
Drew McIntyre spent most of 2020 at the top of the card and looked to continue that streak into 2021 but lost the WWE Title to a Miz cash-in, Miz dropped the title in short order to Bobby Lashley, and Drew found himself out of the title picture and out on his ass after failing numerous times to regain the title from Lashley. Great for Bobby, not so good for Drew.
Of course WWE television was dominated by Roman Reigns, who's in the middle of a year-plus Universal Title run, having beaten everyone they've thrown at him. Really the only star they've portrayed as being on Roman's level is Brock Lesnar, begging the question, who ultimately benefits? The point of having a dominant long-term champion, aside from making that guy, is to make someone new in unseating him. But if he crushes all the full-timers and only the older part-timers look like they can hang with him, where are the new stars coming from? As of now there isn't anyone who looks remotely ready to beat Roman for the title.
Big E was perhaps the one real WWE success story of 2021 in terms of actually elevating someone, winning Money in the Bank and cashing in on Lashley over the fall. While he's not being pushed on the level of Roman Reigns, at least they haven't made him look like a fluke champion like so many other cash-ins have. Of course it remains to be seen whether he suffers the same fate Kofi did (a humiliating title loss followed by an express ticket back to the tag team ranks), but for now Big E is enjoying the best push of his career.
WWE cut a swath of talent throughout 2021, citing budget concerns despite raking in record profits. Among the surprising releases were Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Nia Jax, Karrion Kross, Aleister Black, Andrade, John Morrison, Bronson Reed, and many others. In some cases the release was the best thing for them - WWE's loss was AEW's gain - but a few of these were baffling indeed. Part of the impetus for cleaning NXT house was Vince and his creative goons taking control of the developmental brand and renaming it NXT 2.0. Gone was the emphasis on crisp in-ring action and great workers, and in its place was a garish mid-90s aesthetic, a focus on large men and pretty women regardless of wrestling ability, and as it turns out, even worse ratings. Hunter must be soooooo pissed right now.
Okay, enough bitching about WWE.
New Japan had a rough year to say the least. Aside from their crowd size being limited, the company was plagued with injuries and illnesses affecting numerous top stars. They also discontinued the IWGP Intercontinental Title, merging it with the IWGP Heavyweight Title to create an IWGP World Title, a belt that the vast majority of fans seem to feel is a major step down. Regardless of the title design though, the belt took numerous hops through the first half of the year, some planned, some not. Kota Ibushi finally won the championship at WrestleKingdom, the culmination of a multi-year journey, only to drop it to Will Ospreay a scant three months later. Then Ospreay had to vacate the title in June due to a back injury. The plan was for Kazuchika Okada to face Ibushi for the vacant title but then Ibushi developed pneumonia and had to be replaced by Shingo Takagi. Takagi won his first IWGP Title, well-deservedly I might add, and has kept the championship picture stable ever since. But the main belt wasn't the only title vacated, as Hiromu Takahashi had to step away in February, relinquishing his IWGP Jr. Title in the process. And of course the most jarring blow to the roster was Kota Ibushi (this guy can't catch a fucking break) dislocating his shoulder during the G1 Climax Final, executing a Phoenix Splash and cutting the epic match short. Jesus, this company needs a huge rebound in 2022. Fortunately WrestleKingdom 16 is looking pretty stacked over its three-day(!) format.
But the most fun story of 2021 involves our first award.....
