The wrestling world had gone through a number of unforeseen changes throughout 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but while the industry as a whole had struggled many of the talent involved found a way to make bright spots in such an uncertain year. There were many stars across the board that made the most out of these challenges, and some even had their best year in their career yet. This past year saw a major rise of significance in the female talent across multiple promotions, and they even enjoyed the top position in either company for a good chunk of the year. In the end, however, there could really only be one winner.
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And the winner of the 2020 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Female Wrestler is…
Bayley!
When thinking about who had the best go at it during the pandemic, it’s hard not to choose anyone other than Bayley. While 2020 came to a rougher end for her than it began, her long run as the SmackDown Women’s Champion ended up catapulting her to the top of the WWE for several months while there were no other strong stories keeping either Raw or SmackDown afloat. Then when she became a Tag Team Champion together with former partner Sasha Banks? It was a done deal.
Bayley’s time as one of the Golden Role Models seemed to usher in a whole new take on her heelish persona. Bayley was definitely appealing as a star before 2020, but it’s hard to argue against just how much growth she exuded over the course of the year. She pretty much held the WWE afloat, and the resulting feud with Sasha Banks is still lingering on the back burner waiting for a final stamp on their long running stint on top.
Bayley was undoubtedly the standout female wrestler of 2020 for a number of solid reasons, and it’s why she’s one of the most exciting stars to keep an eye on this year as well. With the sharpness she acquired over the course of such a rough year, it’ll be intriguing to see just how much more she evolves when things in the WWE steadily return back to live crowds and more.
Check back with ComicBook.com as the rest of the winners are announced, and let us know who you would pick as winner in the comments!
Nominees:
- Asuka
- Bayley — WINNER
- Hikaru Shida
- Io Shirai
- Sasha Banks
