After a tumultuous 2020, professional wrestling was able to return to a sense of normalcy this year as wrestling companies began touring and hosting events with live crowds halfway through the year. But even with those changes, wrestlers around the world still managed to deliver some unforgettable moments. WWE’s top draw had his banner year while holding the WWE Universal Championship for its entirety, AEW broke down barriers with other promotions while bringing in a new wave of titanic free agents, and stars in both companies managed to reach new heights of stardom thanks to some unforgettable matches.
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To celebrate the best of 2021, ComicBook has once again assembled its team of writers to announce the 2021 Golden Issue Awards. Below you can see all of our nominees in this year’s Wrestling category, including Best Male Wrestler, Best Female Wrestler, Best Tag Team, Best Rising Star, and Match of the Year.
Check back with ComicBook.com later this month as we reveal the winners!
Best Male Wrestler
At the start of 2021, it looked like the title of Best Male Wrestler would be a two-horse race between WWE’s Roman Reigns (who remained Universal Champion throughout the entire year) and AEW’s Kenny Omega (who dominated as AEW World Champion while simultaneously holding gold in Impact Wrestling and Lucha Libre AAA). However, a few more names managed to force themselves into the conversation. Bryan Danielson went from main eventing WrestleMania 37 to putting on Match of the Year contenders and challenging for the world championship in AEW, while Big E finally took his rightful place in WWE’s main event scene, and Bobby Lashley looked impressive as WWE Champion for six months.
- Bryan Danielson
- Big E
- Bobby Lashley
- Kenny Omega
- Roman Reigns
Best Female Wrestler
Between Bayley’s ACL tear and Sasha Banks’ multiple breaks from TV, the WWE Four Horsewomen’s grip over the Women’s Division loosened a bit in 2021 (though Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch will still end the year as champions). Bianca Belair firmly established herself as a top star by winning the Women’s Royal Rumble and the main event of WrestleMania 37 before dropping her champioship to Lynch, now a heel, at SummerSlam.
Outside the WWE, Britt Baker ascended to the top of the Women’s Division in AEW, while Deona Purrazzo dominated in both Impact Wrestling and Lucha Libre AAA.
- Dr. Britt Baker
- Bianca Belair
- Charlotte Flair
- Becky Lynch
- Deonna Purrazzo
Best Tag Team
AEW once again dominated the conversation in 2021, when it came to tag team wrestling, hence why four of their teams made the list. But after Jimmy Uso’s long-awaited return from injury and the reformation of The Bloodline, The Usos picked up their seventh reign as tag team champions and are starting to dominate WWE’s record books.
- FTR
- The Lucha Brothers
- Jurassic Express
- The Usos
- The Young Bucks
Match of the Year
Narrowing the list of Match of the Year nominees down to just five options was once again a major challenge this year. Each of the five earned their place for different reasons — the Bucks and Luchas put on a violent Steel Cage classic, Omega and Danielson took each other to the limit in a 30-minute time limit draw, and Dragunov made history by ending Walter’s historic reign at NXT’s final TakeOver before being rebooted and the two WrestleMania 37 main events proudly delivered on WWE’s grandest stage.
- The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Brothers (Steel Cage Match) (AEW All Out 2021)
- Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega (AEW Grand Slam)
- Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov (NXT TakeOver 36)
- Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Edge (WrestleMania 37)
- Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair (WrestleMania 37)
Rising Star
Thanks to the NXT 2.0 reboot, a new crop of talent from WWE’s Performance Center was quickly given the chance to shine on weekly television, thus introducing the world to Bron Breakker (son of wrestling legend Rick Steiner and nephew of Scott Steiner) and the hilarious Tony D’Angelo. Cameron Grimes also climbed his way up on the same roster thanks to a program with Ted DiBiase and the Million Dollar Championship. Finally, AEW had two young stars consistently stand out on television in the highly-technical Daniel Garcia and the gravity-defying Dante Martin.
- Bron Breakker
- Tony D’Angelo
- Daniel Garcia
- Cameron Grimes
- Dante Martin
