The WWE and AEW Wish List for 2021

It seemed impossible there for a while, but 2020 has finally come to an end. And looking towards the immediate futures of both WWE and AEW, there’s a lot to get excited about. Stars like Keith Lee and Adam Page are on the rise, AEW seems to be opening its doors to working with the other big independent promotions and Roman Reigns’ outstanding run as a heel doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. So before 2020 wraps up, here’s our wish list of eight things we want to see from both companies in the new year.

Are there any we missed? Let us know in the comments below and keep it locked in for full coverage of the first big events of 2021 — NXT’s New Year’s Evil, AEW’s New Year’s Smash and the 2021 Royal Rumble.

NXT Back on Survivor Series

NXT’s involvement was hands-down the best thing about Survivor Series in 2019 and their absence from this year’s show made the whole evening feel like it was missing something. Hopefully, WWE puts them back into the mix next year.

Keith Lee, World Champion

Between the backstage reports, the interviews and that recent WWE Network documentary, one thing has become clear-— Vince McMahon thinks Keith Lee has the potential to be a massive star in WWE. On the surface that’s great news for fans of the “Limitless One,” but very little of that has actually manifested on WWE television so far. And it doesn’t help that McMahon has the habit of losing interest in stars if they don’t catch on right away. 

In theory, Lee could be challenging for Drew McIntyre’s WWE Championship by WrestleMania. But until it actually happens, fans need to keep crossing their fingers.

PS: Big E also becoming a world champion would be great. 

Both Companies Get to Tour in Front of Live Fans Again*

This one comes with a pretty big asterisk — when and only when it’s safe for them to do so. WWE and AEW both managed to keep shows going throughout the year. But even the wrestlers and most hardcore fans can’t deny that wrestling every week inside the ThunderDome and Daily’s Place just isn’t the same as wrestling in new cities in front of live, screaming fans each week. Hopefully, by the time 2021 is over, things will be back to normal on that front. 

The AEW Game Releases by Holidays 2021

Between teaming with Yuke’s and bringing in the director of WWF No Mercy, there’s a lot of hype surrounding AEW’s first console installment. It’d be awesome to see the game drop at some point in 2021 around the same time as WWE’s next 2K release.

MJF Becomes Champion

Whether you love him, hate him or just love to hate him, MJF has been one of the best things about AEW since the company launched. He had plenty of standout moments this year and even came close to winning the AEW World Championship, but fell short against Jon Moxley at All Out. Whether it’s the world title or Darby Allin’s TNT Championship, it feels like Friedman is more than ready to carry some gold. 

Better Usage of NXT Callups

WWE’s system of calling up stars from NXT was… let’s call it less-than-great this year. In 2021 we’d love to see the company have definitive plans for an NXT wrestler when they move to Raw and SmackDown, rather then just bringing up another warm body to freshen up either show’s midcard. 

More AEW Crossovers

We’re only a few of weeks into it, but the crossover between AEW and Impact Wrestling via Kenny Omega has brought some legitimate buzz to both companies. It’s hard to say what this is all leading to, so for now, we’ll just say we want to see more of it. That means more stars popping up on Impact, Impact wrestlers invading Dynamite (which seems to be the plan), dream matches on both shows and — maybe — a co-branded pay-per-view. And if it all works, hopefully, we can see more crossovers with other companies (hello there, New Japan). 

Roman Reigns vs. The Rock at WrestleMania

Yeah, it makes more sense to do it when WWE can run in a sold-out stadium again, but Rock vs. Roman is unquestionably the biggest match WWE can do right now. If there’s even the slightest chance it can happen they should go for it, because who knows when Rock’s schedule will allow for something like this again? Plus it’s a better option than some of the other rumors we’ve heard.