Despite having one of the most prosperous decades in the 2010's, wrestling as a whole started the 2020’s with a sense of uncertainty. For starters, the Covid-19 global pandemic would see promotions shut their doors and many have yet to reopen. The big leagues like World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) remained open, albeit with no fans in attendance, managing to still pull off record profits and success. But independent wrestling across the globe took a massive hit with many looking like they will never be able to return. On top of that, the wrestling world would be rocked following the #SpeakingOut movement. Many talent, employees and fans would expose a seedy underside to the business spotlighting various forms of mental and physical abuse. It still remains to be seen what will happen in its wake but we are all hopeful wrestling will see radical change to protect and safeguard anyone involved in it.
Away from the dark side of matters, wrestling was needed more so as an escape than ever. With people locked in their houses, wrestling fans still had plenty to indulge on. Starting at the very end of previous decade, AEW presented a strong new alterative to WWE giving the company some true healthy competition since World Championship Wrestling (WCW) closed its doors. New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) would swap management but is still holding strong after a tremendous return to grace the last decade. It’s still too early to tell what else will come in wrestling for the rest of the decade but hopefully it is all positive moving forward. For now though there has already been some excellent in-ring competition.
Pre -1980's
1980's
1990's
2000's
2010's
Royal Rumble Match 2020
WWE - Royal Rumble '20 - January 26, 2020
Despite what we have said previously in that there hasn’t been too many “bad” Rumble matches, it is unfortunate to note that the bulk of the dud ones did occur in the 2010’s. From poor booking decisions to shattered fan expectations, the Rumble went through a bit of a rough patch in that decade. And you would be forgiven for thinking the first Rumble of a new decade would continue this trend. With Brock Lesnar announcing he would be entering at number 1
despite already being champion, many were worried what this would spell. Thankfully, it was nothing short of entertaining and exciting. It was interesting to see Lesnar dominating and also interesting to see who he would give they rub to (hello “big boy” Keith Lee). Plus when he was eliminated by a Drew McIntyre Claymore it resulted in one of the biggest pops in Rumble history. That was until Edge returned this very same match after 9 years on the shelf. Enough said.
​
Avaliable on Peacock/WWE Network
"Hangman" Adam Page & Kenny Omega
vs The Young Bucks
AEW - Revolution '20 - February 29, 2020
By this point, AEW was only just approaching being a year old and it had already established itself as the new top dog. However, if there were any naysayers, all you would need to do is show them this match to silence the critics. Even after the final bell rang on it, people were placing it in the list of best tag team matches of all time and its easy to see why. Not too mention, it had a tremendous build going in that is still being felt today. The uncertainty of
the Elite and the unravelling of Hangman all started here and there is still no telling how it will all end. A full year on, Page would be out of the Elite. He and Omega would implode. The Bucks would get their hands on the tag belts. And Omega would be the AEW champion. This would also mark the final time AEW would have a full crowd attendance due to the covid pandemic and acts as a stark reminder of how much an audience can add to a bout.
​
Avaliable on Fite TV
Walter
vs Ilja Dragunov
NXT UK - October 29, 2020
In a time with no audience it was difficult to adjust. You never know what you truly miss till it is gone. Yet fans of wrestling already knew that an integral part of wrestling is the way the action feeds off a crowd response and how much that participation adds to a match. One match however arguably benefitted by having no fans in attendance. After having to close its doors for a while due to the pandemic, NXT UK finally was able to return to
screens with the big feud that needed settling being Walter and Ilja Dragunov. Having earned a title shot before the pandemic hit, it was time for Dragunov to cash in. If anyone has followed their history on the indies then you will know the insane chemistry the pair have. For close to 30 minutes the pair straight up murdered one another in a match the likes of which WWE had never seen before. Because there was no crowd in attendance you really heard (and felt!) each chop being thrown and every kick connecting. By the end of it you almost felt a little dirty for what you had just witnessed but it was still sensational none the less.
​
Avaliable on Peacock/WWE Network
Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.
vs Thunder Rosa
Lights Out Match - AEW - Dynamite - March 17, 2021
Despite its rapid success and all the positives you can lavish on AEW, the one part that is sorely lacking is their women’s division. It’s a strange puzzle despite all the pieces being there. Tremendous talent, great matches and a prize to fight over. Yet there hasn’t really been a major feud or story to really let you invest in the division. With one major exception. For a solid few months, Baker and
Rosa were locked in a fierce rivalry, with Baker embarrassing and humiliating Rosa at every turn. What’s more, when they did step in the ring Baker also gained the win by whatever means she could. The blow off would be settled on a main event of Dynamite in a Lights Out Match and you would be hard pressed to find a more bloody and violent women’s match in America since… Well… ever! Ladder shots. Piles of chairs. Thumbtack bumps. The talent here really demonstrated how far women’s wrestling has come in the the decade or so. Rosa may have walked away the victory, but Baker was cemented as a bonafide star. The image of her crimson face will no doubt go down in history as one of the most badass wrestling visuals just like Austin at Wrestlemania 13 and Cactus Jack at the King of the Death Match.
​
Avaliable on Fite TV
CM Punk
vs Darby Allin
AEW - All Out – September 5, 2021
7 long years. In 2014, at the height of his popularity, CM Punk decided he wasn’t going to put up with a system that robbed him of his passion and left WWE. To Punk’s credit, everything he said about WWE has been proven true given the seemingly endless talent cuts and other superstars who followed in his actions.
Still, since the day he walked away from wrestling there have been nearly endless rumours that he would return but with each one being extinguished it felt genuinely like we would never see Punk back in a ring. That was until a viable alternative to WWE came in the form of AEW. August 2021, saw a packed out Staples Centre in Chicago deliver a biblical response to their home town boy as the impossible was achevied. Punk was back. Not only did he set the last 7 years to rights, but he wasted little time in calling out his first opponent – Darby Allin. A few short weeks would then see us here at All Out, Punk’s first match in 7 years. Would it be worth the wait after so long? Yes. Yes it would. Sure, it was clear Punk had a little rust but he still put in a hell of a lot of effort. It helped massively that he had an opponent like Darby who will go to extreme lengths to make a match standout. One particular standout moment sees Punk side step Darby who goes flying through the turnbuckles and crashes back first into the ring post. We appreciate the ganrly stuff you do Darby but… have a word. In the end Punk would stand tall with the victory but in the process he helped elevate a talent who was already a major rising star in AEW. If nothing else, this match deserves to be here for proof that you can never say never in wrestling and that the power of Punk never lost it’s shine during those 7 years.
​
Avaliable on Fite TV
The Young Bucks
vs The Lucha Brothers
Steel Cage Match - AEW - All Out – September 5, 2021
It feels like at this point we should have a whole section of Matches You Need to See dedicated to these two tag teams. If you are a follower of the Meltzer star ratings, out of the 9 matches (including this one) in AEW that have received 5 or above stars, the Bucks are featured in 5 of them. Not to be outdone, the Lucha Bros
(together and separately) are featured in 4. At this point, if Tony Khan is needing a show stealing match on the card, his safest bet is to just put these two teams together and let the magic happen. Like they did at the All Out event two years prior, the Bucks and Lucha Bros put on another barn burner of a spectacle, this time swapping ladders for a steel cage. Both teams make full use of the environment that it is pretty hard to put into words a lot of the insane action that takes place here. Essentially, expect the unique tag offence of the Bucks coupled with Fenix once again defying the laws of gravity. What we also get here is a great in-ring story told, with the Bucks in full-on heel mode, pulling out every trick in the book to keep the Lucha Bros grounded. At one point Matt Jackson pulls out a thumbtack covered Nikey shoe, for which older brother Penta dives in front of to save Fenix from a ganrly superkick. Even the more ridiculous moments like all four men stood in a circle super kicking one another can’t help but elicit a smile. The result is that once again these two teams deliver a match that is fast, frenetic and at points hard to put into words. But a smile will never leave your face from bell to bell.
​
Avaliable on Fite TV
"Hangman" Adam Page
vs Kenny Omega
AEW – Full Gear – November 13, 2021
It is very rare these days that we as fans get to see a storyline with long term booking. At most we get a couple of months with a story before we are moved onto the next, at times barely getting a chance to savour it. There have been a few notable exceptions, such as Gargano vs Ciampa, but beyond that it feels like we as fans are treated as if we have short attention spans to stay tuned to anything long term. That’s why it is staggering that the journey of “Hangman” Adam Page
was been a two year storybook packed with twists and turns that began all the way back when AEW started. If you believe Tony Khan this was always the plan. He always knew who his first four world champions would be and he knew the first three would each play a crucial role in Page becoming the fourth. There is far too much to fully describe every step of the plot here but of course the main point was Hangman being exiled from the Elite. Since then we have been waiting for Page to dethrone Omega as the champion and thankfully it delivered. What we are given is an emotionally charged match that actually brought the Bearhug’s own Scott Archer to tears twice during the course of the bout. Something he admits has never happened while watching wrestling before. In the end, we are left with a satisfying conclusion to the Hangman story and further proof that Omega is not human (reports afterwards stated Omega was working through multiple injuries including that of his shoulders meaning he could not even lift up Hangman). What’s more, there has been enough left open that the story may have more to tell later down the line…
​
Avaliable on Fite TV