10 Best Wrestlers Of 2021
2. Kenny Omega
No matter how much credit Kenny Omega gets for what he accomplished in 2021, it won't be enough, given what we now know about the man's physical state.
The former AEW World Champion is hopefully set for a long, restorative period away from the squared circle. Battling multiple shoulder injuries, a hernia, knee problems, vertigo, and likely other things that haven't been disclosed, he has fought on regardless, determined not to take time off until the time was right. So dedicated is Kenny to his craft that he held it together until early November, knowing Full Gear would be the perfect place to hand his belt to 'Hangman' Adam Page. Celebrated matches with Rey Fenix, Christian Cage, Bryan Danielson, and Jungle Boy, an exploding barbed-wire deathmatch, countless incendiary tag and trios matches - he did them all while his body is thrashed.
What's frustrating about Kenny is that while his ceiling is as high as anyone else in wrestling, it comes with occasional baggage. There's a wackiness to him, particularly in his character work, that occasionally undermines his status as a top, top guy. While he likely had fun dressing up as a Ghostbuster with his mates, it makes him look like a jester when he should be the king. The same goes for telling nursery rhymes with Michael Nakazawa in a class of toddlers, the over-the-top facial expressions, cartoon-ish vocal inflexions, and other moments of goofiness.
It's important to highlight this counterargument because the rest of Omega's WOTY case is so strong. While not as explosive and dynamic as he was pre-injuries, his best work still pops and cracks, and his eye for details big and small gets better with age. He is, absolutely, one of the best in the world.
Just not the best.