10 Best Wrestlers Of 2021

7. Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns
WWE.com

WWE's star attraction from the moment he returned last summer, Roman Reigns has enjoyed a dominant year - and the best of his career to date.

Reigns feels gigantic. Finally presented in a singles role befitting his skillset, he is twenty feet tall when he comes down the ramp, having cultivated an aura and gravitas WWE has been chasing in a top guy for years. It's still frustrating that it took so long to get to this point, of course, and that so much of Reigns' career was wasted on failed babyface pushes will always sting, but he's here now. 'The Guy' is in his finest (but hopefully not final) form.

Roman is confident, assured, and at his best, captivating. Headlining the world's biggest promotion as a villain feels natural to him. Always an underrated wrestler who spaced out his big, explosive spots to great effect, he is currently delivering the best in-ring work of his career within this role. Matches with Daniel Bryan, Edge, and Cesaro tracked as some of 2021's finest. That he has become such a good talker as well means Roman's WOTY case is easy to make.

But that his week-to-week segments often rely on hammy wrestling over-acting, melodrama, and repetitive formulas hurts his positioning. So too do the matches that didn't deliver. Royal Rumble's Kevin Owens match was a hackneyed plunder brawl with only a couple of memorable spots and a damaging botched finish, the Edge bout at Money in the Bank was greatly overcooked, and the long-awaited Survivor Series clash with Big E was a big letdown. Good when it should have been great, that last match suffered for a lack of crowd investment that the absolute best workers would force from a crowd. Reigns, even when speaking directly to the gathered masses, couldn't do that in Brooklyn.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.