10 Wrestlers Who Grabbed The Brass Ring In 2020

Maximising minutes and making the most of opportunity.

by Andrew Pollard
Eddie Kingston
AEW

For many wrestlers, 2020 has been a bust. Some grapplers have been forced out of action, all have had to deal with empty arenas, and there have been the obvious financial implications of shows not being able to run with the same regularity of years gone by. It's been tough, it's been emotional, yet some wrestlers have managed to find themselves presented with opportunity a-knocking on their door.

We've heard throughout the years - from Vince McMahon himself, no less - about how wrestlers need to be prepared to grab the brass ring. By that, it means to make the most of every opportunity that comes your way, to bust your ass to create your own opportunities and momentum, and to forever be reaching for stardom.

Of course, the whole brass ring speech has been a façade from McMahon in so many examples, but that's not to say that there haven't still been stars in WWE and elsewhere who have managed to grab the ball and run with it.

Here, looking back across this most tumultuous year, are 10 such wrestlers who have completely grabbed the bull by the horns and seen their careers rightly skyrocket in 2020.

10. Deonna Purrazzo

Eddie Kingston
Impact Wrestling

Deonna Purrazzo had long been talked about by hardcore wrestling fans as something special way before she formally signed with WWE in 2018. After a so-so two years under WWE contract, Purrazzo has spent these past few months wowing in IMPACT Wrestling.

Like so many others, Purrazzo was released from WWE this past April as part of the company's mass cuts. Thankfully, the Virtuosa would debut with IMPACT barely a month after her WWE release - and Deonna has only gone from strength to strength over these past six months since.

At this year's Slammiversary, Purrazzo put on an absolute clinic with Jordynne Grace. In a 15-minute masterclass of working holds and making every motion count, Grace would be forced to tap out to the Fujiwara armbar - crowning Deonna Purrazzo as the new Knockouts Champion.

She may have recently lost the title to Su Yung at last month's Bound for Glory PPV, but Purrazzo has managed to establish herself as one of the best talents in IMPACT Wrestling and beyond. Still only 26 years of age, the scary thing is just how good the Virtuosa can go on to become over the next few years.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.