50 Best Wrestlers Of The 2020s (So Far)

Polarising but completely captivating, Maxwell Jacob Friedman is one of the most important wrestlers of 2020s, and that sentence carries as much weight at the half-way point as it did on January 1st 2020 and will do on December 31st 2029.

AEW's definitive heel and very possibly the evil "main character" to Hangman Page's virtuous one if such a thing existed, MJF's villainy has echoes of all the old school hits while constantly working to progress the form beyond anywhere the industry has ever been.

His microphone and persona skills set him apart before All Elite Wrestling even existed, but his ability to draw genuine heat made him an instant gold standard for bad guys in the modern era. But reducing praise to his talking reduces praise of his ring work, which also stands up as some of the very best in company history. It was during his record breaking AEW World Championship reign that MJF started listing his accomplishments, but rather than Miz' over-familiar Wikipedia recitals, these were recalls of iconic wrestling moments that, by themselves would have been stand out moments in a wrestlers career. In his world, they were just passing periods of time as he built a legacy like few around him.

A student of the game, he's always understood how important that is even when misfiring. The Devil (and the babyface turn wrapped around it) was a mess at times, but MJF built matches into the period against the likes of Samoa Joe and Kenny Omega that will one day serve as defence against the obvious critique. Elsewhere, he's been a storyline and match hit factory, peaking with a transcendent and era-defining rivalry with CM Punk, that, on a weekly basis, was operating at a level like almost nothing else the business has ever seen.

The high bar was set young, but there are few talents that carry the confidence to constantly try and top it.