Welcome to the second annual BRASS RING POST awards!
This year, we’re doing one set of awards that spans the entire pro wrestling world. Anything that was on TV, streaming, or just at your local armory was in the running. You’ll notice there’s no segregation based on gender in our awards pool, too. One pool to rule them all, if you will. 🙂
Some notes on the categories & whatnot
How did the nominations process work?
The Steel Ring Post staff nominated for each category using write-ins.
How did we decide the winners?
The top vote-getters in the nomination round made it to the final ballot where our staff voted with an assist from our Discord peeps when tie-breakers were needed.
What is POP/BOTCH of the Year? What about MVP?
“POP” of the Year refers to the best moment of the year. Not the literal volume of the audience. “BOTCH” is the worst moment and not necessarily a failed attempt at a move. “MVP” is greatest overall contribution to the industry, be it on-camera, behind the scenes, etc.
Now, let’s get on with the show!
Wrestler of the Year
Kenny Omega
(RUNNERS UP: Bryan Danielson, “Hangman” Adam Page)
After the year Kenny Omega had, you can expect to see him show up on this list more than once. He spent the better part of 2021 as the champion of multiple promotions spanning multiple countries. AAA Mega Champion, Impact Wrestling Champion, TNA World Heavyweight Champion, and – of course – AEW World Champion.
Kenny’s year as The Belt Collector™ saw him put on instant classic after instant classic, collecting more stars than Super Mario – all while dealing with what most humans would consider to be debilitating injuries.
Truly one of the best calendar years a pro-wrestler has ever had. Now, please get some rest, Kenny. We’ll see you soon!
• Kenny also took home the honor of Champion of the Year, narrowly defeating Dr. Britt Baker, DMD and Roman Reigns!
Honorable Mention: Bryan Danielson
Danielson had a pretty insane 2021, as well, and he made a late-year push to make it to the top of this list. We wouldn’t be shocked if he takes the equivalent of this award from other outlets. The guy started the year in the main event of Wrestlemania, jumped ship in one of the most shocking debuts of the last decade at All Out, and ended the year by re-introducing the world to The American Dragon in a string of incredible matches. An argument can be made, for sure.
Tag Team of the Year
Lucha Bros.
(RUNNER UP: None.)
This is our first ever GOLDEN BRASS RING POST AWARD.
That means the Lucha Bros. received 100% of the votes for Tag Team of the Year in our nomination round. They literally got ever single vote. To be fair, though, their team name was spelled in a variety of ways – so, technically, there were votes for like five or six versions of them… But, still. Clean sweep.
2021 saw Penta & Fenix finally land AEW championship gold in their incredible cage match with the Young Bucks at All Out. We’re all looking forward to what 2022 brings – a year where absolutely nothing bad will happen to Rey Fenix’s elbow.
Trio of the Year
Superkliq
(RUNNERS UP: Death Triangle, Best Friends, The Bloodline)
This category was pretty hotly contested, but Adam Cole + The Young Bucks snagged a majority of our votes… and our hearts.
It’ll be really interesting to see if Cole splits the vote in 2022, though, as he’s pulling double duty with the Superkliq and his ReDRagon buds. Wonder if they can… coexist?
Match of the Year
Bryan Danielson vs. “Hangman” Adam Page – WINTER IS COMING
(RUNNERS UP: Young Bucks vs. Lucha Bros., Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa)
60 minutes. Time limit draw. On free TV.
This was one of the best TV matches of all time, and we should all take a moment to reflect on how cool it is that in 2021 we’re at a point where a championship match ending in a tie is considered to be the best match of the year. The Other Show™ has spent years doing their best to move the emphasis of pro wrestling TV away from the ring itself, and if AEW has done anything right in their 2+ years, it’s been firmly resetting that dynamic.
Winter Is Coming opened the show with Danielson and Page going at it for an hour. There wasn’t a 40 minute promo before it. There weren’t a bunch of run-ins leading to a DQ finish. It was just two dudes beating the shit out of each other trying to prove who deserves to be the champion.
The Young Bucks vs. Lucha Bros. got a lot of love in our voting, as well. Honestly, though, even with as great as their cage match was, they’ve put on so many great matches together that it’s sort of expected. That may be a bit unfair to them, but on the flip side, you’ve got to understand that this was the first time Bryan and Hangman have ever worked together.
Thunder Rosa vs. Britt Baker scored just as high as the All Out cage match, too… But, that was a lights-out match, so technically it never even happened.
Show of the Year
AEW All Out
(RUNNER UP: AEW Full Gear)
CM Punk vs. Darby Allin – IN CHICAGO.
Young Bucks vs. Lucha Bros. – IN THE BEST CAGE MATCH OF ALL TIME.
Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson make their surprise debuts to close the show.
Truly one of the best PPV events of the last decade, easily grabbing the most votes for SOTY.
The only thing this show was missing was “Hangman” Adam Page winning the title, which is probably why Full Gear came in second place in our voting.
• AEW also won Promotion of the Year with over 80% of the vote!
Rivalry of the Year
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Himself
(RUNNER UP: None.)
“Hangman” Adam Page’s anxious millennial cowboy struggled throughout 2019, 2020, and 2021 to overcome self-doubt, the loss of his best friends, the loss of his new best friends, and a previous loss to Kenny Omega at last year’s Full Gear PPV.
Full Gear, you say? Why, isn’t that the AEW PPV named after Hangman? Yep! He finally reached the next level at his show, one year after he failed to get past Omega in the finals of the same show.
Congrats to “Hangman,” long shall he reign.
Faction of the Year
Dark Order
(RUNNER UP: The Bloodline, The Elite)
In a repeat of last year’s BRASS RING POST AWARDS, the Dark Order dominated our voting – besting challenges from The Elite and The Bloodline, which both made solid cases for themselves this year.
We all love these goofy dudes, their weird lair in Jacksonville, and the real life slashfiction they bring to our screens on BTE… But, it does sorta seem like something needs to change, doesn’t it?
We’re curious to see where 2022 takes the gang. Will they get more serious and go after some gold? Will they finally recruit a new leader? Very curious to find out!
Breakout Star of the Year
Thunder Rosa
(RUNNERS UP: Hook, Bron Breakker)
2021 gave Thunder Rosa the thing we all wanted most for her: the coveted THUNDER ROSA IS ALL ELITE graphic on social media. She finally broke free of her ‘exclusive’ ties to the NWA and made it official with AEW. She was already a featured player in AEW’s women’s division that routinely in the running for title shots, but it finally became officially official.
Rosa’s work speaks for itself. She’s a killer in the ring, and if her light’s out match with Britt Baker is any indication of where their rivalry is going to go in 2022, we can’t wait to see her make a run at the title again.
In a rarity for the 2021 voting, a WWE guy made it into the mix – so, props to Rex Steiner Bron Breakker for making a name for himself. I’m sure NXT won’t be the same with him at the top of the mountain. Like… literally.
POP of the Year
CM Punk returns to pro wrestling
(RUNNER UP: None.)
CM Punk to AEW confirmed.
Crying CM Punk guy.
The Alan Parsons Project.
Cult of Personality.
It was perfect.
After years (and years!) of crossing fingers, endless speculation, a false alarm, and – above all else – hope… CM Punk made is return to pro wrestling as a member of AEW at the second-ever episode of Rampage in front of a sold out crowd at Chicago’s United Center.
He then went on to have a killer return match with Darby Allin at All Out, teamed with Sting on Dynamite, and started what will likely be the feud of 2022 with MJF.
Billionaires shouldn’t exist… But when one of them decides to make our collective fantasy booking turn into real life, we can see at least a couple of pros. Now, if only Tony Khan and like three of his friends would cancel student debt.
BOTCH of the Year
WWE’s mass-releases due to “budget cuts”
(RUNNER UP: AEW’s “exploding” ring)
Hey – WWE finally won something on our list this year!
Let’s get this part out of the way first: When WWE releases someone in 2021/2022, it’s not a death sentence. There are PLENTY of places for talented wrestlers to land these days. If you looked at Twitter on one of the (many) mass-release days over the last year or so, you’d think these wrestlers were being euthanized on their way out of the company. Let’s dial the rhetoric back a bit, is all we’re saying. You don’t need to be “heartbroken” that WWE fired Samoa Joe again. He’ll find somewhere he’s allowed to actually show up on TV. Don’t worry.
With all of that said, it’s still verrrrrrrry shitty of WWE to be cutting so many people both during a global pandemic – and – during record profits for the company. Especially when you consider the bullshit “budget cuts” reason that is reportedly used by management in the memos issued to the parties affected. Sure, the rumors of an upcoming WWE sale can be used to explain why the company would want their numbers to be as lean as possible, but that doesn’t fully absolve The Fed from the scrutiny of their workforce or their fanbase.
The bottom line is that a) WWE didn’t need to hire so many people they never intended to utilize and only did so to kneecap AEW’s expansion efforts, and b) WWE doesn’t need to increase their already-record-profit-margins at the expense of these people that are, in fact, real life human beings with bills to pay, aspirations for the careers, and leases & mortgages that aren’t the easiest things in the world to navigate on short notice.
(Dis)Honorable mention: AEW’s “Exploding” Ring
Like… Come on, guys. At least they tried to cover it up in-story. But… come on.
MVP of 2021
Kenny Omega
(RUNNER UP: Roman Reigns)
See our WOTY write-up above to cover all of the major bullet points as to why Kenny Omega was the best wrestler in the world in 2021. It’s an easy jump in logic to see why he made it to the top of our list for MVP of 2021, as well. When you’re the MVP of AEW, AAA, and Impact, you make a pretty strong case for being MVP of the year. Kudos to Kenny. Now – again – rest up and come back soon!
Honorable mention: Roman Reigns
We’d like to formally acknowledge that Roman Reigns did the very best he could do with what WWE gave him to work with. You’ve gotta feel for the dude when he’s doing the best work of his career while being held back by horrible creative, repetitive storylines, and a company culture that threatens his actual life. Despite all of that, Roman has continued to make as much chicken salad out of WWE’s chicken shit as humanly possible. And, for that, he must be acknowledged.
Podcast / VLOG of the Year
Being The Elite
(RUNNER UP: Pat MacAfee Show)
BTE really is the gold standard for this type of content. The production value isn’t great, the sound is usually terrible, and some of the episodes (and many of the sketches) are complete duds.
Still, though, Being The Elite has become essential viewing for AEW fans, serving as the connective tissue for storylines that don’t get the chance to breathe on the limited amount of weekly TV AEW has. In many ways, BTE is more important to the continuity of AEW’s longterm storytelling than Dynamite, Rampage, or either DARK shows.
Plus, since it’s on Youtube they can cuss and do weird sex stuff.
Wrestler to Watch in 2022
HOOK
(RUNNERS UP: MJF, Effy)
In 2021, they finally sent Hook.
In 2022, we find out how deep this rabbit hole goes.
Honorable mention: Effy
If you’re not familiar with Effy, you probably don’t watch GCW or go to local indie shows that have any sort of budget. Effy – often accompanied by his BUSSY partner in crime, Allie Kat(ch) – was all over the place in 2021. Most notably, Effy spent a good chunk of the year at war with Matt Cardona, introducing the world to the devastating Sack Ryder finishing maneuver and capturing the coveted Internet Championship in the process.
Congrats to this year’s winners. We don’t have a trophy or a plaque or anything like that. The good news, though, is we also don’t have an NFT to give you. So… yay!
