#TheChris100 2021: 20-1

 

It's time for your main event! After weeks of counting down honorable mentions and the first 80 names of the heralded The Chris 100 list, we've reached the pinnacle. These are the best of the best, the absolute must-see wrestlers that worked in 2021. Chosen by you, the voter. If you didn't vote in this poll and you take issue, you have yourself to blame. If you did vote and you take issue, start working on spreading your agendas better for next year.

Once again, thank you to everyone who makes this possible. Thank you to everyone who retweets and shares the ballot. Thank you to anyone who let me plug this list on a podcast, who who has plugged this list on a podcast. Thank you everyone who votes. Thank you for everyone who pretends to be interested when I send twelve consecutive DMs about this list in a group chat. Thank you to everyone who submitted blurbs, especially those who sent extra ones when I needed more on short notice. Thank you to HHC and brandon from maine for making the banners for this year on very short notice. We made this list bigger and better in 2021. Here's to making it even better in 2022.

In case you missed the countdown up until now, here it is:

Introduction and #748-700

#699-601

#599-501

#500-401

#400-301

#300-201

#200-101

#100-80

#80-61

#60-41

#40-21

Now.... the conclusion to The Chris 100. 

20. Daniel Garcia (21 ballots, 846 points) – LOWEST RANKED 21 BALLOT WRESTLER

Last Year’s Ranking: NR
High Vote: Nadine (2)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Arez (Lucha Memes, 1/22)
• vs. Tony Deppen (ICW NHB, 4/8)
• vs. AJ Gray (VxS, 4/9)
• vs. Aramis (Lucha Memes, 4/18)
• vs. JD Drake (Limitless, 5/7)
• vs. Matt Makowski (ICW NHB, 7/9)
• vs. Darby Allin (AEW, 8/11)
• vs. CM Punk (AEW, 10/6)
• vs. Alex Shelley (Beyond, 10/7)
• vs. Eddie Kingston (AEW, 11/24)

 “Every so often, a new indie wrestler comes along that gets hyped as the next great technical wrestler, and you can’t really figure out why people say that except for ‘he does a couple of submissions and he’s kind of boring.’ This is not the case of Daniel Garcia, who had a breakout 2021. He’s not a perfect prospect, but he’s getting it all together quickly. Unlike other Technical Wrestlers Of The Future of the past, he’s got some personality between the moves. There’s a cockiness. There’s throughlines to the stuff he’s doing. That goes a long way on the indies, and he’s got real potential from his AEW appearances so far.” ~ Chris Gibbons

19. Keita Yano (13 ballots, 879 points) – HIGHEST RANKED 13 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Ranking: 148
High Vote: Kaust (1)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Daisuke Kanehira (HEAT UP, 2/17)
• vs. Naoki Tanizaki (Dove Pro, 4/5)
• vs. Masayuki Kono (Tenryu Project, 4/25)
• vs. Mitsuru (Unemployment Pro, 5/30)
• w/ TORU vs. Kenichiro Arai & Shota (Tenryu Project, 6/23)
• vs. HUB (Tenryu Project, 7/7)
• vs. Hikaru Sato (Tenryu Project, 8/25)
• vs. HUB (Dove Pro, 9/19)
• w/ Hikaru Sato vs. Kenichiro Arai & Shota (Tenryu Project, 9/29)
• vs. Shota (Tenryu Project, 11/15)

 “It used to be that you couldn’t justify Keita Yano high on a list like this because the tape just wasn’t available. As one of the true Japanese sleaze indie warriors, there’s a lot of Keita Yano’s career that just hasn’t been seen or has only been seen by a couple dozen people. That changed in 2021, as Keita Yano became one of the regulars for Tenryu Project and continued to showcase why he’s one of the best matworkers maybe ever. No two Keita Yano matches are the same. He has such a unique brain for combinations and reversals. You just have to stare in amazement and wonder what this little weirdo in Joker paint is going to do next.” ~ Chris Gibbons

18. Katsuhiko Nakajima (17 ballots, 881 points)
Last Year’s Ranking: 10
High Vote: Jonas (2)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Junta Miyawaki (NOAH, 1/23)
• w/ Masa Kitamiya vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Takashi Sugiura (NOAH, 3/7)
• w/ Masa Kitamiya vs. Keiji Mutoh & Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH, 4/18)
• vs. Masa Kitamiya (NOAH, 6/26)
• w/ Manabu Soya vs. Kaito Kiyomiya & Masa Kitamiya (NOAH, 7/22)
• w/ Hao, Kenoh & Manabu Soya vs. Daisuke Nakamura, Kazushu Sakuraba, Kazuyuki Fujita & Kendo Kashin (NOAH, 8/15)
• vs. Kotaro Suzuki (NOAH, 9/19)
• vs. Kazushi Sakuraba (NOAH, 9/26)
• vs. Kenoh (NOAH, 10/3)
• vs. Masakatsu Funaki (NOAH, 10/3)

 “Another year as one of the best in the world for Katsuhiko Nakajima with no signs of slowing down. One half of the year as one of the best tag teams in the world with Masa Kitamiya before the team explodes, culminating in their epic Cage War. As much as Aggression is missed, Nakajima is just as must-watch in singles matches, putting on an extremely memorable N-1 Victory run before winning the title. And while I was more interested in Nakajima’s chase than his matches after he won the belt, he remains one of the hardest-hitting, best guys in all of Japan.” ~ Chris Gibbons

17. Thunder Rosa (21 ballots, 905 points)
Last Year’s Ranking: 126
High Vote: TH (4)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Britt Baker (AEW, 2/3)
• vs. Leyla Hirsch (AEW, 2/4)
• vs. Nyla Rose (AEW, 3/1)
• w/ Riho vs. Britt Baker & Maki Itoh (AEW, 3/7)
• vs. Britt Baker (AEW, 3/11)
• vs. Kamille (NWA, 5/25)
• vs. Deonna Purrazzo (Impact, 7/17)
• w/ Hikaru Shida vs. Jamie Hayter & Nyla Rose (AEW, 11/13)
• vs. Jamie Hayter (AEW, 11/24)
• vs. Jade Cargill (AEW, 12/29)

 “Thunder Rosa has felt just on the precipice of breaking out as a huge star for a few years. After runs the past decade in Lucha Underground, Ring of Honor, Stardom, the SHINE/SHIMMER women’s indie circuit and Billy Corgan’s NWA, she finally found her home in AEW. Rosa was the best opponent in 2021 for Britt Baker and made the young Jade Cargill look the best she’s looked yet. Add some good work against the likes of Hayter and Leyla Hirsch and some solid excursions in NWA and Impact, and you’ve got a really good case for Rosa as AEW women’s MVP.” ~ Chris Gibbons

16. Yoshinari Ogawa (17 ballots, 991 points)
Last Year’s Ranking: 7
High Vote: Smoldoink (3)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Kotaro Suzuki (NOAH, 1/4)
• w/ HAYATA vs. Hao & Nio (NOAH, 1/16)
• w/ HAYATA vs. Ikuto Hidaka & Kotaro Suzuki (NOAH, 2/12)
• w/ HAYATA vs. Ikuto Hidaka & NOSAWA Rongai (NOAH, 4/29)
• vs. Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH, 6/13)
• w/ Keiji Mutoh vs. Kaito Kiyomiya & Kotaro Suzuki (NOAH, 7/11)
• w/ Seiki Yoshioka vs. Kotaro Suzuki & YO-HEY (NOAH, 10/10)
• vs. Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH, 10/24)
• w/ Yasutaka Yano vs. NOSAWA Rongai (NOAH, 11/23)
• w/ Daisuke Harada vs. HAYATA & YO-HEY (NOAH, 12/7)

 “The NOAH Hive is one of the more insufferable of the inherently good pockets of wrestling fandom. I rarely have the patience for much of the most heralded stuff, but Ogawa doing his highborn imp routine now as the accidental, line-of-succession, de facto ace of the company is consistently one of the easiest things to just throw on and watch. To borrow a term, an Ogawa match is like a warm bath.” ~ Bucky
 

"Yoshinari Ogawa. One of the best to ever do it. We unfortunately didn’t get a whole ton of Ogawa in singles matches, but what we got was always special, and Ogawa is one of those guys who will still bring it way harder than he needs to in an undercard tag role. But it’s the two masterpieces he worked with Kaito Kiyomiya that puts Ogawa this high in the second straight year. You’d be hard-pressed to find two better technical clinics than the two those guys put together.” ~ Chris Gibbons

"Yoshinari Ogawa was in his mid-50s when he decided to work his longest singles matches ever against Kaito Kiyomiya. The first one, which was on the Misawa Memorial show, was one of the best NOAH matches of the past few years, and by my estimation the best match of 2021. The second, wasn't really fucking with the first but it was still incredible. Ogawa doesn't need to change much. He was torturing and outsmarting guys in 2002 and he carried that into 2021, even more vicious and torturous to wrestle now, believe it or not. One of the few constants of wrestling through decades, Yoshinari Ogawa is always great." ~ LEBRONGOAT

15. Serena Deeb (21 ballots, 1011 points) – HIGHEST RANKED 21 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Ranking: 377
High Vote: Tyson Boyd (3)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Tay Conti (AEW, 1/7)
• vs. Riho (AEW, 2/17)
• vs. Red Velvet (AEW, 5/13)
• vs. Riho (AEW, 5/30)
• vs. Kamille (NWA, 6/6)
• w/ Kylie Rae vs. Skye Blue & Thunder Rosa (NWA, 7/6)
• vs. Hikaru Shida (AEW, 10/6)
• vs. Hikaru Shida (AEW, 10/27)
• vs. Hikaru Shida (AEW, 12/15)

 “When Serena Deeb walks to the ring serenaded by Wrestle and Flow’s Josiah Williams, you know you are about to see the return of the veteran. Serena Deeb wrestles with a commanding presence and keen sense of strategy. She’s always looking and working for something to take advantage of, historically that’s been shown to be a leg. Her versatility is impressive as I’ve seen her move from scientific straightman to ruthless opportunist to crafty underdog in a matter of minutes and that’s because her skillset can allow her to do so. It’s a great trait to have as it shows that her work is situational and her matches feel like naturally occurring stories. Her matches with Riho, Red Velvet, and an outing in NWA with Kamille best showcase this side of her.” ~ Flae
 
“The AEW men’s division is full of longtime veterans, but the women’s division is a lot more youthful. That makes Serena Deeb a very important piece of the puzzle for them. She’s an extremely crafty veteran, a versatile and seasoned foe that can put away her opponents in a number of ways. She remains impressively polished. The AEW crowd still doesn’t seem to know what to do with her, but hopefully they’ll be able to catch up with The Chris 100 voters soon enough.” ~ Chris Gibbons

14. Black Terry (18 ballots, 1031 points)
Last Year’s Ranking: 183
High Vote: ceftaxias (1)
 
Recommended Matches

• w/ Heddi Karaoui vs. Toxin & Veneno (IWRG, 3/14)
• vs. Ricky Marvin (Lucha Memes, 4/25)
• w/ Guerrero Negra vs. Baby Judas & Judas el Tradiro (AML, 5/28)
• w/ Avisman vs. Dr. Cerebro & Heddi Karaoui (IWRG, 6/13)
• w/ Eragon vs. Rocky Santana & Romano Garcia (IWRG, 6/20)
• w/ Dr. Cerebro & Eragon vs. Gallego, Rocky Santana & Romano Garcia (AAA/IWRG, 6/27)
• vs. Perro de Guerra Jr. (Lucha Memes, 8/22)
• w/ Dr. Cerebro vs. Medico Brujo & Sick Boy (IWRG, 11/7)
• vs. Mr. Condor (Zona 23, 12/5)
• w/ Avisman vs. Panterita & Panterita Jr. (Lucha Memes, 12/18)

 “Black Terry is 69 years old and he’s still making the list every year. He’s still rolling around in glass in the junkyard. And he still looks like he has even more years to go. I love you Black Terry.” ~ Matt B.
 
“From Black Terry’s current reputation, you might think he’s going out there and completely destroying himself with weapons every night he’s out there. That’s not exactly true. He’s 69 and still working a few dozen matches a year. There are indeed nights where he sits back a little. But damn, when Black Terry goes hard, like that Zona match with Mr. Condor, or that Lucha Memes anniversary match with Ricky Marvin, it’s a real spectacle unlike anything else. Black Terry will turn 70 this year. 70! And there’s a good chance that within a month of his 70^th birthday he’ll take a bundle of lighttubes or a wooden crate to the skull. A true king.” ~ Chris Gibbons

13. Zack Sabre Jr. (20 ballots, 1041 points) – HIGHEST RANKED 20 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Ranking: 57
High Vote: Sol, Flae (4)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Gabriel Kidd (NJPW, 3/7)
• vs. Yota Tsuji (NJPW, 6/22)
• w/ Taichi vs. SANADA & Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 7/11)
• vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 7/23)
• vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 9/18)
• vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW, 9/26)
• vs. Great-O-Khan (NJPW, 9/30)
• vs. KENTA (NJPW, 10/9)
• vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW, 10/21)
• w/ Taichi vs. Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku (NJPW, 11/14)

 “My top wrestler in New Japan for 2021, Zack Sabre Jr. along with Great-O-Khan is the best in the company at playing to an individual wrestler’s strengths. There are plenty of wrestlers who annoy me in NJPW’s heavyweight scene, but no matter how bad I feel someone is, 15-20 minutes with Zack Sabre Jr. gives them an opportunity to shine. He’s a real craftsman who thrives in the little details of a match. I loved him on the indies years ago, but now he’s got the consistency down and become a completely different beast.” ~ Chris Gibbons

12. Tetsuya Naito (18 ballots, 1082 points) – HIGHEST RANKED 18 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Ranking: 4
High Vote: Trevor (2)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW, 1/4)
• vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW, 2/28)
• vs. Great-O-Khan (NJPW, 3/4)
• w/ SANADA vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 7/11)
• vs. Taichi (NJPW, 7/22)
• vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 7/23)
• vs. Yota Tsuji (NJPW, 8/1)
• w/ SANADA vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 9/5)
• vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 9/18)
• w/ SANADA vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 12/2)

“If Naito doesn’t get hurt in his match against ZSJ and is able to run a full G1 slate, there’s a good chance we’re talking about him in the top 5 of this list instead of merely top 15. Unfortunately, that wasn’t meant to be. What we did get was still great. He and Sabre might have the best chemistry of any two wrestlers in the world. His matches with O-Khan and the young lion Yota Tsuji were must-watch. The wear and tear on his body is starting to get to catch up to him, but he’s still a next-level worker.” ~ Chris Gibbons

11. Keiji Mutoh (22 ballots, 1086 points) - LOWEST RANKED 22 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Ranking: 329
High Vote: The Bebbler, Pedro (2)
 
Recommended Matches

• w/ Masato Tanaka & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Go Shiozaki, Hiroshi Hase & Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH, 1/4)
• vs. Go Shiozaki (NOAH, 2/12)
• vs. Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH, 3/14)
• w/ Naomichi Marufuji vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya (NOAH, 4/18)
• vs. Masa Kitamiya (NOAH, 4/29)
• vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH, 6/6)
• vs. Kenoh (NOAH, 6/27)
• w/ Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Kaito Kiyomiya & Kotaro Suzuki (NOAH, 7/11)
• vs. Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH, 9/26)
• vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (NOAH, 12/7)

 “Keiji Mutoh was probably the biggest highlight of the first half of the year, having an insane title run which started off with one of the biggest shockers in recent wrestling history. He has that old man charm and is still as insane as ever taking stiff ass headbutts from Masa Kitamiya and taking flaming kicks from Kenoh. Pro Wres Love reigned supreme last year and hopefully when he comes back from injury it'll reign supreme again.” ~ Nait
 
“Tiny penis. Huge heart. A true legend.” ~ Bucky
 
“Mutoh’s 2021 run was a thing of beauty. The haters and the losers will try to make this old man taking shoot headbutts and winning Best Bout and say he’s running NOAH into the ground or some shit. Those people are charlatans. Mutoh’s body is limited, but he knows his limitations and watching him try to overcome them is part of the work. 2021 was Mutoh’s biggest run in well over a decade and may go down as one of the truly great old man runs.” ~ Chris Gibbons
 
“Don’t let the old man in,
I wanna leave this alone
Can’t leave it up to him,
He’s knocking at my door
And I knew all of my life
That someday it would end
Get up and go outside
Don’t let the old man in” ~ Toby Keith

10. Kenny Omega (22 ballots, 1097 points) – HIGHEST RANKED 22 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Ranking: 21
High Vote: Parker (1)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Rey Fenix (AEW, 1/6)
• vs. Matt Sydal (AEW, 3/24)
• vs. Jungle Boy (AEW, 6/26)
• vs. Sami Callihan (Impact, 7/17)
• w/ Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Dante Martin, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW, 8/11)
• vs. Christian Cage (AEW, 8/13)
• vs. Andrade El Idolo (AAA, 8/14)
• vs. Christian Cage (AEW, 9/5)
• vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW, 9/22)
• vs. Hangman Page (AEW, 11/13)

 “Kenny Omega is one of the most polarizing wrestlers in the world. Many see him still as the ace of AEW and the best in the world even as the roster has gotten built up. Others see him as the worst of the worst when it comes to Everything Wrong With Wrestling These Days. For me, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. I don’t think there’s a better guy in the world at doing that Extreme Maximalism style of match he likes to do, but I think he’s got bad match-pacing issues (he’s at his best in on AEW TV with a time limit). He’s not the kind of wrestler that I really get myself pumped up for, but I appreciate his talent and showmanship too much to really hate the guy. I’m sorry to spend so many words to come out as a Radical Kenny Omega Centrist but nobody signed up to do a blurb and I was writing about everyone else anyway.” ~ Chris Gibbons

9. Cody Rhodes (19 ballots, 1209 points)
Last Year’s Ranking: 32
High Vote: Pedro, Luke (1)
 
Recommended Matches

• w/ Red Velvet vs. Jade Cargill & Shaquille O’Neal (AEW, 3/3)
• vs. Penta El 0M (AEW, 3/11)
• vs. QT Marshall (AEW, 5/5)
• vs. Malakai Black (AEW, 8/4)
• vs. Malakai Black (AEW, 10/23)
• vs. Andrade El Idolo (AEW, 11/3)
• w/ PAC vs. Andrade El Idolo & Malakai Black (AEW, 11/13)
• w/ PAC, Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix vs. Andrade El Idolo, Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood & Malakai Black (AEW, 11/24)
• vs. Andrade El Idolo (AEW, 12/1)
• vs. Sammy Guevara (AEW, 12/22)

 “Cody really came into his own in 2021. Since the beginning of AEW, he made it clear that he'd bleed and do some wild shit, but he took it to another level with his two best matches. He shared a ring with Shaq this year. He cut a controversial promo that could have started a world war. The match he had with Andrade wouldn't have been out of place on a big AAA show, and his short match with Malakai Black was like a fever dream. I mean this in the best way possible, Cody has become Jeff Jarrett. And he should finagle Vince for a lot of money like Jarrett did, and come back to AEW to have more matches as insane as some of his stuff this year.” ~ LEBRONGOAT
 
“Cody Rhodes really won me over in 2021, prior to last year I thought he was not fit to be a main event wrestler thanks to his matches with Kenny Omega and Minoru Suzuki in NJPW and ROH, but last year seemed to awaken something within him that had previously only came out in a couple of matches. He started off the year fairly lowkey, being arguably the least focused-upon wrestler in the Shaq tag in March, then a great TV feud with QT Marshall, then probably his only hiccup of 2021: the Anthony Ogogo feud. But when he started feuding with Malakai Black in the summer, that was when he really started cooking. Most people would call Cody’s booking of himself selfish, I disagree. He looked like a loser in the first Malakai Black match, getting murked so hard he almost retired. The feud as a whole for me was characterised by ridiculous moments, all of them good, that never felt like they could be topped, but Cody found a way to escalate these moments within every match, so they almost bordered on being “too much”, but still felt coherent despite this. The climax of Cody’s year, for me, came against Andrade El Idolo in a Georgia Street Fight, which also had this escalation of ridiculous, dangerous spots, topped off with Cody going through a flaming table. That was my favourite AEW match ever and just thinking about it makes me miss the Codyverse even more. Bring him back, Tony.” ~ Dominic
 
“Adrenaline in my soul. 2021 is the year where I fully learned to embrace Cody Rhodes. I liked him fine in his first WWE run but hated him in his indie/ROH/NJPW run. Whenever he’d have a good AEW match I would kind of just shrug it off and act like it was a one-off, but it got to the point where Cody Rhodes was simply having too many great matches and doing too many extremely sick things in the ring for me to ignore. Cody is one of the ultimate Ideas Guys in wrestling, for better or worse. It means that you might be just as likely to get a match land with a real thud like the Ogogo match as you are a certified classic like the Andrade street fight with the insane fire bump. But that’s just ambition, risk-taking. I have no idea what the WWE Cody run is going to look like. I know it’s going to be a shame to have one of wrestling’s best bleeders of the past few years in such a tame environment. I just hope he gets enough rope to let some of those Ideas fly for WWE goofy gimmick stuff.” ~ Chris Gibbons

8. Great-O-Khan (19 ballots, 1212 points) – HIGHEST RANKED 19 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Ranking: 163
High Vote: Sol (1)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NJPW, 1/30)
• vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 3/4)
• w/ Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay vs. Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 3/15)
• w/ Jeff Cobb vs. Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma (NJPW, 3/21)
• vs. Tomoaki Honma (NJPW, 8/17)
• vs. Yujiro Takahashi (NJPW, 9/26)
• vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 9/30)
• vs. KENTA (NJPW, 10/3)
• vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW, 10/9)
• vs. Toru Yano (NJPW, 11/6)

 “In a period of perceived stagnancy, New Japan has desperately needed a wrestler like Tomoyuki Oka. Able to integrate his skill in multiple athletic disciplines with an eccentric, often absurdist gimmick, Great O-Khan brings a bizarre edge to every match in a promotion many have overlooked this year for being seemingly trite and uninspired. From matching Zack Sabre Jr. on the mat, to bringing out the best in Kota Ibushi, to his Killer Khan-esque screeching with every Mongolian Chop, it’s a testament to O-Khan that his experimental style rarely feels jarring even on the largest stage of Japanese wrestling.” ~ Sol
 
“A lot of people reading might not be aware of Great-O-Khan, but he's one of the best things to come out of New Japan recently. He's 30 years old, he's in the United Empire stable, and although it's Will Ospreay's stable, Okhan feels like the true leader of United Empire, and he's certainly the most over as he's one of New Japan's top 5 merch movers. He's a Tenzan trainee with a gimmick that's a cross between a Jiangshi and Killer Khan, has incredible mat ability from being trained in Sambo, Jiu Jitsu, and Amateur Wrestling, and alongside this is trained in Judo and Karate. But arguably the most important thing he was trained for, is Tenzan taught him how to go stupid. He jumps and screams when he does Mongolian Chops, puts opponents faces on the turnbuckle and sits on their head while laughing maniacally, and he'll demean his opponents by stumbling around like a Jiangshi after getting hit with a suplex or something, because obviously their attacks don't effect him. He offered young lions money to lose their matches against him, enticing them by saying United Empire is very rich! But when that didn't work he had to school them all and make them show what they learned, like Fujiwara did with trainees. He respects swag when he sees it though, when Naito taunts him in their match by imitating his stance with his hands behind his back, he has no choice but to laugh, and then gets to making him tap out later. I firmly believe Great-O-Khan will be one of the best wrestlers in New Japan for at least the next 10 years, so you should really check him out and keep an eye on him this upcoming year.” ~ Dakota
 
“Tomoyuki Oka was a very promising young lion a few years ago, but I had not seen anything from his excursion. Considering he spent said excursion in Britain I had expected him to get worse if anything, and I anticipated the Great-O-Khan gimmick might tempt NJPW to make him a comedy guy instead of play to his strong background on the mat. Any of my doubts were quelled in 2021 as O-Khan was an absolute monster in NJPW. He immediately became a top five worker in the company as soon as he stepped back in a ring on Japanese soil. He had the best G1 of the field, rivaled only by Zack Sabre Jr. In lesser hands, a gimmick like O-Khan would be a novelty that grows stale quickly. With Oka, he’s become must-watch, adding some much-needed stylistic variety to a company whose main event style has been criticized as stale for some time now.” ~ Chris Gibbons

7. “The Redeemer” Miro (27 ballots, 1238 points) – ONLY 27 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Ranking: NR
High Vote: Luke (5)
 
Recommended Matches

• w/ Kip Sabian vs. Chuck Taylor & Orange Cassidy (AEW, 3/25)
• vs. Darby Allin (AEW, 5/12)
• vs. Lance Archer (AEW, 5/30)
• vs. Evil Uno (AEW, 6/5)
• vs. Lee Johnson (AEW, 8/4)
• vs. Eddie Kingston (AEW, 9/5)
• vs. Fuego Del Sol (AEW, 9/15)
• vs. Sammy Guevara (AEW, 9/29)
• vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW, 11/3)
• vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW, 11/13)

 "Miro has a Midas Touch as far as I'm concerned. From his WWE stuff and the slow roll into AEW from Gamer Best Man to Hater of God, he exudes such a classically prowres yet unique physical charisma that adds weight to everything he does. This intensity adds to everything he does, in and out of ring, and makes him so raw y vicious" ~ Luke
 
“Miro’s TNT Championship run probably remains the best championship run anyone had in 2021. It was a perfect culmination of Miro finding the right character in AEW and top-tier ring work, letting guys shine against his monster heel persona whether it was unproven youngsters like Fuego Del Sol and Big Shotty Lee Johnson or highly-pushed acts like Sammy and Darby. It’s a shame that Miro suffered an injury in the Danielson match that’s kept him away from action for a bit, but it’s so exciting to think about what he could do next.” ~ Chris Gibbons

6. “The Icon” Sting (24 ballots, 1278 points) – LOWEST RANKED 24 BALLOT WRESTLER, HIGHEST RANKED WRESTLER W/O #1 VOTE
Last Year’s Ranking: NR
High Vote: maize, Matt B. (2)
 
Recommended Matches

• w/ Darby Allin vs. Brian Cage & Ricky Starks (AEW, 3/7)
• w/ Darby Allin vs. Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky (AEW, 5/30)
• w/ Darby Allin vs. Jeff Parker & Matt Lee (AEW, 8/18)
• w/ Darby Allin vs. Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood (AEW, 9/22)
• w/ Darby Allin vs. Billy Gunn & Colten Gunn (AEW, 12/1)
• w/ CM Punk & Darby Allin vs. Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood & MJF (AEW, 12/22)

 “Sting is currently in the middle of one of the most incredible wrestler comeback stories of all time. He came back in his 60s from supposed career-ending injury and is still one of the best in the world. His charisma is unmatched and his uncle aggression is incredible. Sting isn't just coasting on nostalgia, he is geniunely evolving as a wrestler. Yes, He can still scream WOOOOO and do the scorpion death drop. He can also do dives off of the top rope to the floor and take powerbomb bumps through tables and get right back up. He has also been adapting his skillset to enhance Darby Allin. He compliments Darby so well, because no matter how much Darby is getting beat down, The Stinger is always looming. It feels good to have someone who has a case for greatest of all time being able to close his career out on his own terms. He should retire as AEW champion.” ~ brandon
 
“Sting is 62 years old and he’s back. He deserves to be on the list because he wrestled in a warehouse movie match and jumped from the top to the floor onto MJF. I love you Sting.” ~ Matt B.
 
“I never thought I’d see this again. I thought the injury in that PPV match half a decade ago put him on the shelf for good. I thought that if anything, we’d only get cinematic matches like what we saw with Cage and Starks at the beginning of the year. Then, old Steve Borden, 62-year-old Steve fucking Borden, put on the boots and instantly became one of the best tag workers in the world. His body is limited. He can’t take that many bumps, but he’s in a perfect situation with a workhorse who’s more than willing to take the long heat segments against the heels, as the match builds and then you get that magic. Sting tags in. He’s throwing guys around. He’s looking downright spry. He’s no-selling and taunting and then finally building up to a big dive or bump that his body will allow him to take. It’s like nothing else. When I watch this old man crush it in the ring with Darby, I really do feel like a kid again. One of the greatest to ever do it, and it’s so cool, so wonderful, to see him out there again. IT’S STIIIIIIIIING.” ~ Chris Gibbons

5. Eddie Kingston (26 ballots, 1556 points) – ONLY 26 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Ranking: 13
High Vote: Alex Kellar (1)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Lance Archer (AEW, 1/21)
• vs. JD Drake (AEW, 2/17)
• vs. Dominic Garrini (AIW, 4/30)
• w/ Jon Moxley vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW, 5/30)
• w/ Penta El 0M vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW, 7/7)
• w/ Darby Allin & Jon Moxley vs. Cezar Bononi, JD Drake & Ryan Nemeth (AEW, 8/25)
• vs. Miro (AEW, 9/5)
• vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW, 10/27)
• vs. CM Punk (AEW, 11/13)
• vs. Daniel Garcia (AEW, 11/24)

 “Eddie Kingston is having the run every one of his fans has known he had in him for the last 20 years, but never thought they’d see. While basically every one of his contemporaries got some kind of shot with a major company, it was always Eddie that had to stay back on the indies grinding. He flirted with retirement at least a few times. This is professional wrestling, so it’s impossible to say if those flirtations were works or if they would have lasted very long. But the thing with Kingston is that it always feels real. That’s why he connects. That’s what fans on message boards have been trying to tell everyone who will listen for two decades now. He puts his heart and soul into everything he does in the ring. He’s a worker who does a ton of references to his Japanese heroes of the 80s and 90s in his work, but he neither beats you over the head with those references nor requires you to have a deep understanding of the Four Pillars to understand what he’s doing. He’s not a tribute act but wears his influences on his sleeve because he wears everything on his sleeve. Eddie Kingston is one of the workhorses on a nationally televised wrestling program, and the crowd loves him. He had classics with CM Punk and Miro on two of the most acclaimed shows of the year. He’s still got time to occasionally run it back in Cleveland with guys like Dominic Garrini. The internet nerds were vindicated. More importantly, Eddie was vindicated.” ~ Chris Gibbons

4. Kaito Kiyomiya (24 ballots, 1603 points) – HIGHEST RANKED 24 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Ranking: 2
High Vote: Chris Gibbons, Dominic Hayes, Flae, Nate, Smoldoink, LEBRONGOAT (1)
 
Recommended Matches

• w/ Yoshiki Inamura vs. Jun Akiyama & Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH, 2/12)
• vs. Keiji Mutoh (NOAH, 3/14)
• vs. NOSAWA Rongai (NOAH, 5/22)
• vs. Yoshinari Ogawa (NOAH, 6/13)
• w/ Kotaro Suzuki vs. Keiji Mutoh & Yoshinari Ogawa (NOAH, 7/11)
• w/ Masa Kitamiya vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Manabu Soya (NOAH, 7/22)
• vs. Hajime Ohara (NOAH, 8/15)
• vs. Keiji Mutoh (NOAH, 9/26)
• vs. Kenoh (NOAH, 10/3)
• vs. Yoshinari Ogawa (NOAH, 10/24)

 “In a pretty rough wrestling landscape Kaito has for years now been one of the very very few guys where you have to watch everything that he's in. Just saying he’s the best in the world doesn't cut it, and what's even more insane is that the guy is only 25 years old and still has plenty of years of being the best in the world ahead of him.” ~ Nait
 
“Critics are too busy hemming and hawing about perceived slights in Kaito’s booking that they’re ignoring what they’re seeing in front of their eyes: the best wrestler in the world. Trying to take up the mantle of caring about the young ace of the promotion while not even taking a second to appreciate what this man is doing. If you put him in a title match, he will deliver. If you put him on the undercard tag, he’s still going 100%. If you put him in a house show with a junior, sometimes he’ll put on a five star classic. It doesn’t matter to Kaito. He just wants to prove that from when the bell rings to start the match until the ref calls for the match to end, he is the best at what he does. And he is. A true technician, with the world still ahead of him.  This is the guy that NOAH had shit-talking Tanahashi and Okada in promos in the build-up to the NJPW show for a reason. Because nobody else – not Nakajima, not Shiozaki, not even Mutoh – can make you believe that they belong at the top of the Japanese wrestling sphere like Kaito Kiyomiya can. I’ll say it again: The. best. Wrestler. In. The. World.” ~ Chris Gibbons

3. Darby Allin (28 ballots, 1609 points) – LOWEST RANKED 28 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Ranking: 55
High Vote: fin (1)
 
Recommended Matches

• w/ Sting vs. Brian Cage & Ricky Starks (AEW, 3/7)
• vs. Scorpio Sky (AEW, 3/10)
• vs. JD Drake (AEW, 4/7)
• vs. Miro (AEW, 5/12)
• vs. Ethan Page (AEW, 7/14)
• w/ Sting vs. Jeff Parker & Matt Lee (AEW, 8/18)
• vs. CM Punk (AEW, 9/5)
• w/ Sting vs. Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood (AEW, 9/22)
• vs. Billy Gunn (AEW, 11/17)
• w/ CM Punk & Sting vs. Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood & MJF (AEW, 12/22)

 “Darby Allin is so cool that they are letting him make his own Jackass show that for some reason they didn’t name Destruction Darby. Plus he teams up with his dad Sting and convinces his dad Sting to do crazy stunts in 2021. I love you Darby Allin.” ~ Matt B.
 
“AEW’s biggest workhorse. If you look at a given wrestler’s career in AEW, I think there’s a greater-than-fifty-percent chance that their best singles match is with Darby Allin. If it isn’t, they probably haven’t wrestled Darby Allin in a singles match. His daredevil, seemingly impossible dives and bumps get all the attention, but the truth is he’s got an extremely strong technical backbone to everything. That’s the thing about Darby. He could never do another suicide dive, or bump through another table, or coffin drop off another ladder ever again and he’d still be one of the best in the world. He’s got an unmatched energy and his moves are so smooth it’s bonkers. The fact that he adds all the death-defying stuff to that technical backbone is what makes him a special worker.” ~ Chris Gibbons

2. CM Punk (35 ballots, 2123 points) – ONLY 35 BALLOT WRESTLER, MOST BALLOTS MADE
Last Year’s Ranking: NR
High Vote: Waleed, brendan, maize, Matt Bracket, Cameron Stewart (1)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Darby Allin (AEW, 9/5)
• vs. Powerhouse Hobbs (AEW, 9/22)
• vs. Daniel Garcia (AEW, 10/6)
• vs. Matt Sydal (AEW, 10/6)
• vs. Bobby Fish (AEW, 10/27)
• vs. Eddie Kingston (AEW, 11/13)
• vs. QT Marshall (AEW, 11/24)
• vs. Lee Moriarty (AEW, 12/1)
• w/ Darby Allin & Sting vs. Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood & MJF (AEW, 12/22)

 “a haiku about cm punk
 
A hero returns:
To redeem his failures,
He fights until end” ~ brandon
 
“CM Punk came back to wrestling in 2021. It’s still hard to believe those words months later, even as he’s on TV every week. CM Punk came back to wrestling. Just that is enough, but the level that he came back is wild. He came back looking as good in the ring as he’s ever looked. Punk was never the most athletic guy in the ring, but at 43 years old with 6 years away from the ring, he’s naturally more limited than he was when we last saw that. To combat that, he’s working very deliberately in his styles. He’s often looked to his idol Bret Hart, the ultimate example in working smarter in the ring when your opponent is bigger or more athletic. You feel like in Punk’s time away from the business, he never stopped loving wrestling. In fact, you might even feel he’s been thinking of how he could make such a return. He studied his tapes, he got his body in shape. The fun and passion and fire is back in CM Punk’s eyes. I missed it so much.” ~ Chris Gibbons

1. “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson (28 ballots, 2176 points) – HIGHEST RANKED 28 BALLOT WRESTLER, MOST #1 VOTES
Last Year’s Ranking: 9
High Vote: Doxxystocksy, Tyson Boyd, Logan Kenny, TH, Nadine, Tanner, Bucky, joey v, Brad from Indiana (1)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Cesaro (WWE, 1/15)
• w/ Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode (WWE, 2/12)
• Elimination Chamber (WWE, 2/21)
• vs. Roman Reigns (WWE, 3/21)
• vs. Jey Uso (WWE, 4/2)
• vs. Edge vs. Roman Reigns (WWE, 4/11)
• vs. Roman Reigns (WWE, 4/30)
• vs. Kenny Omega (AEW, 9/22)
• vs. Nick Jackson (AEW, 9/29)
• vs. Minoru Suzuki (AEW, 10/15)
• vs. Bobby Fish (AEW, 10/16)
• vs. Dustin Rhodes (AEW, 10/23)
• vs. Aaron Solo (AEW, 10/24)
• vs. Eddie Kingston (AEW, 10/27)
• vs. Anthony Bowens (AEW, 11/5)
• vs. Rocky Romero (AEW, 11/10)
• vs. Miro (AEW, 11/13)
• vs. Evil Uno (AEW, 11/17)
• vs. Colt Cabana (AEW, 11/24)
• vs. Hangman Page (AEW, 12/15)

 “I get to watch this guy do really cool work basically every week now, and it just makes me so happy. My number one. There are no words except thank you” ~ Bucky
 
“When you have a high-level year for the two biggest wrestling promotions in the world, you’re pretty much a shoo-in for Wrestler of the Year. In his final days as Daniel Bryan, he was still one of the best and most natural wrestlers at working the WWE style. Since his big debut in AEW, he was basically given free reign to just go out there every week and do what he does best: wrestle. Danielson’s 2021 resume has just about everything. Marquee matches with the biggest stars in the world like Roman Reigns, Kenny Omega, Edge, and Hangman Page. The Dream Matches with other workrate darlings of past and present like Cesaro, Dustin Rhodes, Eddie Kingston, Minoru Suzuki, and Miro. Showcase matches with undercarders like Jey Uso, Aaron Solo, and Anthony Bowens. Though he wasn’t my wrestler of the year, I never had much of a doubt that Bryan Danielson would top this list. His reputation and the work just speak for themselves. The fact that CM Punk made it such a close race is just a testament to the incredible year Punk had as well. A well-deserved honor for the American Dragon.” ~ Chris Gibbons

There it is. Bryan Danielson is your winner of The Chris 100 for 2021, joining Go Shiozaki, last year's winner. Once again, thank you for taking this journey with me and participating. That's all, folks. Let's do this again. Voting starts in nine months.