#TheChris100 2021: 60-41

Apologies for not having a post yesterday. I've been sick all week and I just really needed to spend a day getting some bedrest. Everything's good now, so we're back on track. Thank you for your understanding.

60. "The Silver Teeth Satan" Atticus Cogar (9 ballots, 439 points)

Last Year’s Ranking: 294
High Vote: Smoldoink (8)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Alex Colon (GCW, 1/1)
• w/ Eric Ryan vs. John Wayne Murdoch & Satu Jinn (IWA MS, 4/3)
• vs. MASADA (GCW, 4/9)
• vs. 1 Called Manders (GCW, 6/5)
• vs. Alex Colon (GCW, 6/5)
• vs. Neil Diamond Cutter (ICW NHB, 7/3)
• w/ Eric Ryan vs. Mance Warner & Matthew Justice (GCW, 9/2)
• vs. Masashi Takeda (GCW, 11/13)
• vs. Rina Yamashita (GCW, 11/13)
• vs. Jordan Oliver (GCW, 12/4)

"Atticus Cogar has felt like he's just on the brink of becoming the guy on the deathmatch indies for the past couple years. Last year he worked the most matches of his career for a bunch of promotions, but whenever it felt like he was about to get rocketed to the moon, the push stalled out. I don't get it, because the work is there. His matches against the FREEDOMS fly-ins at the NGI were excellent. The Jordan Oliver feud had some amazing moments. Maybe 2022 will finally be the year that he ascends to that next level of stardom. Maybe." 

59. Rey Fenix (14 ballots, 443 points) – LOWEST RANKED 14 BALLOT WRESTLER

Last Year’s Ranking: 79
High Vote: Tyson Boyd (4)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Kenny Omega (AEW, 1/6)
• w/ Laredo Kid vs. Abismo Negro Jr. & Taurus (AAA, 2/7)
• vs. Lance Archer (AEW, 2/18)
• w/ Laredo Kid & Penta El 0M vs. Brandon Cutler, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW, 3/24)
• w/ Penta El 0M vs. Brian Cage & Taurus vs. El Hijo del Vikingo & Laredo Kid (AAA, 8/14)
• w/ Penta El 0M vs. Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (AEW, 8/25)
• w/ Penta El 0M vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW, 9/5)
• vs. Andrade El Idolo vs. Laredo Kid (The Crash, 9/11)
• w/ Penta El 0M vs. El Hijo del Vikingo & Laredo Kid (AAA, 10/9)
• w/ Penta El 0M vs. Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood (AEW, 11/13)

58. "The Duke of Hardcore" John Wayne Murdoch (8 ballots, 444 points)

Last Year’s Ranking: 275
High Vote: typls (6)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. John Wayne Murdoch (ICW NHB, 2/27)
• w/ Satu Jinn vs. Atticus Cogar & Eric Ryan (IWA MS, 4/3)
• vs. Matthew Justice (NPU, 4/7)
• vs. Eric Ryan (ICW NHB, 4/10)
• vs. Sadika (ICW NHB, 6/26)
• vs. Justin Kyle (ICW NHB, 7/10)
• vs. Ian Rotten (IWA MS, 7/30)
• vs. Orin Veidt vs. Otis Cogar (IWA MS, 7/31)
• vs. Sadika (ICW NHB, 8/13)
• w/ Satu Jinn vs. Dale Patricks & Kevin Giza (IWA MS, 11/4)

"The midwest deathmatch ace of the mid-2010s finally got to be the top guy in a company with a national footprint. He really is just one of the most competent garbage guys going, and can have compelling matches with everyone, from luninaries like Ian Rotten and Sadika all the way down to the shittiest Shlaks and Orin Veidts of the world. He did an hour with Eric Ryan in Florida, which seemed poised to become a trademark match for him, the deathmatch iron man, to break out once a year. I hope it continues despite him losing the title and finding his spot back in GCW. It would be a real shame if no one ever did a 60 minute deathmatch again lol." ~ Bucky

"John Wayne Murdoch is addicted to bleeding for your entertainment. He worked at least 136 matches in 2021 per cagematch (by far the most in a calendar in his 15-year career) and I'm willing to bet his face stayed clean in less than 10 of them. It didn't matter if he had another match later in the night. John Wayne Murdoch was gonna fucking go out there and bleed. For you and me. Thank you, Duke." ~ Chris Gibbons

57. Jungle Boy (11 ballots, 451 points)

Last Year’s Ranking: 99
High Vote: fin (11)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Dax Harwood (AEW, 1/21)
• vs. Jack Evans (AEW, 3/24)
• vs. Darby Allin (AEW, 4/21)
• vs. Kenny Omega (AEW, 6/26)
• w/ Luchasaurus vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW, 8/18)
• w/ Luchasaurus vs. Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix (AEW, 8/25)
• w/ Christian Cage & Luchasaurus vs. Adam Cole, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW, 9/22)
• vs. Adam Cole (AEW, 9/29)
• vs. Anthony Bowens (AEW, 11/10)
• w/ Christian Cage & Luchasaurus vs. Adam Cole, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW, 11/13)

56. GENTARO (9 ballots, 455 points)

Last Year’s Ranking: 23
High Vote: Kaust (7)
 
Recommended Matches

• w/ Dragon Libre & Takashi Sasaki vs. Jun Kasai, Masashi Takeda & Rina Yamashita (FREEDOMS, 1/3)
• w/ Mammoth Sasaki & Violento Jack vs. Kengo, Tomoya Hirata & Yuya Susumu (FREEDOMS, 1/21)
• w/ Takashi Sasaki vs. Ken Ohka & Shota (Ganbare Pro, 2/7)
• w/ Dragon Libre vs. Brahman Kei & Tatsuhito Takaiwa (FREEDOMS, 2/9)
• w/ Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Minoru Fujita & Rina Yamashita (FREEDOMS, 3/23)
• vs. Ricky Fuji (2AW, 6/27)
• vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa (FREEDOMS, 7/5)
• w/ Rekka vs. Shuichiro Katsumura & Yuya Susumu (FREEDOMS, 9/28)
• w/ Kengo & Yuya Susumu vs. Kamui, Kenji Fukimoto & Rina Yamashita (FREEDOMS, 10/3)
• w/ Rekka vs. Takayuki Ueki & Toshiyuki Sakuda (FREEDOMS, 10/28)

"GENTARO took it easy and had one of the weakest years of his career. He still shined in a bunch of openers though, and had a couple of great tags in January with Shota. Its a testament to how great he is that even though he didn't do much his 4 minutes of wrestling with Shuichiro Katsmura is some of the coolest stuff I've seen all year." ~ LEBRONGOAT

"2021 was a relatively weak year for GENTARO, but the man is still probably the undercard tag MVP. Where so many others may use the placement on the card to go lazy, GENTARO almost uses it like a challenge to see what he can get out of whatever interesting opponents he finds himself across from. I wish he had a bit more showcase stuff in 2021, but GENTARO still makes the little tastes of action worthwhile." ~ Chris Gibbons

55. “The Tribal Chief” “The Head of the Table” Roman Reigns (9 ballots, 462 points)

Last Year’s Ranking: 50
High Vote: Andy (1)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Kevin Owens (WWE, 1/31)
• vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE, 3/21)
• vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Edge (WWE, 4/11)
• vs. Daniel Brayn (WWE, 4/30)
• vs. Cesaro (WWE, 5/16)
• vs. Rey Mysterio (WWE, 6/18)
• w/ Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso vs. Dominik Mysterio, Edge & Rey Mysterio (WWE, 7/16)
• vs. John Cena (WWE, 8/21)
• vs. Big E vs. Bobby Lashley (WWE, 9/20)
• vs. Brock Lesnar (WWE, 10/21)

54. Powerhouse Hobbs (13 ballots, 467 points) – LOWST RANKED 13 BALLOT WRESTLER

Last Year’s Ranking: 260
High Vote: joey v (10)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Christian Cage (AEW, 4/21)
• vs. Mike Sydal (AEW, 4/22)
• w/ Brian Cage vs. Hangman Page & Ten (AEW, 6/5)
• vs. Hangman Page (AEW, 6/26)
• vs. Brian Cage (AEW, 9/1)
• vs. Dante Martin (AEW, 9/8)
• vs. CM Punk (AEW, 9/22)

"Like his stablemate Ricky Starks, Hobbs had fewer big matches than you probably remember. But he made the most of his opportunities, having very good showings against marquee opponents like Christian Cage and CM Punk. This really feels like the beginning of something for Hobbs, who's already been featured more heavily on AEW so far in 2022." ~ Chris Gibbons

53. Masakatsu Funaki (11 ballots, 476 points)

Last Year’s Ranking: NR
High Vote: Smoldoink, LEBRONGOAT (14)
 
Recommended Matches

• w/ Masato Tanaka vs. Kenoh & Manabu Soya (NOAH, 1/31)
• vs. Kenoh (NOAH, 2/12)
• vs. Kendo Kashin (Real Japan, 3/3)
• vs. Yu Iizuka (GLEAT 7/1)
• w/ Keiji Mutoh & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh & Manabu Soya (NOAH, 8/6)
• vs. Akitoshi Saito (NOAH, 9/18)
• vs. Masa Kitamiya (NOAH, 9/20)
• vs. Kazuyuki Fujita (NOAH, 9/26)
• vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH, 10/3)
• vs. Takashi Sugiura (NOAH, 12/27)

"Don't let weirdos complaining about old shooters acting like old shooters ruin your enjoyment of some of the best stuff in NOAH. 53 year-old Masakatsu Funaki was one of the absolute best parts of NOAH in 2021. He had a hell of a N-1 Victory run and is a welcome addition to any tag match. If you don't love to see dudes like Funaki taking people to school on the mat, we have drastically different views on what wrestling should be like." ~ Chris Gibbons

52. MJF (11 ballots, 479 points)

Last Year’s Ranking: 224
High Vote: Tyson Boyd (9)
 
Recommended Matches

• w/ Chris Jericho vs. Jake Hager & Sammy Guevara vs. Ortiz & Santana (AEW, 1/20)
• w/ Chris Jericho vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW, 3/7)
• Blood & Guts (AEW, 5/5)
• Stadium Stampede (AEW, 5/30)
• vs. Sammy Guevara (AEW, 6/30)
• vs. Chris Jericho (AEW, 8/18)
• vs. Chris Jericho (AEW, 9/5)
• vs. Darby Allin (AEW, 11/13)
• vs. Dante Martin (AEW, 12/15)
• w/ Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood vs. CM Punk, Darby Allin & Sting (AEW, 12/22)

 

51. Jamie Hayter (9 ballots, 481 points)

Last Year’s Ranking: NR
High Vote: joey v (11)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Gisele Shaw (RevPro, 2/7)
• vs. Skye Smitson (RevPro, 3/14)
• vs. Emersyn Jayne (OTT, 7/18)
• vs. Red Velvet (AEW, 8/25)
• w/ Britt Baker & Rebel vs. Kris Statlander, Riho & Ruby Soho (AEW, 9/8)
• w/ Thunder Rosa vs. Jamie Hayter & Nyla Rose (AEW, 11/13)
• vs. Thunder Rosa (AEW, 11/24)
• vs. Riho (AEW, 12/8)

"Jamie Hayter shines in an underlooked and underbooked women's division. Her match with Red Velvet to close the year out showed both women's ability to improvise and adapt to unforseen circumstances or missed moves. This is admirable and very much needed in a time where a lot of AEW matches feel so mechanically put together. Hayter has a veteran presence that is beneficial to all. Also she is hot." ~ brandon

50. Kazuyuki Fujita (12 ballots, 484 pointss)

Last Year’s Ranking: 28
High Vote: Tanner (15)
 
Recommended Matches

• w/ Kazushi Sakuraba, Kendo Kashin & Takashi Sugiura vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh, Manabu Soya & Masa Kitamiya (NOAH, 2/24)
• vs. Manabu Soya (NOAH, 3/7)
• w/ Kendo Kashin & NOSAWA Rongai vs. Hao, Kenoh & Nio (NOAH, 3/14)
• vs. Kenoh (NOAH, 3/21)
• w/ Kendo Kashin vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Takashi Sugiura (NOAH, 4/18)
• vs. Takashi Sugiura (NOAH, 4/29)
• w/ Daisuke Nakamura, Kazushi Sakuraba & Kendo Kashin vs. Hao, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh & Manabu Soya (NOAH, 8/15)
• vs. Masa Kitamiya (NOAH, 9/12)
• vs. Akitoshi Saito (NOAH, 9/19)
• vs. Masakatsu Funaki (NOAH, 9/26)

"I don't think Fujita had quiiiite the highs he had in 2020, but that's understandable for a 51 year old tank like him. He was still a great presence in just about everything he was added to, with some excellent performances like that 8/15 tag. That Funaki match is a thing of beauty as well." ~ Chris Gibbons

49. “The Murder Grandpa” Minoru Suzuki (15 ballots, 484 points) – LOWEST RANKED 15 BALLOT WRESTLER

Last Year’s Ranking: 30
High Vote: Dakota (2)
 
Recommended Matches

• w/ DOUKI vs. Tiger Mask & Yuya Uemura (NJPW, 1/6)
• vs. Yuya Uemura (NJPW, 6/14)
• w/ Meiko Satomura vs. Jinsei Shinzaki & Nanae Takahashi (Sendai Girls, 6/27)
• w/ Hikaru Sato & MAZADA vs. HUB, Keita Yano & Masayuki Kono (Tenryu Project, 7/28)
• w/ Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI (NJPW, 8/1)
• vs. Fred Rosser (NJPW, 9/25)
• vs. Joey Janela (GCW, 10/10)
• vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW, 10/15)
• w/ TAKA Michinoku vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 11/14)
• w/ Hikaru Sato vs. Tetsuya Izuchi & Yu Iizuka (GLEAT, 12/30)

"What can you say about the Murder Grandpa? He loves to murk. His desire to crank some necks is insatiable. So he continues to torture  hisvictims. It doesn't matter that when he did his long tour of America he basically worked the same schtick match over and over again no matter the opponent, because it works. And when you get that Zoned-In Grandpa like in the Suzuki-Gun tag from November? It really hits" ~ Chris Gibbons

48. “The Philosopher in the Ring” Yasu Urano (9 ballots, 485 points)

Last Year’s Ranking: 336
High Vote: Dominic Hayes, Kaust (11)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Shota (Ganbare Pro, 1/10)
• vs. Shota (Ganbare Pro, 1/24)
• w/ Toru Owashi vs. Shuji Ishikawa & Tanomusaku Toba (DDT, 2/19)
• w/ Onryo & Ram Kaicho vs. Fuminori Abe, Koju Takeda & Taro Yamada (Ice Ribbon, 2/21)
• vs. Takumi Tsukamoto (BASARA, 2/25)
• vs. Daichi Kazato (BASARA, 5/18)
• vs. Minrou Fujita (BASARA, 6/29)
• w/ Masato Kamino & Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Daichi Kazato, FUMA & Yusuke Kubo (BASARA, 7/7)
• w/ Shota vs. Hagane Shinnou & Shinichiro Tominaga (Ganbare Pro, 8/28)
• w/ Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (DDT, 9/18)

"Yasu Urano was great on every Basara show that made tape. The thing is that it became hard to find Basara in the second half of the year. Still, him getting fed up with Daichi Kazato or punching the people seconding Shota was incredible. Be grateful for what you have." ~ LEBRONGOAT

47. Rina Yamashita (9 ballots, 494 points) – HIGHEST RANKED NINE BALLOT WRESTLER

Last Year’s Ranking: 11
High Vote: typls (4)
 
Recommended Matches

• w/ Jun Kasai & Masashi Takeda vs. Dragon Libre, GENTARO & Takashi Sasaki (FREEDOMS, 1/3)
• w/ Minoru Fujita vs. Mammoth Sasaki & Violento Jack (FREEDOMS, 2/9)
• vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto (Ice Ribbon, 2/20)
• vs. ASUKA (SEAdLINNNG, 3/17)
• vs. Hikari Noa (TJPW, 4/1)
• vs. Risa Sera (Ice Ribbon, 6/27)
• vs. Masashi Takeda (FREEDOMS, 7/5)
• vs. Suzu Suzuki (Ice Ribbon, 8/9)
• vs. Charli Evans (GCW, 11/12)
• vs. Atticus Cogar (GCW, 11/13)

"Yamashita continues her run as one of the hardest workers in Japan, working full schedules for both Ice Ribbon and FREEDOMS, as well as working dates for countless other promotions and throwing in a quick excursion to America for the Nick Gage Invitational. It was a down year for FREEDOMS this year in my opinion, but Rina was generally one of the highlights. I think the company needs a run with her on top, and soon." ~ Chris Gibbons

46. Justin Kyle (8 ballots, 499 points) – HIGHEST RANKED EIGHT BALLOT WRESTLER

Last Year’s Ranking: NR
High Vote: Tanner (3)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Bruce Santee (ICW NHB, 2/27)
• vs. Bruce Santee (ICW NHB, 4/8)
• vs. Phil Baroni (ICW NHB, 6/25)
• vs. Kurt Bale & Lance Scaper (ICW NHB, 6/26)
• vs. Calvin Tankman (ICW NHB, 7/9)
• vs. John Wayne Murdoch (ICW NHB, 7/10)
• vs. Bryan Keith (ICW NHB, 8/13)
• vs. Isaiah Broner (ICW NHB, 10/1)
• vs. Larry D (ICW NHB, 10/2)
• vs. Dale Patricks (ICW NHB, 11/19)

"Justin Kyle has the most magnetic energy I've seen in a fatheaded oaf indy wrestler in years. He feels like he graduated from the Power Plant in 1999. His willingness to get his hands dirty and play ball in a few deathmatches has really elevated him for me. He had to put up his near undefeated streak and put John Wayne Murdoch over in a title match, and in doing so he managed to elevate himself despite losing. It's a really remarkable match that hangs by a thread, it really could have killed his momentum to drop a big clean fall that way. But it didn't at all. He comes out of that looking even more badass than he did going in. Similar to Wardlow, I'm not sure what the ceiling is for a guy like this. If he were to show up on AEW tomorrow, I'm not sure the aura translates. He's a big fish in a small pond, and I like watching him rule the pond." ~ Bucky

"The King of the Pit, Where They Just Fight. ICW NHB had a really incredible 2021 and Justin Kyle was the really unexpected breakout star. Here's this weirdly magnetic (almost Ryback-esque) meathead doing worked shoot cagefights and then dabbling in deathmatches and it somehow all fucking works. Great stuff." ~ Chris Gibbons

45. “The War Dog” Wardlow (14 ballots, 503 points)

Last Year’s Ranking: 131
High Vote: Matt Bracket, Cameron Stewart (13)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Jake Hager (AEW, 1/6)
• Blood & Guts (AEW, 5/5)
• Stadium Stampede (AEW, 5/30)
• vs. Jake Hager (AEW, 6/6)
• w/ Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood vs. Jake Hager, Ortiz & Santana (AEW, 7/7)
• vs. Chris Jericho (AEW, 8/11)
• w/ Shawn Spears vs. Fuego Del Sol & Marko Stunt (AEW, 9/29)
• vs. Colin Delaney (AEW, 12/29)

"One of the best slow-burn stories I've seen in wrestling in years. Almost irritating how long it went on, and yet, Wardlow winning the big golden Cheerio to a huge babyface reaction, and then finally completing the turn just an hour later is one of the best choices the AEW booking team has ever made. I don't know if they're gonna fuck this up, and it's hard to say if Wardlow will ever be a top level star, but right now in March of 2022, I can hardly think of a more exciting rising superstar. I say put the fucking rocket on him like he's Batista and one day the dude will be starring in Marvel movies." ~ Bucky

44. Chihiro Hashimoto (11 ballots, 505 points)

Last Year’s Ranking: 267
High Vote: The Bebbler (5)
 
Recommended Matches

• w/ Yurika Oka vs. DASH Chisako & Hiroyo Matsumoto (Sendai Girls, 2/28)
• w/ Arisa Nakajima vs. ASUKA & Hanako Nakamori (Yumiko Hota, Anniversary, 4/4)
• w/ DASH Chisako & Mika Iwata vs. Mei Hoshizuki, Mio Momono & Rin Kadokura (GAEAism, 6/13)
• w/ Yuu vs. Mio Momono & Rin Kadokura (Sendai Girls, 6/27)
• vs. Maya Fukuda (GLEAT, 7/1)
• vs. Mio Momono (Sendai Girls, 7/11)
• w/ Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Manami & Ryo Mizunami (Sendai Girls, 9/12)
• w/ Yuu vs. Andras Miyagi & Hibiki (Sendai Girls, 11/23)
• vs. Takumi Iroha (Sendai Girls, 11/28)
• vs. Michiko Miyagi (GLEAT, 12/30)

"Chihiro had one of the best matches of the year with Mio Momono and spent most of the rest of the year crushing people. Despite how giving she can be, not many wrestlers nowadays can make their opponents feel as hopeless as she does. She wrestled for under 10 minutes in GLEAT this year and it was among some of best stuff on their cards." ~ LEBRONGOAT

43. Daisuke Harada (11 ballots, 547 points)

Last Year’s Ranking: 27
High Vote: sol (11)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Hajime Ohara (NOAH, 1/10)
• w/ Atsushi Kotoge vs. Seiki Yoshioka & YO-HEY (NOAH, 1/23)
• vs. Seiki Yoshioka (NOAH, 2/12)
• vs. Kai Fujimura (NOAH, 4/18)
• w/ Atsushi Kotoge & Yasutaka Yano vs. Hajime Ohara, Seiki Yoshioka & YO-HEY (NOAH, 4/29)
• w/ Hajime Ohara vs. Hao & Tadasuke (NOAH, 7/11)
• w/ Hajime Ohara vs. Seiki Yoshioka & Yuya Susumu (NOAH, 8/1)
• vs. HAYATA (NOAH, 10/10)
• vs. YO-HEY (NOAH, 12/5)
• w/ Yoshinari Ogawa vs. HAYATA & YO-hEY (NOAH, 12/7)

"Tough he largely stayed away from the GHC junior belt after losing it to Seiki Yoshioka in February, Harada remains the ace of the NOAH juniors. Whether he's working a singles or tag title match, a house show match, or mixing it in with the heavyweights, Harada is second only to maybe Ogawa himself when it comes to must-watch juniors in NOAH." ~ Chris Gibbons

42. Matt Jackson (12 ballots, 549 points)

Last Year’s Ranking: 49
High Vote: fin (6)
 
Recommended Matches

• w/ Nick Jackson vs. Ortiz & Santana (AEW, 2/17)
• vs. Rey Fenix (AEW, 3/10)
• w/ Brandon Cutler & Nick Jackson vs. Laredo Kid, Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix (AEW, 3/24)
• w/ Nick Jackson vs. Eddie Kingston & Jon Moxley (AEW, 5/30)
• w/ Nick Jackson vs. Eddie Kingston & Penta El 0M (AEW, 7/7)
• w/ Nick Jackson vs. Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix (AEW, 9/5)
• w/ Adam Cole & Nick Jackson vs. Christian Cage, Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (AEW, 9/22)
• w/ Adam Cole, Kenny Omega & Nick Jackson vs. Bryan Danielson, Christian Cage, Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (AEW, 10/6)
• w/ Adam Cole & Nick Jackson vs. Christian Cage, Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (AEW, 11/13)
• w/ Nick Jackson vs. Chuck Taylor & Rocky Romero (AEW, 12/8)

 

41. Malakai Black (13 ballots, 552 points)
Last Year’s Ranking: NR
High Vote: Cameron Stewart (6)
 
Recommended Matches

• vs. Cody Rhodes (AEW, 8/4)
• vs. Brock Anderson (AEW, 8/25)
• vs. Lee Johnson (AEW, 9/3)
• vs. Dustin Rhodes (AEW, 9/8)
• vs. Cody Rhodes (AEW, 9/22)
• vs. Dante Martin (AEW, 10/16)
• vs. Cody Rhodes (AEW, 10/23)
• w/ Andrade El Idolo vs. Cody Rhodes & PAC (AEW, 11/13)
• w/ Andrade El Idolo, Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood vs. Cody Rhodes, PAC, Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix (AEW, 11/24)
• vs. Griff Garrison (AEW, 12/22)

"Malakai Black is must see TV. His promos were some of the dumbest shit in the world and his matches were the opposite. This guy was like the devil if he knew martial arts" ~ LEBRONGOAT