Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.
This week, Dallas Allsopp, Ben Williams and Bodeen Green discuss the best and worst wrestling storylines of 2021.
With the advent of strong competition to WWE in the form of AEW, have stprylines improved in general this year? Or have storylines continued to stagnate as they did in 2020?
Question 1: Which storyline was the absolute best in 2021?
ALLSOPP: For me, it was Hangman Page vs Kenny Omega, which was a perfect example of long term storytelling. Page overcoming the absolute asshole that is heel Omega was fantastic, and made his coronation as AEW World Champion mean so much more. Heel Omega has been a delight in 2021, and I can only hope he takes the time to heal up and return at the end of 2022 as the face we all love to love.
WILLIAMS: It's hard to pick a favourite storyline this year, as there hasn't really been too many great long term stories to choose from in WWE. Gun to my head, I’d probably go with Edge vs Seth Rollins from over the summer. Every match delivered, the promo work from both men was top tier, and it legitimately felt like a money feud that WWE hadn’t already drawn out to death.
GREEN: 2021 was a weird year for stories with the wrestling world coming back to normal, as we saw the last of the WWE Thunderdome feuds mixed with feuds that started when crowds came back. Whilst I did love the Edge and Seth Rollins feud (and thought it made the two look amazing) I am going to cheat a bit in my answer and go with a feud that started in 2020, and ended this year at NXT TakeOver 36, with that feud being Ilja Draganov and WALTER for the NXT UK Championship. The story of Draganov recovering from his loss in 2020 to beat WALTER was amazing and both men put on amazing matches, with Draganov looking like a huge star.
Question 2: Which storyline in 2021 was an unmitigated disaster? Could it have been salvaged in any manner?
WILLIAMS: Nikki A.S.H and her entire summer push was woeful. Her matches were completely forgettable, and there was absolutely no dimension to her new character other than a smiley girl in terrible superhero gear. Her Money in the Bank win was completely deflating, considering there were several other women in that match who could’ve really benefited from the win, and the title reign that followed, I guarantee most fans have already blocked out of their memories with it being as short and crap as it was.
GREEN: Like my first question, I am going to cheat with a multi-year feud and say Randy Orton and The Fiend with Alexa Bliss feud, serving as my worst feud of 2021. Whilst I love both men as well as Bliss, their feud just seemed to drag on and on and felt like it lost complete meaning halfway through. The last match at WrestleMania 37 felt like a huge let down, and had me saying to myself "huh, that was it?"
ALLSOPP: I absolutely despise the ongoing storyline with Sonya Deville acting as a heel authority fugure. Give me a break! She cannot act, looks stunted in the role, and this contributes to the worst television time on SmackDown each and every Friday. Nothing comes as close to this in terms of shitty storylines.
Question 3: Overall, which company has had the better storylines in 2021 - WWE or AEW? Do you anticipate this to be the case in 2022?
GREEN: Just like Ben, I don't watch much AEW, but I will admit AEW has been the more consistent of the two, with a lot of WWE's storylines just feeling rushed and meaningless, with several feuds just being dropped out of nowhere. However, I will say that WWE has had the best character, with Roman Reigns being my favourite wrestler of 2021, especially as he makes gold with everything he touches.
ALLSOPP: As many of you will know, I have been a champion of AEW's product since they came out. They have some strong wrestling, some solid storytelling, and less emphasis on pointless feuds. Don't get me wrong, there are some feuds and storylines that AEW present that I cannot get behind, but in the main, they are certainly better than WWE for long term storytelling. It is this that makes me enjoy that product more, and I expect this to remain the case in 2022.
WILLIAMS: I don’t watch AEW, so I couldnt really comment on their product, but I have certainly seen a more positive fan reaction to that company as opposed to WWE. Outside of Roman Reigns and the four top women in WWE, nobody else has really been given much of an opportunity to sink their teeth into anything meaningful. Stories like The Fiend and Alexa Bliss’ bizarre relationship, or Eva Marie’s returning partnership with Doudrop went absolutely nowhere, and now ¾ involved aren’t even on telvision anymore! Hopefully in 2021, WWE looks at pushing new feuds we’ve not seen yet, and less on repeating dreadful “feuds” for months on end.
Those are our thoughts on the issue, but where do you stand?
Let us know your answers to these questions in the comments below!
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