Top 10 Best WWE Wrestlers of 2021

Let's take a look at which WWE superstars stood out this year and wowed fans the most.

1. Roman Reigns

   

   Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoaʻi was born on May 25, 1985. He is an American professional wrestler and a former professional Canadian football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Roman Reigns.... read more

   Without a doubt, #1. He was Universal Champion the entire year, and almost every defense was good. The only bad one was against Daniel Bryan at Elimination Chamber because that match was short. He had Heyman, Jimmy Uso, and Jey Uso by his side.

   He has had many nicknames: Head of the Table, Tribal Chief, Island of Relevancy, The Big Dog. He's been in most of the top 10 best rivalries and matches of the year. The Edge and Bryan WrestleMania match was the best and is in the top 10 WrestleMania main events. Nobody could stop him this year. He has now held the title for 2 years and has many more to go with the belt.

   Roman Reigns has been Universal Champion the entire year, and each of his matches, promos, and feuds delivered. Alongside his cousins, The Usos, and his wise man, Paul Heyman, the "Head of the Table" has defeated opponents such as Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Edge, John Cena, Cesaro, Rey Mysterio, Finn Balor, and Brock Lesnar. After such a great year, the fans are more than ready to acknowledge their Tribal Chief.

2. Bianca Belair

   

   Bianca Belair had an incredible 2021, starting off the year by winning the Women's Royal Rumble match and then defeating Sasha Banks in the main event of the first night of WrestleMania 37. She held on to the championship until SummerSlam 2021 and hasn't slowed down since.

   She has had great matches with Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, and Doudrop, as well as a great performance at Survivor Series.

3. Bobby Lashley

   

   Franklin Roberto "Bobby" Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, former mixed martial artist, amateur wrestler, and United States Army veteran. As of July 2025, he is signed with All Elite Wrestling, where he is part of The Hurt Syndicate and holds the AEW World Tag Team Championship... read more

   Bobby Lashley began the year as a dominant United States Champion and followed that up with an equally dominant run as WWE Champion by defeating The Miz.

   Lashley successfully defended his title against the likes of Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, and Randy Orton.

4. Seth Rollins

   

   Colby Daniel Lopez is an American professional wrestler and actor signed to WWE's Raw brand under the ring name Seth Rollins. He won the Men's Money in the Bank ladder match in 2014 and again in 2025. Seth Rollins is a multi-time world and tag team champion who won his first Intercontinental Championship... read more

   Seth Rollins has not won any championships in 2021, but his character work has been nothing short of amazing (just like his fancy suits). He had great feuds and matches with Cesaro, Edge, and The Miz, as well as a great performance at Survivor Series.

5. Edge

   

   Adam Joseph Copeland is a Canadian actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling, where he performs under his real name, after becoming famous in WWE under the ring name Edge. A WWE Hall of Famer, Copeland is known for his multiple world championship reigns and his involvement... read more

   Although Edge doesn't perform on a full-time basis, every time he does, you know you're in for a good time. His promos are very intense, and he has had dream matches with Seth Rollins, even bringing back the Brood entrance from his days as a member of the Brood with Gangrel and Christian.

6. Big E

   

   Ettore Ewen, known professionally as Big E, is an American broadcaster, retired professional wrestler, and former powerlifter and football player. He is signed to WWE and remains associated with the New Day stable. Big E is a former WWE Champion, Intercontinental Champion, and Tag Team Champion.

   Big E started off the year as Intercontinental Champion and soon after won the Money in the Bank contract, which he later cashed in on Bobby Lashley. Since then, he has been a solid champion and has had great matches.

7. Becky Lynch

   

   Rebecca Quin (born January 30, 1987) is an Irish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs under the ring name Becky Lynch. She has performed on the RAW brand and is a former RAW Women's Champion and SmackDown Women's Champion. Lynch is one of WWE's most popular and decorated... read more

8. Brock Lesnar

   

   Brock Edward Lesnar (born July 12, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler, football player, and mixed martial artist who is currently signed to WWE. He first gained prominence as the youngest WWE Champion in history after winning the title in 2002. He later became the... read more

   Brock Lesnar made his shocking return to WWE after a one-year hiatus at SummerSlam 2021, following the Reigns vs. Cena match. He has been in a feud with Roman Reigns for the rest of the year.

   You might be surprised to see him this high on the list, and that is simply because of how fun it is to watch Lesnar on TV. He has a completely new look with the Viking ponytail and his farm overalls, and he is now a good guy (or babyface if you're familiar with wrestling terms). He has had entertaining segments with Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, Adam Pearce, and Sami Zayn.

9. Jeff Hardy

   

   Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, singer-songwriter, painter, and musician. Alongside his brother Matt, he is a multiple-time WWE and TNA Tag Team Champion, a two-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, and a five-time world champion across WWE and TNA... read more

10. Damian Priest

    

    2021 was a solid year for Damian Priest. He started it off with a great performance in the Royal Rumble and then had a tag team match at WrestleMania against The Miz and John Morrison, with his partner being the famous rapper Bad Bunny.

    He soon won the United States Championship from Sheamus and has been a great champion so far, even changing his attitude and overall look.

    Because he's so strong, and he should also be known as the leader of The Judgment Day!

The Newcomers
11. ?

    Otis

    
12. ?

    Chad Gable

    

    Charles Edward Betts, born March 8, 1986, is an American professional wrestler. He performs in WWE under the ring name Chad Gable and appears on the Raw brand. Gable is known for his amateur wrestling background and technical in-ring style.

The Contenders

13. Mandy Rose

    

    Amanda Saccomanno is an American professional wrestler, television personality, and former fitness and figure competitor. She performed in WWE under the ring name Mandy Rose, appearing on both the main roster and NXT. In 2022, she captured the NXT Women's Championship and held the title for more than... read more

    Mandy Rose went back to NXT earlier this year and has done a great job at reimagining herself. She went from the hot blonde known as the "Golden Goddess" to the sexy and dangerous brunette we've been seeing this year. This change seems to have worked, as she is now the NXT Women's Champion.

    She is even the leader of a new faction named Toxic Attraction, consisting of Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne, who won the NXT Women's Tag Team Championships.

14. Liv Morgan

    

    Gionna Jene Daddio is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE under the ring name Liv Morgan. She currently performs on the Raw brand and is a member of the Judgment Day stable. On November 21, 2017, Morgan debuted on SmackDown Live and turned heel for the first time in her career as part of... read more

    Liv Morgan has been featured prominently in 2021, having matches against Carmella, Zelina Vega, Bianca Belair, and Becky Lynch. She is improving every week, and the fans are getting behind her more and more. It looks like 2022 will be the year of Liv Morgan.

    She's one of my favorite female wrestlers right now.

15. Zelina Vega

    

    Zelina Vega made her shocking return to WWE this year and certainly left her mark on the women's division, becoming the first-ever Queen's Crown tournament winner, as well as winning the tag team titles, her first taste of gold in WWE.

16. Sheamus

    

    Stephen Farrelly, known professionally as Sheamus, is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Sheamus is a former WWE Champion and has held multiple other titles throughout his career.

    Very serious in matches and doesn't goof around.

17. Kevin Owens

    

    Kevin Yanick Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Kevin Owens. He began his career in 2000 on the independent circuit before joining WWE NXT in 2014. He is a former NXT Champion and has held the WWE Universal Championship once... read more

    Kevin Owens has not been slacking in 2021. He has been featured prominently in matches against Roman Reigns, Happy Corbin, Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, and Big E. With news of him re-signing with WWE, let's hope we see Owens get his hands on championship gold once again.

18. Sami Zayn

    

    Rami Sebei is a Canadian professional wrestler of Syrian descent, currently signed to WWE under the ring name Sami Zayn. He is a former NXT Champion, having held the title once during his time in WWE's developmental brand.... read more

    Sami Zayn is gold. He has consistently been entertaining and one of the best parts of SmackDown in 2021. He was even in a short program with Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.

19. Cesaro

    

    Claudio Castagnoli is a Swiss professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under his real name. He previously starred in WWE from 2011 to 2022 under the ring names Antonio Cesaro and Cesaro. Before WWE, he wrestled in Ring of Honor and various independent promotions... read more

    Cesaro had one of the biggest feuds of his career in 2021, facing Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. The Swiss Superman has delivered great performances all year. Let's see what 2022 has in store.

20. Xavier Woods

    

    Austin Watson is an American professional wrestler and YouTuber best known for performing in WWE under the ring name Xavier Woods. He became popular as a member of The New Day alongside Big E and Kofi Kingston and won the 2021 King of the Ring tournament. In addition to wrestling, Woods holds bachelor's... read more

    Xavier Woods became King of the Ring, an accolade few superstars can brag about having, not even his New Day partners.

21. Tommaso Ciampa

    

    Tommaso Ciampa was reunited with Goldie this year, showing NXT fans why he's one of, if not the greatest NXT Champion ever.

22. Rey Mysterio

    

    Óscar Gutiérrez, better known by the ring name Rey Mysterio, is a Mexican-American professional wrestler who currently works for WWE on the SmackDown brand. Known for his high-flying lucha libre style, he is considered one of the most influential cruiserweights in wrestling history. Mysterio has held... read more

23. Daniel Bryan

    

    Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American professional wrestler best known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name Daniel Bryan. He is a five-time world champion, having held the WWE Championship four times and the World Heavyweight Championship once. He headlined WrestleMania XXX in... read more

24. Austin Theory

    

    The future is bright for this young athlete. Austin Theory had the opportunity to work with Vince McMahon himself in segments on Monday Night RAW, something not many people have had the chance to do. Very excited to see what he can do in 2022.

25. Bayley

    

    Pamela Rose Martinez is an American professional wrestler currently signed with WWE under the ring name Bayley, where she performs on SmackDown. She is the first-ever WWE Women's Grand Slam Champion, having won the NXT Women's Championship once, RAW Women's Championship once, SmackDown Women's Championship... read more

    How is she not already here? She got injured this year, but she was doing great!

26. Shotzi Blackheart

    

27. Drew McIntyre

    

    Andrew McLean Galloway IV is a Scottish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on Monday Night Raw under the ring name Drew McIntyre. He is a two-time WWE Champion. McIntyre first signed with WWE in 2007 and returned in 2017 after competing on the independent circuit.