The year 2020 brought with it unprecedented circumstances for wrestling's two biggest promotions, but amid the uncertainty and chaos came a number hidden gems that deserve recognition as the last 12 months descend back into the Hellmouth from which they emerged.
There were matches, shows, moments, wrestlers and storylines that, despite their excellence, were overshadowed by bigger stars or more prominent contests that received the acclaim or recognition they did not.
As the year creeps to a close, relive these performers and the work that earned your attention with this look back at the most underrated in WWE and All Elite Wrestling.
The November 11 Bunkhouse Match against The Natural Nightmares secured The Butcher and The Blade this award. That match—a brutal, violent, hard-hitting contest—demonstrated what those paying attention had known for months by that point: the duo had quickly developed into one of the best teams in All Elite Wrestling.
It became most notable over the summer when they worked against The Young Bucks, FTR and Jurassic Express. The punishing competitors evolved, grew and developed into a bruising team that separated themselves from the rest of the tag team division.
They were not going to throw their bodies around with reckless abandon or dive through the ropes just because everyone else did. Instead, they stayed true to what they were, and the result was a team that gradually grabbed viewers' attention with every passing week.
They won some, lost some, but continuously impressed regardless of the competition. Now part of Eddie Kingston's Fam, they find themselves in a relatively high-profile position as 2020 comes to an end and have strung together impressive victories over the likes of Pac, Lance Archer and The Lucha Bros.
Their hard work and dedication to getting better with every match has earned the attention of management, too, who has booked them to go over Death Triangle in recent weeks and positioned them for a potential tag title opportunity if the upward momentum continues.
Here is to an even more successful 2021 for an imposing, unflinchingly physical tag team that has a great look, an even better gimmick, and the equally as underrated Bunny guiding them from ringside.
Is it even possible for WrestleMania to be underrated at this point?
In 2020, apparently so.
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic threw plans for the event into upheaval. When WWE decided it was going to move forward with the show despite a ban on fans, it acted quickly and converted its state-of-the-art Performance Center into an arena that was worthy of the biggest event of the year.
The most surreal and unprecedented Showcase of the Immortals did not disappoint.
Sure, it lacked the energy, pomp and circumstance of previous events, but considering the circumstances, WWE and its Superstars still managed to hit the ball out of the park.
Undertaker and AJ Styles delivered a Boneyard Match that has gained considerable Match of the Year consideration, that much we know, but there was also a ton of other stuff that was wholly underrated over the course of 2020.
The Firefly Funhouse Match between Bray Wyatt and John Cena was the most original and complex bit of cinematic wrestling we saw all year. Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens tore the house down. Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley elevated women's wrestling with a match that should be receiving more award attention than it is. Drew McIntyre squashed Brock Lesnar to cement his status as the new top babyface in WWE, and The Kabuki Warriors, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross delivered a sneaky good tag title match to kick off the festivities.
In a predicament few others would have succeeded in, Vince McMahon and his production team still managed to deliver a presentation that felt bigger than it was in literal size and even hit on the two-night concept, which it might want to revisit the next time it contemplates a six-hour production.
Perhaps it is because we take the WrestleMania brand for granted, but what WWE was able to accomplish at that show deserves more recognition in year-end polls than it is getting, making it arguably the most underrated extravaganza Vinnie Mac's company has ever produced.
Anytime someone achieves a considerable amount of success, there are people who come out of the woodwork and try to take credit for it. They lay claim to this or that, boosting their own egos at the expense of the man or woman who actually accomplished something. They did this for them or paid for this, which led to that.
For some unknown reason, it is in some people's DNA to try both to prop themselves up on, as well as benefit from, others' success.
We saw that in July when Dolph Ziggler emerged from a losing streak over on SmackDown to challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. The Showoff justified his claims to McIntyre's title run, reminding the world that he brought Drew back to the main roster a year earlier. He claimed to have brought the Scottish Warrior back from the brink of obscurity and all he wanted in return was what was owed to him: a shot at the title.
It was a great storyline because of its simplicity. Here was a guy doing what people in everyday life do: living vicariously through, and propping himself up via, someone else's success. It was relatable and worked so well because of it.
They would compete in two high-profile matches, one on PPV and one on Raw, both won by McIntyre. While it was hardly the most dynamic, wild or complex storyline of the year, it was one that made sense and did not overstay its welcome.
Most of all, it resulted in two really good matches that helped further cement McIntyre as the guy on WWE's flagship brand and reminded fans of Ziggler's undeniable talent.
The fact that Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville's feud is relegated to a "most underrated" awards list is a travesty.
The best friends-turned-hated foes turned in one of the best, most complete and intense programs of 2020 and absolutely deserve more recognition than they have been afforded, even by their own company, as Rose was quick to point out when Slammy Awards nominations were announced earlier this month.
The product of jealousy, the breakup between the duo formerly known as Fire and Desire coincided with Rose's budding relationship with Otis. Deville, jealous, sought to break the happy couple up. When she was exposed as the person behind all of the mischievous text messages and manipulative schemes, the New Jersey native snapped.
She would attack Rose countless times, even shearing off some of her blonde hair. A months-long feud, highlighted by Deville's growth as an on-screen personality and both women's evolution stars as in-ring workers, culminated in one of the most underappreciated matches of the year: a Loser Leaves WWE Match at SummerSlam.
A nine-month story that stayed consistent, featured phenomenal work by both women and provided exactly the conclusion one would hope for, it was an easy contender for Feud of the Year in WWE, and the fact that it was not adequately recognized by the E is a massive disappointment for both the performers and fans, who found themselves invested in the weekly escalation of Rose and Deville's dislike for each other.
The most underrated match of 2020 came from out of nowhere to wow fans with its simplicity, storytelling and superb in-ring psychology.
MJF and Jungle Boy, two of the most promising young stars in the industry, backed up all of the praise and support of management with a match befitting two, much-more experienced in-ring veterans at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view this past May.
It was smartly wrestled, and it showcased the athleticism of the babyface and the character work of the heel.
It was dramatic, fast-paced at times and more methodical when it needed to be. Most importantly, it highlighted just how well-off the future of AEW is in their hands.
The sequencing, reversals, counters and breathtaking near-falls left fans wondering which young star would emerge victoriously, even as it appeared a sure-thing that MJF would walk away with the win. He did, but not before Jungle Boy reminded the viewing audience that he was every bit as talented, and possessed every ounce of breakout potential, as his opponent.
AEW owner and president Tony Khan would go on to praise the match in the post-event media scrum, and rightfully so. Amid the countless other matches that proceeded it in the remaining seven months of 2020, it is understandable that MJF and Jungle Boy's near-classic would be somewhat forgotten by most.
Not here, though.
One of the most low-key great matches of the year takes home the prize for the most underrated match of 2020 and more than earns a watch if you haven't already seen it.
Best Friends were one of the best tag teams of 2020, consistently competing against top opposition and turning in show-stealing performances. It's no real surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to the chemistry of Chuck Taylor and Trent, who have worked with everyone from SCU to The Young Bucks and back.
On night one of the 2020 Fyter Fest, the team's hard work paid off in the form of an AEW World Tag Team Championship Match against Hangman Page and Kenny Omega, and the team would ride into Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida, in style.
Courtesy of Trent's mom Sue's minivan.
The entrance was fantastic, hilarious and suited the idea of two best friends rolling up for a big contest.
It would not be the last time we saw Sue or her vehicle of choice, either.
She would return months later after a five-star Parking Lot Brawl in which Trent and Taylor defeated Santana and Ortiz of The Inner Circle, driving off with the victors in-tow, avenging the heels' vandalism of her van.
In a year that bred creativity out of necessity, Best Friends' minivan entrance was both fitting and hilarious.
From her scathing promos on former friend Mandy Rose to her manipulative actions to break them up and the aggression with which she repeatedly assaulted her fellow Tough Enough alum, The Pride Fighter elevated her game to a level few knew she could.
After spending two years as an afterthought of sorts, the backup for the more prominently featured Rose, she jumped off the screen and into the living rooms of fans, a dynamic, charismatic and physically intense performer.
Sure, the creative behind her feud with Rose was superb, but the program would not have reached the heights it did without the performance of Deville. She was the question mark when the whole thing started, but she silenced all doubters almost immediately, turning in some of the most intriguing character work of any on-screen persona in 2020.
Her year ended prematurely, thanks to real-life circumstances and a Loser Leaves WWE stipulation to her great match with Rose at SummerSlam, but the future is bright for Deville.
More years like 2020 and she will not have to worry about being recognized as "underrated" anything.
There is no denying MJF's status as one of the top young stars in AEW. His position within the company has never been in question, nor has it been underrated. He is absolutely the top young star in that company and the heel around whom its creative plans will one day revolve.
What is underrated, though, is just how superb a year he had from an in-ring perspective.
In May, he wrestled a beautiful match that has already been touched on in these here awards with Jungle Boy at Double or Nothing. Three months later at All Out, he challenged Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship in a match that was cerebral, methodical and expertly laid out.
Then there was the match against Chris Jericho at Full Gear that was better than it had any right to be for a heel vs. heel match.
Those three matches alone, on top of the expert character work the scarf-wearing scoundrel of AEW turned in, earned him this award.
Others, such as Sami Zayn and Cedric Alexander in WWE, had similarly great years, but neither did so consistently at the level MJF did. In this case, there is something to be said about achieving consistency at the top of the card, in high-profile feuds and in big-match situations.
MJF did just that and really should be recognized more than he has for what he accomplished this year.
