AEW and WWE Stars Who Had the Best Summer of 2021

To many people, the summer is a time for rest and relaxation. In the world of professional wrestling, though, everything is full systems go with no time to stop.

At events such as Fyter Fest, SummerSlam and many television shows along the way, the stars of All Elite Wrestling and WWE have battled it out for supremacy just the same as the rest of the year.

Now that the summer season is at an end, let's look back at the wrestlers who had something to celebrate about and those who weren't quite so fortunate.

Not everyone can make the official list, but there are many others who should get some recognition.

Becky Lynch returned from maternity leave to dethrone Bianca Belair as SmackDown women's champion.

Ilja Dragunov deserves a mention for finally slaying WALTER and becoming the new NXT UK champion at NXT TakeOver 36.

Raquel Gonzalez has retained the NXT Women's Championship on several occasions and further established herself as the alpha of the brand.

Malakai Black took a release from WWE and turned it around to a higher spot on the card in AEW, took out Cody Rhodes and has restored the aura to his career he had lost over the past two years.

Reggie took a breakup with Nia Jax and turned it into one of the longest runs with the 24/7 Championship in the belt's history.

Cameron Grimes and LA Knight both got the opportunity to work with Ted DiBiase and have both won the Million Dollar Championship.

Ricky Starks returned to action this summer to usurp Brian Cage's spot as the main member of Team Taz and won the FTW Championship in the process.

Dexter Lumis and Indi Hartwell have taken their on-screen relationship to the next level, becoming one of the most prominent stories in NXT and getting "engaged" this summer.

Carmelo Hayes won the NXT Breakout Tournament, while Odyssey Jones managed to go from complete unknown to major prospect in mere weeks.

RK-Bro won the Raw Tag Team Championships, and Roman Reigns continues to stand tall as universal champion after putting another victory over John Cena on his record.

Just showing up on AEW Rampage on August 20 was enough for CM Punk to make this list, especially since the pop was loud enough to catch the attention of the Guinness World Records.

No topic is hotter than Punk right now. Speculation that The Best in the World would make his debut for AEW generated a frenzy through June and July.

When he did return in front of AEW fans and their vociferous welcome, his face was a picture of pure joy.

To be reinvigorated like that and feel that surge of passion once more is important enough to call this a great summer for Punk.

For the better part of this summer, Kenny Omega has been the undisputed king of not just All Elite Wrestling but also the top dog in AAA and Impact Wrestling.

The Best Bout Machine had too many titles on his person up until the first episode of AEW Rampage when Christian Cage—who has been undefeated this summer—beat him for the Impact crown.

Both men have been racking up wins lately in order to build to their clash at All Out. Come September 5, we'll know who had the better summer overall, but even the loser will have a lot to show for the past few months.

Many NXT stars struggle when they come to the main roster, but Damian Priest has been incredibly successful since joining Raw on February 1.

Following his victory with Bad Bunny at WrestleMania 37, the win column didn't dry up for The Archer of Infamy. He's won every match save for a Battle Royal.

Most importantly, Priest took down Sheamus at SummerSlam to claim the United States Championship. He followed that up with a disqualification victory over Bobby Lashley in a tag team contest alongside Drew McIntyre.

It's been one more step up the ladder each week for Priest, with this summer being the time when things really heated up for him.

At the end of May, Shinsuke Nakamura partnered up with Rick Boogs. Since then, it's been nothing but clear skies and wins.

Perpetually getting under the skin of Baron Corbin led to a Battle for the Crown, which Nakamura won and took the moniker "King Nakamura."

Nakamura didn't win the Money in the Bank briefcase, but he did go on to win the Intercontinental Championship from Apollo Crews to make up for it.

Points go to Boogs for scoring his first victory alongside Nakamura on the August 20 edition of SmackDown, and the two of them appearing on SummerSlam to rock out even though they didn't have a match scheduled.

At the tail end of May, Britt Baker took out the longest-reigning AEW women's world champion, Hikaru Shida, and ascended the throne.

As the first woman signed to AEW, this felt inevitable. Once she finally made good on all her promises to be the figurehead of the division, she's made sure not to waste the opportunity.

While Baker has only competed a few times, she's won all her matches, including one against the second-ever champion, Nyla Rose, despite getting injured during the fight.

Now that she has Jamie Hayter by her side, it will be even harder for someone to take her down. It's likely Baker will retain her title against Kris Statlander at All Out to keep the wins coming.

The NXT UK women's division looks up at Meiko Satomura, who has only suffered one loss on the brand, in March. Since then, and particularly starting with her No. 1 contender's win in May, she's been on fire.

On June 10, Satomura defeated Kay Lee Ray—the longest-reigning NXT UK women's champion—to capture the title.

Immediately, segments started airing about how the locker room has a different vibe and how she commanded an air of respect and a warrior's mentality.

Satomura has since retained her title against Amale and Stevie Turner, and she looks as though she's not slowing down any time soon.

Miro's last few years in WWE were rough, and his start in AEW as The Best Man wasn't quite so perfect, either.

This summer, though, he's grown into a better version of his former Rusev character with his new moniker, The Redeemer.

In mid-May, he captured the TNT Championship from Darby Allin and has torn through the competition ever since, taking out big guns like Lance Archer and deflating the dreams of younger talent like Brian Pillman Jr. and Fuego Del Sol.

This run has done wonders for him and the belt's design was changed after he became champion, likely indicating he will be keeping it for some time.

Charlotte Flair and Nikki A.S.H. have had a much better summer overall than anyone else in the Raw women's division.

Nikki Cross scored enough fluke victories that she developed a change in her persona, switching over to her Almost a Super Hero gimmick, which has breathed new life into her character.

In the meantime, Flair proved once again she's better than Rhea Ripley when she beat her for the Raw Women's Championship at Money in the Bank.

Nikki was successful that night, too, winning the women's briefcase that she would cash in 24 hours later to defeat The Queen for her first run as champion.

Flair's largely stayed dominant—or, at least, the primary focal point—even during the times she's lost. A.S.H. scored a few wins along with some losses, like her No Holds Barred victory over The Queen.

The belt is now back on Flair once more, which is a downer for Nikki, but this has been a career highlight for the underdog. And The Queen has found herself checking two more title reigns off her quest to surpass her father's signature 16-time haul.

Bobby Lashley's first major accomplishment this summer was retaining the WWE Championship inside Hell in a Cell over Drew McIntyre.

After that, The All Mighty beat down Xavier Woods in another HIAC match, squashed former WWE champion Kofi Kingston at Money in the Bank, beat Keith Lee and took out both his former Hurt Business teammates, Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin, in a 2-on-1 handicap match.

Most recently, Lashley retained the title once again with a win over Goldberg at SummerSlam.

A win over someone like that, who has rarely lost, is already huge. Staying a dominant champion on the flagship show alongside that is a testament to how this is Lashley's best run of his career by far.

This two-part breakdown continues Wednesday with a look at the unlucky ones who struggled the most through the summer months.

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.