From Hangman Page to Anna Jay, Five AEW Superstars Poised to Break Out in 2021

Published 01/05/2021, 8:30 AM EST

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All Elite Wrestling had an absolutely fantastic year despite the restrictions imposed on them. Tony Khan and his team have transformed AEW from a fledgling company to the hottest place for wrestlers to be. 2021 will surely be another brilliant year for the men and women in Jacksonville, but who are the breakout stars going to be?

Anna Jay reaches the summit of the AEW Women’s Division

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The Dark Order suffered an irreparable blow with the tragic demise of Mr. Brodie Lee. While the company mourns the loss of one of its most prolific talents, it is up to the rest of the Dark Order to live up to his legacy. The perfect person to take over as the leader of the Dark Order is none other than the brilliant Anna Jay.

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At only 22, Anna Jay is already one of the most talented members of the AEW women’s roster. By joining the Dark Order, she boosted the faction’s legitimacy in AEW.

The youngster is way too talented to be kept away from the spotlight and should be the one to lead the AEW women’s division to better places in 2021.

Ricky Starks breaks out of Brian Cage’s shadow

Although Powerhouse Hobbs has the look of a monster, ‘Absolute’ Ricky Starks is a once-in-a-generation talent. The former NWA Television Champion came to AEW in June 2020 and immediately challenged Cody Rhodes for the TNT Championship. However, he lost in a cracking back-and-forth battle. By joining Team Taz, Starks has made some very helpful allies in AEW.

Starks is one of those wrestlers who thrive in a heel position. Along with MJF and Sammy Guevara, Starks is a potential main event talent who will certainly become AEW or TNT Champion in the not so distant future.

His match against Darby Allin on the September 30th edition of Dynamite was one of the best television matches of the year. With the right booking, Starks is poised to break out of Brian Cage’s shadow and step into the main event.

Matt Sydal flies his way into superstardom in AEW

In WWE, Evan Bourne dazzled fans with his high-flying offence and his rocket of a finisher. No man hits a better Shooting Star Press than him.

Unfortunately, Matt Sydal did not have the best debut in AEW. Entering as the Joker card at the All Out Casino Battley Royal, Sydal botched a Shooting Star Press attempt that almost ended horribly for him.

However, the former Evan Bourne is way too talented to let that one botch define his AEW career. The high-flyer has so much to offer and has not yet unlocked his full potential.

By feuding with AEW’s top guys like Cody Rhodes, Chris Jericho, and Kenny Omega, Sydal’s value will increase exponentially. It will make him the Superstar he deserves to be.

Miro finally reaches his full potential

Rusev has not had a great 2020. He began the year feuding with Bobby Lashley in a terrible storyline. The former US Champion was promised a WrestleMania main event but ended up being released soon after he didn’t even feature on the card.

AEW was meant to be a saving grace for him, but till now, he has been treated as an afterthought.

2021 will definitely be the year Miro breaks into the main event picture in AEW. He is the best big man in wrestling, incredibly charismatic, and is a very popular figure amongst the mainstream audience as well.

AEW must capitalise on his star power before fans start chanting ‘Rusev Day’ at him.

The Hangman wins the big one

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Adam Page’s story is quite a tragic one. He was poised to be the man to lead AEW as their first champion. Unfortunately, fan backlash led to Chris Jericho taking his place.

After his loss to Jericho, Page recovered his lost momentum by completely reinventing himself. From a swashbuckling cowboy, Hangman Page turned into the alcoholic, no-nonsense, a**-kicker we love today.

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His run as AEW Tag Team Champion with Kenny Omega made him popular with the fans again. The slow burn story of him turning his back on the Elite and becoming a solo competitor was the best storyline of 2020.

With Kenny Omega turning heel after winning the AEW Championship, Hangman Page is the best man to beat him for the title.

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Written by:

Nathan Fulgado

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Nathan Fulgado is a WWE and AEW author at EssentiallySports. Having published close to 1000 professional wrestling articles, Nathan is currently pursuing his Journalism degree from Xavier's College. He has previously worked at Free Press Journal as a local journalist.
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