FanPost

One year of Dynamite - Breakout star

AEW

Last week's column outling the few week points of the first year of All Elite Wrestling promoted some spirit discussion, and I'm grateful for all the feedback received. Whereas disappointments have been hard to come by, limiting the number of potential breakout stars has been more difficult.

Acts like Private Party, Ricky Starks, Kris Statlander, and in particular Jungle Boy can consider themselves unlucky not to make the list.

Dr Britt Baker D.M.D

Britt Baker was earmarked early on as being the face of the women's division. She was immediately cast one of the top babyfaces. Baker's time in AEW has been defined by how's she has overcome injuries and her promo abilities. She suffered a concussion at the foot of Bea Priestley in a tag match at Fight for the Fallen. This accidental shoot was turned into a work when the two women feuded. Baker showed her verbal chops in a pre match promo which caught the ear of Chris Jericho, who believed she could be an excellent heel.

Following a middling end of 2019, Baker turned to the dark side on Jericho's cruise, berating Tony Schiavone in an interview segment. Her relationships with Schiavone and Rebel/Reba were comedic highlights for a number of episodes.

Baker began looking more comfortable in the ring as well. She was involved in a memorable match against Hiraku Shida in April when she suffered a broken nose, but still put on her best in-ring performance. However her poor luck with injuries would strike again, when she injured her leg tagging with Nyla Rose against Kris Statlander and Shida.

Despite being unable to wrestle, Baker continue to appear on Dynamite, becoming the 'Roll model' as she frequently appeared in a wheelchair. She entered a feud with Big Swole, which could have been a showcase for Swole but dragged on for too long.

Darby Allin

It took me a while to get onboard the Darby Allin hype train. I'd seen him wrestle a couple of times for Progress, and he didn't leave a lasting impression. The powers that be in AEW were clearly impressed, as he was the first challenger for Chris Jericho's world title. He went on to lose the Philadelphia street fight on the third edition but gained a load of new fans.

Allin's twelve months has been defined by him coming up short against more established opponents. Credible losses against PAC, Cody and Moxley (one of which was another tilt at the world title) have shown he is more than comfortable working with top level talents. His promos, largely shown in Black and white, make him a unique presence on the brand.

He has had some successes, winning feuds against Sammy Guevara and impressing in a hard fought win against Ricky Starks. He seems primed for a full main event push in the next twelve months, should AEW consider pulling the trigger on him.

Hiraku Shida

One of the frustrations about the lack of attention paid to the women's division is that we've seen a lot less of Hiraku Shida than we should have. Since arriving from Japan, Shida's been a revelation. Whilst Nyla Rose and Riho initially topped the women's division card, Shida's stock rose working solid matches on Dynamite against Baker, Big Swole and Shanna.

With a large number of wrestlers unavailable due to the Pandemic and injury, Shida thrived in the larger spotlight. Her bloody battle with Baker is one of the best women's matches ever on Dynamite. With Rhio and Statlander missing, the likable Shida took to being the division top babyface quickly. Fans were delighted when she captured the women's title from Rose at Double or Nothing in May.

Shida has only defended the title once on Dynamite, taking Penelope Ford to her best match in July. With new additions Tay Conti and Serena Deeb swelling the ranks, not to mention Thunder Rosa making guest appearances, hopefully we'll see more of Shida in the upcoming weeks.

MJF

Unlike Darby Allin, I've been a fan of MJF from the first time I saw him on an otherwise underwhelming Progress show in New Orleans. I've followed him pretty closely during his run with Major League Wrestling, so it's come as no surprise to see him featured so prominently throughout the last twelve months.

His 'friendship' with Cody was against type, but even though he was aligned with the EVP, fans eagerly anticipated him turning on his mentor. It was no surprise when he cost Cody the world title at Full Gear. It speaks well of MJF promo skills that he was getting the most heel heat from fans pre-pandemic.

MJF's in-ring work has been pretty tidy. His most notable win came when beating Hangman Adam Page to win the Dynamite ring, and he's had some entertaining bouts against Jungle Boy.

Friedman entered the main event picture when feuding with world champion Moxley throughout the summer. His spoof on the Presidential campaign was patchy. The call back to his brief appearance on NXT was amusing, but the skits overstayed their welcome. He showed he belonged in the main event, putting up a good effort in losing to Moxley at All out.

Orange Cassidy

Cassidy's laid-back style hasn't endeared him to wrestling purists, but AEW fans have taken him to their hearts. For the first part of his run, he mainly acted as a heater for Best Friends. He didn't wrestle an actual singles match until 2020, but always received a huge pop when appearing with Chuck Taylor and Trent.

After gaining approval following a losing battle against PAC at Revolution, Cassidy became embroiled in a feud with former AEW world champion Chris Jericho throughout the summer. His laconic manner was pushed to extremes when he beat the Demo God in a debate. More importantly he won the feud gaining two victories to Jericho one.

Cassidy is beginning to wrestle in a slightly more traditional style, as seen in his win over Ten this week. It'll be interesting to see if his fans lose interest in his lackadaisical fashion of wrestling, or whether his rise up the card can continue.

Sammy Guevara

The Spanish God had the honour of featuring in Dynamite's first match, when he battled Cody. He also appeared at the show's end joining forces with Jericho, Jake Hager, Santana and Ortiz to form the top heel stable, Inner Circle.

Whilst Guevara's win-loss singles record isn't anything to write home about, Guevara's works perfectly as a smarmy attention seeking heel. His awful caterwauling to Jericho's Judas theme sums up his need to please Le Champion whilst craving the public's adulation.

Guevara's best singles match ups have come against fellow young stars Allin and Page. Along with MJF, these four can be the cornerstone of the singles division for the next decade.

His star has fallen somewhat in recent months. After getting involved in some Twitter banter with Sasha Banks, a historic interview was unearthed which showed Guevara making disgusting comments about the Boss. He served a four weeks suspension from AEW, but hasn't shone on his return. His feud with Matt Hardy was disastrous, with both men injuring themselves following some poorly executed spots.

Who gets my vote as Breakout star?

Out of the three columns written summing up Dynamites first twelve months this is the toughest decision. In ring, Shida's been the best performer. Allin has been the most consistent performer. MJF has made the biggest impact, but Dr Britt Baker has been the most entertaining. My head says MJF, but my heart says Baker. I'm going with my heart and with the Role model.

My Breakout performer of the year - Dr Britt Baker DMD.

Next week's column will discuss my six contenders for the Best AEW star during the past twelve months.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.