Best of 2021: From flaming table to fireball — insane moments from WWE and AEW

The Return of CM Punk

As his hometown crowd roared in delight and fans watching on TV jumped in their seats, there can be no doubt that Punk’s return and resulting pop is one of the best moments of 2021. Without even cutting a promo, there were tears and laughter across the globe as Punk gave the people what they wanted for more than seven years. This moment of magic served as the precursor to AEW All Out where Punk made his in-ring debut amidst much fanfare. It was his first match in seven years in his hometown at AEW All Out which was hands-down the best pay-per-view of the year.

Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole join AEW

AEW recruited quite a few stars to its roster and quite a few of them jumped ship from WWE. Among them most notably was Bryan Danielson. and Adam Cole. Given his history with The Elite, Cole joining them at the end of the event made perfect sense. The audience then got sent home happy once Danielson walked out and blew the roof off the building for a second time in a matter of minutes.

WWE welcomes a live crowd

WrestleMania 37 was a return to form for WWE in many ways as live audience was back after more than a year at The Showcase of the Immortals. Vince McMahon welcomed the thousands in attendance as the two-night event was held at the Raymond James Stadium. Another reason why this edition of Mania stands out is that for the first time there were two Black women who competed in the main event.

Kevin Owens hit by a cart

At the beginning of the year, Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens battled it out at the Last Man Standing Match. After Reigns tossed Owens off the ThunderDome set through a table, very similar to how he did so on SmackDown recently, they fought backstage. With Reigns’ Universal title on the line and the Samoan willing to defend it any cost, Reigns would find a golf cart and mow Owens down, straight through his windshield.

Flaming table

Cody Rhodes and Andrade (both former WWE wrestlers) brought the house down when they went toe to toe in an “Atlanta Street Fight” match on AEW Dynamite. From using laptops to a golden shovel and a sledgehamme, this match witnessed the use of almost all the weapons. As the level of physicality and risk rose with each passing minute, it was Brandi Rhodes who lit a table on fire as Cody and El Idolo took a big bump on it. After hitting the lit table with his back, Rhodes somehow managed to pin El Idolo to secure the win. However, by the end of the match, the pain had taken its toll.

According to Wrestling Observer, the flaming table spot was mainly because Rhodes wanted to “create a new memory” in his hometown of Atlanta (the city where Dynamite was held). However, one moment was particularly worrying, when Andrade’s chest was seen momentarily burning.

Bliss’ fireball

In January this year, WWE Raw ended in a bizarre fashion where special effects had to be used for Alexa Bliss as he hit Randy Orton with a fireball. The lights went out as Bliss was staring down at Orton. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she shot a big fireball which dropped Orton on the mat. As the Viper screamed in pain, the show went off the air. As fans expressed their bewilderment on the episode, it was later revealed that Bliss throwing a fireball was courtesy of some cool work by WWE’s production company.