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| Photo Credit: Bob Mulrenin |
5. Rey Feníx
Points: 1888
Ballots: 23
Highest Vote: 1st Place (Jeffrey Paternostro)
Last Year's Ranking: 32nd Place
TH: Feníx is one of those wrestlers you take for granted, especially now that he's not a focal point of a show and is mainly a tag wrestler. Anytime he's on Dynamite though, he's always the guy who's going to stand out the most, and people will remark about how fluid he is doing the highest risk shit, or how hard he's bumping for just regular television. The Lucha Brothers and (insert partner here) vs. The Elite has been one of the most entertaining feuds of the year, but not because it's got depth of story. Every single one of the matches rips, and Feníx is a huge part of it.
Nicholas Reed: The amount of sheer innovation Feníx shows on the regular is insane, and I hope AEW realizes what they have in him. Let the leash off and let him go HAM with PAC or Omega for 15 minutes, and blow some minds.
Jeffrey Paternostro: I cut my teeth as a "smart" wrestling fan on the heavy psych style of '90s All-Japan. I revered the inch perfect selling and three-quarters legit style of Toshiaki Kawada, groused about ROH dudes ignoring early limb work for the hot run-in, but the older I get the more I just favor "guys I like doing cool shit." And no one does cooler shit than Feníx. I don't know if he was the single best wrestler last year, but on pure volume - between AEW, AAA, Crash, and wherever else he showed up - the pure volume of cool shit he did in 2019 gets him the nod for me.
Joe Punk: Lucha Underground, and its many fantastic characters like Feníx, opened my eyes to the world of lucha libre. This past year, I saw Feníx put on incredible matches in MLW, Impact, AEW, and AAA. There’s likely little I can say that hasn’t already been said.by the rest of the voters, but if AEW has been your only exposure to Feníx so far, please look forward to seeing him in a singles run. As much as I enjoy him competing as a team alongside his Lucha Brother, Pentagón, Jr., he can and will show more as a singles star.
Brandon Kay: In an era of getting your shit in, spots on spots on spots, and nearfalls that should have been the finale...Feníx is among that crowd. However, he is so unabashedly good at it, so unbelievably graceful (when he hits his spots), and such an absolutely believable die hard babyface (even if in AEW he seems to be heel) that it’s hard not to see him as something special. Nobody in wrestling makes me ask “how in the hell did he do THAT?” more than Feníx does
Points: 1888
Ballots: 23
Highest Vote: 1st Place (Jeffrey Paternostro)
Last Year's Ranking: 32nd Place
TH: Feníx is one of those wrestlers you take for granted, especially now that he's not a focal point of a show and is mainly a tag wrestler. Anytime he's on Dynamite though, he's always the guy who's going to stand out the most, and people will remark about how fluid he is doing the highest risk shit, or how hard he's bumping for just regular television. The Lucha Brothers and (insert partner here) vs. The Elite has been one of the most entertaining feuds of the year, but not because it's got depth of story. Every single one of the matches rips, and Feníx is a huge part of it.
Nicholas Reed: The amount of sheer innovation Feníx shows on the regular is insane, and I hope AEW realizes what they have in him. Let the leash off and let him go HAM with PAC or Omega for 15 minutes, and blow some minds.
Jeffrey Paternostro: I cut my teeth as a "smart" wrestling fan on the heavy psych style of '90s All-Japan. I revered the inch perfect selling and three-quarters legit style of Toshiaki Kawada, groused about ROH dudes ignoring early limb work for the hot run-in, but the older I get the more I just favor "guys I like doing cool shit." And no one does cooler shit than Feníx. I don't know if he was the single best wrestler last year, but on pure volume - between AEW, AAA, Crash, and wherever else he showed up - the pure volume of cool shit he did in 2019 gets him the nod for me.
Joe Punk: Lucha Underground, and its many fantastic characters like Feníx, opened my eyes to the world of lucha libre. This past year, I saw Feníx put on incredible matches in MLW, Impact, AEW, and AAA. There’s likely little I can say that hasn’t already been said.by the rest of the voters, but if AEW has been your only exposure to Feníx so far, please look forward to seeing him in a singles run. As much as I enjoy him competing as a team alongside his Lucha Brother, Pentagón, Jr., he can and will show more as a singles star.
Brandon Kay: In an era of getting your shit in, spots on spots on spots, and nearfalls that should have been the finale...Feníx is among that crowd. However, he is so unabashedly good at it, so unbelievably graceful (when he hits his spots), and such an absolutely believable die hard babyface (even if in AEW he seems to be heel) that it’s hard not to see him as something special. Nobody in wrestling makes me ask “how in the hell did he do THAT?” more than Feníx does
