Hola.
These are the results for 2021 Tapatia Awards, honoring the best in lucha libre. Thanks to everyone who voted, and thanks to those who didn’t for still reading this. We had 61 ballots this year, once I took out the person who seemed to vote twice. This was slightly up from last year, despite me still not doing much of a job promoting it.
Full results from past years: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020.
Best Wrestler
2004: LA Park
2005: Perro Aguayo Jr.
2006: Mistico
2007: Gran Apache
2008: Blue Panther
2009: Negro Casas
…
2017: Volador Jr.
2018: LA Park
2019: Hijo del Vikingo
2020: Laredo Kid
2021: Hijo del Vikingo
| Luchador | 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | Point Total |
| El Hijo del Vikingo | 28 | 10 | 3 | 176 |
| Arez | 7 | 5 | 5 | 60 |
| Laredo Kid | 6 | 3 | 8 | 55 |
| Hechicero | 5 | 4 | 6 | 49 |
| Bandido | 2 | 9 | 5 | 47 |
| Fénix | 2 | 5 | 4 | 33 |
| Dark Silueta | 2 | 2 | 1 | 18 |
| Psycho Clown | 1 | 2 | 3 | 17 |
| Villano III Jr. | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Aramis | 0 | 5 | 0 | 15 |
| Titán | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| Pentagon Jr. | 1 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
| Ricky Marvin | 1 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
| Látigo | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Volador Jr. | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Black Terry | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Soberano Jr. | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Taurus | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| LA Park | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Mistico | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Atlantis Jr. | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Faby Apache | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Ineligible | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Jessy Ventura | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Lady Flammer | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Thunder Rosa | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Virus | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Barbaro Cavernario | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Big Mike | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Hijo del Espectro Jr. | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mr. Condor | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Perro de Guerra Jr. | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Puma King | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Rush | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Sexy Star | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Stephanie Vaquer | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Templario | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
El Hijo del Vikingo wins for the second time in three years, with no one else particularly close. Arez moves up one spot from last year. Thirty-seven luchadors got at least one vote.
Best Match
2004: 09-03 Averno vs Zumbido
2005: 02-25 Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero
2006: 09-29 Black Warrior vs Mistico
2007: 07-29 Mistico vs Dr. Wagner
2008: 09-19 Blue Panther vs Villano V
2009: 06-13 Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Mesias
…
2017: 02-27 Barbaro Cavernario & Volador Jr. vs Ultimo Guerrero & El Valiente
2018: 06-22 L.A. Park vs Rush
2019: 06-09 Hijo del Vikingo vs Laredo Kid
2020: 12-12 Laredo Kid vs Kenny Omega
2021: 03-21 Hijo del Vikingo vs Arez
| Match | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
| 03-21 Hijo del Vikingo vs Arez | 17 | 2 | 0 | 91 |
| 10-09 Fenix & Pentagon Jr. vs Hijo Del Vikingo & Laredo Kid | 10 | 5 | 5 | 75 |
| 03-26 Bandido vs Volador Jr. | 3 | 6 | 6 | 45 |
| 03-20 Arez vs Laredo Kid | 3 | 2 | 5 | 31 |
| 05-03 Látigo, Villano III Jr., Abismo Negro Jr., Hijo Del Vikingo, Aramis | 2 | 5 | 3 | 31 |
| 11-12 Hechicero vs Bárbaro Cavernario | 2 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
| 12-05 Black Terry vs Mr. Condor | 1 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| 08-14 Andrade vs Kenny Omega | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| 09-18 Erik Ortiz vs Hechicero | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| 09-24 Hechicero vs Último Guerrero | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| 02-06 Virus vs Soberano Jr. | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 05-05 Chucho el Roto vs Mr. Potro | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 10-18 Amapola, Dark Silueta, La Jarochita, Lluvia, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit, Reina Isis vs Avispa Dorada, Dalys, Momo Kohgo, Sonya, Stephanie Vaquer, Tsukasa Fujimoto, Tsukushi | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| 08-14 Fénix & Pentagón Jr. vs Hijo Del Vikingo & Laredo Kid vs Brian Cage & Taurus | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| 01-22 Ricky Marvin vs Tony Deppen | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 01-30 Virus vs Pólvora | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 04-25 Ricky Marvin vs Black Terry | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 09-18 Arez vs Latigo | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 12-04 Hijo del Vikingo vs Bandido vs Jay Lethal vs Bobby Fish vs Samuray del Sol | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 07-03 Hijo Del Vikingo vs Kamikaze vs Komander vs Aramis vs Látigo vs Toxin | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| 08-22 Black Terry vs Perro de Guerra Jr. | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 11-26 Volador Jr. vs TJP | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 05-31 Laredo Kid vs Latigo | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 04-17 Villano III Jr. vs Toxin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 04-25 Eterno vs Fresero Jr. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 06-05 Laredo Kid vs Black Taurus vs Gringo Loco vs Arez vs El Hijo de Canis Lupus vs Aramis vs Dragon Bane vs Golden Dragon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 06-25 Templario & Volador vs Virus & Caristico | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 06-27 Titán vs Negro Casas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 09-05 Fenix & Pentagon Jr. vs Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 11-04 Rey Escorpion, Taurus, Villano III Jr. vs. El Hijo del Vikingo, Octagon Jr., Psycho Clown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 11-20 Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf vs Fenix & Pentagon Jr. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 11-26 Soberano Jr., Ángel de Oro, Último Guerrero, Bárbaro Cavernario, Atlantis Jr., Hechicero, Stuka Jr., Terrible, Blue Panther, Sagrado, Gran Guerrero, Gemelo Diablo I, Dark Panther, Dragón Rojo Jr., Esfinge, Gemelo Diablo II | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 12-17 Ricky Marvin vs Virus | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 12-25 Brazo Celestial, Brazo Cibernetico, Brazo De Oro Jr. vs Estrellato, King Charro, Toscano | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 07-03 Hechicero vs Blue Panther | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 07-30 Titán vs Templario | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 05-01 Laredo Kid, Texano Jr., Murder Clown, Aerostar, Drago, Abismo Negro Jr., Hijo Del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr. [Rey de Reyes] | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 08-14 Psycho Clown vs Rey Escorpion | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 10-09 DMT Azul, Puma King, Sam Adonis vs Dave The Clown, Murder Clown, Psycho Clown | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 01-31 Cíclope, Crazy King, El Mago, Miedo Extremo, Símbolo Azteca vs Billy, Dayami, Devitt Rodríguez, Jeff Killer, Luigi | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 02-04 Arez vs Látigo vs Aramis | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 03-13 Abismo Negro Jr. & Taurus vs Hijo del Vikingo & Laredo Kid | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 04-17 Skayde vs Toro Negro Jr. | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 05-01 Látigo vs Dinastía vs Toxin vs Aramis vs Arez | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 05-01 Octagón Jr vs Taurus vs Villano III Jr. | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 07-04 Ricky Marvin vs Negro Navarro | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 07-10 Arez v Aramis | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 07-11 Tony Deppen vs Dragon Lee | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 10-03 Negro Navarro vs Jonathan Gresham | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 12-03 ASF, Drago Kid, Chris Carter vs Gringo Loco, Demonic Flamita, Low Rider | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 02-24 Fenix vs Lance Archer | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 04-08 Arez vs Aramis | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 04-20 Blue Panther vs Satánico | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 07-02 Princesa Sugehit v Stephanie Vaquer | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 07-09 Nick Gage vs Sadika | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 07-17 Rush vs LA Park | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 07-31 Baby Extreme vs Villano III Jr. | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 09-01 Bestia 666, Mecha Wolf, Rey Horus vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 09-18 Demonio Del Aire, Kratoz, Prometeo vs Iron Kid, Jimmy, Toxin | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 10-01 La Amapola, La Jarochita, Marcela vs Momo Kohgo, Tsukasa Fujimoto, Tsukushi | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 10-08 Amapola, Dark Silueta, La Jarochita, Lluvia, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit, Reina Isis vs Avispa Dorada, Dalys, Momo Kohgo, Sonya, Stephanie Vaquer, Tsukasa Fujimoto, Tsukushi | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 11-04 Kenji & Limbo vs Hell Boy & Spider Fly | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 12-05 Sick Boy vs Mafioso | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 12-16 Alpha Wolf & Dragon Bane vs Aster Boy & Demonic Flamita | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
RIOT’s Hijo del Vikingo versus Arez match is the first one outside of AAA or CMLL to win overall (though perhaps one would’ve done that in the stretch I took off.) Sixty-five matches received a vote. CMLL did not seem to finish as well as in past years; they had a lot of matches receive votes but lacked the one match that everyone gathered around.
I also broke down the match votes by promotion:
| Best Match by Promotion | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
| AAA | 17 | 25 | 24 | 208 |
| CMLL | 13 | 14 | 18 | 143 |
| RIOT | 18 | 6 | 2 | 112 |
| Lucha Memes | 3 | 4 | 1 | 29 |
| Zona 23 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| IWRG | 1 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
| AULL | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Mexa Wrestling | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| AEW | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| GCW | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Warrior Wrestling | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| LAWE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| La Cueva del Dragon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Robles | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Vanguardia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| MLW | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| ROH | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Invasion Indy | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Lucha Libre Boom | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| The Crash | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
RIOT somehow ended up with the most 1st place votes while running just two shows.
Best Promotion
2004: CMLL
2005: CMLL
2006: CMLL
2007: AAA
2008: CMLL
2009: CMLL
…
2017: CMLL
2018: CMLL
2019: AAA
2020: AAA
2021: AAA
| Promotion | Votes |
| AAA | 34 |
| RIOT | 6 |
| CMLL | 5 |
| Lucha Memes | 5 |
| Big Lucha | 3 |
| AULL | 1 |
| IWRG | 1 |
| Loko Wrestling | 1 |
| MexaWrestling | 1 |
| NOAH | 1 |
| No Promotion | 1 |
| Zona 23 | 1 |
Not a lot of people watch Lucha Memes but those who do seem to really enjoy it. A lot of people watch CMLL but it doesn’t seem like a lot of people have it as their #1.
Best Unit
2004: Guerreros del Infierno (as Best Tag Team and Best Trio)
…
2006: Los Guerreros del Atlantida
2007: Real Fuerza Aerea AAA
2008: Oficiales
2009: Peste Negra
…
2017: Nueva Generación Dinamita
2018: Nueva Generación Dinamita
2019: Poder del Norte
2020: Lucha Brothers
2021: Lucha Brothers
| Best Unit | Votes |
| Lucha Brothers | 12 |
| Poder del Norte | 9 |
| Jinetes del Aire | 6 |
| NGD | 5 |
| La Empresa | 4 |
| Los Cancerberos del Infierno | 4 |
| Negocio Traumado | 4 |
| Las Tóxicas | 2 |
| Los Mercenarios | 2 |
| Los Vipers | 2 |
| Infernales | 1 |
| La Jaucan (Dick Angelo 3G, Tonalli & Puma de Oro) | 1 |
| La Pandemia | 1 |
| La Rebelión | 1 |
| Los Atrapasueños | 1 |
| Los Infernales | 1 |
| Los Parks | 1 |
| Mexa Boys | 1 |
| Psycho Circus | 1 |
| Strippers Big | 1 |
Best Rivalry
2004: El Hijo del Santo vs Perro Aguayo Jr.
2005: Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero
2006: Mistico vs Black Warrior
2007: Billy Boy vs Gran Apache
2008: Blue Panther vs Villano V
2009: Negro Casas vs Mistico
…
2017: Princesa Sugehit vs Zeuxis
2018: L.A. Park vs Rush
2019: Big Mami vs Lady Maravilla
2020: Chessman vs Pagano
2021: Rey Escorpión vs Psycho Clown
| Best Feud | Votes |
| Rey Escorpión vs Psycho Clown | 17 |
| La Empresa vs Psycho Circus (or AAA in general) | 7 |
| There were none | 6 |
| AAA vs FMV | 3 |
| Arez vs Aramis | 2 |
| CMLL vs it’s Fans and/or the 21st Century | 2 |
| Hechicero vs Último Guerrero | 2 |
| Arena Coliseo GDL vs Arena Queretaro | 1 |
| Arez vs Laredo Kid | 1 |
| Bandido vs COVID & bad decisions | 1 |
| Bandido vs Flamita | 1 |
| Bandido vs Rush | 1 |
| Chucho el Roto vs Mr. Potro | 1 |
| Diosa Atenea vs Diosa Quetzal | 1 |
| Erick Ortiz vs Hechicero | 1 |
| Fresero Jr vs Eterno | 1 |
| Jessy Ventura vs Toxin | 1 |
| Konnan vs New Booking Ideas | 1 |
| La Empresa vs Psycho Circus | 1 |
| Mistico vs Averno | 1 |
| Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero | 1 |
| NGD vs PDN | 1 |
| Soberano vs Ultimo Guerero | 1 |
| Ultimo Guerrero vs Everyone | 1 |
| Vikingo vs Taurus | 1 |
| Wotan vs Difunto | 1 |
This is the third straight year an AAA feud won Feud of the Year. I don’t want to take away from it, yet this year’s choice seemed more about those two having a clear rivalry in a year without a lot of them. This category always provokes some creative entries, though more so this year.
Most Improved
2004: Olimpico
2005: Maximo
2006: Black Warrior, Marco Corleone, Mistico (tie)
2007: Super Fly & X-Pac (tie)
2008: Sombra
2009: Mascara Dorada
…
2017: Soberano Jr.
2018: Templario
2019: Atlantis Jr.
2020: Diosa Quetzal
2021: Komander
| Most Improved | Votes |
| Komander | 7 |
| Atlantis Jr. | 6 |
| Látigo | 4 |
| Aramis | 2 |
| Arez | 2 |
| Coyote | 2 |
| Drago Kid | 2 |
| Hechicero | 2 |
| Mr. Iguana | 2 |
| Noisy Boy | 2 |
| Sexy Star II | 2 |
| Stephanie Vaquer | 2 |
| Villano III Jr. | 2 |
| Abismo Negro Jr | 1 |
| Bad Bunny | 1 |
| Blue Win | 1 |
| Dark Silueta | 1 |
| Dayami | 1 |
| Diosa Quetzal | 1 |
| DMT Azul | 1 |
| Dragon Bane | 1 |
| Gran Guererro | 1 |
| Jessy Ventura | 1 |
| Lluvia | 1 |
| Octagon Jr | 1 |
| Panterita del Ring Jr. | 1 |
| Soberano | 1 |
| Taurus | 1 |
| Titán | 1 |
| Toxin | 1 |
This one often is about as much increased visibility as increased ability, though Komander did seem to stand out more on AAA TV than he had prior. Atlantis Jr. came dangerously close to winning the most improved two years in a row, another effect of not having many standout candidates.
Favorite Wrestler
2017: Barbaro Cavernario & Hechicero (tie)
2018: Pentagon Jr.
2019: Hijo del Vikingo
2020: Hijo del Vikingo
2021: Hijo del Vikingo
| Favorite | Total |
| Hijo del Vikingo | 11 |
| Hechicero | 5 |
| Místico | 5 |
| Arez | 3 |
| Titán | 3 |
| Fénix | 3 |
| Laredo Kid | 3 |
| Virus | 3 |
| Andrade El Idolo | 2 |
| Aramis | 2 |
| Bandido | 2 |
| LA Park | 2 |
| Mr. Iguana | 2 |
| Ricky Marvin | 2 |
| Taurus | 2 |
| Villano III Jr. | 2 |
| Artemis Spencer | 1 |
| Atlantis Jr. | 1 |
| Avisman | 1 |
| Black Terry | 1 |
| Flamita | 1 |
| Microman | 1 |
| Pentagon Jr | 1 |
| Templario | 1 |
I’m not sure what it would take for Hijo del Vikingo in-ring not to win this award at this point. Maybe a multi-year stay in the US to the point of him not coming to mind as a luchador pick, like Fenix? Maybe Fenix wrestling more in Mexico? Not sure even an injury would take him out. Someone else would have to get very hot to unseat him.
I suspect these votes are going to seem unfair to CMLL fans, so this is a good one to end out. Two of the top three and five of the top nine wrestlers are from CMLL. People, at least among the voters, are still big fans of many of the CMLL luchadors – just not as much in what they’re doing.