Grading the 2021 rookie years of new main roster WWE stars

It's safe to say that 2021 has been one of the strangest years in WWE history. The company cut over 75 stars from across its brands. Stars like Brock Lesnar and Becky Lynch returned to action after extended hiatuses.

Roman Reigns added to his historic reign as Universal Champion. Big E joined WWE's main event by successfully cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase on WWE Champion Bobby Lashley.

Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair both won titles at WrestleMania 37 but lost them over the summer. Beating the Nightmare and EST of WWE respectively were Charlotte Flair and Lynch.

While many of the usual names hold major singles titles in WWE, there have been some new names added to the main roster. Some were among the 75 or so released stars. Others have been kept active on either RAW or SmackDown. Here are the grades for the stars that debuted on the WWE main roster in matches in 2021.

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#6. Commander Azeez, Veer, Shanky, and Ridge Holland have all had limited action in WWE.

Commander Azeez first popped up in RAW Underground as Dabba Kato. He was the top dog there until he faced Braun Strowman. He was repackaged as Commander Azeez, emerging at WM 37 to help Apollo Crews win the Intercontinental Championship from Big E.

Shanky and Veer were used as the backup/muscle for Jinder Mahal. Shanky is big like Azeez but is still learning on the job. Azeez looks to handle his size well but needs more ring time to truly measure his potential.

Veer looks to have more potential than those big men due to his smaller size compared to that of Azeez and Shanky. He's proven to be hard-hitting and physical. Because of that, Veer was separated from Mahal and kept on RAW by himself. Vignettes have been airing, hyping up his debut.

Ridge Holland has loads of potential. He has the look, size, and physicality that Vince McMahon loves. He had an up-and-down run in NXT due to an injury putting a halt to a storyline with Pat McAfee. Holland was paired with Pete Dunne upon his return to NXT but was drafted to SmackDown during the 2021 WWE Draft.

The big Englishman has been paired with Sheamus during his early SmackDown career. WWE needs to desperately focus on some newer and different stars on both RAW and SmackDown. Holland should be one of those to get the spotlight in the coming months.

Grades: Commander Azeez - C+; Shanky - C; Veer - B-; Ridge Holland - B-

#5. Reggie and Omos have both used their different sizes to succeed in WWE in 2021.

Reggie debuted in WWE as a sommelier for Carmella in late 2020. He didn't have an official match until January 2021 as he continued to interfere in Mella's matches with Sasha Banks. He was then shifted into an angle with Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler while they were Women's Tag Team Champions.

Since he's an acrobatic performer, Reggie certainly is talented and has a niche spot in WWE. His involvement in the women's storylines was frustrating as he got more of a spotlight than some of the females. When Shanya Baszler and Nia Jax finally broke up, he wasn't even used in that situation anymore.

He does well at comedic wrestling and is one of the most talented athletes in WWE. That being said, his ceiling is very low due to his size. The 24/7 Championship scene is the best use of his talents, but that title chase shouldn't take away from other stars getting on RAW.

Omos debuted as a character in October of 2020 but didn't have his first match until WrestleMania 37 of 2021. Along with AJ Styles, the duo won the RAW Tag Team titles from the New Day.

The "Personal Colossus" of Styles was and still is treated as a huge deal. He's literally a titanic presence and hasn't suffered a pinfall once he debuted at WrestleMania 37. He won the 25-man Battle Royal at Survivor Series that commemorated The Rock's debut 25 years ago.

There has recently been some tension teased between him and Styles, so he could be off on his own in 2022. He still looks a little stiff in the ring and his facial expressions need work.

A lot of his issues are size-based but those have been protected due to his pairing with Styles. Overall, he has less of a ceiling than Braun Strowman did but can still be used effectively going forward.

Grades: Reggie - B-; Omos - B+

#4. WWE added Shotzi, Aliyah and Toni Storm to SmackDown in 2021.

Shotzi joined the WWE main roster in the spring of 2021. She was paired with the now-released Tegan Nox as a tag team. The duo defeated then-champs Nattie and Tamina in several matches but never received official title shots.

After the draft, Shotzi remained on SmackDown but turned heel by attacking Sasha Banks. She was a member of Team SmackDown at Survivor Series. Shotzi has all of the tools to be a major player in WWE if she is booked favorably. Although she lost in her initial singles match to Flair, she looked good in defeat.

Aliyah had been a part of NXT for more than five years. She was "traded" to RAW as Mandy Rose joined NXT. She didn't officially debut in a match until the build-up to Survivor Series. She has come across as likable and scrappy and the WWE Universe responded to her plight when she was removed from Survivor Series.

Toni Storm has the most potential out of the three. She is a former stalwart of NXT UK and NXT. SmackDown desperately needed new faces in the division and ones that matter. Storm will likely face Flair at Day 1 after winning via disqualification on the latest SmackDown.

If Flair dominates the roster like she traditionally has, then it makes the product stagnant and predictable. She isn't necessarily that much better than everyone else but has always been booked that way. Storm would be the perfect choice to dethrone the Queen. That would make Friday nights more exciting for WWE.

Xia Li was also drafted to SmackDown but only appeared in vignettes. While it wasn't a match, she made her official debut on the latest SmackDown. Li helped Naomi against Sonya Deville, Nattie, and Shayna Baszler. She is still a bit raw and won't be graded here.

Grades: Shotzi - B; Aliyah - B-; Toni Storm: B+

#3. Austin Theory and Rick Boogs both offer comedy and impressive physicality to WWE.

Austin Theory popped up on the WWE main roster in 2020. He had a tag team match at WM 36 but was sent back down to NXT. He was drafted to RAW this year after appearing at Indi Hartwell's wedding before the NXT reboot.

During his limited time on RAW, he has attacked legends in order to take selfies with their prone bodies. It might be an annoying gimmick, but it has gotten Theory heat. The fans loathe it when he attacks someone like Rey Mysterio.

Because of his actions, he replaced one of the Mysterios on Team RAW at Survivor Series. He had a good showing and was paired with Mr. McMahon the next night following the whole egg fiasco that started at that PPV.

He received a WWE title match against Big E for admitting his part in stealing the egg. Since then, Theory has appeared alongside Mr. McMahon on multiple RAWs to learn things from the Chairman. That wasn't done if big things weren't in Theory's future.

Rick Boogs appeared as the hype man and eventual tag team partner of Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. He first appeared to introduce Nakamura as 'King Nakamura' until the latter gave up the crown for this year's King of the Ring tournament.

Nakamura has rarely defended the IC title since winning it. Instead, he's been placed into tag team matches alongside Boogs. Boogs has a similarly chaotic energy to that of Mojo Rawley. For whatever reason, however, Boogs doesn't come across as annoying as Rawley did.

The crowd loves Boogs and loudly participates whenever he introduces himself and Nakamura. In the ring, he's fallen back on his amateur wrestling background. WWE needs characters to differentiate stars from each other.

Boogs is certainly a character and one with infectious energy. His ceiling is hard to gauge outside of his partnership with Nakamura, but he does have potential.

Grades: Austin Theory - B; Rick Boogs - B-

#2. Rhea Ripley and Doudrop should be important pieces of WWE for years.

In 2020 and early 2021, WWE pushed Bianca Belair as a top-name player. She won the 2021 Royal Rumble and then the SmackDown Women's title at WM 37. The last person eliminated in that Rumble was Rhea Ripley.

Ripley was coming off a successful run in NXT, having won the NXT Women's title and WarGames. Ripley defeated Shayna Baszler for the title. Before that, Baszler had been one of the most dominant women in NXT history.

After seven eliminations and lasting until the final two in the Royal Rumble, Ripley sat in limbo for a month. She was instantly inserted into the RAW Women's Championship scene once Charlotte Flair was deemed unable to compete at WM 37. The Nightmare would challenge and defeat then RAW Women's Champ Asuka.

Flair's return immediately coincided with involvement in the RAW Women's title picture. It wasn't long before she defeated Ripley for the title at Money in the Bank.

After title posturing for a SummerSlam match, Ripley and A.S.H. won WWE Women's Tag Team belts from Nattie and Tamina. In her first year on the main roster, Ripley has won both singles and tag team gold.

What hurt her mystique again, however, was falling to Flair. Ripley's first year was pretty good and beating Flair would have made the grade higher. It's not her fault for the booking.

Doudrop debuted as a "protege" of Eva Marie. It meant that Doudrop would do all of the dirty work for the vapid Eva Marie. She stood up for herself and has been positioned as one of the powerhouses in RAW's women's division.

She has agility that goes well with her size. That combination makes her truly unique. It's not something that comes along every year. Doudrop has battled Belair recently, proving to the EST that there are some other strong women in WWE.

Grades: Rhea Ripley - A-; Grade for Doudrop - B-

#1. Damien Priest helped a non-WWE performer to a great showing at WM 37.

Damien Priest's WWE career seems like something that could have happened to Karrion Kross or Keith Lee. All three are talented big men but only Priest remains in WWE. He's also the only one to win a title on RAW or SmackDown.

The Archer of Infamy was a mid-carder in NXT, winning the NXT North American Championship. He debuted in this year's Royal Rumble, eliminating four stars while lasting for 15:34. After that, he became a regular on RAW.

His first main-roster feud was with the Miz and John Morrison. Priest's first major task was to make rapper Bad Bunny seem like a legitimate WWE Superstar. The four had a tag team match at WM 37 with Bunny and Priest picking up the win. The U.S. Champ recently revealed that he was almost replaced in that match.

Because Priest was willing to help a non-athlete in a major match, his stock rose. After suffering minimal losses, Priest defeated Sheamus at SummerSlam for the United States Championship. He still holds the title as 2021 comes to an end.

With so many releases this year, WWE will need to push some different stars. Priest appears to be on the trajectory to be one of those stars.

He has also recently undergone some character development. When he's pushed too far in a match or situation, he seems to change to the dark side. It's an exploration of both of his names.

Since Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, Jeff Hardy, Kross, Lee, Aleister Black, and Daniel Bryan are all gone from WWE, there are voids to fill.

Priest has shown management that he's willing to do whatever he is asked to do. That, coupled with his in-ring game, adds up to a star with a promising future in WWE.

Grade for Damien Priest: A-