2020 came with its share of hardships and triumphs, but it was a heart-wrenching year for the most part. The COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing crisis, but the new year still came with the hope for a fresh start.

For most of us, that meant a chance to lose some of those quarantine pounds and make resolutions we'll forget in a few months. On the other hand, 2021 is another opportunity to see our favorite wrestlers seek out new matchups and achieve new accomplishments.

Sadly, it's still unclear when wrestling fans will be able to return to live shows. However, there is still plenty for WWE's and All Elite Wrestling's audiences to be excited about. The Royal Rumble is set for January 31, which means the Road to WrestleMania is well underway. Meanwhile, AEW is amid an unprecedented crossover with Impact Wrestling, and its next pay-per-view event, Revolution, is scheduled for the end of February.

In short, there's so much we don't know, but there is plenty to look forward to. With 12 months of wrestling ahead of us, let's take a look at some dream WWE and AEW matches that must happen this year.

Private Party vs. Top Flight

In November, the up-and-coming duo of Darius and Dante Martin became the newest addition to AEW's stacked tag team division. After two appearances on Dark, the company laid out the red carpet for the breakout independent stars, granting them a tag titles match with The Young Buck on the Nov. 18 episode of Dynamite.

Ahead of their televised debut, AEW aired a vignette about the Martin brothers that made it clear that Nick and Matt Jackson saw something special in them. It looked similar to the spotlight the AEW world tag team champions put on another pair of upstarts, Private Party.

Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen came in from House of Glory with a load of momentum, defeating The Young Bucks in the first round of the AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament. However, they lost to The Lucha Brothers in the semifinals and haven't yet had the success that many fans hope to see them enjoy.

A blockbuster match with the new kids on the block could be a great way to start the year for both teams. Their high-flying styles would make for a crowd-pleasing bout, and it would give Private Party a chance to separate themselves from the pack again.

The Usos vs. The Street Profits

The Street Profits have been a pleasant surprise on WWE's main roster. The exhilarating team of Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins have been the most consistent tag team in the company for nearly a year.

Ford and Dawkins defeated Murphy and Seth Rollins on the Mar. 2 episode of Raw to become the tag team champions. They held the titles for 223 days, the longest reign since the belts became exclusive to the red brand. Following the 2020 WWE draft, The Street Profits swapped titles with SmackDown titleholders The New Day, making them the blue brand's champions.

Their move to Friday nights and new tenure also meant they were only the second team to secure gold on all three of WWE's main brands, following in the footsteps of the first triple crown tag team champions, The Revival.

On Friday, The Sultans of Swag lost their titles to Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. But they are still the premier team on the blue brand, an honor that used to belong to The Usos. Jey Uso has established himself as a singles competitor over the past few months, but it's only a matter of time before Jimmy returns and they look to reclaim their spot on top of the division.

Assuming they will be heels when they reunite, a feud with The Street Profits makes the most sense for The Usos. After the Profits' win over The New Day at Survivor Series, Jimmy and Jey would present an interesting test for them.

Miro vs. Wardlow

In September, Miro made a surprise debut on AEW Dynamite. The highly anticipated move came after the Superstar formerly known as Rusev insisted that he was done with wrestling following his release in April.

Many fans saw this as a godsend for the Bulgarian star, who was hampered by WWE's baffling booking decisions. Rusev was such an amazing in-ring talent with great comedic timing, so he seemed like a potential main eventer. Unfortunately, he never made it out of the midcard or past WWE's obsession with lowbrow storylines featuring his real-life wife, Lana.

AEW allowed Miro to reinvent himself and take on some new challenges. His new character is hit or miss at best, but we're still salivating over the host of fresh opponents lined up for him. Straight away, a match with Wardlow seems like a home run.

These are two massive human beings, and their styles could be complementary. Moreover, it would also give AEW something different, as most of its top stars are smaller guys. This could be a stepping stone that establishes one of them as a contender for the world title.

Kofi Kingston vs. Big E

Surprisingly, WWE has done nothing that significant with The New Day since they split up during last year's draft. A few weeks after that event, Big E appeared alongside his friends decked out in Gears of War armor at Survivor Series like nothing happened.

To be fair, The Purveyors of Positivity's resident powerhouse has kicked off his run as a singles competitor with new theme music, recorded by rapper Wale. Additionally, he defeated Sami Zayn to become the new intercontinental champion on Christmas Day.

Those are great steps forward for Big E, but it's hard not to feel like he could have done that on the same brand as Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. There are so many other stories WWE can tell without breaking up the trio for good.

This raises the question: Can Kingston and Big E have a competitive matchup in 2021? It would create an interesting dynamic because the former WWE champion has always been considered the biggest star of the three, and his peers admire him so much. These real-life friends have such a strong bond that it would be a bad idea to break them up for good, but a friendly challenge would be an ideal way to build up E as Kingston's equal.

Hikaru Shida vs. Deonna Purrazzo

So far, AEW's crossover with Impact has revolved around Kenny Omega, Don Callis and a long-awaited Bullet Club reunion. On the most recent episode of Dynamite, the Good Brothers became the first members of the other promotion to invade Daily's Place.

Although there is no sign that this will be a full-blown invasion angle similar to The Alliance vs. WWE in 2001, this opened the door for other Impact stars to step into an AEW ring. There are so many possibilities, but the women's division could use this exposure the most.

AEW's use of its women's roster is easily the weakest aspect of its programming. Yes, it's steadily improving thanks to new faces from the indy scene like Leyla Hirsch and Alex Gracia, and Hikaru Shida has been an excellent fighting champion. However, it could use a major storyline and some star power to move the needle.

Enter Deonna Purrazzo. The Knockouts champion had a phenomenal run in 2020 after WWE released her, cementing herself as one of the hottest stars in the company. Incidentally, she was supposed to appear at independent show All In before she joined NXT. So the story kind of writes itself if she wanted to come to Dynamite and challenge Shida.

Purrazzo has experience working in Japan, so there's no doubt these two could have an excellent match. Furthermore, Shida has already beaten a former NWA women's world champion in Thunder Rosa. Stepping up to face another company's flag-bearer would add more prestige to AEW's women's title.

Asuka vs. Io Shirai

Asuka vs. Io Shirai makes so much sense that it is unbelievable that it hasn't already happened in some form. The two Japanese wrestlers have crossed paths several times throughout their careers.

They have both had classic matches with Meiko Satomura, and they have many mutual friends. The two even famously formed a trio with the Genius of the Sky's sister, Mio Shirai, called The Triple Tails in 2010. Still, The Empress of Tomorrow and the former Ace of Stardom have never had a one-on-one match together. It almost feels criminal.

Now that they are both WWE superstars, it seems like it's only a matter of time before they rectify that. Asuka and Shirai are both champions of their respective brands, Raw and NXT, and they both had strong stints in 2020. The second Joshi Judas moves up to the main roster, there should be plans to get them in the ring together for a high-profile match.

This is such a monumental matchup that it would be perfect for WrestleMania or SummerSlam. Many of WWE's more cynical fans may predict that the company will fumble this. After all, this is the same promotion that somehow overcomplicated AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. So just booking it isn't exactly foolproof. Nevertheless, this dream match should be a top priority as Shirai's time with NXT winds down.