Systems and methods are disclosed herein to provide improved channel estimation in a wireless data communication system, including but not limited to Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communication systems. In accordance with one or more embodiments and aspects thereof, a channel estimation system is disclosed that regenerates a representation of the original transmitted signal from the received digital bitstream and selectively applies it to refine and improve channel estimation and signal equalization calculations using the data symbols contained within received frames. Such a system may offer improved capabilities such as more accurate signal reception, reduced bit error ratio, and improved Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO) reception.