Most of what I've seen this year has been WWE and NXT with the odd bit of NJPW or ROH sprinkled in. Accordingly, my choices will probably be almost entirely WWE-centric.
Wrestler of the Year: AJ Styles
Honourable Mentions: Roman Reigns; Finn Balor; Samoa Joe; Sami Zayn
Not that he was bad pre-Mania when he was getting his feet on the ground versus the likes of Miz and Jericho (hope you haven't all forgotten about Y2AJ vs New Day, which was balls-to-the-wall), but post-Mania he has silenced all the doubters. His matches with Roman are among the very best of the year. His TV work against the likes of Sami, Del Rio, KO, and everyone in the post-Mania four way has lived up to his pre-WWE reputation. Nobody brings higher quality wrestling to WWE on a more consistent basis.
Match of the Year: Samoa Joe vs Sami Zayn, 2/3 Falls
Honourable Mentions: Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor @ Takeover: Dallas; Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles @ Payback; Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles @ Extreme Rules; American Alpha vs The Revival @ Takeover: The End
I doubt this will be a popular choice. But to me, this match captured so much of what made me fall for Joe in the first place over a decade ago. It was a return to form for both men as this was easily the best performance yet from post-injury Zayn. As the match went on, Sami's qualities as a never-say-die underdog seemingly fuelled Joe's qualities as an okay-I'll-kill-you-if-that's-what-you-really-want badass.
Show of the Year: Takeover: Dallas
Honourable Mentions: The NXT episode with the 2/3 falls Zayn vs Joe match
I briefly considered the honourable mention because it included nothing except a short William Regal promo and my personal favourite match of the year. For me, that's a high-quality hour of television. But Takeover: Dallas was a thrilling ride from start to finish and possibly one of the greatest top-to-bottom cards in company history. You can't ask for a hotter opener at the moment than the red-hot American Alpha and the bound-to-be-overlooked-on-the-main-roster (I love hyphens!) Revival. And if the lowest point on your card is the debut of Austin Aries against indie-killer Baron Corbin, you know you're on the right track. Sami vs Nakamura was exactly what most people wanted it to be and is going to receive plenty of attention on a lot of people's lists. Bayley vs Asuka was exactly the colossal collision Mania weekend demanded of the previous year's standout division, from the hype-as-all-fuck video package to the heartbreaking finish. The match will be seemingly overlooked because of what it followed, but it's easily the best women's match WWE has produced this year. And saving the best for last, Finn and Joe closed the show in style. I wish I could credit the intensity of this one to Joe and Joe alone, but Finn kept up. Joe's blood raise the temperature a few degrees during this main event confrontation. Definitely a MOTY contender.
Female Performer of the Year: Asuka
Honourable Mentions: Bayley; Becky Lynch; Charlotte
Okay, someone's probably going to slap me on the wrist for not lumping these performers in with the wrestler of the year category. And perhaps rightly so. If I felt there were standouts who were potentially the wrestler of the year, their names would be up there. As it stands, I feel there are many males outperforming the entire female roster this year. Which isn't meant to be an insult, as WWE's female talent is definitely still producing high quality work. Asuka is a fantastic standard-bearer for the NXT division at the moment and Bayley continues to impress while she's in a pre-call-up holding pattern. Unfortunately, the main roster has a fantastic way of dulling the enthusiasm we all had about several performers who spent the bulk of last year in developmental. Becky's a great face and Charlotte's a worthy top villain. Aside from that, I lack enthusiasm for much of what's going on up there. That says more about the booking than the performers, but unfortunately I feel compelled to reflect those feelings here. I can only give people marks on what I've seen, regardless of the talent I know is waiting to shine on the big stage. Now that Sasha's big push seems poised to begin, I'll likely have a lot more to say about her in six months.
Tag Team of the Year: The Revival
Honourable Mentions: American Alpha
Flip a coin to make your choice between these two if you absolutely must -- it's that close. There's no wrong choice here. I've gone with Dash and Dawson because of their Roadblock title defense and their squash of Jamoke #1 and Jamoke #2. Seriously, that was an all-time great squash. If I were Gallows and Anderson, I'd be looking over my shoulder for these guys.
Disappointment of the Year: Daniel Bryan retires
Honourable Mentions: Brock Lesnar vs Dean Ambrose
Since I don't want to be sad about Daniel Bryan (who had an incredibly positive and uplifting retirement speech, a testament to the kind of character he has, and WHY HIM, TAKE ANYBODY ELSE, WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE HIM), I'm going to take this opportunity to rant about Lesnar vs Ambrose. Those fuckers took one of my biggest dream matches, gave it the perfect build, and then somehow allowed one of the top matches of the biggest show of the year to end without a final act? Are you shitting me? You build Ambrose up as a guy who is too stupid to stay down, you tease all those weapons, and you let the match end with a whimper? How did that match end with anything other than a) Brock finally showing respect for the Lunatic Fringe or b) a fucking homicide? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!
Surprise of the Year: Shane McMahon returns and... is booked to fight the Undertaker?
Honourable Mentions: None
It created buzz, but I'm still confused -- What was in the lockbox?!
Add more categories if you want.
Wrestler of the Year: AJ Styles
Honourable Mentions: Roman Reigns; Finn Balor; Samoa Joe; Sami Zayn
Not that he was bad pre-Mania when he was getting his feet on the ground versus the likes of Miz and Jericho (hope you haven't all forgotten about Y2AJ vs New Day, which was balls-to-the-wall), but post-Mania he has silenced all the doubters. His matches with Roman are among the very best of the year. His TV work against the likes of Sami, Del Rio, KO, and everyone in the post-Mania four way has lived up to his pre-WWE reputation. Nobody brings higher quality wrestling to WWE on a more consistent basis.
Match of the Year: Samoa Joe vs Sami Zayn, 2/3 Falls
Honourable Mentions: Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor @ Takeover: Dallas; Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles @ Payback; Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles @ Extreme Rules; American Alpha vs The Revival @ Takeover: The End
I doubt this will be a popular choice. But to me, this match captured so much of what made me fall for Joe in the first place over a decade ago. It was a return to form for both men as this was easily the best performance yet from post-injury Zayn. As the match went on, Sami's qualities as a never-say-die underdog seemingly fuelled Joe's qualities as an okay-I'll-kill-you-if-that's-what-you-really-want badass.
Show of the Year: Takeover: Dallas
Honourable Mentions: The NXT episode with the 2/3 falls Zayn vs Joe match
I briefly considered the honourable mention because it included nothing except a short William Regal promo and my personal favourite match of the year. For me, that's a high-quality hour of television. But Takeover: Dallas was a thrilling ride from start to finish and possibly one of the greatest top-to-bottom cards in company history. You can't ask for a hotter opener at the moment than the red-hot American Alpha and the bound-to-be-overlooked-on-the-main-roster (I love hyphens!) Revival. And if the lowest point on your card is the debut of Austin Aries against indie-killer Baron Corbin, you know you're on the right track. Sami vs Nakamura was exactly what most people wanted it to be and is going to receive plenty of attention on a lot of people's lists. Bayley vs Asuka was exactly the colossal collision Mania weekend demanded of the previous year's standout division, from the hype-as-all-fuck video package to the heartbreaking finish. The match will be seemingly overlooked because of what it followed, but it's easily the best women's match WWE has produced this year. And saving the best for last, Finn and Joe closed the show in style. I wish I could credit the intensity of this one to Joe and Joe alone, but Finn kept up. Joe's blood raise the temperature a few degrees during this main event confrontation. Definitely a MOTY contender.
Female Performer of the Year: Asuka
Honourable Mentions: Bayley; Becky Lynch; Charlotte
Okay, someone's probably going to slap me on the wrist for not lumping these performers in with the wrestler of the year category. And perhaps rightly so. If I felt there were standouts who were potentially the wrestler of the year, their names would be up there. As it stands, I feel there are many males outperforming the entire female roster this year. Which isn't meant to be an insult, as WWE's female talent is definitely still producing high quality work. Asuka is a fantastic standard-bearer for the NXT division at the moment and Bayley continues to impress while she's in a pre-call-up holding pattern. Unfortunately, the main roster has a fantastic way of dulling the enthusiasm we all had about several performers who spent the bulk of last year in developmental. Becky's a great face and Charlotte's a worthy top villain. Aside from that, I lack enthusiasm for much of what's going on up there. That says more about the booking than the performers, but unfortunately I feel compelled to reflect those feelings here. I can only give people marks on what I've seen, regardless of the talent I know is waiting to shine on the big stage. Now that Sasha's big push seems poised to begin, I'll likely have a lot more to say about her in six months.
Tag Team of the Year: The Revival
Honourable Mentions: American Alpha
Flip a coin to make your choice between these two if you absolutely must -- it's that close. There's no wrong choice here. I've gone with Dash and Dawson because of their Roadblock title defense and their squash of Jamoke #1 and Jamoke #2. Seriously, that was an all-time great squash. If I were Gallows and Anderson, I'd be looking over my shoulder for these guys.
Disappointment of the Year: Daniel Bryan retires
Honourable Mentions: Brock Lesnar vs Dean Ambrose
Since I don't want to be sad about Daniel Bryan (who had an incredibly positive and uplifting retirement speech, a testament to the kind of character he has, and WHY HIM, TAKE ANYBODY ELSE, WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE HIM), I'm going to take this opportunity to rant about Lesnar vs Ambrose. Those fuckers took one of my biggest dream matches, gave it the perfect build, and then somehow allowed one of the top matches of the biggest show of the year to end without a final act? Are you shitting me? You build Ambrose up as a guy who is too stupid to stay down, you tease all those weapons, and you let the match end with a whimper? How did that match end with anything other than a) Brock finally showing respect for the Lunatic Fringe or b) a fucking homicide? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!
Surprise of the Year: Shane McMahon returns and... is booked to fight the Undertaker?
Honourable Mentions: None
It created buzz, but I'm still confused -- What was in the lockbox?!
Add more categories if you want.
