Year End Wrestling Observer Awards voting begins

[The Fray Movement]

Haven't posted here in awhile, but here are my WON Awards...

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Wrestling Observer Awards
December 1, 2014 - November 30, 2015

LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD FOR WRESTLER OF THE YEAR 


1. Sasha Banks


2. John Cena

3. Kazuchika Okada

MMA MOST VALUABLE FIGHTER 


1. Abstain

MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER 


1. Bayley

2. Katsuyori Shibata

3. Jimmy Rave

MOST OUTSTANDING FIGHTER


1. Abstain

BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW 


1. Ronda Rousey


2. Conor McGregor


3. John Cena

FEUD OF THE YEAR 


1. Sasha Banks vs Bayley


2. Kamaitachi vs. Dragon Lee


3. Brutal Bob vs. Cheeseburger

TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR 


1. The New Day (Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, & Big E)


2. Chad Gable & Jason Jordan

3. The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Michael Bennett)

MOST IMPROVED 


1. Nikki Bella


2. Roman Reigns


3. Watanabe

BEST ON INTERVIEWS 


1. The New Day (Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, & Big E)


2. Rusev


3. Adam Cole

MOST CHARISMATIC 


1. Shinsuke Nakamura


2. Sasha Banks

3. Dalton Castle

BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER 


1. Drew Gulak


2. Timothy Thatcher


3. Virus

BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD FOR BEST BRAWLER 


1. Drew Galloway


2. Pentagon Jr. 


3. Katsuyori Shibata

BEST FLYING WRESTLER 


1. Aerostar


2. Neville


3. Ricochet

MOST OVERRATED 


1. Charlotte

2. Kane

3. Alberto del Rio

MOST UNDERRATED 


1. Luke Harper

2. Mascara Dorada

3. Cesaro

 

PROMOTION OF THE YEAR 


1. Dragon Gate


2. EVOLVE


3. WWE

BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW 


1. WWE NXT


2. Lucha Underground


3. ROH

PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR 


1. Sasha Banks vs Bayley - NXT Takeover: Respect - 10/7/2015
2. Sami Zayn vs Neville - NXT Takeover: R-Evolution - 12/11/2014
3. Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns - Wrestlemania - 3/29/2015

MMA MATCH OF THE YEAR 


1. Abstain


ROOKIE OF THE YEAR 


1. Chad Gable
2. Jay White
3. Kazusada Higuchi

BEST NON-WRESTLER PERFORMER 


1. Xavier Woods

2. Dario Cueto

3. Izzy

BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER 


1. Rev. Dan Wilson
2. Corey Graves
3. Rob Naylor

WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER 


1. Booker T


2. Jerry Lawler


3. The Pope

BEST MAJOR SHOW OF THE YEAR 


1. NXT Takeover: Respect - Orlando, FL - 10.07.2015
2. ROH Winter Warriors Tour: Atlanta - Atlanta, GA - 02.21.2015
3. EVOLVE 51 - Ybor City, FL - 11.06.2015

"CATEGORY B" AWARDS - PICK ONE IN EACH CATEGORY. WINNER CHOSEN ON THE BASIS OF FIRST PLACE VOTES.

WORST MAJOR SHOW OF THE YEAR 


AAA Triplemania

BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER 


Nikki Bella’s Bellahammer (Running Elbow/Forearm Smash)

MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC 


Using Reid Flair's death to further the Charlotte/Paige feud

WORST TELEVISION SHOW 


Monday Night Raw

WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR 


Jay Briscoe vs Michael Elgin vs Tommaso Ciampa vs Hanson - ROH 13th Anniversary - 3/1/2015

WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR 


Team BAD vs. Team PCB vs. Team Bella

WORST PROMOTION OF THE YEAR 


Global Force Wrestling

BEST BOOKER 


Ryan Ward\Paul Levesque

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR 


Paul Levesque (NXT Brand)

BEST GIMMICK


Dalton Castle

WORST GIMMICK 


The Dollhouse

BEST WRESTLING BOOK 


Abstain

BEST WRESTLING DVD 


Daniel Bryan - Yes! Yes! Yes!

[shoe]

Fray I popped at your Izzy vote. I think Johnny Sorrow will love that you refer to it as WWENXT.

[victory]

Edit - Nevermind, I figured out my dumb question.

[Parties]

LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD: 1) John Cena, 2) Roman Reigns, 3) Sasha Banks
MMA MOST VALUABLE FIGHTER: 1) Ronda Rousey, 2) Conor McGregor, 3) Holly Holm
MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: 1) Timothy Thatcher, 2) Cesaro, 3) Virus
MOST OUTSTANDING FIGHTER: 1) Conor McGregor, 2) Demetrious Johnson, 3) Robbie Lawler
BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW: 1) Floyd Mayweather, 2) Ronda Rousey, 3) Conor McGregor
FEUD OF THE YEAR: 1) Sasha Banks vs. Bailey, 2) Rockstar Spud vs. EC3, 3) Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi
TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR: 1) The New Day, 2) The Brass Ring Club (Cesaro/Tyson Kidd), 3) Dinestia Felino
MOST IMPROVED: 1) Bailey, 2) Xavier Woods, 3) Roderick Strong
BEST ON INTERVIEWS: 1) Xavier Woods, 2) Conor McGregor, 3) Big E
MOST CHARISMATIC: 1) Bailey, 2) Sasha Banks, 3) Big E
BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER: 1) Timothy Thatcher, 2) Virus, 3) Hechicero
BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD: 1) Roman Reigns, 2) Brock Lesnar, 3) Kongo Kong
BEST FLYING WRESTLER: 1) Dragon Lee (II), 2) El Barbaro Cavernario, 3) Aerostar
MOST OVERRATED: 1) HHH, 2) Kenny Omega, 3) Kane
MOST UNDERRATED: 1) Cesaro, 2) Hechicero, 3) Trauma II
PROMOTION OF THE YEAR: 1) UFC, 2) NXT, 3) CMLL
BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW: 1) NXT, 2) Guerreros del Ring (CMLL), 3) Lucha Underground
PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR: 1) Sasha Banks vs. Bailey (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn), 2) Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar (Wrestlemania 31), 3) EC3 vs. Rockstar Spud [Hair vs. Hair] (TNA, 3/13)
MMA MATCH OF THE YEAR: 1) Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald (UFC 189), 2) Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustaffson (UFC 192), 3) Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm (UFC 193)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: 1) Chad Gable, 2) Jay White, 3) Dana Brooke
BEST NON-WRESTLER PERFORMER: 1) Summer Rae, 2) William Regal, 3) Dario Cueto
BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER: 1) Mauro Ranallo, 2) William Regal, 3) Brian Stann
WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER: 1) Matt Striker, 2) Steve Corino, 3) Josh Matthews
BEST MAJOR SHOW: 1) NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, 2) Wrestlemania 31, 3) UFC 189 (July 11, 2015)
WORST MAJOR SHOW OF THE YEAR: AAA Triplemania 23 (8/9/15)
BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER: Dragon Lee - “Operación Dragon” (Somersault plancha)
MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC: Reid Flair’s cameo in Paige/Charlotte feud
WORST TELEVISION SHOW: WWE RAW
WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Togi Makabe (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9)
WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR: PCB vs BAD vs Team Bella
WORST PROMOTION: AAA
BEST BOOKER: Ryan Ward
PROMOTER OF THE YEAR: Dana White
BEST GIMMICK: Bailey
WORST GIMMICK: The Authority
BEST WRESTLING BOOK: Backlund: From All-American Boy to Professional Wrestling's World Champion (Bob Backlund & Rob Miller)
BEST PRO WRESTLING DVD: Abstain / haven't seen any

[InYourCase]

LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR)

1. AJ Styles

2. Jay Lethal

3. Kazuchika Okada

 

MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER

1. Chris Hero

2. Daisuke Sekimoto

3. Akira Tozawa

 

FEUD OF THE YEAR

1. Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe

2. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley

3. Drew Galloway vs. Roderick Strong

 

TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR

1. Twin Towers (Sato & Ishikawa)

2. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi

3. YAMATO & Naruki Doi

 

MOST IMPROVED

1. Moose

2 Bayley

3. El Desperado

 

BEST ON INTERVIEWS

1. Nick Gage

2. Jay Briscoe

3. Kevin Owens

 

MOST CHARISMATIC

1. Akira Tozawa

2. Shinsuke Nakamura

3. Kazuchika Okada

 

BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER

1. Zack Sabre Jr.

2. Chris Hero

3. TJ Perkins

 

BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD (BEST BRAWLER)

1. Drew Galloway

2. Minoru Suzuki

3. Kongo Kong

 

BEST FLYING WRESTLER

1. Flamita

2. Matt Sydal

3. Mike Bailey

 

MOST OVERRATED

1. Kurt Angle

2. Seth Rollins

3. Kane

 

MOST UNDERRATED

1. Luke Harper

2. Tama Tonga

3. Katsuhiko Nakajima

 

PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

1. Dragon Gate

2. Big Japan Pro Wrestling

3. New Japan Pro Wrestling

 

BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW

1. NJPW on AXS

2. Ring of Honor

3. Lucha Underground

 

PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. Shingo Takagi vs. Masaaki Mochizuki 11/1 Osaka

2. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi 1/4 Tokyo

3. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 1/4 Tokyo

 

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

1. Jay White

2. David Finlay Jr.

3. Kazusada Higuchi

 

BEST NON-WRESTLER

1. Papa Briscoe

2. Truth Martini

3. Dario Cueto

 

BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

1. Mauro Ranallo

2. Josh Barnett

3. Abstain

 

WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

1. JBL

2. Matt Striker

3. Jerry Lawler

 

BEST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

1. Dragon Gate Gate of Destiny 11/1 Osaka

2. New Japan Wrestle Kingdom 9 1/4 Tokyo

3. ROH Winter Warriors Tour 2/21 Atlanta

 

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WORST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

1. WWE Night of Champions 9/20 Houston

 

BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER

1. Akira Tozawa’s Package German Suplex

 

WORST TELEVISION SHOW

1. TNA IMPACT

 

WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. Jay Briscoe vs. Hanson vs. Michael Elgin vs. Tommaso Ciampa ROH 3/1 Las Vegas

 

WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR

1. PCB vs. BAD vs. Team Bella

 

WORST PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

1. TNA

 

BEST BOOKER

1. Genki Horiguchi

 

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR

1. Triple H

 

BEST GIMMICK

1. Yosuke Santa Maria

 

WORST GIMMICK

1. The Dollhouse

 

Best Pro Wrestling Book

1. Yes! Yes! Yes! The Story of Daniel Bryan

 

BEST PRO WRESTLING DVD

1. Best Friends with Teddy Hart

[Timbo Slice]

Well, looks like I have to prove myself again in 2016 for best announcer.

[Bierschwale]

Just out of curiousity , what's with the Xavier Woods as best Non-Wrestler shit? He's clearly a wrestler.

 

He had about three moments where he was supposed to be taken seriously as a wrestler all year.

 

Also, I just want him to actually win; I don't like them enough in-ring for them to win Best Tag Team, I don't think that TND would get Best on Interviews being a stable, and even though I get why you'd vote them for Best Gimmick, the thought that they actually have the best GIMMICK going (They're self-aware and clever college-educated black men in the WWE! They act like dick versions of themselves in real life! What a concept!) makes my stomach turn.

[Robert S]

Styles won pretty convincingly wrestler of the year, Tanahashi, Okada and Nakamura were close together on places 2-4. Best WWE wrestler was Cena on 5. The top 10 in most outstanding had 6 New Japan wrestler (Styles who won, Tanahashi, Okada, Nakamura, Ishii and Ibushi) plus Rollins and Cesaro from WWE, Hero and Strong. The rest did not contain many noteable results except maybe that WWE only ranked 7 on the promotion of the year award (when was the last time they were that low?). Of course TNA smoked them in worst promotion.

[C.S.]

Not a new issue, but dumb as fuck that UFC is contending for the same awards as wrestling - such as Feud of the Year.

 

 

1. CONOR MCGREGOR VS. JOSE ALDO (342) 1,995
2. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (216) 1,684

How are the two even comparable? One is real life and the other is a storyline.

I get that Dave thought expanding the Observer to include UFC would increase his readership, but I think there should be separate awards for pro wrestling and MMA.

Full list here (and in the Observer newsletter itself, of course): http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/21/10805104/2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-awards-analysis

[WrestlingPower]

Not sure why I haven't noticed this before, but why do the announcer categories say "TV Announcer"? Are announcers for promotions that are DVD only supposed to be excluded? I realize that the major promotions with TV get the most coverage but it seems like there's been an undercurrent for years among the Observer universe that lower level promotions aren't important or significant enough to compare against the "big time".

 

I'm not going to take the time to break it down but I've always found it odd which awards are considered Category A vs. B, mainly why is Worst Announcer the only "Worst" award in category A?

 

I recently listened to the podcast coverage of the awards and does it seem like Meltzer doesn't actually vote in his own awards anymore? Years ago he used to write feature articles in December breaking down Wrestler of the Year candidates trying to help himself with the voting. For someone as involved as he is in the HOF discussion it seems odd to me how disconnected he seems toward these awards.

[Timbo Slice]

Man, the end of year shows I did weren't in the WON calendar, but I never heard anyone clearly talk about Zayn/Neville as a MOTYC when people were making their lists. That seems like a pretty egregious oversight.

[El McKell]

Not a new issue, but dumb as fuck that UFC is contending for the same awards as wrestling - such as Feud of the Year.

 

 

 

1. CONOR MCGREGOR VS. JOSE ALDO (342) 1,995

2. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (216) 1,684

 

How are the two even comparable? One is real life and the other is a storyline.

 

I get that Dave thought expanding the Observer to include UFC would increase his readership, but I think there should be separate awards for pro wrestling and MMA.

 

Full list here (and in the Observer newsletter itself, of course): http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/21/10805104/2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-awards-analysis

The two are easily comparable, they're both a series of interactions leading to a fight between the competitors, where we grade them based on their ability to entertain us and generate interest in seeing the fight. If you think for a second that the stuff Conor McGregor was coming out with was 'real life' and not just him trying to say what would draw the most money while simultaneously being as entertaining as possible then you probably didn't watch much of the build to that fight.

 

 

There are separate awards for MMA and pro wrestling with the only exceptions being best feud and box office draw, and maybe best/worst gimmick if someone wanted to vote a fighter for those.