LogFAQs > #893350107

Best Personality
Previous Winners:
2016: Daniel Bryan
2015: Dario Cueto
2014: Paul Heyman
2013: Paul Heyman/Ultramantis Black
2012: Paul Heyman/JBL

Third Place: Paul Heyman
Second Place: Dan Lambert
Winner:Hiromu Takahashi

Honorable Mentions: Miz, Johnny Mundo, Dario Cueto, Daniel Bryan, Young Bucks

This was the first year that regular on-screen personalities had the opportunity to square off against wrestlers' performances, and the results were quite interesting. First of all, the Best New Character winner also claimed the Best Personality award, and it's quite clear why Takahashi has won over so many. The character is so pitch-perfect. Both heelish and facelike, the sympathetic death of Daryl won over even the most cold-hearted fans while the brutal feud with KUSHIDA continued to highlight Takahashi's darker side.

Despite only being active on TV at the tail end of the year, Dan Lambert's run on Impact! really won over some fans. His work with American Top Team and especially Bobby Lashley has shown that there's more than one way to manage an MMA guy in the sports entertainment world. Of particular note was his fantastic promo where he brought a bag of old wrestling belts and mockingly quizzed the audience on where the belts were from. It's clear that Lambert is not only a great MMA personality but also a fan of the wrasslin' business, and he's genuinely a delight to watch on TV.

Paul Heyman claimed third place. Always in the top handful of personalities, Heyman may not have appeared often, but when he did... it counted. Throughout the year, Heyman cut great promos. But most importantly, he helped to build up the legitimacy of his client's opponents; look at the fantastic post-match promo he cut on AJ Styles. AJ isn't diminished in his loss - instead, Heyman raves about AJ's skills in the ring and virtually claims that if Brock didn't exist, AJ would be the top guy.

I was a little surprised Miz got any votes for best character. This year has not been a particularly banner year for Miz, most likely due to the brand switch. Johnny Mundo worked well as the top heel on Lucha Underground, and Dario Cueto is always a delight. Daniel Bryan, despite being off-screen for chunks of the spring and summer, easily dwarfed his current Smackdown rival, Shane McMahon. And the Young Bucks are always crowd-pleasers wherever they go.
---

"Reading would be your friend." ~Dave Meltzer