Board 8 > All-Purpose Year-End Wrestling Awards 2017

(+) Yeah! (+)

It's the first of the year, and therefore it's time to take a look back at the very best and worst of the year in wrestling. Whether you're a New Ja-fan or a WWE mark, the year certainly was full of its ups and downs. Thankfully, 10 ballots will do all of the hard work for you today.

Voters could make three nominations in each category, and each nomination was weighted based on the placement amongst the three. Here are the categories:

Best Wrestler
Best Match
Best Event
Best Feud
Best Angle
Best Promotion
Best Program
Best Female
Best Tag Team
Best Personality
Most Improved
Best New Character
Best Theme Song
Worst Angle
Worst Wrestler
Most Embarassing Wrestling Fiasco
Least Improved
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Least Improved
Previous Winners: This is the first year!

Third Place: Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt (tie)
Second Place: Dolph Ziggler
Winner: Roman Reigns

Dishonorable Mentions: Baron Corbin, Curt Hawkins, Ricochet, Sasha Banks, Undertaker

It was clear early on in the voting process that most of the negativity towards WWE was coming out of a few choice feuds. Still, it was surprising to see Roman on this list for a number of reasons. Firstly, Roman had remained out of the public eye for a lot of the year. Of course, he did have a major gaffe on the biggest stage of the year, but for several months afterwards he was able to hide behind a few popular angles and matches. It seems that this lack of exposure helped to cement a position of mediocrity for many this year. Perhaps his Shield return also hurt.

Ziggler went from one of his best feuds ever (and one WWE's best in recent memory) to a year of nothing. Booking was bizarre, writing was weak, and Ziggler was left with nothing.

Orton and Wyatt appropriately tied after they managed to drag each other down early in the year with a critically and commercially lambasted feud that stretched from the Rumble past Wrestlemania.

This category saw nearly twenty names thrown into contention, the second-most different nominations of this year's awards.
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Most Embarassing Wrestling Fiasco
Previous Winners: This is the first year!

Third Place: Rich Swann Goes to Jail
Second Place: Sexy Star Does an Armbreaker
Winner: Everything TNA

Dishonorable Mentions: The Misadventures of Michael Elgin, Lavar Ball Goes to WWE, Racist Gimmickry in WWE, Taeler Hendrix's Fakery, Enzo Takes over the Cruiserweight Division

Assault? Nude photos? Going into business for yourself? None of this comes close to the sheer failure of TNA as a company. In this calendar year, it changed names three times, moved locations, caused a company to slash other profit-making divisions, and watched as the man in charge drunkenly stumbled around Mexico's most-viewed show of the year. Someday, the story of TNA will be taught in business schools around the world. Truly, a fascinating study in the exercise of stubborn futility.

For her part, Sexy Star quickly became one of the most hated wrestlers in the world after she clearly and intentionally injured Rosemary at TripleMania. And Rich Swann's run-in with the law, while more recent, still made enough impact to land the third place spot.

All of this somehow pushed Paige and Del Rio out of even the top 8, and kept JBL's Don't Be a Star, Be a Bully campaign far from the top.
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It really says something about TNA that I didn't even think to include it in that category simply because I expect them to be a disaster at this point.
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Worst Wrestler
Previous Winners: This is the first year!

Third Place: Baron Corbin
Second Place: Lana
Winner: Jinder Mahal

Dishonorable Mentions: Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Shane McMahon, Sexy Star, Enzo Amore

Lana actually landed more votes than Jinder, but Jinder had some clear haters push him to the top, winning by only one point. It's clear that Jinder is not a main event-caliber superstar. His interminable feud with Randy Orton only served to reinforce the midcard nature of his skill and prowess. But the fans were not going to get behind a clear attempt to expand the marketplace at the expense of a good show. Jinder saw house show attendance decline during his reign as well as ratings, and it was only a matter of time before he began a slow descent down the card. Overexposure is likely the culprit in this win.

Lana, the current producer favorite on Total Divas, spent a chunk of the year truly demonstrating ineptitude the likes of which have not been seen since Sable tried to Powerbomb Marc Mero on live television. Her brief feud with Naomi saw her screentime shrink almost exponentially from match to match. Interestingly, the match was longer on Total Divas than on Smackdown. Go look it up.

Corbin and the other Dishonorable Mentions mostly suffered from being overpushed in fans' eyes. Shane McMahon worked more matches this year than last, Roman remains a man loathed as the symbol of WWE's disinterest in a segment of its fandom, and Baron and Orton were party to some very uninspired storylines that led to mediocre matches. Ultimately, it's clear that on some level, Worst Wrestler is part and parcel with worst storyline.
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More awards tomorrow... stay tuned!
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Huh, shame for Jinder. Certainly don't think he belongs as the worst

And neither does Corbin. You could absolutely argue "most overpushed" or "most overrated", sure
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I wouldn't even say Roman as least improved. He's still put on some great performances this year, he's just not as over as they want him to be still. And that is a pretty important thing to achieve as a wrestler, but sometimes it feels like it hardly matters what he does the fans are gonna reject him because they know he's the backstage choice.
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I didn't see any of Reigns' 2017 but it's not like he was ever that bad of a wrestler. He just doesn't belong in the spot he's in.
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Kinda feel sorry for Lana, she's a great talent who just isn't suited for in ring action. She's a bad wrestler, but a very misused member of the roster.

Jinder's fair game, if we're going with flat out worst wrestler, I can find a Mexican guy in his 60s who can barely move...or I can just take Nakanishi who is used as an opening act to get some guys over.

Though I don't feel like that's the spirit of the category. What hurts Jinder is that his push was so strong when you had AJ Styles on the same brand carry himself like a true franchise player. All of his flaws get magnified, so it's like Roman Reigns/Daniel Bryan, only Jinder came out of nowhere and Roman at least spun off from the Shield before his major singles push.
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XIII_rocks posted...

Huh, shame for Jinder. Certainly don't think he belongs as the worst

And neither does Corbin. You could absolutely argue "most overpushed" or "most overrated", sure

Jinder is the worst cause women weren't going to win.

And you can't argue Corbin as single most overrated or over pushed unless Roman died from Christmas to New Years Eve and we missed it...

I'll admit that my #1 was Randy Orton this year for worst wrestler. He has the most minutes of boring me over the course of the year.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

I'll admit that my #1 was Randy Orton this year for worst wrestler. He has the most minutes of boring me over the course of the year.

The smoothest technician in the promotion except the retired GM, AJ and Zayn is who you considered the worst?

Orton's only a smooth technician when he tries, which is never. His feuds against Mahal and Wyatt produced some of the most universally maligned matches in wrestling this year.
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NBIceman posted...

Orton's only a smooth technician when he tries, which is never. His feuds against Mahal and Wyatt produced some of the most universally maligned matches in wrestling this year.

Ok, one was because Mahal was the worst male wrestler in the company....

The other is solely because of Fucking Vince!!!!!

ChampionCloud posted...

The smoothest technician in the promotion except the retired GM, AJ and Zayn is who you considered the worst?

The most important aspect to being a sports entertainer is to entertain. Orton phoned it in every week.
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ChampionCloud posted...

NBIceman posted...

Orton's only a smooth technician when he tries, which is never. His feuds against Mahal and Wyatt produced some of the most universally maligned matches in wrestling this year.

Ok, one was because Mahal was the worst male wrestler in the company....

The other is solely because of Fucking Vince!!!!!

What I see in both of those situations is one common denominator.
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Vince can't make your matches suck
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scarletspeed7 posted...

ChampionCloud posted...

NBIceman posted...

Orton's only a smooth technician when he tries, which is never. His feuds against Mahal and Wyatt produced some of the most universally maligned matches in wrestling this year.

Ok, one was because Mahal was the worst male wrestler in the company....

The other is solely because of Fucking Vince!!!!!

What I see in both of those situations is one common denominator.

What should Orton have done?

An 8 minute WM match and the dumbest gimmick match since the other Vince put Judy on a forklift that they also took the Title out of the feud.

And the other was Jinder.....

CeraSeptem posted...

Vince can't make your matches suck

Bullshit.....

Brisco and Patterson have a LEGITIMATE Negative 5 star match.

Wanna explain how that is not Vince?

ChampionCloud posted...

What should Orton have done?

Tried.
ChampionCloud posted...

An 8 minute WM match and the dumbest gimmick match since the other Vince put Judy on a forklift that they also took the Title out of the feud.

There are some great eight minute matches. There are also some hilarious bad gimmicks out there. Booker T and Stone Cold had a fight in a supermarket, and it was so bad it was good. Orton doesn't throw himself into the gimmick so it feels like shit. That's the biggest problem. If you just let yourself have fun with something, it will get over with fans. IE: Damien Sandow as the Miz's bodyguard.

ChampionCloud posted...

And the other was Jinder.....

AJ Styles at least tried.
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ChampionCloud posted...

CeraSeptem posted...

Vince can't make your matches suck

Bullshit.....

Brisco and Patterson have a LEGITIMATE Negative 5 star match.

Wanna explain how that is not Vince?

He was not in the match.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

ChampionCloud posted...

CeraSeptem posted...

Vince can't make your matches suck

Bullshit.....

Brisco and Patterson have a LEGITIMATE Negative 5 star match.

Wanna explain how that is not Vince?

He was not in the match.

This stupidity that a Booker can't force a bad match is melting my brain....

There as no chance "Canadian Rules" was ever gonna be a good match, and that has bohing to do with Storm and everyone else involved.

ChampionCloud posted...

There as no chance "Canadian Rules" was ever gonna be a good match, and that has bohing to do with Storm and everyone else involved.

Duchess of Queensbury Rules has actually aged really, really well.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

ChampionCloud posted...

There as no chance "Canadian Rules" was ever gonna be a good match, and that has bohing to do with Storm and everyone else involved.

Duchess of Queensbury Rules has actually aged really, really well.

Duchess of Queensbury also wasn't nearly as poorly booked as Canadian Rules was.

No, I was just saying that it can be done right. It's not a booking issue necessarily. There are definite booking issues on that same pay-per-view.
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Baron Corbin is awful
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Oh woops i never went back and fixed my vote.

Oh well.

Thanks again for taking this off my plate scar!

I want to defend Reigns as least improved some too - he spent the entire year in feuds that - aside from his feud with Strowman - were bad and non memorable.

Even in the things that he was a part of that WERE enjoyable he was a weight on them.
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I think his feuds haven't been that good mostly because they've been trying to find a role for him where he won't get boo'd out of the building by smark fans but also where he's still somewhat important. So they've had him a bit in the upper echelon of the card for a bit, then have been juggling him between that and mid card, kinda struggling to find the right spot, which now he has the IC Title so maybe he'll stay put in a role for a bit.

Also, his feuds haven't been memorable because creative has been kinda afraid to make the feuds last longer than one PPV. His feud with the Undertaker hardly had any build at all, his feud with John Cena only lasted one match, and then the Shield thing just hardly seemed to work because they had Dean and Seth working together so Roman felt left out. Not to mention, Dean got hurt.

I'm not trying to say he's the best on the roster but Roman really did not do bad this year himself, aside from dropping his end of a promo with John Cena once and getting blasted for it by Cena the next second. The one feud that really had time to breathe and grow, which was his feud with Strowman, worked really well because of both him and Strowman doing good work.
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CeraSeptem posted...

Vince can't make your matches suck

He can add projected images of bugs to your match that youre forced to stop wrestling for
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tag
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Jakyl25 posted...

CeraSeptem posted...

Vince can't make your matches suck

He can add projected images of bugs to your match that youre forced to stop wrestling for

That he can
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Worst Angle
Previous Winners: This is the first year!

Third Place: Jason Jordan Revealed as Kurt Angle's Son
Second Place: Jinder Mahal as Champion
Winner: House of Horrors

Dishonorable Mentions: Bray Becomes Sister Abigail, Bayley/Alexa: This Is Your Life, Shield Reforms, Bruce Prichard and Karen Jarrett Take Over TNA, Stephanie McMahon Creates a Women's Revolution Every PPV

Note: I combined some similar angles together that were related in order to consolidate points here

It was quite clear that this was a year for Smackdown to take over the Worst Angle category, which will be more interesting when we look at later categories. Most of the points in this category can be pinned on two individuals: Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton. It's clear that writing did a real disservice to those individuals this year. The House of Horrors was nearly universally panned upon its debut, and the Sister Abigail angle was laughed out of the arena pretty spectacuarly.

Jinder, for his part, proved to be a pretty uninspiring muse for the writing staff - we had more votes for Jinder and Orton than Jinder and Nakamura, but I personally thought the Jinder-Shows-Pictures-of-Nakamura to be the most utterly terrible angle of the year. I think Jinder is a real team player and probably a nice guy, but he's everything wrong with lazy writing in WWE.

It's impressive that Bayley and Alexa couldn't even crack the Top 3, but given its position on the card and the amount of time that has passed since that angle, it's understandable.
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All these dumb angles come off as karma fpr Bray.
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Best Theme Song
Previous Winners:
2016: Glorious Domination - Bobby Roode theme
2015: Celtic Invasion - Becky Lynch Theme
2014: Sierra Hotel Indigo Echo Lima Delta - SHIELD Theme Song
2013: Patriot - Jack Swagger Theme Song
2012:: Off the Chain (orchestral) Bobby Roode theme song

Third Place: "The Rising Sun" - Shinsuka Nakamura
Second Place: "The Future" - Asuka
Winner: "Phenomenal" - AJ Styles

Honorable Mentions: "Root of All Evil" - Aleister Black, "Sher" - Jinder Mahal, "Glorious Domination" - Bobby Roode, "Kaze Ni Nare" - Minoru Suzuki, "Rainmaker" - Kazuchika Okada

This category is always interesting because it tends to rely a little bit on the wrestler as well as the theme. It's not surprising, for example, that the top themes belong to three of the top stars right now. AJ's theme is actually my personal favorite right now - it's this interesting modern twist on something like a RUN-DMC track. At first I didn't think it fit AJ when he came in to the WWE, but his WWE personality does track well with this theme, and that has a lot to do with why I like it.

Asuka's "The Future" is just a solid theme with a good opening riff that sets up an entrance well. It also has a great cocky air to it, something that I think Asuka plays up in her demeanor in the ring. She's not cocky like a heel, but she has a twinkle in her eye and a swagger in her step that reinforces the theme.

Nakamura, of course, is built around a theme song and an entrance. Thankfully, The Artist Lee England, Jr. has created some very memorable moments in conjunction with this theme at major events, and that helps reinforce what works in this theme. It's a strangely hummable theme - something you wouldn't assume from a first-time listen - and that type of musical infectiousness helps themes endure.

For the honorable mentions, I think there's a lot of fun to be had here. Japan kind of ate itself alive in the voting, spreading itself across a variety of themes, but Suzuki's theme is of course one of the best out of NJPW, and Okada's has been very prevalent throughout the year. Jinder's "Sher" is actually surprisingly good - and as one of the last Johnston themes, holds a special place in my heart. It sounds unlike anything else on the roster.

I was very disappointed Aleister Black's theme didn't make the cut. Excellent track. Catchy but well-written; relevant to the character but still worthy of a listen in isolation. All in all, I expect this theme to move up over the coming years.
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Best New Character
Previous Winners:
2016: <inactive>
2015: Asuka
2014: Bray Wyatt

Third Place: HEEL Sami Zayn
Second Place: Velveteen Dream
Winner: Hiromu Takahashi

Honorable Mentions: Aleister Black, Kairi Sane, Drew Gulak, Fashion Police, Roppongi 3K

There were a lot of great votes that didn't even rate high enough for an Honorable Mention spot, which is a shame.

Looking at the best new characters of the year, I''d have to say that this was the year of a very specific type of heel: the heel you could root for.

Looking at heel Sami, sure he's insufferable (that hasn't changed from his face days), but what makes him work so well is that he's right. There's really no bigger heel than Shane McMahon right now on Smackdown. His unyielding crusade against the Kevin and Sami Show really proves Kevin Owens has been right all along about Shane; Sami is the only person to have seen the light, and his 180 on KO has been sensical in this situation. And let's not forget that every time KO comes out, Sami bouncing along behind him in time with KO's music is really a beautiful little touch. Sami is still Sami, but the entire function and conceit of his character has changed. Brilliant stuff.

Velveteen Dream, had we run this vote in August, would have seen no votes whatsoever. Instead, thanks to a fantastic program with Aleister Black, Dream is so much more nuanced than originally expected. There are two aspects to this story that I think contribute to Dream's success. First, this story really smacks of Razor Ramon vs. Goldust. That story really tapped into something visceral in the hearts of audiences at the time. But this story takes it a step further, pointing out that Dream just wants acceptance at heart. And when Aleister Black walks away at the end of their fantastic match, he gives Dream the acceptance he needs - at a price. Dream earns the support of fans, and it's kind of a heartwarming moment.

Takahashi, of course, just blew a lot of people away. Daryl was truly a highlight of the first part of the year, and one of the most heartbreaking moments in wrestling was the death of Daryl at the hands of Bad Luck Fale. Takahashi was both a great comedic character (his interactions with Naito were fantastic) and a solid dramatic character as well (KUSHIDA and Takahashi was a great feud). There's so much versatility to this character that I would never have guessed just a year ago watching him in Ring of Honor.

As for the honorable mentions, I expect that Drew Gulak will get more exposure over time, as well Aleister Black and Kairi Sane.
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THEY DON'T WANT NONE!

Tag
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Those are the three awards for today. Tomorrow, three more!
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scarletspeed7 posted...

it's this interesting modern twist on something like a RUN-DMC track.

Its very specifically southern rap, the home base of which is the Atlanta region

Which, you know, is where AJ is from
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I don't see how that negates what I said.
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Speaking of AJ, its interesting to think that history will say he took the perfect career path. He built a name in TNA at a time when he couldnt in WWE, bailed PRECISELY at the edge of the cliff for the company, and parlayed his success there to ruling NJPW and WWE.

He wouldnt be where he is if he made the jump any sooner OR much later
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Black as a character is pretty different from Tommy End.

Kari Sane was introduced to us as the Pirate gimmick she's been playing for years. So kinda glad she didn't make the cut.

Time Bomb is just a better character than Kamaitachi so that's a good winner. The feud with Dragon Lee is quickly approaching the stuff of legends tier. The way he has been booked and how focused the character is, you can't help but feel that Hiromu is drawing on some level, from Brian Pillman.
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Well that explains why I like him so much.
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No votes for Daryl?
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NJPW got big at the perfect time for both AJ Styles and for WWE.

A decade of TNA tiers of mismanagement and now their growth has helped turn Japan into a conveyor belt of ready made over talent for WWE and bigger paydays for the guys making the jump.

Big and lucrative enough that a lot of them even get to keep their names!
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I wonder if you can attribute any % of NJPWs western growth purely to Meltzer

I feel like his rave reviews were the foundational push to get neophytes to try it out in 2012

Which gave them enough western buzz for AXS to get interested which brought more people in

Which led to NJPW World offering English broadcasts which brought more people in

Which led to Kenny Omega becoming a western star which brought Chris Jericho in which is bringing more people in
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Jakyl25 posted...

No votes for Daryl?

Nope. I would have included votes for Daryl with Takahashi, however.
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I think the move to UStream did more to help in the west.

That initial level of accessability was what helped, NOAH never offered that and that was peak Meltzer fanboyism.

I'd say Meltzer did do more than MVP's idea of promoting the IC title though.

Though honestly, you could say that Okada's TNA stint was the single most important factor in turning NJPW's fortunes around in the west. Since Okada in TNA got him to know the Bucks, which led the Bucks to come over, which led to them joining Devitt's Bullet Club.
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I think that guys like Styles and Nakamura coming to WWE have helped NJPW as well. Even super-casual fans who watch somewhat regularly know where these guys come from.
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That helped later on, but in the context of 2012-2013, the foundation years for that growth, it was a very different set of factors that helped NJPW.

Listen to Meltzer's WOR after Wrestle Kingdom 6, he buried NJPW and basically called them done under the new ownership group.

Then after WK7 it was a hell of a turnaround.
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