2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards

They’re out for the year and as usual I’ll be taking a look at each one and giving my take on whether or not I think Meltzer (yes I know the fans vote on them and if you think most of them aren’t just repeating what he says, you’re missing the point) got it right. I’ll just be listing the winners and any other names in the top three that merit a vote. Also keep in mind that I don’t watch a ton of puro so my knowledge is limited. Also, this is a wrestling site, not an MMA site, even though some people seem to think they’re the same thing. There are a lot of these so I’m just going to give a quick response to each.

Wrestler of the Year – AJ Styles

Uh……yeah I can go with that I guess. I’d have taken Cena due to how great the US Open Challenge was but Styles didn’t get a bad review all year and wrestled almost EVERYWHERE.

Most Outstanding Wrestler – AJ Styles

It’s another year and again I ask: what’s the difference between this and Wrestler of the Year?

Feud of the Year – Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo

Well at least they’re not wasting time this year, though can you imagine a wrestling match that ended in 13 seconds being considered a great blowoff to a feud? The top wrestling feud was Bayley vs. Sasha Banks, which is either my first or second pick as well.

Tag Team of the Year – Young Bucks

Of course. Next.

Most Improved – Bayley

This isn’t the easiest year to argue against. I don’t think anyone can argue that Bayley isn’t better than she was last year as she’s now the biggest star in NXT. I can go with this one again, even though it’s not one I would have thought of.

Best on Interviews – Conor McGregor

Heyman was second and again that’s fine, though I would have given it to Owens, who came in third.

Most Charismatic – Shinsuke Nakamura

Yep. No argument on that actually. The dude is a machine.

Best Technical Wrestler – Zack Sabre Jr.

I haven’t seen him actually but I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews for him so this isn’t surprising.

Best Brawler – Tomohiro Ishii

I saw his match at Wrestle Kingdom and it really wasn’t brawling. Then again it was barely professional wrestling either so I’ll go with a headscratch here. Brawling isn’t really a thing these days in mainstream wrestling so this is a hard one to pick.

Best Flyer – Riccochet

Neville didn’t even make the top three. Seriously?

Most Overrated – Kane

Who rates Kane highly in the first place? Reigns is second. This should of course be the Young Bucks.

Most Underrated – Cesaro

For years I’ve thought underrated and overrated should be changed to under/over utilized as it always seems like what they’re going for. Cesaro is considered awesome but he’s never pushed. That’s not the same as being underrated, which would also seem to be the case with Kane being overrated.

Promotion of the Year – New Japan

If you didn’t see this coming, you haven’t been paying close enough attention. NXT isn’t in the top three, though that could be considered part of WWE (also not in the top three).

Best Weekly TV Show – NXT

Yep, with Lucha Underground second. Dang it Meltzer give me something to get mad at you over!

Match of the Year – Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi

You knew it would be something from New Japan, though to be fair I gave this an A. Bayley vs. Sasha from Brooklyn was third.

Rookie of the Year – Chad Gable

That’s fine.

Best Non-Wrestler – Dario Cueto

Second is Paul Heyman and third is Xavier Woods. As in the guy that has already wrestled multiple times this year alone and is a Tag Team Champion. I get what they’re going for here though.

Best Announcer – Mauro Ranallo

Again, no surprise here.

Worst Announcer – John Layfield

Second is Cole and third is Lawler. I’m fine with this…..again.

Best Major Wrestling Show – Wrestle Kingdom IX

I didn’t even have to look at the results. Wrestlemania was third, after UFC 189.

Worst Major Wrestling Show – TripleMania XXIII

This has been the running answer all year and I’m not surprised. Third though was TLC, which really took me by surprise. If nothing else the three way ladder match alone would have carried it higher than third worst of the year.

Best Wrestling Maneuver – Styles Clash

Second was the Rainmaker (IT’S A FREAKING CLOTHESLINE!) and third is the Meltzer Driver, which has to be a joke instead of a real pick. The Clash is good but move of the year? As in the move that broke Yoshi Tatsu’s neck? That’s the best there is? Really?

Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic – WWE Using Reid Flair’s Death in An Angle

Yeah this isn’t surprising again. What is surprising is the Divas Revolution in second. Yeah it was stupid but disgusting?

Worst Match of the Year – Psycho Clowns vs. Villanos

Yep. Second is the Royal Rumble (which I rewatched a few days ago and yep) but third is Erick Rowan vs. Big Show in a stairs match…..from 2014. Come on now man that’s my thing.

Worst Feud of the Year – Team PCB vs. Team Bella vs. Team BAD

Yeah I think I can go with this. It’s not so much that it was bad but more that it kept going for months and never went anywhere.

Worst Promotion of the Year – TNA

Can we just rename this the TNA Award? You would think after a nine year run it might be time.

Best Booker – Paul Levesque/Ryan Ward

As in the NXT bookers. I’m so glad that that promotion is getting the credit it deserves this year.

Promoter of the Year – Dana White

The first wrestling promoter is Takaaki Kidani of New Japan.

Worst Gimmick – Stardust

Well yeah, though I’m not sure how to define his gimmick. I’d have gone with Mex-America, which came in second.

This is more proof that this is a really weak year for awards. Everything has been pretty easy and there really isn’t a lot that jumps off the page at me. It’s really just been one predictable category after another and that can make for a lame awards season. At least NXT got the respect it deserves here which had me a bit worried coming in.