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.
Bryan Alvarez was completely dumbfounded by Bayley winning most improved. “Did I miss something? When was she bad?”
Dave’s response. “Well she was good. She got better.”
The dude gets lost in his own work.
Wrestler of the Year – overall including promos, matches, etc.
Most Outstanding Wrestler – who had the best matches.
That’s how I’ve always looked at it.
Yeah……really no need for both.
Yeah it’s pointless having both especially this year when the same guy wins them.
I think w/ best finisher, the reason why the Rainmaker won in 2012-13 was how it was used in Okada’s matches rather than how flashy it was, think the Masterlock when Chris Masters was still a main eventer. Masters made the move part of his gimmick where no one could get out of it, no matter how hard the victim tried. Okada made the Rainmaker come out of no where and if you got hit, match is over. He won.
Same goes for the Styles Clash this year, Yoshi Tatsu wasn’t the first person that year to get his neck broken by it. Back in his match with Naito last year at Wrestle Kingdom 9 (about a month or two from when Yoshi got hurt and AJ was bragging about it), pay attention to how the crowd reacted when he set it up. The Styles Clash became AJ’s Masterlock. He took a bad situation, rolled with it, and turned probably the least threatening-looking move into the most dangerous looking move without hurting anyone else, (like Ox Baker’s Heart Punch).
Really? Neville? He his no where close to deserving the top spot for best high flyer. That just sounds like a WWE mark comment.
I love how people say that like it’s a bad thing.
Neville is pretty lame, shouldnt be in the top 3 honestly.
Stardust is the dumbest, most annoying and guaranteed fast forward thing on wwe. everything he does is the worst. not even a decent wrestler just a famous last name.
i hate the Young Bucks but what other team has more better matches than them? The New Day is great but their matches are not.
Kane sucks. its 2016 why is he still around and getting title shots?
Cesaro is 100% underrated in the sense that he is super duper over, puts out great matches constantly… yet doesn get used at all. except to lose. because god knows no one else on the roster can be a designated jobber.
lol why was it posted here?
You using the term “WWE Mark” is a great indication your head is firmly stuck up your ass.
KB, you forgot to put the following awards in this post:
Best Gimmick – The New Day
Best Pro Wrestling Book – “Yes!: My Improbable Journey to the Main Event of WrestleMania” by Daniel Bryan and Craig Tello
Best Pro Wrestling DVD – “Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Ah I see. Those weren’t on the list I saw for some reason.
“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?”
Stephanie almost threw away an entire division filled with the most promise it’s had in a decade just because she wanted us to be reminded of how gigantic her dick is. That’s pretty disgusting.
“l 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”
He gets it right about as much as you do. You both tend to be good writers with some ego colouring some opinions. good work though:)