We’re down to the final series with the most important of them all: Wrestler of the Year. Someone has to be the biggest name with the best year and that’s what we’re going to be looking at today. WWE has had a great year and some very talented wrestlers put on a strong series of matches. As usual, these are in no particular order and again: I don’t watch much New Japan so there’s no Omega or Naito.

1. Sasha Banks

It seems fitting to start with one of the women. As great as Charlotte has been this year, I really can’t bring myself to say she’s been that much better than Banks. When the women were put into the new division around Wrestlemania season, it was Banks that the fans wanted to see. She’s been the most popular name in one of the best divisions of the year and that’s noteworthy.

The thing to remember about Banks is that while she’s only twenty four, she’s been wrestling for about six and a half years, putting her way ahead of Charlotte on the experience chart. Banks is also more interesting and had more steam coming up to the main roster, making her a bit more polished than Charlotte for a long stretch of the year.

Above all else though, Banks was right there with Charlotte every step of the way as they rocketed through the history books to become the most important feud in women’s history. These two main evented a pay per view together and it wouldn’t be fair to only give Charlotte praise and credit for doing so. Banks won just as many titles as Charlotte and that’s more than worth a spot on this list.

2. Charlotte

We might as well get this one out of the way now as Banks and Charlotte are basically joined at the hip more often than not. Charlotte showed that she’s one of the best female workers of all time and one of the best workers regardless of gender in wrestling today. She’s just so far ahead of almost anyone else in wrestling and it’s unfair to compare her to most of the female wrestlers in WWE.

I know it’s been harped on over and over but she and Banks main evented a pay per view. Really, that can’t be emphasized enough and the fact that most of the matches between the two of them were good made things even better. Charlotte has been praised by her father as one of the best female wrestlers of all time and for once, Flair actually seems to be accurate in his praise.

The fact that Charlotte has become someone people want to see is such a telling story. She’s become a star and just looks so natural doing so. Charlotte has only been in wrestling for a few years now and she’s already one of the best of all time. If she can stay this good for even longer, I’m really curious to see how far she can go because the sky is the limit.

3. Shinsuke Nakamura

This is an interesting one as Nakamura hit the ground at a full on sprint with an amazing match against Sami Zayn at “Takeover: Dallas”, went on to defeat Finn Balor and then went on to become NXT Champion by the end of the summer. After that things started to go downhill a bit as he traded the title with Samoa Joe before coming out with it again.

However, Nakamura hit the ground running so hard and was so much better than most of the roster for the majority of the year that it’s hard to argue against him being so high up on a list like this. The key here is that Nakamura comes off as a major star and just destroyed so many big NXT names. It was even better because someone caught up with him and gave Nakamura a great feud.

Nakamura seems destined for the main roster in a hurry and that’s a good thing. His signing back in January was one of the top news stories of the year and he’s certainly lived up to the hype so far. I’ve had a great time watching Nakamura kick and knee people very hard and when he’s on his game with someone who can hang with him, he’s one of the most entertaining acts in wrestling.

4. The Miz

I know he might not be the most popular but I’ve been very high on Miz for a long time and this might have been his best year yet. The guy just gets better and better and it’s very nice to see him get the recognition he deserves. His matches have been getting better and better and if you add in that whole promo of his life thing against Daniel Bryan on the debut of “Talking Smack”, it’s hard to suggest otherwise.

The big changing point for Miz might have been having Maryse return as his manager on the “Monday Night Raw” after “Wrestlemania XXXII”. There’s just something so easy to hate about a loudmouth who won’t shut up but has a gorgeous wife. The fact that it’s his real wife makes thing even better because while a lot of things might be fake, their marriage is real. How can you bare to stand him as a result?

All that being said though, it’s getting harder and harder for people to argue that Miz isn’t one of the best around. There are very few holes in his game and 2016 was more proof that he’s ready for the main event scene all over again. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if he picked up another World Title this year and, much like the first time, he’s certainly earned it.

5. AJ Styles

If anyone is flat out ahead of Styles in this race, I don’t know who it is. Styles debuted at “Royal Rumble 2016” and took the company by storm. After a bit of a surprising loss to Chris Jericho at “Wrestlemania XXXII”, Styles was almost immediately in the World Title scene with a pair of great matches against Roman Reigns. Styles went on to defeat John Cena in back to back pay per view classics before winning his first WWE World Title.

This was a coronation after so many years spent toiling in TNA and then a few more taking New Japan Pro Wrestling by storm. Styles was widely considered one of the best of all time to never set a full time foot in WWE and once he got there, he was on fire the whole way. The debut at the Royal Rumble was one of the best moments of the year and he followed it up with classic match after classic match.

Styles has had one of the best years in WWE history and it should be amazing to see where he goes from here. At his age (he turns 40 in June) you can only get so much out of Styles and thankfully he’s doing some of his best work at the moment. I can’t imagine how good he’s going to be when he gets to be at the top of his game on the grandest stage of them all but 2016 was more than enough to earn the chance.

6. Samoa Joe

This is a great example of someone showing up in NXT and then waiting for the right moment before breaking loose like a runaway train. Samoa Joe debuted in NXT last summer and didn’t really do much at first. Eventually he got into a feud with Finn Balor and the two main evented “Takeover: Dallas” in an unintentional bloodbath. Samoa Joe would go on to win the title at a house show and then spent the rest of the year feuding with Nakamura.

The interesting thing about Samoa Joe is how different he really is than the rest of the NXT roster. Yes he’s a big guy and fights against people half his size but he comes off as a huge bully who can back it up in the ring. Not only did he beat Balor and Nakamura but he did so to become the first ever two time NXT Champion. For someone who is considered completely outside the NXT mold, it’s rather telling that he’s the first double champion.

What I like about Samoa Joe is you get what you see: a big guy who wrestles a power style but can throw in more submissions than he knows what to do with almost every time he’s in the ring. Couple that with some surprising athleticism and some GREAT promo work and it’s no wonder that he’s a star on the roster. If nothing else, he’s yet another name on the long list of names that TNA had and let go without much effort.

7. Kevin Owens

How can you not include the longest reigning WWE Universal Champion of all time? Owens might not be having the greatest ending to a year of all time but he was on fire earlier in the year. What started off as a pretty forgettable Intercontinental Title reign turned into a rekindling of the awesome Sami Zayn feud and wound up with him winning his first World Title after Finn Balor went down with an injury.

While Owens can go in the ring, he’s actually far better on the microphone. What I love about Owens is how he turns what should be mundane parts of a match into something either amusing or interesting. Who else do you know who can turn a chinlock into an event? That shows that he’s both thinking and putting in the effort while so many other people just lay there with the hold on and figure out what to do next. The wrestler’s job is to entertain the fans and Owens always seems to be trying to do just that.

Owens is a very interesting case and it’s a shame he’s been saddled with such horrible booking. He’s been the Raw World Champion for several months now and for some reason he’s been playing up to third fiddle on the show. Oddly enough he was better without the title but I have no issue at all with him holding the title this long. The guy is just good and there’s no other way to put it.

8. Chris Jericho

You can’t have one Canadian villain without a second (it’s a law or something). Every time you expect Jericho to be over the hill and running on fumes, he finds a way to reinvent himself all over again. With the power of something as simple as a list of names and things that get on his nerves, Jericho is putting on some of the most entertaining performances of his career at the rather advanced age (for wrestling) of 46.

Jericho is WAY past the point of needing titles but I wouldn’t mind seeing him win any title available to him. You can almost write the Jericho vs. Owens feud from here and given how much the fans are begging to cheer for Jericho, the reaction would be absolutely incredible when they hear that Owens just made the list.

If there is a wrestler who has turned himself into something fresh as many times as Jericho, I’ve yet to see them. Jericho is easily the most entertaining thing about “Monday Night Raw” at the moment and that’s been the case for several months now. He’s outshining everyone and the rest of his year has been incredibly strong as well with some solid matches to back up the talking. Not bad for a guy who debuted over twenty six years ago.

9. Asuka

I know she hasn’t had the most competition in the world but Asuka has run through the NXT women’s division (and some main roster women) like they’re not even there. I’m not sure who could possibly hold up against her strikes but it’s certainly fun to imagine someone having a chance against her.

The idea of Asuka facing off against some of the main roster women is rather interesting and that’s the best thing that can be said about her. Well, aside from the fact that she’s rather awesome in the ring and has a sweet entrance with a catchy theme song. I’m not sure how much else I can say about her but she’s made one heck of an impact with almost no one else being able to touch her.

The difference between Asuka and someone like Brock Lesnar is the simple fact that she doesn’t just do the same stuff over and over again. Let her go out and do her freaky strikes and then finish with either the Asuka Lock or even more strikes. Everyone comes out looking great and Asuka is on top of that list.

With all that being said, of course it’s Styles. It’s been Styles for months now and no one (save for MAYBE Jericho) really came close. When you add up the outstanding matches, great character development and awesome talking plus all the expectations that he had to deal with from the day he made his debut with the company, Styles has risen WAY above what anyone could realistically expect from him. He’s been nothing short of incredible this year and continues to surprise me almost every week. Styles is the wrestler of the year by a landslide.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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This is one of the last two because we’re getting close to the Royal Rumble and that’s FAR too late for the sake of doing a Best of series. Basically today we’re looking at the Surprise of the Year, which I’m going to keep a bit shorter for the sake of time. There are a LOT of options here and it’s going to take forever if I go into a bunch of details. These are in no particular order.

1. AJ Styles Debuts at the Royal Rumble.

Sweet goodness this worked, assuming you can ignore what WWE felt was the more important visual. This was AJ STYLES debut in WWE and for some reason we were looking at Roman Reigns. Styles actually appearing in WWE was almost unthinkable but here it was, in one of the most important matches of the year. That’s one of those moments you remember and it worked really well here.

2. Dean Ambrose Cashes in Money in the Bank.

I know it might not be the biggest in the world but the cash-ins are always cool to see. Ambrose cashed in and beat Seth Rollins for the World Title, which meant that all three members of the Shield were World Champion in the same night. Ambrose actually winning was a surprise as he was a few steps below the other Shield members and he finally won the big one. Well done, especially considering how many times that briefcase has been cashed in before.

3. Goldberg Returns.

For someone who hasn’t been around in over twelve years, Goldberg made one heck of an impact and the place went nuts when he showed up again. Sure it was just for the sake of a video game but the place came unglued when he was announced and it set up a big moment down the line. That’s hard to do with someone from a different generation but they pulled it off here.

4. AJ Styles Beats John Cena Clean.

You know how many people get to beat Cena clean? You can probably count them on your fingers (and toes if you’re a little slow) and Styles is another one to have done it. People were expecting the whole “Cena loses then Cena wins” but instead, Styles becomes one of the few to get away with a perfect record against Cena, which is quite the year for someone who hasn’t been around that long.

5. Zack Ryder Wins Intercontinental Title.

This was one of those things that you just couldn’t imagine happening and the fact that he did it at Wrestlemania is even better. Ryder could barely win a single match and now he’s the Intercontinental Champion. Sure he lost it the next night and sure I’m convinced that it was going to be Neville before his broke his ankle but Ryder won that title and there’s no one that can take it away from him. Well save for Miz of course.

6. Rhyno/Brian Kendrick Have Titles in 2016.

These two hadn’t even been thought of in WWE in years and they manage to win new titles. Rhyno is a bigger surprise given how good the tag division actually is over on Smackdown. I liked his run with Heath Slater even more than I was expecting to and the team worked very well. Kendrick wasn’t the most thrilling Cruiserweight Champion but at least he put on a few good heel performances.

7. Cruiserweight Division Returns.

Speaking of the cruiserweights, they’re back too! This is one of those things that has been talked about for years and they actually did it. I’m not sure we needed a Cruiserweight division but the tournament they used to bring it back was awesome too. 205 Live has become a lot of fun and that’s an even bigger bonus. Good stuff here, which I didn’t expect coming into the division.

8. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Main Events a Pay Per View.

Let me repeat that: women main evented a WWE pay per view. I really don’t think this needs much more of an explanation.

9. Goldberg Squashes Brock Lesnar.

It’s very rare that I sit in awe of something I see on a wrestling show but that’s what happened here. I was genuinely shocked by what I saw and that doesn’t happen. Goldberg didn’t just beat Lesnar but rather DESTROYED him in less than ninety seconds. That’s getting up there with an old Midnight Express time in the main event of a pay per view. Just….dang man.

10. Daniel Bryan Retires.

I’m not sure if this qualifies as a surprise after all the time that Bryan missed from the ring. Still though, the speech itself was incredible and Bryan looked like a star who never had the chance to stay on top. It made him a legend but it was a pretty big shock when we knew he wasn’t coming back this time around.

11. Finn Balor Vacates Universal Title.

The fact that this happened so soon after he won the thing (another surprise in its own right) is what makes this one so big. Balor literally won the title in his third match on the main roster and then he goes down with a major shoulder injury. Above all else: just imagine what happens to his career if he lost that title match. He’d be lucky to get a Cruiserweight Title run at that point.

12. Shane McMahon Returns.

I don’t know how to put this one into words. The wife and I were looking away from the screen and our necks snapped into place as our jaws dropped. Shane hadn’t been around in nearly eight years and yet here he was on Monday Night Raw with his dad all over again. It was a genuine shock and that doesn’t happen in WWE.

13. Another Brand Split.

Again, this is one of those things that is talked about all the time but for once they actually pulled the trigger. I’m still not sure the rosters are deep enough to pull this off but it’s the wrestling world we live in now, McMahons and all. I like the idea well enough and it was certainly exciting, especially for the Draft when it actually happened.

Overall this was a two horse race. I had to think back to how shocked I was over Shane returning and the Lesnar squash and the more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t get my head around Goldberg vs. Lesnar. That to me is the sign of a surprise having lasting power and it’s enough to give the main event of Survivor Series the win here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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What do you get when you put a bunch of wrestlers in one place and have people watch them? You get…..well normally you get a wrestling show but what I’m talking about here is a stable. Today we’re looking at the tag team/group of the year but before we get there, I need to write off a few names that will NOT be on the list for various reasons.

First up are the Bullet Club and Los Ingobernables de Japon. I know who both of them are and I’ve seen some of their work but I haven’t seen enough of them to really put something together about them. Now go ahead and tell me how horrible I am for not watching enough New Japan.

Second, the Young Bucks won’t be on here for reasons of I can’t stand them.

As usual these are in no particular order.

1. DIY.

Do I need to do anything else here besides just showing you their matches with the Revival? That match in Toronto is almost a guarantee for Match of the Year (or a tie in my case) and that makes them really hard to overlook. The guys are just flat out awesome and know how to do this tag team thing like almost no one else can today. They’re entertaining guys and that’s all that matters down in NXT.

What’s even more impressive about DIY is the fact that they were able to do this while following American Alpha, who looked like the best team in a long time. What does it tell you when a team has to follow the best team people have seen in years and manage to outshine them and have an even better match? That just does not happen in wrestling and that’s what we got with DIY.

2. Enzo and Big Cass.

Now this is at the entirely different end of the spectrum as Enzo and Cass aren’t exactly the most technically sound team in the world but they’re just so entertaining almost every single week. If nothing else, just look at them as Woody and Buzz Lightyear on the Halloween episode of Monday Night Raw. That brought a genuine smile to my face and that doesn’t happen very often.

I don’t know if Enzo and Cass will ever be a serious tag team but if all they do is serve as a means to make Cass into a singles star, that’s just fine. Enzo is a great talker and gets to showcase that gift of jab as long as he doesn’t keep getting hurt. Cass is the real star of the team though and there’s a lot of entertainment to be had watching him try to do the East River Crossing on big guys.

3. Broken Hardys.

I’ve talked a lot about how amazing the Broken Universe stuff was in 2016 but what a lot of people overlook is how the wrestling has gone. While Matt might not be the best in ring performer, Jeff is still better than most wrestlers in the company and can more carry the team when they’re actually having matches.

I know the Hardys are entertaining but if you have the Tag Team Titles for so many months, you have to be able to do more than just do some weird stuff in the backyard. Let Jeff do most of the match while Matt gets to be a little wacky on the side but I wouldn’t go much further than that. The key to the Hardys is to keep Matt under control and let the great team be great, which doesn’t happen often enough.

4. American Alpha.

You knew I was going to get here at some point. American Alpha absolutely took NXT by storm and looked like one of the best tag teams of all time. They had one of the best opening matches of all time against Revival at Takeover: Dallas and wound up winning the Smackdown Tag Team Titles to end the year.

That’s where the team moves up a spot for me: not only did they have success on the NXT roster but they also pulled off something special on the main roster in such a short time. They’re one of the most entertaining teams I’ve seen in a long time and are basically the modern Steiners. They even used the Steiner Bulldog as a nice tribute and that’s never a bad thing at all.

5. Revival.

Speaking of American Alpha, this team managed to go from one excellent feud to an even better one with a pair of match of the year candidates. I can’t remember the last time that happened and it’s just amazing to watch. This is a team that just gets how to be villains and while I’m not sure that’s going to work so well on the main roster, it’s made for some outstanding stuff down in NXT.

It’s so rare to see a team that wrestles the old school work on a body part style in the vein of the Andersons and that means we got to see Andersons vs. Steiners in 2016. I had a blast watching that American Alpha match but I was blown away seeing them have a completely different style match against DIY. Maybe they won’t do well on NXT but it was more than worthy of being the best team in NXT.

6. New Day.

Oh yeah you knew we were getting here at some point. New Day might be the most over tag team since the Legion of Doom and that’s some very rare company to be in. They were one of the most over teams you’ll ever see and sweet goodness the pops and merchandise sales are unthinkable. Then there’s the whole longest reigning Tag Team Champions in history and all that jazz.

I don’t know what New Day does going forward but they’re some of the most entertaining tag wrestlers in a long time. They managed to take some of the dumbest jokes in wrestling history and turned them into either a t-shirt or a freaking cereal that was sold in stores. How in the world does that even work? Like….THEY HAVE THEIR OWN CEREAL!

Overall though, I’m going with Revival. I just can’t get over how amazing they managed to become in the ring and having two outstanding matches (not counting the other great stuff they did aside from the two title losses). I’d love to see them on the main roster but if they just have to stay down in NXT and be one of the best tag teams in the last twenty five years, so be it.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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As I’m sure you know, a lot of what goes on in a match isn’t what goes on in a match. A lot of the time it’s what happens outside the ring or before the match starts or just on commentary. That’s what we’re going to look at today: the best non-wrestlers of the year. This could be anywhere from a manager to an authority figure to a commentator or really anything but a wrestler. Hence the term NON-WRESTLER in case you’re a bit slow today. In no order of course.

1. Mauro Ranallo.

Sometimes you just need someone that sounds like they love their job and has a blast watching it. Over on Monday Night Raw you get the corporate shilling Michael Cole (who is very underrated at his job but that’s another story). Over on Smackdown and 205 Live though, it’s Ranallo, who sounds like he’s put in way more research and prep time than necessary but still comes off like one of the most knowledgeable commentators in years.

Ranallo’s major moments came at the Cruiserweight Classic where he made you believe that what you were watching right this instant was the most important thing in the world. In other words, he was doing his job. That’s something that you just don’t get often enough in wrestling these days as everyone either either sounds like an idiot (Byron Saxton), sounds WAY too rehearsed (JBL) or is just a tool that you would rather punch in the face than listen to (Josh Matthews). Ranallo is on the other end and that’s a great perk on Tuesdays.

2. Daniel Bryan.

Speaking of the Cruiserweight Classic, we have the new Smackdown General Manager who can be around for most of the important decisions while Shane McMahon shows up on major occasions. Bryan is still incredibly over and there’s the whole YES thing which is always going to get a crowd involved in a show. It’s always going to work and that’s what matters in Bryan’s case.

On top of that, there’s the Miz thing. I’m still not sure if that’s going anywhere or where it’s going but that makes me want to keep watching the shows to see if anything actually does come from it. That makes for an interesting story, which adds even more to what Bryan can do on his own. That’s really impressive and something not a lot of people could pull off.

3. Corey Graves.

One more commentator here as we have one of the most natural heel commentators in a long time. I never got the big appeal of Graves as a wrestler but I certainly get the appeal of him as a commentator. The guy comes off as such a jerk but a smooth jerk, which is exactly what he’s going for. I can even tolerate him picking on Saxton because….well, it’s Byron Saxton and that’s what he deserves.

Graves just gets the idea behind being a heel and plays the heck out of it. He praises the heels and likes to call out faces for their nonsense, which makes him much more of a Jesse Ventura than a Bobby Heenan. That’s not a bad thing either as Ventura was one of the best of all time. It’s been a long time since we’ve had someone like that and Graves does it like few others could.

4. Maryse.

Let’s go with the women for a bit here as Maryse returned back in April and was all of a sudden the best heel manager in a long time. There’s something about the fact that she can go from wearing the dress and looking all proper to wearing the skin tight leather body suits during Miz’s matches. That’s a great way to show how different her two sides can be and that’s always impressive to pull off.

On top of that she’s raised Miz up that much more. Sure Miz is annoying and a loudmouth but how much more do you hate him because he has an absolutely stunning blonde wife who loves him? It helps so much and makes the whole thing that much better. Miz is a great heel and on an amazing roll but Maryse has helped him so much.

5. Dario Cueto.

We might need to just rename this award after Cueto as he almost always seems to be the perfect option. I can’t emphasize enough how great it is to have an actor playing this part instead of just another wrestler. Cueto has gotten WAY into the character and knows how to play him like no one else could. That’s why the character works: he’s played to absolute perfection.

I know Lucha Underground doesn’t get the most coverage but at least they have some bright spots. Cueto seems to be involved in the major story of the season….whatever that might be. Whatever it winds up being, it’s going to be entertaining because that’s what a good actor is capable of doing with almost anything.

6. Renee Young.

One more good looking blonde for the road. With Young, it’s much easier to list off what she can’t do instead of what she can. I don’t remember the last time we had someone who could do almost everything like she could and that’s a great asset to have. Young is just talented and it was interesting to see her get involved with a storyline as Miz feuded with Dean Ambrose.

It could be an interview, a talking segment, hosting or doing something on the Network but Young just knows how to be charming on camera. It’s always helpful to have a jack of all trades like her around and that’s one of the best things possible. I really wouldn’t be surprised to see her snatched up by ESPN sometime soon so enjoy her while you can.

Overall…..dang this is actually hard. I think I’m going to go with Bryan though, if nothing else due to how much nicer it is to have a face boss instead of yet another corrupt and evil authority figure. Couple that with the chance of Bryan making one more in ring appearance down the line and it’s hard to go wrong with him, even in such a stacked field.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKDV5O

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

This is always a trick one to define. Sometimes there are stories that mean something outside of the ring and often times, those are even bigger stories than anything between the ropes. There were a fair few stories like that this year and for once they don’t all pertain to WWE. These stories are in no particular order and hopefully we have more to pick from next year.

1. Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker

Let’s talk about Hulk Hogan’s sex tape. While the story broke a long time ago, the trial itself actually took place in 2016 and saw Hogan eventually awarded a $31 million settlement which resulted in Gawker closing its doors. Hogan wasn’t exactly shown in the best light but at least it struck a blow for privacy instead of celebrities having their privacy invaded.

Unfortunately it resulted in Hogan basically being removed from WWE programming and anything associated with it. That’s really not the most surprising reaction as the idea of having Hogan shown in a sex tape isn’t exactly the most PG thing in the world. Hopefully we see Hogan back in WWE soon enough, though hopefully with him wearing pants.

2. Billy Corgan Kicked Out of TNA

Just…..wow. So basically TNA was out of money (again) and Billy Corgan offered to loan/give them money to survive through their next TV tapings on multiple occasions. Now here’s the amazing part: he actually WANTED SOMETHING IN RETURN. Yes indeed: a multimillionaire who has several business ventures actually hoped to gain something out of another investment.

Well that’s what Dixie Carter thought was ridiculous, eventually calling Corgan a “predatory lender”. Corgan would be thrown out of TNA with his money back and absolutely no authority in the long term because TNA is ridiculous enough to act like this. There’s a reason they come off as the joke of the wrestling world and this is a great example. Maybe Anthem can help things but this came off as horrible and there’s little other way to spin it.

3. New Japan Talent Comes to WWE

So you remember back in the day where WCW and WWE would steal each other’s talent over and over? Well that’s kind of what’s happening now but WWE took some of the big names. Just after Wrestle Kingdom X on January 4, Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson all jumped to WWE, making it one of the biggest signing periods in WWE history.

This really is a big deal as WWE replenished their roster in one swoop and also punched their only major international competition in the face at the same time. Styles became one of the top stars in the company in his first year and Nakamura seems primed for a main roster run in 2017. It was a huge moment and changed the way WWE looked for a long time to come.

4. UK Championship Tournament and Potential for More

If there’s one thing WWE has seemed interested in doing lately, it’s expanding internationally. On top of that, they love the idea of expanding content on the WWE Network. By running this tournament, they were able to do that in one move. WWE ran a UK Title tournament in Blackpool, England which seemed to open the door for some UK content airing on the Network.

While the tournament was a success, it also seems to have planted the seeds for other tournaments going forward. I know they might not be on the same level as WWE but there are a lot of independent promotions out there which could be major players on the WWE Network. Just imagine one of them getting a weekly spot on the Network going forward. That’s a huge upgrade and opens a massive audience that had never seen them before. It’s certainly something I would check out which I wouldn’t do otherwise.

5. Goldberg Returns

While this was almost certainly tied in with the new WWE video game, it’s still a huge deal that changed several things for WWE. Like having him beat Brock Lesnar in less than two minutes for example. Goldberg was one of the big free agents out there who could wind up being a major player in WWE and that’s what he’s been in one match over the course of several months.

The WWE video game reveal has been a fun day to look forward to every year and that’s what we had here. It’s gotten to the point where someone who is put on the front of a video game gets to appear in WWE, which means we get a major match as a reward. I’m still not sure on Goldberg beating Lesnar like that but at least he gave us a major moment.

6. Shane McMahon Returns

Now this was a big one. I mean, Goldberg wasn’t exactly expected but this was in the range of WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED. As soon as Shane’s music hit, you knew something was changing in a hurry and it made a lot of people very interested to see where it was going. While the story wasn’t all that great, the initial surprise certainly was and that’s important.

This was a big deal because Shane had been gone for so long. It really felt like he was out of the company for good but now things seem to have changed again. I don’t think Shane has any authority behind the scenes but he’s always been the one who felt like he could change things in a much better way. Granted I don’t think that’s going to happen but at least it was a great moment and gave us something to think about.

This might not be the best year in the world for wrestling news stories but it’s definitely the New Japan guys. That’s the kind of story that changes things in two companies and two different wrestling worlds. Those names could all be major players in WWE (Styles already is) and could help WWE expand into other areas of the world.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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We’re down to the final two and this is one of the harder ones to get through. Over the years, wrestling tries all kinds of things to get their wrestlers over. In this case, we’re going to be looking at the worst angles of the year. Which stories that WWE put effort behind wound up going nowhere and doing more harm than good for everyone involved? As usual, these are in no particular order.

1. Cesaro and Sheamus’ Excellent Adventure

Over the course of the end of the summer and a good chunk of the fall, Sheamus and Cesaro engaged in a best of seven series for a future championship opportunity. While the matches were entertaining enough, the fans really seemed to get tired of the same match over and over again. I was one of them and, knowing WWE, I had a bad feeling they would somehow have the series end in a draw and give Sheamus and Cesaro a Tag Team Title match instead.

AND THAT’S JUST WHAT THEY DID! No matter how much people were sick of seeing them fight, now it was time to see them as a tag team who still fought each other despite going after a title. They actually wound up winning the titles off New Day but that doesn’t really make up for everything we had to sit through on the way there.

This was a good example of having to put up with what WWE wanted whether we were interested in seeing it or not. While the end result wasn’t the worst, it was the equivalent of going to the dentist, having a tooth pulled, and then hearing your condescending dad say “oh come on it wasn’t THAT bad”. Yeah, actually it was that bad and in this case it took the better part of four months to finally get to the point.

2. Emmalina Debuts. Eventually.

Injuries are horrible things in any sport and wrestling in particular as there’s no off season to eat up some of the down time. In this case, Emma was put down with a horrible back injury that has left her off TV for several months. While she’s been working house shows as a special guest referee for some of the women’s six man tags, she hasn’t been seen on WWE TV in a long time.

Well not live at least. Instead we’ve been getting vignettes for the Makeover of Emmalina, which really seems to just be Emma in various swimsuits. During her time on the main roster, Emma hasn’t exactly been one of the women to turn up the sex appeal but that’s what we’re getting here for some reason. These vignettes have been going on for months now and there’s no indication that they’ll be ending anytime soon.

The worst case scenario is that this is the female version of Brodus Clay. You might remember that idea: over the course of several months, we were teased with the unveiling of Clay as a monster (which we had seen before). What we wound up with was Clay as a dancer in bright red and called the Funkasaurus. I liked the surprise, but I have a bad feeling about what WWE might find funny.

3. Anderson and Gallows Aren’t Funny

Speaking of comedy, we have this gem. Over the course of the year, Anderson and Gallows chased New Day for the Tag Team Titles, just like several other teams. Anderson and Gallows came close to defeating them a few times but could never actually get their hands on the belts. They could however do one thing over and over: put on some of the worst, most unfunny vignettes you’ll ever see.

The big problem with them was they tried to use the WWE brand of “comedy”, which is to beat you over the head with the same joke until your head hurts from getting the same idea over and over again. These were such brilliant ideas as “New Day is old and we work at a retirement home” or “we’re doctors and want to crush New Day’s testicles”. That’s really the best thing they can do to sell a title match on a pay per view?

Overall it just wasn’t a good idea and I don’t know of anyone who actually enjoyed the vignettes. They weren’t funny and they didn’t advance the story to any special degree. Anderson and Gallows might be able to get in a few little chuckles here and there but they’re not the kind of people who are going to get somewhere by just saying “Hey, here are jokes! LAUGH WITH US!”

4. Roman Reigns vs. Lana

I really don’t even know where to start with this one. So back in the fall, Reigns started feuding with Rusev over the United States Championship. Around the same time, Rusev and Lana were married and spent a lot of time bragging about how amazing their wedding was. One of these nights included a party, which of course had a cake. As you might expect, Reigns came out and crashed the party which included shoving Lana’s face into the cake.

Let me make that a little bit more clear: Rusev and Lana were celebrating the fact that they were married and Reigns shoved Lana’s face into a cake for no real reason other than they were considered bad guys. How in the world is this supposed to make me want to cheer for Reigns in the situation? In what way is he the good guy in this whole story?

I know WWE is obsessed with the idea of making Reigns into the king of all things good and wholesome about wrestling. Somehow though, I don’t think this is the best way to go about the whole thing. People aren’t going to look at Reigns and think he did anything great. Well in theory at least, but I’m not sure I’d want those people to be supporting my product in the first place. This is just a horrible idea that doesn’t make a bit of sense, unless you’re in some weird WWE style mindset.

5. Naked Enzo Amore

It wasn’t a good year for Lana and these stupid stories. One night on “Monday Night Raw”, Big Cass locked Amore out of their dressing room and, because it’s a wrestling show, Amore was missing his clothes. If that’s not bad enough, he then ran into Lana. This turned into an awkward flirting session with Lana seemingly getting into the idea. Rusev wasn’t cool with it though and wound up destroying Amore as a result.

This continued the following week as Rusev and Lana seemingly had a fight, which led to Amore offering a shoulder to cry on. As a result, Lana invited Amore to her hotel room for some, ahem, entertainment. Since Amore isn’t the smartest guy in the world, he accepted and wound up getting one heck of a beating from Rusev, who was of course waiting on them in a trap.

What in the world was the point of something like this? I know it gets us to Cass vs. Rusev but did we really have to sit through Amore hitting on a married woman while standing around without any clothes on? It was awkward, it felt really out of place and while funny, it really wasn’t the best way for them to go.

6. James Ellsworth

Now this is a case where your individual miles may vary. Ellsworth debuted in WWE back in July in a match where he was completely destroyed by Braun Strowman. While being off TV for a bit, Ellsworth would be brought back as a mystery partner for AJ Styles, which resulted in several weeks worth of appearances, including a series of victories over Styles in non-title matches, one of which gained Ellsworth a contract.

Those losses are where a lot of people gave up on the story. Ellsworth wasn’t around long and he was defeating the Smackdown World Champion. I mean, Ambrose was helping him but that doesn’t make it the best idea in the world. It was all about setting up something between Ambrose and Styles and the title was never in any real danger but the champion still lost three times in a row.

That being said, Ellsworth being around was still very tiresome for a lot of people. He overstayed his welcome in the main event and even influenced the ending of the main event at “Tables Ladders and Chairs 2016”. It also doesn’t help that Ellsworth didn’t really gain anything as a result. He’s still the comedy goof that was fun to cheer for over a few weeks but then was just kind of there as the story wouldn’t end.

7. Shane McMahon’s Lock Box

If the Lana stories were just stupid, this one is something that was so confusing that a lot of the audience just gave up trying to figure out what was going on. The problem here was very simple: we never actually got an explanation for what was going on. Shane returned and got into an argument with his father Vince over who would get to run “Monday Night Raw”.

Shane brought up something about a lock box that contained evidence of Vince doing…..something so Shane agreed to put up its contents against running the show. The match wound up being against the Undertaker at “Wrestlemania XXXII” and Shane lost (thankfully). Depending on who you believe, Shane was originally going to win but Undertaker put his foot down.

This brings us to the second problem. After the match with Undertaker was over, Vince just gave Shane control of “Monday Night Raw” anyway, making the whole thing a big waste of time. It was a fun idea when Shane returned but the whole thing wound up being a huge mess over something that was never made clear in the first place. And what did this wind up being? More McMahon drama, because that’s all any of the big stories around WWE would become.

8. Triple H Likes ME Better!

Oh boy this one. Do you remember “Clash of the Champions 2016” with its main event of Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens for the Universal Title? The match itself was fine but do you remember why it was happening? Allegedly it was over the title but I’m talking about the real reason. What were most of the promos about and what did Rollins say his end goal was?

Well that would be proving to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon that HE should have been the chosen one that was receiving the Authority’s backing instead of Owens. That’s right: this was all about Owens and Rollins trying to impress the McMahon and Triple H, the latter of whom had handed Owens the title in a four way elimination match. Think about that for a minute: this match was about people trying to impress their boss, as in the top heel of the company who was never there.

And people wonder why the match and feud was so poorly received. This whole thing was a complete mess and made both guys look like someone who had no idea what they were doing and had no business being anywhere near the main event. When your whole story is about who should have been Triple’s protege and featured star. Not a title, not a personal feud and not even fighting over the profits from a lemonade stand. No, this was all about the Authority and how they were really more important than anything else on the show.

9. The Cabinet

How can I put this? Ah yes: the Cabinet WAS NOT FUNNY. I know everyone went election crazy in 2016 and almost every wrestling promotion tried to do something with it (such as making Darren Young great again) but Ring of Honor decided that they needed a full on election committee.

Comprised of Kenny King, Rhett Titus and Caprice Coleman (all with rather stupid nicknames such as the Secretary of Shoulders), the group wanted to make wrestling great again. It was beating you over the head with an idea and it just wasn’t funny. Everyone knew the story was dead after the election was over and that’s what happened. The team wasn’t done though and then it got even worse.

Now the team is called the Rebellion. Yes the Rebellion, which is just below the Revolution on the list of REALLY STUPID TEAM NAMES THAT EVERY PROMOTION HAS HAD SOME VERSION OF OVER THE YEARS. This was really low intelligence and uninspired booking, which isn’t something that should be happening in Ring of Honor. Be creative with it somehow because this was a disaster.

As tempted as I am to go with Rollins and Owens, I’ve got to go with Cesaro and Sheamus. This was a situation where we knew what they were going to do and then we had to sit through it for months on end with only one ending in sight. I have no idea why WWE wanted to do this one storyline so much or why they kept shoving it down our throats but this is what we were getting, whether we liked it or not. Most people didn’t and WWE did it anyway, which is why it’s the worst angle of the year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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If there’s one thing that can make or break a wrestling show, it’s how the talking is handled. Over the years, a lot of great matches have been set up and then destroyed by horrible promo work. So much of the wrestling business is built on what happens before the bell rings because that’s how you get people to care about the matches. It really is more important than what happens during the actual matches and that’s why it’s so important here. Today, we’re looking at the Best Promos of the Year. Again, these are in no particular order.

1. “I’m the guy.” – Roman Reigns, “Monday Night Raw”, April 4

We’re starting off with an interesting one here as I really don’t think it’s all that great of a speech but it certainly the big line that set up everything for Reigns going forward. It’s a perfect way to sum up Reigns and is the closest thing that we’re going to get to a heel turn, at least for the time being.

Unfortunately, it feels like the definition of a line that was handed to Reigns, who isn’t the best talker in the world. This comes off like the most set up line I’ve ever heard and it doesn’t really make me want to hear more from Reigns at this point. I know WWE wants him to be the biggest name in the company but you need something better than a quick line that doesn’t really change anything but him.

That being said, it still sums Reigns up perfectly, or at least what they were going for with him: you might not want to cheer for him but he’s not supposed to be a straight up good guy. While the delivery might not have been perfect, this line stuck with Reigns for a long time and that’s what they were going for here.

2. “YOU’RE LAST!” – Goldberg, “Monday Night Raw”, October 17

Now this is a little more like it. This is a very simple, to the point and effective line from someone who didn’t talk all that much over the course of his career. Goldberg has one of the most effective catchphrases in wrestling history with a simple statement of “YOU’RE NEXT!” Now that he was back in wrestling with one more match to go, the line of “YOU’RE LAST” was as perfect as it was going to get.

Above all else, this set up the idea that the match was going to be something special. After all the people that Goldberg had run over in his career, Brock Lesnar was going to be the final opponent for a legend. It’s simple, it’s to the point and it gets the message across with something that is going to stick in the fans’ heads as we came closer to “Survivor Series 2016”.

The promo hyped up a single match and the fact that Goldberg almost was almost immediately scheduled for a second match after defeating Lesnar didn’t matter. What was important was setting up the match against Lesnar and two simple words were more than enough to make the fans care about what we were getting. It was certainly a better way than hyping it as “fantasy warfare”, which I’m still not entirely clear on.

3. “Bring me Nakamura or bring me my championship!” – Samoa Joe, “NXT”, October 12

It’s about time we got to something based on violence. As you might have heard, Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe had some issues in NXT over the latter half of the year and it all started when Nakamura defeated Samoa Joe for the title at “Takeover: Brooklyn”. Soon after this, Samoa Joe injured Nakamura and put him on the shelf for the next several weeks.

That meant that the NXT Champion was out of action for a while, meaning Samoa Joe felt that he deserved to be champion again. This led to him making such a demand to NXT General Manager William Regal because for Samoa Joe, it was that simple: he either should be made champion again or get another title shot against Nakamura immediately.

The fact that there was a choice tells you a lot about Samoa Joe. Instead of just wanting to be handed his title, he had no issue with defeating Nakamura in a fight because he knew he could take down the champion on equal footing. It was a great way to set up the rematch and show that Samoa Joe was more than just a regular bully who was going to back down in the face of a challenge. The fact that he delivered it with such rage made the statement come off that much stronger.

4. “Why don’t you quit and go to the Bingo halls with your indy friends?” – The Miz, “Talking Smack”, August 23

Sometimes in wrestling, it’s difficult to tell when someone goes off script and is shooting from the hip. It’s really rare in today’s WWE but this promo made me wonder why the script ended and where reality began. On the debut episode of “Talking Smack”, Intercontinental Champion the Miz exploded on Daniel Bryan, taking severe offense at Bryan’s comments calling Miz a coward.

What followed was a tirade of emotions that Miz has never approached in his entire career. Miz went on and on about how Bryan was the real coward for leaving the fans waiting on his return that was never going to happen. If Bryan loved wrestling that much, why did he not just quit WWE and go wrestle somewhere else? Bryan walked off the set with no response, leaving Miz to look like the conquering hero for one of the only times in his career.

If this winds up leading to a Miz vs. Bryan match and then a potential Miz World Title reign, this is the promo of a lifetime and the moment where Miz reached the level that he’s been building towards for so long. The in ring work might not be at the heights of some others, but this was one of the most emotion filled promos I’ve ever heard and made me want to see these two fight, which is exactly the point (in theory at least).

5. “You’re immortal to them. To me? Dead.” – Charlotte, “Monday Night Raw”, May 23

Speaking of emotion, this one was all about personal emotions between real life family. Charlotte debuted in WWE back in July 2013 and immediately took the women’s division by storm. She would win the Divas Title in October and then become the inaugural Women’s Champion by winning a triple threat match at “Wrestlemania XXXII”. For a long stretch of this time, her father Ric Flair was by her side.

That all changed on May 23 though when Charlotte started talking about how her father was never there for her because he was too busy being the Nature Boy. Growing up, Charlotte wanted to be her father but she had realized that she didn’t need him anymore. Charlotte was the star that her father had once been and she could do it on her own. With her father in tears, Charlotte basically fired him on the spot. Flair’s slow walk up the ramp sold the entire thing to perfection.

This is one of the rare instances where a lot of people can relate to what either of them are going through. Flair himself is the father who only wants what’s best for his daughter and didn’t realize when he had been around too long. Charlotte was the young upstart who thought she could do everything on her own. This was a great way to make Charlotte look like an evil woman who could stand on her own, which she had been ready to do for so long now.

6. “Why are you still here?” – AJ Styles, “Smackdown Live”, August 2

Over the years, John Cena has lost his fair share of matches. A lot of people have defeated him more than once but for some reason he almost never seems to lose the final match of a feud. Cena is the kind of guy who will lose a match and shrug it off without seeming to lose anything as a result.

However, AJ Styles didn’t seem to be too happy with this. Following his victory over Cena at “Money in the Bank 2016”, Styles wanted to know why Cena hadn’t left for Hollywood already. Why was Cena still here after losing to Styles, especially when he wasn’t seeming to be all that upset by a major loss. This led to a rematch being made for “Summerslam 2016”, where Styles would actually win again.

The story here is very simple: Styles was the new star of “Smackdown Live” and saw no reason for Cena, as in the man who lost the match, to still be around at such a high level. The fact that Styles backed it up by winning the rematch made this speech even better as he was proven right, which isn’t something you often see from a heel.

7. “Brother Nero, I knew you’d come!” – Matt Hardy, Impact Wrestling, May 31

Just….dang man. If there is one line that sums up all of Matt’s insanity in one moment, this might be it. It’s the gleam in his eye and you can feel that he just buys everything that he’s saying. The line is the part that people remember but it’s also Jeff wondering what in the world he’s gotten himself into and everything that follows.

Matt might not be everyone’s taste but he’s one heck of a performer and can make you believe that he’s either insane or the greatest wrestling actor in years (aside from people who pretend Stephanie is interesting that is). Just go back and look at his face and see if it doesn’t feel a little creepy.

On top of the one moment, it actually became a catchphrase that the fans seemed to have a very good time chanting. In other words, not only was it a good line but it had staying power going forward. I know it doesn’t prove much in TNA but at least there was one great moment and something that might take them somewhere. Or maybe it just takes Matt back to WWE.

Some of these are better than others but only one actually had the hair on my arms standing up. As unpopular as he might be, the Miz has been on one of the strongest rolls of his life this year. The promo against Bryan might be the best thing Miz has ever done. Almost everything he said was completely accurate and Bryan had NOTHING to say back to him. If this had led to a match (which it still could), it’s one of the best of all time. As it is, it’s the best of 2016.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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A lot can change in the course of a year. Titles will change hands, people will turn face or heel and new memories can be made. All that being said though, the point is that wrestlers are supposed to get better, which is what we’ll be looking at today. We’re going to be looking at the most improved wrestler of the year, which can mean someone either getting better or being used better by the company. As usual, these are presented in no particular order.

1. Heath Slater

This is a case where it’s been about how the character is presented rather than the wrestling itself. Slater has almost always been at least a passable hand in the ring but he’s often little more than a comedy character, especially due to his time in 3MB. That being said, he’s still a comedy character but he’s gone from almost nothing on the card to a champion in 2016, which I don’t think anyone was really expecting.

The key change for Slater has been in actually having a story. This is all about showing the details behind him. Slater isn’t someone we knew that much about, save for him being a former boxer in West Virginia. With the introduction of his family, who were only mentioned and shown in a few segments, Slater has been rounded into a more well developed character and that’s the best thing for him.

Instead of Slater getting better in the ring, he’s gotten better as a character and that’s going to make people care about him far more than they would have otherwise. The fact that Slater was a champion in WWE in 2016 is astounding enough but the fact that people cared about him makes it all the more remarkable. That’s certainly an improvement and a good way to get things going.

2. Alexa Bliss

Now this one is a bit more interesting but again it’s almost all about the character development. Bliss certainly isn’t great in the ring but that’s never been the point to her. I know it’s easy to write Bliss off as eye candy and a passable wrestler at best but she’s turned into one heck of a performer and someone who belongs either near or at the top of the women’s division.

The key to Bliss is in her facial expressions. If you know your wrestling, you know that getting people to hate you is more important than anything you’re going to be able to do in the ring. What’s easier to hate than the gorgeous blonde who thinks everyone else is beneath you? That’s the character that Bliss has given us with just those eyebrows up looks where she basically says everything else here is worthless because it’s not something she’s done.

The “Smackdown Live” women’s division was made from scratch and it’s a major necessity to have some fresh talent brought into the mix. Bliss was called up from developmental a bit too early for most people’s tastes but she’s turned into one of the better developed characters on the show, which says a lot about someone whose in ring debut only came a little over three years ago. It’s been quite a year for Bliss and she’s more than met the challenge so far.

3. Braun Strowman

What a difference a character makes. This is a case where a lot of people are going to roll their eyes but think about it for a second. Strowman is a case where the best response comes from Shawn Michaels. Back at “Wrestlemania XIII”, Michaels was doing commentary on the main event and said Sid was going to stick with his power game because it was going to take him wherever he needed to go.

That’s where Strowman comes in as well. There’s no need for him to do anything more than the big power stuff and that’s what he seems to have figured out. Strowman has gone from any monstrous lackey for Bray Wyatt to one of the few consistently interesting things on “Monday Night Raw” every week. Above all else, he’s finally figured out that all he needs to do is use his size and power to dominate people instead of just running around behind Wyatt all the time. In other words, he’s been booked better and ran with it, which is exactly the point.

Strowman has benefited from figuring out how his character should work and that’s the best thing for him. It’s a very simple character and that’s the right way to book someone who doesn’t have a ton of experience and needs to learn how to work in the ring. I don’t think he’s ever going to become a great worker but he can become a great big man, which is all he really needs to be.

4. Baron Corbin

This is probably the frontrunner and someone very similar to Strowman. Corbin hasn’t been in the ring all that long and didn’t do much besides lay out NXT talent and beat them in about thirty seconds. Now he’s rapidly climbing the card and is coming off like a great bully character who can have a watchable match when he’s given the right circumstances. In other words, he’s learning on the job and turning into the performer that people were expecting him to be.

Corbin is the kind of guy who can become a big deal in a few years, based almost entirely on his look. If he can add in something resembling a personality and the work to go with it, he’ll be a star. This year showed some of the necessary progress and there’s a good chance he’s going to be ready to make the jump a bit sooner than he was expected to. Maybe it’s the coaching or maybe it’s being on the main roster but he’s certainly getting there.

I know there’s a long way to go and he’s going to need more than just a cool finisher but at least he’s getting better. The key there is to grow from the progress already made and thankfully that seems to be happening. Corbin looked like a star in the Smackdown World Title match on the year’s final episode of “Smackdown Live” and in theory, he should be able to grow on that. A few more wins should be enough to elevate him to a new level and that’s good for everyone.

5. Becky Lynch

It really is amazing how much a title reign can help someone. Lynch has been the woman who has never been able to put it all together. She’s the only member of the Four Horsewomen to never win the NXT Women’s Title and it was something that always hung over her head no matter what she did. At the end of the day, the other three were the ones that had the great matches and Lynch just happened to be the one in the ring with them, leaving Lynch as a bonus.

Lynch really was someone who needed a big win to establish herself as the star of the division. It’s pretty clear that she’s better than anyone else on the “Smackdown Live” women’s roster (including Nikki Bella) and is ready to be a big star. She’s a beautiful woman who can more than go in the ring but now she’s won something. The title win was what she needed and that’s what elevated her to the ace of the show status.

In the span of a few months, Lynch has gone from someone with a ton of potential to someone who has realized that potential. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say she could be ready to face Charlotte in a huge feud at the drop of a hat and now that she’s won something, you could believe that she might be able to pull off the upset. That’s quite the jump up in the span of a few short months and one heck of an improvement.

6. Charlotte

So how can she be the most improved when she was already pretty easily one of if not the best in the division already? Simply put, this year Charlotte has separated herself so far from the pack (save for maybe Sasha Banks) that it’s almost unfair. She’s just so much better than anyone else in WWE that she’s a mile ahead of almost everyone. Her matches have gotten even better and she’s doing it without Ric Flair running around in the background. What else can she really do?

That’s where the improvements have come in this year: she’s already great in the ring but now she’s starting to get better on the mic. Now Charlotte is turning into a dominant character and presence in the ring, which means she can put someone over huge when she actually loses on pay per view. The feud with Banks has done wonders for Charlotte and, as was mentioned multiple times during the buildup to their final match, iron sharpens iron. Giving Charlotte someone closer to her level helped build her up even more and she’s at the top of her game.

Charlotte is in a weird place as she’s already the best around and is getting better at such a rapid rate that she’s running out of realistic challenges. That makes things even more impressive for her as she’s getting better despite being above the competition, which is normally what makes you even better. The rest of the division isn’t miles beneath her but she’s running out of people who can really give her a run for her money.

7. The Miz

Next up is someone else who has always been good and is now even better than ever. Miz is an incredibly talented wrestler with his talking making things all the better. Couple that with the promo of his life against Daniel Bryan on the debut episode of “Talking Smack” and this was one of the best years of Miz’s career. Things might get even better in 2017 as Miz could be primed and ready for his second World Title reign and yes, he deserves it.

At the end of the day, Miz is someone who suffers from one major run dragging him down and never being able to come back from it. So many fans can’t seem to get beyond the fact that Miz was in the main event of “Wrestlemania XXVII” and was in WAY over his head with John Cena and the Rock around him. They were the focus of the match and that’s what people can’t get around: Miz not being as strong as two of the best of all time.

In the last few years and especially over the last year, Miz has grown up considerably with the awesome A-lister character. The in ring work is more than fine enough because the character is driving Miz everywhere he needs to go. He’s one of the best performers in the company and one of those guys you just want to punch in the face. Back in my day, that would make him a good heel but for some reason, a lot of people can’t seem to stand how great he’s really been this year.

8. Matt Hardy

If this was about most improved performer, this would be Matt’s award for probably the next three years in a row as the Broken Universe has taken off so strong that it’s almost unfair to everyone else. He just went insane (possibly literally) and there was no turning back for him. The big matches/segments (more on that in a second) were some of the most creative things I’ve ever seen.

Unfortunately…..the were barely wrestling. I get what Hardy was going for with the concept as it was all about the insanity and showing off the creativity but really the big draw continues to be how insane the things could get. However, that doesn’t make them wrestling, which really hurts him in something like this.

This is a really rare case where I want to like what Hardy is doing (I certainly respect it, or at least I’ve grown to respect it) but things can only be stretched so far before it turns into a big mess instead of wrestling. Yes I know I sound like a snob but there are parts of this that I still have issues with on a wrestling show.

9. Eli Drake

Sometimes there are people that you just like and that’s the case with Drake. The guy is just entertaining to listen to and that’s what matters the most in wrestling. Drake might not be the best in ring performer (his finisher sucks) but he can command a microphone like few in TNA have ever been able to do and that’s worth far more than the ability to work a proper wristlock.

Drake just knows how to be an obnoxious jerk that you want to see get punched in the face. It worked for Honky Tonk Man, it works for Miz and it’s worked for dozens of others over the years. Drake is a master at getting a mic in his hands and working magic with it, which could take him very far.

Drake used to be in WWE and I could easily see him being back there again (he was only released due to some issues with social media) based on the improvements he’s made in recent months. Fact of Life has become a highlight for Impact and that’s a very rare thing to see on that mess of a show.

Overall though, I’m more amazed by Bliss’ development than anything else. She debuted on the main roster less than six months ago and she’s already one of the best women on the show. It’s amazing development in such a short amount of time and for me, the best improvement of anyone else this year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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As much as we like to say wrestling is about one thing or another, what really matters is getting fans to buy the show. The big shows are the things you really remember and that’s what we’re going to look at today. Of all the major shows of the year, which one was the absolute best? These will be presented in no particular order and if I don’t list a show, I either didn’t think enough of it or I didn’t see it.

1. Royal Rumble

We’re actually going to start off with an odd one here as this is the definition of a one match show. That’s almost always the case with the Royal Rumble but this one was even bigger as for the first time since 1992, the WWE World Title was on the line. Champion Roman Reigns, who entered the match first, had to survive twenty nine other entrants, including the debuting AJ Styles, to retain his title.

That right there really is all you need to know about this show. When one match runs for over an hour, gives you a new champion, and features almost every big name on the roster including Brock Lesnar, Triple H, Roman Reigns and the Wyatt Family, there was almost no way this wasn’t going to be amazing, and that’s exactly what it was.

There’s just something about everything being on the line in one match. It’s not about setting up a title match later on because everything is going on right now. Everyone in the main event could have been the next champion and that immediately gives the match an electricity. The rest of the show was perfectly watchable as well, giving us a great card up and down. It set up “Wrestlemania XXXII” and gave us a great show to start the year off on a strong foot.

2. Takeover: Dallas

I might be a bit biased for this one as I was in the crowd for the show but my goodness what a card. It’s a five match show and the absolute worst match on the card is completely watchable. Above all else, this show knew how to start out a night with the instant classic of American Alpha winning the Tag Team Titles from the Revival. The titles would change back later but this got the crowd going with American Alpha showing that they were just flat out better on that night.

The key to this one though was the debut of Shinsuke Nakamura as he fought Sami Zayn in what was pretty clearly Zayn’s NXT farewell. These two beat the living heck out of each other in one of the hardest hitting fights you will ever see in wrestling. The crowd was already fired up during the entrances and the wrestlers didn’t disappoint, giving us twenty minutes of pure violence with Zayn finally going down to the Kinshasa knee.

That left us with a great main event between NXT Champion Finn Balor and Samoa Joe, which was quite a brawl in its own right. All that being said though, this show has absolutely no flaws and is one of the best things NXT has ever put together. When the only possible issue is the match order (Nakamura vs. Zayn could have closed the show), you know you’ve done something right.

3. Takeover: The End

If this was the end (which only meant the end of a rivalry), it certainly went out on a high note. This show might not have had the hype as the Dallas version but it might even be a better show up and down the card. Much like Dallas, when the worst match on the card is perfectly fine and everything else ranges from very good to excellent, you know you have one heck of a show.

The big draw this time was the first ever steel cage match in NXT as the new NXT Champion Samoa Joe defended his title against Balor, who was running out of things to do down in developmental anyway. Samoa Joe wound up retaining his title in what could be considered a huge upset, more or less sending Balor into his farewell tour in the process.

The rest of the card featured another great Nakamura match and the crowning of the first two time Tag Team Champions in NXT history as the Revival got the belts back. There might not have been as much atmosphere with this one in a smaller arena but it can hang with Dallas’ in ring quality all day. This one is worth another look with the main event alone being worth the time.

4. Money in the Bank

We’ll leave NXT for a bit and come back to the drama around the WWE World Title. This is another very simple idea: put a bunch of people in a match built around climbing a ladder and whoever pulls down the briefcase gets a World Title shot at anytime in the future. However, the real drama comes from not knowing when the cash-in is actually going to happen.

In this case, we didn’t have to wait very long as Dean Ambrose won the ladder match and cashed his contract in to end the show. He was only the second Money in the Bank winner to ever do so and that made for a very interesting evening. All three Shield members held the title in the span of about five minutes for a feat that will probably never be done by any other trio in history, which gives the show some history.

Couple all that with a very solid remainder of the card, including a long Seth Rollins vs. Reigns match with Rollins getting the title back in the first place and you have one heck of a show. Money in the Bank is often just remembered for the ladder match and whatever it offers as a main event, and to be fair that really worked quite well in 2016.

5. Clash of the Champions

This show makes me think of “Wrestlemania XIX”: there might not be a great match on the card (though several come close), there are enough especially good things to make the show into something special. There’s nothing bad on the whole card and you have a strong variety of matches to give you a little bit of everything.

This was the first “Monday Night Raw” stand alone show and that put a lot of pressure on the card. While it didn’t do much to relieve the issues that plague the Monday night show every single week, it did to a lot to show that they knew how to blow off some feuds. Sometimes you just need a good night of wrestling matches and that’s what you got here. It helped so much to take away all the drama and plot devices and just let the talent wrestle.

What I like about this show is how it gives you a little bit of everything. You have a big title match in the main event, one heck of a fight in Cesaro vs. Sheamus, a surprisingly awesome performance from Anderson and Gallows and an NXT style women’s triple threat match to cap it off. Everyone did everything they needed to and turned what should have been a nothing show into something worth watching, which is really hard to do.

6. Takeover: Toronto

We’ll wrap it up with the last Takeover of the year and it’s certainly going out on a high note. This show focused on tag wrestling with the finals of the second annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic where the Authors of Pain defeated TM61 to become the first regular team to win the tournament. In addition to that, Samoa Joe defeated Nakamura to become the first ever two time NXT Champion. Mickie James returned to unsuccessfully challenge Asuka and Bobby Roode defeated Tye Dillinger to win the battle of Toronto.

All that being said though, none of it compared to the NXT Tag Team Title match which saw DIY defeat the Revival in a two out of three falls match to finally win the titles. This match is on a very short list for Match of the Year (WWE.com already named it as such) and it’s one of the best tag matches I’ve ever seen. Nothing was going to follow this and everyone knew it.

If nothing else, it was cool to see NXT in another huge arena with well over 15,000 people watching the show. It really shows how far NXT has come from just a few years ago when even their biggest shows were only held at Full Sail University. This was a great way for the series to go out for the year and it did so with one of the best matches that had been put on in a long time.

7. Wrestle Kingdom X

Every year I talk about how much I’m not interested in the biggest New Japan show of the year and then every time it winds up being at least a very good if not flat out excellent show. That’s the case here as Wrestle Kingdom X more than lived up to (most of its) the hype. I mean, nothing is ever going live up to ALL of its hype but this came close.

The main event was one of New Japan’s standard big angle conclusions as Kazuchika Okada FINALLY beat Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom after losing so many times. I’m not as big a fan of this feud as so many are (mainly because IT’S JUST A FREAKING CLOTHESLINE) but there’s no denying that it’s a big moment and something that has been built up for a very long time.

On top of that there’s the whole Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles in the last big match both of them would have for the promotion in case you need a bonus. Wrestle Kingdom is still one of the biggest shows of the year and thankfully they make it work almost every single time. That’s more than Wrestlemania can claim and it’s worthy of some praise.

8. Final Battle

It’s amazing what happens when you let Ring of Honor be Ring of Honor instead of just throwing out a superkick party (though there was one here) or a bunch of New Japan wrestlers who are all “special attractions” yet completely dominate anything else going on with the talent you’re there to see.

Final Battle felt like a major show and that’s not something you often get around here. Everything worked like it was supposed to with the three main matches all delivering and the undercard being more than good enough to live up to the hype that this show was supposed to deliver. Even when several of the wrestlers weren’t the most well known, the matches still felt important, as they should have.

Ring of Honor doesn’t often get the credit that it deserves but a lot of the time they bring that problem onto themselves by not having the best matches that line up with what they’ve been showcasing on TV. Let us see what we’re supposed to be seeing and you get a better show than you would otherwise while also making me care about it. Why is that so complicated?

9. Takeover: Back To Brooklyn

This show is rapidly becoming the biggest NXT show of the year and they certainly knocked it out of the park one more time. The key to the Takeover series is to have one big match after another and nail the top of the card. That’s what happened here with the big matches of Bayley vs. Asuka II, DIY vs. Revival and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Samoa Joe all being outstanding matches.

On top of that, the undercard certainly delivered as I’m still waiting on any Takeover match to be bad. Think about that for a second: do you remember there ever being a truly bad match at one of these things? It wasn’t the case here as everything from Bobby Roode (with the GLORIOUS entrance) vs. Andrade Cien Almas and Austin Aries vs. No Way Jose both being very entertaining.

Brooklyn is a big deal for NXT and it’s very cool to see it tied in with Summerslam. The 2015 edition was outstanding and this one might have been even better. Nakamura slaying the Samoa Joe dragon on the biggest stage NXT has to offer was a great way to end the show and it made for another great night of wrestling, which might as well be the series’ slogan at this point.

That leaves us with the winner and the more I think about it, the more I can’t get “Takeover: Dallas” out of my head. It really is one of the most complete shows I’ve ever seen and I didn’t even touch on Asuka ripping Bayley’s shoulder apart to become the new Women’s Champion. The atmosphere, the look of the show, the quality of the wrestling and the expectations of having it be over Wrestlemania weekend for the first time all added up to make this the show of the year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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This is another big one and something more interesting than several of these. We’ve all seen some bad matches from WWE every single week and it’s always fun to go back and look at what might be the worst of them all. In case you might be a bit slow today, we’re looking at the worst matches of the year in WWE. As usual, these are in no particular order.

1. Brock Lesnar vs. Dean Ambrose – Wrestlemania XXXII

We’re hitting the ground running with a no holds barred street fight between two people who should have been able to beat the heck out of each other. That’s basically what was teased as we came into this match with various hardcore legends giving Ambrose weapons to use, such as a chainsaw and a barbed wire baseball bat. On paper, this had the potential to be one of the best fights of the year.

And it just wasn’t. Lesnar destroyed Ambrose for the majority of the match and unfortunately that was the trend for most of Lesnar’s matches over the year. Ambrose hung around for a good while and had a few hope spots but above all else this was just boring. The aforementioned weapons were brought in but not really used as the chainsaw didn’t work and the barbed wire bad shot missed (of course). One F5 later and Ambrose was done.

This was really just about being boring than bad and that’s not a good thing. The problem with Lesnar was the fact that almost no one was able to do anything to him and he would just disappear for months on end while the loser would be stuck doing nothing. Ambrose was treated like a jobber and then won the World Title a few months later. It’s hard to overlook Ambrose’s complete destruction here though and that’s not a good thing.

2. Carmella vs. Nikki Bella – Tables, Ladders and Chairs

If you want to see why so many people don’t like Bella, this is where you start. The story behind the match was Carmella calling Bella out for being a reality start with everything handed to her and whose whole relationship with John Cena was based on her fame. Instead of taking this as a bunch of insults like they really were, Bella basically said “Yeah, what’s your point?”

A No DQ match was set up and it all fell apart from there. Carmella worked on the knee for most of the match and then Bella just popped up like there was no injury, shrugged off everything Carmella did to her and won clean. In other words: let’s all praise Bella because she’s so amazing and interesting when she treats so many people like they’re beneath her and acts all serious because she’s famous or whatever WWE wants you to buy at this point.

Above all else though, the match wasn’t any good to go along with a horrible story. Carmella could be something special in the division going forward but this is another loss to Bella, who really doesn’t seem phased by all of the insults and rather true statements because she’s famous and therefore above any criticism. That’s not interesting and it’s even worse when the match was horrible.

3. Natalya vs. Charlotte – Payback

You know what’s a bad idea? Pushing a feud over and over long past the point where it stopped being interesting. You know what’s an even worse idea? Having the ending to a match tied back into the Montreal Screwjob, which has been brought up over and over again for years despite it being less interesting and more eye roll inducing every single time it comes up.

Yes, somehow in 2016, we got another Montreal Screwjob finish to a match and they made it even better by tying it into the idea of Charles Robinson being a huge fan of the Flair Family. It felt like a way to back out of a story without actually giving us anything logical or a good idea in general. Charlotte vs. Natalya wasn’t the best story in the world in the first place and then giving us a bad ending made things even worse.

This is a case where the booking brings what could have been a totally fine match down. It’s a stupid decision that feels like a way for WWE to chuckle at themselves and stretch their story out even longer because, for some reason, Sasha Banks wasn’t allowed to face Charlotte until later in the year so we were stuck with something like this. Lucky us indeed.

4. Shane McMahon vs. Undertaker – Wrestlemania XXXII

Let’s get this out of the way right now: McMahon was pretty clearly a replacement after names like Cena and Randy Orton were both left off the card due to injuries. Either of those two against Undertaker inside the Cell would seem like a much better main event level match but this was about as good as we were going to get. Based on that, this match deserves a little bit of a break.

However, that doesn’t make up for the fact that it was one of the worst executed matches I’ve seen WWE put together in a long time. First and foremost, I do not accept that McMahon can give Undertaker a real run for his money, including kicking out of a chokeslam and Last Ride as well as surviving Hell’s Gate. This is the same Undertaker who took Lesnar to the limit just a few months earlier but now he’s having issues with McMahon? Really?

Couple that with the THIRTY MINUTE run time (longer than Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, Undertake vs. Mankind, Undertaker vs. Lesnar (either time) and Undertaker vs. Edge among other Cell matches) and there was almost no way this was going to work. The big dive, while entertaining, was also terrifying (assuming you ignore the crash pad underneath the table) and not enough to save the match. This should have been fifteen minutes long and a glorified squash rather than a competitive match that lasted twice as long. But hey, you have to fill that six hour run time somehow.

5. Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho – Extreme Rules

Here’s a story about a potted plant named Mitch, who became the plot point of a feud between these two major stars. For some reason Ambrose was given his own talk show to replace the “Highlight Reel” and he brought Mitch in as a decoration. Jericho broke the plant over Ambrose’s head and a huge feud erupted, eventually setting up a cage with weapons match at “Extreme Rules 2016”.

What followed was a nearly thirty minute long match with the weapons barely being used and the plant (one of the weapons included) not being used AT ALL. If there has ever been a match that missed the point worse than this one, it hasn’t happened recently. The match was a watchable brawl at times but the big problem is it was supposed to be all about the violence rather than just some mild brawling.

In a word, this one missed. There’s more to a match than what you do between the bells. You also have to do the things that make sense instead of just doing something that you want to do. The whole point of this match should have been the plant (as ridiculous a premise as that is in the first place) but it wasn’t even touched, despite the fans waiting on it to be picked up at some point. I’m sure that has nothing to do with the fans not being all that into the match at times.

6. Triple H vs. Roman Reigns – Wrestlemania XXXII

This is a match that was doomed from the start. To begin with, the fans really weren’t interested in seeing Reigns in the main event of the biggest show of the year. Making it even worse was Triple H, whose feud with Reigns hadn’t been interesting either and really wasn’t doing anything to make the fans care that much more. On top of that, by the time the match began (counting the pre-show), “Wrestlemania XXXII” had run for about six and a half hours. Think about that for a minute and wonder how tired you would be.

It didn’t help that they then went on to have a twenty seven minute match (not counting Stephanie McMahon’s WAY too long intro with some weird Mad Max theme) which was built around working on the arm instead of the violence and anger that the match needed. It was all about standing around, waiting on the inevitable Reigns spear and pin that the fans were dying to boo. Not exactly main event caliber stuff there.

That’s the part that really brings this down: it was the main event of the biggest show of the year, making it probably the biggest match of the year by default. You can’t go with a match this dull with a bad story after all this horrible buildup and expect it to work in any way. This match was a disaster and neither of the two has really gotten over it in the nine months since it’s taken place.

7. Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar – Summerslam

Again, this one has to do with the stage. This wasn’t some nothing pay per view like “Battleground 2016” or “Fastlane 2016”. No, this was the second biggest show of the year and the main event should be a major deal instead of just some nothing match. The match was even hyped up over a month in advance with Orton being announced as Lesnar’s opponent a full pay per view in advance.

What wound up happening? A squash. Lesnar absolutely flattened Orton, defeating him in less than thirteen minutes with Orton managing a quick RKO and elevated DDT for his lone important offense. Other than that, Lesnar squashed him with a string of German suplexes and F5’s before beating Orton so badly that his head was busted open and the match had to be stopped.

That’s it. That’s how the main event of the second biggest show of the year ended. I don’t know if that bleeding was the planned ending or not but the build towards it certainly wasn’t the most interesting idea in the world. It was even more of Lesnar destroying someone with almost no recourse before walking away. Orton didn’t need to defeat Lesnar here but he should have at least given him a challenge, which wasn’t the case here.

All of these matches have something bad about them but only one of them had the honor of being the main event of the biggest show of the year and that’s enough to make it the worst match of the year. Aside from Reigns spearing Stephanie McMahon, there was nothing here that entertained me. It was a disaster up and down and there’s really no way around that.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKDV5O

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6