Wrestling observer awards 2018!

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The Gipper

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Well this is a bit late...but here are the awards for last year!

Wrestler of the year - Ric Flair/Lou Thesz Awards:

(1) Kazuchika Okada (NJPW)
(2) Kenny Omega (NJPW)
(3) Tetsuya Naito (NJPW)
(4) AJ Styles (WWE)
(5) Kento Miyahara (AJPW)
(6) Rush (CMLL)
(7) Brock Lesnar (WWE)
(8) Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW)
(9) Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW)
(10) Chris Jericho (WWE/NJPW/...free agent?)

Most outstanding wrestler:

(1) Kazuchika Okada (NJPW)
(2) Kenny Omega (NJPW)
(3) AJ Styles (WWE)
(4) Tetsuya Naito (NJPW)
(5) Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW)
(6) KUSHIDA (NJPW)
(7) Zack Sabre Jr (NJPW)
(8) Will Ospreay (NJPW)
(9) Kota Ibushi (free agent)
(10) Io Shirai (Stardom)

Tag team of the Year:

(1) The Young Bucks (ROH/NJPW) (4th year in a row)
(2) The Usos (WWE)
(3) War Machine (ROH in 2017)
(4) Sheamus & Cesaro (WWE)
(5) Nueva Generacion Dinamitas (CMLL)

Best on Interviews:

(1) Conor McGregor (UFC)
(2) Chris Jericho (WWE)
(3) The Miz (WWE)
(4) Kenny Omega (NJPW)
(5) Kevin Owens (WWE)

Promotion of the Year:

(1) NJPW (by far. 5871 votes)
(2) ROH (1297 votes)
(3) WWE
(4) UFC
(5) CMLL

Best weekly TV show:

(1) NJPW on AXS
(2) NXT
(3) CMLL Friday Night Arena Mexico
(4) Being the Elite
(5) ROH
(6) SmackDown!
...
(9) RAW

Match of the Year:

(1) Okada vs. Omega, WrestleKingdom 11 (NJPW)
(2) Okada vs. Omega, August 12th (NJPW)
(3) Okada vs. Shibata, April 9th (NJPW)
(4) Naito vs. Omega, G1 CLIMAX 27 (NJPW)
(5) Okada vs. Omega, Dominion 6.11 (NJPW)

Feud of the Year:

(1) Omega - Okada (NJPW) (by far. 938 votes)
(2) McGregor - Mayweather (UFC/Boxing) (62 votes)
(3) Tanahashi - Naito (NJPW)
(4) KUSHIDA - Takahashi (NJPW)
(5) Jones - Cormier (UFC)

Most charismatic:

(1) Tetsuya Naito (NJPW)
(2) Conor McGregor (UFC)
(3) Kenny Omega (NJPW)
(4) Matt Riddle (PWG)
(5) Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE)

Best technical wrestler:

(1) Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW) (4th year in a row)
(2) KUSHIDA (NJPW)
(3) Hideki Suzuki (BJW?)
(4) Marty Scurll (ROH)
(5) Pete Dunne (WWE)

Best brawler - Bruiser Brody Memorial Awards:

(1) Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW)
(2) SHIBATA (NJPW)
(3) Minoru Suzuki (NJPW)
(4) Walter (WXW)
(5) Samoa Joe (WWE)

Best flying wrestler:

(1) Will Ospreay (NJPW)
(2) Ricochet (NJPW in 2017)
(3) Volador Jr. (CMLL)
(4) Hiromu Takahashi (NJPW)
(5) Rey Fénix (free agent)

Most overrated (which, to Bryan, should be renamed to "most personal hated wrestler"):

(1) Jinder Mahal (WWE)
(2) Roman Reigns (WWE)
(3) Baron Corbin (WWE)
(4) CODY (ROH/NJPW)
(5) The Miz / Bray Wyatt (a tie) (WWE)
...
(8) Braun Strowman (lol) (WWE)

Most underrated:

(1) Rusev (94 votes)
(2) Tomohiro Ishii (92 votes)
(3) Finn Bálor
(4) Sami Zayn
(5) Kassius Ohno

Rookie of the Year:

(1) Ketsuya Kitamura (NJPW)
(2) Microman (CMLL)
(3) Bianca Belair (WWE)
(4) Tomoyuki Oka (NJPW)
(5) Austin Theory (WWN)

Best non-wrestler:

(1) Daniel Bryan (WWE)
(2) Zelina Vega (WWE)
(3) Paul Heyman (WWE)
(4) Stokely Hathaway (EVOLVE)
(5) Dario Cueto (Lucha Underground)

Best TV announcer:

(1) Mauro Ranallo (WWE)
(2) Corey Graves (WWE)
(3) Don Callis (TNA/NJPW)
(4) Shinpei Nogami (NJPW)
(5) Kevin Kelly (NJPW)

Worst TV announcer:

(1) Booker T (WWE)
(2) Percy Watson (WWE)
(3) JBL (WWE)
(4) Matt Striker (Lucha Underground)
(5) Byron Saxton (WWE)

Best major wrestling show:

(1) WrestleKingdom 11 (NJPW)
(2) Dominion 6.11 (NJPW)
(3) UFC 217
(4) NXT Takeover: Chicago (WWE)
(5) G1 Finals (NJPW)

Worst major wrestling show:

(1) Battleground (WWE)
(2) Triplemania XXV (AAA)
(3) Bound for Glory (TNA)
(4) WrestleMania 33 (WWE)
(5) Payback (WWE)
(6) Backlash (WWE)
(7) Clash of Champions (WWE)
(8) Roadblock: End of the Line (WWE)
(9) Survivor Series (WWE)
(10) Destruction in Fukushima (NJPW)

Best wrestling move:

(1) One-Winged Angel (Kenny Omega, NJPW)
(2) Rainmaker (Kazuchika Okada, NJPW)
(3) Destino (Tetsuya Naito, NJPW)
(4) V-Trigger (Kenny Omega, NJPW)
(5) Black Mass (Aleister Black, WWE)

Most disgusting promotional tactic:

(1) WWE promoting Jimmy Snuka a hero in death (WWE)
(2) Jinder Mahal racial interview about Nakamura (WWE)
(3) Ultimate Warrior lionization - Breast Cancer campaign (WWE)
(4) Pushing Jinder Mahal as a champion for the Indian market (WWE)
(5) Gabi Garcia against smaller women (Rizin)

Worst TV show:

(1) RAW (WWE)
(2) Impact (TNA)
(3) 205 Live (WWE)
(4) SmackDown! (WWE)
(5) AAA
(6) Lucha Underground

Worst match of the year:

(1) Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton, WrestleMania 33 (WWE)
(2) Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton, House of Horrors (WWE)
(3) AAA Rumble
(4) Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley, Kendo Stick on a Pole (WWE)
(5) Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal, Punjabi Prison (WWE)

Worst feud of the year:

(1) Orton vs. Wyatt (WWE)
(2) Nakamura vs. Mahal (WWE)
(3) Orton vs. Mahal (WWE)
(4) Bayley vs. Bliss (WWE)
(5) Wyatt vs. Balor (WWE)

Worst promotion:

(1) TNA
(2) AAA
(3) WWE
(4) ICW
(5) Lucha Underground

Best booker:

(1) Gedo (by far. 1,025 votes) (NJPW)
(2) Triple H (48 votes) (WWE)
(3) Jun Akiyama (AJPW)
(4) Smallman, Briley, Joseph (PROGRESS)
(5) Christian Michael Jakobi (WXW)

Promoter of the year:

(1) Takaaki Kidani (NJPW) (771 votes)
(2) Dana White (UFC) (198 votes)
(3) Triple H (WWE) (109 votes)
(4) Showtime Sports (36 votes)
(5) Jim Smallman (25 votes)

Best gimmick:

(1) Los Ingobernables de Japon (NJPW)
(2) Velveteen Dream (WWE)
(3) Marty Scurll (ROH)
(4) The Elite (ROH/NJPW)
(5) Drew Gulak (WWE)

Worst gimmick:

(1) Bray Wyatt & Sister Abigail (WWE)
(2) Jason Jordan as Kurt Angle's son (WWE)
(3) Dolph Ziggler (WWE)
(4) Jinder Mahal (WWE)
(5) Mike Kanellis (WWE)

Best pro-wrestling book:

(1) Crazy like a Fox - The Brian Pillman story
(2) Slobberknocker, Jim Ross
(3) Best seat in the house, Justin Roberts
(4) Sisterhood of the Squared Circle,
(5) No is a four letter word, Chris Jericho

Best documentary:

(1) Ric Flair 30-for-30
(2) Bruiser Brody, the last wrestling rebel
(3) Fight Owens Fight
(4) WWE 365 with Kevin Owens
(5) WWE 24: Finn Bálor

https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCirc...letter_awards/

A lot of the winners aren't a surprise. Okada winning best wrestler I had no doubt in.
 

Geese

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I don't agree with Orton vs. Wyatt being the Worst Feud of the Year. That feud reinvigorated Orton's career and he got a huge pop from the Smackdown audience when he burned Wyatt's house down. I think Jim Ross deserve the top spot when it comes to best TV announcer. Mauro Ranallo is a fine choice, but Jim Ross has an encyclopedic knowledge of wrestling; not many announcers today know anything about Frank Gotch vs. George Hackenschmidt or Dick the Bruiser's career (the wrestler, not the legendary porn star).

But, beyond that, I agree with the rest of the awards being given out. Okada deserves to win Wrestler of the Year, Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Year, as he has certainly earned it. NJPW deserves the top spot for Best Wrestling Show and Promotion of the Year. New Japan is the hottest wrestling promotion today.
 
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Mike Thunder

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I don't agree with Orton vs. Wyatt being the Worst Feud of the Year. That feud reinvigorated Orton's career and he got a huge pop from the Smackdown audience when he burned Wyatt's house down. I think Jim Ross deserve the top spot when it comes to best TV announcer. Mauro Ranallo is a fine choice, but Jim Ross has an encyclopedic knowledge of wrestling; not many announcers today know anything about Frank Gotch vs. George Hackenschmidt or Dick the Bruiser's career (the wrestler, not the legendary porn star).
Jim Ross was awful in the G1 special last year. He used to be great but now he's not good. He didn't even know who EVIL or BUSHI were. I would've voted for Nogami.

Some notes:
Chris Jericho should be nowhere near the top 10 wrestlers of 2017. I don't even remember a good match he had last year.
NJPW does deserve to have won most awards. Okada vs Shibata was my MOTY tho.
Glad to see my boy Hideki Suzuki getting some praise.
Kitamura is great, glad he won rookie of the year.
 

The Gipper

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Also isn't NJPW on AXS just old matches with Jr commentary over it?
 

Geese

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Also isn't NJPW on AXS just old matches with Jr commentary over it?

That was true in 2016 when many of the matches were six months old, but it has gotten a lot more up-to-date since the G1 Special in July 2017. New Japan is airing live for its Strong Style show on March 25th at 5:00 pm.
 

Neel420VA

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Man, Meltzer is so gay for the Bucks. Their “friendship” makes him feel young and cool.