WZ Main Page Year End Award Noms

[Spidey Revivey]

Main page has their nominations down and voting may now commence. But I thought it would be worth talking about each one first. I can see some arguments made for quite a few of these this year while others ehh. Let's discuss.

Male Wrestler Of The Year

• Cody Rhodes
• Kenny Omega
• AJ Styles
• Seth Rollins
• Kazuchika Okada
• Tommaso Ciampa
• Jay Lethal
• Johnny Impact

Along with the Young Bucks, Cody did launch All In and we know how well it did. He also made NWA interesting which is a feat onto itself and deserves more credit than it is owed. As an in-ring hand, I've always thought him to be average, but I don't think wrestling should be all about what happens in the ring. Half of NXT should be nominated if that were the case. As far as what they've done this year, he is my pick and I can't say it's close. He's made the biggest impact of 2018.


Female Wrestler Of The Year

• Becky Lynch
• Ronda Rousey
• Alexa Bliss
• Kairi Sane
• Tessa Blanchard
• Charlotte Flair
• Sumie Sakai
• Shayna Baszler

What argument could be made against Becky Lynch? She has been the reason why some of us even stick with WWE after the dreadful last few episodes. Rousey is fun but even she can't hold a flame to the clinic The Man is putting on.

Outside of being a good on the microphone and filling another heel authority position, I don't know why Bliss is on this list. Sumie Sakai has this really neat spot of being the aged veteran champion over on ROH but she isn't the talk of town like the others here. Everyone else I can see an argument for but Becky is heads and shoulders above them.


Tag Team Of The Year

• The Young Bucks
• LAX
• The New Day
• The Bar
• The Undisputed Era
• Golden Lovers
• The Usos
• The Briscoe Brothers

Every person I know who watches Impact tells me the main reason is because of LAX, not even the main title picture. LAX has been off and on for ages, and honestly I'm burnt out on New Day, The Bar, and The Usos. Neither of those three are carrying the show. I admit not knowing much about NJPW so Golden Lovers are a mystery to me. I know who they are but I don't know what impact they've made this year. Same for Undisputed Era, which I thought were some joke team for the longest. Young Bucks was part of the All In situation so I can see an argument being made for them, but right now I'm leaning LAX.


Breakthrough Performer

• Nick Aldis
• Joey Janela
• A-Kid
• Ethan Page
• Jordynne Grace
• Flip Gordon
• Fallah Bahh
• Liv Morgan

Nick Aldis is the face of the new NWA, but I'm not sure if I'd call him a breakthrough. I don't know who A-Kid or Jordynne Grace are and I love Ethan Page but I have no clue what he's done this year either. Flip Gordon has been turning in wonderful work with Bully Ray on ROH - even paying homage to Tommy Dreamer getting caned by taking a beating that legit made me worry. Liv Morgan has done fuck all but be pretty.

Fuck it. I'm going Flip Gordon. His character arc has been decent.


Comeback Of The Year

• National Wrestling Alliance
• PCO
• Jimmy Havoc
• Daniel Bryan
• Drew McIntyre
• Buddy Murphy
• Mike Kanellis
• Petey Williams

A good argument can be made for Daniel Bryan. I don't want to get it twisted. He's probably the biggest active star in WWE right now. But his return to the ring has not been the stuff of history. The tag match at Wrestlemania with Shane was not very good, and that thing with Big Cass was completely forgettable. If he did anything else before fighting Styles it's lost on me. Pains me to say, but he needed the heel turn. Also I wouldn't call it a comeback if he never left. He should be a Best Wrestler of the Year candidate honestly. I don't know about comeback.

Drew made strides and it was a real comeback. Once again we can believe he'll be a future WWE champ. Another solid argument here. If this were just a list of wrestlers, I'd probably go drew, but...

NWA before Billy Corgan was dead. Not even an exaggeration. When he purchased it, many, MANY people scoffed at him. He took a wrestling joke and turned it into something credible again. It may not be the hot rival to WWE or Impact right now, but in a year he's brought it back into diehard fan's radar. I don't think it's an understatement to point out how incredible that is. He even attached his brand to the well-received All In pay per view, perhaps the best power move for the company thus far, and got Cody Rhodes, the biggest name not attached to WWE or Impact, to win the title. People are interested to where this is going. Again, not the biggest dog in the fight for Best Wrestling Promotion or whatever, but Best Comeback? Absolutely.


Match Of The Year

• Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega – NJPW Dominion (⅔ Falls)
• The Young Bucks vs. Golden Lovers – NJPW Strong Style Evolved
• Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega – Wrestle Kingdom 12
• Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas – NXT TakeOver Philadelphia
• Matt Riddle vs Shane Strickland – EVOLVE
• Brock Lesnar vs Daniel Bryan – Survivor Series
• Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch – WWE Evolution Last Woman Standing Match
• Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa NXT Takeover Chicago

I admit to only watching Flair vs. Lynch, and that was solid. I could be coerced to vote for any of the others though if a case is made.


Event Of The Year

• Wrestle Kingdom 12
• NXT Takeover: New Orleans
• Joey Janela’s Spring Break 2
• WWE Royal Rumble
• WWE Evolution
• All In
• WWE Summerslam
• IMPACT Wrestling Bound For Glory

All In was not the best event. It did make history though. These others outside of Evolution did not. I have to go with the little guys making big waves over the established doing fair.


Feud Of The Year

Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada

• Tommaso Ciampa vs Johnny Gargano
• Chris Jericho vs Los Ingobernables de Japon
• Cody Rhodes vs Kenny Omega
• Tessa Blanchard vs Taya Valkyrie
• Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch
• Daniel Bryan vs The Miz
• AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe

Ciampa and Gargano are turning in compelling stuff every week. They're my pick for the best feud, as a ton of story has gone into it. Maybe Flair vs Lynch deserves a nod.


Viral Video / Star Of The Year

• Joey Ryan
• Jerry Lawler Dabbing On Haters
• Sonny Kiss Twerking
• Joey Janela / The Great Sasuke Singing Bon Jovi
• Being The Elite
• Ric Flair Drip
• Sister Kicks Brother In Face / Brogue Kick
• Braun Strowman Destroys WWE Production Truck

Besides Strowman, only thing I have seen or even heard about here was Being The Elite, which I know has done very, very well. Since they do it every week or so without fail, they're my pick.


Podcast Of The Year

• Something To Wrestle
• The Apter Chat
• Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia
• Prime Time with Sean Mooney
• Conversation with the Big Guy
• Why It Ended
• The Ross Report
• E&C Pod Of Awesomeness

Odd for me. I love podcasts but I never really listened to a wrestling one. I'll leave this one up to you guys.

 

[roipdh123]

* Cody Rhodes - for reasons mentioned above, and that he is a consistent good pro-wrestler.
* Alexa Bliss - I would have loved to pick Lynch but for the first 2/3 of the year she was a disaster, so I can't pick her. Bliss again was consistent, helped put over Ronda Rousey as a big deal in the WWE and was a good women's champion in my eyes.
* LAX - Well deserved. After 3 years I haven't watched Impact almost at all, I returned to watch because of them. That says it all.
* Nick Aldis - I think this year was a breakthrough year for him as a singles star. Hopefully we will see a lot more with him in 2019.
* Jericho vs Omega WK12 - I was really invested in this match, more then either Okada vs Omega match, because I cared about Jericho in a way that exceeded NJPW storylines. Either man could have won, and I was really on the edge of my seat. Gargano vs Ciampa from Takeover:Brooklyn IV (even though it is not on the list) is a close second.
* NXT Takeover: New Orleans - Phenomenal show, every match was at least very good (Basizler vs Moon, Black vs Almas) to great (Gargano vs Ciampa, AoP vs UE vs Dunne and Strong, The Ladder Match).
* Daniel Bryan vs The Miz - No questions asked. This was a decade in the making and this was a great feud, that we haven't seen the last of yet (personally I hope we get heel Bryan vs face Miz at WrestleMania for the title.. possibly with Shane as guest referee sadly).
* Being The Elite - I don't think this needs to be explanied.
* Edge and Christian's podcast - I just like listening to them, especially to Christian