2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards

[klunderbunker]

Theyâ??re back! So what if itâ??s mid-March? Thatâ??s totally fine in announcing the annual New Japan is Better Than You Awards and thatâ??s what we have here. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards are back and I already have a bad feeling about them. As usual Iâ??ll be listing the winners and giving a quick comment about each. I wonâ??t list the top five for each unless something stands out to me.

1. Wrestler of the Year â?? Kazuchika Okada

Yep. Aside from AJ Styles, thereâ??s no one in the same universe right now.

2. Most Outstanding Wrestler â?? Kazuchika Okada

I say it every year and I have it explained to me every year but I still have no idea why these first two both need to exist.

3. Tag Team of the Year â?? The Young Bucks

Maybe the Usos can win next year if they name a move after Meltzer.

4. Best on Interviews â?? Conor McGregor

Oh here we go. Again: it certainly must help when you only have to talk when youâ??re getting ready for a fight and have no restrictions. I have no idea why this is considered a fair comparison but maybe Iâ??m just too much of a wrestling fan to understand these things.

5. Promotion of the Year â?? New Japan

Makes sense. WWE had a good but not great year and New Japan is almost always quality.

6. Best Weekly TV Show â?? New Japan on AXS

Being a highlight/Best Of show certainly must help. Being the Elite was fourth and Raw was NINTH. Itâ??s really not that bad people.

7. Match of the Year â?? Okada vs. Omega â?? Wrestle Kingdom

No WWE match in the top five, Okada with four of the top five. You knew this was getting the top spot and nothing else was going to come close, but thatâ??s to be expected.

8. Feud of the Year â?? Okada vs. Omega

I didnâ??t even have to look at the results. UFC had two of the top five spots.

9. Most Charismatic â?? Tetsuya Naito

Fair enough. Iâ??ve liked what Iâ??ve seen from him.

10. Best Technical Wrestler Zach Sabre Jr.

That guy does stuff that I canâ??t even describe and makes it look like the most natural thing in the world. Itâ??s rare that I consider someone a treat to watch but thatâ??s the case with him.

11. Best Brawler â?? Tomohiro Ishii

Not my style but I get it.

12. Best Flying Wrestler â?? Will Ospreay

Yep. Well maybe Ricochet, who came in second.

13. Most Overrated â?? Jinder Mahal

WWE got four of the top six (with five being a tie). Braun Strowman was ninth. Seriously.

14. Most Underrated â?? Rusev

I usually scratch my head at this one but thereâ??s very little argument here.

15. Rookie of the Year â?? Ketsuya Kitamura

Iâ??ve heard good things so sure.

16. Best Non-Wrestler â?? Daniel Bryan

This is a sentimental pick as Zelina Vega ran away with this thing (and finished second).

17. Best TV Announcer â?? Mauro Ranallo

You knew that was getting the pick and I canâ??t argue with it.

18. Worst TV Announcer â?? Booker T.

Iâ??d have gone with Watson, who took second. At least Booker has a resume while Watson is just a person you might remember if you like stupid gimmicks and bad wrestling.

19. Best Major Wrestling Show â?? Wrestle Kingdom XI

Iâ??d have gone with Takeover: Chicago but this is more than acceptable.

20. Worst Major Wrestling Show â?? Battleground

It had the Punjabi Prison match.

21. Best Wrestling Move â?? One Winged Angel

You know, that move that he hits over and over and barely ever wins with the thing.

22. Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic â?? WWE Promoting Jimmy Snuka As A Hero

Yeah thatâ??s kind of hard to argue.

23. Worst TV Show â?? Raw

OH SCREW OFF! This award should be named after Impact but itâ??s WWE so we must run it into the ground. Good grief no.

24. Worst Match of the Year â?? Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton â?? Wrestlemania XXXIII

The title that Bruno, Hogan and Austin wore was involved in a match containing roaches and maggots. Moving on.

25. Worst Feud of the Year â?? Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton

It was either this or Mahal vs. Orton.

26. Worst Promotion â?? TNA

But remember: they had a better weekly TV show and not as bad of a pay per view!

27. Best Booker â?? Gedo

Again, didnâ??t need to look.

28. Promoter of the Year â?? Takaai Kidani â?? New Japan

Same duh as before.

29. Best Gimmick â?? Los Ingobernables de Japon

Velveteen Dream got second.

30. Worst Gimmick â?? Bray Wyatt and Sister Abigail

Iâ??d go with Mahal for longevity as Abigail was only a few weeks long.

31. Best Pro-Wrestling Book â?? Crazy Like a Fox: The Brian Pillman Story

I need to get that as Iâ??ve heard good things.

32. Best Documentary â?? Ric Flair: 30 For 30

Like it was going to be anything else.

So yeah: if you're in New Japan, you get a complimentary award. If you're from WWE, you're overrated by definition, except for Rusev.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

It's 2018 though bro.

[klunderbunker]

It's 2018 though bro.

I know. These are the awards for 2017.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

I'm an idiot. Carry on.

[Yaz]

They are fan voted awards by people who follow Meltzer, I'm not surprised by the hard dick they get for NJPW each year. Viewing Meltzer as one of the most reliable sources of information in the business and a historian is fine, he certainly has the credentials. It is the people who latch onto his (highly biased) opinions and view it as law handed down from God to Moses to be chiseled into stone that are the issue.

Pro wrestling isn't a science, it is an art form and like all art, it is open to interpretation. There is no set thing that makes wrestling good or bad. I find the Young Bucks extremely overrated, but I can't tell people who like them that they are wrong. I can call them stupid or sheep, but if you like something then you like it. That is why fan voted awards from a biased source shouldn't matter.

[Spidey]

From a production standpoint, I can see why people voted Raw as the worst TV show this year. It's overproduced. As a fan, I like being kept in suspense on things. If something came out of left field, then my eyes are glued to the screen. Wrestling should be imaginative. WWE has telegraphed every major feud last year, including the crown jewel Roman Reigns vs. Lesnar that fans saw coming miles away. There is a wave of predictability with the product as of late that can't be ignored. That on top of them rushing the build for Wrestlemania, the terrible typography that killed their live kayfabe, no narrative this year that captivated the audience further than "this guy will fight that guy", then yeah, it getting the award is not the most unreasonable choice. I think there are several better options out there for worst, obviously, but I can see why it won.

And the Sister Abigail gimmick has longevity over Jinder Mahal. It was a thing for years.

[klunderbunker]

Sister Abigail has been mentioned. Actually showing her was a step too far.

[smarkmouth]

10. Best Technical Wrestler Zach Sabre Jr.

That guy does stuff that I canâ??t even describe and makes it look like the most natural thing in the world. Itâ??s rare that I consider someone a treat to watch but thatâ??s the case with him.

Agreed. I was really disappointed when he didn't make the CWC finals, but I've been a fan since that tournament. I don't watch much outside WWE, but I've been tracking down his matches. On top of KB's analysis, I'd like to add that he may have the deepest well of submission holds that ALL look AMAZING.

13. Most Overrated â?? Jinder Mahal

WWE got four of the top six (with five being a tie). Braun Strowman was ninth. Seriously.

I mean, were there so many people singing Jinder's praises? They had a little experiment with him, it didn't work out, and WWE moved on. This is the biggest problem I have with readers' choice awards. Everyone just has contradictory or inconsistent criteria.

18. Worst TV Announcer â?? Booker T.

Iâ??d have gone with Watson, who took second. At least Booker has a resume while Watson is just a person you might remember if you like stupid gimmicks and bad wrestling.

I like to give Percy a little leeway myself. NXT is my favourite brand, but I have to sometimes remind myself that this is the developmental brand. Percy deserves time to learn, and I think he's improving.

25. Worst Feud of the Year â?? Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton

Their match absolutely earned Worst Match, but I don't agree with calling it the Worst Feud. I call it one of the better ones. Randy joining the Wyatt's, while we all knew he was in the family to tear it down, was never presented or teased as such. Randy even took the bullet for Bray on more than one occasion. Well executed but spectacularly failed the payoff.

[Undying]

Orton absolutely wreaked of suckage last year.

[Echelon]

I always take these awards (and PWI's too) with a grain of salt because they're subjective. Voted on by fans of WON. Many of whom have a clear bias towards Japanese and Indy wrestling. The only win that seems like common sense to me was WWE promoting Jimmy Snuka as a hero winning most disgusting promotional tactic. WWE naming a women's wrestling battle royale in honor of the Fabulous Moolah seems like a shoe-in for the winner of that category next year. Ric Flair's documentary almost seems like a common sense win too, but I don't recall it having much competition. I doubt the Andre documentary will either.