The winners of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards were announced this past week. Here are the top five vote getters for each category (alongside what I voted for).
Wrestler of the Year:
1. Will Ospreay (302 first place votes) 1,814 points
2. Cody Rhodes (119) 1,330
3. MJF (80) 927
4. Roman Reigns (106) 904
5. Bryan Danielson (49) 590
What I voted for: Will Ospreay, Cody Rhodes, and MJF.
Already off to a good start, my top three is identical to their top three. The other two wrestlers all had amazing years too.
Most Outstanding Wrestler:
1. Will Ospreay (548) 3,086
2. Bryan Danielson (122) 1,773
3. Kenny Omega (19) 590
4. Zack Sabre Jr. (15) 282
5. Kento Miyahara (11) 185
What I voted for: Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, and Gunther.
More very deserving picks. The only problem is Gunther not making the top five but he came in sixth place (with 177 points and 15 first place votes), so it’s not a total snub.
Tag Team of the Year:
1. FTR (344) 2,341
2. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (106) 1,128
3. Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi (71) 712
4. Takuya Nomura & Fuminori Abe (82) 473
5. Young Bucks (42) 435
What I voted for: FTR, Owens & Zayn, and The Usos.
Fucking LOL at the Young Bucks coming fifth place. The Usos were the only ones that I voted for that didn’t make the top five (coming in eighth place with 233 points and 6 first place votes) but I can understand why they didn’t get more votes (spending a decent chunk of the year feuding with each other).
Best on Interview:
1. Eddie Kingston (199) 1,483
2. MJF (140) 1,441
3. Christian Cage (148) 921
4. Jon Moxley (50) 705
5. Cody Rhodes (51) 626
What I voted for: L.A. Knight, Cody Rhodes, and MJF
In hindsight, I should have really voted for Eddie Kingston, he gave the best promo last year (“You ain’t ready for the misery”). Still a little shocked how poorly L.A. Knight fared in this category, coming in ninth place with 170 points and 16 first place votes.
Promotion of the Year:
1. WWE (406) 2,359
2. AEW (194) 1,965
3. NJPW (17) 1,011
4. CMLL (90) 965
5. UFC (52) 580
What I voted for: WWE, AEW, and NJPW
Feels kinda weird for WWE to take this award considering the fallout from Vince’s crimes being revealed but a good chunk of the votes were cast before the horrible details of lawsuit came out (mine included). With that in mind, no wrestling promotion had a greater 2023 than WWE. Amazing ratings, amazing ticket sales, amazing matches, almost everything was amazing last year with WWE.
Best Weekly TV Show:
1. AEW Dynamite (430) 2,707
2. AEW Collision (74) 1,483
3. WWE Smackdown (128) 1,434
4. CMLL Super Viernes (67) 518
5. WWE NXT (3) 309
What I voted for: NXT, Dynamite, and Smackdown
The disrespect to NXT aside, I can’t take issue with these picks. Aside from Super Viernes, I watch all of the winners religiously.
Wrestling Match of the Year:
1. Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay 1/4 TOKYO (474) 3,018
2. Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay 6/25 Toronto (116) 1,227
3. MJF vs. Bryan Danielson 3/5 San Francisco (115) 1,065
4. Swerve Strickland vs. Adam Page 11/18 Los Angeles (33) 464
5. FTR vs. White & Robinson 7/15 Calgary (5) 266
6. Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 10/1 Seattle (13) 265
7. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kento Miyahara 7/15 Tokyo (26) 244
8. Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito 8/12 Tokyo (8) 234
9. Queen’s Quest vs. Oedo Tai 6/25 Tokyo (19) 189
10. Gunther vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre 4/2 Los Angeles (14) 177
What I voted for: Omega/Ospreay in Tokyo, Omega/Ospreay in Torono, and Gunter/Sheamus/Drew
Aside from the Gunther, Sheamus, and Drew being disgustingly low, these are all amazing matches. All of them being easy 10/10 matches for me.
Up next are the category b awards, where you only vote for one.
United States/Canada MVP:
1. Cody Rhodes 268
2. Bryan Danielson 139
3. MJF 135
4. Roman Reigns 109
5. Jon Moxley 36
What I voted for: Cody Rhodes.
Yes, yes, yes, fuck yes. Cody’s my favorite wrestler at the moment and the person that actually got me into wrestling. If it wasn’t for Ospreay spending the entirety of last year having god-tier match after god-tier match, he would have been my pick for Wrestler of the Year and I think he has a legit shot of winning the top award next year.
Japan MVP:
1. Will Ospreay 434
2. Kazuchika Okada 243
3. Tetsuya Naito 80
4. Kento Miyahara 67
5. Yuma Aoyagi 30
What I voted for: Kazuchika Okada
I understand completely why Ospreay won this category but it’s so funny to me that he won (especially considering the award after the next one).
Mexico MVP:
1. Mistico 416
2. El Hijo del Vikingo 314
3. Rocky Romero 68
4. Volador Jr. 30
5. Pentagon Jr. 7
What I voted for: El Hijo del Vikingo
I must confess that I don’t follow Mexican wrestling as much as US and Japanese wrestling, so Mistico winning was a bit of a surprise to me. Still, the matches I have seen from him have been great, so it’s not a bad call.
Europe MVP:
1. Will Ospreay 754
2. Michael Oku 45
3. Zack Sabre Jr. 26
4. Spike Trivet 8
What I voted for: Will Ospreay
Yes, Will Ospreay is the first person to win two different territorial MVP awards in the same year. Kenny Omega won different ones too but in different years.
Non-Heavyweight MVP:
1. El Hijo del Vikingo 189
2. Hiromu Takahashi 144
3. Darby Allin 139
4. Orange Cassidy 83
5. Mistico 34
What I voted for: Will Ospreay
So, uh, it looks like I was the only one to vote for Ospreay in this category.
Women’s Wrestling MVP:
1. Rhea Ripley 359
2. Giulia 162
3. Athena 114
4. Tam Nakano 65
5. Becky Lynch 63
What I voted for: Rhea Ripley
Yeah, this was the easiest pick for me. No other woman had the impact Rhea did this year, even getting attention from non-wrestling sources thanks to Tik Tok.
Feud of the Year:
1. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. The Bloodline 268
2. Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland 119
3. Kento Miyahara vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima 98
4. Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay 91
5. Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley 44
What I voted for: Omega/Ospreay
Pleasantly surprised that Zayn and Owens vs. the Bloodline won. It wasn’t my personal pick but it was an utterly engrossing story and a worthy winner.
Best Box-Office Draw:
1. Roman Reigns
2. Cody Rhodes
3. John Cena
There’s no voting on this one, Dave Meltzer just picks these ones himself based on ticket sales.
Most Improved:
1. Julia Hart 117
2. Dominik Mysterio 86
3. Mariah May 49
3. Shota Umino 49
5. Swerve Strickland 47
What I voted for: Dominik Mysterio
Dominik was robbed!!
Most Charismatic:
1. MJF 162
2. Roman Reigns 88
3. Kento Miyahara 81
4. Giulia 57
5. Cody Rhodes 49
What I voted for: L.A. Knight
Oof, Observer voters don’t like Knight as much as I did (he came in ninth place with 36 votes, a hair above Dominik Mysterio).
Best Technical Wrestler:
1. Bryan Danielson 549
2. Zack Sabre Jr. 427
3. Josh Alexander 17
What I voted for: Zack Sabre Jr.
I voted for Sabre but that was mainly because the official name for this category is “The Bryan Danielson Award.” Danielson’s wrestling skills are second to none, even this late into his career. If it didn’t feel weird to vote for him because of the name, he 100% would have been my vote. Glad to see Josh Alexander got some love too, he deserves it.
Best Brawler:
1. Jon Moxley 383
2. Tomohiro Ishii 91
3. Adam Page 78
4. Eddie Kingston 74
5. Gunther 46
What I voted for: Gunther
Best Flying Wrestler:
1. El Hijo del Vikingo 595
2. Will Ospreay 52
3. Rey Fenix 37
4. Mascara Dorada 36
5. Komander 28
What I voted for: El Hijo del Vikingo
Most Overrated:
1. SANADA 114
2. Roman Reigns 109
3. CM Punk 63
4. Tyrus 62
5. MJF 55
What I voted for: Chris Jericho
SANADA: “The fuck did I do?” Jericho only got 42 votes, coming in eighth place. Don’t worry Chris, you might win next year.
Most Underrated:
1. Chad Gable 84
2. Konosuke Takeshita 80
3. Daniel Garcia 50
4. Mike Bailey 49
5. Yota Tsuji 42
What I voted for: Willow Nightingale
Who keeps voting for Takeshita in this category, he’s in a good spot in AEW. Nightingale only got seven votes, which is surprising considering that stretch where she was a glorified tackling dummy for The Outcasts. Also, LOL at Britt Baker coming in ninth place with 24 votes.
Rookie of the Year:
1. Yuma Anzai 205
2. Action Andretti 140
3. Megan Bayne 65
4. Oleg Boltin 49
5. Kelani Jordan 38
What I voted for: Kelani Jordan
Andretti has been wrestling since 2019, this is bullshit. This is like Shelby Lynne winning Best New Artist for her sixth album.
Best Non-Wrestler:
1. Don Callis 266
2. Paul Heyman 198
3. Prince Nana 175
4. Renee Paquette 31
5. RJ City 18
5. Nick Aldis 18
What I voted for: Paul Heyman
Really?
Best Announcer:
1. Excalibur 183
2. Ian Riccaboni 139
3. Kevin Kelly 137
4. Nigel McGuinness 133
5. Chris Charlton 89
What I voted for: Excalibur
Really, fucking Kevin Kelly? More votes than McGuinness or anyone from WWE? For shame. At least he didn’t win.
Worst Announcer:
1. Booker T 198
2. Kevin Patrick 162
3. Jim Ross 90
4. Michael Cole 48
5. Corey Graves 42
What I voted for: Kevin Patrick
Kevin Kelly came in sixth place with only 36 votes. A disgrace.
Best Major Wrestling Show:
1. AEW Revolution 3/5 San Francisco 188
2. AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 6/25 Toronto 128
3. AEW All In 8-27 London 111
4. WWE WrestleMania night one 4/1 Los Angeles 101
5. AEW All Out 9/3 Chicago 72
What I voted for: Stardom All-Star Queendom
All-Star Queendom just missed the top five (getting 59 votes) but the five top shows were all great.
Worst Major Wrestling Show:
1. WWE Crown Jewel 11/4 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 141
2. NWA Samhain 10/28 Cleveland 89
3. AEW Worlds End 12/30 Uniondale, NY 79
4. WWE Fastlane 10/7 Indianapolis 51
5. AAA TripleMania 8/12 Mexico City 50
What I voted for: XPW Here Comes Revenge
I was alone in going after XPW this year. The top vote getters are odd this year. Crown Royal was a legit good show but it probably got damned because it’s in Saudi Arabia. Worlds End and Fastlane weren’t great shows but they weren’t terrible either. Of these five, Samhain should have won because of the whole cocaine nonsense.
Best Wrestling Maneuver:
1. Will Ospreay Hidden Blade 139
2. Will Ospreay stormbreaker 76
3. Kenny Omega one winged angel 68
4. El Hijo del Vikingo second rope step up 630 58
5. Komander ropewalk shooting star 32
What I voted for: Damian Priest Broken Arrow
Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic:
1. WWE Enabling Vince McMahon and Him Being Back in Power/TKO Keeping Him in Position of Power 197
2. WWE Continued relationship with Saudi Arabia 140
3. NWA cocaine spot on PPV 89
4. Powerslap and continuing on TV after Dana White slapped his wife 83
5. AEW signing Ric Flair 49
What I voted for: All Things XPW
God, this category needs to be put out to pasture, almost none of these are legit promotional tactics.
Worst Weekly TV Show:
1. NWA Powerr 194
2. WWE Raw 176
3. WWE NXT 112
4. Powerslap: Road to the Title 109
5. AEW Rampage 80
What I voted for: Rampage
What monsters voted for NXT?
Worst Match of the Year:
1. Bray Wyatt vs. L.A. Knight 1/28 San Antonio 105
2. Tyrus vs. EC 3 8/27 St. Louis 85
3. Shane McMahon/Snoop Dogg vs. The Miz 4/2 Los Angeles 58
4. Baron Corbin vs. Gable Steveson 7/30 Cedar Park, TX 47
5. Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler 8/5 Detroit 44
What I voted for: The Body vs. Big Fn Joe
Really, Bray’s last televised match over Tyrus?
Worst Feud:
1. MJF vs. The Devil 167
2. Outcasts vs. AEW Originals 114
3. Tyrus vs. EC 3 74
4. Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler 57
5. Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho 48
What I voted for: Outcasts vs. AEW Originals
Outcasts vs. AEW Originals was way worse than MJF vs. the Devil and lasted longer but I understand why more people voted for that. That whole nonsense was the main storyline towards the end of 2023 in AEW and it just got worse and worse as the weeks dragged on.
Worst Promotion:
1. NWA 456
2. AAA 88
3. WWE 61
4. Control Your Narrative 17
5. MLW 16
What I voted for: XPW
Control Your Narrative didn’t run a single show this year and it still got more worst votes than MLW.
Best Booker:
1. Paul Levesque 360
2. Tony Khan 146
3. Juan Manuel Mar 104
4. Shuji Ishikawa 74
5. Rossy Ogawa 68
What I voted for: Paul Levesque
Best Promoter:
1. Nick Khan 371
2. Tony Khan 239
3. Dana White 146
4. Chavo Lutteroth III 112
5. Rossy Ogawa 34
What I voted for: Paul Levesque (not sure if his votes were lumped in with Khan or if I was the only one to vote for Levesque)
Best Gimmick:
1. Toni Storm 239
2. Christian Cage 204
3. Orange Cassidy 48
4. Bloodline 38
5. Brochachos 36
What I voted for: Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley
Worst Gimmick:
1. The Devil 76
2. QTV 72
3. Toni Storm 49
4. House of Torture 40
5. Outcasts 39
What I voted for: Outcasts
Best Wrestling Book:
1. The Last Real World Champion by Tim Hornbaker 77
2. Tod is God by Tod Gordon 50
3. Ringmaster by Abraham Josephine Riesman 49
4. Keirn Chronicles by Steve Keirn and Ian Douglass` 39
5. Wrestling Observer Complete Collection 1989 by Dave Meltzer 22
What I voted for: Ringmaster
Best Wrestling Documentary:
1. Dark Side of the Ring: Chris and Tammy 97
2. VOW: The Life, career and death of Eddie Gilbert 80
3. American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes 69
4. Dark Side of the Ring: Marty Jannetty 65
5. Dark Side of the Ring: Magnum T.A. 34
What I voted for: American Nightmare