Views From The Turnbuckle: The 2016 Viewies! 2016 Pro Wrestling Awards Given Out!

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After a 2016 that was entertaining, if not always the most satisfying, let us celebrate the best of the best (or in some cases, the worst of the worst with my annual award column, The Viewies!

Wrestler of the Year: AJ Styles

AJ was already given the award two weeks ago in his own independent column, so I won’t elaborate too much here. He had the overall best year from top-to-bottom, winning titles, getting over, cutting good promos and of course having great matches.

Honorable Mention: Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Jay Lethal, Matt Hardy, Kento Miyahara, Kenny Omega, Kevin Owens

Match of the Year: Kenny Omega vs Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax Day 19

Also gave this award it’s own article which included the 25 or so best matches of 2016.Tag Team of the Year: The Young Bucks

The Young Bucks have done it all in 2016, we could talk about the titles they have won and the great matches that they have had, but everyone is already aware of that. How about the fact that they anchor two major indie promotions, Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla? Perhaps the Hardy Boys in TNA are the biggest draws in that promotion, but really that is more of a testament to their success as singles stars. The Young Bucks, as a tag team, anchor promotions in a way that harkens back to the glory days of the 1980s when teams like the Rock n’ Roll Express and The Road Warriors were the biggest draws for significant companies.

Honorable Mention: The New Day, Strong BJ, Big Guns, The Briscoes, The Addiction, Great Bash Heel, The Revival

Women’s Wrestler of the Year: Charlotte

Although the Women’s division had their ups and downs in 2016, Charlotte clearly established herself as the top wrestler in the division and has really left her chief competitors in her dust. If 10 years from now and women in WWE are still as popular as they are today, we will look back at Charlotte’s 2016 and credit her for the turnaround.

Honorable Mention: Becky Lynch, Asuka, Santana Garrett, Toni Storm, Io ShiraiEvent of the Year: NJPW WrestleKingdom 10

It was tough for WrestleKingdom this year to match last year’s event which was probably the greatest large-arena show in history, but WrestleKingdom 10 came pretty close. Like last year, the main event between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada was phenomenal while the undercard was led by a sensational Shinsuke Nakamura match, this time against AJ Styles.There were also two excellent Jr. Heavyweight matches (KUSHIDA vs Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks vs Roppongi Vice vs reDRagon vs Ricochet and Matt Sydal) as well as another Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomohiro Ishii classic. There were a lot of really good shows in 2016, but WrestleKingdom for the second year in a row was the top one.

Honorable Mention: NJPW G1 Climax Day 17, WWE Extreme Rules, ROH All-Star Extravaganza, PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 2, Dragon Gate Kobe Festival

Promotion of the Year: New Japan Pro Wrestling

New Japan had a lot of obstacles to overcome in 2016, beginning with the loss of some of their biggest stars including Shinsuke Nakamura, Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. To their credit, they once again showed why they are the best run major federation by suavely elevating new stars in their place, particularly Tetsuya Naito and Kenny Omega. Other wrestlers like Katsuyori Shibata, Michael Elgin and SANADA made leaps up the card and top names from other promotions like RUSH from CMLL and Naomichi Marufuji from Pro Wrestling NOAH also helped round out the roster. NJPW followed up with their typical excellent major shows, including several classic G1 Climax matches, a terrific WrestleKingdom show and the most consistent main events on the planet. What it comes down to is that if you spent the time or the money on NJPW, you were going to get a great value and were guaranteed at the very least a satisfying show.

Honorable Mention: Dragon Gate, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, EVOLVE, Revolution Pro Wrestling, Ring of Honor, CMLL

Best Technical Wrestler: Zack Sabre Jr.

Timothy Thatcher won this award at the Mid-Year point but a nasty concussion has kept him out of competition for the last couple months. Sabre Jr. has been extremely well-traveled, having great matches in his native U.K as well as for indie promotions like EVOLVE and PWG. He reached his broadest audience yet by competing in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic where he had several excellent matches with a variety of different opponents. No wrestler does a better job of displaying their expert knowledge of holds and Sabre’s flexibility inside the ring is unmatched. The one knock on him is that I don’t really buy his facials inside the ring (whereas Thatcher has terrific mannerisms during a grueling match) but I think he has improved on that aspect in the last year.

Honorable Mention: Marty Scurll, AJ Styles, Timothy Thatcher, Tetsuya Naito, Chris Hero, TJ Perkins

Best Power Wrestler: Daisuke SekimotoSekimoto, along with his tag team partner Yuji Okabayashi were game-changers for All-Japan Pro Wrestling; their command over the tag titles and their feud with Big Guns reinvigorating a very lackluster division. Sekimoto is a very modern power wrestler, not particularly tall but built like a fire hydrant and a great athlete. The ace of Big Japan Pro Wrestling, Sekimoto had a series of excellent singles matches and won the Champion’s Carnival in April. A few wrestlers like Michael Elgin and Cesaro might arguably be better in-ring performers, but neither can match the impact Sekimoto had on a wrestling company.

Honorable Mention: Cesaro, Michael Elgin, Jeff Cobb/Matanza Cueto, Yuji Okabayashi, Zeus

Best High-Flyer: Will Ospreay

This was a terrific year for high-flying wrestlers with several truly outstanding performers. After breaking out in 2015, Ospreay had a tremendous 2016, refining his wrestling skills and developing rivalries with some of the top names in indie wrestling, including Ricochet, Zack Sabre Jr. and Marty Scurll. Ospreay’s athleticism combined with his willingness to take huge risks in the ring make him one of the most can’t-miss performers in wrestling and a likely staple for this award for years to come.

Honorable Mention: Ricochet, Dragon Lee, Matt Sydal, Peter Kaasa

Best Brawler: Naomichi Marufuji

This was a tough one to dole out considering that guys like Kevin Owens, Katsuyori Shibata, Chris Hero and Tomohiro Ishii had plenty of outstanding matches in 2016. Marufuji is a terrific overall wrestler but what separates him from the pack is his incredible striking ability, particularly his kicks. He represented NOAH fiercley in the …

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