2017 Pro Wrestling Year End Awards

2017 Pro Wrestling Year End Awards
January 15, 2018
By Ryan Porzl

With the year coming to an end, it's time I give my year end awards for what I considered both the best and worst in American and Japanese wrestling. Like previous years, these are my opinions and mine alone.



American Wrestling

Wrestler of the Year: Eli Drake (Impact)- This was one of the no brainers in my opinion. Drake has been one of wrestling's best prospects since his arrival in Impact Wrestling two years ago and he took that next step this year by becoming one of the top stars in wrestling. Drake has proven to have it all in look, skill, charisma, and mic skills. His promo work is some of the best in wrestling today and despite being mostly known for that, he's proven that he's just as great of a wrestler by putting on one great performance after another from his hour long run in the gauntlet for the vacant Impact Global Championship to his matches with the likes of Johnny Impact and Petey Williams. Drake has shown he's got the tools in the ring and a great athlete that is more than capable of putting on classics that you would expect top stars to do. From a storyline standpoint, Drake won the Impact Global Championship in August and held it for the remainder of the year.

Woman Wrestler of the Year: Sienna (Impact)- This was a close one as it came down to Sienna and Alexa Bliss but I went with Sienna. Originally coming in during the spring of 2016, Sienna had a good first year including winning the Knockouts Championship quickly but she mostly spent the year serving as an enforcer to Maria Kanellis and her Lady Squad. While she was great, it was obvious Sienna had more to offer. Following Kanellis' departure in March, Sienna was finally given the opportunity to stand out and once she was given the ball, she ran with it. She continued to show she was a great talent in the ring but once she went on her own, we also saw she's entertaining on the mic and in segments which allowed her to show more layers of herself and that she was more than just a great wrestler. Speaking of great wrestler, Sienna also had many great matches this year including many with Rosemary as well as with Gail Kim and the three way at Bound For Glory against Gail and Allie. It also doesn't hurt Sienna has become something of a trendsetter with women like Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch ripping her off. From a storyline standpoint, Sienna won the GFW Women's Championship and then regained the Knockouts Championship for the second time while unifying the Women's Championship into the Knockouts Championship.

Tag Team of the Year: Latin American Xchange (Impact)- Ortiz and Santana have been one of those teams that have been great on the indy circuit for so long that it was an injustice that they didn't have a national platform but that was thankfully remedied this year. Ortiz and Santana had some big shoes to fill given the LAX name and how Homicide & Hernandez were one of the greatest teams in Impact history as well as this century but they succeeded and not only filled those shoes but maybe even took the name a step further. LAX was an excellent team all year long putting on great matches with just about every team they wrestled such as VOW and oVe. They have excellent teamwork and double team moves so they come off like a well oiled machine. They also can cut good promos and play their gimmicks well as street thugs who you don't want to mess with and can more than hold their own in a bar fight. From a storyline standpoint, LAX captured the Impact World Tag Team Championships twice (the second title win didn't air until 2018), the GFW Tag Team Titles, and unified the GFW belts into the Impact Championships.

Best Fan Favorite: Allie (Impact)- This was an easy pick. First of all, Allie plays a fan favorite extremely well as she's very lovable, a great underdog you can't help but want to back up, and can make you chuckle with her happy-go-lucky attitude and occasional awkwardness. She's pretty much one of those characters that you want to see succeed if nothing else because she's likable. I also pick her because of her character and how she nails it. Allie is the type of character that's very happy, positive, & always smiling and with that said, it's a character that's extremely difficult to pull off as you walk a fine line as the person trying the gimmick wants to be likable but runs the risk of coming off annoying. We see this with Bayley in WWE as she plays her character very poorly and it shows as she comes off annoying, lame, and easy to boo. Allie knows how to play the character without getting annoying and it's a testament to her talent.

Best Villain: Alexa Bliss (WWE)- Bliss just doesn't get enough credit or maybe she's just that good that she can get under the skin of the internet wrestling community. Bliss fired on all cylinders as far as villain went as she could come off hatable, cut a great promo, does a good job playing a villain during matches without having to resort to cheap tactics, and can play a crowd very well. She really excels at being a bully or manipulative or someone who put themselves on a pedestal while having a god/goddess like complex.

Best Match of the Year: Davey Richards vs. Eddie Edwards (Impact Wrestling 4/6)- This last man standing match was not only great but an absolute war between two partners turned enemies. Speaking of that, Richards and Edwards did a great job making you believe they hate each other and were out for each other's blood. Second was the action was great with the two battling in the crowd and used weapons like chairs and a chain. Third was the crowd was hot which is great as many have criticized the lack of reaction at the Impact Zone but there was loud for that match. Fourth was the interference from wives Angelina Love and Alicia Edwards was well done and didn't come off like an overbooked mess. Finally, the stuff they did was brutal including Edwards setting Richards head onto an unfolded chair and caving it into the chair via a diving foot stomp while the finish looked painful with Richards wrapping a chain around his leg and then kicked Edwards in the head which prevented him from getting up before the ten count. The only shame was this could've been a blowoff match but the feud continued and couldn't top it though maybe they could've had Richards not left in the summer.

Best Brawler: Baron Corbin (WWE)- For the second year in a row, Corbin is the best brawler. Corbin has good strikes especially punches which isn't surprising giving his previous golden gloves background and comes off like a bad ass who can hold his own against anyone in a bar fight. He's not only good with beating down smaller opponents but also has some nice power moves like the deep six and end of days.

Best Flyer: Dezmond Xavier (Impact)- Impact really scored big with the signing of Xavier who has been tailored made for the X Division. The high flying moves he is capable of pulling off is very impressive and makes him someone who is capable of going down as a future great in the history of the X Division along the likes of AJ Styles, Jerry Lynn, Low Ki, Chris Sabin, Christopher Daniels, and Samoa Joe.

Best Talker: Eli Drake (Impact)- For the second year in a row, Drake gets the prize. Like I've said last year, Drake is such a natural talker, is witty, and never stumbles or trips on his promos. He's a guy that can go at it with anyone in terms of promos and hold his own even if he was able to go back in time, he could find a way to go at it with the best talkers in their prime. Drake should one day go down in history as one of the greatest talkers in the history of professional wrestling.

Most Improved: Baron Corbin (WWE)- Like Alexa Bliss, Corbin is another person who doesn't get enough credit. Watching Corbin this past year, I was amazed that he'd only been on the main roster for a year because I thought he more than held his own whenever he was put in a big match and never felt out of place. He more than held his own with his matches with AJ Styles and/or Tye Dillinger while carrying Nakamura, Cena, and Miz on Pay-Per-View as his stuff was the only thing interesting and he did most of the work while they did their usual tired schtick. While WWE has been hit or miss with Corbin especially after he was sacrificed at the alter of John Cena, who is capable of derailing any career, at Summerslam, Corbin has improved in the ring and on the mic into one of the best in WWE. He also plays a great bully heel and can work a crowd very well. If WWE doesn't drop the ball, Corbin could be a major star for them in the years to come.

Comeback of the Year: Cody (ROH)- While Cody was on the comeback trail late last year, he still deserves this honor. For year, Cody has been one of the best in the world but throughout the majority of his WWE run, he was stuck with awful characters until hitting rock bottom with Stardust that prevented him from reaching the heights he was capable of. 2017 saw Cody finally shine ironically embracing a persona that was the antithesis of his legendary father be it clothes, cars they rode or drove in, or beliefs in life. After a brief run in Impact where he feuded with Moose over the Impact Grand Championship, Cody hit his stride by joining ROH where he rose to top heel status and finally became a world heavyweight champion by winning the ROH World Heavyweight Championship. He's also worked in England and in New Japan as part of Bullet Club doing very well for himself. After being misused for so many years, Cody finally is shining.

Best Feud of the Year: LAX vs. oVe (Impact)- This feud was so well done for many reasons and there's many reasons to love it. First is the matches have been fun as these two teams have gelled very well in the ring while both are capable of having great wrestling matches as well as great street fight type matches. The story was also great as LAX bursted onto the scene and quickly steamrolled through everyone to become tag team champions. For most of 2017, it appeared as though LAX was one step of everyone but then oVe came around, they seemed to be the team that had LAX's number and won the tag team championships upon entry. The arrival of Sami Callihan intensified things with oVe becoming more vicious and LAX becoming babyfaces. The matches and segments got more violent with the last of the year featuring Callihan confronting Konnan with the segment seeing the two agree to a title match only to follow by getting personal with Konnan bringing up Callihan's family and girlfriend Jessicka Havok if Callihan backed out of the deal only for Callihan to hurl a fireball at Konnan. Overall, it's fitting these two sides refer to themselves as "family" and like feuding families, things not only escalated but is coming off like you'd expect where it has that "they send one of yours to the hospital, you send one of theirs to the morgue" feel. I feel like this feud was what people wanted the New Day/Uso feud to be in WWE except this one featured great matches, violence, a great storyline, and you get the impression nobody is playing games. There's nothing cute or funny about it and you believe both stables hate each other.

Debut/Return of the Year: the Undisputed Era (NXT)- While I can't stand top wrestlers in their primes being wasted in NXT, the Undisputed Era have made a big impact this year. With wrestlers like Bobby Roode having moved up to the main roster, the Undisputed Era has settled in as the top heels in NXT while filling a void. reDRagon have been helpful in the tag team division especially with the Revival moving up to the main roster, DIY breaking up and Ciampa out with an injury, and TM-61 being out for most of 2017 due to Shane Thorne suffering an injury while Adam Cole is likely a future NXT Champion. With reDRagon as the NXT Tag Team Champions and Cole likely to be NXT Champion by Wrestlemania weekend, the Undisputed Era has become major players in NXT.

Most Underrated: Mike Bennett (WWE)- I could put any wrestler in their prime that's stuck in NXT or the talented cruiserweights that was wasted but there's too many to name though they are honorable mentions but I found a good pick in Bennett. It's almost impossible to believe that just a year ago, Bennett was a future world champion in Impact Wrestling and had a lot going for him. Now, the guy is almost never on TV and he's a jobber with no future. Bennett has shown over the years to have a lot of potential both in the ring and on the mic but he's been wasted in the WWE with a lame gimmick, being his wife's sidekick, and he always loses. I don't think he's won five matches since his July debut and I can't remember the last time he's been on TV. WWE desperately needs new stars and Bennett could be a good one but so far, he's been completely squandered.

Best Announcer: Matt Striker (Lucha Underground)- Striker has always been a great and reliable announcer and 2017 was no different. He's knowledgeable and smart which is important for a play-by-play announcer. He's also not annoying, doesn't have an annoying voice, and doesn't make you want to mute the TV.

Best Non-Wrestler: Daniel Bryan (WWE)- Sadly, 2017 was not a good year for non-wrestlers and Bryan gets this award simply because he's one of the few non-wrestlers that actually was good and contributed to the product. When it comes to non-wrestling personalities, almost everyone fell short. The McMahons were their usual awful selves. Impact brought in Karen Jarrett, Bruce Prichard, and Jim Cornette for brief periods and none of them added anything to the show and didn't bring anything to the table. ROH didn't have anyone and Lucha Underground had a couple but Catrina and Dario Cueto weren't on Bryan's level. All in all, Bryan is a great talker, is entertaining, and he doesn't have an ego so he never drags a show down. Plus, it's nice to see him still given nobody wanted him to retire after he was forced to at such a young age. Kurt Angle was a contender for this award but Bryan slightly beats him.

Best Gimmick: Mil Muertes/Undead Luchadore (Lucha Underground)- There really wasn't a great new gimmick this year so I decided to pick one of the best going in recent years. The best way to describe Muertes is a Luchadore version of the Undertaker: an undead zombie who seems impervious to pain while having a manager who uses an object to continually power him through out a match. Muertes plays the gimmick great and a does a great job as an intimidating bad ass who comes off like a Frankenstein's Monster who repeatedly gets up and keeps coming after seemingly being slayed.

Best Promotion: Impact Wrestling- Judging from these awards and given what an Impact mark I am, this is no surprise. After years of instability, Impact got some footing this year despite some the coming and going of Jeff Jarrett, the stupidity of briefly changing the name to GFW, and the departures of some names with others coming and going. They had a successful Indian tour and became one of the first to tape television in India while also expanding itself by signing a new UK TV deal with Spike UK, signing a deal with Pluto TV, expanding to more European countries like Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, releasing the Global Wrestling Network, & striking deals in many American and Canadian indy shows along with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide in Mexico and Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan. As far as in the ring, Impact had some of the best matches and rivalries of this year. We saw the introduction of many wrestlers like oVe, LAX, & Dezmond Xavier who were long overdue to be signed by a national promotion. Eli Drake made it to the main event which he deserved while guys and girls like Moose, EC3, & Trevor Lee shined as champions while Rosemary, Sienna, Laurel Van Ness, and Allie rose to become the new stars & faces of the Knockouts Division. The promotion also made some good signings in Johnny Impact, Taya Valkyrie, Matt Sydal & Alberto El Patron with the latter doing better than I thought. We also saw the appearances of international stars like El Hijo del Fantasma, Drago, Pagano, El Texano, Naomichi Marufuji, and Taiji Ishimori which added a different flavor to the shows. We saw the return of the World X Cup. 2017 was not perfect but it was a start especially with this being Anthem's first year of running a wrestling promotion and we got some great moments while many wrestlers got long overdue opportunities.

Worst Wrestler of the Year: Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE)- For the second year in a row, Nakamura earns this "honor" but this year, gets it all to himself. Again, there was a time when Nakamura was worthy of the hype but that was years ago. Since at least 2012, Nakamura has gotten worse each year and he was completely exposed so badly after moving to the main roster that even the internet wrestling community has been forced to realize Nakamura isn't working although they've been full of excuses. Nakamura sucked in NXT but has been worse since moving up to the main roster as he hasn't had a single great performance yet. While it is true that he's been put in there with an unmotivated Dolph Ziggler and absolute deadweight like John Cena & Jinder Mahal, he still couldn't bring it when put with good talent like Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn. People can blame the WWE all they want but Nakamura is exposed and if he was so good then why hasn't he turned it up yet? The truth is Nakamura just isn't good anymore as his moves look weak and his upper body is completely shot which results in him doing almost nothing but knees and kicks but even they don't look that good. His psychology is also poor as he can have his legs worked on during a match only to run and use the leg without showing any pain. His character is annoying as they say he's an "artist" but he's really more closer to drunk as he looks drunk when he comes out and gives facial reactions like he's about to puke. His "come on" taunt looks stupid like he rather have the opponent blow him instead of wrestle or as I put it, his taunt and saying come on sounds like he wants them to come on so he can cum on them. While I'm well aware English is a second language to him, his promos are bad and he sounds like Jar Jar Binks. Finally, Nakamura gives off the wrong feel. He's supposed to be "The King of Strong Style" and this bad ass but during his entrance and matches, he's act way too silly to be taken seriously.

Worst Woman Wrestler of the Year: Natalya (WWE)- This is a hard one to pick as I've been a fan of Natalya for years and complained she was being wasted all the while 2017 saw many lousy women wrestlers in WWE like Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, Carmella, and Naomi but I have to bite the bullet and go with Natalya. First thing is that I expect those women to be horrible but I expect so much more from Natalya as she can be a great wrestler at her best. Second is that Natalya has been completely atrocious all year and pretty much since she turned heel in mid 2016. I don't know what happen to her but her performance as a heel is awful as she seems too obsessed with playing to the crowd which isn't usually a bad thing but she does it all the time and it kills a match. It sometimes gets to the point where she'll stall after hitting a move and it doesn't help she doesn't shuffle it up as it's the same formula and the taunts or trash talking is the same. I'm not sure if this is WWE wanting her to portray her character like this or what. As if her character wasn't bad, her matches are bad as she looks sloppy and repetitive to the point where she even seems to screw up applying a sharpshooter all the while having a few worst match of the year candidates mostly against Nikki Bella and Charlotte Flair. Promo work was never her strong suit but Natalya is also bad there and it doesn't help she constantly brings up her famous family and repeats Uncle Bret's catchphrase. I also believe Natalya is also in a position like Dolph Ziggler where she's been burned and wasted for so long that she's lost her passion and doesn't try anymore. While she won the Smackdown Women's Title, I feel she's one of those wrestlers who has accepted their fate and know no matter how hard they try, they won't be moving up the ladder so they stopped trying and you can't blame them since they probably don't want to risk injury when there's little reward. Now, she's just doing her job and collecting her checks since she has bills to pay. That all being said, Natalya did get a push this year and while she's been wasted in the past, she still got a push but she still didn't turn it up or light a fire underneath her. It's one thing to be lazy when you're going nowhere but it's another when you're still not putting an effort in after getting pushed. I've been a fan of Natalya for years but she was so disappointing and she is better than horrible matches and bad promos.

Worst Tag Team of the Year: The Usos (WWE)- Originally, the New Day nearly threepeated but the Usos were on a whole other level of bad this year. I don't understand what people saw in the Usos but it's lost on me. After entering the year with their tired colorful babyface characters, they turned heel this year and took on a gangster type gimmick, at least in theory. The Usos are among the least believable gangsters I've ever seen in wrestling. They talk about "the Uso penitentiary" but they come off like they wouldn't last five minutes in a real penitentiary. They come off so lame and phony that my 61 year old dad comes off having more street cred when he mocks rap. It's even worse due to LAX coming in at the same time and they are far more credible and bad ass as a street gang. Comparing them is like comparing Dr. Dre to Vanilla Ice. Like the New Day, they now have these stupid annoying monologues before matches that sound terrible, are unfunny, and remind me of bad Public Enemy or Briscoe Brothers promos. Speaking of matches, the Usos have been bland and boring for years but they continue to get worse as they didn't have a single great match or feud this year and it seems like the only things they do in matches are superkicks, dives out of the ring, and splashes with a few things sprinkled in. They're limited in the ring and it feels like they have the same match. With the new look and briefly turning heel, you'd think they shuffle or experiment but other then stomping an opponent's leg and doing the tequila sunrise, it's the same old garbage.

Worst Match of the Year: Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, & Kurt Angle vs. The Miz, Cesaro, Sheamus, Kane, & Braun Strowman (WWE TLC 10/22)- Talk about a complete trainwreck, I don't know where to start. First thing is that it's 3 vs. 5 and while Rollins, Ambrose, and Angle (replacing a sick Roman Reigns) are elite top stars while Angle is a Hall of Famer but to beat five guys which consist of the Intercontinental Champion, former Tag Team Champions, a former WWE Champion, and a monster on the rise makes the five heels look weak since there's not only more of them but their all elite on their own. How are we supposed to take any of them seriously when they can't win a match as a team despite having the numbers advantage. Second is the match went way too long clocking in at 35:25. I get you want a TLC match to go long but what they did, it felted padded and stretched too long as they could've accomplished what they wanted in 20-25 minutes. Third was the villains acted like cartoon or movie villains where they are on the verge of victory only to give the hero an opportunity to foil them as Angle was taking out at one point and they easily could've pinned either Rollins or Ambrose but instead insisted on continuing to punish them and then Miz brought out a garbage truck so he could put them in the trash which didn't happen. Fourth was the stuff with Kane and Strowman (especially Strowman) as miscommunication would see then briefly argue before resuming their beatdown on Rollins and Ambrose only for Kane to start attacking Strowman five minutes later for no reason. From there, things got completely ridiculous and silly as Kane took out Strowman by chokeslamming him through the stage followed by pulling down a bunch of chair that were hung from the ceiling as part of the set which collapsed all over Strowman like an avalanche. Then, Strowman eventually recovers like a villain in a slasher film, starts beating up the heels only for the heels to beat him down, and then stuff him in the garbage truck. Like Shredder in the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, Strowman seemingly gets crushed after it's turned on but like Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, he's revealed to survive it a few days later. Overall, this was the second time in 2017 someone tried to murder Strowman. Finally, Angle was in 1/3 of the match as he was taken out ten minutes in and returns for the last few minutes to get the victory. This match should go down with stuff like WCW's old Chamber of Horror's match as we get an overbooked mess that was boring and is so bad it's almost funny. If what I just wrote was meant to be a parody then I would completely excuse it because it's so laughable but the sad thing is that WWE was absolutely serious.

Worst Feud of the Year: Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman (WWE)- Like these other worst of categories, WWE offered me a treasure trove of crap. There was lots to choose from this year including Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens, Nikki Bella vs. Natalya, John Cena & Nikki Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse, John Cena vs. Roman Reigns, and Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax to name some but Reigns and Strowman took the cake. The first problem was this feud went way too long especially for two guys as limited as these two are as the feud began at the Royal Rumble in January and the two were still wrestling each other in matches in October. In this day and age, having the same two people feud and wrestle on and off for nine months is tough given it can get stale due to weekly TV but it's made worse as Reigns and Strowman just can't make a feud entertaining be it in the ring, on the mic, or in segments. None of their matches were good and were very boring. This feud also had some of the most laughable moments as we saw Strowman yell he wasn't done with Reigns before charging at Reigns in the back only to miss and crash into an ambulance door like some goof that made the Shockmaster appear graceful. We had a segment with Reigns strapped to a stretcher only for Strowman to push him off a platform and then flipped the ambulance Reigns was in with his bare hands. To say the very least, it was so fake looking and ludicrous. Unfortunately, the big one was at the Great Balls of Fire Pay-Per-View where Strowman defeated Reigns in an ambulance match only for Reigns to fight back, put Strowman into the ambulance, and then drove it to the back where he back it as fast as possible into a semi trailer to smash the back of the ambulance while Strowman was supposedly in it. You read that right, Reigns tried to commit vehicular homicide. As if the segment wasn't bad enough, Strowman eventually was freed by WWE officials and would stagger out refusing to seek medical attention all the while only bleeding in the face and elbow while not having any broken bones or torn muscles before eventually staggering off screen like some drunk who lost a bar fight. You know, even the Undertaker would usually disappear for weeks or months at a time whenever he was "killed off" back in the day.

Most Overrated: Brock Lesnar (WWE)- 2017 gave us many options for Most Overrated. Braun Strowman was put in main event positions he wasn't ready for. Roman Reigns continues to be shoved down our throats despite the backlash and underwhelming performances. John Cena got another undeserved title reign which supposedly tied with Ric Flair (only in WWE) and did not put over up and comer Baron Corbin when given the chance. Goldberg got a Universal Championship reign and a big match at Wrestlemania despite not being capable of wrestling a five minute match this year while not even being able to wrestle a combined ten minutes over the course of his three 2017 matches. Jinder Mahal got a big push and five month WWE Championship reign despite lacking everywhere outside of look but he can likely thank supplements instead of pumping iron for that. However, in the end, at least Strowman didn't win a title, Cena wasn't pushed that much, Goldberg didn't last long, and Reigns & Mahal at least work full time and are on the road. It's because of all this why I pick Lesnar for this award. For the same reason he got this award three years ago, Lesnar gets this award for the same reasons namely the fact he still receives a huge push despite not working full time. 2017 saw Lesnar receive a big match at Wrestlemania, some huge wins, a few PPV main events including Summerslam (which makes this the fifth time out of the recent six Summerslams he's main evented since returning in 2012), and he's been Universal Champion for nearly a year despite being MIA for 90% of the year. I've been sick of Lesnar's horseshit antics and WWE coddling him since his return. I've been sick of him constantly getting big pushes and getting championships despite barely showing up. Along with the undeserved push, Lesnar has also been extremely lazy for years with his suplex city garbage as he does nothing but lazy german suplexes and a F-5. There's no fun, excitement, psychology, or storytelling as Lesnar hops around, craps out a half assed performance, and disappears for awhile. Instead of "The Beast Incarnate", Lesnar is actually the pampered primadonna.

Worst Announcer: Booker T (WWE)- There was a lot I hated about WWE in 2017 and one of the big ones was the return of Booker T to commentary. Originally to serve as a substitute for a few months, Booker is still around and still as horrible as ever. There have been few announcers that have annoyed me more than Booker T in the two decades I've been following professional wrestling. He comes off like an babbling, incoherent, rambling marblemouth who makes little sense and brings absolutely nothing to the table be it wrestling knowledge or comedy. He's so bad that there are times when his colleagues ask him "what?" and I don't think it's an act but that they really don't know what he's talking about. Another big issue is that in theory he's supposed to be the pro babyface commentator while Michael Cole is the play-by-play announcer and Corey Graves is the pro heel commentator but he'll then start defending the heel or trash a babyface for little to no reason and you can't help but wonder if he even knows what his job is. He also can't seem to go three sentences without starting one with "Let me tell you something" which gets irritating and I just want to tell him to stop trying to tell me something because he does a terrible job of telling anybody anything.

Worst Non Wrestler: Shane McMahon (WWE)- There was a time when Shane was the tolerable McMahon who kept his ego in check but no more. I don't know what happened but Shane was obnoxious and annoying all year long all the while not contributing anything to the product. He never added much to the shows but rather took away from them especially as the year went by and he started getting more and more screen time. It went against what he and Bryan had been saying since the split returned in 2016 which was Smackdown was the land of opportunity but it felt more like The Shane Show. He also ruined the mood of segments as you would have a tense moment with people in the ring or wrestlers fighting only for him to come out, do his stupid dance, and slap fans hands which kills things. Why should we take a segment seriously if the boss doesn't? There's a reason I also refer to Shane as "Mr. Mid-Life Crisis" as he still does his dance or wrestle in his baseball jerseys all the while being nearly 50 with gray hair. It was nice 18 years ago but not now. He also comes off annoying even when he tries to do the right thing as seen during the Kevin Owens/AJ Styles feud as he comes off as someone who doesn't mind his own business and you want to piss off. The fact he's also able to stand toe-to-toe against top guys like Owens and Styles in feuds this year is also ridiculous given his age and the fact he's not a wrestler. The fact he can be put through a table by Owens and still come back for more minutes later doesn't make any sense. Say what you will, and I have, about John Cena being booked as Super Cena but at least John Cena is a jacked up wrestler. Finally, the few times he's wrestled this year, Shane just doesn't look good outside of the van terminator or shooting star presses. Everything else sees him doing bad punches, kicks and submissions while his matches are like New Jack's were in that you just wait for him to dive off somewhere high.

Worst Gimmick: Naomi/Glow-in-the-Dark Wrestler (WWE)- Words can't explain how awful this gimmick is. Basically, the gimmick sees Naomi wear attire that glows-in-the-dark during her entrance. The problem is that the glow-in-the-dark is hideous as it doesn't look good and comes off ugly and an eye sore. It doesn't look awesome or visual amazing. Add to it is atrocious music that can make your ears bleed along with Naomi doing some bad dancing in the dark. Overall, it's not just a bad gimmick but it's offensive to most of your senses. I also don't get the gimmick's appeal as it's not only feature ugly visuals and music but what's the point? Why should I cheer it or boo it? The gimmick is just an entrance and doesn't add anything else like make Naomi more likable. I think the thought is that when Naomi tells us to "feel the glow" it's about inner strength but it comes off stupid. I've heard people compare this to a rave stripper and as offensive as that may sound to some, they may be right given the way it comes off.

Worst Promotion: WWE- Judging by the rest of my choices, I think everyone saw this coming but it's very obvious as WWE featured more trash then you would see in a dump. It was like WWE was trying to strike for oil but instead accidentally struck a septic tank and shit burst out all year. The problems that have plagued the organization for years was still in effect as it's suffering with hyper saturation with three hour RAWs on Mondays followed by two hours of Smackdown and then an hour of 205 Live on Tuesday, and then an hour of NXT on Wednesday while Main Event pops up somewhere. Meanwhile, big four Pay-Per-Views like Royal Rumble, Summerslam, and Survivor Series are now four hours long with two hour pre-shows while Wrestlemania goes six hours and has it's own two hour pre-show and with the WWE doing RAW & Smackdown Pay-Per-Views, that's meant we've had a Pay-Per-View every two weeks most of the time. Along with endless programming, the bad booking has resulting in an exhausting experience. The promotion continued to drag along this year with the split which was a failure and has done nothing to shake up a stale and tired product. In some cases, wrestlers just switch brands but get the same outcome as Charlotte left 2016 as RAW Women's Champion only to leave 2017 as Smackdown Women's Champion and vice versa with Alexa Bliss. Miz spent most of 2016 as Intercontinental Champion on Smackdown and then spent most of 2017 as Intercontinental Champion on RAW. The cruiserweight division means nothing and has been dead all year long with WWE reducing it to a division where exciting wrestlers are reduced to working slow, plodding, and boring matches. The tag team divisions were a mess with terrible teams like the Bar, the New Day, and the Usos mostly dominating with the latter two being really bad since they're stale. Brock Lesnar was Universal Champion for most of the year despite barely appearing which is the last thing you want for a new championship as WWE fans have even less reason to care about the fruit roll up belt. Jinder Mahal had one of the biggest lame duck WWE Championship reigns in the near 54 year history of the belt. The promotion is still in a time warp and believe it's 1985 with anti-American Mahal as well as All American John Cena taking on evil foreigner Rusev in a flag match. Meanwhile, Cena got another title reign he didn't need and Reigns main evented his third straight Wrestlemania while these two were continually shoved down our throats. The promotion largely failed to create new stars except Braun Strowman and Baron Corbin but Strowman isn't ready for his push and WWE has screwed up Corbin from time to time. Meanwhile great talent who either moved to the main roster or have already been there like Becky Lynch, Tye Dillinger, the Ascension, Cedric Alexander, Gran Metalik, Drew Gulak, and Emma were wasted. WWE has also done what we've all suspected they would've done when the split began in 2016 and that's throw the rules out of the window. In theory, the split was supposed to keep wrestlers and announcers on one brand at a time but this year, we saw John Cena magically become a "free agent" (never explained how this happened or why neither brand tries to sign him) and allows him to jump back and forth anytime he wants while Renee Young & Corey Graves do double duty working for both RAW & Smackdown. Meanwhile, feuds continued but just transferred to other brands with Miz and Ambrose beginning on Smackdown and continuing on RAW while Owens and Zayn began on RAW and continued on Smackdown. Perhaps worst of all, WWE is so soulless and manufactured as all the belts look idenitical and ugly while all the sets on every TV show and Pay-Per-View except Wrestlemania are the same. The shows have the same camera angles and formats. Nothing stands out and nothing looks different. No division, no TV show, and no Pay-Per-View has it's own look or feel and come off cookie cutter.

Japanese Wrestling

Wrestler of the Year: Suwama (All Japan)- Originally, I was torn between Suwama and Kenoh before going with Suwama though Kenoh deserves an honorable mention. Despite having passed the torch to Miyahara in November 2016 and turned 41 (though he did have a late start in the business) this November, Suwama has shown in 2017 that he is far from over. Suwama continued to put on excellent matches throughout the year including against the likes of Shuji Ishikawa (specifically their 7/17 Triple Crown Title match) and Kento Miyahara (specifically their 10/9 Triple Crown match) while forming a great team with Ishikawa. From a storyline standpoint, Suwama won the AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship for a record setting sixth time which broke the record he previously shared with legends Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada. He also won the Royal Road Tournament for the second year in a row which make him the first to have won the tournament a second time and the 2017 World's Strongest Tag Determination League with Ishikawa.

Junior Heavyweight Wrestler of the Year: Taiji Ishimori (NOAH)- Ishimori continued to be one of the best Junior Heavyweights in 2017. In terms of skill, he continued to show great athleticism and awesome high flying maneuvers all the while knowing how to have to use his skills to tell a good story and have a great match instead of just being some spot monkey. In terms of match quality, Ishimori had that too both in singles as well as forming a great team XX with Hi69 where he mostly had great matches against the Back Breakers (Hajime Ohara & Hitoshi Kumano) as well as members of RATEL'S such as HAYATA, Daisuke Harada, and YO-HEY. From a storyline standpoint, Ishimori won the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship for a third time and the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the fifth time with Hi69, and made it to the finals of the Global Junior Heavyweight Tag League tournament.

Best Gaijin (Foreigner): Eddie Edwards (NOAH)- When NOAH began a deal with Impact, it led to the return of Eddie Edwards to the promotion after having work there a decade earlier. Edwards contributed a lot to NOAH this year as he not only gave great matches including his title win over Katsuhiko Nakajima and his title loss to Kenoh but also gave them a main event foreigner that they've lacked with Cody Hall being new in the promotion and green while Quiet Storm will likely never be a main eventer. From a storyline standpoint, Edwards won the GHC Heavyweight Championship thus being the first foreigner to win the championship and also became the first to defend it in Canada when he successfully defended it against El Hijo del Phantasma.

Tag Team of the Year: The Big Guns (All Japan/Freelance)- For the second time, Big Guns get this prize. I don't know what it is but they have had some of the most fun matches this year especially against NEXTREAM members Naoya Nomura and Jake Lee where they had a few great matches. The team are not only good power wrestlers but they have some fun double team moves so it's usually fun watching work over opponents though they have they can be agile and aren't just some lumbering brutes. I also appreciate how they seem to know how to make the best of the time they were given as they can wrestle a long match and have a good pace but if they were only given ten minutes then they would just go all out and not waste any time. From a storyline standpoint,Big Guns entered the year as All Japan World Tag Team Champions and won the titles for a third time later on.

Best Match of the Year: Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Brian Cage (NOAH, 7/27)- This match was fun and great with a lot of action, was never boring, and featured a hot crowd. Another thing to like here is that neither Nakajima or Cage played to what you would expect as you would think in theory that it would be one of those "little man vs. big man" matches but it wasn't. Anybody that knows Cage knows the guy is not only strong but insanely agile and can take to the air like someone half his size while Nakajima isn't the tallest guy but can hit very hard and due some nice suplexes. All of this resulted in an excellent match with both wrestlers showing good strength and speed. It also came off well as Cage served as Nakajima's toughest challenge for his GHC Heavyweight Championship on paper since he was the whole package instead of being just a big power guy.

Comeback of the Year: Joe Doering (All Japan)- Probably one of, if not, the easiest choice as Doering returned in January 2017 after missing almost all of 2016 due to brain cancer. To not only recover from brain cancer but still return in good form to the point where he was given the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship in All Japan is incredible and admirable.

Most Improved: Takanori Ito (Wrestle-1)- This was probably one of the hardest categories to pick from as Puroresu saw many wrestler's make improvement including All Japan's Naoya Nomura, Yuma Aoyagi, and Jake Lee, Freelancer Shogun Okamoto, Wrestle-1's Shotaro Ashino, and Big Japan's Daichi Hashimoto. However, I picked Ito for many reasons. One is the fact that he looks really good in the ring, can have great matches, can sell well, and he doesn't look lost. Second is the fact that I'm amazed that he's only been wrestling for a year having turned pro back in 2016. While Ito can and should continue to improve, I'm amazed that he never looks lost during a match or maybe doesn't have a lot of confidence given his lack of experience but neither are the case. Ito comes from a karate background so I'm not sure if that helps as he does incorporate it to his style or if he's a natural but given how good he is now, I can't help but think how great he can eventually become if he keeps up the good work and can avoid injuries.

Debut/Return of the Year: RATAL'S (HAYATA, YO-HEY, & Tadasuke) (NOAH)- One thing I usually love about Pro Wrestling NOAH is that they have one of, if not, the best junior heavyweight division in Japan. However, the division lost two names at the beginning of the year when Atsushi Kotoge and Kenoh announced their intention of moving up to heavyweight. With them moving up and the Suzuki-gun stable back in New Japan, NOAH needed some rebuilding but that would come as NOAH president Masayuki Uchida opened NOAH up for freelancers to competed and three would be HAYATA, YO-HEY, and Tadasuke who quickly impressed and were eventually signed to contracts. The three of them along with RATAL stablemate Daisuke Harada have been a huge part of NOAH Junior Heavyweight division and added more depth to it while also giving us some of the best matches this year.

Most Underrated: Yujiro Takahashi (New Japan)- Maybe it's me but I don't think Yujiro is so bad and why he doesn't get more opportunity. For some reason, many internet fans don't dig him and he's done almost nothing all year long. Other than competing for the NEVER Six Man Tag Team Championships and competing in the yearly New Japan & World Tag League, Yujiro was left out of competing for other titles and was left off the yearly G1 Climax for the second year in a row. From what I've seen, Yujiro is a very solid talent and while I don't think he'll ever be heavyweight champion or that he's meant to be, he could still be a great hand in other ways. As a single, I think Yujiro could be good in the Intercontinental and NEVER title pictures or become a tag team championship contender especially with Hangman Page who he seems to have some chemistry. Again, do I think Yujiro will ever be IWGP Heavyweight Champion? Probably not but is he capable of doing more than what he's giving? Yes.

Best Promotion: All Japan Pro Wrestling- All Japan continued to show growth and great action throughout 2017. All Japan had plenty of great matches this year any combination of Miyahara, Ishikara, and Suwama to The Big Guns/Nomura & Lee which were some of the best matches of the year. The booking was good as we saw the advancement of up and comers in Naoya Nomura, Jake Lee, and Yuma Aoyagi each winning their first championships, Lee getting his first Triple Crown title shot, and Koji Iwamato winning the Junior Battle of Glory tournament. We also got some fresh stuff regarding the Triple Crown with Joe Doering getting his first Triple Crown in three years, Shuji Ishikawa won his first Triple Crown, and we got fresh challengers including Bodyguard, Jake Lee, and Yoshitatsu. The promotion also not only had a solid roster but got some great freelancers like Ishikawa, Bodyguard, Tajiri, Ultimo Dragon, and in a nice coup, KAI who returned this past year. The promotion also continued their comeback as they looked like they did well business wise.

Worst Wrestler of the Year: Great Kabuki (Freelance)- In a way, I feel sorry for Kabuki as the guy is a legend but seems forgotten as most people look to the Great Muta for inspiring similar gimmicks when Kabuki was doing the whole mist spewing Kabuki painted wrestler long before Keiji Mutoh began competing. Having said all that, Kabuki was a guy who was way past his prime in 2017. Though not full time, Kabuki still shouldn't have been wrestling anymore as he looked like a decrepit old man, he could barely move and bump, and his offense looked weak. He wasn't believable in the ring and he realistically wouldn't last 30 seconds in a match. Thankfully, he retired (again) and hopefully, he'll stay retired as Kabuki is a legend but it was long overdue.

Worst Gaijin (Foreigner) of the Year: Dory Funk Jr. (All Japan)- There was a time when Dory Funk Jr. could make the claim he was one of, if not, the best wrestler in the world and he's had many classics in his 50 year career but those days are long over. Like brother Terry, Dory has also become someone who doesn't know when to call it a career as he still pops up and wrestles despite being 76 years old. It's also very sad to watch as we are seeing someone still doing something he loves but he just can't do it anymore and it's become painful to watch. Dory isn't capable of doing anything in a ring as he can barely move, he can't take bumps, and his offense is awful as it doesn't look painful. Even though he doesn't take any risks in a ring, it's still dangerous to have a man that old still competing. Dory could offer things in wrestling as he does well as in his authority figure role as the PWF Commissioner for All Japan and can still train wrestlers but he needs to retire from the squared circle.

Worst Tag Team of the Year: Masanobu Fuchi & Atsushi Onita (All Japan/Freelance)- Fuchi and Onita were a nice nostalgia act when they won the All Asia Tag Team Titles in November 2016 but they really shouldn't have been champions that long. In their one title defense against Jun Akiyama and Masao Inoue, their limitations were on full display as Fuchi couldn't offer much in terms of wrestling and Onita did mostly his hardcore style. It didn't also help the team was inactive most of the year while holding the title before finally dropping them in June though you could probably blame that on Onita being a freelancer working elsewhere as well as his legendary world famous ego.

Most Overrated: Kazuchika Okada (New Japan)- This will be one I'll get a lot of heat for but I stand by it. Okada is a good wrestler but he's not god's give to wrestling and people need to realize that. Yes, he's had good matches but I don't think they broke the scale or anything. On top of that, Okada held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship all year while breaking Shinya Hashimoto's longevity record and it was unnecessary. Naito is overdue for another title reign and was hot this year while Goto has been long overdue all the while Okada's title reign got stale and dull by the end of the year as it went on and on and on. Okada has basically become the John Cena or Roman Reigns of New Japan where he's pretty much all they care about and it's boring. Okada's got four title reigns in six years so it's time for someone else to get a try. I'm not saying he should be buried but why not give Naito or Goto or someone else a chance for once?

Worst Promotion: New Japan Pro Wrestling- Yes, New Japan had a good year business wise and match quality wise but I pick them simply because it's a stale and dull promotion. As has been the case in recent years, New Japan's booking is frustrating and lazy as it's made the promotion a glorified moving sidewalk that are seen in airports. In other words, everyone is going the same direction they've always been going as nobody moves up and nobody moves down. The Heavyweight Title scene is the Okada show which got old a long time ago and there's no excuse why Naito hasn't gotten a big run and Goto hasn't won it period. The tag divisions are pretty weak, don't have much depth as it feels we had many repetitive rematches, and the heavyweight division took hits with GBH out of action for the year due to Tomoaki Honma's neck injury while KES was out for months due to Lance Archer's back injury. You also had stale acts like Bullet Club and Suzuki-gun which may have been great years ago but they're tiresome now as Bullet Club has been in decline since Styles, Anderson, & Gallows left in 2014 while Suzuki-gun mostly have matches that are such clusters that they remind me of bad overbooked ECW matches and make the Undertaker/Yokozuna casket match at the 1994 Royal Rumble look tame. The promotion has a successful formula right now and like a lot cases, they refuse to make any changes to keep things fresh and they've got complacent. The laziness is even worse when you watch All Japan, NOAH, and Wrestle-1 to name some that are trying to rebuild and as a result will take more chances & just come off more fresh. New Japan may be the internet darling for the last few years and have great talent but they can do much better.