2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Result Revealed (Guess Who's Wrestler Of The Year)

JerseyBoy23

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Saw this posted on a couple of forums and wanted to get TSC's opinion on this. Most of these results aren't surprising like AJ being the best overall wrestler in WWE or Alexa/Bayley having the worst feud last year but there were some surprises.

I took the liberty to bold the WWE-affiliated awards to make it a bit easier to navigate. Also disclaimer this was voted on by Observer subscribers not just Double Talk.

Here they go:

Wrestler of the year - Ric Flair/Lou Thesz Awards:
  • (1) Kazuchika Okada (NJPW)
  • (2) Kenny Omega (NJPW)
  • (3) Tetsuya Naito (NJPW)
  • (4) AJ Styles (WWE)
  • (5) Kento Miyahara (AJPW)
  • (6) Rush (CMLL)
  • (7) Brock Lesnar (WWE)
  • (8) Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW)
  • (9) Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW)
  • (10) Chris Jericho (WWE/NJPW/Free Agent)
Most outstanding wrestler:
  • (1) Kazuchika Okada (NJPW)
  • (2) Kenny Omega (NJPW)
  • (3) AJ Styles (WWE)
  • (4) Tetsuya Naito (NJPW)
  • (5) Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW)
  • (6) KUSHIDA (NJPW)
  • (7) Zack Sabre Jr (NJPW)
  • (8) Will Ospreay (NJPW)
  • (9) Kota Ibushi (Free Agent)
  • (10) Io Shirai (Stardom)
Tag team of the Year:
  • (1) The Young Bucks (ROH/NJPW) (4th year in a row)
  • (2) The Usos (WWE)
  • (3) War Machine (ROH in 2017)
  • (4) Sheamus & Cesaro (WWE)
  • (5) Nueva Generacion Dinamitas (CMLL)
Best on Interviews:
  • (1) Conor McGregor (UFC)
  • (2) Chris Jericho (WWE)
  • (3) The Miz (WWE)
  • (4) Kenny Omega (NJPW)
  • (5) Kevin Owens (WWE)
Promotion of the Year:
  • (1) NJPW (5871 votes)
  • (2) ROH (1297 votes)
  • (3) WWE
  • (4) UFC
  • (5) CMLL
Best weekly TV show:
  • (1) NJPW on AXS
  • (2) NXT
  • (3) CMLL Friday Night Arena Mexico
  • (4) Being the Elite
  • (5) ROH
  • (6) SmackDown!
  • ...
  • (9) RAW
Match of the Year:
  • (1) Okada vs. Omega, WrestleKingdom 11 (NJPW)
  • (2) Okada vs. Omega, August 12th (NJPW)
  • (3) Okada vs. Shibata, April 9th (NJPW)
  • (4) Naito vs. Omega, G1 CLIMAX 27 (NJPW)
  • (5) Okada vs. Omega, Dominion 6.11 (NJPW)
Feud of the Year:
  • (1) Omega - Okada (NJPW) (by far. 938 votes)
  • (2) McGregor - Mayweather (UFC/Boxing) (62 votes)
  • (3) Tanahashi - Naito (NJPW)
  • (4) KUSHIDA - Takahashi (NJPW)
  • (5) Jones - Cormier (UFC)
Most charismatic:
  • (1) Tetsuya Naito (NJPW)
  • (2) Conor McGregor (UFC)
  • (3) Kenny Omega (NJPW)
  • (4) Matt Riddle (PWG)
  • (5) Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE)
Best technical wrestler:
  • (1) Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW) (4th year in a row)
  • (2) KUSHIDA (NJPW)
  • (3) Hideki Suzuki (BJW?)
  • (4) Marty Scurll (ROH)
  • (5) Pete Dunne (WWE)
Best brawler - Bruiser Brody Memorial Awards:
  • (1) Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW)
  • (2) SHIBATA (NJPW)
  • (3) Minoru Suzuki (NJPW)
  • (4) Walter (WXW)
  • (5) Samoa Joe (WWE)
Best flying wrestler:
  • (1) Will Ospreay (NJPW)
  • (2) Ricochet (NJPW in 2017)
  • (3) Volador Jr. (CMLL)
  • (4) Hiromu Takahashi (NJPW)
  • (5) Rey Fénix (free agent)
Most overrated:
  • (1) Jinder Mahal (WWE)
  • (2) Roman Reigns (WWE)
  • (3) Baron Corbin (WWE)
  • (4) CODY (ROH/NJPW)
  • (5) The Miz / Bray Wyatt (a tie) (WWE)
  • ...
  • (8) Braun Strowman (:dead:) (WWE)
Most underrated:
  • (1) Rusev (94 votes)
  • (2) Tomohiro Ishii (92 votes)
  • (3) Finn Bálor
  • (4) Sami Zayn
  • (5) Kassius Ohno
Rookie of the Year:
  • (1) Ketsuya Kitamura (NJPW)
  • (2) Microman (CMLL)
  • (3) Bianca Belair (WWE) :obama:
  • (4) Tomoyuki Oka (NJPW)
  • (5) Austin Theory (WWN)
Best non-wrestler:
  • (1) Daniel Bryan (WWE)
  • (2) Zelina Vega (WWE)
  • (3) Paul Heyman (WWE)
  • (4) Stokely Hathaway (EVOLVE)
  • (5) Dario Cueto (Lucha Underground)
Best TV announcer:
  • (1) Mauro Ranallo (WWE)
  • (2) Corey Graves (WWE)
  • (3) Don Callis (TNA/NJPW)
  • (4) Shinpei Nogami (NJPW)
  • (5) Kevin Kelly (NJPW)
Worst TV announcer:
  • (1) Booker T (WWE)
  • (2) Percy Watson (WWE)
  • (3) JBL (WWE)
  • (4) Matt Striker (Lucha Underground)
  • (5) Byron Saxton (WWE)
Best major wrestling show:
  • (1) WrestleKingdom 11 (NJPW)
  • (2) Dominion 6.11 (NJPW)
  • (3) UFC 217
  • (4) NXT Takeover: Chicago (WWE)
  • (5) G1 Finals (NJPW)
Worst major wrestling show:
  • (1) Battleground (WWE)
  • (2) Triplemania XXV (AAA)
  • (3) Bound for Glory (TNA)
  • (4) WrestleMania 33 (WWE)
  • (5) Payback (WWE)
  • (6) Backlash (WWE)
  • (7) Clash of Champions (WWE)
  • (8) Roadblock: End of the Line (WWE)
  • (9) Survivor Series (WWE)
  • (10) Destruction in Fukushima (NJPW)
Best wrestling move:
  • (1) One-Winged Angel (Kenny Omega, NJPW)
  • (2) Rainmaker (Kazuchika Okada, NJPW)
  • (3) Destino (Tetsuya Naito, NJPW)
  • (4) V-Trigger (Kenny Omega, NJPW)
  • (5) Black Mass (Aleister Black, WWE)
Most disgusting promotional tactic:
  • (1) WWE promoting Jimmy Snuka a hero in death (WWE)
  • (2) Jinder Mahal racial interview about Nakamura (WWE)
  • (3) Ultimate Warrior lionization - Breast Cancer campaign (WWE)
  • (4) Pushing Jinder Mahal as a champion for the Indian market (WWE)
  • (5) Gabi Garcia against smaller women (Rizin)
Worst TV show:
  • (1) RAW (WWE)
  • (2) Impact (TNA)
  • (3) 205 Live (WWE)
  • (4) SmackDown! (WWE)
  • (5) AAA
  • (6) Lucha Underground
Worst match of the year:
  • (1) Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton, WrestleMania 33 (WWE)
  • (2) Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton, House of Horrors (WWE)
  • (3) AAA Rumble
  • (4) Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley, Kendo Stick on a Pole (WWE)
  • (5) Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal, Punjabi Prison (WWE)
Worst feud of the year:
  • (1) Orton vs. Wyatt (WWE)
  • (2) Nakamura vs. Mahal (WWE)
  • (3) Orton vs. Mahal (WWE)
  • (4) Bayley vs. Bliss (WWE)
  • (5) Wyatt vs. Balor (WWE)
Worst promotion:
  • (1) TNA
  • (2) AAA
  • (3) WWE
  • (4) ICW
  • (5) Lucha Underground
Best booker:
  • (1) Gedo (by fukking far. 1,025 votes) (NJPW)
  • (2) Triple H (48 votes) (WWE)
  • (3) Jun Akiyama (AJPW)
  • (4) Smallman, Briley, Joseph (PROGRESS)
  • (5) Christian Michael Jakobi (WXW)
Promoter of the year:
  • (1) Takaaki Kidani (NJPW) (771 votes)
  • (2) Dana White (UFC) (198 votes)
  • (3) Triple H (WWE) (109 votes)
  • (4) Showtime Sports (36 votes)
  • (5) Jim Smallman (25 votes)
Best gimmick:
  • (1) Los Ingobernables de Japon (NJPW)
  • (2) Velveteen Dream (WWE)
  • (3) Marty Scurll (ROH)
  • (4) The Elite (ROH/NJPW)
  • (5) Drew Gulak (WWE)
Worst gimmick:
  • (1) Bray Wyatt & Sister Abigail (WWE)
  • (2) Jason Jordan as Kurt Angle's son (WWE)
  • (3) Dolph Ziggler (WWE)
  • (4) Jinder Mahal (WWE)
  • (5) Mike Kanellis (WWE)
Best pro-wrestling book:
  • (1) Crazy like a Fox - The Brian Pillman story
  • (2) Slobberknocker, Jim Ross
  • (3) Best seat in the house, Justin Roberts
  • (4) Sisterhood of the Squared Circle,
  • (5) No is a four letter word, Chris Jericho
Best documentary:
  • (1) Ric Flair 30-for-30
  • (2) Bruiser Brody, the last wrestling rebel
  • (3) Fight Owens Fight
  • (4) WWE 365 with Kevin Owens
  • (5) WWE 24: Finn Bálor
 
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Prince Akeem

Its not that deep breh....
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Bone Soldier still exist? How is he not worst gimmick?

Destino is NOT a top 5 finisher

Braun in the most overrated :camby:

Lucha Underground not being in ANY positive awards :camby:

People have turned on LU in the last year or so.
 

The Rainmaker

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RAINMAKA

OKADAAAAAAAAAAAA

KAZUCHIKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

NimbleLastDog-max-1mb.gif


Bone Soldier still exist? How is he not worst gimmick?

He left NJ very early 2017, and he was very forgettable, so :manny:
 

Superkick Party

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Tag team of the Year:
  • (1) The Young Bucks (ROH/NJPW) (4th year in a row)
  • (2) The Usos (WWE)
  • (3) War Machine (ROH in 2017)
  • (4) Sheamus & Cesaro (WWE)
  • (5) Nueva Generacion Dinamitas (CMLL)

fukk ya Usos :pacspit:

Buck of Youth :blessed:

giphy.webp


Get mad at an award show you didn't even vote for brehs :lolbron:
 
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LurkNowitzki

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For someone as skilled as Okada, the Rainmaker has got to be the most trash finisher. Bucks over Usos is laughable.....everything else on the list I don't care enough about to comment.
 

ynwa25

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Bucks over the Usos :patrice:

NJPW on AXS TV is trash just for the commentary alone :camby:

:mjlol: Bray having the top 2 worst matches of the year
 

stro

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Anyone that voted for any Kenny/Okada match over Okada vs Shibata is a fukkboy of the highest degree
 
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