Observer Awards 2020 - Let me tell you why Jado is Wrestler of the Year.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Hammer House: Stinger Splash Zone > Observer Awards 2020 - Let me tell you why Jado is Wrestler of the Year.

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MJeff: Jun 2, 2011; THE LIAR

It's September! You know what that means? Four months until January! Wow, what an inappropriate time to start discussing the best wrestlers of the year for 2020! But I'm doing it anyway, because :justpost:

.

This is pretty simple - it's a thread to discuss our picks for the 2020 Observer Awards, both in the year so far and how they change, if they change at all, through the rest of the year. This actually strikes me as maybe the best time to start discussing this. It's late enough in the year that frontrunners will have emerged, but there's still enough left - AEW has two PPVs and NJPW has the G1, among other major events still to happen for other promotions - that things could still change on a dime at any point between now and December. So, make a case for your favorites! Try to convince other goons! Stake your claims now so that when the awards actually happen, you can gloat wildly at how you called it or spit on the voter base for getting it wrong!

Rules:
1. Don't be an rear end in a top hat. Seriously. Good natured ribbing is one thing, but if somebody genuinely feels someone is the best wrestler of the year or whatever or if somebody puts something you like as the worst thing of the year, you can disagree with them, but don't call them an idiot who doesn't know what they're talking about. We should all know how to behave ourselves on this one at this point. So behave yourself.

And that's the only rule I can think of! Seriously, just be nice. This is supposed to be a fun discussion about the wrestling we've liked (or really hated) this year. Fill out as much of the ballot as you care to fill out and just let it be fun!

Here's a C+P friendly version of the ballot! Don't feel obligated to fill out anything you don't want to. I'll personally be skipping every MMA Award because I don't watch MMA. Remember that category A awards are top-3 ranked voting and category B awards are single vote. If you're not sure what you're feeling for any particular award, post your thoughts about it! The point of this is to generate discussion!

code:

[b][i]Category "A" Awards:[/i][/b] You vote three times for these. 
[b]Lou Thesz/Ric Flair "Wrestler of the Year" Award:[/b]
[b]Mixed Martial Arts Most Valuable: [/b]
[b]Most Outstanding Wrestler: [/b]
[b]Most Outstanding Fighter of the Year: [/b]
[b]Tag Team of the Year: [/b]
[b]Best on Interviews: [/b]
[b]Promotion of the Year: [/b]
[b]Best Weekly TV Show: [/b]
[b]Pro Wrestling Match of the Year: [/b]
[b]MMA Match of the Year: [/b]

[b][i]Category "B" Awards:[/i][/b] You vote once for these. 
[b]US/Canada MVP: [/b]
[b]Japan MVP: [/b]
[b]Mexico MVP:[/b]
[b]Europe MVP: [/b]
[b]Non-Heavyweight MVP: [/b]
[b]Women's Wrestling MVP: [/b]
[b]Women's MMA MVP: [/b]
[b]Best Box Office Draw:  [/b]
[b]Feud of the Year: [/b]
[b]Most Improved: [/b]
[b]Most Charismatic:[/b]
[b]Bryan Danielson "Best Technical Wrestler" Award:[/b]
[b]Bruiser Brody Memorial "Best Brawler" Award:[/b]
[b]Best Flying Wrestler:[/b]
[b]Most Overrated:[/b]
[b]Most Underrated:[/b]
[b]Rookie of the Year: [/b]
[b]Best Non-Wrestler:[/b]
[b]Best Television Announcer:[/b]
[b]Worst Television Announcer:[/b]
[b]Best Major Wrestling Show:[/b]
[b]Worst Major Wrestling Show:[/b]
[b]Best Wrestling Maneuver:[/b]
[b]Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic:[/b]
[b]Worst Television Show:[/b]
[b]Worst Match of the Year: [/b]
[b]Worst Feud of the Year:[/b]
[b]Worst Promotion of the Year:[/b]
[b]Best Booker:[/b]
[b]Promoter of the Year:[/b]
[b]Best Gimmick:[/b]
[b]Worst Gimmick: [/b]
[b]Best Pro Wrestling Book:[/b] 
[b]Best Pro Wrestling DVD/Streaming Documentary:[/b]

Now, fill out your ballot and have fun defending it to the stupid unwashed matches who just don't get why Yujiro vs. Okada is the feud of the year.

# ? Sep 1, 2020 07:04

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 2, 2024 23:09

Cerebral Bore: Apr 21, 2010; Fun Shoe

Don't have anything for most of the categories, but here are my two cents for the year so far:

Lou Thesz/Ric Flair "Wrestler of the Year" Award: Tetsuya Naito or Jon Moxley
Pro Wrestling Match of the Year: Okada/Naito or Hangman/Omega vs Young Bucks
Promotion of the Year: AEW (mostly because NJPW didn't run shows for most of the year)
Best Weekly TV Show: AEW Dynamite
Best Television Announcer: Excalibur
Best Booker: Tony Khan
Promoter of the Year: Tony Khan

# ? Sep 1, 2020 07:19

Rarity: Oct 21, 2010; ~*4 LIFE*~

Category "A" Awards: You vote three times for these.
Lou Thesz/Ric Flair "Wrestler of the Year" Award: 1. Kenny Omega, 2. Jon Moxley, 3. Keith Lee
Most Outstanding Wrestler: 1. Minoru Suzuki, 2. Shingo Takagi, 3. Kenny Omega
Tag Team of the Year: 1. Kenny Omega and Hangman Page, 2. Dangerous Tekkers, 3. The Young Bucks
Best on Interviews: 1. Eddie Kingston, 2. Jon Moxley, 3. Ricky Starks
Promotion of the Year: 1. AEW, 2. NJPW, 3. NOAH
Best Weekly TV Show: 1. AEW Dynamite, 2. Being The Elite, 3. Impact
Pro Wrestling Match of the Year: 1. Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. The Young Bucks, 2. Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata (Summer Struggle), 3. Stadium Stampede

Category "B" Awards: You vote once for these.
US/Canada MVP: Kenny Omega
Japan MVP: Minoru Suzuki
Non-Heavyweight MVP: Hiromu Takahashi
Women's Wrestling MVP: Asuka
Best Box Office Draw: Tetsuya Naito
Feud of the Year: Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. The Young Bucks
Most Improved: Hangman Page
Most Charismatic: Keith Lee
Bryan Danielson "Best Technical Wrestler" Award: Zack Sabre Jr
Bruiser Brody Memorial "Best Brawler" Award: Jon Moxley
Best Flying Wrestler: Sammy Guevara
Most Overrated: The Fiend
Most Underrated: Taiji Ishimori
Rookie of the Year: Ricky Starks
Best Non-Wrestler: Miho Abe
Best Television Announcer: Excalibur
Worst Television Announcer: Michael Cole
Best Major Wrestling Show: AEW Revolution
Worst Major Wrestling Show: WWE Extreme Rules
Best Wrestling Maneuver: ~~Kazuchika Okada - Money Clip~~ THE WATOSAULT
Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic: gently caress I can only pick one? WWE continuing to feature named #SpeakingOut abusers including Matt Riddle and Velveteen Dream
Worst Television Show: WWE Raw
Worst Match of the Year: Toru Yano vs. Jado
Worst Feud of the Year: Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Worst Promotion of the Year: WWE
Best Booker: Tony Khan
Promoter of the Year: Tony Khan
Best Gimmick: Orange Cassidy
Worst Gimmick: Master Wato
Best Pro Wrestling Book: Young Bucks - Killing the Business
Best Pro Wrestling DVD/Streaming Documentary: Dark Side of the Ring - Benoit

# ? Sep 1, 2020 07:24

GEORGE W BUSHI: Jul 1, 2012

Just gonna pick my favourites and not who's going to win lol

Category "A" Awards: You vote three times for these.
Lou Thesz/Ric Flair "Wrestler of the Year" Award: 1. Go Shiozaki 2. Tetsuya Naito 3. Baliyan Akki
Most Outstanding Wrestler: 1. Arisa Nakajima 2. Masato Tanaka 3. Asuka/VENY
Tag Team of the Year: 1. Dangerous Tekkers 2. Nautilus 3. AXIZ
Best on Interviews: 1. El Desperado 2. Tetsuya Naito 3. Minoru Suzuki
Promotion of the Year: 1. Gatoh Move 2. NJPW 3. SEAdLINNNG
Best Weekly TV Show: ChocoPro
Pro Wrestling Match of the Year: 1. Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito 2. Go Shiozaki vs. Kazuyuki Fujita 3. Arisa Nakajima vs. Asuka

Category "B" Awards: You vote once for these.
Japan MVP: Go Shiozaki
Non-Heavyweight MVP: Hiromu Takahashi
Women's Wrestling MVP: Arisa Nakajima
Best Box Office Draw: Tetsuya Naito
Feud of the Year: Dangerous Tekkers vs. Golden Ace
Most Improved: Yuu
Most Charismatic: Tetsuya Naito
Rookie of the Year: Hayato Tamura
Best Non-Wrestler: Mio Shirai
Best Major Wrestling Show: Wrestle Kingdom 14
Best Wrestling Maneuver: Zack Mephisto
Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic: All the stuff WWE did
Worst Match of the Year: Jado vs. Toru Yano
Best Booker: Emi Sakura
Promoter of the Year: Emi Sakura
Best Gimmick: Lulu Pencil
Worst Gimmick: Retribution

# ? Sep 1, 2020 07:41

Lamuella: Jun 26, 2003; It's like goldy or bronzy, but made of iron.

Category "A" Awards:
Lou Thesz/Ric Flair "Wrestler of the Year" Award: 1. Kenny Omega 2. Nyla Rose 3. Minoru Suzuki
Most Outstanding Wrestler: 1. Minoru Suzuki 2. Kenny Omega 3. Shingo Takagi
Tag Team of the Year: 1. Cowboy Bebop 2. Proud & Powerful 3. The Initiative (shut up, they're great)
Best on Interviews: 1. Eddie Kingston 2. Mr Brodie Lee 3. MJF
Promotion of the Year: 1. AEW 2. Gatoh Move 3. NJPW
Best Weekly TV Show: 1. AEW Dynamite 2. Choco Pro 3. NJPW Strong
Pro Wrestling Match of the Year: 1. Cowboy Bebop vs Young Bucks, AEW Revolution February 29 2. Hiromu Takahashi (C) vs. Taiji ishimori for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship - NJPW Summer Struggle 8/29 3. Hikaru SHida vs Nyla Rose, AEW Double Or Nothing, May 23

Category "B" Awards: You vote once for these.
US/Canada MVP: Kenny Omega
Japan MVP: Minoru Suzuki
Mexico MVP: Pentagon Jr (his AAA matches in quarantine absolutely slapped)
Europe MVP: Chakara (her work in Riptide and Resurgence has been flawless)
Non-Heavyweight MVP: Hiromu Takahashi
Women's Wrestling MVP: Nyla Rose
Best Box Office Draw: Jon Moxley
Feud of the Year: the slow implosion of the Elite
Most Improved: Penelope Ford
Most Charismatic: Orange Cassidy
Bryan Danielson "Best Technical Wrestler" Award: ZSJ
Bruiser Brody Memorial "Best Brawler" Award: Lance Archer
Best Flying Wrestler: Sammy Guevara
Rookie of the Year: Ricky Starks
Best Non-Wrestler: Taz (he counts, he's retired)
Best Television Announcer: Excalibur
Worst Television Announcer: Corey Graves
Best Major Wrestling Show: AEW Revolution
Best Wrestling Maneuver: Buckshot Lariat
Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic: WWE not just continuing to employ rapists and child molestors but pushing them
Worst Television Show: WWE Raw
Worst Feud of the Year: WWE versus their remaining viewers
Worst Promotion of the Year: WWE
Best Booker: Tony Khan
Promoter of the Year: Tony Khan
Best Gimmick: Lulupencil (sorry, Orange)
Worst Gimmick: whatever boring loving nonsense Seth Rollins is doing these days

# ? Sep 1, 2020 09:10

Sanguinia: Jan 1, 2012; ~Everybody wants to be a cat~
~Because a cat's the only cat~
~Who knows where its at~

Lou Thesz/Ric Flair "Wrestler of the Year" Award: 1. Chris Jericho 2. Asuka (wwe) 3. Jon Moxley
Most Outstanding Wrestler: 1. Asuka (wwe) 2. Hangman Page 3. Hiromu Takahashi
Tag Team of the Year: 1. Kenny Omega and Hangman Page 2. Sasha Banks and Bayley 3. The Kabuki Warriors
Best on Interviews: 1. MJF 2. Jon Moxley 3. Mr. Brodie Lee
Promotion of the Year: 1. AEW 2. Any Promotion that took decisive action against #SpeakingOut abusers 3. NJPW
Best Weekly TV Show: 1. AEW Dynamite 2. AEW Dark 3. Being The Elite
Pro Wrestling Match of the Year: 1. Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. The Young Bucks 2. Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi (WK14 night 1) 3. The Funhouse Match (The Fiend Bray Wyatt vs John Cena)

US/Canada MVP: Jon Moxley
Japan MVP: Tetsuya Naito
Non-Heavyweight MVP: Hiromu Takahashi
Women's Wrestling MVP: Asuka
Feud of the Year: The Elite vs The Inner Circle
Most Improved: Impact Wrestling
Most Charismatic: Orange Cassidy
Bruiser Brody Memorial "Best Brawler" Award: Jon Moxley
Most Underrated: Kevin Owens
Best Non-Wrestler: Tony Schiavone
Best Television Announcer: Excalibur
Best Major Wrestling Show: AEW Double Or Nothing
Worst Major Wrestling Show: WWE Super Showdown 2020
Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic: BushiRoad's refusal to assist Kyoko Kimura in investigating her daughter's death, suggesting she make money off memorial merch rather than file any legal action against Fuji TV
Worst Television Show: WWE Smackdown Live
Worst Match of the Year: Toru Yano vs. Jado
Worst Feud of the Year: Baron Corbin vs Shorty G
Worst Promotion of the Year: WWE
Best Booker: Tony Khan
Promoter of the Year: Tony Khan
Best Gimmick: Orange Cassidy
Worst Gimmick: Retribution
Best Pro Wrestling DVD/Streaming Documentary: Dark Side of the Ring - Final Days of Owen Hart

-----
Cut off a few categories I had no opinion on. Despite all the #SpeakingOut stuff, I think Bushiroad telling Hana's mom to just give up on getting justice for her daughter's death at a powerful TV company's hands still takes the cake. Kind of surprised I was the first to name Super Showdown as worst of the year. Its weird to put Asuka in front of Mox and Hangman, but she did as much as they did with far less, this was an amazing year for her, and for Sasha and Bayley too. Those three (and Kairi) more than earned those spots on the Best Tagteams list. I think Jericho HAS to be the overall best of the year though, he just continues to turn everything he touches to gold (other than his loving shitheaded political opinions)

Putting my three MOTYCs in order was insanely hard. And I don't care if I'm the only one who nominates Bray vs Cena, I stand by it. I honestly wonder if the Cinematic Match Genre peaked in its infancy with that match.

and I'm honestly shocked anyone put anything BUT Retribution or Raw Underground for Worst Gimmick.

Sanguinia fucked around with this message at 09:28 on Sep 1, 2020

# ? Sep 1, 2020 09:26

Rarity: Oct 21, 2010; ~*4 LIFE*~

Oh yeah I'd put Sasha and Bayley ahead of the Young Bucks for #3 tag team actually

Also I realised MJF would still count as a rookie so swap him in for Starks

# ? Sep 1, 2020 09:55

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

Category "A" Awards: You vote three times for these.
Lou Thesz/Ric Flair "Wrestler of the Year" Award: 1. Tetsuya Naito 2. Go Shiozaki 3. Kento Miyahara
Most Outstanding Wrestler: 1. Go Shiozaki 2. Shingo Takagi 3. Hiromu Takahashi
Tag Team of the Year: 1. AXIZ 2. Best Bros 3. Dangerous Tekkers
Best on Interviews: 1. Minoru Suzuki 2. KENTA 3. Eddie Kingston
Promotion of the Year: 1. NOAH 2. NJPW 3. AJPW
Best Weekly TV Show: 1. AJPW TV 2. DDT TV Show 3. NJPW USA
Pro Wrestling Match of the Year: 1. Go Shiozaki vs Kenoh 10/8 2. Kaito Kiyomiya vs Go Shiozaki 4/1 3. Will Ospreay vs Zack Sabre Jr 14/2

Category "B" Awards: You vote once for these.
US/Canada MVP: Nick Gage
Japan MVP: Go Shiozaki
Europe MVP: Zack Sabre Jr I know this is cheating
Non-Heavyweight MVP: Hiromu Takahashi
Women's Wrestling MVP: Arisa Nakajima
Feud of the Year: All Out vs Yoshihiko
Most Improved: Akira Francesco
Most Charismatic: Hiromu Takahashi
Bryan Danielson "Best Technical Wrestler" Award: ZSJ
Bruiser Brody Memorial "Best Brawler" Award:Minoru Suzuki
Best Flying Wrestler: Will Ospreay
Most Overrated: Cody
Most Underrated: Kenoh
Rookie of the Year: Kento Kobune
Best Non-Wrestler: Miho Abe
Best Television Announcer: Kenta Kobashi, idk
Worst Television Announcer: Alex Kozlov
Best Major Wrestling Show: NOAH In Korakuen Hall - New Sunrise
Worst Major Wrestling Show: WWE Super Showdown
Best Wrestling Maneuver: Last of the Dragon
Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic: WWE promoting Matt Riddle to the main roster exactly as he's being accused of rape
Worst Television Show: WWE Raw is 3 hours too long
Worst Match of the Year: Jado vs Toru Yano, gently caress me that was absolute misery
Worst Feud of the Year: WWE vs wrestling fans
Worst Promotion of the Year: WWE
Best Booker: NOSAWA Rongai
Best Gimmick: Kenoh the perpetually angry and bitter kick boy
Worst Gimmick: Jado's gimmick of man who won't loving retire is pretty bad
Best Pro Wrestling Book: Voices of Wrestling NJPW 2019 Yearbook by default
Best Pro Wrestling DVD/Streaming Documentary: AJPW TV All Japan Dojo video I can't think of the name of

I tried to stick to stuff I watched so there's obviously a real big Japan bias. Which kind of makes the interview question hard as a lot of companies do not subtitle promos so you're kinda going off the cadence and energy than the content. So King gets almost a nod for his entire career, tho the promo before the Cody match did indeed rule. Best US worker was also real hard and I almost voted KENTA but I saw a handful of GCW shows and Gage has an aura like few on the US indies.

Can never remember the criteria for best rookie so just went with a guy from Dragon Gate who debuted in December and has looked real promising. Best feud, there's been some crackers and I hope there's at least one more to go in NOAH which you'll know what I mean if you saw the results from Sunday'd card. But All Out vs an inanimate object in DDT was really good story telling and build up to the best cinematic match in wrestling history at Peter Pan. Probably the real answer is Nagata vs Suzuki but Yoshihiko vs All Out really helped get through those early months of lockdown and I don't think it got the appreciation it deserved.

Best match was something I just did on the fly from memory and I'm sure if I thought about it more I could replace at least one of them (number 1 is a lock, watch Go vs Kenoh PLEASE) but I'm glad I could at least remind people of that Ospreay ZSJ Rev Pro match which seems to have been forgotten because February was several years ago

Last note, most underrated was a real split between Daisuke Harada, Kenoh and Susumu Yokosuka. But Kenoh was in my match of the year so. But Harada and Susumu are two of the most consistently good Junior wrestlers around. Susumu's All Japan Jr title run in the first half of the year elevated that title and everyone he faced.

forkboy84 fucked around with this message at 10:18 on Sep 1, 2020

# ? Sep 1, 2020 10:00

Seams: Feb 3, 2005; ROCK HARD

Category "A" Awards:
Lou Thesz/Ric Flair "Wrestler of the Year" Award:
1. Cody 2. Naito 3. Jon Moxley
Most Outstanding Wrestler:
1. Suzuki 2. Kenny Omega 3. Hikaru Shida
Tag Team of the Year:
1. Dangerous Tekkers 2. Golden Ace 3. Cowboy Bebop
Best on Interviews:
1. MJF 2. Jon Moxley 3. Mr. Brodie Lee
Promotion of the Year:
1. NJPW 2. AEW 3. N/A
Best Weekly TV Show:
1. AEW Dynamite 2. NJPW Strong 3. N/A
Pro Wrestling Match of the Year:
1. Bebop vs Bucks, AEW Revolution. 2. Hiromu Takahashi vs Ryu Lee, New Beginning in Osaka, 3. Minoru Suzuki vs Yuji Nagata, Summer Struggle Jul 31.

Category "B" Awards: You vote once for these.
Japan MVP:
Naito
Non-Heavyweight MVP:
Hiromu Takahashi
Women's Wrestling MVP:
Hikaru Shida
Best Box Office Draw:
Naito
Feud of the Year:
Dangerous Tekkers vs Golden Ace
Most Improved:
Nyla Rose
Most Charismatic:
Jon Moxley
Bryan Danielson "Best Technical Wrestler" Award:
Zack Sabre Jr.
Bruiser Brody Memorial "Best Brawler" Award:
Jon Moxley
Best Flying Wrestler:
Hiromu Takahashi
Most Overrated:
Brock Lesnar
Most Underrated:
Lance Archer
Rookie of the Year:
Ricky Starks
Best Non-Wrestler:
Tazz
Best Television Announcer:
Excalibur
Worst Television Announcer:
Jim Ross
Best Major Wrestling Show:
AEW Revolution
Best Wrestling Maneuver:
Kazuchika Okada's Famous Money Clip
Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic:
WWE continuing to promote performers accused of predatory behaviour against women and minors
Worst Match of the Year:
Okada vs Yujiro Takahashi, Sengoku Lord in Nagoya
Worst Feud of the Year:
Okada vs Bullet Club
Worst Promotion of the Year:
WWE
Best Booker:
Tony Khan
Promoter of the Year:
Tony Khan
Best Gimmick:
Orange Cassidy
Worst Gimmick:
Master Wato
Best Pro Wrestling DVD/Streaming Documentary:
Dark Side of the Ring: Owen Hart

Considering I don't watch WWE anymore I tried to be fair on the promotion and not go all in on them for the "Worst" categories. There were probably worse matches than the one I picked in WWE but I didn't watch them so I can't pick em. I like JR but he's definitely the weakest announcer in either NJPW or AEW.

Seams fucked around with this message at 10:17 on Sep 1, 2020

# ? Sep 1, 2020 10:09

GEORGE W BUSHI: Jul 1, 2012

Sanguinia posted:

Despite all the #SpeakingOut stuff, I think Bushiroad telling Hana's mom to just give up on getting justice for her daughter's death at a powerful TV company's hands still takes the cake.

You're absolutely right and I change my vote to this. WWE ignoring COVID and #SpeakingOut is sadly banal normal evil corporation bullshit, this was spectacularly nasty and tone deaf.

# ? Sep 1, 2020 10:34

Rarity: Oct 21, 2010; ~*4 LIFE*~

GEORGE W BUSHI posted:

WWE ignoring COVID

It's very telling for this year that WWE gave dozens of their staff COVID-19 and not a single one of us has nominated it yet

# ? Sep 1, 2020 10:54

SG Bamboo: Aug 21, 2013; Smile. Win. Yay!

Category "A" Awards: You vote three times for these.
Lou Thesz/Ric Flair "Wrestler of the Year" Award:
Go Shiozaki, Tetsuya Endo, Minoru Suzuki

Most Outstanding Wrestler:
Minoru Suzuki, Kenoh, Arisa Nakajima

Tag Team of the Year:
Tekkers, Axiz, Strong Bj

Best on Interviews:
Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Tetsuya Naito

Promotion of the Year:
Pro Wrestling NOAH, NJPW, DDT

Pro Wrestling Match of the Year:
Arisa Nakajima Vs ASUKA, Kenoh Vs Go Shiozaki, Okada Vs Ibushi (WK)

Category "B" Awards: You vote once for these.
Japan MVP: Go Shiozaki
Non-Heavyweight MVP: El Desperado
Women's Wrestling MVP: Arisa Nakajima
Best Box Office Draw: Tetsuya Naito
Feud of the Year: Minoru Suzuki Vs Yuji Nagata
Most Improved: Hirai Kawato
Most Charismatic: Minoru Suzuki
Bryan Danielson "Best Technical Wrestler" Award: Yoshinari Ogawa
Bruiser Brody Memorial "Best Brawler" Award: Lance Archer
Best Flying Wrestler: Hiromu Takahashi
Most Underrated: DOUKI
Best Non-Wrestler: Miho Abe
Best Television Announcer: Milano Collection AT
Best Wrestling Maneuver: Gotch-style Piledriver
Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic:Bushiroad's handling of Kyoko Kimura
Best Gimmick: Taichi
Worst Gimmick: Danshoku Dino

# ? Sep 1, 2020 11:06

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

I'm desperately looking for reasons to delay going to cut the grass because I'm incredibly lazy so here I respectfully pick on posters for their opinions.

SG Bamboo posted:

Most Improved: Hirai Kawato

I admire everyone's right to have an opinion & do not disrespect you for yours but I am slightly confused. I saw enough of Kawato in Mexico to know he struggled there & wasn't great (though do remember early on his excursion a fun tag match also featuring Ricky Marvin that looked like it was happening in the middle of a street but that could just be me being happy to see Ricky Marvin for the first time since his NOAH days) but was it that much worse than his weird uncoordinated return to Japan? I kind of just assume the Master Wato fandom is a tiny bit ironic for some people & for others it's more like me with DOUKI when he came in first & was just kind of weird & stood out in a promotion that is generally fairly slick & he was all rough edges. Not that there's anything wrong with ironically liking people.

On the otherhand, you're right about Ogawa & I'm changing my vote for Best Technical to him & shaming myself for forgetting him.

Cerebral Bore posted:

Promotion of the Year: AEW (mostly because NJPW didn't run shows for most of the year)

Considering the reason why they didn't run shows I might put not running shows in their favour rather than promotions who soldiered on despite the risks.

Love & respect to you both, excellent posters with top opinions.

forkboy84 fucked around with this message at 11:49 on Sep 1, 2020

# ? Sep 1, 2020 11:45

KungFu Grip: Jun 18, 2008

all promotions that ran during the peak of corona should be disqualified for best promotion and worst promotional tactics should go to any promotion that continued to run during the pandemic

# ? Sep 1, 2020 14:04

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

feud of the year suzuki v nagata thats all i got

# ? Sep 1, 2020 14:05

duckdealer: Feb 28, 2011

Category "A" Awards: You vote three times for these.
Lou Thesz/Ric Flair "Wrestler of the Year" Award: 1. Chris Jericho 2. Jon Moxley 3. Naito
Most Outstanding Wrestler: 1. Kenny Omega 2. Hiromu Takahashi 3. Minoru Suzuki
Tag Team of the Year: 1. Cowboy Bebop 2. Dangerous Tekkers 3. Young Bucks
Best on Interviews: 1. Cody 2. MJF 3. Moxley
Promotion of the Year: 1. AEW 2. NJPW 3. GCW
Best Weekly TV Show: 1. Dynamite 2. Choco Pro 3. Being the Elite
Pro Wrestling Match of the Year: 1. Cowboy Bebop vs Bucks - Revolution 2. Ibushi vs Okada - WK14 night 1 3. Stadium Stampede - Double or Nothing 2020

Category "B" Awards: You vote once for these.
US/Canada MVP: Kenny Omega
Japan MVP: Naito
Non-Heavyweight MVP: Hiromu Takahashi
Women's Wrestling MVP: Hikaru Shida
Best Box Office Draw: Tetsuya Naito
Feud of the Year: The Elite versus other members of the Elite
Most Improved: Nyla Rose
Most Charismatic: Cody
Bryan Danielson "Best Technical Wrestler" Award: ZSJ
Bruiser Brody Memorial "Best Brawler" Award: Lance Archer
Best Flying Wrestler: Will Ospreay
Most Overrated: The Fiend
Rookie of the Year: Ricky Starks
Best Non-Wrestler: Taz
Best Television Announcer: Tony Schiavone
Worst Television Announcer: Cory Graves
Best Major Wrestling Show: AEW Revolution
Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic: Bushiroad's handling of Hana Kimura's death
Worst Television Show: WWE RAW
Worst Match of the Year: Gedo vs Okada
Worst Feud of the Year: Rusev vs Lashley was this year right?
Worst Promotion of the Year: WWE
Best Booker: Tony Khan
Promoter of the Year: Tony Khan
Best Gimmick: Orange Cassidy
Worst Gimmick: The Fiend
Best Pro Wrestling Book: Shamrock
Best Pro Wrestling DVD/Streaming Documentary: Dark Side of the Ring - Chris Benoit

Couldn't fill out everything and picks may change wildly by the end of the year but that's my list for now.

# ? Sep 1, 2020 14:48

Rarity: Oct 21, 2010; ~*4 LIFE*~

For people picking Ospreay for best high flyer, leaving the whole SpeakingOut stuff aside can you still really say he was best this year when his body of work only covers about 2 months?

# ? Sep 1, 2020 14:55

MassRafTer: May 26, 2001; BAEST MODE!!!

Kenny is definitely wrestler of the year. Has the by far the best body of work in ring, incredible tags, great singles match with Pac and some other empty arena stuff and has been in the highest rated segments on Dynamite. Plus he was in the main event of the biggest AEW PPV ever.

Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic is easily WWE running shows without testing for months leading to dozens of wrestlers getting COVID. While other companies have had great responses WWE has managed to have the worst outbreak of anyone, on a per capita basis much worse than MLB. All the while telling talent it was perfectly safe.

Or maybe firing people during the pandemic to increase record profits.

The Velveteen Dream stuff could become a contender as HHH continues to expose how little they care.

I would probably go with the Revolution tag as Match of the Year but Okada vs Naito is very close.

Hangman and Kenny easily as tag team of the year.

The rest really haven't come into focus yet since the year has been so weird.

# ? Sep 1, 2020 15:33

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

Rarity posted:

For people picking Ospreay for best high flyer, leaving the whole SpeakingOut stuff aside can you still really say he was best this year when his body of work only covers about 2 months?

He's not got quantity but he's got a whole host of quality between the Hiromu match (a top 5 of the year imo), the excellent 6-man tag on the Nakanishi retirement show with Ishii & YH vs LIJ, with Okada vs Dangerous Tekkers at New Beginning Osaka, the Bea Priestly match, the 2 ZSJ matches. I guess you could kind of call Hiromu a high flyer but he's not really, he's more just a guy who does insane poo poo and some of it happens to include throwing his body off things at people. Since New Japan has come back there's not really been dramatic flying, Dragon Gate's not really done much really stellar aside the Eita win & he's not a high flyer, NOAH & All Japan's best Juniors don't fly so much & I don't watch enough US indies to have opinions on...Blake Christian or Alex Zayne or whoever.

He's not had a blowaway year but it's kind of a win by default (though in those 2 & a half months or so he's been active he did to a lot of good poo poo)

# ? Sep 1, 2020 15:46

MJeff: Jun 2, 2011; THE LIAR

Rarity posted:

It's very telling for this year that WWE gave dozens of their staff COVID-19 and not a single one of us has nominated it yet

Still filling out my ballot, but, spoiler, this is my pick, narrowly edging out "cutting people during a pandemic" because it kinda seems like some of those people wanted to be cut, anyway. Although I had honestly forgotten about Hana and Bushiroad, so I dunno, now.

Maybe Dave should promote this one to Category A this year, Jesus.

GEORGE W BUSHI posted:

You made at least one of these names up.

# ? Sep 1, 2020 16:45

SG Bamboo: Aug 21, 2013; Smile. Win. Yay!

forkboy84 posted:

I'm desperately looking for reasons to delay going to cut the grass because I'm incredibly lazy so here I respectfully pick on posters for their opinions.

I admire everyone's right to have an opinion & do not disrespect you for yours but I am slightly confused. I saw enough of Kawato in Mexico to know he struggled there & wasn't great (though do remember early on his excursion a fun tag match also featuring Ricky Marvin that looked like it was happening in the middle of a street but that could just be me being happy to see Ricky Marvin for the first time since his NOAH days) but was it that much worse than his weird uncoordinated return to Japan? I kind of just assume the Master Wato fandom is a tiny bit ironic for some people & for others it's more like me with DOUKI when he came in first & was just kind of weird & stood out in a promotion that is generally fairly slick & he was all rough edges. Not that there's anything wrong with ironically liking people.

On the otherhand, you're right about Ogawa & I'm changing my vote for Best Technical to him & shaming myself for forgetting him.

Most improved was something I ummed and ahhed about just ignoring like the others but I decided to go the Big Daddy Yum Yum route of most improved. Ignoring everything he did in mexico and as a YL, as I remember Kawato being solid to great that was unfortunately in the same class as Muscle Vampire who took up all the attention. Just looking at his time as Master Wato, he looked like the biggest dork on Earth and got chumped out on his redebut in front of zero fans, and has since found a dad in Tenzan and several innovative Watomanoeuvres like the moonsault headbutt and whatever the hell he did to Nobu the other day. He's still kind of a joke, but he feels to me like part of the roster now, instead of a relic from that cursed YL class. Plus I think his face looks less dumb now than it did when he debuted, which is a definite improvement in my mind.

It's certainly a weak pick, I'll grant you that, but that was my thinking.

# ? Sep 1, 2020 16:50

MassRafTer: May 26, 2001; BAEST MODE!!!

SG Bamboo posted:

Most improved was something I ummed and ahhed about just ignoring like the others but I decided to go the Big Daddy Yum Yum route of most improved. Ignoring everything he did in mexico and as a YL, as I remember Kawato being solid to great that was unfortunately in the same class as Muscle Vampire who took up all the attention. Just looking at his time as Master Wato, he looked like the biggest dork on Earth and got chumped out on his redebut in front of zero fans, and has since found a dad in Tenzan and several innovative Watomanoeuvres like the moonsault headbutt and whatever the hell he did to Nobu the other day. He's still kind of a joke, but he feels to me like part of the roster now, instead of a relic from that cursed YL class. Plus I think his face looks less dumb now than it did when he debuted, which is a definite improvement in my mind.

It's certainly a weak pick, I'll grant you that, but that was my thinking.

He was bad to average in Mexico so not ignoring it adds to his Most Improved case.

# ? Sep 1, 2020 16:59

SG Bamboo: Aug 21, 2013; Smile. Win. Yay!

MassRafTer posted:

He was bad to average in Mexico so not ignoring it adds to his Most Improved case.

Perfect, then lets pretend I watched CMLL during that period and it factored into my decision.

Sanguinia posted:

and I'm honestly shocked anyone put anything BUT Retribution or Raw Underground for Worst Gimmick.

Everything I know about WWE is from the few non-puro threads I browse, so i'll freely admit I have very little idea what either of those things are. I'm very happy with Dino as my pick for worst gimmick. He's one of the few things in an otherwise super entertaining promotion that makes me embarrassed to show people the thing I love.

SG Bamboo fucked around with this message at 17:32 on Sep 1, 2020

# ? Sep 1, 2020 17:07

NienNunb: Feb 15, 2012

Category "A" Awards: You vote three times for these.
Lou Thesz/Ric Flair "Wrestler of the Year" Award: Moxley, Omega, Jericho
Most Outstanding Wrestler: Omega, Fenix, Takagi
Tag Team of the Year: Young Bucks, Lucha Bros, FTR
Best on Interviews: Jericho, Brodie, Mox
Promotion of the Year: AEW, GCW, NJPW
Best Weekly TV Show: Dynamite
Pro Wrestling Match of the Year: Mox/Brodie, Hangman and Omega/Young Bucks, Omega/PAC

Category "B" Awards: You vote once for these.
US/Canada MVP: Omega
Japan MVP: Takagi
Mexico MVP: Caristico
Europe MVP: PAC
Non-Heavyweight MVP: Ospreay
Women's Wrestling MVP: Shida
Best Box Office Draw: Mox
Feud of the Year: Elite vs Hangman
Most Improved: Nyla Rose
Most Charismatic: Mox
Bryan Danielson "Best Technical Wrestler" Award: ZSJ
Bruiser Brody Memorial "Best Brawler" Award: Brodie
Best Flying Wrestler: Fenix
Most Overrated: Naito
Most Underrated: Thatcher
Rookie of the Year: Nyla
Best Non-Wrestler: Taz
Best Television Announcer: Excalibur
Worst Television Announcer: Mauro
Best Major Wrestling Show: Revolution
Worst Major Wrestling Show: Wrestlemania
Best Wrestling Maneuver: One Winged Angel
Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic: WWE Covid
Worst Television Show: Raw
Worst Match of the Year: Braun Strowman vs Clown Wyatt
Worst Feud of the Year: Antifa vs WWE
Worst Promotion of the Year: WWE
Best Booker: Tony Khan
Promoter of the Year: AEW
Best Gimmick: Mr Brodie Lee
Worst Gimmick: Clown Wyatt

# ? Sep 1, 2020 17:40

Rarity: Oct 21, 2010; ~*4 LIFE*~

Oh duh, of course best high flyer is Fenix. I'm dumb :doh:

# ? Sep 1, 2020 17:50

Yaya: Nov 14, 2012; vancloober cablucks

I don't know if I can give Hangman most improved because he was already a good wrestler but God drat what a year for the dude

# ? Sep 1, 2020 18:05

Benne: Sep 2, 2011; STOP DOING HEROIN

I'll post my full list when I get home from work, but for all the bitching about EVIL'S title reign its surprising he doesn't have any Most Overrated votes yet.

# ? Sep 1, 2020 18:18

Pylons: Mar 16, 2009

Benne posted:

I'll post my full list when I get home from work, but for all the bitching about EVIL'S title reign its surprising he doesn't have any Most Overrated votes yet.

It probably helps that he was/is still really good (especially in the G1).

# ? Sep 1, 2020 18:25

Rarity: Oct 21, 2010; ~*4 LIFE*~

Also that no one was claiming it was a good reign

# ? Sep 1, 2020 18:48

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

if growth of ability is exponential Most Improved may be Tay Conti in a few more months

# ? Sep 1, 2020 19:00

Cerebral Bore: Apr 21, 2010; Fun Shoe

At this rate I expect Tay to wrestle exactly like Minoru Suzuki at the end of the year.

# ? Sep 1, 2020 19:11

Rarity: Oct 21, 2010; ~*4 LIFE*~

Cerebral Bore posted:

At this rate I expect Tay to wrestle exactly like Minoru Suzuki at the end of the year.

Yes but she also needs to copy his sadistic grin

# ? Sep 1, 2020 19:31

GEORGE W BUSHI: Jul 1, 2012

Rarity posted:

For people picking Ospreay for best high flyer, leaving the whole SpeakingOut stuff aside can you still really say he was best this year when his body of work only covers about 2 months?

His style is also a lot more grounded now

# ? Sep 1, 2020 21:47

Gumball Gumption: Jan 7, 2012

If the idea of most overrated is that they're being pushed and given a spot that's a lot better than they're worth, velveteen dream.

# ? Sep 1, 2020 21:57

Gaz-L: Jan 28, 2009

Yeah, overrated and underrated long ago became 'over/underpushed'.

GEORGE W BUSHI posted:

His style is also a lot more grounded now

Was the spot with him doing the Space Flying Tiger Drop, missing, getting flung back into the ring and then hitting it properly this year? Because purely in a vacuum, I'm not sure anyone, not even Fenix, has hit something that absurd and crisp this year.

# ? Sep 2, 2020 00:24

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

Gaz-L posted:

Yeah, overrated and underrated long ago became 'over/underpushed'.

Was the spot with him doing the Space Flying Tiger Drop, missing, getting flung back into the ring and then hitting it properly this year? Because purely in a vacuum, I'm not sure anyone, not even Fenix, has hit something that absurd and crisp this year.

Yeah, that was 4/1 vs Hiromu

# ? Sep 2, 2020 00:27

Benne: Sep 2, 2011; STOP DOING HEROIN

Gaz-L posted:

Yeah, overrated and underrated long ago became 'over/underpushed'.

Dave really needs to change the name because we keep having this same argument every year

# ? Sep 2, 2020 00:33

Gaz-L: Jan 28, 2009

Rename Most Overrated to the Nick Nemeth Award for Most Inexplicably Pushed.

# ? Sep 2, 2020 00:35

Cavauro: Jan 9, 2008

# ? Sep 2, 2020 00:38

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 2, 2024 23:09

John Dudebro: Dec 3, 2013

if being the elite qualifies for best weekly tv show then i should be allowed to vote for upupdowndown uno

# ? Sep 2, 2020 01:28

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Hammer House: Stinger Splash Zone > Observer Awards 2020 - Let me tell you why Jado is Wrestler of the Year.

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