It may be mid-March but the Wrestling Observer Newsletter End of Year Awards for 2018 have finally been released.
Standing tall at the top, to little surprise, is the ‘Terminator’ Kenny Omega who took home the Lou Thesz/Ric Flair Award (Wrestler of the Year). Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada came up short in second and third respectively with L.A. Park and Becky Lynch following in fourth and fifth.
Omega also landed the top spot in the “Pro Wrestling Match of the Year” category alongside Okada for their unprecedented ******* classic at NJPW Dominion in June. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi took the second spot for their match in October. Clinching the bronze medal was Johnny Gargano and Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia in January.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL597HYoupQ
Rounding out his spell at the top, Omega also picked up the “Most Outstanding Wrestler” award, beating Ibushi and Okada in second and third.
Highlights of the rest of the awards can be found below:
Tag Team of the Year
- The Young Bucks
- The Golden Lovers
- The Undisputed Era
Best on Interviews
- Daniel Bryan
- Samoa Joe
- Becky Lynch
Women’s Wrestling MVP
- Becky Lynch
- Ronda Rousey
- Meiko Satomura
Feud of the Year
- Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano
- Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor (MMA)
- L.A. Park vs. Rush
The Bryan Danielson Award (Best Technical Wrestler)
- Zack Sabre Jr.
- Daniel Bryan
- Hideki Suzuki
Most Improved
- Adam Page
- Jay White
- Velveteen Dream
Most Overrated
- Baron Corbin
- Nia Jax
- Brock Lesnar
Most Underrated
- Finn Bálor
- Gran Metalik
- Andrade
Rookie of the Year
- Ronda Rousey
- Utami Hayashishita
- Brian Pillman Jr.
If you want to check out the rest of the awards as well as the full lineups for those mentioned, subscribe to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter here.
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