2010 wrestling observer newsletter awards

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

The following are the results of the 31st annual Wrestling Observer Newsletter readership awards, along with a listing of
the previous winners in the various categories. On a world wide basis, these are the most covered mainstream
international pro wrestling awards. The awards are based on the time frame from December 1, 2009 through November
30, 2010.

"CATEGORY A" AWARDS - WINNERS

DETERMINED BY POINTS ON A 5-3-2 BASIS.

FIRST PLACE VOTES IN PARENTHESIS


LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR)

1. JOHN CENA (242)1,451

2. Takashi Sugiura (106)802

3. Masato Yoshino (70)754

4. Prince Devitt (58)634

5. Chris Jericho (44)551

6. Davey Richards (58)473

7. Shinsuke Nakamura (35)394

8. The Miz (26)383

9. Kurt Angle (22)340

10. Mistico (10)322

HONORABLE MENTION: Daniel Bryan 281, Rey Mysterio 278, Satoshi Kojima 268, Randy Orton 266, Daisuke
Sekimoto 240, Naomichi Marufuji 178, Dr. Wagner Jr. 164, Naruki Doi 142, L.A. Park 115, Tyler Black 113, Chris Hero
101, Shawn Michaels 100, Sheamus 96, Hiroshi Tanahashi 95, Yamato 86, BxB Hulk 72

John Cena, 33, joins a select group (Harley Race, Ric Flair, Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi and Chris Jericho) in
winning the Wrestler of the Year award twice.

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS MOST VALUABLE

1. BROCK LESNAR (452)2,951

2. Georges St. Pierre (292)2,609

3. Cain Velasquez (16)543

4. Quinton Jackson 274

5. Anderson Silva 242

6. Jose Aldo Jr.196

7. Alistair Overeem (5)134

8. Chael Sonnen119

Urijah Faber119

10. Frankie Edgar90

MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER

1. DANIEL BRYAN (269)2,037

2. Davey Richards (197)1,835

3. Prince Devitt (158)1,525

4. Naomichi Marufuji (84)758

5. Shingo Takagi (10)515

6. Chris Hero (8)509

7. Kurt Angle (26)448

8. Yamato (4) 209

9. Chris Jericho (2)190

10. A.J. Styles (3)158

HONORABLE MENTION: Shinsuke Nakamura 125, Daisuke Sekimoto 115, Rey Mysterio 87

Under a new name, the former Bryan Danielson, 29, takes this award for the fifth straight year. Nobody else have ever
come close to that (Ric Flair, Jushin Liger and Kurt Angle have each won it three times).

MOST OUTSTANDING FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

1. GEORGE ST. PIERRE (279)1,789

2. Jose Aldo Jr. (147)1,736

3. Cain Velasquez (118)1,428

4. Frankie Edgar (19)514

5. Anderson Silva (35)411

6. Alistair Overeem (38)244

7. Ben Henderson (3)90

8. Nick Diaz (2)72

9. Dominick Cruz (1)57

10. Urijah Faber48

BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW

1. BROCK LESNAR (735)3,813

2. Georges St. Pierre (6)1,667

3. John Cena (74)1,542

4. Mistico (3)348

5. Quinton Jackson (2)199

6. Chael Sonnen (1)155

7. B.J. Penn151

8. Rey Mysterio (2)136

9. Josh Koscheck35

10. Urijah Faber30

This was no contest, nor should it have been.

FEUD OF THE YEAR

1. KEVIN STEEN VS. EL GENERICO (299)2,004

2. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (107)1,036

3. Quinton Jackson vs. Rashad Evans (125)972

4. Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck (53)713

5. Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (63)681

6. John Cena vs. Nexus (52)643

7. BxB Hulk vs. Shingo Takagi (11)402

8. Beer Money vs. Motor City Machine Guns (23)373

9. Rey Mysterio vs. C.M. Punk (13)309

10. L.A. Park vs. La Parka (31)255

HONORABLE MENTION: Prince Devitt vs. Naomichi Marufuji 210, Mistico vs. Volador Jr. 187, New Japan vs. NOAH
127, Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mark & Jay Briscoe 116, Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz 87, John Cena vs. Batista 86

This was a surprise in a sense because of how one-sided it turned out to be. Kevin Steen’s feud with El Generico was
well constructed, lasted all year, had a great blow-off match (technically after the awards time limit) and also had no box
office impact at all.


TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR

1. CHRIS HERO & CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI (403)2,506

2. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley (225)1,948

3. Robert Roode & James Storm (29)780

4. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (65)733

5. Mark & Jay Briscoe (2)396

6. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (9)375

7. Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi (12)343

8. Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards (2)214

9. Shingo Takagi & Yamato (3)153

10. David Hart Smith & Tyson Kidd86

HONORABLE MENTION: Generation Me 75

MOST IMPROVED

1. SHEAMUS (130)1,053

2. The Miz (123)976

3. Dolph Ziggler (88)822

4. Eddie Edwards (81)520

5. Bobby Fish (70)432

6. Alberto Del Rio (49)404

7. Akira Tozawa (31)279

8. Wade Barrett (10)277

9. Ricochet (9)242

10. Jack Swagger (23)207

HONORABLE MENTION: Rhett Titus 150, Magnus 147, Cody Rhodes 118, Hiroshi Yamato 90, Claudio Castagnoli 81,
Kenny Omega 74

BEST ON INTERVIEWS

1. CHAEL SONNEN (473)2,783

2. The Miz (108)1,036

3. C.M. Punk (85)920

4. Chris Jericho (61)690

5. Kevin Steen (82)614

6. Ric Flair (39)478

7. Jon Moxley (62)454

8. Wade Barrett (17)275

9. Josh Koscheck (3)215

10. John Cena (5)164

HONORABLE MENTION: Batista 96, Alberto Del Rio 90, Frank Mir 72

MOST CHARISMATIC

1. JOHN CENA (262)1,959

2. Brock Lesnar (137)1,162

3. The Miz (73)763

4. Alberto Del Rio (46)370

5. Yamato (4)367

6. Georges St. Pierre (16)319

7. Josh Koscheck (18)253

8. Hiroshi Tanahashi (31)245

9. C.M. Punk (15)208

10. Chael Sonnen (11)167

HONORABLE MENTION: Ric Flair 159, Jeff Hardy 142, Batista 119, Wade Barrett 83

BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER

1. DANIEL BRYAN (370)2,765

2. Davey Richards (151)1,719

3. Prince Devitt (89)1,205

4. Kurt Angle (45)874

5. Naomichi Marufuji (6)148

6. Douglas Williams (2)96

7. A.J. Styles (3)87

8. Mike Quackenbush (7)84

9. Eddie Edwards (1)72

10. Chris Jericho (8)69

BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD (BEST BRAWLER)

1. KEVIN STEEN (152) 1,174

2. Jon Moxley (82) 918

3. Togi Makabe (88)647

4. Masato Tanaka (17)467

5. Necro Butcher (46)453

6. Samoa Joe (44)388

7. Brodie Lee (5)334

8. Sheamus (58)300

9. Abyss (22)298

10. Jimmy Jacobs (18)220

HONORABLE MENTION: Yuji Nagata 211, Daisuke Sekimoto 188, El Generico 150, Shingo Takagi 125, Steve Corino

BEST FLYING WRESTLER

1. KOTA IBUSHI (221)1,903

2. Ricochet (161)1,591

3. Pac (120)1,149

4. Mascara Dorada (81)1,093

5. Evan Bourne (103)994

6. Prince Devitt (83)767

7. Dragon Kid (7)398

8. Rey Mysterio (11)292

9. Jack Evans (19)215

10. La Sombra (28)187

HONORABLE MENTION: Aero Star 184, El Generico 175, A.J. Styles 147, BxB Hulk 124, Volador Jr. 91, Masato
Yoshino 78


MOST OVERRATED

1. KANE (222)1,596

2. Randy Orton (80)677

3. Abyss (44)402

4. Rob Van Dam (29)338

5. Drew McIntyre (43)318

6. Matt Morgan (26)301

7. Mr. Anderson (16)299

8. Jeff Hardy (27)289

9. Big Show (20)206

10. Tommy Dreamer (32)205

HONORABLE MENTION: David Otunga 199, Rob Terry 150, John Cena 139, Michelle McCool 99, Team 3-D 81, The
Miz 75, Kevin Nash 75


MOST UNDERRATED

1. KAVAL (122)786

2. Christian (53)683

3. Evan Bourne (62)607

4. Yoshi Tatsu (59)542

5. Jack Swagger (70)418

6. Desmond Wolfe (21)306

7. Samoa Joe (27)258

8. Tyson Kidd (6)255

9. Daniel Bryan (26)229

10. Dolph Ziggler (10)186

HONORABLE MENTION: Zack Ryder 159, John Morrison 145, William Regal 123, Primo 116, Katsuhiko Nakajima 115,
Goldust 114, Trent Barreta 99, MVP 96,

PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

1. ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS (506)2,713

2. Dragon Gate (105)1,293

3. New Japan Pro Wrestling (73)1,089

4. Ring of Honor (62)1,080

5. World Wrestling Entertainment (30)851

6. World Extreme Cagefighting (74)766

7. Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (3)268

8. Consejo Mundial Lucha Libre (21)161

9. Pro Wrestling NOAH (17)143

10. CHIKARA (2)117

HONORABLE MENTION: DDT 97, Big Japan Pro Wrestling 88

BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW

1. RING OF HONOR (249)2,129

2. UFC Ultimate Fighter (129)1,422

3. WWE Monday Night Raw (70)1,119

4. Dragon Gate Infinity (127)867

5. WWE Smackdown (52)634

6. Bellator Fighting (45)489

7. New Japan Pro Wrestling (14)223

8. WWE Superstars (6)206

9. AAA (11)162

10. CMLL (7)125

HONORABLE MENTION: TNA Impact 108


WORKED MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. UNDERTAKER VS. SHAWN MICHAELS 3/28 PHOENIX (238)1,885

2. Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards 6/19 Toronto (211)1,711

3. Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi 7/24 Philadelphia (124)1,099

4. BxB Hulk vs. Shingo Takagi 7/11 Kobe (64)695

5. Chris Hero vs. Akira Tozawa 9/5 Reseda (86)566

6. Prince Devitt vs. Naomichi Marufuji 6/19 Osaka (15)365

7. Koji Kanemoto vs. Fujita Junior Hayato 12/20/09 Tokyo (19)321

8. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas 9/11 New York (23)282

9. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. Robert Roode & James Storm 8/12 Orlando (25)277

10. Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler 10/24 Minneapolis (16)189

SHOOT MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. LEONARD GARCIA VS. CHAN SUNG JUNG 4/24 SACRAMENTO (227)1,834

2. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen 8/7 Oakland (195)1,794

3. Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama 7/3 Las Vegas (124)1,302

4. Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin 7/3 Las Vegas (53)847

5. Josh Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez 12/19/09 San Jose (33)736

6. Jorge Santiago vs. Kazuo Misaki 8/22 Tokyo (61)463

7. Michael Zambidis vs. Chahid 10/3 Seoul (52)365

8. Yves Jabouin vs. Mark Hominick 6/20 Edmonton (16)205

9. Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez 10/23 Anaheim (2)182

10. Shane Roller vs. Anthony Pettis 8/18 Las Vegas (9) 91

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

1. ADAM COLE (288)2,189

2. Green Ant (94)989

3. Rich Swann (29)805

4. Kazuki Hashimoto (92)703

5. Tama Tonga (75)694

6. Percy Watson (41)388

7. Usos (34)271

8. Naomi (26)173

9. King Fale (2)149

10. Christina Von Eerie (3)139

HONORABLE MENTION: Kyosuke Mikami 120, Hiromu Takahashi 108, Tamina 77

BEST NON-WRESTLER

1. VICKIE GUERRERO (296)1,935

2. Jim Cornette (76)1,072

3. Ricardo Rodriguez (60)698

4. Michael Cole (94)679

5. Mike Briscoe (14)342

6. Ric Flair (30)285

7. Eric Bischoff (12)273

8. Paul Bearer (2)198

9. Truth Martini (3)`160

10. Teddy Long (1)156

HONORABLE MENTION: Hulk Hogan 147, Dana White 135, Vince McMahon 84

BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

1. JOE ROGAN (306)1,912

2. Michael Schiavello (79)784

3. C.M. Punk (59)525

4. Mike Goldberg (34)480

5. Josh Matthews (9)477

6. Mike Hogewood (44)442

7. Taz (18)313

8. Michael Cole (24)302

9. Dave Prazak (6)279

10. Stephan Bonnar (6)270

HONORABLE MENTION: Mike Tenay 217, Jimmy Smith 158, Kevin Kelly 142, Dr. Alfonso Morales 120, Mauro Ranallo
115, Matt Striker 100, Jim Cornette 96, Jerry Lawler 75

WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

1. MICHAEL COLE (310)2,167

2. Matt Striker (159)1,645

3. Todd Grisham (43)726

4. Jerry Lawler (8)448

5. Mike Tenay (11)313

6. Mike Hogewood (19)292

7. Taz (8)185

8. Dave Prazak (7)157

9. Josh Matthews (4)106

10. Mauro Ranallo99

Cole won solidly, while Striker went from No. 2 in best last year to No. 2 in worst, something unprecedented.

BEST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

1. UFC 116 7/3 LAS VEGAS (153)1,312

2. ROH Death Before Dishonor 6/19 Toronto (154)1,264

3. WWE WrestleMania 3/28 Phoenix (87)762

4. PWG 7 7/30 Reseda (70)626

5. New Japan 10/11 Tokyo (97)624

6. Dragon Gate USA Enter the Dragon 7/24 Philadelphia(13)536

7. WEC 48 4/24 Sacramento (56)533

8. Strikeforce 12/19/09 San Jose (8)294

9. New Japan 1/04 Tokyo Dome (10)291

10. WWE Money in the Bank 7/18 Kansas City (12)267

[Smartmark]

WOW! Some indy wrestlers won some of the awards! How about that?!

I can't belive I say this, but thanx for posting Gunner!

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

"CATEGORY B" AWARDS - WINNER

DETERMINED BY FIRST PLACE VOTES

WORST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

1. TNA HARDCORE JUSTICE 8/8 ORLANDO172

2. TNA Turning Point 11/7 Orlando126

3. WWE Bragging Rights 10/24 Minneapolis72

4. WWE Survivor Series 11/21 Miami37

5. TNA Destination X 3/21 Orlando33

6. WWE Over the Limit 5/23 Detroit18

7. TNA Bound for Glory 10/10 Daytona Beach17

Strikeforce on CBS 4/17 Nashville17

9. TNA Sacrifice 5/16 Orlando15

10. Impact Fighting Championships 7/18 Sydney14

HONORABLE MENTION: TNA Against All Odds 2/14 Orlando 11

BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER

1. RICOCHET DOUBLE ROTATION MOONSAULT178

2. Daniel Bryan LeBell lock117

3. Justin Gabriel 450 splash57

4. Prince Devitt Bloody Sunday DDT56

5. Kota Ibushi Golden star press40

6. Shinsuke Nakamura bom a ye39

7. Randy Orton DDT37

8. Naomichi Marufuji Tiger frosien27

9. Evan Bourne shooting star press24

10. Pac 360 shooting star press20

HONORABLE MENTION: Generation Me More Bang for Your Buck 19, Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli KRS-1 17,
Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley Skull & Bones 15

MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC

1. STAND UP FOR WWE CAMPAIGN168

2. Rob Terry chair shot75

3. Tommy Dreamer bloodbath in front of his young daughters57

4. John Cena firing angle46

5. Vickie Guerrero constantly promoted as fat and ugly39

6. Eric Young concussion angle comedy19

7. TNA making Jeff Hardy world champion while indicted17

WORST TELEVISION SHOW

1. TNA IMPACT402

2. WWE NXT184

3. WWE Smackdown25

4. WWE Raw22

5. AAA18

WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. KAITLYN VS. MAXINE 10/19 EDMONTON223

2. Vince McMahon vs. Bret Hart 3/28 Phoenix197

3. Anderson Silva vs. Demian Maia 4/10 Abu Dhabi53

4. Undertaker vs. Kane Hell in a Cell 10/3 Dallas51

5. Andre Winner vs. Nik Lentz 8/28 Boston32

6. Frank Mir vs. Mirko Cro Cop 9/25 Indianapolis26

7. Konnan vs. Cibernetico 3/12 Aguascalientes10

WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR

1. EDGE VS. KANE296

2. Undertaker vs. Kane113

3. Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff vs. Dixie Carter62

4. EV 2 vs. Fortune55

5. John Cena vs. Nexus41

6. Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Cody Rhodes25

7. Team 3-D vs. Nasty Boys19

WORST PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

1. TNA562

2. IWA Mid South38

3. WWE25

4. AAA18

5. Strikeforce11

BEST BOOKER

1. JOE SILVA298

2. Gedo & Jado161

3. Mike Quackenbush119

4. Gabe Sapolsky67

5. Adam Pearce58

6. Sean Shelby49

7. Konnan36

8. Hunter Johnston31


PROMOTER OF THE YEAR

1. DANA WHITE709

2. Sanshiro Takagi49

3. Cary Silkin27

4. Vince McMahon12

BEST GIMMICK

1. ALBERTO DEL RIO259

2. Nexus79

3. C.M. Punk Straight Edge Society47

4. Santino Marella29

5. Batista25

6. Dashing Cody Rhodes21

7. Pope D’Angelo Dinero18

8. Chael Sonnen12

WORST GIMMICK

1. ORLANDO JORDAN148

2. Mystery General Manager55

3. Eric Young concussion angle52

4. Robbie E51

5. Abyss49

6. Michael Cole32

7. Winter30

8. Hornswoggle26

9. Jeff Hardy heel16

10. EV2 15

BEST PRO WRESTLING BOOK

1. COUNTDOWN TO LOCKDOWN BY MICK FOLEY286

2. The World According to Dutch by Dutch Mantel23

3. Heart for the fight by Brian Stann19

4. 101 Strangest matches by Oliver Hurley16

BEST PRO WRESTLING DVD

1. CHRIS JERICHO BREAKING THE CODE274

2. Ricky Steamboat Life Story of the Dragon75

3. Hart Family Anthology62

4. Shawn Michaels My Journey43

5. Best of Raw 1993 & 199432

[Travicity]

Lol jesus christ this is awesome they always are and they are fair and legit just dont like the asshole involved but this is awesome.

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

lol Meltzer alone doesn't decide this the entire website of his votes. I agree with most of em myself