The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021

Time to be mad that your favourites haven’t won another award, it’s the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards for 2021! Voted by subscribers and personnel involved with the Wrestling Observer Newsletter;

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
CATEGORY A” AWARDS

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

1. KENNY OMEGA (629) 3,755
2. Roman Reigns (90) 1,636
3. Shingo Takagi (46) 1,604
4. Bryan Danielson (127) 1,411
5. Utami Hayashishita (134) 1,310
6. C.M. Punk (24) 566
7. Syuri (21) 254
8. Adam Page (11) 199
9. Katsuhiko Nakajima (4) 113
10. Jon Moxley (1) 72

MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER

1. SHINGO TAKAGI (366) 2,767
2. Bryan Danielson (319) 2,647
3. Kenny Omega (218) 2,108
4. Will Ospreay (54) 960
5. Syuri (66) 615
6. Rey Fenix (10) 320
7. Utami Hayashishita (20) 303
8. Tomohiro Ishii (2) 184
9. Tam Nakano (24) 182
10. Katsuhiko Nakajima (17) 179

​Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR

1. YOUNG BUCKS (740) 4,405
2. Penta & Rey Fenix (124) 2,485
3. FTR (111) 1,233
4. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi (23) 649
5. Syuri & Giulia (4) ` 283
6. Usos (2) 236
7. Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus 173
8. Randy Orton & Riddle (1) 114
9. Mark & Jay Briscoe (2) 112
10. Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher (Aussie Open) 83

BEST ON INTERVIEWS

1. MJF (329) 2,641
2. Eddie Kingston (266) 2,479
3. C.M. Punk (247) 2,384
4. Jon Moxley (12) 404
5. Dan Lambert (18) 308
6. Roman Reigns (24)` 262
7. Paul Heyman (15) 248
8. Don Callis (44) 241
9. Bryan Danielson (7) 164
10. Miro (2) 138

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

1. ALL ELITE WRESTLING (817) 4,298
2. Stardom (158) 2,070
3. New Japan Pro Wrestling (17) 1,722
4. Game Changer Wrestling (7) 695
5. UFC (42) 645
6. World Wrestling Entertainment (3) 512
7. Pro Wrestling NOAH (10) 272
8. Impact Wrestling (1) 191
9. DDT 111
10. Dragon Gate (2) 75

BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW

1. AEW DYNAMITE (908) 4,716
2. AEW Rampage (35) 2,240
3. New Japan Strong (47) 1,230
4. WWE Smackdown (4) 704
5. Impact Wrestling (2) 305
6. WWE NXT 190
7. Ring of Honor Wrestling (9) 174
8. We are Stardom (8) 146
9. AEW Dark 109
10. WWE NXT U.K. 83

PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. YOUNG BUCKS VS. PENTA & FENIX 9/5 Chicago (288) 2,126
2. Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi 5/4 Fukuoka (182) 1,539
3. Kenny Omega vs. Bryan Danielson 9/22 New York (103) 1,117
4. Bryan Danielson vs. Adam Page 12/15 Garland, TX (133) 1,093
5. Utami Hayashishita vs. Syuri 6/12 Tokyo (151) 1,088
6. Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov 8/22 Orlando (58) 796
7. Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White 1/5 Tokyo (71) 550
8. Kenny Omega vs. Adam Page 11/13 Minneapolis (39) 490
9. Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi 3/21 Sendai (7) 231
10. Bryan Danielson vs. Minoru Suzuki 10/15 Miami (13) 208

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
CATEGORY B” AWARDS

UNITED STATES/CANADA MVP

1. KENNY OMEGA 681
2. Roman Reigns 118
3. Bryan Danielson 110
4. C.M. Punk 56
5. Jon Moxley 13
6. Adam Page 12

JAPANESE MVP

1. SHINGO TAKAGI 575
2. Utami Hayashishita 223
3. Kazuchika Okada 74
4. Will Ospreay 18
5. Katsuhiko Nakajima 14
6. Kota Ibushi 13
7. Syuri 13
8. Konosuke Takeshita 8
9. Tam Nakano 8
10. Tomohiro Ishii 7

MEXICO MVP

1. EL HIJO DEL VIKINGO 391
2. Psycho Clown 185
3. Rey Fenix 138
4. Laredo Kid 50
5. Kenny Omega 24
6. Bandido 18
7. Pentagon Jr. 13
8. Ultimo Guerrero 10

EUROPE MVP

1. WILL OSPREAY 345
2. Walter 298
3. Ilja Dragunov 82
4. Ricky Knight Jr. 20
5. Zack Sabre Jr. 17
6. Cara Noir 13
7. Axel Tishcer 7

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
HODGE AWARD/NON-HEAVYWEIGHT MVP

1. DARBY ALLIN  366
2. Rey Fenix 191
3. Hiromu Takahashi 152
4. Desperado 136
5. Shun Skywalker 34
6. El Hijo del Vikingo 32
7. 7.Bryan Danielson 24
8. Robbie Eagles 24
9. Sammy Guevara 15
10. Bandido 14

WOMEN’S WRESTLING MVP

1. UTAMI HAYASHISHITA 362
2. Britt Baker 342
3. Syuri 106
4. Bianca Belair 79
5. Charlotte Flair 33
6. Deonna Purrazzo 27
7. Becky Lynch 26
8. Miyu Yamashita 18
9. Tam Nakano 14
10. Serena Deeb 12

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW – PRO WRESTLING

1. C.M. PUNK
2. John Cena
3. Kenny Omega
4. Roman Reigns
5. Brock Lesnar

FEUD OF THE YEAR

1. KENNY OMEGA VS. ADAM PAGE 503
2. Utami Hayashishita vs. Syuri 207
3. MJF vs. Chris Jericho 71
4. Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 70
5. C.M. Punk vs. Eddie Kingston 55
6. Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar 49
7. Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi 27
8. Nick Gage vs. Matt Cardona 20
9. Roman Reigns vs. John Cena 17
10. Giulia vs. Tam Nakano 16

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
MOST IMPROVED

1. TAY CONTI 187
2. Dante Martin 150
3. Saya Kamitani 57
4. Jeff Cobb 54
5. Jungle Boy 48
6. Unagi Sayaka 41
7. Maki Itoh 38
8. Britt Baker 36
9. Bianca Belair 33
10. Miro 29

MOST CHARISMATIC

1. C.M. PUNK 301
2. MJF 197
3. Eddie Kingston 54
4. Roman Reigns 52
5. Maki Itoh 48
6. Adam Cole 44
7. Giulia 33
8. Conor McGregor 32
9. Orange Cassidy 30
10. Jon Moxley 27
11. Kenny Omega ` 25

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
BRYAN DANIELSON AWARD (BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER)

1. BRYAN DANIELSON 559
2. Zack Sabre Jr. 380
3. Jonathan Gresham 95
4. Syuri 48
5. Kenny Omega 18

BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD (BEST BRAWLER)

1. JON MOXLEY 303
2. Eddie Kingston 284
3. Tomohiro Ishii 243
4. Shingo Takagi 111
5. Minoru Suzuki 76
6. Katsuhiko Nakajima 26
7. Walter 23
8. Nick Gage 16
9. Miro 12
10. Lance Archer 12

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
BEST FLYING WRESTLER

1. REY FENIX 619
2. El Hijo del Vikingo 151
3. Dante Martin 98
4. Will Ospreay 78
5. Nick Jackson 25
6. Sammy Guevara 14
7. Darby Allin 12
8. Bandido 10
9. Aramis 9
10. Shun Skywalker 9

MOST OVERRATED

1. EVIL 194
2. Roman Reigns 101
3. Omos 85
4. The Miz 65
5. Keiji Muto 42
6. Charlotte Flair 41
7. Cody Rhodes 36
8. Jade Cargill 36
9. Chris Jericho 35
10. Great O’Khan 33

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
MOST UNDERRATED

1. RICOCHET 222
2. Chad Gable 80
3. Mustafa Ali 74
4. Ricky Starks 33
5. Riddle 27
6. Daniel Garcia 24
7. Cody Rhodes 20
8. Finn Balor 20
9. Anthony Bowens 19
10. Santana & Ortiz 19

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

1. JADE CARGILL 290
2. Jack Cartwheel 99
3. Lady C 71
4. Nick Wayne 49
5. Yuki Arai 33
6. Ninja Mack 32
7. Colten Gunn 31
8. Kevin Knight 31
9. Ryohei Oiwa 24
10. Kosei Fujita 23

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
BEST NON-WRESTLER

1. PAUL HEYMAN 369
2. Don Callis 364
3. Dan Lambert 158
4. Taz 140
5. Malcolm Bivens 17
6. Tony Schiavone 12

BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

1. EXCALIBUR 431
2. Kevin Kelly 311
3. Tony Schiavone 126
4. Pat McAfee 80
5. Stewart Fulton 73
6. Taz 71
7. Ian Riccaboni 56
8. Jae Church 27
9. Jim Ross 14
10. Jon Anik 14

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

1. COREY GRAVES 229
2. Michael Cole 193
3. Matt Striker 136
4. Adnan Virk 115
5. Chris Jericho 85
6. Beth Phoenix 78
7. Pat McAfee 50
8. Mark Henry 39
9. Kevin Gill 33
10. Byron Saxton 31

BEST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

1. AEW ALL OUT 9/5 CHICAGO 677
2. AEW Full Gear 11/13 Minneapolis 346
3. Stardom Queendom 12/29 Tokyo 49
4. AEW Double or Nothing 5/30 Jacksonville 18
5. CyberFight Festival 6/6 Saitama 17
6. UFC 268 11/6 New York 17
7. Stardom Five Star Grand Prix 9/25 Tokyo 16
8. AEW Dynamite Grand Slam 9/22 New York 13
9. NJPW WRestleKingdom 1/5 Tokyo 13
10. NJPW WrestleKingdom 1/4 Tokyo 11

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
WORST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

1. WWE SURVIVOR SERIES 11/21 BROOKLYN 218
2. WWE Extreme Rules 9/26 Columbus, OH 116
3. WWE WrestleMania Backlash 5/16 Tampa 116
4. WWE SummerSlam 8/21 Las Vegas 90
5. WWE Hell in a Cell 6/20 Tampa 70
6. WWE Fastlane 5/21 St. Petersburg 66
7. WWE Crown Jewel 10/21 Riyadh 62
8. AAA TripleMania Regia 12/4 Monterrey 35
9. WWE Elimination Chamber 2/22St. Petersburg 31
10. WWE WrestleMania 4/11 Tampa 18

BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER

1. ADAM PAGE BUCKSHOT LARIAT 233
2. Kenny Omega One Winged Angel 225
3. Shingo Takagi Last of the Dragon 64
4. Will Ospreay Stormbreaker 60
5. Will Ospreay Hidden Blade 55
6. Darby Allin tope 43
7. Darby Allin Coffin drop 32
8. Tam Nakano Uncut screwdriver 26
9. Shingo Takagi Pumping Bomber 24
10. Dante Martin double jump moonsault 21

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC

1. WWE FIRING WRESTLERS DURING A PANDEMIC WHILE SETTING PROFIT RECORDS 517
2. WWE continued relationship with Saudi Arabia 151
3. WWE using releases in storylines 25
4. WWE handling of COVID 25
5. Triller having Evander Holyfield box 19
6. Joey Ryan booking himself on a show claiming it was for a women’s charity 19
7. Dana White running full house shows with no masks 18
8. WWE false advertising of talent they know won’t appear 17
9. WWE Liv Morgan scripted to say Lynch’s contract is why wrestlers were fired 13
10. WWE changing NXT 12
11. Joe Rogan promoting COVID misinformation 12

WORST TELEVISION SHOW

1. WWE RAW 669
2. WWE NXT 2.0 170
3. Impact Wrestling 25
4. WWE 205 Live 18
5. WWE Smackdown 17
6. NWA Powerrr 17
7. AEW Rampage 8

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. DAMIEN PRIEST VS. THE MIZ 5/16 TAMPA 270
2. Randy Orton vs. The Fiend Bray Wyatt 4/11 Tampa 186
3. Randy Orton vs. Alexa Bliss 5/21 St. Petersburg 87
4. Britt Baker & Rebel vs. Nyla Rose & Vickie Guerrero 6/30 Jacksonville 53
5. Alexa Bliss vs. Shayna Baszler 6/21 Tampa 50
6. Sarray vs. Lash Legend 12/14 Orlando 47
7. Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair 8/21 Las Vegas 38
8. Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax 8/30 Oklahoma City 31
9. B-Fab vs. Elektra Lopez 9/28 Orlando 28
10. Chris Jericho vs. Nick Gage 7/28 Charlotte 19

WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR

1. RANDY ORTON VS. THE FIEND & ALEXA BLISS 356
2. Alexa Bliss vs. Shayna Baszler 50
3. Cody Rhodes vs. Anthony Ogogo 38
4. Shane McMahon vs. Braun Strowman 37
5. Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair 35
6. Matt Hardy vs. Orange Cassidy 33
7. Alexa Bliss vs. Eva Marie 30
8. House of Torture vs. Chaos 27
9. Britt Baker vs. Nyla Rose 25
10. Inner Circle vs. American Top Team 23

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
WORST PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

1. WWE 706
2. CMLL 83
3. Ring of Honor 64
4. Impact Wrestling 44
5. NWA 15

BEST BOOKER

1. TONY KHAN 722
2. Rossy Ogawa 232
3. Sean Shelby 37
4. Gedo 33
5. Brett Lauderdale 26
6. Nosawa Rongai 25

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
PROMOTER OF THE YEAR

1. TONY KHAN 748
2. Dana White 144
3. Ross Ogawa 76
4. Brett Lauderdale 56
5. Takaaki Kidani 17
6. Vince McMahon 9

BEST GIMMICK

1. ROMAN REIGNS 116
2. Orange Cassidy 106
3. Adam Page 86
4. Malakai Black 85
5. Danhausen 84
6. Starlight Kid 74
7. Matt Cardona 73
8. Miro 62
9. Hook 44
10. Kenny Omega 39

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
WORST GIMMICK

1. ALEXA BLISS 523
2. Nikki ASH 54
3. House of Torture 48
4. Happy Corbin 43
5. The Fiend Bray Wyatt 32
6. Roman Reigns 29
7. Joe Gacy 26
8. Cody Rhodes 24
9. Big Money Matt Hardy 20
10. Doudrop 13
11. Best Friends 12

BEST PRO WRESTLING BOOK

1. MOX BY JON MOXLEY 482
2. NJPW Year in Review by Voices of Wrestling 22
3. The Complete List of Jericho by Chris Jericho 19
4. Chosen Destiny by Drew McIntyre 18
5. Master of the Ring: Buddy Rogers by Tim Hornbaker 18
6. 1993 Wrestling Observer Yearbook by Dave Meltzer 16
7. Truth Bee Told by Brian Blair/Ian Douglass 16
8. Butts in Seats: The Tony Schiavone Story 14

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards: 2021
BEST PRO WRESTLING DOCUMENTARY

1. DARK SIDE OF THE RING: BRIAN PILLMAN 326
2. Dark Side of the Ring: Plane Ride from Hall 96
3. Dark Side of the Ring: Nick Gage 49
4. Dark Side of the Ring: Grizzly Smith 45
5. Dark Side of the Ring: FMW/Atsushi Onita 42
6. Dark Side of the Ring: Collision in Korea 31
7. Dark Side of the Ring: Chris Kanyon 26
8. Dark Side of the Ring: Steroid Trials 21
9. A&E Bret Hart biography 12
10. A&E Steve Austin biography` 11
11. Dark Side of the Ring: Dynamite Kid 11