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    Wrestling: AEW Dominates in the Wrestling Observer Awards 2020

    Elix ClipperBy Updated:10 Mins Read

    The following are the results of the 41st annual Wrestling Observer Newsletter readership award. On a worldwide basis, these are the most covered mainstream international pro wrestling award. The awards are based on the time frame from January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. Readers are encouraged to send in their comments on the results.

    AWARD / WINNER / Number of “1st” Place Votes / Overall Votes

    Category A Wrestling Award:

    Jon Moxley on AEW during coronavirus, Chris Jericho feud and WWE cuts

    LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD FOR WRESTLER OF THE YEAR

    1. JON MOXLEY (883) 4,873
    2. Kenny Omega (110) 1,375
    3. Tetsuya Naito (38) 957
    4. Kota Ibushi (31) 890
    5. Drew McIntyre (51) 869
    6. Bayley (13) 634
    7. Go Shiozaki (39) 510
    8. Roman Reigns (13) 507
    9. Mayu Iwatani (25) 287
    10. Chris Jericho (24) 276

    MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER OF THE YEAR AWARD

    1. KENNY OMEGA (276) 2,196
    2. Kota Ibushi (273) 2,140
    3. Shingo Takagi (126) 1,475
    4. Tomohiro Ishii (128) 1,208
    5. Will Ospreay (113) 938
    6. Minoru Suzuki (73) 656
    7. Kazuchika Okada (38) 549
    8. Hiromu Takahashi (57) 526
    9. Go Shiozaki (62) 508
    10. Rey Fenix (32) 385

    TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR

    1. YOUNG BUCKS (653) 4,283
    2. Kenny Omega & Adam Page (409) 3,554
    3. FTR (97) 2,106
    4. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi (68) 740
    5. Bayley & Sasha Banks (19) 368
    6. Josh Alexander & Ethan Page (22) 214
    7. Chuck Taylor & Trent (4) 168
    8. Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix (7) 163
    9. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi (8) 116
    10. Santana & Ortiz (5) 72 | Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly (2) 72

    PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

    1. ALL ELITE WRESTLING (1,097) 5,717
    2. New Japan Pro Wrestling (140) 3,157
    3. World Wrestling Entertainment (12) 776
    4. Stardom (33) 507
    5. UFC (32) 380
    6. Pro Wrestling NOAH (13) 376
    7. Impact Wrestling (1) 264
    8. Dragon Gate (7) 214
    9. Ring of Honor (6) 205
    10. DDT (13) 136

    MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
    MOST VALUABLE

    1. KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV (456) 2,904
    2. Conor McGregor (231) 1,510
    3. Israel Adesanya (87) 1,276
    4. Jorge Masvidal (15) 662
    5. Amanda Nunes (17) 328
    6. Deiveson Figueiredo (15) 298
    7. Justin Gaethje (19) 232
    8. Jon Jones (1) 198
    9. Daniel Cormier 159
    10. Kamaru Usman (7) 127

    MOST OUTSTANDING FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

    1. ISRAEL ADESANYA (152) 1,439
    2. Deiveson Figueiredo (201) 1,426
    3. Khabib Nurmagomedov (167) 1,099
    4. Kevin Holland (49) 512
    5. Amanda Nunes (12) 319
    6. Weili Zhang (7) 184
    7. Valentina Shevchenko (2) 178
    8. Jan Blachowicz (8) 129
    9. Justin Gaethje 121
    10. Kamaru Usman (15) 114

    BEST ON INTERVIEWS

    1. EDDIE KINGSTON (474) 3,478
    2. Jon Moxley (373) 3,132
    3. MJF (222) 2,095
    4. Cody Rhodes (59) 768
    5. Chris Jericho (56) 729
    6. Taz (11) 336
    7. Roman Reigns (14) 275
    8. Jay White (16) 244
    9. Pat McAfee (19) 188
    10. Randy Orton (13) 139

    BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW

    1. AEW DYNAMITE (1,151) 5,994
    2. WWE NXT (20) 1,655
    3. Being the Elite (24) 1,265
    4. AEW Dark (19) 743
    5. WWE Smackdown (20) 611
    6. NJPW Strong (21) 538
    7. Ring of Honor (7) 417
    8. Impact Wrestling (5) 229
    9. MLW Fusion (2) 213
    10. WWE NXT U.K. (5) 115

    PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR

    5-Star Match Reviews: Kenny Omega and Adam Page vs. The Young Bucks - AEW Revolution 2020, by Alex Podgorski - TJRWrestling - WWE, AEW News, TV Reviews, PPVs, More!
    1. YOUNG BUCKS VS. KENNY OMEGA & ADAM PAGE 2/29 CHICAGO (733) 4,285
    2. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi 1/4 Tokyo (176) 1,929
    3. Young Bucks vs. FTR 11/7 Jacksonville (66) 809
    4. Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito 1/5 Tokyo (98) 761
    5. Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov 10/29 London (49) 740
    6. Kota Ibushi vs. Minoru Suzuki 10/10 Osaka (56) 555
    7. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Will Ospreay 1/4 Tokyo (13) 496
    8. Go Shiozaki vs. Takashi Sugiura 12/6 Tokyo (22) 295
    9. Young Bucks & Kenny Omega & Matt Hardy & Adam Page vs. Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara & Jake Hager & Ortiz & Santana Stadium Stampede 5/23 Jacksonville (12) 270
    10. John Silver & Alex Reynolds & Adam Page vs. MJF & Santana & Ortiz 12/30 Jacksonville (4) 211

    WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR

    1. BRAUN STROWMAN VS. THE FIEND 7/29 WINTER PARK, FL 179
    2. Bill Goldberg vs. The Fiend 2/27 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 170
    3. Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara 9/5 Jacksonville 148
    4. Randy Orton vs. Edge 3/26 Winter Park, FL 114
    5. John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt 3/27 Winter Park, FL 76
    6. Brock Lesnar vs. Ricochet 2/27 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 72
    7. Jado vs. Toru Yano 6/21 Tokyo 41
    8. Britt Baker vs Big Swole 9/5 Jacksonville 32
    9. Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton 12/20 St. Petersburg 30
    10. Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman 8/23 Orlando 23

    MMA FIGHT OF THE YEAR

    1. WEILI ZHANG VS. JOANNA JEDRZEJCZYK 3/7 LAS VEGAS (503) 2,662
    2. Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno 12/12 Las Vegas (14) 1,079
    3. Dustin Poirier vs Dan Hooker 6/27 Las Vegas (12) 679
    4. Justin Gaethje vs. Tony Ferguson 5/9 Jacksonville (23) 558
    5. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje 10/25 Yas Island (6) 102
    6. Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker 2/22 Auckland (7) 73
    7. Josh Emmett vs. Shane Burgos 6/20 Las Vegas (1) 71
    8. Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic 8/12 Las Vegas 71
    9. Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes (6) 63
    10. Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa 9/26 Yas Island (4) 55

    Category B Wrestling Award:

    Tetsuya Naito retains; Naito vs Jay White Jan.5? | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING

    UNITED STATES/CANADA MVP WRESTLING AWARD

    1. JON MOXLEY 955
    2. Kenny Omega 109
    3. Cody Rhodes 80
    4. Drew McIntyre 49
    5. Roman Reigns 47
    6. Chris Jericho 37
    7. Bayley 14
    8. Adam Cole 13
    9. Adam Page 12

    MEXICO MVP WRESTLING AWARD

    1. REY FENIX 258
    2. Laredo Kid 135
    3. Pagano 69
    4. L.A. Park 38
    5. Volador Jr. 36
    6. Psycho Clown 35
    7. Kenny Omega 30 | Rush 30
    8. Pentagon Jr. 25
    9. Ultimo Guerrero 19

    HODGE AWARD
    NON-HEAVYWEIGHT MVP

    1. HIROMU TAKAHASHI 853
    2. Rey Fenix 84
    3. Darby Allin 36
    4. Rey Mysterio 14
    5. El Phantasmo 13

    WOMEN’S MMA MVP

    1. AMANDA NUNES 237
    2. Valentina Shevchenko 161
    3. Weili Zhang 133
    4. Cris Cyborg 15

    FEUD OF THE YEAR

    1. JON MOXLEY VS. EDDIE KINGSTON 384
    2. Cody Rhodes vs. Brodie Lee 119
    3. Kenny Omega vs. Adam Page 75
    4. Jon Moxley vs. Chris Jericho 68
    5. Young Bucks vs. FTR 66
    6. Cody Rhodes vs. MJF 52
    7. Young Bucks vs Adam Page & Kenny Omega 49
    8. Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso 45
    9. Inner Circle vs. The Elite 42
    10. Edge vs. Randy Orton 38

    WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR

    1. BRAY WYATT VS. BRAUN STROWMAN 301
    2. Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton 192
    3. Lana vs. Nia Jax 161
    4. Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins 116
    5. Tetsuya Naito vs. Evil 88
    6. WWE vs. Retribution 48
    7. Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara 45
    8. Street Profits vs. Viking Raiders 33
    9. Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus 24 | Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy 24

    MOST CHARISMATIC

    1. MJF 179
    2. Orange Cassidy 171
    3. Jon Moxley 157
    4. Hiroshi Tanahashi 119
    5. Eddie Kingston 105
    6. Chris Jericho 85
    7. Cody Rhodes 54
    8. Tetsuya Naito 40
    9. Kenny Omega 38
    10. Ricky Starks 37

    BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD FOR BEST BRAWLER

    1. JON MOXLEY 389
    2. Tomohiro Ishii 263
    3. Brodie Lee 235
    4. Minoru Suzuki 140
    5. Shingo Takagi 137
    6. Eddie Kingston 36
    7. Walter 15 | Matthew Justice 15

    MOST OVERRATED

    1. BRAY WYATT 444
    2. Evil 209
    3. King Corbin 132
    4. Nia Jax 77
    5. Braun Strowman 43
    6. Bill Goldberg 38
    7. Cody Rhodes 36
    8. Seth Rollins 29 | The Miz 29
    9. Charlotte Flair 25

    ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

    1. PAT MCAFEE 355
    2. Anna Jay 216
    3. SB Kento 158
    4. Dominik Mysterio 108
    5. Top Flight 105
    6. Will Hobbs 66
    7. Benjamin Carter 53
    8. Blake Christian 44
    9. Alan Angels 24
    10. Yuki Mashiro 16

    BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

    1. EXCALIBUR 402
    2. Kevin Kelly 389
    3. Tony Schiavone 323
    4. Jim Ross 47
    5. Mark Pickering 31
    6. Hugo Savinovich 28
    7. Wade Barrett 26
    8. Chris Jericho 24
    9. Ian Riccobani 21
    10. Samoa Joe 18 | Jae Church 18

    WORST TELEVISION SHOW

    1. WWE RAW 1,117
    2. Impact Wrestling 25
    3. WWE Smackdown 24
    4. Ring of Honor Wrestling 14
    5. WWE NXT 12 | WWE 205 Live 12

    PROMOTER OF THE YEAR

    1. TONY KHAN 1,056
    2. Dana White 40
    3. Sanshiro Takagi 21
    4. Harold Meij 17
    5. Joe Koff 16 | Brett Lauderdale 16
    6. Vince McMahon 14

    BEST GIMMICK

    1. ORANGE CASSIDY 386
    2. Brodie Lee 167
    3. Roman Reigns 142
    4. Adam Page 114
    5. Darby Allin 62
    6. Kenny Omega 56
    7. MJF 54
    8. The Fiend Bray Wyatt 30
    9. Eddie Kingston 29
    10. Dark Order 23

    BEST WRESTLING MOVE AWARD

    1. KENNY OMEGA – ONE WINGED ANGEL 373
    2. Adam Page – Buckshot lariat 114
    3. Omega & Page – Buckshot V Trigger 60
    4. Kota Ibushi – Kamagoye 59
    5. Jon Moxley – Paradigm Shift 54
    6. Will Ospreay – Hidden Blade 39
    7. Will Ospreay – Stormbreaker 37
    8. Darby Allin – Coffin Drop 31
    9. Shingo Takagi – Pumping Bomber 25
    10. Mizuki – Whirling Candy 24
    11. Pac – Black Arrow 20

    JAPANESE MVP WRESTLING AWARD

    1. TETSUYA NAITO 372
    2. Kota Ibushi 334
    3. Go Shiozaki 158
    4. Kazuchika Okada 90
    5. Mayu Iwatani 77
    6. Minoru Suzuki 72
    7. Hiromu Takahashi ` 66
    8. Will Ospreay 37
    9. Tomohiro Ishii 30
    10. Shingo Takagi 25


    EUROPE MVP WRESTLING AWARD

    1. WALTER 805
    2. Will Ospreay 151
    3. Zack Sabre Jr. 26
    4. Cara Noir 22
    5. Ilja Dragunov 18

    WOMEN’S MVP WRESTLING AWARD

    1. BAYLEY 258
    2. Mayu Iwatani 238
    3. Sasha Banks 206
    4. Asuka 151
    5. Hikaru Shida 132
    6. Io Shirai 110
    7. Giulia 63
    8. Thunder Rosa 36
    9. Yuka Sakazaki 17
    10. Serena Deeb 12 / Britt Baker 12 / Hana Kimura 12

    BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW

    1. CONOR MCGREGOR 349
    2. Jon Moxley 270
    3. Chris Jericho 143
    4. Tetsuya Naito 136
    5. Roman Reigns 75
    6. Kenny Omega 60
    7. Young Bucks 41
    8. Khabib Nurmagomedov 38
    9. Jorge Masvidal 32
    10. Cody Rhodes 17

    MOST IMPROVED

    1. BRITT BAKER 161
    2. Giulia 155
    3. John Silver 79
    4. Taichi 76
    5. Jungle Boy 60
    6. Brodie Lee 58
    7. Roman Reigns 49
    8. Tay Conti 43
    9. Yoshi-Hashi 42
    10. Adam Page 41

    BRYAN DANIELSON AWARD FOR BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER

    1. ZACK SABRE JR. 770 [7th in a Row]
    2. Daniel Bryan 153
    3. Jonathan Gresham 89
    4. Kyle O’Reilly 43
    5. Timothy Thatcher 36
    6. Will Ospreay 30
    7. Kenny Omega 23
    8. Minoru Suzuki 20 | Syuri 20
    9. Kota Ibushi 18

    BEST FLYING WRESTLER AWARD

    1. REY FENIX 866
    2. Will Ospreay 147
    3. Hiromu Takahashi 139
    4. Nick Jackson 78
    5. Darby Allin 25
    6. Dragon Dia 16
    7. Rey Mysterio 13
    8. Matt Jackson 12
    9. El Hijo del Vikingo 11 | Bandido 11

    MOST UNDERRATED

    1. RICOCHET 320
    2. Chad Gable 109
    3. Riddle 50
    4. Cesaro 48 | Mustafa Ali 48
    5. Keith Lee 47
    6. Tomohiro Ishii 41
    7. Rey Fenix 36
    8. Toa Henare 34
    9. Aleister Black 32

    BEST NON-WRESTLER AWARD

    1. TAZ 741
    2. Paul Heyman 225
    3. Don Callis 102
    4. Tony Schiavone 59
    5. Jake Roberts 37
    6. Adam Pearce 28
    7. Zelina Vega 19

    WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

    1. MICHAEL COLE 384
    2. Corey Graves 224
    3. Beth Phoenix 155
    4. Jim Ross 137
    5. Josh Matthews 83
    6. Byron Saxton 78
    7. Tom Phillips 25
    8. Madison Rayne 21
    9. Vic Joseph 19

    BEST BOOKER

    1. TONY KHAN 1,022
    2. Gedo 149
    3. Nosawa Rongai 37
    4. Rossy Ogawa 22
    5. Sanshiro Takagi 17
    6. Paul Levesque 14
    7. Hunter Johnston 13

    WORST PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

    1. WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT 1,019
    2. Impact Wrestling 93
    3. Ring of Honor 31
    4. Major League Wrestling 19
    5. New Japan Pro Wrestling 12

    WORST GIMMICK

    1. THE FIEND BRAY WYATT 470
    2. Retribution 116
    3. Alexa Bliss 63
    4. Seth Rollins 61
    5. Master Wato 50
    6. Dexter Lumis 45
    7. King Corbin 44
    8. Lana 24
    9. Great O’Khan 21
    10. Miro 19

    BEST PRO WRESTLING DOCUMENTARY

    1. DARK SIDE OF THE RING: OWEN HART 378
    2. Dark Side of the Ring: Chris Benoit 240
    3. WWE The Last Ride 142
    4. Dark Side of the Ring: Herb Abrams 60
    5. You Cannot Kill David Arquette 57
    6. WWE 24: Edge 19
    7. Dark Side of the Ring: Brawl for All 14 | AEW Road to Full Gear 14
    8. Dark Side of the Ring: New Jack 12

    BEST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

    Jon Moxley AEW Revolution 2020 Entrance - YouTube
    1. AEW REVOLUTION 2/29 CHICAGO 306
    2. NJPW WrestleKingdom 1/4 Tokyo 294
    3. NJPW G-1 Climax 10/10 Osaka 231
    4. AEW Brodie Lee Tribute Show 12/30 Jacksonville 174
    5. AEW Double or Nothing 5/29 Jacksonville 107
    6. AEW Full Gear 11/7 Jacksonville 78
    7. NJPW WrestleKingdom 1/5 Tokyo 77
    8. WWE Royal Rumble 1/26 Houston 25
    9. NXT Takeover Portland 2/16 Portland 13

    WORST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

    1. WWE SUPER SHOWDOWN 2/27 RIYADH 619
    2. WWE Horror Show at Extreme Rules 7/19 Winter Park, FL 240
    3. WWE WrestleMania 4/5 Winter Park, FL 99
    4. WWE Money in the Bank 5/10 Winter Park, FL 54
    5. AEW All Out 9/5 Jacksonville 33
    6. WWE Survivor Series 11/22 Orlando 20
    7. WWE WrestleMania 4/4 Winter Park, FL 12
    8. WWE TLC 12/20 St. Petersburg 11

    MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC

    1. WWE Firing People During a Pandemic During a Year Where They Were Setting Profit Records 616
    2. WWE Operating for Months Without Covid Testing 247
    3. WWE Stopping Talent From Third-Party Opportunities 63
    4. WWE Running in Saudi Arabia 48
    5. AEW Restarting Matt Hardy Vs. Sammy Guevara Match 21
    6. Rey Mysterio Losing His Eye Angle 19
    7. Dana White Attempting to Run a Native American Reservation Show in California to Get Around Covid Restrictions 17
    8. WWE Continuing to Employ and Push Wrestlers With Credible Sexual Allegations Against Them 15 | Bushiroad Handling the Death of Hana Kimura 15
    9. WWE Drake Maverick Firing Storyline With All the Real Firings 14

    BEST PRO WRESTLING BOOK

    1. YOUNG BUCKS: KILLING THE BUSINESS FROM THE BACKYARDS TO THE BIG LEAGUES BY MATT & NICK MASSIE 348
    2. The Eighth Wonder of the World: The True Story of Andre the Giant by Pat Laprade and Bertrand Hebert 145
    3. Under the Black Hat: My Life in the WWE and Beyond by Jim Ross 120
    4. Shamrock: World’s Most Dangerous Man by Jonathan Snowden 64
    5. The Wrestling Observer Yearbook 1997: The Last Time WWF was Number Two by Dave Meltzer 61
    6. Voices of Wrestling 2020 New Japan Year in Review 25
    7. Master of the Ring: The Biography of Buddy Rogers by Tim Hornbaker 14

    You can also get the Observer on the web at wrestlingobserver.com for $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year for a premium membership that includes daily audio updates, archives of the Observer and Figure Four Weekly, special articles and a message board. If you are a premium member and still want hard copies of the Observer, you can get them for $9.50 per set in the U.S., $10.50 per set in Canada and $13 per set for the rest of the world.

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