For better or worse, 2016 was a memorable year for WWE. Whether it was new signees, the return of the brand split or Corbin’s bald spot, it was an eventful year for WWE. Reports are out that WWE are neglecting to have a Slammy Awards for the 2016 year, so I thought I’d take it upon myself to pick up the slack. I’ve spent a great deal of time considering everything, and I’ve come up with my nominees, categories, and winners. First, allow me to explain to you how this awards edition will work. It will only feature those on the main roster and can be from either brand (there will be an NXT edition of the Slammy’s later on). There are eight categories. There will be Slammy for the best PPV of the year, the top spot of the year, the best rivalry of the year, the best return of the year, the best newcomer of the year and of course, the best superstar of the year for both the males and females and of course, the best match of the year. There can also be superstars involved in multiple categories. Without further ado, here are my personal Slammy Awards.
Best PPV of the Year: Awarded to the best overall PPV featured on the WWE Network that WWE has produced for the 2016 calendar year. Honorable mentions include Battleground, Summerslam, Backlash and No Mercy. Here are the nominees:
Extreme Rules – On this show, you’re getting two incredible matches in AJ Styles taking on Roman Reigns in an Extreme Rules match as well as a fatal four way involving Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship. Both matches I had at the very least being ****1/2, so that’s grounds for having this as a nominee on its own, but in addition, Rusev faced Kalisto in a decent match over the US Title, and we also had Seth Rollins make his return after the main event to make for a successful show. Honorable mentions include Battleground, Hell In A Cell, Summerslam, Payback and No Mercy.
Money In The Bank – I hesitated a bit putting this show here, but I think it’s earned. John Cena and AJ Styles put up a great bout here (though they would top themselves at Summesrlam), the Money In The Bank ladder match was very good, and Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns had perhaps their best one on one bout. We had the shock value of Seth beating Roman clean in the ring (though in hindsight it may not be as shocking due to Roman Reigns’ impending suspension) and then we had Dean Ambrose finally winning the WWE Championship by cashing in later that night.
Tables, Ladders and Chairs – Smackdown, for the most part has been generally good with their exclusive PPV’s in Backlash, No Mercy and TLC, but the latter was the standout. We had two title changes on this show as The Wyatt Family and Alexa Bliss won the tag titles and women’s title for that brand. The Miz and Dolph Ziggler culminated their feud in a great ladder match for the Intercontinental Title, and finally, AJ Styles outdid himself again in a great TLC match against Dean Ambrose in the main event.
Royal Rumble – The Royal Rumble is generally one of the more exciting PPV’s WWE has to offer, but this year’s was the best in a while. The night started out with a terrific Last Man Standing Match between Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens and the Royal Rumble match featured great surprises in the forms of Sami Zayn, AJ Styles and Triple H, the latter of who would go on to win the WWE World Championship by eliminating both Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.
Survivor Series – The allure of this PPV was because of the brand split and the spirit of competition was reignited on this show. While the women’s match disappointed, both the men’s and tag team survivor series matches were both very entertaining. In addition, we saw the return of Goldberg in a ring in a clever finish that no one saw coming, being Goldberg squashing the beast incarnate within 2 minutes.
And the winner is….
No PPV this year had quite the balance that Extreme Rules did for me. Money In The Bank was a close second.
Newcomer of the Year – Awarded to the beset performer who debuted on the main roster in the 2016 calendar year. These can involve new signees or those brought up from NXT. Honorable mentions include Nia Jax, Carmella, Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin. The nominees are…
AJ Styles – He’s the only person to have competed at Wrestle Kingdom and WrestleMania in the same year, gave men such as John Cena, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose some of the best matches in their careers and won the WWE Title. A very Kurt Angle-esque first year for the Phenomenal One.
Sami Zayn – He was brought up to the main roster officially after his final NXT match against Shinsuke Nakamura in Dallas, and while he hasn’t won any titles, he’s had a very under the radar great year in 2016. He has been involved in stellar performances at Wrestlemania, Extreme Rules, Payback, and Battleground without a lot seeming to notice.
Alexa Bliss – She was drafted in part two of the draft on the Network very late, but she showed she belonged on the main roster and finally got her due by winning the Smackdown Women’s Championship at TLC by defeating the top female pick for the Smackdown roster, Becky Lynch.
Finn Balor – Don’t have much to write on here because of his untimely injury at the hands of Seth Rollins at Summerslam, but how many people beat Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins clean in their first main roster singles matches? And how many won the Universal Championship in their first PPV match? Finn Balor did.
And the winner is…..
Shocking, I know.
Top Spot of the Year – Awarded to the best spot in a match based on its level of difficulty and epicness of course. The nominees are….
AJ Styles’ 450 Splash to Dean Ambrose on a table – It can’t be underestimated how difficult it is to perfectly execute a 450 splash, but doing it on the outside on a table perfectly? AJ did that.
Chris Jericho takes 69 tacks – Normally that number is used for, well other purposes, but in this case, it’s representative of the tough SOB the 46 year old Jericho is.
Shane McMahon’s leap of faith – Shane has always been a bonafide stunt man for most of his career, but standing on top of Satan’s structure, at WrestleMania, with thousands of people in the arena watching? Oh yeah, that’s a moment to remember.
Seth Rollins powerbombs Kevin Owens through two tables – The sheer strength of this move is what impresses me the most. It looked as though they botched it up at first, but the upper body strength it took for Seth to get Kevin back to his upper body and send him through two tables was something else.
Sami Zayn performs the Michinoku Driver on Kevin Owens on a ladder – The chiropractor was on speed dial for Kevin Owens after that. Goodness gracious.
And the winner is…
Dives off Hell In A Cell are generally epic, so congrats Shane.
Return of the Year – Awarded to the man or woman who had the best return of this year. This is all primarily based on the shock factor of the return. Honorable mentions include John Cena, Triple H, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and The Big Show. The nominees are…..
Shane McMahon – Shane McMahon, generally the favorite McMahon of a lot of people, hadn’t been seen since 2009, so hearing Here Comes The Money after Stephanie’s award presentation was certainly shocking and a great surprise. Shane has also found a way to stay a prominent figure in WWE, facing The Undertaker in a Hell In A Cell match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania, being involved in Smackdown’s team at Survivor Series and serving as current Smackdown commissioner.
Seth Rollins – He was the superstar of the year in 2015, but a misstep he took in a spot that he’s done a thousand times over, the sunset flip in the corner, cost him his leg and he had to be out of action for at least six months. A WrestleMania return was out of the question, so the days got closer and closer, and fans constantly checked the rumor mill to see when he’d return. Much to the fans’ delight, he returned in the form of a thunderous to the then WWE Champion Roman Reigns, at Extreme Rules.
Goldberg – It started out as a promotion for WWE 2K17, but then Jonathan Coachman begged the question to Goldberg as a hypothetical, if he were to return, who would he work with. He then said that he owed Brock a rematch, and suddenly, that match became reality as Goldberg proclaimed he had one more spear, jackhammer and ass-kicking in him. And he isn’t done yet, as he is set to compete in his second Royal Rumble match next year.
Cesaro – Cesaro had been sidelined with a shoulder injury around the same time period that John Cena, Seth Rollins and Randy Orton did, and on the night after Wrestlmania 32, Sami Zayn was written off a fatal four way number 1 contender’s match, so Swiss Superman stood in his place and didn’t seem to lose a beat.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin – It was a great WrestleMania moment for me, seeing Austin, HBK and Foley side by side by side like that. Oh, my childhood.
And the winner is….
You’re next.
Rivalry of the Year – Awarded to the best rivalry between two superstars or tag teams. This involves the booking of the feud, the frequency with which how they fought, and of course the quality of their matches. Honorable mentions include Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles vs. Roman Reigns and Goldberg vs. Brock LesnarThe nominees are…
The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler – One of the premiere feuds of the Smackdown brand, The Miz and Ziggler, who know each other like bread and butter, fought over the Intercontinental Title after the Summer, and took their matches to new heights and made the IC Title look like it meant something. From Backlash to No Mercy to TLC to their Smackdown matches, The Miz and Ziggler were able to elevate the title and each other in the process.
Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte – These two women had a year similar to Randy Orton and John Cena in 2009. In both years, each pair had Iron Man and Hell In A Cell matches. In addition, both pairs also switched the titles frequently, but despite that, these two have developed incredible chemistry, but more importantly, shattered the glass ceiling in women’s wrestling and set themselves as the standard bearers for the women’s division.
Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – Their rivalry really began in 2014 when Owens debuted in NXT and took the NXT Title off of Sami Zayn, but their rivalry intensified and came to a head this year. It started when Zayn entered the Rumble and eliminated Owens. Since then, Zayn served as a thorn in Kevin Owens’ side, because he also cost him the MITB briefcase and Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania. The two went at it numerous times this year, and their match at Battleground remains one to remember.
AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose – The top two picks for Smackdown LIVE did a wonderful job carrying the blue brand this year, as Styles served as the perfect foil for Dean Ambrose. Styles took the belt off of AMbrose at Backlash, the two were involved in a fantastic triple threat at No Mercy involving John Cena, and finally, in one of the best TLC matches I’ve seen, Styles stood atop the ladder victorious.
AJ Styles vs. John Cena – They only faced off twice one on one, but this was a true dream scenario. Styles came out when John Cena returned from injury, and the crowd immediately sensed the importance of the moment. Two icons of two separate brands facing off again, once considered a dream, then became reality. The two had a great outing at Money In The Bank, but they topped themselves to a new degree at Summerslam, and that established AJ as the top heel in WWE.
And the winner is…
While I believe a big part of their feud was just for the sake of making history, and while it was overstated for a while, I really think that these two have raised the bar for women’s wrestling. When you compare where the females are now from 1-2 years ago, it’s a huge improvement. In addition, this has also paved the way for more stipulated women’s matches such as No DQ, Falls Count Anywhere and Tables Matches. But all the feuds nominated were worthy of the claim.
Superstar of the Year (Women) – Awarded to the best overall female competitor on the main roster for the 2016 calendar year. Honorable mentions includes Nia Jax, Carmella and Nikki Bella. The nominees are…
Sasha Banks – She won the Women’s Championship on three separate occasions and had a great feud with Charlotte to top off her year. This year also showcased the kind of risks Sasha is willing to take as she has taken some pretty nasty bumps, but the Boss has had a pretty damn good year.
Charlotte – She’s ascended to the top of the women’s division as the standard bearer and big time match person. With an undefeated record on PPV in title match situations and winning the first ever Hell In A Cell women’s match as well as an Iron Man match by making Sasha tap out twice in a row (a rare feat in an Iron Man match), there arguably wasn’t a more complete performer this year. Her being drafted number 3 overall in the draft also speaks as a testament as to how much WWE is behind her.
Alexa Bliss – Considering that a lot doubted that she was ready for the main roster as the manager of Blake and Murphy in NXT, Alexa showed to the world that she belongs on the main roster, and has broken out as one of the gems of 2016. Her journey also culminated in currently holding the Smackdown Women’s Championship.
Becky Lynch- Being drafted as the top woman for the Smackdown brand, Becky did a fabulous job leading the Smackdown women’s roster. Though the lack of depth in terms of star power on the Smackdown roster compared to RAW’s women division is evident, she still shined as a great performer. She was also a part of the fantastic WrestleMania triple threat women’s match, arguably the best of the night.
Bayley – A very popular babyface, while Bayley is still relatively new on the main roster, she’s already started to make her mark and has also scored numerous pinfalls on the current RAW Women’s Champion. It also appears that Bayley vs. Charlotte will be a marquee feud on RAW going into WrestleMania 33.
And the winner is….
Not really a conversation here. No one has performed bigger on the grand stage than Charlotte has. Being the first women’s champion, to winning all of the big matches in her feud against Charlotte, bow down to the queen.
Superstar of the Year (Men) – Awarded of the best overall male performer on the main roster. Honorable mentions include Triple H, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, John Cena and Seth Rollins. And the nominees are….
Kevin Owens – He started out the year in the Intercontinental Title scene, having fantastic matches with the likes of Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler. He then defended it in a great ladder match in his first WrestleMania. Afterwards, he was in a feud with Sami Zayn that lasted approximately three months, and they two shared some great bouts at Payback and Battleground. However, his crowning moment came on RAW on August 29th by defeating Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Big Cass to win the new world title for RAW, the Universal Championship. Currently one of the top heels in the company and top dog on RAW, he’s earned his way to the top and finally got his due this year after many thought his losses to John Cena last year would spell the end of his career.
The Miz – Talk about a year of rejuvenation for this guy. The Miz, who had won the IC title numerous times before, reinvented himself yet again after the introduction of former WWE Diva and real life wife, Maryse after WrestleMania. The Miz made the Intercontinental Championship mean something this year, especially in his feud with Dolph Ziggler. When you look at his performances at Extreme Rules, No Mercy, Backlash, TLC and some of his title defenses on Smackdown, The Miz has more than earned an honorable mention. Let’s not also forget when he cut the promo of his life on Daniel Bryan on an edition of Talking Smack.
AJ Styles – I mean, what else is there to say? A phenomenal year for The Phenomenal One. The mark of a great superstar isn’t just by the quality of his matches, but how he can elevate his opponents. AJ has done just that.It started when he was the number three entrant in the Royal Rumble to the delight of a hot crowd. He then started an introductory feud with Chris Jericho and had impressive outings. However, he started to ascend when he was inserted into the WWE Title picture when he faced Roman Reigns. His match at Extreme Rules was one of the better bouts of the year. Then, the face that runs the place, John Cena returned, and the two had a classic series of two matches at Money In the Bank and Summerslam, both of which AJ would win, and the latter being squeaky clean. Finally, at Backlash, he conquered his next obstacle, WWE World Champion Dean Ambrose and became WWE Champion. After this, AJ is the only person in the history of wrestling to hold world titles in WWE, TNA, NWA, ROH and NJPW. Phenomenal.
Dean Ambrose – I was worried that Dean was going to fall out of the main event shuffle, especially after his loss to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, but despite that, Ambrose remained a consistent performer in WWE throughout 2016. He had a great match against Kevin Owens to start off the year at the Royal Rumble, and had a good mini feud with Triple H. However, at Money In The Bank he would win the briefcase held above the ring, and came full circle to cash in his contract against Seth Rollins to win the WWE Championship on a night where all three members of The Shield held the WWE Title on one night. He also entered a great individual feud against AJ Styles, where the two would have a fantastic series of matches and showcased great chemistry with each other. Who knows what the future holds in store for the Lunatic Fringe, but for the time being it seems he will enter a feud with fellow Superstar of the Year nominee, The Miz.
Chris Jericho – I went over this nominee back and forth, but in the end, I caved. Jericho’s consistent re-transformation of his character in a way that makes him stay fresh is astonishing. It didn’t seem like he would amount to much when he returned yet again before the Royal Rumble earlier this year, but after a surprising WrestleMania victory over AJ Styles, it seemed as though that Jericho’s return this year would be for the long hauk. His heel turn was what facilitated his new attitude, and to this day he still gets some of the louder pops on the roster. Considering his advanced age, and how he’s still able to keep up with future stars in the industry such as AJ Styles, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose among others, it’s a testament to how reliable he is. Also consider that Jericho also competed in a MITB ladder match and took 69 thumb tacks to the back at Extreme Rules, Jericho’s an unsung hero of 2016. Hell, if I didn’t put him as a nominee on this list, he’d put me on his.
And the winner is…
Again, no debate. A very Kurt Angle-seque first year for AJ, and one of the best individal years in some time.
Match of the Year – Awarded to the best match overall from either the men or women from the main roster. Honorable mentions include The Miz vs. Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (Extreme Rules), AJ styles vs. Roman reigns (Extreme Rules), AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose (TLC), Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens (Royal Rumble) and AJ Styles vs. Johhn Cena vs. Dean Ambrose (No Mercy) The nominees are…
The Miz (C) vs. Dolph Ziggler – Intercontinental Championship (No Mercy) – With The Miz’s title and Dolph’s career at stake, there would certainly be a lot of emtions injected into this amtch. What was even a bigger story was the fact that many didn’t expect Dolph to win, mainly because he had been saying his goodbyes on Twitter prior, which made all the near falls incredible. The Miz and Ziggler have faced each other thousands of times, especially for the IC Title in the past, but they took it up another notch in this match, and with every possible roadblock in Ziggler’s way, he overcame. I especially loved the storytelling in the match playing up the finishes to their previous matches, and how Ziggler was still able to top that. An incredible match and one worthy of the Intercontinental Championship. How this match wasn’t the main event, considering the WWE Title triple threat went on first is beyond me.
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (Battleground) – The feud of these two former best friends came to a head in this match, as these two did everything they possibly could. Sami Zayn was looking for redemption in this match to avenge his previous losses and attacks he took from Kevin Owens. Owens was looking to get rid of Sami Zayn for good, as he had been a thorn in his side from the beginning of this year. The chemistry these two showed here was incredible and it resulted in an asbsolute barnburner. The ending sequenc where Zayn hit two Helluva Kicks and holds his former best friend in his arm before getting the winning pinfall was something you couldn’t have written better either.
AJ Styles vs. John Cena (Summerslam) – The crazy thing about this match is that there wasn’t a story to follow here. The two just did big spot after big spot and John Cena gradually got surprised at how much punishment Styles could take. In addition he kicked out of a move that barely anyone kicks out of, being the Avalance AA from the top rope. The two had one of the best matches of their respective careers here, and they also managed to outdo each other from Money In The Bank. Syyles not only beating Cena again, but clean, established him as the top heel in the company, and set the stage for his eventual WWE Championship moment at Backlash. I’ve probably watched his match in its entirety about 10 times, and it doesn’t get old no matter how many times I watch it. That’s a very good sign to say the least.
Team RAW (Chris Jericho, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Braun Stromwan) vs. Team Smackdown LIVE (AJ Styles, Randy Orton Bray Wyatt, Shane McMahon, Dean Ambrose) – Five on Five Survivor Series Elimination Match (Survivor Series)- Initially I wasn’t too high on the match because not only did I felt like it went on for too long, but I thought it was massively overbooked, but I changed my mind the more and more I watched it. It was highly entertaining, and the spirit of competition and brand supremacy was something that I had been longing for the longest time. It was just very fun to see the elite of WWE going at each other in all out war. It was also especially encouraging to see that it was Bray Wyatt who got the winning pinfall victories on not only Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. This match was what made me excited to See Survivor Series, and it certainly lived up to the hype that it created.
Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch (WrestleMania 32) – On a card that featured a ladder match, a Hell In A Cell match, a no holds barred fight, and AJ Styles’ first WrestleMania among others, you have to consider it especialyl impressive that these three managed to pull off arguably the best match of the evening. Before the night started, Lita had announced that they were sacrificing that god awful Butterfly belt in lieu of the new Women’s Championship, which, actually looked like a title! This made the stakes much higher, and three of the four horsewomen went out there and absolutely killed it. Near-fall after near-fall, submission after submission, Charlotte’s moonsault, it had everything. The crowd was into it, all three ladies were into it, and while I could have used a better finish that Ric Flair costing Charlotte’s opponent the title yet again, it was a wonderful match that ushered in a new era of women’s wrestling.
And the winner is….
It was so, so close, but no match had me on the edge of my seat more than this one did. Two fo the best of the business went at it like never before. Awesome spectacle.
Well, those are my Slammy awards. Did you like my choices? Agree? Disagree? Le t me know. Stay tuned for my NXT edition of the Slammies soon. Until next time!
