2013 Wrestling Observer Awards

[thelonewolf527]

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

1. HIROSHI TANAHASHI (348) 3.488

2. Kazuchika Okada (153) 2,168

3. Daniel Bryan (139) 1,444

4. John Cena (58) 925

5. C.M. Punk (31) 520

6. KENTA (13) 133

7. Shinsuke Nakamura (2) 51

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS MOST VALUABLE

1. GEORGES ST-PIERRE (569) 3,215

2. Ronda Rousey (110) 1,414

3. Jon Jones (48) 1,211

4. Cain Velasquez (41) 861

5. Anderson Silva (12) 732

6. Chris Weidman (3) 85

MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER

1. HIROSHI TANAHASHI (470) 3,237

2. Daniel Bryan (205) 1,894

3. Kazuchika Okada (126) 1,760

4. C.M. Punk (10) 374

5. Negro Casas (18) 275

6. Shinsuke Nakamura (22) 245

7. Antonio Cesaro (16) 163

8. Katsuyori Shibata (11) 137

9. Prince Devitt (3) 133

10. Tomohiro Ishii (1) 132

MOST OUTSTANDING FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

1. CAIN VELASQUEZ (354) 2,062

2. Jon Jones (70) 878

3. Johny Hendricks (45) 512

4. Chris Weidman (23) 502

5. Georges St-Pierre (51) 488

6. Vitor Belfort (34) 449

7. Demetrious Johnson (41) 447

8. Anthony Pettis (3) 373

9. Urijah Faber (26) 282

10. Ronda Rousey (29) 281

BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW

1. GEORGES ST-PIERRE (351) 2,699

2. The Rock (220) 1,915

3. John Cena (115) 1,533

4. Hiroshi Tanahashi (35) 562

5. Brock Lesnar (15) 309

6. Ronda Rousey (34) 305

7. Anderson Silva (2) 155

8. Daniel Bryan (1) 63

FEUD OF THE YEAR

1. HIROSHI TANAHASHI VS. KAZUCHIKA OKADA (534) 3,259

2. Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate (106) 875

3. Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (1) 634

4. C.M. Punk vs. Brock Lesnar (23) 623

5. C.M. Punk vs. Paul Heyman (82) 535

6. Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz (38) 447

7. The Shield vs. Kane & Daniel Bryan (44) 358

8. Negro Casas vs. Rush (52) 334

9. La Sombra vs. Volador Jr. (2) 171

10. C.M. Punk vs. The Rock (6) 142

TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR

1. SETH ROLLINS & ROMAN REIGNS (440) 2,723

2. Goldust & Cody Rhodes (72) 1,152

3. Young Bucks (94) 1,035

4. Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer (47) 705

5. Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov (10) 312

6. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian (7) 258

7. Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish (26) 247

8. Jack Evans & Angelico (12) 205

9. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka (11) 204

10. Jimmy & Jey Uso (2) 196

MOST IMPROVED

1. ROMAN REIGNS (323) 2,013

2. Tomohiro Ishii (51) 757

3. Goldust (89) 577

4. Lance Archer (19) 439

5. Adam Cole (35) 425

6. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (46) 285

7. Magnus (29) 272

8. Big E Langston (10) 213

9. Cody Rhodes (9) 203

10. Taryn Terrell (19) 199

BEST ON INTERVIEWS

1. PAUL HEYMAN (310) 2,150

2. C.M. Punk (206) 2,054

3. The Rock (55) 573

4. Mark Henry (24) 472

5. Chael Sonnen (39) 354

6. John Cena (19) 311

7. Bray Wyatt (23) 273

8. Bully Ray (13) 254

9. Daniel Bryan (31) 229

10. Dean Ambrose (2) 207

MOST CHARISMATIC

1. HIROSHI TANAHASHI (181) 1,425

2. The Rock (236) 1,382

3. John Cena (76) 1,078

4. Daniel Bryan (134) 1,025

5. Shinsuke Nakamura (82) 925

6. C.M. Punk (13) 482

7. Brock Lesnar (2) 129

8. Minoru Suzuki (8) 122

9. Negro Casas (16) 115

10. Chael Sonnen (2) 98

BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER

1. DANIEL BRYAN (362) 2,269

2. Hiroshi Tanahashi (157) 1,314

3. Antonio Cesaro (34) 787

4. Blue Panther (58) 517

5. Zack Sabre Jr. (47) 443

6. Kazuchika Okada (2) 425

7. Shinsuke Nakamura (62) 363

8. Prince Devitt (36) 352

9. Davey Richards (4) 163

10. KENTA (10) 135

BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD (BEST BRAWLER)

1. KATSUYORI SHIBATA (306) 2,187

2. Tomohiro Ishii (134) 1,330

3. Kevin Steen (107) 1,099

4. Togi Makabe (59) 767

5. Brock Lesnar (85) 629

6. Bully Ray (56) 575

7. Minoru Suzuki (22) 210

8. L.A. Park (19) 186

9. Roman Reigns (16) 154

10. Masato Tanaka (10) 145

BEST FLYING WRESTLER

1. KOTA IBUSHI (416) 2,777

2. Ricochet (186) 1,788

3. Adrian Neville (96) 1,224

4. La Sombra (88) 890

5. Sami Zayn (9) 404

6. Mascara Dorada (42) 388

7. A.R. Fox (25) 289

8. ACH (22) 246

9. Samuray del Sol (12) 228

10. Rey Cometa (3) 192

MOST OVERRATED

1. RANDY ORTON (164) 1,145

2. Ryback (104) 900

3. HHH (102) 651

4. The Miz (62) 564

5. Big Show (19) 501

6. Alberto Del Rio (28) 425

7. Magnus (31) 304

8. Curtis Axel (14) 177

9. Eva Marie (10) 120

10. Ken Anderson (8) 119

MOST UNDERRATED

1. ANTONIO CESARO (296) 2,027

2. Dolph Ziggler (149) 1,427

3. Tomohiro Ishii (49) 652

4. Chris Hero (32) 521

5. Daniel Bryan (52) 364

6. Tyson Kidd (29) 308

7. Sami Zayn (8) 224

8. Tomoaki Honma (1) 194

9. Yoshi Tatsu (26) 153

10. Austin Aries (20) 128

PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

1. NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING (634) 4,520

2. Ultimate Fighting Championship (110) 1,942

3. World Wrestling Entertainment (14) 1,136

4. Dragon Gate (2) 558

5. PWG (3) 302

6. Ring of Honor (5) 212

7. CMLL (11) 209

8. Glory (11) 60

BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW

1. WWE NXT (172) 1,837

2. WWE Raw (113) 1,210

3. Dragon Gate Infinity (83) 844

4. Ring of Honor (81) 812

5. The Ultimate Fighter (77) 660

6. WWE Total Divas (38) 393

7. WWE Smackdown (31) 372

8. New Japan World Pro Wrestling (46) 297

9. CMLL (15) 272

10. TNA Impact (16) 263

PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. HIROSHI TANAHASHI VS. KAZUCHIKA OKADA 4/7 TOKYO (305)2,002

2. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii 8/4 Osaka (153) 1,497

3. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada 10/14 Tokyo (142) 1,151

4. Brock Lesnar vs. C.M. Punk 8/18 Los Angeles (76) 829

5. John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan 8/18 Los Angeles (34) 556

6. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii 8/2 Tokyo (14) 451

7. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi 8/4 Osaka (33) 338

8. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada 1/4 Tokyo (39) 252

9. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto 6/22 Osaka (11) 229

10. Undertaker vs. C.M. Punk 4/7 East Rutherford (15) 212

MMA MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. GILBERT MELENDEZ VS. DIEGO SANCHEZ 10/19 Houston (345) 2,298

2. Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson 9/21 Toronto (189) 1,835

3. Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann 3/3 Tokyo (82) 723

4. Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler 11/9 Long Beach (1) 629

5. Georges St-Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks 11/16 Las Vegas (41) 302

6. Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva 7/6 Las Vegas (34) 251

7. Matt Grice vs. Dennis Bermudez 2/23 Anaheim (14) 238

8. Carlos Condit vs. Johny Hendricks 3/16 Montreal (2) 209

9. Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche 2/23 Anaheim (6) 202

10. Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano 4/13 Las Vegas (13) 166

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

1. YOHEI KOMATSU (58) 906

2. Konosuke Takeshita (118) 902

3. U-T (146) 879

4. Sho Tanaka (86) 769

5. Enzo Amore (47) 361

6. Charlotte (17) 352

7. Mojo Rawley (33) 306

8. Ryotsu Shimizu (4) 301

9. Hitoshi Kumano (22) 185

10. Andrew Everett (11) 112

BEST NON-WRESTLER

1. PAUL HEYMAN (659) 2,730

2. Zeb Colter (44) 1,187

3. Gedo (2) 566

4. Vickie Guerrero (1) 328

5. Brad Maddox (10) 244

6. Ricardo Rodriguez 195

7. Maria Kanellis (9) 144

8. Stephanie McMahon (1) 121

9. Konnan (9) 113

10. Truth Martini 105

BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

1. WILLIAM REGAL (173) 1,460

2. Joe Rogan (106) 1,160

3. John Layfield (92) 817

4. Shimpei Nogami (123) 686

5. Kevin Kelly (59) 634

5. Mike Goldberg (61) 428

6. Nigel McGuinness (45) 393

7. Michael Cole (10) 370

8. Jose Manuel Guillen (43) 299

9. Michael Schiavello (25) 274

10. Mike Tenay (19) 198

WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

1. TAZ (124) 1,334

2. Jerry Lawler (137) 1,315

3. Michael Cole (121) 992

4. The Miz (98) 725

5. John Layfield (93) 716

6. Tony Dawson (29) 274

7. Alex Riley (3) 118

8. Mike Tenay (8) 117

9. Michael Schiavello (6) 109

10. Kevin Kelly (4) 80

BEST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

1. NEW JAPAN G-1 8/4 OSAKA (334) 2,517

2. New Japan Wrestle Kingdom 1/4 Tokyo Dome (286) 2,251

3. WWE SummerSlam 8/18 Los Angeles (88) 799

4. New Japan Invasion Attack 4/7 Tokyo (36) 438

5. UFC 166 10/19 Houston (37) 422

6. New Japan Dominion 6/22 Osaka (27) 315

7. WWE WrestleMania 4/7 East Rutherford (22) 186

8. Dragon Gate Kobe Festival 7/21 Kobe (25) 178

9. New Japan King of Pro Wrestling 10/14 Tokyo (2) 169

10. New Japan G-1 Climax finals 8/11 Tokyo (1) 135

WORST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

1. WWE BATTLEGROUND 10/6 BUFFALO 532

2. WWE Survivor Series 11/24 Boston 134

3. WWE Night of Champions 9/15 Detroit 31

BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER

1. KAZUCHIKA OKADA RAINMAKER 329

2. Antonio Cesaro Giant Swing 273

3. Daniel Bryan Busaiku Knee 64

4. Adrian Neville Red Arrow (sky twister) 31

5. Shinsuke Nakamura Bom a ye 25

6. Katsuyori Shibata Corner Dropkick 22

7. Daisuke Sekimoto Dead Lift German suplex 18

8. Yujiro Takahashi Tokyo Pimps 17

9. Hiroshi Tanahashi High Fly Flow 13

10. Tommaso Ciampa Project Ciampa 12

Roman Reigns Spear 12

MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC

1. WWE EXPLOITING DEATH OF BILL MOODY 183

2. TNA treatment of Jesse Sorensen 180

3. CMLL not delivering Atlantis vs. Guerrero mask match 35

4. WWE false advertising talent 34

5. HHH burying the roster in promos 28

6. Daniel Bryan/HHH/Randy Orton storyline 27

7. Dana White criticizing GSP after his fight 26

8. El Hijo del Santo blaming hurricane for canceling the Wagner vs. Park vs. Santo mask match that was never going to happen 25

9. WWE firing Jim Ross 22

WORST TELEVISION SHOW

1. TNA IMPACT 449

2. WWE Raw 113

3. WWE Smackdown 61

4. WWE Total Divas 29

5. WWE Main Event 18

6. Bellator Rampage 4 Real 10

WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. NATALYA & NAOMI & CAMERON & BELLA TWINS & JO JO & EVA MARIE VS. FOX & AKSANA & LEE & SNUKA & MENDES & KAITLYN & SUMMER RAE 11/24 BOSTON 142

2. Randy Orton vs. Big Show 11/24 Boston 126

3. Kane vs. Bray Wyatt 8/18 Los Angeles 118

4. Eva Marie & Jo Jo & Natalya vs. Aksana & Mendes & Fox 10/7 Pittsburgh 19

5. Mark Henry vs. Ryback 11/24 Boston 19 (***I think he means WrestleMania not Survivor Series)

6. Natalya & Naomi & Cameron & Bella Twins & Jo Jo & Eva Marie vs. Fox & Aksana & Lee & Snuka & Mendes & Kaitlyn & Summer Rae 11/25 Uniondale, NY 13

7. Naoya Ogawa vs. Kazuyuki Fujita 12/31 Tokyo 12

8. Tyron Woodley vs. Jake Shields 6/15 Winnipeg 9

WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR

1. BIG SHOW VS. AUTHORITY 145

2. TNA vs. Aces and 8s 98

3. Total Divas vs. WWE Divas 77

4. A.J. Styles vs. Dixie Carter 74

5. Daniel Bryan vs. The Authority 70

6. Brock Lesnar vs. HHH 44

7. The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston 37

8. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton 34

9. Hulk Hogan vs. Bully Ray 23

10. Kane vs. Bray Wyatt 18

WORST PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

1. TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION 485

2. All Japan Pro Wrestling 158

3. CHIKARA Pro 110

4. Ring of Honor 30

5. World Wrestling Entertainment 29

6. Bellator MMA 11

BEST BOOKER

1. GEDO & JADO 643

2. Joe Silva 142

3. Hunter Johnston 43

BEST GIMMICK

1. THE WYATT FAMILY 307

2. The Bullet Club 141

3. The Shield 139

4. Daniel Bryan 62

5. Shinsuke Nakamura 32

6. Bad Influence 18

7. Aiden English 12

8. Fandango 10

WORST GIMMICK

1. ACES & 8S 129

2. Heel owner Dixie Carter 99

3. Los Matadores 69

4. The Miz as babyface 64

5. The Authority 46

6. C.J. Parker 38

7. Fandango 36

8. Antonio Cesaro yodeling 34

9. Joseph Park 22

10. Bad News Barrett 20

BEST PRO WRESTLING BOOK

1. MAD DOGS, MIDGETS AND SCREWJOBS BY PATRIC LAPRADE & BERTRAND HEBERT 444

2. The Hardcore Truth by Bob Holly & Ross Williams 203

3. The Squared Circle by David Shoemaker 50

4. The 50 Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All-Time by Larry Matysik 41

5. Three Count by Jimmy Korderas 34

BEST PRO WRESTLING DVD

1. JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS: THE GOOD OLD DAYS 227

2. Legends of Mid South Wrestling 215

3. Barbed Wire City 115

4. For All Mankind 85

5. War Games 38

6. HHH: Thy Kingdom Come 32

7. Best of In Your House 25

8. History of the WWE 19

9. Fake It So Real 13

Money in the Bank Anthology 13

[Instant Classic]

John Cena beat Punk. BEST IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Loser]

Love seeing PWG in top 5 promotions.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

Got no real issues with anything except for Cena/Punk not even placing in the top ten for MOTY and the worst major shows all being WWE shows. Bound For Glory was absolutely the worst PPV of the year.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

Although, LOL at Raw being the 2nd worst TV show yet still ranking in third for best TV show.

[Dave the Dave]

I love seeing La Parka in the brawler section. Adapting baby

[BV]

How did the Bucks finish THIRD in tag team of the year? That's crazy.

[thelonewolf527]

Jan 22, 2014 23:26:47 GMT -5 BV said:

How did the Bucks finish THIRD in tag team of the year? That's crazy.

There's plenty of strange voting patterns. Like how Tanahashi got Wrestler of the Year despite from a kayfabe standpoint getting his ass kicked by Okada all year long

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

Haven't even finished all the awards yet, but what a joke Outstanding Fighter is. I'd vote 6-10 higher then any of the Top 3. I mean jeez, Hendricks had a close fight with Condit and lost a highly debatable decision to GSP. How is that #3?

EDIT: Also, why is Joe Silva ranked but Sean Shelby not? They each book half the UFC how does only one get credit. Rabble, I'm bothered

[froggyfrog]

Speaking of awards are the PWI ones out yet?

[Steveweiser]

Jan 22, 2014 23:29:36 GMT -5 thelonewolf527 said:

Jan 22, 2014 23:26:47 GMT -5 BV said:

How did the Bucks finish THIRD in tag team of the year? That's crazy.

There's plenty of strange voting patterns. Like how Tanahashi got Wrestler of the Year despite from a kayfabe standpoint getting his ass kicked by Okada all year long

I voted for the Bucks to win it. Once Meltzer made it clear that "The Shield" was Reigns & Rollins, not the whole trio, that sealed it for me.

Tanahashi is the bigger draw in New Japan, and has had the larger array of quality matches. He also had that great series with Prince Devitt. Okada is starting to become a big draw independent from Tanahashi, and I have a feeling he'll win it this time next year.

[Magnus the Magnificent]

Jan 22, 2014 23:24:13 GMT -5 Magic knows Black Lives Matter said:

Got no real issues with anything except for Cena/Punk not even placing in the top ten for MOTY and the worst major shows all being WWE shows. Bound For Glory was absolutely the worst PPV of the year.

True, but I guess noone saw it, so they can't vouch for it's terribleness.

[Deleted]

TNA you get nothing(except for many nominations in the worst categories)

[champviadq]

I'm no fan of Meltzer but I do understand he's valuable to insiders but it seems he favors the Japanese promotions. Not that I have anything wrong with that. Good to see the Wyatt's and Cesaro get some appreciation though.

[Crappler El 0 M]

I don't follow New Japan, so I can't really argue with the winners from New Japan. I've youtube'd Tanahashi/Okada matches and appreciate them. Outside of the New Japan winners which I can't judge, I agree with pretty much all of the rest.

[Capt Lunatic]

MMA MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. GILBERT MELENDEZ VS. DIEGO SANCHEZ 10/19 Houston (345) 2,298

GARBAGE! This was a one sided fight with a minor hope spot for Diego in the 3rd. Mark Hunt Vs Bigfoot Silva was a god damned war that no one saw coming and it doesn't even rank?!? I call argle-bargle!

[shaker]

TNA's treatment of Sorensen was the most disgusting thing this year by far.

A guy gets injured on the show. Is told the surgery's paid for, he has a job for life, and even has Dixie Carter call him her son.

Then he finds out no surgery, no job, and when TNA starts having PR problems, they ask him to speak up and help them out.

f*** TNA forever for that.

[metylerca]

Jan 23, 2014 11:14:11 GMT -5 Capt Lunatic said:

MMA MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. GILBERT MELENDEZ VS. DIEGO SANCHEZ 10/19 Houston (345) 2,298

GARBAGE! This was a one sided fight with a minor hope spot for Diego in the 3rd. Mark Hunt Vs Bigfoot Silva was a god damned war that no one saw coming and it doesn't even rank?!? I call argle-bargle!

That drug test unfortunately screwed Silva there.

[Steveweiser]

Jan 23, 2014 11:14:11 GMT -5 Capt Lunatic said:

MMA MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. GILBERT MELENDEZ VS. DIEGO SANCHEZ 10/19 Houston (345) 2,298

GARBAGE! This was a one sided fight with a minor hope spot for Diego in the 3rd. Mark Hunt Vs Bigfoot Silva was a god damned war that no one saw coming and it doesn't even rank?!? I call argle-bargle!

Hunt/Silva happened in December, outside the voting period. It's eligible for next year's awards.

[JoDaNa1281]

Jan 22, 2014 23:24:13 GMT -5 Magic knows Black Lives Matter said:

Got no real issues with anything except for Cena/Punk not even placing in the top ten for MOTY and the worst major shows all being WWE shows. Bound For Glory was absolutely the worst PPV of the year.

As bad as BFG was(I would've been ok with it being top 3), I agree that Battleground was worse & I think the ending of Battleground played a big part in it getting the most votes.