Wrestling awards for 2016
With 2016 behind us, let蘑菇视频 take a look at the best of the past year in wrestling.
For the fans鈥� pick, I went with the majority as each category had multiple votes.
Male wrestler of the year 鈥� Fans鈥� pick: AJ Styles, my pick: Styles. This was an easy pick, and his first year in the WWE, Styles is on the very short list of best first years in the promotion蘑菇视频 history.
Female wrestler of the year 鈥� Fans鈥� pick: Sasha Banks, my pick: Charlotte Flair. You can鈥檛 go wrong with either, but I gave the edge to Charlotte because she went undefeated against Banks on the biggest stage at PPVs.
Tag team of the year 鈥� Fans鈥� pick: The New Day, my pick: The New Day.
Match of the year 鈥� Fans鈥� pick: (tie) Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn at NXT TakeOver: Dallas and Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks, Women蘑菇视频 title match on Raw in Pittsburgh (7/25/16), my pick: The Revival vs. #DIY at NXT: Takeover: Toronto with Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens at Battleground a close second. All four of these matches were incredible, and I was fortunate to be at both the Zayn/Owens and Flair/Banks matches. I recommend watching all four on the WWE Network if you have not seen them yet.
Most popular wrestler of the year 鈥� Fans鈥� pick: Dean Ambrose, my pick: The New Day.
Most hated wrestler of the year 鈥� Fans鈥� pick: (tie) John Cena and Roman Reigns, my pick: The Miz.
Most improved wrestler of the year 鈥� Fans鈥� pick: Bayley, my pick: The Miz.
Most undervalued wrestler of the year 鈥� Fans鈥� pick: Cesaro, my pick: Cesaro with The Club a close second.
Feud of the year 鈥� Fans鈥� pick: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair, my pick: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair.
Predictions by fans
Last week, I shared some predictions for 2017.
Several readers shared theirs as well, and here are a few.
I would have liked to have printed them all, but there were way too many.
Fred from Uniontown predicts that Bayley will win the Raw Women蘑菇视频 title.
Bob from Smock says that Chris Jericho will win the Universal title in 2017.
Shelly from Washington Township says that The New Day will break up.
Deshaun from Uniontown says that Brock Lensar will beat Goldberg at WrestleMania.
Tom from Perryopolis, Steve from Roscoe, and Pamela from Brownsville all think that The Undertaker will retire at Mania.
Tony from Herminie thinks that Charlotte will keep her PPV undefeated streak unblemished all year.
Misty from Uniontown thinks that the Rock蘑菇视频 next match will be set up this year.
Taker, HBK on Raw
Monday night, The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels will be on Raw which emanates from New Orleans.
Look for both to be a part of the Royal Rumble in San Antonio, which is Michaels鈥� hometown.
I anticipate Taker being in, and possibly winning, the Rumble, while I will guess that Michaels will serve as a referee.
Mania 34 announcement
With Taker and HBK, maybe they are in New Orleans for the announcement that WrestleMania 34 will take place in New Orleans in April, 2018.
It will be the second time for the event in The Big Easy as it was there in 2014.
I was there for the event and it is best remembered for being the night that Brock Lesnar broke The Undertaker蘑菇视频 WrestleMania streak.
WWE Hall recipients
Names are starting to come out as to who will be inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania weekend.
The late 鈥淩avishing鈥� Rick Rude appears set to be honored as does 鈥淒iamond鈥� Dallas Page.
Rude was ahead of his time and would have been a multi-time WWE champion had he been with the company in any other era than the Hulk Hogan era.
Page, who many, including me, believe has always been overrated, is best known for his WCW run.
Ohno back to NXT/WWE
Kassius Ohno, known for years on the Independent wrestling scene as Chris Hero, has returned to NXT.
A talented performer who I faced multiple times, Ohno should have been on the WWE roster years ago.
TNA officially sold
Anthem Sports & Entertainment has officially acquired majority ownership of TNA.
Hopefully the move provides a much-needed fresh start for the company.
Hardy蘑菇视频 back to WWE?
There is more and more talk that Matt and Jeff Hardy could return to the WWE when their TNA deals expire next month.