WWE Names Braun Strowman, Becky Lynch Wrestlers Of The Year, Per ‘Wrestling Observer’
The WWE used to make a big production of awarding its performers at the annual Slammy Awards. However, those awards ended in 2015. Sure, most wrestling websites offer their own best of the year awards, but they don’t offer the same pomp and circumstance as the Slammy Awards.
While the big internal awards show may be gone, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the company still does their own internal awards where they honor select members of the roster for their accomplishments throughout the year.
This year, Dave Meltzer of the Observer has reported all of the winners for the WWE’s awards, and there are quite a few surprising choices.
First, for Male Star of the Year, the company actually selected Braun Strowman, which is an interesting choice considering he didn’t hold any titles within the company, and he missed the end of the year with an injury. AJ Styles held the WWE Championship for almost the entire year and consistently put on some of the best matches in the company.
For Female Star of the Year, the company went with the no-brainer of Becky Lynch. The only other performers who would likely have been in the running would be Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair, but with how well Becky Lynch managed to get over with the fans, she seems like the most logical choice.
Tag Team of the Year went to The Bar, which makes sense since they held the SmackDown Live Tag Team Championships on and off throughout the year. One could also make an argument for The New Day or The Usos, but The Bar is as good a choice as any.
WWE named Elias the Breakout Star of the Year. Considering how much Elias improved in 2018, he’s a great choice.
Another shocker was Dean Ambrose as Returning Star of the Year. This is the year that Daniel Bryan returned from a multi-year retirement due to concussions, which is not only one of the most impressive returns of 2018, but one of the more impressive returns in WWE history.
Here’s the full list of awards:
- Male Star of the Year: Braun Strowman
- Female Star of the Year: Becky Lynch
- Tag Team of the Year: The Bar
- Breakout Star of the Year: Elias
- Most Underrated: Naomi
- Returning Star of the Year: Dean Ambrose
- Best on Promos: Paul Heyman
- Best Diss: Rousey on Nikki Bella
- Match of the Year: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair at Evolution
- Shocking Moment of the Year: Randy Orton putting a screwdriver in Jeff Hardy’s earlobe
- Best GM: Paige
- Most Hated: Baron Corbin
- Brand of the Year: Raw
- Funniest Moment: Titus O’Neil tripping on his way to the ring at the Greatest Royal Rumble
