NEW JAPAN PRO WEDNESDAY YEAR END AWARDS
The following awards are selected solely by Ross W Berman IV and are representative of his opinion alone.
The Kazuchika Okada Award For Best Wrestler: Kazuchika Okada
Not since Hulk Hogan in 1985 has a wrestler had a better year than Kazuchika Okada. 2017 saw him hold the IWGP Heavyweight Championship longer than any champion before him. At 555 days and counting, The Rainmaker has surpassed Inoki, Hashimoto and The Great Muta as one of the most successful champions in NJPW history. Only Hiroshi Tanahashi has more successful title defenses than Okada.
Not only has he held the title longer than anyone, he’s held it like a king. He is equal parts monarch and warrior, reigning over New Japan in his giant robe and dangerous necklace, and decapitating his foes with his Rainmaker lariat, he has ruled the company with an iron fist dipped in gold. From exhausting epics with Kenny Omega, to slaying giants like Bad Luck Fale, to weathering the reckless buzzsaw assault of Katsuyori Shibata, to the Suzuki-gun grandmaster Minoru Suzuki, to the King of Darkness himself EVIL, Okada has taken on all comers in 2017 and not only won, but won in dominant fashion. Okada will not have a year like this one again. 2018 is already set to belong to Tetsuya Naito or possibly Kota Ibushi, but they will be waddling around in some mighty big shoes.
Runner Up: Kenny Omega
In the way that no one can surpass Okada’s 2017, Kenny Omega will never surpass 2016. He will have amazing years in his career. He will likely have more 5+ star matches. However Kenny Omega can only be the first Gaijin G1 winner once. He can only have New Japan’s first ladder match once. In service to some of the best matches of the year, Kenny Omega was not able to dominate the company in the way that he did in 2016. From Okada, to Ishii, to Naito, all of Omega’s rivalries in 2017 were stellar and he proved that he deserves to stay in the main event picture for a very long time. Unfortunately his story in 2017 was that he’s simply not Kazuchika Okada. Though what a story it was.
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Jim Cornette “Funny Don’t Draw Money” Award For Funniest Wrestler: Toru Yano
Toru Yano is easily one of the most consistently entertaining members of the NJPW roster. His hilarious, tape-assisted run in this year’s G1 Climax Tournament put even the most hard-hitting matches to shame. Whether teaming with Tomohiro Ishii or simply wrestling on his own, there is no doubt that Yano walks down the ramp ready to entertain.
Runner Up: SANADA
Never rule out the power of deadpan. SANADA’s lack of emotion makes The Cold Skull a ruthless wrestler, but also one of the funnier ones.
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Ric Flair “Tear In My Eye” Award For Most Heartbreaking Moment: Bad Luck Fale Murders Daryl Takahashi in Cold Blood.
Yes, this is the legal definition of a murder. It’s not first degree, a pre-meditated attempt, but there is no case to be made for Bad Luck Fale having any intent other than the death of Daryl Takahashi. It turned a routine tag team match during the G1 Climax into one of the more traumatic moments in New Japan’s 2017. That Daryl was a stuffed therapy cat and not an actual wrestler makes his death all the more tragic and deserving of the award.
Runner Up: Katsuyori Shibata ends his own career.
A slightly more serious moment. Shibata was on track to being one of the standard bearers of NJPW. In an increasingly cartoony 2017, that saw Kota Ibushi take up the mantle of an anime character, Katsuyori Shibata was a purist’s dream. Dubbed simply “The Wrestler,” Shibata’s kicks were lethal. Unfortunately, he was hoisted by his own petard. The hard-hitting style that made him famous led to a subdural hematoma that has reportedly ended the young wrestler’s career early. As the career ending injury was self-inflicted, it’s heart-breaking but not entirely surprising.
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Ed Leslie “Yes! No!” Award For Most Divisive Wrestler: Katsuyori Shibata
For the same reason that he was runner up in the “Heartbreaking” category, Shibata has found himself a divisive figure in 2017. His Sakura Genesis match is rightfully praised for its straight-forward story and audibly stiff strikes, but it is also rightfully chastised for ending Shibata’s career and putting Okada’s health at risk. A headbutt is the very last way that a wrestler should be drawing blood, and Katsuyori Shibata is (thankfully) living proof of that.
Runner Up: Yoshi-Hashi
Depending how much one likes Yoshi-Hashi depends a lot on how much one loves the traditional “Babyface in peril.” His friendship with Kazuchika Okada and presence in the G1 Climax over the past couple years has fans conflicted. He’s a good worker, and his role as G1 enhancement talent isn’t unearned, but his personality still seems to leave some fans flat, while others are brimming with head canon. In any other year, Yoshi-Hashi would win this award, but he didn’t end anyone’s career so he finds himself taking the runner-up position.
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Best Match (Non-Omega/Okada Category): Kota Ibushi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (2017 G1Climax)
Runner Up: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi (Power Struggle 2017)
In a year dominated by the Omega and Okada trilogy, two of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s stalwarts weren’t content to sit in the shade of 2017’s trilogy. Starting with in this year’s G1 Climax Tournament, Kota Ibushi picked up a stunning upset over Hiroshi Tanahashi, avenging The Golden Star’s loss to the Ace of New Japan during the 2015 G1. This epic victory led to 1-1 showdown at November’s Power Struggle, where the two clashed over Tanahashi’s IWGP Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship. The match was sandwiched between Chris Jericho challenging Kenny Omega and Jay White’s return from excursion, but was nonetheless an amazing clash. It is not hard to picture Ibushi in Tanahashi’s role someday, and the two’s similar hair styles at Power Struggle added an extra layer of mirrored-hijinks. Tanahashi came out of their series on top, but one has to assume that 2018 will be a big year for Kota Ibushi.
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Best Match (Omega/Okada): Omega/Okada II (Dominion 2017)
Runner Up: (TIE) Omega/Okada & Omega/Okada III
Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada had the best trilogy of matches to be seen in quite sometime. Much like Ospreay/Ricochet from 2016, the Okada/Omega trilogy is a feat that is likely to be unsurpassed for at least a decade. A 45-minute Wrestle Kingdom match, a 60-minute draw at Dominion, and a blistering 20-minute contest in the G1 left star reserves exhausted, critics bewildered and fans dazzled. Omega was coming off a historic 2016, and Okada was in the middle of the longest reign in IWGP Heavyweight Championship history. [insert final poetic line about the majestic matches these two men had in 2017]
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The Hirai Kawato Award For Best Young Lion: (TIE) Hirai Kawato & Katsuya Kitamura
Hirai Kawato and Katsuya Kitamura have “it.” There is no other way to put it. Both are filled with spirit. Kitamura had a great year, got to participate in World Tag League and even won the Young Lion Cup. Kawato however is an increasingly popular face in New Japan. Both have extremely bright futures ahead of them and they serve as proof that New Japan’s Lions Gate project is in fact turning out high quality rookies.
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The Ten-cozy Award For Best Tag Team: Roppongi Vice
Rocky Romero & Beretta ended their partnership in 2017, but not without first winning the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships in the Tokyo Dome and then again in April. Thanks to the weightof RPG Vice’s goodbye tour, their matches with The Young Bucks were some of the best tag matches of the year. Not only were they successful together but after they dissolved Roppongi Vice they continued their stellar year. Beretta moved to the heavyweight division and challenged for the IWGP US Heavweight Championship, while Rocky Romero coached Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu to their first IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship as Roppongi 3K. They may have spent half of the year separate, but Roppongi Vice still had a phenomenal 2017.
Runner Up: War Machine
War Machine made their New Japan debut in the 2016 World Tag League and were immediately a breath of fresh air to an ailing heavyweight tag division. The two carried the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Championship belts twice in the year, and their screams of “F*** Michael Elgin” provided the 2017 World Tag League with much needed catharsis. Their departure to WWE will be a disappointment to New Japan fans, but their 2017 is nothing to sneeze at.
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The Kevin Kelly Award For Best Commentary: Don Callis
Don Callis showed tremendous growth over 2017, starting the year as a sexist pig with a sharp tongue, and ending the year as a sexist pig with a sharp tongue that is trying to better himself. It is that commitment to change that elevates Don Callis above the JBLs and the Jerry Lawlers of the commentary world.
Runner Up: Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly is the North American voice of New Japan Pro Wrestling. He is a calm, collected and professional but still brimming with personality and positivity. He is what every play-by-play announcer should strive to be. It might seem unfair for Kevin Kelly to not win the award that is his namesake, but in the wake of Don Callis winning this award and most likely leaving the company, he’s a lock to win this award many times into the future.
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The Kenny Omega Award For Best Gaijin: Beretta
In a year dominated by War Machine and Jericho and Omega, Beretta quietly had a stellar 2017. He started the year as a junior heavyweight, winning the tag belts with Rocky Romero for Roppongi Vice’s goodbye tour. After that he moved to the Heavyweight division, where he was immediately put in a program with Kenny Omega for the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship. While most will remember his Power Struggle match with Omega for Jericho’s post-match challenge, Beretta was a competitive, believable challenger. After Power Struggle, Beretta brought his “Bestie” Chuckie T to New Japan where the duo had a very good showing in the 2017 World Tag League. While he’s still listed as a “freelancer” it cannot be denied that Beretta was a hidden gem of the New Japan roster in 2017.
Runner Up: Jeff Cobb
Jeff Cobb has only had a handful of matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling, but within his first few minutes in the company he was eliciting shrieks from the audience at just what the Olympian from Guam is capable of. Beretta had a better year, but Jeff Cobb has a bright future in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
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