Welcome to another edition of the HONOR ROLL. Every year during my "Year End Awards" I give out roughly 15 awards. Of those awards, "the big four" are the Wrestler, Woman, Tag Team & Match of the year. The winners of these awards were generally the most awesome performers of the year and with hundreds of prominent wrestlers worldwide, it's a true honor to be able to snag one of the four. This section of the blog will be dedicated to the winners for every year dating all the way back to 1990 (roughly the time I first began watching wrestling)! Every week I will add another year's winners until the database is up to date. This is just a fun series that will give you an idea of what the best of the best was in any year you may have missed. Any current and/or future winners will also be added to the honor roll and join the most prestigious group in all of blogging!
This week, we're announcing the class of 1995!
Wrestler Of The Year: Mitsuharu Misawa
Perhaps the most legendary pro wrestling figure to never achieve much prominence in the United States, Misawa is often heralded by smart fans and critics alike as the greatest professional wrestler to ever live. In the 1990s, there were very few men that could hold a candle to his ability in the ring and even fewer who delivered in as many high profile matches. In 1995, he would engage in what would become a series of unbelievable tag team matches that are among some of the best I've ever seen. Not to mention capturing his second AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. A title reign that would last just one day shy of a year.
Runner Up: Diesel
Woman Of The Year: Manami Toyota
Only the second woman to twice win this award, Toyota would have perhaps the best year of her career in 1995. Not only did she win her first WWWA Heavyweight Championship in a memorable match with Aja Kong, but she would defend her title against her rival Kyoko Inoue in an infamous 60 minute draw that has often be credited as the best 60 minute match of all time. After losing the title, she would also compete in another noteworthy match against Akira Hokuto before defeating Dynamite Kansai to win her second world title in the same year.
Runner Up: Aja Kong
Tag Team Of The Year: Owen Hart & Yokuzuna
One of the truly great, yet unsung tag teams in the history of the sport. The team of Owen Hart and Yokuzuna made their debut at Wrestlemania XI. They would win the WWE World Tag Team Championship that night from the Smoking Guns and reign for over 170 days with successful defenses against the likes of The Allied Powers and in a rematch with the Guns. The two time champs' combination of technical prowess (Owen) and raw power (Yoko) made them one of the most formidable pairings the sport has ever seen.
Runner Up: Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi
Match Of The Year:: AJPW Budokan Hall Show (June): Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa
This is a match that is consistently brought up when on the topic of the best puro matches ever and for good reason. In the summer of 1995, Misawa was the company's ace and was a part of a long standing alliance with rising superstar Kenta Kobashi. Misawa's former partner and now bitter rival, Toshiakia Kawada had formed and alliance with a rising sensation of his own, teaming with Akira Taue and sparks flew. Kobashi & Misawa were six months into their second world tag title reign and had fended Taue & Kawada off on multiple occasions in the past. The atmosphere for this match was by far the most electric and the four legends would fight as if their lives were on the line with the challengers unleashing a heartless assault on a broken Misawa and an injured Kobashi that brought the match to levels of drama rarely seen again. It's a must see match that is perhaps the most essential to the remarkable Misawa/Kawada rivalry.
Runner Up:: AJW Korakuen Hall (May 7): Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue
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