The 2016 Year End Awards

AJ Styles was the WWE's standard bearer.

Here are the wrestlers honored for outstanding achievement in the year 2016:

Wrestler Of The Year: AJ Styles

AJ Styles started the year off with a brilliant showcase match against Shinsuke Nakamura at NJPW's premier event Wrestle Kingdom 10. Many said the match was the year's best and while it's hard to argue, AJ Styles would look to prove otherwise as he then carried that momentum over into his masterful rookie year in the WWE. Perhaps the greatest star to never compete for the legendary promotion, Styles would enter the company with a massive chip on his shoulder. That chip propelled him to megastar status with a memorable WWE Championship reign to add to his already top notch resume. Everyone already knew how good he was but for Styles, 2016 was all about proving just how much better he was than everyone else.

Runner Up: Kenny Omega

Woman Of The Year: Charlotte

The most astonishing thing about Charlotte's meteoric ascension to the top of the WWE is that with only little over a year as an established main roster talent, she is already mentioned in conversations of the all time greats. She was the woman destined to take the reigns from Nikki Bella and in doing so, put an end to the "diva" era. She then cemented her legacy when she became the first woman to hold the newly minted WWE Women's Championship at Wrestlemania 32 and would go on to become the WWE's "Queen of PPV". She is world class athlete with a presence that's unmatched by nearly everyone else on the WWE roster. All this and she may not even have peaked yet. Long live the queen.

Runner Up: Asuka

Tag Team Of The Year: The Revival

When the team of Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder first entered the new year, they were nearly an afterthought in the burgeoning NXT tag team division. By year's end, they were the gold standard of tag team wrestling and the most exciting and innovative new team to rise up the WWE ranks since the early 2000s boom period. Boasting a combination of old school technique and new school attitude, they went on to become the first ever two-time NXT Tag Team Champions and practically dominated the landscape of the brand. There is no team in the world today more essential.

Runner Up: The Young Bucks

Manager Of The Year: Maryse

Before Maryse made her impactful return to the WWE this past year, The Miz was one of the talents many thought could hit the "future endeavored" list by the end of the year. I don't know if one manager or valet has ever done more for their clients career just by being there. Maryse's belief in her husband's abilities and unwavering support of his efforts gave the awesome one a new edge and more importantly, restored his confidence. Now as we roll into 2017, The Miz seems to be Universal title bound and with Maryse's invaluable support, there's no doubt in my mind that he'll have earned his second world championship come the fall.

Runner Up: Gedo

Most Popular: Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura came into the WWE with more buzz and anticipation than any other superstar this decade. Years ago, I had said that if I could watch the matches of one wrestler for the entire year, it would be Shinsuke Nakamura and with good reason. The secret to Nakamura's enduring popularity is that he is an act unlike anything wrestling fans have ever seen before. His entrance is a spectacle unmatched by any other performer in the world and fans have elevated him to near rock star status as a result.

Runner Up: "Broken" Matt Hardy

Most Hated: Roman Reigns

There is a chance that Roman Reigns may be the only person who will ever win this award when they didn't really deserve to. Positioned high on match cards as a character babyface, Reigns has received a level of fan backlash that is even worse than that of John Cena in the mid-2000s. Many believe this is due to the fact the he rose so quickly to brand dominance that it doesn't feel natural for fans to want to support him. And judging by his "it doesn't matter, I got this" demeanor, Reigns could seemingly care less if we support him anyway. It's an odd place to be in, but one that never stopped being in it's own unique way, must see TV.

Runner Up: The Miz

Most Entertaining: Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho made his 1,782th WWE return on January 4, 2016 and immediately set about reinventing himself. What no one could have predicted was that at age 46 he would become the most entertaining and arguably, the most popular act in the entire company. With "the list" becoming the most over gimmick in the modern era and "stupid idiot" becoming the most unlikely catchphrase of all time, Jericho is currently enjoying what could be the greatest late career renaissance the WWE has ever seen. And make no mistake about it, so is the WWE Universe.

Runner Up: The New Day

Most Charismatic: Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura's charisma is so indescribable that it's hard to imagine he'll ever lose out in this category as along as he's an active performer. He's just on another level from everybody else. When he enters an arena, it comes to life and his addictive persona and iconic mannerisms create a wave of energy that transfers back and forth between he and the audience. It's a transcendent level of swagger that has a way of making you feel more alive just by watching him on screen. Incredible.

Runner Up: Tetsuya Naito

Most Underrated: Hirooki Goto

When compiling a list of the best in-ring performers in the world, you'd be hard pressed not to include Hirooki Goto near the top five. The epitome of passion and consistency, Goto is often overlooked due to his quiet demeanor and lack of a big time personality. It never really matters though because bell to bell, there are very few that can match his pacing and intensity. Whether he was fighting for a championship or just putting on mid card epics against a wide variety of talent, Goto was always a joy to watch.

Runner Up: Cesaro

Best On The Mic: The Miz

The Miz went from forgotten Wrestlemania main eventer to potential headliner in what was arguably, the best year of his career. Through his captivating interviews and dominant persona, he would resurrect the perpetually floundering Intercontinental Championship and to a lesser extent, the career of perennial midcarder Dolph Ziggler in the process. His mic work during the Ziggler feud blurred the lines and reached through to the audience in a way that we haven't really seen in some time and his interviews on Talking Smack are now the stuff of legend.

Runner Up: Chris Jericho

Best Champion: Kazuchika Okada

There is no other promotion in the world that holds its champions to a higher standard than New Japan Pro Wrestling and there was no wrestler in NJPW who exemplified what it means to be a champion better than their franchise star Kazuchika Okada. They say the title isn't supposed to make the guy, the guy is supposed to make the title. On those terms alone, Okada is without a shadow of the doubt the most valuable talent on the planet. He breathes life into any championship he holds all while working with a wide variety of opponents and is still currently in the midst of what could go down as the greatest title reign of all time. All this while under the age of thirty.

Runner Up: Asuka

Best In-Ring Performer: Kenny Omega

Kenny Omegas list of breathtaking match of the year candidates in 2016 is unparalleled. From his instant classic IC title win over Hiroshi Tanahashi, his epic defenses against Michael Elgin (including an all time great ladder match) to his career-defining performance in the 26th annual G1 Climax, Omega left fans of fast paced, action packed wrestling in awe. He innovated wrestling in an era where we thought we'd seen it all and sent rival after rival to the mat with the best finishing sequences (and finishing move) in the business. His confidence in himself skyrocketed as a result and he is now the most sought after performer in the world today.

Runner Up: AJ Styles

Match Of The Year:: NXT Takeover Dallas: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn 

There may never be a more important match than this one in the past, present or future of NXT. The sole purpose of the brand is to introduce new WWE prospects to a major audience and allow them to flourish and adapt to the WWE style of presentation and drama. That being said, Shinsuke Nakamura's arrival in NXT came with more hype than any other superstar ever before him. And with all the buzzworthy signees the company has made these past few years that's saying something. The pressure for he and Sami Zayn to deliver here was at an all time high. And boy did they ever. With intense action and now iconic moments (Nak's initial entrance was unforgettable), Zayn and Nakamura crafted a masterpiece that both served as a proper sendoff to the heart and soul of NXT and created a new megastar in the process. Fans in Dallas that night chanted for them to "fight forever" and I don't think anyone watching at home would have had a problem with that.

Runner Up:: NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada

Feud Of The Year: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

2016 was the best year for women's wrestling in WWE history. With many of the top female performers breaking records and shattering expectations and continuing a legacy that started in NXT two years prior. At the forefront of this new era was the ongoing rivalry between Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair. Two women with a like-minded goal. To show he world that women could be every bit as good as men and on many occasions this past year, they were even better. They stole the show at mania, made history at Hell In A Cell and proved that the divas revolution wasn't just a fad. In fact, it was a statement of arrival.

Runner Up: The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler/Daniel Bryan

Moment Of The Year: Daniel Bryan's Retirement Speech

There may not be a more perfect or more emotionally devastating retirement speech in the history of pro wrestling. To say that Daniel Bryan's WWE career was a roller coaster of emotions would be an understatement. He battled adversity to become possibly the most unlikely Wrestlemania main eventer of all time, only to have the title stripped away a month later due to injury. After nearly a year off he would return to replicate his success by winning the IC championship at Wrestlemania and would unfortunately fall under similar distress when doctors told him he was "medically unable to compete". They would never lift that ban again. To see someone with so much passion for wrestling have their career end this way and watch them pour their heart out on national television is not something I would like to endure again as a wrestling fan. Still, nobody could have handled the situation with more class and poise than Bryan did and the resulting speech was one I challenge you to finish watching without a tear in your eye.

Runner Up: AJ Styles' WWE Debut

Best Major Wrestling Show: Wrestle Kingdom 10

From 2013-2015, Wrestle Kingdom had eclipsed Wrestlemania in terms of quality and big fight atmosphere, but in 2016 it finally matched the WWE in terms of spectacle. New Japan Pro Wrestling's buzz is at an all time high because of the consistent dependability of it's big shows. Fans have come to expect excellence (especially in the main events) and the wrestlers never fail to deliver. When the years pass, WK10 will be marked as one of the pivotal shows in the company's rise to dominance. With memorable matches across the card, it's the instant classic between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura that was the most talked about given the fact that both men had left the company soon after only to arrive in the heated rival WWE. Their exodus sparked a call to arms for NJPW and it's fanbase and since then every one under the New Japan banner has made it their own personal goal to present an even better overall product than ever before. And with the iconic Tanahashi/Okada rivalry culminating in another five star main event, we poetically saw a new ace crowned as a now legendary NJPW era had ended and a new boom period has since arrived.

Runner Up: NXT Takeover Dallas