Griend Awards - Pro Wrestling and MMA

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new year and I'm feeling good! Yeah that's right, I added a lyric.

Greetings friends, and welcome to the first annual Griend awards. Those of you who have been following my posts probably know that I started doing this blog in 2011, when it was then Bag of Chips, and it was called the BOC awards, but I obviously had to change the name, due to the new site.

The blog was inspired by my friends at Live Audio Wrestling, but I tried to add my own flavour to it, so I hope you enjoy, and I wish you all a very Happy New Year!

Best of

Female Wrestler

Winner: Bayley 

The women's movement in wrestling has really come a long way in the last couple of years. I find that the women of NXT have been granted opportunities that the women on the main roster don't have. For instance, they are able to have longer matches, and are given much more air time. I was always a fan of Bayley, not just for her in ring ability, but just the fact that she is so convincing in her role. She was so believable as a fan girl, but now that she is having longer matches and main eventing shows, I find that she is just as comfortable in a more serious role. She's a role model to young women everywhere, and she just seems so genuine. It's very tough for a new person to get over, especially if they're a babyface, but she has completely won over the crowd in the short time that she's been there.

Other nominees...

Asuka
Sasha Banks
Sexy Star
Paige

Tag Team

Winners: The New Day 
​

What started off as a complete joke has turned into a pleasant surprise. I counted this team out from day one, particularly because none of them were ever able to get over as singles stars. I thought it was going to be another failed experiment, but they have been able to gradually win me over with their comic routines and in-ring abilities. I think this is really the best thing for each of them individually. Each of them has something to add and they continue to get strong reactions from the crowd. I hope this team stays together for a long time. 

Other nominees...

Enzo Amore and Big Cass
The Young Bucks
The Addiction
The Lucha Dragons

Announcer

Winner: Jim Ross 

Some of you may have read that name and been like 'What?' But you are probably forgetting the fact that JR called the Wrestle Kingdom 9 show at the beginning of 2015. It was such a great moment to hear his voice again, and I thought he and Matt Striker did an excellent job. I really liked how JR was able to make comparisons between current and former stars, and it basically made him seem like a fan again. His references were on point, and I thought everybody on the show came out looking like a major star, simply because he was calling their matches.

Other nominees...

Matt Striker
Steve Corino
Joe Rogan
Nigel McGuinness

Angle

Winner: Brock Lesnar suspension 
​

Despite the fact that he's only part time, Brock Lesnar is one of those guys who is so convincing in the role that he's in. And this was just another example. I thought it was a very creative way to write him off of television, and I thought everyone involved did a great job of making this believable. Attacking Michael Cole was a nice touch, as was Stephanie being the one to personally suspend him, because it made him look like a major babyface coming out of it, and it also created much more anticipation for his eventual return. Well done!

Other nominees...

The Rock and Ronda Rousey confront The Authority
John Cena brings The Authority back after Seth Rollins threatens to paralyze Edge (this happened on the final Raw of 2014, but I had done my 2014 awards before this, so it carried over to this year)
Kevin Owens assaults Machine Gun Kelly
Seth Rollins cashes in Money in the Bank and  wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania

Match

Winner: Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazushi Sakuraba (Wrestle Kingdom 9)
​​

I don't usually look outside of the mainstream promotions when deciding on the best match of the year, because I tend to look for matches that are not only known for great in-ring performance, but also matches that are going to make headlines. However, I decided to check out the Wrestle Kingdom event last year and will be doing the same this year, and I came across this gem. When I watch an indie show, I go in expecting great wrestling; it's just understood. But I found this match to be completely different from anything else in the wrestling world. It was almost as if a professional wrestling organization had sanctioned a shoot fight. This match felt like an actual fight. Both guys just beat the hell out of each other for a good 20 or 30 minutes, and to say that the fans got their money's worth would be a major understatement.

Other nominees...

Ethan Carter III vs. Kurt Angle for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship (Impact Wrestling)
John Cena vs. Kevin Owens (Elimination Chamber)
Bayley vs. Sasha Banks for the NXT Women's Championship (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn)
The Young Bucks vs. ReDragon for the ROH Tag Team Championships (ROH 13th Anniversary)

Feud

Winner: The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar 

Only in professional wrestling can a feud last 13 years. Okay, so there may have been breaks in between, but this rivalry has pretty much always existed. I thought Paul Heyman did an excellent job of constantly reminding everyone who would listen that Brock Lesnar ended The Undertaker's WrestleMania undefeated streak. Bringing back The Undertaker on a b-level show like Battleground was a great strategy, because not only created interest for Raw the next night, but also created a compelling main event for SummerSlam, which turned out to be a great show. Not only that, but it also made you feel like you missed something if you didn't order it. The SummerSlam ending may have been questionable for some, but I really enjoyed the subtlety of it, and they did a great job with the camera angles and the position of the referee. I didn't think they did as good a job building towards the Hell in a Cell match, but for what its worth, the right guy went over, and it was another tremendous match.

Other nominees...

John Cena vs. Kevin Owens
Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo
Steve Corino vs. BJ Whitmer
Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier

Gimmick

Winner: John Cena's U.S. Title open challenge

I wasn't sure if this would fall under this category or best angle, but regardless, I thought it elevated the U.S. Championship to not only have the company's top star as the champion, but also to be contested with lengthy, competitive matches every week on television. Even now that Alberto Del Rio is champion it still kind of feels like an important title, maybe even more important than the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Other nominees...

The Bullet Club
The New Day
Kane transitioning between demon and corporate
The Four Horsewomen

Best on the mic

Winner: Paul Heyman

​I believe this may be the third consecutive year that he's won this award, and rightfully so. His mic work has always been great, nobody's denying that. But what really impresses me is his passionate delivery, and his facial expressions and body language, which is really the selling point of every promo he cuts. I think he makes every segment he's involved in feel more important than it is (not that they aren't to begin with), and he does a great job of selling big matches and angles, and making you feel like you've missed something if you hadn't seen it. 

Other nominees...

Bray Wyatt
Seth Rollins
Conor McGregor
The New Day

​Comeback of the year

Winner: Sting

​I honestly not believe that a man in his early 50s, who's been wrestling for almost 30 years can still go. Not only that, but he seems to be more athletic and put on better matches than some of the younger stars on the full-time roster. That match he had with Seth Rollins at Night of Champions was just incredible, and without question, the best match of the night. I really hope that Sting's career is not over at this point, because there is still a lot that he has to offer.

Other nominees...

The Undertaker
Jeff Jarrett
Vampiro 
Samoa Joe

Most improved

Winner: Big E.

​A few years ago, I really thought that this guy was hopeless. He was an average worker with an average look, and limited mic skills. But this is the year that he finally found his niche. Before The New Day came about, I never thought that he could possibly be that funny, but I think his body language and facials sell the whole gimmick. I said before that they all have something to add, but I actually think he may be the standout in the group. And on top of that, I admire the fact that he's added new moves to his repertoire and has also improved his in-ring ability.

Other nominees...

Taryn Terrell
Jessie Godderz
Kane
Alberto Del Rio

DVD

Winner: Destruction of The Shield

​I really don't understand why they create these DVD's for guys who haven't been around for too long, as I just think to myself that it's such a waste of time and money, and it's completely pointless. But this one was kind of different, as it didn't really focus on their life stories, but just a little bit of history about each guy, and how they came together as a group, and why it worked so well. I also thought the match selection for this was great, and I liked that there was a brief comment before each match took place, so you kind of understood why it needed to be in the set.

Other nominees...

Jerry Lawler: It's good to be The King
The Road is Jericho
Sting: Into the Light
Owen Hart of Gold

Wrestling pay per view

Winner: WrestleMania 31

​I think it's safe to say that this was the best WrestleMania in the last 10 years. Everybody on this show worked their hearts out, that were huge angles that really made it feel like a WrestleMania, most of the matches were great, and even the not so great matches were at least entertaining. Another home run!

Other nominees...

WWE SummerSlam
Wrestle Kingdom 9
ROH 13th Anniversary
WWE Money in the Bank

MMA pay per view

Winner: UFC 194 - Aldo vs. McGregor

This one had it all: great fights, major upsets, title changes, settled feuds and more. It was such a great way to end 2015.

Other nominees...

UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos
UFC 187: Cormier vs. Johnson
UFC 192: Cormier vs. Gustafsson
UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm

MMA Fight

Winner: Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson (UFC 192)

I was impressed by the fact that Gustafsson did not let the loss to Anthony Johnson defeat him in any way, like I've seen with so many fighters over the years, after losing a big fight. He fought his heart out in this one and there were a couple of instances in the fight where I thought we were going to have a new champion for sure. As far as Cormier goes, I think this was by far his most entertaining fight in the UFC to date, and even though it could have gone either way, he really earned that victory.

Other nominees...

Andrei Arlovski vs. Travis Browne (UFC 187)
Yair Rodriguez vs. Charles Rosa (UFC 188)
Demetrious Johnson vs. Kyoji Horiguchi (UFC 186)
Uriah Hall vs. Robert Whittaker (UFC 193)

TV Show

Winner: NXT

I really love the changes that they've made with this show in the last couple of years. It's become more of a proving ground show, and I like that they've signed plenty of indie stars to attract the hardcore audience, and it just feels so different from anything else. 

Other nominees...

Lucha Underground
WWE Raw (from WrestleMania to Summerslam anyway)
UFC on Fox
The Ultimate Fighter season 22

MMA Fighter (Female)

Winner: Holly Holm

Ronda Rousey has won this award for the last three years, so how do you go against the woman who knocked her off the top of the mountain? It wasn't even like it was a lucky punch or anything. Holm completely dominated Rousey up until that final knockout, and I think she may be the new future of Women's MMA, or maybe even MMA in general.

Other nominees...

Ronda Rousey
Cris Cyborg
Michelle Waterson
Joanna Jedrzejczyk

MMA Fighter (Male)

Winner: Conor McGregor

I don't think there is anybody denying the fact that he is the new face of the UFC. He is a very smart fighter and really takes his time to deliver pinpoint accuracy, as seen in his last fight with Jose Aldo. McGregor was all about strategy in that fight, and he waited for the right moment to strike. I wasn't too impressed though with his performance in the Chad Mendes fight, but at the end of the day, a win is a win.

Other nominees...

Rafael Dos Anjos
Frankie Edgar
Demetrious Johnson
Robbie Lawler

Male Wrestler

Winner: John Cena

Now I know most of you are probably thinking 'In what universe in John Cena in a higher league than Shinsuke Nakamura?' Well just hear me out. Even though fans chant 'Cena sucks,' or criticize his wrestling ability, the fact remains that whether positive or negative, the man still gets the loudest reaction of anybody in professional wrestling; that is the mark of a truly great entertainer. He is without question, the face of the company. He represents them at the charity events, he makes time for his fans, and he basically does whatever is asked of him with a huge smile on his face. I attended a WWE house show a few years ago, and I could not believe the amount of young kids with Cena merchandise and Cena signs. I couldn't even hear myself chew gum when he came out. But besides all that, let's focus on this year alone. He has had some of the best matches of his career during his U.S. title run. He instantly elevated Cesaro and Sami Zayn, and he put over both Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins. I really admire the fact that he understands business and has no issue with putting over younger talent.

Other nominees...

Shinsuke Nakamura
Jay Lethal
Seth Rollins
Brock Lesnar

​Worst of

Female Wrestler

Winner: Tamina Snuka

I was never really a fan of her dad in the ring, and I never thought she had much ability either. She has no charisma, and other than being the muscle of the group, she doesn't really add much else to Team BAD. I hope that they eventually replace her with Nia Jax, and she ends up being sent back to developmental like Eva Marie.

Other nominees...

Alicia Fox
Eva Marie
Brooke Tessmacher
Velvet Sky

Tag Team

Winners: ​The Prime Time Players
​

I think they've proven this year just how limited they are. I don't think anybody even remembers the run they had as champions. I hated their horrendous commentary, especially Darren's, because he says nothing, but anytime he does add something, it's just some stupid one-liner that he has to be spoon fed. I respect Titus for being such a goodwill ambassador for the company, but I just think he's terrible in the ring, and most of his mic work is cringe-worthy. 

Other nominees...

The Ascension
War Machine

Announcer

Winner: Byron Saxton

As much as I disliked Booker T.'s commentary, I don't think this guy adds much either, and I really don't know why they just can't have a two person announce team. His arguments with JBL are so stupid, and despite the fact that he's supposed to be the protagonist announcer, he always loses the argument. And on top of that, Cole usually sides with JBL.

Other nominees...

JBL
Michael Cole
Jerry Lawler
D'Angelo Dinero

Angle

Winner: Jon Stewart costs John Cena title match at SummerSlam
​

When it comes to celebrities in wrestling, there is always a right way and a wrong way to use them; this was the wrong way. As far as I know, Jon Stewart has no athletic background, so this was never going to lead to a match, which instantly begs the question: What's the point? And also, Stewart is a comedian, which is the worst person to use in a serious angle, because it's not believable. And his reason for screwing Cena out of the title was just stupid. 

Other nominees...

Reid Fleihr's death used to get heat on Paige
GFW invades TNA
James Storm shoves Mickie James in front of a train
Tigre Uno challenges Donald Trump

Match

Winner: Los Villanos vs. Los Psycho Circus (AAA TripleMania XXIII)
​

I am a huge fan of Lucha Libre, and I completely understand that most of the matches in Mexico are six-man tags. This one was just a complete mess. It was very sloppy and I really didn't have much interest in these characters either. But I must say that Hugo Savinovich and Matt Striker did try their best. 

Other nominees...

The Ascension vs. The New Age Outlaws (The Royal Rumble)
The New Day, King Barrett and Sheamus vs. Ryback, The Lucha Dragons and The Usos (Survivor Series)
Bray Wyatt vs. Ryback (Payback)
Bram vs. Matt Morgan (Slammiversary)

Feud

Winner: Roman Reigns vs. The Authority

I don't find this feud convincing at all, specifically because everyone knows that Triple H is really a supporter of Reigns, and it's not like the Daniel Bryan feud, where Reigns is a smaller guy who is not expected to make it. But we're talking about a guy who's basically the prototype of what the WWE looks for, so it's just not believable that the company would be trying to hold him back. On top of that, the mic work between them is just awful. 

Other nominees...

GFW vs. TNA
Eric Young vs. Chris Melendez
EC3 vs. Jeff Hardy
Dolph Ziggler/Lana vs. Rusev/Summer Rae

Gimmick

Winner: Joey Ryan using his genitals as a weapon in a wrestling match

In the 26 years that I've been following wrestling, I have seen a bunch of stupid things in wrestling, but this one has to take the cake. It was so unbelievably ridiculous, and it really made me embarrassed to be a wrestling fan. I find things like this hard to defend, when people are talking trash about wrestling.

Other nominees...

Tag team elimination chamber
King of the Mountain Championship
The new Mega Powers (Axel Mania and Macho Mandow)
The League of Nations

Worst on the mic

Winner: Jeff Hardy
​

You'd think that a guy who's been in the business for 20 years would have picked up some mic skills by now. But instead, it's just the same lines with the same boring delivery. I don't know if it's just the fact that he's unmotivated in TNA, but it seems like he just doesn't care anymore, and it shows in his performance.

Other nominees...

Mahabali Shera/Khoya
Ryback
Mr. Anderson
Roman Reigns

Most underutilized performer

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

I think this may be the first time in the entire history of this blog that this award is going to someone other than Samoa Joe. First of all, I hate Ziggler's new look. His pants might as well have the word 'Jobber' printed on them, and he desperately needs to lose the headband and jean jacket, as it just makes him look like an '80s rockstar. Also, they need to either get behind him completely, or just let him go; I'm tired of this start and stop nonsense. He's still one of the most talented guys on the roster, but he really needs a complete repackaging. 

Other nominees...

Cody Rhodes
Tyrus
Eli Drake
Jack Swagger

They really dropped the ball with...

Winner: ​The Undertaker match at Survivor Series

When I heard that they were going to use Taker for a match at Survivor Series, the inner fan in me came out, because I really thought it was going to be a show that I couldn't miss, and at the time, it felt like a big deal. Even the angle with The Wyatt Family after the Hell in a Cell match was delivered quite well. But the follow-up is what killed it. I don't know if that was the plan to begin with, but I would have liked to have seen an elimination match, with two younger guys on the side of Taker and Kane, who could get the rub from being paired with them. Instead, we just get another generic tag match.

Other nominees...

Damien Sandow after Miz/Sandow break-up
Rusev after losing U.S. title
Survivor Series tournament finals
The Divas Revolution

DVD

Winner: The Best of Nitro Volume 3

I was actually really looking forward to this set, because I thought they did a great job of selecting the matches and segments for the previous two, especially the last one. But this one paled in comparison to those. A lot of this was just filler, and I cannot believe some of the stuff that was on here, and really didn't need to be. I mean nothing against either guy, but I would be completely fine with never seeing another match between DDP and Stevie Richards.

Other nominees...

Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes! (A lot of kayfabe, and a very forgettable story)
The Monday Night War series (How many of these can they do? Lol)

Wrestling pay per view

Winner: AAA TripleMania XXIII
​

Again, I'm a huge fan of Lucha Libre, but this was almost painful to watch. The opener was pretty entertaining, and the two main events were great, but there were just too many technical issues, and the in-ring quality was just kind of sloppy for some of the matches. The three team cage match could have been great, but I think there were just too many bodies in a confined space, so it just didn't work. 

Other nominees...

WWE Survivor Series
WWE TLC
TNA Slammiversary
WWE Royal Rumble

MMA Fight

Winner: Frank Mir vs. Andrei Arlovski (UFC 191)

It's kind of hard to choose a bad MMA fight, because shoot fights are mostly based on strategy. This one kind of stands out, because Arlovski put on a great performance in the Travis Browne fight, but this fight was kind of lacklustre by comparison. I never thought Mir was an entertaining fighter at all, and his last few fights have just been painfully boring to watch.

Other nominees...

Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock (Bellator 138)

TV Show

Winner: WWE Smackdown

I think this is the first time since it first aired in Canada, where I have not watched a single episode of Smackdown all year long. I have been reading the spoilers though, I chose this specifically because NOTHING EVER HAPPENS ON THIS SHOW! I've noticed that they don't even do the Smackdown rebounds on Raw anymore, because there's really nothing significant to talk about. I think they should get rid of Smackdown altogether and replace it with NXT on USA Network. I will probably check out this coming week's episode, just because I'm curious to see how much freedom Mauro Ranallo gets on commentary.

Other nominees...

TNA Impact Wrestling
WWE Tough Enough
ROH TV (If Ring of Honor's shows were only up-to-date, this would definitely not be on this list)

MMA Fighter (Male or Female)

Winner: Ken Shamrock
​

The guy's a legend, there's no question about that. But when is the time going to come when he finally just says 'Enough's enough!' I don't remember the last time he even won a fight, and he's taken beating after beating after beating; it just makes you feel so bad for him. I hope this is the year that he finally hangs it up and is remembered for the fighter that he was, not the fighter that he is. 

Other nominees...

Kimbo Slice
Frank Mir
Michael Bisping

Male Wrestler

Winner: Mahabali Shera

As someone with a South Asian background, I consider this to be a major insult. First of all, TNA does not know how to introduce new stars. They kind of tried at the beginning, and then just completely gave up on it. This guy is very limited in the ring, and it's hard to take him seriously, when he's pretty much been designed to fail. I hated that stupid dance that he did at Bound for Glory, as it just made everyone involved look ridiculous, and it turned him from a cult follower into a comedy character. Putting him in the Revolution was a terrible move to begin with, and they obviously had no clue what to do with this guy from day one. 

Other nominees...

Moose
Braun Stroman
Sheamus
Ryback


Until next year...