Match of the Year 2016

[Kyuubi]

Top 5 even though I have yet to see DIY vs Revival NXT Toronto

1. Sami vs Nak

2. Sami vs Owens Series Ender

3. Cedric vs Kota

4. DIY vs The Revival

5. Sasha Banks vs Charlotte Falls Count Anywhere

MVPs

1. Sami Zayn

2. AJ Styles for the sheer consistency. AJ has yet to deliver MoTY but he has never not entertained me in his matches. The matches with Cena? Well I hate the Cena structure of the match and not necessarily AJ because AJ was the best part of the match. Roman vs AJ? Again, in both matches, I liked what AJ did versus what Roman did. Like outside the Miz, AJ is the only person who has gotten a good match out of Dolph Ziggler who is dreadful this year and last.

3. The Miz who I begrudgingly admit that he had an awesome year. I just realized that after I typed it how groanworthy that sentence was. I am keeping it.

4. Cedric Alexander. Yeah, I fucking said it. Cedric has yet to have a bad match. He is the best Cruiserweight and I will fight anyone who questions me....Yeah, I am a Cedric stan. Sue me.

5. The Revival. I knew these guys were good when they make any tag team match seem like a fucking adventure. Like they do not need Ladders or Tables or gimmicks really. These guys just know how to work a Tag Team match with anyone. I feel like they can teach psychology to tag team elites with how good they are.

[Go2Sleep]

I don't know if this should affect my perception of Revival/DIY Toronto, but learning that the finish was undeniably copied from Cody/Brandi Rhodes vs. Mike/Maria Bennett on Impact last month was disheartening for some reason.

[The Natural]

Final countdown.

All:

1. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa. WWE NXT TakeOver: Toronto, 19th November. *****

2. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn. WWE NXT TakeOver: Dallas, 1st April. *****

3. Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles. WWE Extreme Rules, 22nd May.

4. AJ Styles vs. John Cena. WWE SummerSlam, 21st August.

5. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 28th November.

6. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte. WWE Hell in a Cell, 30th October.

7. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens. WWE Battleground, 24th July.

8. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 3rd October.

9. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa. WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, 20th August.

10. Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles. WWE Payback, 1st May.

TV:

1. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa. WWE NXT TakeOver: Toronto, 19th November. *****

2. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn. WWE NXT TakeOver: Dallas, 1st April. *****

3. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 28th November.

4. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 3rd October.

5. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa. WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, 20th August.

6. Kota Ibushi vs. Cedrick Alexander. WWE Cruiserweight Classic, 10th August.

7. James Ellsworth vs. AJ Styles. WWE Smackdown Live, 18th October.

8. Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler. WWE Main Event, 12th April.

9. Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe. WWE NXT TakeOver: Dallas, 1st April.

10. Jason Jordan/Chad Gable vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder. WWE NXT TakeOver: Dallas, 1st April.

[TheVileOne]

Styles vs. Cena at Summerslam 2016 was probably my match of the year.

[Niners Fan in CT]

I agree with you Natty, I have the 2/3 Falls match between Revival and DIY as my WWE Match of the Year.  I also agree that the best Sasha vs. Charlotte match was the falls count anywhere on RAW.

AJ Styles was the clear wrestler of the year for me. The Miz might be my #2. 

[Brian Fowler]

With a month or so is perspective, I think Revival/DIY is my favorite tag match in WWF/WWE history.

[John from Cincinnati]

We were spoiled by WWE this year. I mean, so long as you were smart enough to FF'd where necessary.

1. Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa vs The Revival, 2/3 Falls @ NXT Takeover: Toronto 
2. The Miz vs Kevin Owens vs Cesaro vs Sami Zayn @ Extreme Rules
3. Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles @ Payback
4. Johnny Gargano vs Tomasso Ciampa from the Cruiserweight Classic
5. Kota Ibushi vs The Brian Kendrick from the Cruiserweight Classic
6. Samoa Joe vs Sami Zayn, 2/3 Falls from NXT TV
7. The Revival vs Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano @ NXT Takover: Brooklyn II
8. Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens @ Battleground
9. Triple H vs Dean Ambrose @ Roadblock
10. Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles @ Extreme Rules

Keep in mind, this list is reflective only of my favourite matches of the year. The best performers aren't necessarily represented as much as they ought to be. AJ Styles is wrestler of the year by a sizable measure. Other WWE standouts include Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, the Revival, and Asuka (who somehow didn't end up with a single match in my top ten). Finn Balor, Asuka, and American Alpha all just missed out on making the MOTY list multiple times.

An honourable mention to the male singles competitors Survivor Series match, which I'm still not sure how to rate. Furthermore, I was tempted to rank Goldberg vs Brock as the second best match of the year but talked myself out of it on account of how much other good work there is to recognize. 

Strange year for the women. A lot of their work was good and Asuka, as I said, was a standout performer in my eyes. But I feel like last year, my top ten was riddled with their matches (particularly Sasha's best NXT work). This year, not a single women's match stuck out to me as an obvious MOTYC. Closest we came was probably Asuka vs Bayley from Mania weekend or Asuka vs Nia Jax. 

I know some of you, particularly The Natural, will disagree with me on that assessment. I'm happy some of you enjoyed those Charlotte-Sasha matches more than I did. If they're gonna get the kind of play they got this year, I'm pleased to know it's resonating with somebody. 

And as always, fuck Seth Rollins.

[Greggulator]

I was going to start working my my MOTD list. And, uhm, how the fuck was CM Punk vs. Cena only five years ago? That feels like it was 15 years ago at this point. Not in a bad way at all. But that just blew my mind. I was going over things in my brain and was just wondering when that match was and... wow. That was before the Network, NXT, The Shield, etc. 

[Brian Fowler]

I'm still partial to Sasha's first title win on RAW as their best match this year, fwiw (not much)

[Brian Fowler]

I'm still partial to Sasha's first title win on RAW as their best match this year, fwiw (not much)

[jojomellon]

AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, WrestleKingdom 10

Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, NXT Takeover: Dallas

Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito, G1 Climax

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kazuchika Okada, G1 Climax

Katsuyori Shibata vs.Tomohiro Ishii, WrestleKingdom 10

DIY vs. The Revival, NXT Takeover: Toronto

 

[maciej]

On 12/24/2016 at 11:22 PM, Brian Fowler said:

I'm still partial to Sasha's first title win on RAW as their best match this year, fwiw (not much)

Same.

[Kyuubi]

On 12/3/2016 at 7:26 PM, Kyuubi said:

Top 5 even though I have yet to see DIY vs Revival NXT Toronto

1. Sami vs Nak

2. Sami vs Owens Series Ender

3. Cedric vs Kota

4. DIY vs The Revival

5. Sasha Banks vs Charlotte Falls Count Anywhere

MVPs

1. Sami Zayn

2. AJ Styles for the sheer consistency. AJ has yet to deliver MoTY but he has never not entertained me in his matches. The matches with Cena? Well I hate the Cena structure of the match and not necessarily AJ because AJ was the best part of the match. Roman vs AJ? Again, in both matches, I liked what AJ did versus what Roman did. Like outside the Miz, AJ is the only person who has gotten a good match out of Dolph Ziggler who is dreadful this year and last.

3. The Miz who I begrudgingly admit that he had an awesome year. I just realized that after I typed it how groanworthy that sentence was. I am keeping it.

4. Cedric Alexander. Yeah, I fucking said it. Cedric has yet to have a bad match. He is the best Cruiserweight and I will fight anyone who questions me....Yeah, I am a Cedric stan. Sue me.

5. The Revival. I knew these guys were good when they make any tag team match seem like a fucking adventure. Like they do not need Ladders or Tables or gimmicks really. These guys just know how to work a Tag Team match with anyone. I feel like they can teach psychology to tag team elites with how good they are.

Nothing really changed except I would swap out Charlotte and Sasha with DIY vs the Revival at  NXT Toronto.

My MVPs are the same.

[DreamBroken]

WWE.com's annual Top 25 MOTYCs are in

 

 

25. Triple H vs. Dean Ambrose (Roadblock, 3/12/16)

24. Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Shane McMahon, Dean Ambrose, & AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (Survivor Series, 11/20/16)

23. The New Day vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (RAW, 9/26/16)

22. Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho vs. Cesaro vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Sami Zayn - Money in the Bank Match (Money in the Bank, 6/19/16)

21. AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho (FastLane, 2/21/16)

20. Asuka vs. Bayley (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II, 8/20/16)

19. The New Day vs. Chris Jericho & AJ Styles (RAW, 3/7/16)

18. Triple H vs. Dolph Ziggler (RAW, 3/14/16)

17. Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns (Money in the Bank, 6/19/16)

16. The Miz vs. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn (Extreme Rules, 5/22/16)

15. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks - Hell in a Cell Match (Hell in a Cell, 10/30/16)

14. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins (SummerSlam, 8/21/16)

13. American Alpha vs. The Revival (NXT Takeover: Dallas, 4/1/16)

12. Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles - Extreme Rules Match (Extreme Rules, 5/22/16)

11. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (Cruiserweight Classic, 8/3/16)

10. Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz - Career vs Title Match (No Mercy, 10/9/16)

9. AJ Styles vs. John Cena (SummerSlam, 8/21/16)

8. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch (WrestleMania 32, 4/2/16)

7. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins - No DQ Match (RAW, 11/21/16)

6. AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena (No Mercy, 10/9/16)

5. Kota Ibushi vs. Cedric Alexander (Cruiserweight Classic, 8/10/16)

4. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (Battleground, 7/24/16)

3. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte (RAW, 7/25/16)

2. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover: Dallas, 4/1/16)

1. DIY vs. The Revival - 2/3 Falls Match (NXT Takeover: Toronto, 11/19/16)

[Niners Fan in CT]

That's not bad at all for a WWE.com list.   A few don't belong on there like Triple H vs. Ambrose and Balor vs. Rollins.   Plus, it's missing the Falls Count Anywhere match between Sasha and Charlotte which I felt was their best match.  Also, TJP vs. Kota Ibushi needed to be on this also.

[Eivion]

It feels like they low-balled Miz/Ziggler & Reigns/AJ a pinch. Its not a bad list in terms of variety. I feel like a more accurate list would have numerous rematches.

[maciej]

I'm sure if I rewatched everything this would change but I think the year-end is:

1.The Revival vs. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, 11/19, NXT Takeover: Toronto
2. The Revival vs. American Alpha, 6/8, NXT Takeover: The End
3. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn, 4/1, NXT Takeover: Revival
4. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte, 7/25, Raw
5. Bayley vs. Asuka, 4/1 NXT Takeover: Revival
6. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte, 11/28, Raw, Falls Count Anywhere
7. The Revival vs. American Alpha, 7/6, NXT, 2/3 Falls.
8. Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe, 4/1, NXT Takeover: Revival
9. The Revival vs. Gargano and Ciampa, 8/20 NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II
10. Bayley vs. Nia Jax, 7/20, NXT
11. Seamus vs. Cesaro, 9/25, Clash of Champions
12. Rich Swann vs. Brian Kendrick, 11/29, 205 Live
13. The Revival vs. American Alpha. 4/1, NXT Takeover: Revival
14. Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles, 5/1, Payback
15. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens, 7/24, Battleground
16. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte, 12/18, Roadblock: End of the Road, Ironwoman Match
17. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte, 10/30, Hell in a Cell
18. Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles, 5/22, Extreme Rules 
19. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte, 10/3, Raw
20. The New Day vs. AJ Styles & Chris Jericho, 3/14, Raw

As much as watching, like, whole episodes of Raw in 2016 is something I can't imagine consistently doing without a gun to my head, it's been one hell of a year for WWE in-ring action. I couldn't even find room in my top 20 for CWC, any of those great Miz/Dolph matches, or any of the consistently great Kalisto vs. bigger opponent matches.
 

[kayfabenation]

We gave out awards too at kayfabenation.com. We had best male wrestler, best female wrestler, best tag team, best feud, best match, most shocking moment, most underutilized wrestler http://wp.me/p8egEX-h

[Charlie M.]

My Final Top 25 WWE/NXT Matches for 2016

1. AJ Styles vs. Roman Reigns (Extreme Rules)
2. DIY vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa (Takeover Toronto)
3. Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Takeover Dallas)
4. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks (RAW November 28)
5. AJ Styles vs. John Cena (SummerSlam)
6. The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler (No Mercy)
7. AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose (TLC)
8. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks (RAW October 3)
9. AJ Styles vs. John Cena (Money In The Bank)
10. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks (Roadblock)
11. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks (Hell In a Cell)
12. Chris Jericho & AJ Styles vs. New Day (RAW March 7)
13. AJ Styles vs. Roman Reigns (Payback)
14. AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose (Backlash)
15. Fatal Four Way (Extreme Rules)
16. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (Battleground)
17. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks (RAW July 23)
18. Gargano & Ciampa vs. The Revival (Takeover Brooklyn)
19. TJ Perkins vs. Kota Ibushi (CWC)
20. The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler (Backlash)
21. AJ Styles vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin (Smackdown December 27)
22. AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose (Smackdown October 25)
23. Tajiri vs. Gran Metalik (CWC)
24. Cesaro vs. Sheamus (Clash of Champions)
25. Kota Ibushi vs. Cedric Alexander (CWC)

[Brian Fowler]

I think I actually agree with the WWE.com top three at least. I might put Bayley/Auska above Charlotte/Sasha but it's close.

[Go2Sleep]

Page 1 list complete.

I have the Revival as co-MVPs for 2016. KO, Sami, and Sasha all received some first place votes, though. AJ is the David Johnson of WWE this year.

[The Natural]

On 23 December 2016 at 4:51 AM, Niners Fan in CT said:

I agree with you Natty, I have the 2/3 Falls match between Revival and DIY as my WWE Match of the Year.  I also agree that the best Sasha vs. Charlotte match was the falls count anywhere on RAW.

AJ Styles was the clear wrestler of the year for me. The Miz might be my #2.

Thanks, man. In agreement with everyone saying AJ Styles is the WWE Wrestler of the Year for 2016.

On 24 December 2016 at 10:01 AM, Brian Fowler said:

With a month or so is perspective, I think Revival/DIY is my favorite tag match in WWF/WWE history.

It's mine knocking Kurt Angle/Chris Benoit vs. Edge/Rey Mysterio from No Mercy 2002 into second place.

On 24 December 2016 at 6:28 PM, West Newbury Bad Boy said:

We were spoiled by WWE this year. I mean, so long as you were smart enough to FF'd where necessary.

1. Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa vs The Revival, 2/3 Falls @ NXT Takeover: Toronto
2. The Miz vs Kevin Owens vs Cesaro vs Sami Zayn @ Extreme Rules
3. Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles @ Payback
4. Johnny Gargano vs Tomasso Ciampa from the Cruiserweight Classic
5. Kota Ibushi vs The Brian Kendrick from the Cruiserweight Classic
6. Samoa Joe vs Sami Zayn, 2/3 Falls from NXT TV
7. The Revival vs Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano @ NXT Takover: Brooklyn II
8. Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens @ Battleground
9. Triple H vs Dean Ambrose @ Roadblock
10. Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles @ Extreme Rules

Keep in mind, this list is reflective only of my favourite matches of the year. The best performers aren't necessarily represented as much as they ought to be. AJ Styles is wrestler of the year by a sizable measure. Other WWE standouts include Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, the Revival, and Asuka (who somehow didn't end up with a single match in my top ten). Finn Balor, Asuka, and American Alpha all just missed out on making the MOTY list multiple times.

An honourable mention to the male singles competitors Survivor Series match, which I'm still not sure how to rate. Furthermore, I was tempted to rank Goldberg vs Brock as the second best match of the year but talked myself out of it on account of how much other good work there is to recognize.

Strange year for the women. A lot of their work was good and Asuka, as I said, was a standout performer in my eyes. But I feel like last year, my top ten was riddled with their matches (particularly Sasha's best NXT work). This year, not a single women's match stuck out to me as an obvious MOTYC. Closest we came was probably Asuka vs Bayley from Mania weekend or Asuka vs Nia Jax.

I know some of you, particularly The Natural, will disagree with me on that assessment. I'm happy some of you enjoyed those Charlotte-Sasha matches more than I did. If they're gonna get the kind of play they got this year, I'm pleased to know it's resonating with somebody.

And as always, fuck Seth Rollins.

Real good of you to say that even though you didn't rate any women's match as a MOTYC, you like those matches are hitting the right note with others. Refreshing that.

I do agree with you 2015 was a better year for the women for quality and variety of combinations. In my overall top 10 for 2015, four women's matches made it: #3 Sasha Banks vs. Bayley, NXT TakeOver: Respect, #4 Bayley vs. Sasha Banks, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, #8 Banks vs. Becky Lynch, NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable and #9 Charlotte vs. Banks vs. Bayley vs. Beckly Lynch, NXT TakeOver: Rival. Both Banks vs. Bayley matches were legit MOTYC. I can only say that about Banks/Charlotte's Falls Count Anywhere match on RAW.  No other women's pairing apart from Banks/Charlotte on my 2016 overall list.

On 25 December 2016 at 1:21 AM, Greggulator said:

I was going to start working my my MOTD list. And, uhm, how the fuck was CM Punk vs. Cena only five years ago? That feels like it was 15 years ago at this point. Not in a bad way at all. But that just blew my mind. I was going over things in my brain and was just wondering when that match was and... wow. That was before the Network, NXT, The Shield, etc.

I actually made a post on CM Punk vs. John Cena Money in the Bank 2011 five year mark here:

http://deathvalleydriver.com/forum/index.php?/topic/5164-five-years-ago-wwe-money-in-the-bank-2011/

On 30 December 2016 at 2:01 AM, DreamBroken said:

WWE.com's annual Top 25 MOTYCs are in

 

  Reveal hidden contents

25. Triple H vs. Dean Ambrose (Roadblock, 3/12/16)

24. Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Shane McMahon, Dean Ambrose, & AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (Survivor Series, 11/20/16)

23. The New Day vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (RAW, 9/26/16)

22. Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho vs. Cesaro vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Sami Zayn - Money in the Bank Match (Money in the Bank, 6/19/16)

21. AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho (FastLane, 2/21/16)

20. Asuka vs. Bayley (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II, 8/20/16)

19. The New Day vs. Chris Jericho & AJ Styles (RAW, 3/7/16)

18. Triple H vs. Dolph Ziggler (RAW, 3/14/16)

17. Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns (Money in the Bank, 6/19/16)

16. The Miz vs. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn (Extreme Rules, 5/22/16)

15. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks - Hell in a Cell Match (Hell in a Cell, 10/30/16)

14. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins (SummerSlam, 8/21/16)

13. American Alpha vs. The Revival (NXT Takeover: Dallas, 4/1/16)

12. Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles - Extreme Rules Match (Extreme Rules, 5/22/16)

11. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (Cruiserweight Classic, 8/3/16)

10. Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz - Career vs Title Match (No Mercy, 10/9/16)

9. AJ Styles vs. John Cena (SummerSlam, 8/21/16)

8. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch (WrestleMania 32, 4/2/16)

7. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins - No DQ Match (RAW, 11/21/16)

6. AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena (No Mercy, 10/9/16)

5. Kota Ibushi vs. Cedric Alexander (Cruiserweight Classic, 8/10/16)

4. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (Battleground, 7/24/16)

3. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte (RAW, 7/25/16)

2. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover: Dallas, 4/1/16)

1. DIY vs. The Revival - 2/3 Falls Match (NXT Takeover: Toronto, 11/19/16)

I have the top two exactly the same. WWE's picked my second least favourite of the Banks vs. Charlotte matches. Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles at Extreme Rules is way too low.