The Wrestling Observer Yearbook '97: The Last Time WWF Was Number Two
Page 78
MOST IMPROVED
1. Tatsuhito Takaiwa (138) - 923
2. Rocky Maivia (45) - 488
3. Marcus Bagwell (45) - 391
4. Maunukea Mossman (39) - 340
5. Ken Shamrock (47) - 304
6. Koji Kanemoto (28) - 255
7. Alex Wright (15) - 155
8. Yoshihiro Tajiri (19) - 154
9.Disco Inferno (17) - 154
10. NWO Sting (19) - 138
Honorable Mention
Johnny Smith 137, Mortis 132, Kendo Ka Shin 92, Manabu Nakanishi 82, Yuji Nagata 79, Hayabusa 75, Tomoko Kuzumi 73
Previous Winners
1980 - Larry Zbyszko, 1981 - Adrian Adonis, 1982 - Jim Duggan, 1983 - Curt Hennig, 1984 - The Cobra (George Takano), 1985 - Steve Williams, 1986 - Rick Steiner, 1987 - Big Bubba Rogers, 1988 - Sting, 1989 - Lex Luger, 1990 - Kenta Kobashi, 1991 - Dustin Rhodes, 1992 - El Samurai, 1993 - Tracy Smothers, 1994 - Diesel (Kevin Nash), 1995 - Johnny B. Badd, 1996 - Diamond Dallas Page
BEST ON INTERVIEWS
1. Steve Austin (252) - 1,643
2. Ric Flair (53) - 695
3. Shane Douglas (39) - 520
4. Bret Hart (40) - 505
5. Arn Anderson (62) - 370
6. Shawn Michaels (29) - 354
7. Mankind (31) - 347
8. Kevin Nash (30) - 316
9. Hulk Hogan (3) - 78
10. Brian Pillman - 63
Previous Winners
1981 - Lou Albano and Roddy Piper (tied), 1982 - Roddy Piper, 1983 - Roddy Piper, 1984 - Jimmy Hart, 1985 - Jim Cornette, 1986 - Jim Cornette, 1987 - Jim Cornette, 1988 - Jim Cornette, 1989 - Terry Funk, 1990 - Arn Anderson, 1991 - Ric Flair, 1992 - Ric Flair, 1993 - Jim Cornette, 1994 - Ric Flair, 1995 - Cactus Jack, 1996 - Steve Austin
MOST CHARISMATIC
1. Steve Austin (178) - 1,267
2. Ric Flair (102) - 998
3. Shawn Michaels (114) - 956
4. Sting (56) - 383
5. Hulk Hogan (23) - 283
6. Diamond Dallas Page (4) - 205
7. Riki Choshu (29) - 199
8. Roddy Piper (8) - 146
9. Bret Hart (7) - 129
10. Undertaker (3) - 95
Honorable Mention
La Parka 85
Previous Winners
1980 - Ric Flair, 1981 - Michael Hayes, 1982 - Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair (tied), 1983 - Ric Flair, 1984 - Ric Flair, 1985 - Hulk Hogan, 1986 - Hulk Hogan, 1987 - Hulk Hogan, 1988 - Sting, 1989 - Hulk Hogan, 1990 - Hulk Hogan, 1991 - Hulk Hogan, 1992 - Sting, 1993 - Ric Flair, 1994 - Atsushi Onita, 1995 - Shawn Michaels, 1996 - Shawn Michaels
BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER
1. Dean Malenko (214) - 1,519
2. Chris Benoit (82) - 939
3. Shinjiro Otani (63) - 785
4. Ultimo Dragon (50) - 485
5. Mitsuharu Misawa (56) - 420
6. Volk Han (38) - 345
7. Kiyoshi Tamura (54) - 308
8. Eddie Guerrero (24) - 291
9. Koji Kanemoto (18) - 272
10. Bret Hart (14) - 143
Honorable Mention
Kenta Kobashi 140, Daisuke Ikeda 97, Rey Misterio Jr. 94, Steve Regal 79, Ken Shamrock 73
Previous Winners
1980 - Bob Backlund, 1981 - Ted DiBiase, 1982 - Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama), 1983 - Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama), 1984 - Dynamite Kid and Masa Saito (tied), 1985 - Tatsumi Fujinami, 1986 - Tatsumi Fujinami, 1987 - Nobuhiko Takada, 1988 - Tatsumi Fujinami, 1989 - Jushin Liger, 1990 - Jushin Liger, 1991 - Jushin Liger, 1992 - Jushin Liger, 1993 - Hiroshi Hase, 1994 - Chris Benoit, 1995 - Chris Benoit, 1996 - Dean Malenko
BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD (BEST BRAWLER)
1. Mankind (266) - 1,654
2. Chris Benoit (121)- 841
3. Tommy Dreamer (87) - 752
4. Sandman (17) - 363
5. Terry Funk (25) - 317
6. New Jack (21) - 292
7. Sabu (16) - 228
8. David Finlay (6) - 221
9. Wing Kanemura (12) - 191
10. Mayumi Ozaki (19) - 155
Honorable Mention
Steve Austin 120, Masato Tanaka 110, Aja Kong 85
Previous Winners
1980 - Bruiser Brody, 1981 - Bruiser Brody, 1982 - Bruiser Brody, 1983 - Bruiser Brody, 1984 - Bruiser Brody, 1985 - Stan Hansen, 1986 - Terry Gordy, 1987 - Bruiser Brody, 1988 - Bruiser Brody, 1989 - Terry Funk, 1990 - Stan Hansen, 1991 - Cactus Jack, 1992 - Cactus Jack, 1993 - Cactus Jack, 1994 - Cactus Jack, 1995 - Cactus Jack, 1996 - Mankind
BEST FLYING WRESTLER
1. Rey Mysterio Jr. (412) - 2,502
2. Taka Michinoku (45) - 811
3. Great Sasuke (22) - 692
4. Juventud Guerrera (9) - 408
5. Sabu (16) - 328
6. Hayabusa (19) - 243
7. Ultimo Dragon - 220
8. Shinjiro Otani (10) - 219
9. Psicosis (20) - 175
10. Mr. Aguila (4) - 167
Honorable Mention
Hector Garza 99, Koji Kanemoto 90
Previous Winners
1981 - Jimmy Snuka, 1982 - Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama), 1983 - Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama), 1984 - Dynamite Kid, 1985 - Tiger Mask (Mitsuharu Misawa), 1986 - Tiger Mask (Mitsuharu Misawa), 1987 - Owen Hart, 1988 - Owen Hart, 1989 - Jushin Liger, 1990 - Jushin Liger, 1991 - Jushin Liger, 1992 - Jushin Liger, 1993 - Jushin Liger, 1994 - Great Sasuke, 1995 - Rey Misterio Jr., 1996 - Rey Misterio Jr.
MOST OVERRATED
1. Hulk Hogan (224) - 1,451
2. Lex Luger (87) - 1,018
3. Kevin Nash (35) - 417
4. Roddy Piper (19) - 299
5. Sycho Sid (23) - 277
6. Kensuke Sasaki (28) - 252
7. Triple H (15) - 166
8. Steve McMichael (15) - 158
9. Shane Douglas (13) - 138
10. Scott Hall (13) - 117
Honorable Mention
The Giant 101, Taz 86, Sandman 79
Previous Winners
1980 - Mr. Wrestling II, 1981 - Pedro Morales, 1982 - Pedro Morales, 1983 - Bob Backlund, 1984 - John Studd, 1985 - Hulk Hogan, 1986 - Hulk Hogan, 1987 - Dusty Rhodes, 1988 - Dusty Rhodes, 1989 - Ultimate Warrior, 1990 - Ultimate Warrior, 1991 - Ultimate Warrior, 1992 - Erik Watts, 1993 - Sid Vicious, 1994 - Hulk Hogan, 1995 - Hulk Hogan, 1996 - Hulk Hogan
MOST UNDERRATED
1. Flash Funk (92) - 666
2. Chris Benoit (100) - 662
3. Psicosis (52) - 649
4. Juventud Guerrera (47) - 570
5. Al Snow (54) - 440
6. La Parka (15) - 209
7. Chris Jericho (17) - 189
8. Chris Candido (22) - 165
9. Johnny Smith (19) - 119
10. Marcus Bagwell (12) - 118
Honorable Mention
Ultimo Dragon 112, Silver King 99, Billy Kidman 78
Previous Winners
1980 - Iron Sheik, 1981 - Buzz Sawyer, 1982 - Adrian Adonis, 1983 - Dynamite Kid, 1984 - Brian Blair, 1985 - Bobby Eaton, 1986 - Bobby Eaton, 1987 - Brad Armstrong, 1988 - Tiger Mask (Mitsuharu Misawa), 1989 - Dan Kroffat, 1990 - Bobby Eaton, 1991 - Terry Taylor, 1992 - Terry Taylor, 1993 - Bobby Eaton, 1994 - Brian Pillman, 1995 - Skip (Chris Candido), 1996 - Leif Cassidy
BEST PROMOTION
1. New Japan Pro Wrestling (311) - 2,270
2. All Japan Pro Wrestling (115) - 1,529
3. World Championship Wrestling (131) - 1,337
4. Extreme Championship Wrestling (39) - 677
5. World Wrestling Federation (77) - 646
6. RINGS - 97
7. EMLL - 84
8. Michinoku Pro - 72
9. Pancrase - 70
10. Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling - 64
Previous Winners
1983 - Jim Crockett Promotions, 1984 - New Japan Pro Wrestling, 1985 - All Japan Pro Wrestling, 1986 - Mid South Sports, 1987 - New Japan Pro Wrestling, 1988 - New Japan Pro Wrestling, 1989 - Universal Wrestling Federation Japan, 1990 - All Japan P
ro Wrestling, 1991 - All Japan Pro Wrestling, 1992 - New Japan Pro Wrestling, 1993 - All Japan Pro Wrestling, 1994 - AAA, 1995 - New Japan Pro Wrestling, 1996 - New Japan Pro Wrestling
BEST WEEKLY TELEVISION SHOW
1. New Japan World Pro Wrestling (141) - 1,558
2. All Japan Pro Wrestling 30 (142) - 1,292
3. WCW Monday Nitro (144) - 1,225
4. Extreme Championship Wrestling (119) - 1,118
5. WWF Raw is War (76) - 802
6. EMLL (12) - 155
7. WCW Saturday Night (7) - 96
8. Promo Azteca - 49
9. WWF Shotgun Saturday Night - 34
10. WWF Superstars - 33
Previous Winners
1983 - New Japan World Pro Wrestling, 1984 - New Japan World Pro Wrestling, 1985 - Mid South Wrestling, 1986 - Universal Wrestling Federation (Mid South), 1987 - CWA 90 Minute Memphis Wrestling, 1988 - New Japan World Pro Wrestling, 1989 - All Japan Pro Wrestling, 1990 - All Japan Pro Wrestling, 1991 - All Japan Pro Wrestling, 1992 - All Japan Pro Wrestling, 1993 - All Japan Pro Wrestling, 1994 - Extreme Championship Wrestling, 1995 - Extreme Championship Wrestling, 1996 - Extreme Championship Wrestling
MATCH of the Year
1. Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin (3/23) (125) - 1,070
2. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (1/20) (133) - 1,013
3. Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (10/5) (99) - 899
4. Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Misterio Jr. (10/26) (57) - 643
5. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (6/6) (64) - 560
6. El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto (6/5) (43) - 446
7. Misawa/Akiyama vs. Kawada/Taue (12/6) (37) - 317
8. Michinoku Pro Six Man (4/13) (5) - 138
9. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (10/21) (20) - 119
10. Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Otani (2/9) (10) - 83
Honorable Mention
Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (11/9) 82, The Hart Foundation vs. Steve Austin & Ken Shamrock & Goldust & Legion of Doom (7/6) 70, Ultimo Dragon vs. Dean Malenko (12/29) 66, Hector Garza & Juventud Guerrera & Lizmark Jr. vs. La Parka & Psicosis & Villano IV (7/13) 62
Previous Winners
1980 - Bob Backlund vs. Ken Patera, 1981 - Pat Patterson vs. Sgt. Slaughter (4/21), 1982 - Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) vs. Dynamite Kid (8/5), 1983 - Ric Flair vs. Harley Race (11/24), 1984 - Freebirds vs. Von Erichs (7/4), 1985 - Tiger Mask (Mitsuharu Misawa) vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi (6/12), 1986 - Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham (2/14), 1987 - Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage (3/29), 1988 - Ric Flair vs. Sting (3/27), 1989 - Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (4/2), 1990 - Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (1/31), 1991 - Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (3/21), 1992 - Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (5/25), 1993 - Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki (4/11), 1994 - Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels (3/20), 1995 - Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue (5/7), 1996 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (6/7)
ROOKIE of the Year
1. Mr. Aguila (202) - 1,356
2. Chris Chetti (73) - 1,053
3. Don Frye (79) - 876
4. Kazuyuki Fujita (64) - 542
5. Naoya Ogawa (46) - 530
6. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (29) - 448
7. Jason Godsey (20) - 120
8. Brackus (4) - 70
9. Ernest Miller - 60
10. Bulldog Raines (1) - 37
Previous Winners
1980 - Barry Windham, 1981 - Brad Armstrong and Brad Rheingans (tied), 1982 - Steve Williams, 1983 - Road Warriors, 1984 - Tom Zenk and Keiichi Yamada (tied), 1985 - Jack Victory, 1986 - Bam Bam Bigelow, 1987 - Brian Pillman, 1988 - Gary Albright, 1989 - Dustin Rhodes, 1990 - Steve Austin, 1991 - Johnny B. Badd, 1992 - Rey Misterio Jr., 1993 - Jun Akiyama, 1994 - Mikey Whipwreck, 1995 - Perro Aguayo Jr., 1996 - The Giant
BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER
1. Mike Tenay (222) - 1,738
2. Joey Styles (173) - 1,350
3. Jim Ross (95) - 1,115
4. Jim Cornette (15) - 324
5. Tsuji (36) - 254
6. Tony Schiavone (6) - 200
7. Jerry Lawler (11) - 197
8. Larry Zbyszko (3) - 122
9.Bruce Beck (1) - 122
10. Bobby Heenan - 56
Previous Winners
1981 - Gordon Solie, 1982 - Gordon Solie, 1983 - Gordon Solie, 1984 - Lance Russell, 1985 - Lance Russell, 1986 - Lance Russell, 1987 - Lance Russell, 1988 - Jim Ross, 1989 - Jim Ross, 1990 - Jim Ross, 1991 - Jim Ross, 1992 - Jim Ross, 1993 - Jim Ross, 1994 - Joey Styles, 1995 - Joey Styles, 1996 - Joey Styles
WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER
1. Dusty Rhodes (292) - 1,812
2. Rick Rude (18) - 531
3. Eric Bischoff (27) - 441
4. Lee Marshall (47) - 433
5. Larry Zbyszko (32) - 395
6. Vince McMahon (29) - 358
7. Bobby Heenan (14) - 344
8. Tony Schiavone (25) - 227
9. Jerry Lawler (12) - 134
10.Michael St. John (9) - 127
Honorable Mention:
Joey Styles 86
Previous Winners
1984 - Angelo Mosca, 1985 - Gorilla Monsoon, 1986 - David Crockett, 1987 - David Crockett, 1988 - David Crockett, 1989 - Ed Whalen, 1990 - Herb Abrams, 1991 - Gorilla Monsoon, 1992 - Gorilla Monsoon, 1993 - Gorilla Monsoon, 1994 - Gorilla Monsoon, 1995 - Gorilla Monsoon, 1996 - Steve McMichael
BEST MAJOR WRESTLING CARD
1. WWF Canadian Stampede (7/6) (182) - 1,133
2. ECW Barely Legal (4/13) (139) - 1,083
3. WWF WrestleMania (3/23) (35) - 288
4. WCW Starrcade ‘96 (12/29) (22) - 257
5. EFC IV (3/28) (4)- 226
6. WCW SuperBrawl (2/23) (14) - 184
7. WCW Bash at the Beach (7/13) (16) - 178
8. New Japan Tokyo (6/5) (22) - 171
9. UFC Ultimate Ultimate ‘96 (12/7) (3) - 145
10. All Japan Women (8/20) (12) - 119
Honorable Mention:
WCW Slamboree (5/18) 100, New Japan Wrestling World in Tokyo Dome (1/4 96), WCW Halloween Havoc (10/26) 87, WWF Royal Rumble (1/19), WWF SummerSlam (8/3) 77, WWF One Night Only (9/20) 72
Previous Winners
1989 - WCW Baltimore Great American Bash (7/23), 1990 - WWF/New Japan/All Japan U.S. and Japan Wrestling Summit (4/13), 1991 - WCW Wrestle War (2/24), 1992 - All Japan Women Wrestlemarinpiad (4/25), 1993 - All Japan Women Dream Slam I (4/2), 1994 - New Japan Super J Cup (4/16), 1995 - Weekly Pro Wrestling Multi-promotion show (4/2), 1996 - WAR Super J Cup Second Stage (12/13/95)
Category B Awards
Winners determined by first placed votes.
WORST MAJOR WRESTLING CARD
1. WCW Souled Out (1/25) - 341
2. WCW World War III (11/23) - 41
3. ECW Hardcore Heaven (8/16) - 32
4. WCW Road Wild (8/9) - 30
5. WCW Uncensored (3/16) - 22
6. WCW Halloween Havoc (10/26) - 17
7. WWF Survivor Series (11/9) - 13
8.ECW November to Remember (11/30) - 13
9. KRS Pride One (10/11) - 12
10. WWF Royal Rumble (1/19) - 7
Previous Winners
1989 - WWF WrestleMania (4/2), 1990 - WCW Clash XIII (11/20), 1991 - WCW Great American Bash (7/14), 1992 - WCW Halloween Havoc (10/25), 1993 - WCW Fall Brawl (9/19), 1994 - UWF Blackjack Brawl (9/25), 1995 - WCW Uncensored (3/29), 1996 - WCW Uncensored (3/24)
BEST WRESTLING Maneuver
1. Diamond Dallas Page - Diamond Cutter - 66
2. Koji Kanemoto - Reverse Frankentoyota - 60
3. Rey Misterio Jr. - Springboard Huracanrana - 57
4. Hector Garza - Corkscrew Plancha - 49
5. Taka Michinoku - Springboard Plancha - 40
6.Steve Austin - Stone Cold Stunner - 40
7. Taka Michinoku - Michinoku Driver II - 29
8. El Samurai - Top Rope Reverse DDT - 25
9. Tatsuhito Takaiwa - T
riple Power Bomb - 24
10. Tommy Rogers - Tomokaze - 17
=10.Chris Jericho - Spike Super Frankensteiner - 17
Honorable Mention
Marcus Bagwell - Buff Blockbuster 16, Great Sasuke - Sasuke Special 16, Juventud Guerrera - Air Juvi 13, Ultimo Dragon - Running Liger Bomb 12, Bret Hart - Figure Four around post 11, Chaparita Asari - Sky Twister Press 11, Rey Misterio Jr. - Springboard Plancha into Huracanrana on Floor 9, Shinjiro Otani - Springboard DDT 8, Ultimo Dragon - Asai Moonsault 6
Previous Winners
1981 - Jimmy Snuka - Superfly Splash, 1982 - Super Destroyer (Scott Irwin) - Superplex, 1983 - Jimmy Snuka - Superfly Splash, 1984 - Davey Boy Smith - Power Clean in combination with Dynamite Kid Dropkick off the top rope, 1985 - Tiger Mask (Mitsuharu Misawa) - Tope with mid-air flip, 1986 - Chavo Guerrero - Moonsault Bodyblock, 1987 - Keiichi Yamada (Jushin Liger) - Shooting Star Press, 1988 - Keiichi Yamada (Jushin Liger) - Shooting Star Press, 1989 - Scott Steiner - Frankensteiner, 1990 - Scott Steiner - Frankensteiner, 1991 - Masao Orihara - Moonsault off top rope to floor, 1992 - Too Cold Scorpio - Scorpio Splash, 1993 - Vader - Moonsault, 1994 - Great Sasuke - Sasuke Special, 1995 - Rey Misterio Jr. - Flip Dive into Frankensteiner on floor, 1996 - Ultimo Dragon - Running Liger Bomb
MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC
1. WWF - Melanie Pillman interview on Raw the day after Brian’s death - 183
2. WWF - Double-cross of Bret Hart at Survivor Series - 166
3. WWF - Promising Bret Hart and delivering a midget - 29
4. WWF - Racial angles - 27
5. WWF - Brian Pillman/Marlena angle - 21
6. NWO - Spoof of Arn Anderson’s retirement - 18