The 411 Wrestling Year-End Awards: Part Six – Best PPV/Major Show of 2015

Welcome back to the Wrestling Top 5, year-end awards edition! What we are going to is take a topic, and all the writers here on 411 will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, and the end, based on where all of these topics rank on people’s list, we will create an overall Top 5 list. It looks a little like this…

1st – 5
2nd – 4
3rd – 3
4th – 2
5th – 1

It’s similar to how we do the WOTW voting. At the end we tally the scores and get our overall top 5! It’s highly non-official and final, like WWE’s old power rankings. From some of the best and worst, the 411 staff is ready to break down the awards! Thanks for joining us, and lets get down to work.

Arnold Furious
5. Rev Pro Uprising
4. NJPW Dominion
3. NXT TakeOver Brooklyn
2. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9

1. PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night Two – I have opted to put BOLA together as one show here as the whole tournament was nothing short of amazing in consistency but night one and two were both my favorite show of the year. Because I can’t separate them I’ve opted for Night Two as sole winner as I don’t have room in the Top Five for both. Night Two just about edges it courtesy of an amazing Chris Hero vs. Timothy Thatcher match, which pretty much defined everything that I love about professional wrestling. As great as New Japan’s G1 was, the matches were spread out over nineteen shows. The temptation was also there to put the outstanding Wrestle Kingdom 9 in top spot, as the last two matches were both *****. However no show, anywhere, has had the consistency of BOLA. There’s magic in that little hall in Reseda. When putting together a top five major shows, it occurred to me that 2015 has been a brilliant year for wrestling with excellent match quality all over the world.

Justin Watry
5. NXT: Takeover RIVAL
4. NXT: Takeover London
3. NXT: Takeover Unstoppable
2. NXT: Takeover Brooklyn

1. WWE WrestleMania 31 – Almost a clean sweep for NXT. Outside of the legendary main event, I was not enthralled with NXT: Takeover Respect. That was a one match show in my mind, and yes, it was amazing…still, it was a one match show. That would be like praising King of the Ring 1998, when it reality, it stunk. People just remember the Heck on a Deck match between The Undertaker and Mankind. Even so, WrestleMania (again) gets the #1 slot. Nothing in any other company can tough the atmosphere, the crowd, the success, the spectacle, and the ‘big fight’ feeling of the entire event. Add on many excellent moments, a great card, and an epic ending – easily the BEST pay-per-view of 2015.

Mike Chin
5. WWE SummerSlam
4. NXT TakeOver: Rival
3. NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable
2. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn

1. WWE WrestleMania 31 – Full disclosure, I did not have the opportunity to consume full major shows from promotions other than WWE and NXT this year. From what I’ve read, NJPW, at the least, had offerings that should make the top five, if not overtake the number one spot on this countdown. With that out of the way, I do feel WrestleMania 31 is worthy of high praise. From excellent wrestling matches like Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins, the Intercontinental Championship ladder match, and the main event; to great nostalgia and cameo booking that incorporated visits from the nWo, DX, The Rock, and Ronda Rousey; to the ultimate surprise swerve of Seth Rollins cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase at the climax of Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar, this was a simply excellent show that waaaaay exceeded any reasonable expectations based on its build to arrive as an easy pick for one of the top ten ‘Manias of all time.

Chad Perry
5. NJPW Dominion 2015
4. Lucha Underground: Ultimate Lucha
3. WWE NXT Takeover: Brooklyn
2. WWE WrestleMania 31

1. PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2015 – Easily the most challenging top 5 to make as outside of my #1 & 2 I had 9 shows fighting for the final three spots. That could have easily left NXT taking spots 3-5 but I made the decision to give only a vote to the special I felt was the best. Even with just doing that it forced me to leave off several great EVOLVE shows and some very good NJPW. While this may be a bit of a cheat including three shows as one, they did tell one continuous story of the course of three nights. Also had I separated them than both nights 2 and 3 would have been in the top 5 (with night 3 being in this spot). The trilogy featured 3 MOTYC and outside of the Angelico vs. Evans (and really Evans as a whole) everything was great. BOLA has been one of my most anticipated events for the last 5 years or so but this year really exceed expectations. Part of that was bring in international talent like Zack Sabre Jr., Will Ospreay, Mark Andrews and the Lucha Underground guys. I just started following European wrestling this year with Progress and RevPro so I had some familiarity with the names being brought in, but even if you didn’t these guys made you take notice.

Kevin Pantoja
5. NXT TakeOver: Rival
4. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn
3. NJPW Dominion
2. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9

1. Ultima Lucha – Originally, I picked Wrestle Kingdom 9. Hell, I even had a write-up for it. After a rewatch, I’ve changed my vote to Ultima Lucha. The New Japan shows were excellent from an in-ring standpoint but dammit, nothing was more enjoyable or satisfying than Ultima Lucha. The first night was solid, with the beat Falls Count Anywhere match I can remember, a fun Trios Tag match (featuring the great Angelico, Ivelisse and Son of Havoc) and a pretty good Drago/Hernandez match. That show alone was good but not great. However, on the second part of the show, things really picked up. Alberto El Patron and Johnny Mundo had a great match together and we saw the surprise return of Melina, even though I was never a big fan. Then, Pentagon Jr. and Vampiro far exceeded my expectations with the most violent match I’ve ever seen on regular television. The twist of Vampiro as Pentagon’s master was so well done. We also got a really fun seven way match and a main event that was among my favorite matches of the year, which was excellently built, booked and executed. The show had great wrestling, told masterful stories, had some twists and turns and even ended on a great cliffhanger. Unlike a lot of other wrestling shows, I was left wanting more instantly. They even managed to make the non-wrestling stuff very interesting. The ending vignette was such a fitting way to close out a phenomenal season of wrestling. Just, everything about this event delivered in spades and I can’t wait for season two.

Wyatt Beougher
5. NXT Takeover: Rival
4. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9
3. NXT Takeover: Respect
2. NJPW Dominion

1. Lucha Underground Ultima Lucha – Honestly, any one of the shows in my top five could have taken the top spot, as the NJPW shows featured the best pure in-ring product of the year and the NXT shows delivered a level of polish and entertainment that belies the promotion’s “developmental” status. So why did Ultima Lucha top my list? Because it felt like the most important show of the year, in spite of taking place in the same venue as every other Lucha Underground show and on the same network as every other Lucha Underground show. That just shows you how important cohesive booking from top to bottom (combined with the production expertise of people who have done television shows other than wrestling) can be to a major show. The matches were fantastic, the storylines that had been building for ten months were paid off, the non-wrestling portion of the show ended on a major cliffhanger, and the myriad character vignettes felt like a huge “thank you” to the loyal fans of the promotion. If anything, Ultima Lucha deserves this spot for making such a compelling argument that professional wrestling could greatly benefit from actually following a seasonal format. Compare Ultima Lucha, which definitively ended multiple feuds and whose blowoff matches actually felt like blowoffs, with WrestleMania, which was basically just another stop between Fast Lane and Backlash Extreme Rules. When an upstart promotion is doing “most important event of the year” better than the Worldwide Leader in Sports Entertainment, I think top honors are well-deserved.

Mike Hammerlock
5. NJPW Dominion
4. WWE WrestleMania 31
3. NXT TakeOver: Respect
2. Lucha Underground Ultima Lucha

1. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 – I loved Ultima Lucha more. No show made me happier on a personal level, but Wrestle Kingdom was a technical masterpiece. The immovable object that is Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated the irresistible force that is Kazuchika Okada in the main event, putting on yet another 5-star classic between these two. These two are Ali-Frazier in the ring. They’re Clash of the Titans, and they’ll release the Kraken again at Wrestle Kingdom 10. On par with that match was Shinksuke Nakamura defending his IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Kota Ibushi. The pace those two maintained was outrageous. The fans needed oxygen tanks just watching it. Usually you need title changes to get the kind of hype these two matches did, but in this case the match quality was so high it didn’t matter who won. We also got quality wins from A.J. Styles, Togi Makabe, Kenny Omega, reDRagon and the trio of Tenzan/Kojima/Honma. And do not forget the quasi-MMA match between Minoru Suzuki and Kazushi Sakuraba. It wasn’t as epic as other parts of the card, but it was a very big deal to get two legitimate hard men like these two in the ring together. I still love Ultima Lucha more, but Wrestle Kingdom 9 nailed the monster event formula, doing it about as well as it’s ever been done.

Larry Csonka
5. Evolve 45
4. Evolve 51
3. Evolve 52
2. NJPW WrestleKingdom 9

1. NJPW Dominion – This was an absolutely amazing show overall, and I feel it just nudges out WrestleKingdom 9 for the show of the year. It was everything you want in a major show, a great crowd, great atmosphere, four outstanding matches, two of them MOTY contenders, a lot of other quality performances and some title changes to make it newsworthy. Bottom line, this is a must see event. For as good as WrestleKingdom 9 was, I feel that Dominion was a more complete and well-rounded event.

Ryan Byers
5. NJPW/ROH War of the Worlds (Part 1)
4. NJPW Power Struggle
3. NJPW G1 Climax Finals
2. NJPW Dominion

1. NJPW WrestleKingdom 9 – For some reason, it seems like NXT has the wrestling product that has received the most buzz from fans this year, as is reflected in a lot of this voting. However, I can’t imagine why this is the case, because even the worst major New Japan show of the year has been leagues better than the best major NXT show of the year. That should be no surprise if you think about it, given that, despite the protestations of some to the contrary, NXT is still at its core a developmental league while New Japan up and down its roster has some of the most talented and polished competitors that you’re going to find anywhere on the planet. Unfortunately, WrestleKingdom is probably handicapped in awards like this because it happens so closely to the beginning of the calendar year, but, if you go back and watch it side-by-side with any other major card of the year, I defy you to tell me that it’s not the best. Of course, the centerpiece of the show is Kota Ibushi versus Shinsuke Nakamura in a battle of two of the hottest wrestlers going today, which I anticipate will finish towards the top of the Match of the Year ballots for everybody who has seen it. Pair that with the always-excellent combination of Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event slot, and you’ve got a one-two punch that it’s virtually impossible to beat. The card isn’t just about the top two title matches, though. You look up and down this card, and there’s not a single performer that disappoints. Tomohiro Ishii, Katsuyori Shibata, the Young Bucks, Minoru Suzki, AJ Styles, Jeff Jarrett (okay, maybe not Jeff Jarrett . . .), this company is INSANELY loaded down with talent right now, and they all brought their a-games on January 4, 2015. If you haven’t seen this show, do it. If you haven’t seen the 2016 version, which is getting ready to air imminently, go do that too.

Jack Stevenson
5. EVOLVE 52
4. PWG Don’t Sweat the Technique
3. WWE NXT Takeover: Brooklyn
2. EVOLVE 45

1. WWE WrestleMania 31 – All of the other events in my top five were better in terms of pure match quality, but you just can’t beat a good WrestleMania, and despite the worryingly lethargic booking leading up to it, this year’s edition was a runaway success. The undercard was remarkably consistent, with every match being pretty darn good or, at the very least, having an obvious, worthwhile purpose, even if said purpose was as simple as ‘get the Undertaker/some women on the card.’ The 7 man Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship and Randy Orton’s grudge match with Seth Rollins would have been quite capable of headlining a lesser PPV, whilst Triple H’s showdown with Sting was a flawed but undeniably impressive spectacle and deeply satisfying nostalgia trip. There was all the pomp, circumstance and grandeur you’d expect, with Rusev trundling down to the ring in a tank accompanied by cannon fire and a guard of sinister Russian soldiers ahead of what turned out to be a very good match with John Cena, and Levi’s Stadium was a superb place to host the show; the outdoors setting gave the action a unique, glamorous aesthetic, with matches taking place underneath a blazing California sunshine that made everything look bright and vibrant. ‘Sun make thing look bright.’ That is the kind of cutting edge weather analysis I bring to the table at 411. It just looked a great place to watch wrestling. All this adds up to a solid, mid range WrestleMania, but the jaw dropping main event between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar took the show to a whole ‘nother level. They went out for 15 minutes and just beat the shit out of each other, which was the best possible scenario for the match. They struck each other very hard in the face, rocked each other with finisher after finisher, Lesnar unleashed a barrage of vicious suplexes, coining the best catchphrase in the recent history of professional wrestling in the process, and even had the temerity to bleed all over the place. In the run up to the show I watched Batista vs. Triple H from WrestleMania 21 and thought ‘you know, if Reigns vs. Lesnar turns out to be as good as this, I’ll be happy,’ which demonstrates how low my expectations were and how massively they were exceeded, blitzed into oblivion. And then just to top it all off, Seth Rollins became the first man ever to cash in a Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania and run off with the WWE Championship, changing the course of the promotion for the rest of the year and creating a genuinely stunning, history making WrestleMania moment that set the wrestling world ablaze. Everything about that match just knocked it out the park. All told, it was a fabulous WrestleMania, and one that will live long in the memory. I shall look back with fondness on that time I was hunched over my laptop in the small hours of the morning in England, absolutely losing my mind over Reigns vs. Lesnar and trying to ensure I did so in silence so as not to wake up my flat mate. Good times, great memories!

TONY ACERO
5. TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs
4. Money in the Bank
3. Hell in A Cell
2. WWE Summerslam

1. Takeover: Brooklyn – NXT is seriously The Little Engine that could of the WWE, and they damned well know it. NXT Takeover did a few things with their PPV in Brooklyn, each of which allowed the fans to witness history and beauty. First, they put a strong beam of light onto simple storytelling, with grudges that were organic and wonderfully orchestrated the weeks prior to the event. Second, they gave the women of NXT a chance to shine brighter than any Diva on the main roster ever has. So much, in fact, that the match is heralded not only as the greatest Divas match of all time, but one of the best MATCHES, period, of all time. They also made “wrestling” a big deal again. The event was main evented by Kevin Owens and Finn Balor putting on a clinic of storytelling both in and out of the ring. Both of these guys tore this shit up. We had a nice surprise with Jushin Liger showing his masked face to face Tyler Breeze. The Tag match was great, Samoa Joe on a WWE event was wonderful. The entire thing is a great example of how EASY it can be to put together a solid card, from top to bottom, encompassing the right amount of passion and storytelling in a continuing manner, thus making a PPV both a finite point, and a wonderful chapter in the storied book that is WWE NXT. If that extended metaphor was too strong, let me just say that WWE NXT is the shit.

Mitch Nickelson
5. WWE WrestleMania 31
4. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9
3. NXT TakeOver: Rival
2. Lucha Underground Ultima Lucha

1. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn – For full disclosure, I can only honestly claim to have seen every major sure for WWE, NXT, and Lucha Underground (which only had one major show) in 2015. My exposure to other notable companies like New Japan and Ring of Honor is more sparing, so my list probably would likely be different if I had the chance to view everything. But, I have watched many shows and out of my pool, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn takes the top spot. For starters, it featured one of my top three matches of the year in Sasha Banks vs. Bayley. It also featured a hard hitting ladder match for the NXT Championship between Finn Balor and Kevin Owens, good wins by Apollo Crews and Samoa Joe, a pleasant surprise by house favorite Blue Pants, and a rare appearance by Jushin Thunder Liger. None of the contests on this card were duds and the crowd, like a usual NXT crowd, was generally hot for everything. Being the first TakeOver event not held at Full Sail, there might’ve been some initial pressure on how the WWE Network-only brand might do in the same venue as SummerSlam, which was held the very next night. All pressure was probably relieved when it was announced that the show was a sellout. NXT has since gone overseas and continues to take big steps towards wherever Triple H plans on taking it. Ultimately, this great card at Brooklyn in August of 2014 will be looked back as a vital win along the way.

AND 411’s The Best PPV/Major Shows of 2015 ARE…

T-4. Lucha Underground: Ultimate Lucha – 20 points

T-4. NJPW: Dominion – 20 points

3. WrestleMania 31 – 23 points

2. NJPW: WrestleKingdom 9 – 26 points

1. NXT Takeover: Brooklyn – 29 points

THE 2015 411 WRESTLING AWARDS:
* The Biggest Disappointment of The Year: The WWE Main Roster Creative Is Largely Shit – 26 points
* The Best Non-Wrestler of The Year: Dario Cueto – 43 points
* The Best Tag Team of The Year: The New Day – 65 points
* The Worst PPV/Major Show of The Year: WWE Survivor Series – 34 points
* The Best Female of The Year: Sasha Banks – 48 points

* The Best PPV/Major Show of The Year: NXT Takeover: Brooklyn – 29 points
* The Best Promotion of The Year: TO BE DETERMINED (January 12th)
* The Best Match of The Year: TO BE DETERMINED (January 13th)
* The Biggest Stories of The Year: TO BE DETERMINED (January 14th)
* The Best Wrestler of The Year: TO BE DETERMINED (January 15th)