Impact Announces Nominees For Year-End Awards, Tessa Blanchard & Sami Callihan Top List

– Impact Wrestling has announced the nominees for their Year-End Awards, with Tessa Blanchard & Sami Callihan leading the list. The company announced the nominees for the fan-voted awards on Tuesday, which include Wrestler of the Year, Moment of the Year and Match of the Year, among others.

You can see the full announcement below, which notes that the awards will be handed out on the special December 28th and January 4th episodes of Impact:

TESSA BLANCHARD, SAMI CALLIHAN LEAD NOMINEES FOR IMPACT WRESTLING’S 2019 ‘IMPACT! YEAR END AWARDS’
Winners Will Be Revealed On Two Special Episodes of IMPACT! on AXS TV Premiering Saturday, Dec. 28 and Saturday, Jan. 4

LOS ANGELES – Dec. 3, 2019 – The 2019 IMPACT! Year End Awards, IMPACT Wrestling’s annual fan-voted awards show honoring the best athletes and moments of the year, returns for its second consecutive year as the organization today announced this year’s nominees. Hosted by lead commentator Josh Mathews and Executive Vice President Scott D’Amore, the awards will be handed out on two special episodes of IMPACT! on AXS TV, airing Saturday, Dec. 28 and Saturday, Jan. 4 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

The 2019 IMPACT! Year End Awards will honor wrestlers in the following categories: Wrestler of the Year, Moment of the Year, Knockout of the Year, X-Division Star of the Year, Tag Team of the Year, Finishing Move of the Year, Match of the Year and One to Watch in 2020. Fans can vote on the Match of the Year here and the rest of the nominees here. Voting ends Sunday, Dec. 8.

Leading the pack, 2018 Knockout of the Year Tessa Blanchard enters the competition as the first-ever female nominee for IMPACT Wrestler of the Year. Blanchard is up against 2018 Wrestler of the Year and current IMPACT World Champion Sami Callihan, in a digital preview of their groundbreaking main event match at IMPACT: Hard To Kill Jan. 12.

Rounding out the top category are 2018 X Division Star of the Year and former World Champion Brian Cage, fan-favorite high-flyer Rob Van Dam, brutal brawler Eddie Edwards, strong-style standout Michael Elgin, former NFL star Moose, wrestling legend Rhino, rising star Rich Swann and former World Champion Johnny Impact.

The end-of-year IMPACT! episodes will also look back at this past year in IMPACT Wrestling with special clips, interviews and match highlights from 2019.

IMPACT! will return to its regular Tuesday primetime schedule Jan. 7 ahead of Hard To Kill Sunday, Jan. 12 live from the Bomb Factory in Dallas. Tickets for Hard To Kill are available here.

The complete list of nominees is as follows (subject to change):

Wrestler of the Year:
* Brian Cage (2018 X Division Star of the Year)
* Eddie Edwards
* Michael Elgin
* Moose
* Rhino
* Johnny IMPACT
* Rich Swann
* Rob Van Dam
* Sami Callihan (2018 Winner in Category)
* Tessa Blanchard (2018 Knockout of the Year)

Moment of the Year:
* Johnny IMPACT betrays Brian Cage – IMPACT March 15, 2019
* Allie dies in the Undead Realm – IMPACT Match 29, 2019
* Ace Austin leaps off of Ultimate X – United We Stand
* Petey Williams hits Jake Crist with a Super Canadian Destroyer – IMPACT April 5, 2019
* Brian Cage wins the World Championship – Rebellion
* Michael Elgin debuts – Rebellion
* RVD makes his IMPACT return – IMPACT May 3, 2019
* Great Muta competes at A Night You Can’t Mist
* Brian Cage F5s Dr. Ariel – IMPACT June 28, 2019
* Michael Elgin powerbombs Brian Cage through a table on the outside, destroys Don Callis – IMPACT June 28, 2019
* Tenille Dashwood debuts in IMPACT – IMPACT August 30, 2019
* Havok hangs Su Yung, Su returns as Suzie – IMPACT September 20, 2019
* Sami Callihan hits Melissa Santos with a bottle – IMPACT September 27, 2019
* Acey Romero crashes off a ladder through a table on the floor – Bound For Glory
* Sami Callihan wins the IMPACT World Title on the AXS TV debut – IMPACT October 29, 2019
* Joey Ryan flips Ken Shamrock – IMPACT November 5, 2019
* Alisha Edwards finally gets revenge on Ace Austin, canes him in hotel – IMPACT November 5, 2019
* Taya Valkyrie breaks the record for longest Knockouts Title reign

Knockout of the Year:
* Alisha Edwards
* Havok
* Jordynne Grace
* Kiera Hogan
* Madison Rayne
* Rosemary
* Su Yung
* Taya Valkyrie
* Tenille Dashwood

X-Division Star of the Year:
* Ace Austin
* Daga
* Jake Crist
* Petey Williams
* Rich Swann
* TJP
* Trey

Tag Team of the Year:
* The North
* The Deaners
* The Rascalz
* The Desi Hit Squad
* Willie Mack and Rich Swann
* oVe
* LAX (2018 Winner in Category)
* Madison Rayne and Kiera Hogan
* TJP and Fallah Bahh

Finishing Move of the Year:
* Brian Cage – Drill Claw
* Moose – No Jackhammer Needed
* Petey Williams – Canadian Destroyer
* Michael Elgin – Elgin Bomb
* Taya Valkyrie – Road to Valhalla
* Sami Callihan – Cactus Driver 97
* Rob Van Dam – 5 Star Frog Splash
* Rhino – Gore
* Tessa Blanchard – Magnum
* The Rascalz – Hot Fire Flame

One to Watch in 2020:
* Daga
* Kiera Hogan
* Trey
* The Rascalz
* Willie Mack
* Desi Hit Squad
* Fallah Bahh
* Madman Fulton
* The Deaners
* Acey Romero

Match of the Year:
* The Lucha Bros vs. Brian Cage and Johnny IMPACT – IMPACT January 3th, 2019
* Rich Swann vs. Ethan Page vs. Jake Crist vs. Trey (Ultimate X) – Homecoming
* LAX vs. The Lucha Bros – Homecoming
* Johnny IMPACT vs. Brian Cage – Homecoming
* LAX vs. The Lucha Bros – IMPACT February 8, 2019
* Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie (Street Fight) – IMPACT Uncaged February 15, 2019
* Team AAA vs. Team IMPACT (World Cup) – IMPACT Uncaged February 15, 2019
* Jordynne Grace vs. Tessa Blanchard – IMPACT March 15, 2019
* LAX and Brian Cage vs. The Lucha Bros and Johnny IMPACT – IMPACT April 26, 2019
* Rich Swann vs. Sami Callihan – Rebellion
* Gail Kim vs. Tessa Blanchard – Rebellion
* Brian Cage vs. Johnny IMPACT – Rebellion
* LAX vs. The Lucha Bros (Full Metal Mayhem) – Rebellion
* Tommy Dreamer, Willie Mack, Rich Swann and Fallah Bahh vs. oVe (oVe Rules) – IMPACT May 10, 2019
* Rich Swann vs. Michael Elgin – IMPACT May 17, 2019
* The Rascalz vs. LAX – IMPACT June 7, 2019
* The Rascalz vs. LAX and Laredo Kid – IMPACT June 28, 2019
* Taya Valkyrie vs. Havok vs. Rosemary vs. Su Yung (Monster’s Ball) – Slammiversary
* Rich Swann vs. Johnny IMPACT – Slammiversary
* Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin – Slammiversary
* Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard – Slammiversary
* Jake Crist vs. Rich Swann – IMPACT July 26, 2019
* Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Edwards – Unbreakable
* The North vs. The Rascalz – IMPACT August 2, 2019
* The North vs. LAX – IMPACT September 6, 2019
* Michael Elgin vs. TJP – Victory Road
* Rich Swann and Willie Mack vs. LAX – IMPACT September 20, 2019
* Tenille Dashwood vs. Taya Valkyrie – Bound For Glory
* The North vs. Willie Mack and Rich Swann vs. RVD and Rhino – Bound For Glory
* Michael Elgin vs. Naomichi Marufuji – Bound For Glory
* Ace Austin vs. Jake Crist vs. Tessa Blanchard vs. Daga vs. Acey Romero (Ladder match) – Bound For Glory
* Brian Cage vs. Sami Callihan – Bound For Glory
* Ace Austin vs. Eddie Edwards (Street Fight) – IMPACT October 29, 2019
* Brian Cage vs. Sami Callihan (Steel Cage) – IMPACT October 29, 2019
* Michael Elgin vs. Fallah Bahh – IMPACT November 5, 2019
* The North vs. Eddie Edwards and Naomichi Marufuji – IMPACT November 12, 2019
* Elimination Challenge – IMPACT November 19, 2019