Ice Chilled Gaming Presents: My Best of 2017 in Pro Wrestling & MMA

Ice Chilled Gaming Presents:

My Best of 2017 in Pro Wrestling & MMA

Every year the guys over at PostWrestling.com give their best of lists and it's always one of their funnest podcasts of the year. I always love to follow along so this year I'll post my own winners on my new site here.

BEST WRESTLER (Male)

My Winner: Kazuchika Okada

My Runner Up: Kenny Omega

My Take: It was either Okada or Omega for me. Their fantastic trilogy of matches alone is enough for me to give either guy the nod. I give Okada the edge because it seemed like he had the Midas touch all year. He had tremendous matches with almost everyone he faced. From the G1, to the Omega trilogy, to the awesome match with Shibata, even to the match he had with Slex in Melbourne City Wrestling.

BEST WRESTLER (Female)

My Winner: Asuka

My Take: As I peruse through all of the major players in women's wrestling around the world, only one woman has the ability and the aura of bad assery and that is Asuka. Although I feel that she hasn't quite had that blowaway match on the main roster yet, it's still clear that she's got the potential for it. Look no further than her great matches she had in NXT (and even before that). Wrestling-wise, I feel as though 2017 (especially on the main roster) was a bit of a miss for women's wrestling. You can't just declare a women's revolution and not live up to the billing. That period circa 2015-2016 when Bayley and Sasha Banks were having those tremendous matches in NXT is the benchmark for me and might have been the peak of the real women's revolution. After Asuka, no other woman really stood out to me for having a blow-away match all year and that is an indictment on the company and not the women. Like I said, Bayley and Sasha killed it on the regular in NXT and now they're treated like afterthoughts.

BEST TAG TEAM

My Winner: The Young Bucks

My Runners up: The Usos

My Take: Easy choice for me. They are one of the most creative guys around and you can see it in everything they do from their matches, to their merch to their YouTube show "Being The Elite". They continue to prove that they can do just fine outside of the WWE and provide a cool factor for whatever show they appear on. Even when they are handed chicken crap, they always turn it into chicken salad (The whole WWE cease and desist thing is a prime example). They're matches are never formulaic and always have inventive spots in them.

BEST ON THE MIC

My Winner: Chris Jericho

My Runners Up: Kevin Owens & Konnan

My Take: The List of Jericho, The Festival of Friendship and the buildup to his match with Kenny Omega for Wrestle Kingdom 12 are great reasons why I chose Chris this year. If you need anymore convincing, the man is so good on the mic that he has his own podcast.

BEST ANNOUNCER

My Winner: Shinpei Nogami

My Runner Up: Mauro Ranallo

Honorable Mention: Snoop Dogg & Urijah Faber

My Take: Despite not knowing Japanese, I always opt for the Japanese commentary shows that Nogami is on over the English commentary. The emotion and passion that he conveys just amplifies the qualify of the match he is calling. It's very similar to how Jim Ross' intensity level would rise whenever he would call big matches.

BEST NON-WRESTLING PERFORMER

My Winner: Dan Lambert

My Take: Impact wins a category! I first became familiar with Dan on The Ultimate Fighter season that pitted American Top Team against The Blackzilians. Usually non-wrestling personnel seldom come off awkward on the mic but this guy came in to the company and just demonstrated some natural promo ability.

MOST IMPROVED

My Winner: Juice Robinson

My Take: I was a fan of the "Moonchild" gimmick in NXT but nowadays Juice Robinson has turned it up to a completely different level in NJPW. He was already showing signs of improvement in early 2017. Then came his performances in the G1 where he had "The Shocka in Osaka" where he picked up a huge upset victory over Kenny Omega in a great match. He also had great matches in the G1 against guys like EVIL, Michael Elgin and Minoru Suzuki. However, my favorite Juice match came in September on the Destruction in Kobe show where he had a tremendously stellar match against Kenny Omega in a losing effort for the IWGP United States Championship. He went on to end the year strong with a great showing in the World Tag League with his tag team partner, Sami Callihan. They had great chemistry and charisma together and were the complete antithesis of each other but it worked. Juice has come along way and it's only just the beginning.

BEST COMEBACK

My Winner: Konnan

My Take: Impact doesn't have too much cred these days but Konnan really adds an edge to the show as a part of the returning LAX stable. Paul Heyman is to Brock Lesnar what Konnan is to LAX. He may not be a wrestler anymore but he still kills it on the mic, is involved in great skits (Like the LAX clubhouse scenes or his meeting with Sami Callihan at a park bench) and is a national treasure on the podcast mic.

BEST GIMMICK

My Winner: Broken Matt Hardy

My Runners up: Bullet Club

My Take: Such a ridiculous-sounding gimmick on paper but one that hasn't stopped captivating audiences in every promotion it appears in whether it's in Impact, ROH or WWE. He began the year wrapping up the Broken era in Impact. Then he went on to have a hell of a ladder match alongside Jeff Hardy against The Young Bucks in Ring of Honor on WrestleMania weekend. Then he returned to the WWE at WrestleMana itself on the very next day. Although the complete Broken gimmick wouldn't resurface until the year's end, facets of the gimmick would shine through in his performances and it would prove to remain at the forefront of audiences everywhere as the chants of DELETE never relented until the Broken gimmick (or Woken in this case) returned in full force.

MATCH OF THE YEAR

My Winner: Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega 2

My Runner Up: Okada/Omega I @ Wrestle Kingdom 11

My Take: Their match at Wrestle Kingdom 11 was deemed one of the best of all time. So how in blazed could they even top themselves? Well, they did (in my opinion) with their follow up in June at Dominion. Okada won the first meeting but couldn't seal the deal in the sequel and neither could Omega as the rematch went to a 60 minute draw that left both man prone on the mat in utter exhaustion after giving each other every last thing that they had. Omega was able to hit the elusive One Winged Angel but Okada would get a rope break afterwards. NJPW has so many incredible matches that they start to blur together after a while for me. This one is my favorite match in recent years if not all time.

FEUD OF THE YEAR

My Winner: The Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega Trilogy

My Take: What I loved about this trilogy is that it wasn't just three awesome matches. It was like one saga. Each match told a different story and evoked a different emotion. This is what great storytelling looks like in pro wrestling.

BEST ANGLE

My Winner: Chris Jericho's NJPW return

My Runner Up: The Festival of Friendship with Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens

My Take: Jericho was winning regardless here. (In my opinion) Nothing sent more shockwaves in the wrestling world than Jericho's NJPW return via vignette as well as his in-ring attack on Kenny Omega right afterward. Jericho in NJPW in 2017 (and '18) is just so surreal.

BEST PAY-PER-VIEW (Wrestling)

My Winner: NJPW Dominion

My Take: It had Okada/Omega 2, Tanahashi/Naito, Takahashi/KUSHIDA and Young Bucks vs Roppongi Vice. The other matches on the card were really good like Suzuki/Goto and Cody/Elgin. It took place in Osaka which is my absolute favorite Japanese crowd and Shinpei Nogami was calling the action. Dominion in 2013 was my first ever NJPW event that I ever watched so it's good to see that it's always an awesome event every year.

BEST MMA FIGHT CARD

My Winner: UFC 217

My Take: GSP made his grand return, Garbrandt and Dillashaw faced off in one hell of a grudge match and Namajunas shocked the world against Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

BEST PROMOTION

My Winner: New Japan Pro Wrestling

My Take: WWE's philosophy this year was quantity over quality. UFC wasn't firing on all cylinders like it looked like it was before the sale. Despite having some really good talent, Impact was just meh as it continued to display its survival skills. Ring of Honor did some of its best business yet but I wasn't as into it in 2017 as I've been before. The Lucha Underground ship seems to have sailed. NJPW remains consistent with incredible matches, great wrestlers, awesome events and solid booking. Here's hoping for a successful run in North America.

BEST TELEVISION SHOW

My Winners: The Snoopcast of Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series & GLOW

My Take: I couldn't make up my mind on which was better so I went with the Bret/Luger (Or Cena/Batista) Rumble finish. What made me give the Contender Series a nod was the SnoopCast. Snoop Dogg and Urijah Faber provided a laid back approach while maintaining the knowledge needed for competent MMA announcing. The SnoopCast even makes boring fights fun to watch. I enjoyed it so much that I had to give it a nod as I wait patiently for season 2. 

Speaking of great shows with upcoming second seasons, GLOW is my other co-winner. It was a great show with a really good cast and story. It was so good that a lot of non-wrestling fans really enjoyed it and it's always a breath of fresh air when pro wrestling can be exposed to the masses in an enjoyable (and not embarrassing) way.

BEST MEDIA (Book/Digital series/WWE Network show)

Being The Elite

My Take: The premise is simple. You and your friends film your adventures in between whatever it is that you do for a living and make a little YouTube show about it. All you need is a little bit of personality and a heap of creativity. This is what this show is all about. It's almost like the travel footage of your favorite rock band. The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and friends document their adventures in the pro wrestling business and it's an enjoyable watch. This show featured a whole host of storylines being born and new catchphrases.

BEST MIXED MARTIAL ARTIST

My Winner: UFC Featherweight Champion, Max Holloway

My Runners Up: "Groovy" Lando Vannata & Demetrious Johnson

My Take: I first took notice of "The Blessed One" in 2013 in his losing efforts against Dennis Bermudez and Conor McGregor. Something just clicked with me with Max. Perhaps it was his fighting spirit. Whatever it was, I became a fan despite the defeats. As a reward for that newfound fandom, Max would go on to rack up 12 wins and counting. In 2017, he defeated Jose Aldo (who was undefeated from 2006-2015) twice to cement his spot at the top of the featherweight division.

BEST MMA FIGHT

My Winner: Justin Gaethje vs Michael Johnson @ The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale

My Runner Up: Bobby Green vs Lando Vannata @ UFC 216

My Take: This was Gaethje's first UFC fight coming from the World Series of Fighting promotion and he lived up to the hype. It was a great back and forth fight that saw Gaethje get the second round TKO over the lightweight contender. Also, another shout out to Lando Vannata. So far every fight he takes part in is a must-see.

BIGGEST STORY OF 2017

My Winner: Mayweather vs McGregor

My Runner Up: Chris Jericho comes to NJPW

My Take: It was one of those things where when the rumors first began of this fight as a possibility and I chuckled and instantly stated how ridiculous it seemed. Two fighters from two different worlds. How would the logistics even be worked out? Would this be a standard Mayweather Promotions fight or would this be a boxing match inside of the octagon? So many questions that all came to a head in the Summer. August 26th to be exact. This spectacle has opened the door on other future outlandish but possible fight ideas.