Top 10 Male Superstars of 2016: Part TWO
5) Roman Reigns
You guessed it, Roman Reigns is featuring in this year's top ten male superstars of the year and he is taking the number five spot as he kick starts part two. Now, I'm going to have the same thing I said this time last year and that's that I honestly have changed my mind on how I feel about Reigns so much over the past twelve months. He still isn't someone I can say is a personal favourite of mine but I also cannot deny the simple fact that he has had a brilliant year and he really has continued to shine, improve and prove the critics wrong. Starting the year out as champion very early on in twenty sixteen he looked to continue his feud with the Authority and would soon butt heads with Triple H. Their feud would become one of the highlights of the early stages of twenty sixteen and in March they walked into Wrestlemania against one another in the main event where Roman looked to regain his championship against Hunter at the grandest stage of them all. Of course, that is exactly what he did. In a predictable main event, Roman Reigns walked out of Wrestlemania as the WWE World Heavyweight champion, however, he still had a lot to prove and show to the harsh critics in the WWE universe. He would go on to have a strong title reign regardless of what fans think. He's feud with AJ Styles was one of the highlights of twenty sixteen and as he once again stepped into the ring with someone when ten times more experience than he, he put on a fantastic performance and managed to keep up with Styles perfectly. The pair put on two brilliant matches both of which I have spoken about a lot on my blog ever since. It was during this feud that I personally really did start to gain a whole lot more respect for him. It was in these matches that I could see how far he has come in the ring and the first time I really did see his wrestling ability shine massively. He would go on to lose the title at the Money in the Bank pay per view and would soon compete in one of the most anticipated matches in WWE history, the Shield triple threat. After his work was done there Reigns was ale to focus his attentions elsewhere and later in the year became the United States champion, something the WWE should have done wit him two years ago. He's work with Rusev once again saw him compete in a series of fantastic matches. This really has been a common theme with Reigns; whether you love him or hate him you cannot deny that this year we really have seen him take part and stand out in some of the best matches of the year against the likes of Triple H, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens AJ Styles and more. I may not be his biggest fan but Roman Reigns really has been one of the top performers of the year and more than earned his place in this list.
4) The Miz
As I just mentioned, I really did struggle with numbers four and five. With both superstars, I had in mind standing out for different reasons it was really difficult for me to decide where to place them both. In the end, however, I just to place The Miz one step higher than Roman Reigns and this falls down to the simple fact that this has been the best year for the Miz since his run as WWE Champion. Now, over the years I have spent a great deal of time talking about the Miz both here on my blog and over on twitter. I have noted him as one of the most underrated and underutilised superstars of this generation and spoken about how much of a huge huge fan I am of him and his work. I have commented on the fact that he is one of the best entertainers and characters in wrestling today and the strongest heel on the WWE roster without a doubt. In two thousand and sixteen the Miz really did prove all these points and after finally being given the chance to stand out he did just that and has now become one of the most must-see talents in the WWE today. From the start of the year, we got to see the Miz compete in a number of standout matches. These included bouts against the likes of Chris Jericho and AJ Styles and his strong booking allowed him to become a superstar we all began to talk more about. Things didn't take a huge turn however until he was crowned the new Intercontinental champion the night after Wrestlemania, the same night his wife Maryse would return to the WWE. Two huge changes that made the Miz into a megastar once again. It was as though after all these years the WWE finally got it right with him. He's feud with Zack Ryder was nothing to jump and scream about but it sure was a great way to establish Miz as a dominate champion and kick start this new attitude of his. Over time he would only grow more and more and his work became much much stronger. He competed in one of my personal favourite matches of the year taking on Cesaro, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in a fatal four way for the IC Title where he was able to walk out still champion. He managed to fit in little storylines in between and the fact that he had Maryse by his side only made things better. The luck of the Miz grew ten times bigger then the draft split happened back in the Summer. What a blessing that brand split was for Miz. There has been no superstar that has benefited more from the brand split than the Miz. He would soon become a huge talking point after the massive promo he cut on Daniel Bryan and the WWE universe on an episode of Talking Smack. Not only was this the best piece of mic work we had ever had from the Miz but it was one of the best promos I have heard in a very long time! It was the promo that changed everything for the Miz and his work with Smackdown LIVE general manager Daniel Bryan ever since has been one of the highlights of the brand. He's feud with Dolph Ziggler would also go on to become one of my personal favourite feuds of the year and their one on one match up at the No Mercy pay per view became an easy contender for match of the year. Now, I am so glad that I can sit here at the end of two thousand and sixteen and name the Miz as one of the top performes of the past twelve months. He is currently exactly where he should be. This year saw him finally reach where he deserves to be, compete in a number of fantastic matches and make history by becoming a seven time IC champion. How could I not have had him in this list?
3) Kevin Owens
In at number three we have the current WWE Universal Champion and last year's Superstar of the year here on my blog, Kevin Owens. The Canadian superstar has continued to dominate and impress throughout twenty sixteen and now he sits as one of the biggest stars in the WWE and a top face in the company. Owens kick-started the year with a gripping feud with Dean Ambrose that saw the two clash at the Royal Rumble pay per view where they would compete for the Intercontinental championship in a last man standing match. The match was one of the first of many brilliant performances from Owens of the year and by the end of it, he was crowned the brand new intercontinental champion. He would go one to have a solid reign that would see his rivalry with Sami Zayn brought back to life. Now, I do believe that this did reach the point where the feud has been overdone and was dragged out for far too long but this has been one of my favourite stories of the past decade and so I did enjoy the early work between the pair massively. There singles matches were extremely entertaining and even when Owens dropped the title at Mania he continued to work as one of the biggest stars on the roster. He's mic work and backstage segments/interviews were just as strong and he very quickly was established not only as one of the best heels in the company today but one of the best all round characters in wrestling. No one knows how to entertain quite as well as Owens and he really has shown that over the past twelve months. Throughout the year we have seen him compete in a number of brilliant matches against the likes of Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, the Miz and many many more. He has found himself on almost every single pay per view card and has always put on a brilliant performance. In the Summer he found himself as one of the later drafts to Monday night RAW but would go on to prove everyone wrong when he became RAW's top guy months after the brand split when he became the second WWE Universal Champion. He's reign so far has been nothing short of fantastic with top standout matches against the likes of Roman Reigns and an amazing feud with Seth Rollins that saw the two go head to head in one of the best matches of the year inside hell in a cell. Before we finish off we also have to talk about his amazing alliance with Chris Jericho. Team JeriKO is without a doubt one of my favourite things in wrestling today. There is not a single bad word I can say about it and only contributes to why Kevin Owens just had to be in today's top five.
2) Dean Ambrose
In at number two and just missing out on the top spot is former WWE World Champion, Dean Ambrose. What a year it has been for the lunatic fringe! After years of fighting for the top spot and living in the shadows of former Shield partners Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, two thousand and sixteen finally saw Ambrose become the guy as he without a doubt had the best year of his singles career so far. Kick starting the year off with a feud against Kevin Owens the pair collided at the Royal Rumble pay per view where Ambrose would have his first of many standout matches of the year. Walking into this match as Champion Ambrose had the upper hand as the two competed in a last man standing match. The bout itself was one of my favourites of the year and while Ambrose didn't walk out champ he sure showed that he is a fantastic competitor and raised the bar for other last man standing matches to follow. Later that night Ambrose went on to have a fantastic performance in the Royal Rumble match where he would come down tot he final two just missing out on the opportunity to main event Wrestlemania when he was eliminated by Triple H. In between the Royal Rumble pay per view and Wrestlemania Ambrose would continue to stand out despite the stiff competition and his all round performances both on the mic and in the ring remained as strong as ever. As Mania approached the WWE universe saw Dean enter a program I don't think any of us were expecting at this point as he's feud with Brock Lesnar really was brought to life. Now, everyone I spoke to about this feud agreed with me that this should be the big big loss Lesnar picked up. A win over Brock would have made Ambrose a mega star. Throughout the build up he had us all captivated and I was genuinely excited for their street fight at Mania. Of course, the WWE gave the win to Lesnar and unfortunately they weren't given enough time to put on a match that was able to put over Ambrose well and establish him as a big star regardless of the end result. He was able to bounce back perfectly fine however and at the Money in the Bank pay per view he became the biggest star in the WWE when he not only finally won the Money in the Bank contract but would be the first man to cash in on the same night and walk out as the new WWE World Heavyweight champion. This was easily one of my favourite moments of the year and as a huge Dean Ambrose fan, I cannot tell you how happy this made me. He's reign as champion was not the longest but sure strong. He competed in some of the best and most anticipated matches of the year including that huge Shield triple threat. He went on to become the first man drafted to Smackdown Live and would kick start a solid feud with Dolph Ziggler heading into SummerSlam. He's best work, however, has come from his feud with AJ Styles. We got to see Ambrose's best match to date at the Backlash pay per view and his character development has been fantastic recently. Ambrose has had a brilliant year. He has finally been established as a top star in the WWE and as he continues to shine we can only expect another great year to follow.
1) AJ Styles
And so we finally have reached the top spot in this year's top five superstars of the year and I can finally reveal that my two thousand and sixteen WWE Superstar of the year is the phenomenal one, AJ Styles. I kind of had an idea that Styles would be claiming the stop spot this year pretty much midway through the year. There has been no superstar who has kept me as entertained during matches as Styles this year and no man who has achieved what he has achieved so quickly. The impact he managed to make in the space of twelve months is insane. It's crazy to think that he wasn't even a part of the roster this time last year and now he sits at the top as WWE World Champion and the face that runs the place. When you look back at the past year there really has been no one that has stood out as much as Styles. Arriving on the scene back in January at the Royal Rumble pay per view he picked up one of the biggest crowd reactions I have ever heard, I can only imagine what it sounded like in person, as he confirmed rumours of his arrival in the WWE. Entering the Royal Rumble match the phenomenal one made an early impact and managed to remain the rumble for a decent length. As soon as he arrived that night it was almost impossible for anyone to do anything but talk about him. The following night he continued to make an impact as the road to Wrestlemania kick started. Competing in his first ever singles match in the WWE and effectively making his Monday night
RAW debut Styles went on to compete in a match that hardcore wrestling fans had been dying to see for years as he took on Chris Jericho for the first time. While the match itself may not have lived up to expectations it was still a brilliant moment and standout of the year simply because of how highly anticipated it was. In his early months with the WWE Styles would go on to team up with Jericho but after Chris turned heel the pair entered a program heading into Wrestlemania where Styles would have his debut Wrestlemania match. After falling to Jericho at the biggest stage of them all he looked to regain some momentum and a brilliant feud with Roman Reigns allowed him to bounce back perfectly. The pair competed in several standout matches that you have already seen me talk about recently. Following that Styles would go on to take part in yet another standout feud of the year when he turned heel and went toe to toe with the face that runs the place, John Cena. Again, we got a number of fantastic matches between the pair and Styles were able to score not one but two victories over Cena. He was one of the early drafts for Smackdown LIVE and since the brand split has been nothing but dominate. He's promos and segments have been fantastic, he has become one of the strongest heels in the company and yet one of the most over talents. He's work with Dean Ambrose has been one of the highlights of Smackdown LIVE since the brand split. Their matches have been some of the best of the year and thanks to Styles we have been able to see a whole new side to Ambrose and I strongly believe that it's thanks to Styles that Ambrose has now been established as such a major star. Two thousand and sixteen was completely dominated by AJ Styles. He has been apart of some of the best feuds/storylines and matches of the year, he had his first Wrestlemania match, became the WWE World Champion and currently sits as the biggest star in the WWE today. There really was no other man better suited for the top spot than Mr AJ Styles.
So that is my final list and my final post in my two thousand and sixteen of the year season! The past twelve months have been brilliant for the world of pro wrestling, full of fantastic matches and momens and we just finished counting down ten of the best performers in the WWE this year. As always I would love to know what you think and who has been you supestar of the year so feel free to leave a comment bellow or drop me a tweet over at @TezangiVictoria.
Recent Blog Posts:
Top 10 WWE Matches of 2016
Top 10 WWE Male Superstars Part One
Top 5 NXT Superstars of 2016
Top 10 WWE Matches Of 2016 Part One
Top 5 WWE Female Superstars of 2016
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So that is my final list and my final post in my two thousand and sixteen of the year season! The past twelve months have been brilliant for the world of pro wrestling, full of fantastic matches and momens and we just finished counting down ten of the best performers in the WWE this year. As always I would love to know what you think and who has been you supestar of the year so feel free to leave a comment bellow or drop me a tweet over at @TezangiVictoria.
Recent Blog Posts:
Top 10 WWE Matches of 2016
Top 10 WWE Male Superstars Part One
Top 5 NXT Superstars of 2016
Top 10 WWE Matches Of 2016 Part One
Top 5 WWE Female Superstars of 2016
Social Media Links:
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