What’s the story?
The 44th Annual Achievement Awards were announced by Pro Wrestling Illustrated and AJ Styles was voted the ‘Wrestler of the Year’ by 51% of the people who took part in the poll. Former United States Champion Roman Reigns was voted the ‘Most Hated’ superstar of the year.
Many more WWE superstars also featured in this year’s list.
In case you didn’t know...
AJ Styles is the current WWE Champion on SmackDown Live. 2016 has been a fantastic year for AJ that see him rise to the upper echelons of the WWE. His feud with John Cena was one of the best feuds of the year as these two men produced some blockbuster matches in 2016.
Aj made his WWE debut in the 2016 Royal Rumble and was later drafted to SmackDown Live during the brand split in July. Unsurprisingly, he’s been phenomenal since day one.
The heart of the matter
In addition to the ‘Wrestler of the Year’ award, Styles was also awarded the ‘Match of the Year’ by PWI for his bout against John Cena at SummerSlam.
It should be noted that Styles’ matches against John Cena at MITB, Dean Ambrose, Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns also received first-place votes from the PWI readers. Have a look at the winners from various categories:
Rookie – Nia Jax
Inspirational – Bayley
Most Improved – The Miz
Comeback – Goldberg
Woman – Charlotte Flair
Feud – Charlotte and Sasha Banks
Most Popular – Shinsuke Nakamura
Tag Team – The New Day
What’s next?
AJ Styles is all set to compete against John Cena at the Royal Rumble PPV where he will be defending his WWE Championship. The outcome of this match is pivotal as it will give the fans some clarity on the WrestleMania plans for Styles and Cena.
Given the fact that The Undertaker is also taking part in the Rumble match, there is every chance of Styles or Cena clashing with the dead man on the grandest stage of them all.
Sportskeeda’s take
AJ Styles rightly deserves this award given the outstanding work he's done ever since his WWE debut. It is also important for Roman Reigns to reinvent himself and impress the WWE universe just as he did during the Shield days.
Will Reigns finally get over with the fans? Will Cena create history by becoming the 16-time World Champion? And will 2017 also be the year of the Phenomenal One? We'll have to wait and watch.
Send us news tips at [email protected]
