Time to rank the best wrestlers of the year.
Fresh off of our Year End Awards Extravaganza, we decided to create a panel to compile a list of our Top 10 Wrestlers of the Year. Five regular Wrestling On Earth contributors ranked their top 15 wrestlers of 2014 using whatever criteria they determine makes one “Wrestler of the Year.” The criteria is completely subjective to each person.
To get on the list, you have to be on 3+ panel member lists and then we’d do simple math of who had the highest rankings to see how it played out.
The panel:
- Joey (@JoeySplashwater)
- Tim (@TimWelcomed)
- Tom (@TomBlargh)
- Brad (@BradFGN)
- Deathlock (@IndianDeathlock)
Honorable mentions: Brock Lesnar and Adam Cole just missed the list as they were on three lists but didn’t quite crack the top 10.
10. Daniel Bryan
Tom:
Even though he was absent for such a good chunk of the year, his story made for the best Wrestlemania in a decade and his announcement that he’ll be back in 2015 is such a relief. Raw’s gotten to the point where there’s only a handful of performers I actively look forward to, and Bryan’s absence made the show a really rough watch for a while – even with guys like Rollins and Cesaro and so on, there was a point where Bryan would be wrestling a couple of matches every show and he was always excellent. He’s just special, y’know?
Brad:
Daniel Bryan started the year in a position that was some what undesirable to say the least. It may have been perhaps the plan all along to put Bryan in his spot he ended up having at Wrestlemania. One thing that I will say about Bryan is he is the one guy who was involved in some of the most memorable moments of the year in my opinion.
Bell to bell, there are few guys who truly work harder in those 3 ropes (not four) than Daniel Bryan. While Bryan’s 2014 was cut short, the intensity he brings and the level he connects with the fans makes him very worthy in the top 10.
Deathlock:
DBry is on my list in spite of missing half the year. You all probably know the story — he defeated Triple H at Wrestlemania XXX to get a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (Bryan vs. Triple H was my favorite WWE match of the year). He won that match, and later in the night defeated Batista AND Randy Orton to capture the championship. That is freaking magical. A whole arena full of nothing but love for their favorite wrestler finally getting what they think he deserves after a years-long buildup. That’s one reason why wrestling is great, and one reason why Bryan is so high on my list for 2014. His recent promo on Raw announcing his entry into the 2015 Royal Rumble makes it even better. 2014 is not the end!