The OFFICIAL 2018 Stompie Awards!
For two months of every year The Secret Order of the Maintainers compile a list of the matches and moments which have stood out over the past year. We watch them back, comparing notes, and making our cases for why we think our choices should come out on top. We then each cast our votes to decided on who will be bestowed one of the wrestling worlds least-known, unimportant, and self-indulgent honours.
What follows is the raw results from our picks of 2018. We list them from top to bottom, with the number of points they gained in our byzantine voting system. Over the coming weeks we should be putting up articles on some of the top picks, so watch this space. Some points to note on the voting itself:
- NJPW figured highly in the individual match awards but nobody nominated it for Promotion of the Year. Yet somehow this feels apt.
- Gargano vs. Almas winning Best Men’s Singles is officially the biggest landslide in Stompies history, with over 250% of the points of its nearest competitor.
- Although it may look like the top two for Promotion of the Year were reasonably close, NXT in fact received no first-place votes.
Any quibbles over results can be taken up with the abstract concept of democracy.
BEST MEN’S SINGLES
76 – Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas (NXT Takeover: Philadelphia)
29 – Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW Destruction)
29 – Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT Takeover: New Orleans)
28 – Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE Survivor Series)
27 – WALTER vs. Timothy Thatcher (Progress Chapter 62)
26 – Aleister Black vs. Andrade Cien Almas (NXT Takeover: New Orleans)
23 – Super Sasadango Machine vs. Andreza Giant Panda (DDT Ryogoku Peter Pan 2018)
23 – Masashi Takeda vs. Isami Kodaka (BJW at Korakuen Hall)
21 – Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan (Impact Slammiversary)
20 – Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hirooki Goto (NJPW G1 Climax Night 6)
19 – Mike Quackenbush vs. David Starr (GCW Joey Janela’s Spring Break 2)
18 – Minoru Suzuki vs. Hirooki Goto (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12)
14 – Jack Gallagher vs. Drew Gulak (WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament)
13 – Shay Purser vs. Chris Roberts (ATTACK! MistleTour Night 2)
9 – Kenny Omega vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW G1 Climax Night 18)
5 – Moose vs. Austin Aries (Impact Slammiversary)
3 – Masashi Takeda vs. Violento Jack (FREEDOMS We Are FREEDOMS! We Love FREEDOMS!)
BEST WOMEN’S SINGLES
63 – Kay Lee Ray vs. Meiko Satomura (EVE Wrestle Queendom)
48 – Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch (WWE Evolution)
39 – Emi Sakura vs. Mei Suruga (Gatoh Move Ichigaya)
34 – Sammi Jayne vs. Charlie Morgan (EVE Wrestle Queendom)
34 – Aja Kong vs. Viper (EVE Wrestle Queendom)
31 – Meiko Satomura vs. Mercedes Martinez (WWE Mae Young Classic 2)
24 – Emi Sakura vs. Kay Lee Ray (EVE Command Attention)
24 – Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax (vs. Alexa Bliss) (WWE Money in the Bank)
24 – Hikaru Shida vs. Aja Kong (OZ Academy Flower Bloom in Yokohama)
18 – Kagetsu vs. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom Kagetsu 10th Anniversary Show)
18 – Io Shirai vs. Momo Watanabe (Stardom Queen’s Fes)
13 – Io Shirai vs. Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls Korakuen Hall show in April)
9 – Mayu Iwatani vs. Utami Hayashishita (Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix Finals)
BEST TAG MATCH
48 – Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate and Trent Seven) vs. The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong) (WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament Night 2)
43 – Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate and Trent Seven) vs. The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong) (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV)
40 – The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong) vs. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch (NXT Takeover Chicago II)
35 – Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Will Ospreay (NJPW Road to the Tokyo Dome Day 2)
33 – Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate and Trent Seven) vs. The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong) (NXT TV)
26 – Oedo Tai (Kagetsu & Hazuki) vs. DASH Chisako & Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls Big Show at Korakuen)
21 – Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf and Natsu Sumire) vs. Queen’s Quest (AZM, HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe) (Stardom New Years Stars Night 1)
18 – Team Tokyo Joshi Pro (Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki and Shoko Nakajima) vs Team Shimmer (Madison Eagles, Shazza McKenzie and Jessica Troy) (Chikara King of Trios Night 1)
16 – MiraClians (Shoko Nakajima and Yuka Sakazaki) vs. Mizuki and Riho (TJPW Tokyo Joshi ’18)
15 – Aussie Open (Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher) vs CCK (Chris Brookes and Jonathan Gresham) (RevPro Summer Sizzler)
14 – The Rascalz (Desmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz) vs. Bandido and Flamita (Fight Club Pro Project Mayhem Night 2)
13 – The Four Nations (Adam Hoffman, Jack Bonza and Mick Moretti) vs. Team Tokyo Joshi (Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki and Shoko Nakajima) (CHIKARA King of Trios Night 3)
12 – Queen’s Quest (AZM, HZK, Io Shirai and Momo Watanabe) vs. Jungle Kyona, Mayu Iwatani, Starlight Kid and Tam Nakano (Stardom Grows Up Stars Night 1)
11 – Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi) vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Will Ospreay (NJPW Road to Destruction Night 2)
9 – Ryota Hama and Yasufumi Nakanoue vs. Takayuki Ueki and Kota Sekifuda (BJW Ryogokutan)
BEST JAPANESE MATCH
45 – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW G1 Climax Final)
37 – Ayako Hamada vs. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls Korakuen Hall show in April)
35 – Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW Destruction)
28 – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo Night 1)
26 – Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hirooki Goto (NJPW G1 Night 6)
24 – Masashi Takeda vs. Isami Kodaka (BJW at Korakuen Hall)
22 – Minoru Suzuki vs. Hirooki Goto (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12)
19 – Io Shirai vs. Momo Watanabe (Stardom Gold Star)
18 – Kenny Omega vs. Toru Yano (NJPW G1 Climax Night 16)
16 – Arisa Nakajima vs. Misaki Ohata (SEAdLINNNG Now or Never!)
12 – Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Io Shirai vs. Meiko Satomura (Fortune Dream 5)
10 – Hideki Suzuki vs. Takuya Nomura (BJW at Korakuen)
10 – Mayu Iwatani vs. Utami Hayashishita (Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix Finals)
5 – Miyu Yamashita vs. Reika Saiki (TJPW Tokyo Joshi Pro ’18)
2 – Masashi Takeda vs. Ryuji Ito (BJW Death Vegas)
BEST INDIE MATCH
68 – Kay Lee Ray vs. Meiko Satomura (EVE Wrestle Queendom)
61 – WALTER vs. Jordan Devlin (OTT Wrestlerama)
49 – A-Kid vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (WWW Triple Rumble 8)
37 – WALTER vs. Will Ospreay (OTT 4th Anniversary Show)
32 – Sammi Jayne vs. Charlie Morgan (EVE Wrestle Queendom)
20 – Jetta vs. Kasey (EVE She-1 Show 3)
20 – Mike Quackenbush vs. Madison Eagles (Chikara King of Trios Night 3)
17 – Viper vs. Madison Eagles (EVE She-1 Show 2)
14 – WALTER vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Progress Chapter 77)
11 – MAO vs. Sanshiro Takagi (DDT Ryogoku Peter Pan 2018)
11 – Aussie Open (Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher) vs CCK (Chris Brookes and Jonathan Gresham) (RevPro Summer Sizzler)
11 – Irving Garrett vs. Damien (Wrestling Experience Scotland Drew Galloway Invitational Night 2)
10 – Darby Allin vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (EVOLVE 98)
10 – Joe Coffey vs. Christopher Saynt (Discovery Wrestling Live in Edinburgh)
10 – Viper vs. Jetta (EVE Command Attention)
10 – Viper vs. Kay Lee Ray (ICW Fear and Loathing XI)
BEST PROMO
69 – Viper – “What is Insane?”
51 – Daniel Bryan – “The New Daniel Bryan”
49 – Becky Lynch’s Twitter account
38 – Juice Robinson – “Broken Hand”
33 – PCO gets a car battery surgically implanted in his chest
33 – Derrick Lewis – “My balls was hot”
26 – The Usos – “It’s not paranoia…”
22 – Sumire Natsu – “Momo”
19 – Leyton Buzzard – “Live in Concert”
18 – Jetta as Toni Storm
BEST PROMOTION
91 – EVE
59 – NXT
36 – Stardom
30 – Gatoh Move
25 – RevPro
22 – wXw
19 – TJPW
18 – BJW
17 – Marvelous
17 – Chikara
14 – Impact
12 – AJPW
11 – Lucha Underground
11 – RIZIN
3 – Wrestle-1
BEST FEUD
49 – Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch (WWE)
38 – WALTER vs. OTT (OTT)
36 – Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane (NXT)
35 – Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT)
29 – Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz (WWE)
28 – Momo Watanabe vs. Hazuki (Stardom)
26 – Tomohiro Ishii vs. Minoru Suzuki (RevPro/NJPW)
26 – Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan (Impact)
25 – Sammii Jayne and The Deserving vs. Rhia O’Reilly, Charlie Morgan and Squad Goals (EVE)
20 – Tam Nakano vs. Natsuko Tora (Stardom)
16 – Masashi Takeda vs. every deathmatch guy (BJW)
12 – Kagetsu vs. Sendai Girls (Sendai Girls)
11 – Kento Miyahara vs. Naomichi Marufuji (AJPW)
8 – Absolute Andy vs. Marius Al-Ani (wXw)
5 – BJW vs. logical and consistent booking (BJW)
5 – Leyton Buzzard vs. Kieran Kelly (ICW)
BEST WRESTLER
75 – Meiko Satomura
64 – WALTER
35 – Andrade Almas
31 – Viper
30 – Kay Lee Ray
28 – Tomohiro Ishii
26 – Shayna Baszler
22 – Jonathan Gresham
19 – Momo Watanabe
16 – Mio Momono
15 – Roman Reigns
11 – Masashi Takeda
10 – Titus O’Neil
10 – PCO
8 – David Arquette
6 – Kento Miyahara
2 – Taichi
BEST TAG TEAM/STABLE
50 – Ringkampf (WALTER and Timothy Thatcher)
46 – Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Hazuki, Sumire Natsu, Nao Yamaguchi, Martina, Hana Kimura, Brandi Rhodes and Tam Nakano)
40 – Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan
39 – Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi)
35 – The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso)
35 – The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish)
30 – Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate and Trent Seven)
26 – Aussie Open (Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher)
26 – WrestleFriends (Jetta and Erin Angel)
22 – SCHADENFREUDE (Chris Brookes, Kid Lykos, WALTER, Timothy Fletcher, Jinny, Jonathan Gresham, Lucky Kid, Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher)
20 – Itoh Respect Army (Maki Itoh and Mizuki)
18 – The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus)
11 – BORDERLESS (Rina Yamashita and Yoshiko)
4 – Chimodoro Bros 3rd Generation (Takayuki Ueki and Kota Sekifuda)
4 – Astronauts (Takuya Nomura and Fuminori Abe)
BEST FACE
48 – Becky Lynch
41 – Kris Wolf
40 – Viper
33 – Mustafa Ali
31 – Kairi Sane
25 – Mayu Iwatani
22 – Jushin Liger
20 – Johnny Gargano
18 – Maki Itoh
16 – Tomohiro Ishii
15 – Roman Reigns
14 – The Velveteen Dream
13 – Kento Miyahara
6 – Yuu
6 – Reika Saiki
BEST HEEL
57 – Tommaso Ciampa
53 – Daniel Bryan
46 – Samoa Joe
37 – Shayna Baszler
29 – Zack Gibson
24 – Zack Sabre Jr.
23 – Nina Samuels
16 – LA Park
15 – Kagetsu
8 – Hazuki
4 – Baron Corbin
4 – Absolute Andy
BEST COMMENTATOR
53 – Mauro Ranallo
37 – Mike Quackenbush
36 – Kevin Kelly
29 – Don Callis
28 – Chris Charlton
24 – Tony Schiavone
19 – Jetta
16 – Matt Striker
16 – Beth Phoenix
15 – Michael Cole
14 – Chuck Taylor
13 – Vampiro
12 – Ai Hara
BEST RING ANNOUNCER
57 – Vlad Radinov
44 – TAKA Michinoku
41 – Lenne Hardt
38 – Simon Cassidy
32 – Greg Hamilton
29 – Sayuri Namba
BEST CHANT
60 – “You Sick Fuck” at Zoe Lucas with flu at EVE
56 – “R-S-P-C-A” when Kris Wolf is attacked
51 – “Jett! Jett! Jett-fucking-a!”
46 – “Shoes off if you hate Gibson”
35 – “Clapping I guess”
BEST SHOW
74 – EVE Wrestle Queendom
43 – NXT Takeover: New Orleans
39 – NXT Takeover: Philadelphia
35 – DOTP Punchamania IV
28 – WWE Evolution
24 – EVE Command Attention
21 – wXw 16 Carat Gold Night 2
20 – Impact Slammiversary
14 – RevPro Uprising 2018
13 – TJPW Tokyo Joshi ‘18
9 – BJW Ryogokutan
8 – Marvelous Karaoke Show
WORST PERSON IN PRO WRESTLING
79 – Vince McMahon
66 – Hulk Hogan
50 – Michael Elgin
45 – ICW fans
39 – Sam Adonis
34 – Kenny Omega
21 – The Undertaker
WORST COMMENTATOR
61 – Jonathan Coachman
48 – Stephanie McMahon
42 – Matt Striker
34 – Vampiro
31 – Lanny Poffo
27 – Byron Saxton
21 – Callum Leslie
14 – Tomoaki Honma
9 – Nigel McGuinness
9 – Mauro Ranallo
WORST FEUD
51 – Bullet Club/The Elite vs. The Firing Squad (NJPW/ROH)
42 – Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (WWE)
39 – AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE)
38 – Baron Corbin vs. Everyone on Raw (WWE)
37 – Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn (WWE)
24 – Martin Zaki vs. WALTER (Fight Club Pro)
23 – Rockstar Spud vs. bladder control (WWE)
18 – Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass (WWE)
16 – Drake Maverick and The Authors of Pain vs. Bobby Roode and Chad Gable (WWE)
14 – Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT)
6 – Bobby Lashley vs. Elias (WWE)
2 – TNA vs. Impact (Impact)
2 – Lionheart vs. Jackie Polo (ICW)
WORST CHANT
68 – “WHAT?” chant by one guy after Roman Reigns announced he had leukaemia
61 – “Oh, Black Sabre Jr.” at Jonathan Gresham
50 – “Both these people/both these guys”
40 – “You deserve it”
39 – “Let’s go Meeko”
33 – “THIS IS PROGRESS”
27 – “Lionheart is a hero”
23 – “Oh, Emi Sakuuuuuuuura”