FanPost

And my 2019 Wrestler of the Year is...

WWE.com

As a kid, I would eagerly look forward to getting my hands on Pro Wrestling Illustrated's edition of its end of the year awards. At the time, the PWI awards were the closest you could get to pitting your favorite wrestlers from all over the world against each other. Each year, fans were asked to decide who they thought was best in a variety of categories ranging from Rookie of the Year, Match of the Year, all the way to Tag Team of the Year.

But it was the Wrestler of the Year award that I was most obsessed with, as this would often pit Hulk Hogan against Ric Flair. Because of their value to their respective companies, it seemed like this was the only arena in which they were destined to battle.

Over time, Hogan and Flair would settle things in the ring, the business would contract and expand, and my fandom matured. Despite all the changes, I still find myself obsessed with this particular award, debating that one question at the end of every twelve months: Who was the best wrestler of the year?

For the sake of this argument, I'm including women in the discussion. It's fair to distinguish the best of the best among the two sexes, but at the same time the best wrestler is the best wrestler, regardless of gender.

With that said, I had a strong desire to hand this to Becky Lynch. Easily, the top woman in wrestling in 2019, Lynch was the face of her division and the most popular wrestler among males and females. She made history by becoming one of the first women to main event WrestleMania, and she proudly carried her title as Raw Women's champion for much of 2019.

Things tapered off a bit for Lynch after a never ending story against Lacey Evans, a feud that produced some forced on-screen moments with her real-life boyfriend Seth Rollins and a cringe worthy T-shirt.

Over in New Japan Pro Wrestling, Kazuchika Okada returned to being Kazuchika Okada. As redemption angles go, Okada's was a satisfying journey. After losing the IWGP title to longtime rival Kenny Omega, The Rainmaker went on a downward spiral. His constant sidekick Gedo would abandon him for the promising Jay White, a man who would defeat Okada to begin the year at Wrestle Kingdom.

Okada would eventually redeem himself by getting back in the IWGP title picture by winning the New Japan Cup, and dethroning White at the G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden, making it the first time that New Japan's top prize changed hands on American soil.

Okada has since resumed his place as the man in NJPW, and is again poised to be his company's top ace for years to come. When in doubt, a vote for Okada is always a safe bet.

Still, there are other factors to consider beyond storyline presentations. At its core, pro wrestling is a performance art. So, how do you rule out the performer with the best character? And when you consider that, how do you decide between Chris Jericho and Bray Wyatt, the two most entertaining personalities of the year. Not only were they the best on the microphone, but these two found a way to reinvent themselves at a time when many thought their best days were behind them.

Or, do you go with the person who was the best wrestler/in-ring worker on the planet? It's been months since this debate began on Twitter (thank you very much, Seth Rollins), and I still don't have an answer.

After much deliberation, it was only when I quit stressing over all these options that the answer became clear.

Daniel Bryan.

Bryan began 2019 at the top of his profession as the WWE Champion. He was in the midst of a heel run unlike anything wrestling had seen before. After all, how often is it that people boo a man devoted to saving the planet? So environmentally-friendly was Bryan that he introduced a custom championship title with a strap made from hemp and a face plate carved out of wood.

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Cows everywhere rejoice.

Bryan's reign as champion continued into WrestleMania, where his powerful portrayal of a smarmy prick made him the perfect foil for his underdog opponent at the Showcase of the Immortals, Kofi Kingston. Most infuriating about Bryan's attitude towards Kingston was how Bryan had taunted the New Day captain, calling him a B+ player, a label the Planet's Champion was once tagged with by The Authority years earlier.

After losing the title to Kingston, the world wondered what was next for Bryan. Clean losses on television to Rollins and Kingston, coupled with the Wild Card rule, put Bryan's place at the top of the card in question.

However, Bryan reinvented himself again by attempting to resurrect WWE's tag team division. Despite winning Smackdown's top duo's crown, he failed to revive tag team wrestling. But along the way he breathed new life into a performer floundering on the main roster in Erick Rowan. Rowan's association with the former Yes Man raised his profile, as he would go on to play an intricate role in WWE's summer thriller, Who Tried to Kill Roman Reigns?

Once it was revealed that it was Rowan behind the attack, Bryan disassociated himself from the man he once called his intellectual equal and slowly began making his return to being a fan favorite. Meanwhile, Rowan's stock continued to go up after mixing with Bryan and Reigns as Rowan is now a regular fixture on Raw.

As for Bryan, he found himself in a bit of a moral dilemma. A year after his shocking paradigm shift, Bryan found himself submerged in a rising sea of Yes chants, despite his proclamation that the Yes Movement was dead. As he sorted things out, Bryan made time to legitimize another budding superstar in NXT's Adam Cole during a surprise matchup on Smackdown.

Bryan didn't just get shine on Cole, a capable performer in his own right, but he gave the Undisputed Era's leader instant credibility by putting him over clean in the middle of the ring in front of a worldwide audience on Fox during a highly acclaimed episode for the blue brand.

Bryan continued to further the careers of other by putting Bray Wyatt's Fiend over strong at Survivor Series. Despite another high profile loss, it's a testament to Bryan's credibility with fans that interest in his feud with Wyatt is far from waning. In fact, it seems the best is yet to come in this rivalry.

The distinction of Wrestler of the Year is not static in its definition. In a given year, consideration may be based on a performer's value to their company or the quality of their work. But in the case of Daniel Bryan in 2019, he not only continued to demonstrate a high proficiency of technical expertise, he remained true to the art of pro wrestling by being one of its most stirring personas. And somewhere in between, he bolstered WWE's already impressive roster by selflessly elevating several superstars to his level.

A true professional in every word, congratulations to Daniel Bryan, my choice for 2019's Wrestler of the Year.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.