So, WWE Backstage announced the winners for the Year-End awards and one of the surprises for many was Bray Wyatt winning WWE Backstage Male Superstar of the Year.
This could be one of the more confusing or outright wrong choice for many.
He went up against some of the best in the world with Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar, and Kofi Kingston vying for their name to be selected. There are plenty of reasons for and against any of this group.
The competition
Seth Rollins beat Lesnar twice to win the Universal championship, but he lost to “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt (would’ve been twice had HIAC had a legitimate ending). He defended the championship against everyone that wanted a shot from Braun Strowman to AJ Styles. He also relentlessly defends the WWE on social media against any naysayer.
Brock Lesnar is a legend. He’s one of the most dominant superstars ever to step into the ring, and he defeated Kofi Kingston in nine seconds to win the WWE heavyweight championship. But he’s a part timer. While being a part time champion isn’t anything new, the fact he misses months at a time and rarely shows up on the weekly shows is a huge mark against it.
Kofi Kingston had a great moment at WrestleMania 35, and like Rollins, he defended the championship against anyone that challenged him. Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, and Randy Orton. His story was one of proving himself against any and all that thought him undeserving or held him back. Unfortunately, the WWE did him a serious disservice by having him lose to Lesnar in such a quick match. The loss was expected, but to have one of the more entertaining champions go down like a jobber was simply wrong.
Bray Wyatt has long been a creative genius that had his opportunities dangled in front of him only to have them pulled away by WWE creative and McMahon time and time again. This past year, his new gimmick of the Fiend caught everyone’s attention and quickly became the promotion’s top star. It’s extremely rare that an arena will drown everyone in boos when their hero is hit or knocked down, but that’s what happens with the Fiend every time. He’s refreshing and gave WWE creative the excuse they needed to restart some tired or worn out gimmicks like Rollins being a goodey-goodey face, bringing back the old Daniel Bryan and the YES! movement, and allowing Finn Balor to return to one of his old stomping grounds in NXT as a heel.
Why only champions?
This is one thing that really sticks with me. Why were the choices only the WWE or Universal champions since WrestleMania 35?
It’s safe to say Daniel Bryan should’ve been on this list, as well as Roman Reigns and probably several others. The thing is, just because someone’s the champion doesn’t mean they’re the best wrestler. The fact the remaining three are listed as nominees instead of finalists and that fans apparently didn’t get to vote (at least that I’ve found. I may be wrong) does this more of a disservice than not. Of course, this could’ve been voted on by their fellow superstars, and that would be a bigger boost knowing their fellow wrestlers think so highly of them. In the end, we may not know how the selection process works, but we’ve been given something to chew on, and in the end, isn’t that what the WWE probably intended?
