Bradley Jay offers up his non-traditional awards for a very non-traditional year. But would you expect anything else from your resident WWE NXT expert? NeXperT?

These are the traditional superlatives. In a non-traditional year, we have some non-traditional winners.

Tag Team of the Year: Brit-Am Brawlers

This award is bittersweet. It’s been a down year for the NXT tag team division. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch have always been good together. I’m not saying they don’t deserve this, because they have had a great year and their title win was long overdue. Burch in particular has elevated his game. I just wish they had more competition for it. And I wish they had a proper tag name that they actually used. 

Most Improved Female Wrestler: Kay Lee Ray

When I first saw KLR, she was a hot sloppy mess. I thought it was a matter of time before she killed herself or her opponent in the ring. Now, she’s not just a big fish in a small pond. She’s a world class talent who would be at the top of any woman’s division anywhere. And if you want to see a master class in selling, watch her falls count anywhere match against Piper Niven. 

Most Improved Male Wrestlers: Ever-Rise

Their name is horrible. They share their music with Jack Starz. Everything about them is generic. They deserve an award just for overcoming all of that. I don’t know if they’ve been given more freedom in the ring, or if they are putting in overtime at the Performance Center. Whatever it is, they’ve gone from “bathroom break” to “I could see them as tag team champions.”   

PPV/Special of the Year: Halloween Havoc

This was the most consistently excellent show of the year. Amazing wrestling with just the right amount of Halloween ambiance. Ripley versus Gonzalez was a great hoss fight. Shirai and Lerae tried to murder each other. Lumis and Grimes had my favorite cinematic match of the year. There was a Pete Dunne heel turn. A themed show like this had the potential to be a bowl full of stale raisins and rock candy. Instead, we got dark chocolate and Skittles!

Feud of the Year: Kyle O’Reilly versus Pete Dunne

It started in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. After a pandemic layoff, the rivalry kicked into high gear. O’Reilly thought Dunne had his back; instead he got a chair shot to the back. They battled in the War Games advantage ladder match. They started War Games. They fought to be the number one contender. Every time O’Reilly and Dunne were in the ring together, it was nothing less than 4 stars, usually closer to 5. Right now they are tied at 2 wins a piece. I need a tiebreaker. We need a tiebreaker. Wrestling needs a tiebreaker. Fight Forever.   

Male Wrestler of the Year: Leon Ruff

If a year ever needed a wrestler, 2020 needed Leon Ruff. His smile is electric. His energy is infectious. His athleticism is abundant. I have no data to back this up, but I’m guessing he was told hundreds of times he’d never make it as a wrestler. His North American Title victory was easily the feelgood moment of the year. Anyone who says Ruff is a joke is 100% missing the point. If Leon Ruff’s story doesn’t bring a smile to your face, you have no soul. And the icing on the cake? He got engaged! Leon Ruff is proof that 2020 wasn’t as bad as we thought it was.  

Female Wrestler of the Year: Dakota Kai

I’m a Dakota Guy. Since her epic turn on Tegan Nox at War Games 2019, Kai has been untouchable. She’s great on the mic. She’s great solo. She’s half of the best female tag team. She can kick your face off. She can twist you into a knot and make you tap. I’ve been saying for months that she is the best female wrestler in the best female division, so that makes her the best female wrestler on the planet. In 2020 Kai has been the most consistently entertaining wrestler in all of NXT. In a normal year, she would easily be the overall wrestler of the year, but this is no normal year. 

Wrestler of the Year: Every wrestler on the NXT roster 

As I was reviewing matches of the year, one thing became clear to me: the rest of the world fell into chaos, but NXT never missed a beat. Wrestlers talk about the rush of stepping through the curtain to the roar of the crowd. The instant feedback and gratification of the cheers and boos. They didn’t have that this year, but that never stopped them. If for only a few hours a week, they made sure we had something to think about other than toilet paper shortages, forest fires and murder hornets. From all 3 brands, NXT, 205 Live, and NXT UK, there isn’t enough space to highlight every wrestler who turned in special performances, breakout performances or improved by leaps and bounds. It wasn’t a perfect year, but I’ll overlook the duds to say “Thank you NXT for continuing to be the Black and Gold Standard of professional wrestling.”        

Coming next week: The Top 6 Pre-Quarantine Matches