#superlatives18

[njpwdaily]

NJPWDAILY SUPERLATIVES 2018 MOST LIKELY TO GRACE THE COVER OF GQ MAGAZINE (MOST ATTRACTIVE) → Kota Ibushi (54.8% of votes)

RUNNER-UPS: Hiroshi Tanahashi (19%), Hiromu Takahashi (11.9%), SANADA (7.1%), Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito & KUSHIDA (2.4%)

2017 WINNER: Hiroshi Tanahashi

[njpwdaily]

NJPWDAILY SUPERLATIVES 2018 BEST TAG TEAM → Golden☆Lovers (38.1% of votes)

Without winning championships or World Tag League 2018, the reunited Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi reigned supreme as the best tag team this year. Their year started with their long-awaited reunion at The New Beginning in Sapporo in the middle of the implosion of Bullet Club, featured a MOTY candidate against The Young Bucks in Long Beach, and culminated with another MOTY candidate against Wrestle Kingdom 13 opponents Will Ospreay and Hiroshi Tanahashi at Road To Tokyo Dome. GL proved that their just their impact would be all they needed to stand at the top of the tag team division, and despite their future in 2019 being fuzzy, they can rejoice in their 2018 being strong enough. 

RUNNER-UPS: EVIL & SANADA (28.6%), Roppongi 3K, G.O.D & Best Friends (9.5%), The Young Bucks & Time Machine (2.4%)

2017 WINNER: War Machine

[njpwdaily]

NJPWDAILY SUPERLATIVES 2018 BEST HEAVYWEIGHT WRESTLER → Tetsuya Naito (28.6% of votes)

Perhaps it was the controversial loss to Okada at Wrestle Kingdom, or the re-gaining of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at Wrestling Hinokuni against the formidable Minoru Suzuki, or the consistently great in-ring performance in G1 Climax 28, or the protection and loyalty to his L.I.J brethren, or the defiant attitude towards the legendary Chris Jericho. Whatever the reason, fans found themselves more endeared than ever to Tetsuya Naito in 2018. And what’s not to love anyway? Despite not holding the IWGP Heavyweight Championship during the year, Naito more than proved that he belongs at the head of the pack and, in his own tranquilo way, can carry New Japan on his shoulders in the foreseeable future.

RUNNER-UPS: Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi (19%), Hiroshi Tanahashi (11.9%), Kazuchika Okada (9.5%), Jay White & Tomohiro Ishii (4.8%), Zack Sabre Jr. (2.4%)

2017 WINNER: Kazuchika Okada

[njpwdaily]

NJPWDAILY SUPERLATIVES 2018 BEST YOUNG LION → Shota Umino (76.2% of votes)

21 year-old Shota Umino took 2018 by storm with massive in-ring improvement over the months and ability to adapt. This year saw the overseas debuts of Hirai Kawato (CMLL) and Tomoyuki Oka (RevPro/UK) while Katsuya Kitamura and Tetsuhiro Yagi unfortunately left NJPW for their respective reasons. While there wasn’t a shortage of young lions at the ready, there needed to be that next breakout star on the domestic front, and perhaps no other carried himself as strongly as Umino. Things can only go up from here in 2019 as El Hijo de Red Shoes looks to capitalize on his growth and either become that next lion on excursion, or make a name for himself in Japan. Regardless of the choice, we’re rooting for him all the way.

RUNNER-UPS: Ren Narita (14.3%), Hirai Kawato / Kawato-San (7.1%), Yuya Uemura (2.4%)

2017 WINNER: Hirai Kawato

[njpwdaily]

It’s that time again for njpwdaily’s year-end superlatives!

Much like last year, this is a somewhat long survey, but the “required” parts are the more serious questions while the non-”required” parts are just for fun. Once you complete all the questions marked with a red asterisk (*), you are free to submit the survey. You have from December 21 to December 31 to submit, and all results will be posted starting January 1.

Message this blog if you run into any technical issues or are curious/confused about how to answer anything, and, of course, have fun!

POTENTIAL FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS UNDER THE "KEEP READING”

What happened to Best Return/Debut? — There weren’t a lot of debuts or returns this year, other than Taiji Ishimori, Shingo Takagi, and Chris Sabin. The former two were the most buzzworthy, so there’d really be no point in voting when the answers are rather clear.

What’s the deal with “2 title holders”, etc.? — I’m counting the champions going into the start of 2018 who defended their championships at Wrestle Kingdom.

Why is ___ nominated for ___ superlative? — For the miscellaneous superlatives, to make the results charts clearer, I decided to use multiple choice on most of them. The selection process wasn’t easy because I didn’t want to nominate someone for weird superlatives, and I also didn’t want unbalanced noms. So some may have an “Other” option, while others don’t. Those that don’t are because I didn’t think they were too subjective or open-ended.

How do I even vote for these?? — You can use kayfabe or your personal preferences! I personally find it more exciting to use kayfabe because I have to reason why I chose a nomination; other folks prefer just basing off of what they liked and remembered and that’s it. It’s up to you because remember: this is just for fun.