2015 PW Awards: Event of the Year

Winner: NXT TakeOver Brooklyn

“Our nominees were all great, so this is the category I have the least commentary on. I cannot take issue with votes for any of the other events in our list. The Brooklyn show was one of those NXT shows that makes you question if you like it better than the main roster.” – Matt Addie

“I might be a little biased on this one, since I attended it live in person, but this was the event of the year for me. This was the first time that NXT was running a major show outside of Full Sail University, and they had over 10,000 people in the Barclay’s (on the weekend of Summerslam) to witness history. My girlfriend, who is not a huge wrestling fan, came with me to both NXT Takeover and Summerslam that weekend, and at the end of it, she was even blown away by NXT Takeover saying “I don’t really know much, but the NXT event seemed to be WAY better and a lot more fun…” From the moment the lights came on, the crowd was HOT for this one. You had (for presumably one night only) Jushin Thunder Liger taking on Tyler Breeze in a FANTASTIC opening match. You had the debut of Apollo Crews who was one of the hottest indie wrestlers at the time of his signing. You had the Vaudevillains finally overcoming Blake and Murphy to take the NXT Tag Titles (which blew the roof off the Barclays), and then you had Bayley FINALLY winning the NXT Women’s Championship (which was 100 times louder than the Vaudevillains reaction and that blew the roof off the place!). AND … that didn’t even include the fact that Finn Balor and Kevin Owens still had a ladder match to finish out the night… It was just a perfect event from top to bottom, and when watching these events back, none had the same feel and excitement that NXT Takeover: Brooklyn had for me.” – Chris Langevin

“The event that changed the perception of women’s wrestling in the United States and it showed the wrestling world the true potential of the NXT brand.” – Jim LaMotta

“I actually really enjoyed Ultima Lucha, but I think NXT Takeover: Brooklyn was more satisfying. Even though Ultima was a finale show, Takeover: Brooklyn gave me more catharsis as a fan, and really showed off the variety that NXT provides to its audience.” – Lady J

Runner Up: WrestleMania 31

“A little bit biased as I attended it! I’ve never had a more fun night watching wrestling and I think WWE achieved something close to perfection that night.” – Stephen Gutteridge

“Wrestlemania 31 wins this one for me. I loved the event, and it was wonderfully hosted in Levi Stadium. From the return of the nWo and DX to Seth Rollins cashing in Money in the Bank and walking out WWE Championship, this was a blast of an event. Daniel Bryan won the IC Title, The Undertaker got his streak going again vs. Bray Wyatt and of course, Sting made his Wrestlemania debut. It was a tremendous event, and even though this year saw other tremendous outings, top to bottom, you can’t beat Wrestlemania. ” – Dan Rose

Honorable Mention: Wrestle Kingdom 9

“I’ll be honest this was my first viewing of an entire Japanese show since my tape trading days of Big Japan and IWA King of the Death match garbage shows. While I was familiar w/ most of the workers via YouTube, I was blown away by the the show and watched it twice in one day.” – Brian Porter