2016 PW Awards: MVP (Most Valuable Wrestler to His/Her promotion)

Winner: Matt Hardy

“It would be foolish of me to try and make a case for anyone to win this award besides Matt Hardy. Every promotion has an MVP, but one could argue TNA is actually dependent on Matt Hardy & his “Broken” character. Without him, without Brother Nero & Deletion, who knows where the promotion would be at this point? If the character and the subsequent storylines had not connected with fans, who knows if there would even still BE a TNA product? Lots of promotions bank on a “star” or a “standard-bearer”, but when the book is closed on TNA one day, their savior is going to be printed as Matt Hardy.” – Lady J

“He is doing things that we have never seen in professional wrestling…in 2016. That is impressive. He is personally responsible for a lot of restored interest in IMPACT Wrestling, which is beyond valuable to TNA.” – Matt Addie

“There were two major storylines in regards to TNA Impact Wrestling this year. The first would be the ongoing battle between the powers that be behind the scenes that would and still could result in the inevitable demise of the promotion. We won’t get into the that. The second would be the emergence of what could arguably end being the greatest pro wrestling character of all-time – ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy. I’ll be honest with you guys, I didn’t give one, let alone two f**s about Matt Hardy before he adopted this persona. That said, I couldn’t get enough of him in 2016. Without Matt Hardy, TNA is likely an afterthought heading in 2017. With Matt Hardy, they remain a must see product whenever the word ‘Delete’ is involved in the title.” – Dave Reno

“Matt Hardy is the only reason I watched Impact at all this year. He recreated himself as Broken Matt Hardy, and it resulted in some gems this year. He and Brother Nero (Jeff Hardy) had a fun little fiasco at the Hardy Compound. Dammit, Dave Reno got me hooked on Hardy this year. Great stuff, and undoubtedly the only reason I watched Impact.” – Dan Rose

“Without Matt Hardy, TNA would have been known for basically one thing in 2016: financial and legal issues. Yes they had some good otherwise (such as the true rise of Eli Drake), but most everything on-screen was overshadowed by the off-screen issues. That wasn’t the case with Matt Hardy. As 2016 comes to a close, we’re talking about the on-screen product in TNA, and that’s solely due to Matt Hardy.” – Aaron Oster

Honorable Mention: Tetsuya Naito

“No one was more important to their respective promotion in 2016, than Tetsuya Naito. That’s a fact. The year began with NJPW mourning the departure of 2 of their top 4 stars, and the world wondered how they would fill that void. The unbelievable truth, is that NJPW didn’t miss a beat in 2016, even reporting financial growth over the previous year. Tetsuya Naito won the New Japan Cup, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and the IWGP Intercontinental Championship; feuding on-screen with New Japan’s aces, while taking the fight off-screen against NJPW ownership.” – Michael Chadder

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