Tag: ESPYs

Cody Rhodes’ return wins Best WWE Moment ESPY Award

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Cody Rhodes is now an ESPY award winner.

It was announced during Wednesday’s ESPY Awards on ABC that Rhodes had won the Best WWE Moment award for his return to WWE at WrestleMania 38, where he appeared as a surprise mystery opponent for Seth Rollins. Rhodes appeared on stage tonight to present the award for Best Comeback Athlete.

Voting started with 16 nominations, which were eventually whittled down to 4. The other three nominations included Undertaker being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, Stone Cold Steve Austin stunning Vince McMahon, Theory, and Pat McAfee at WrestleMania 38, and Big E cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase and winning the WWE Championship.

Previous winners of the award include Roman Reigns returning to action following a recurrence of leukemia (2019) and Sasha Banks & Naomi making history as the first Black women to main event WrestleMania (2021).

Following WrestleMania 38, Rhodes continued his feud with Rollins, defeating him at WrestleMania Backlash. Rhodes is currently out of action after tearing his pectoral muscle just days before Hell in a Cell. Despite the injury, Rhodes worked through Hell in a Cell and defeated Rollins for a third time. The following Monday on Raw, Rollins attacked Rhodes with a sledgehammer, writing him off television.

Final four revealed for Best WWE Moment ESPY Award

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Voting for this year’s Best WWE Moment ESPY Award is down to the final four candidates.

After starting with a bracket of 16, the following moments are still in contention to win the award:

  • Cody Rhodes returns to WWE at WrestleMania 38
  • “Stone Cold” Steve Austin stuns everyone (Theory, Vince McMahon, and Pat McAfee) at WrestleMania 38 night two
  • The Undertaker gets inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame
  • Big E cashes in his Money in the Bank briefcase to win the WWE Championship

The final stage of voting is now open. The ESPYS will air live on ABC at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, July 20.

Cody Rhodes tweeted about his return making it to the final four: “Truly a moment I couldn’t envision and a door I thought would never be open again. A gigantic gamble and I went all in, wrestling fans returning that energy and seeing so many people vote for this moment fills my heart up. Damn I love it! Let’s win an ESPY”

Big E also tweeted: “Please continue to send in your pity votes. I also have a mildly uncomfortable bunion if that helps.”

This is the third year that the Best WWE Moment category has been included in the ESPYS. Roman Reigns returning from leukemia won the award in 2019. In 2021, Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair becoming the first Black women to main event WrestleMania was the winner.

The ESPYS celebrate “the greatest moments and achievements in sports over the last year.”

ESPN reveals nominees for Best WWE Moment ESPY Award

Posted on by Joseph Currier

ESPN has revealed the nominees for this year’s Best WWE Moment ESPY Award.

The 16 nominees for the award have been placed into a bracket, with fan voting beginning today and taking place in three stages through July 8. The ESPYS will air live on ABC at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, July 20.

The Best WWE Moment nominees are:

Left side of the bracket —

  • Brock Lesnar wins men’s Royal Rumble match vs. Bianca Belair wins Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 38
  • John Cena returns at Money in the Bank 2021 vs. Ronda Rousey wins women’s Royal Rumble match
  • WWE welcomes back live crowds in July 2021 vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin stuns everyone at WrestleMania 38 night two
  • Roman Reigns becomes Undisputed WWE Universal Champion at WrestleMania 38 vs. Cody Rhodes returns at WrestleMania 38

Right side of the bracket —

  • Big E cashes in Money in the Bank briefcase to win WWE Championship vs. The Miz turns against Logan Paul at WrestleMania 38
  • Becky Lynch returns at SummerSlam 2021 vs. The Undertaker gets inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame
  • Edge defeats Seth Rollins inside Hell in a Cell at Crown Jewel 2021 vs. Wee Man body slams Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 38
  • Brock Lesnar returns at SummerSlam 2021 vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin returns to the ring at WrestleMania 38 night one

The ESPYS celebrate “the greatest moments and achievements in sports over the last year.”

This is the third time that the Best WWE Moment category has been included in the ESPYS. In 2019, Roman Reigns returning from leukemia won the inaugural award. Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair becoming the first Black women to main event WrestleMania won the award in 2021.

There was no Best WWE Moment category at the 2020 ESPYS due to the award show changing its focus amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

WWE’s Matt Camp and Ryan Pappolla hosted a bracketology special on YouTube to unveil this year’s nominees:

Banks vs. Belair wins ‘Best WWE Moment’ at 2021 ESPYS

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: WWE

Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair’s historic main event match from WrestleMania 37 took home the “Best WWE Moment” award in the 2021 ESPYS.

Banks vs. Belair beat out 15 other WWE moments to win the award. Fan voting started with a bracket of 16 moments and ran through a final round with the top four moments.

Edge winning the 2021 men’s Royal Rumble, Bad Bunny teaming with Damian Priest at WrestleMania and delivering a “Bunny Destroyer,” and Belair winning the 2021 women’s Royal Rumble were the three other finalists.

Banks and Belair became the first Black women to main event WrestleMania when they faced off at WrestleMania 37 night one this April. Belair defeated Banks to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

Banks vs. Belair was also the second-ever women’s match to main event WrestleMania. Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 35 in 2019 was the first time that women main evented the show.

Belair tweeted that she made the dress she wore at the ESPYS tonight: “If y’all see pics of me at the @ESPYS tonight I just want y’all to know I made my dress… Lol. Sorry I’m too proud @espn @WWE”

Roman Reigns returning to WWE television and announcing that his leukemia is in remission won the inaugural “Best WWE Moment” ESPY Award in 2019. There wasn’t a “Best WWE Moment” ESPY given out last year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 version of the award show shifted its focus from celebrating athletic achievement to highlighting service, perseverance, and courage from within the world of sports.

‘Best WWE Moment’ category returning for 2021 ESPYS

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The “Best WWE Moment” category is back for this year’s ESPY Awards.

ESPN revealed the categories for this year’s ESPYS on Wednesday, with the Best WWE Moment category making its return after being introduced in 2019. Roman Reigns returning to WWE television and announcing that his leukemia is in remission won the award in its first year.

There was no Best WWE Moment category at the 2020 ESPYS as, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the award show shifted its focus from celebrating athletic achievement to highlighting service, perseverance, and courage from within the world of sports. WWE’s Titus O’Neil was one of the nominees for the  Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award last year.

This year’s ESPYS award show is taking place on Saturday, July 10 and will air live on ABC at 8 p.m. Eastern time. There are 16 nominees for the Best WWE Moment award. They’ve been divided into eight first-round matchups, and fan voting is now open. Voting for the quarterfinals will begin on Monday, June 21. The final four will then be unveiled on Friday, June 25.

Here are the nominees and first-round matchups for this year’s Best WWE Moment award:

Match one —

  • Dominik Mysterio makes in-ring debut at SummerSlam, with dad Rey Mysterio in his corner
  • Roman Reigns returns to SmackDown and aligns with Paul Heyman

Match two —

  • Pat McAfee confronts and punts Adam Cole
  • Goldberg returns to challenge Drew McIntyre for WWE Championship

Match three —

  • Keith Lee breaks Adam Cole’s record 403-day reign as NXT Champion at The Great American Bash
  • Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair become the first Black women to battle in a WrestleMania main event

Match four —

  • Edge wins the 2021 Men’s Royal Rumble and becomes the third person ever to win from the No. 1 spot
  • Kevin Owens stuns Logan Paul at WrestleMania

Match five —

  • Sasha Banks wins the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Hell in a Cell
  • Randy Orton sets The Fiend on fire at TLC

Match six —

  • Undertaker celebrates his 30th anniversary and gives his final farewell
  • Bobby Lashley wins WWE Championship for the first time

Match seven —

  • Bayley turns on Sasha Banks
  • Bad Bunny teams with Damian Priest at WrestleMania and unveils a “Bunny Destroyer”

Match eight —

  • Bianca Belair wins the Women’s Royal Rumble, sets record for longest time spent in the match
  • The Miz cashes in MITB at Elimination Chamber, becomes the first two-time Grand Slam champ

Roman Reigns’ return wins Best WWE Moment ESPY award

Posted on by Joseph Currier

ESPN has revealed the winner of the inaugural Best WWE Moment ESPY award.

On the red carpet special for tonight’s ESPYS, Roman Reigns returning on the February 25 episode of Raw and revealing that his leukemia is in remission was announced as the winner of the Best WWE Moment award. This is the first time WWE has had its own category at the ESPYS.

“For me just to be able to be healthy was the only award I needed. This is just so flattering for everyone to kind of lift me up and show me that I have that support system and that love from everybody,” Reigns said. “It was never about awards or anything like that. It was just about awareness, it was just about sharing my story and hopefully someone could use it for a little bit of hope.”

Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, Triple H, and Stephanie McMahon also appeared on the red carpet show. Rollins revealed the winner of WWE’s award.

Reigns’ return won a fan vote over Lynch winning the Raw and SmackDown Women’s titles in the main event of WrestleMania 35, Kofi Kingston defeating Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35, and Ronda Rousey defeating Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam 2018 to win her first title in professional wrestling.

Reigns later appeared on the ESPYS broadcast and presented an award to college basketball coach and fellow cancer survivor Jim Calhoun.

Daniel Cormier won the Best MMA Fighter ESPY award on the red carpet special. Amanda Nunes, Henry Cejudo, and Israel Adesanya were the other nominees.

This is also the first time MMA has had its own ESPY. MMA fighters and boxers were previously grouped into the same category.

Best WWE Moment category added to ESPY Awards

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE is getting its own category at this year’s ESPY Awards.

ESPN revealed the nominees and opened up fan voting for the awards today. There’s a WWE-specific category for the first time ever, with four nominees vying for the Best WWE Moment of the year award.

The nominees are: Roman Reigns returning to Raw and announcing that his leukemia is in remission, Becky Lynch defeating Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair to win the Raw and SmackDown Women’s titles in the main event of WrestleMania 35, Kofi Kingston defeating Daniel Bryan to win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35, and Ronda Rousey defeating Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam 2018 to win her first title in professional wrestling.

There’s also a Best MMA Fighter category at the ESPYS for the first time. The UFC’s Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes, Henry Cejudo, and Israel Adesanya are nominated for the award.

MMA fighters and boxers were previously both represented in the Best Fighter award.

The ESPYS celebrate the past year across sports. This year’s ceremony is being hosted by Tracy Morgan. It’s taking place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday, July 10 and will air live on ABC at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Conor McGregor, Robbie Lawler, and Holly Holm up for 2016 ESPYs

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

On Wednesday night, ESPN announced its nominees for this year’s ESPY awards, the winners of which will be announced on the live  July 13 show from Los Angeles where John Cena will be the host.

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor is nominated along with Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, U.S. snowboarder Chloe Kim, and Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns in the category of Best Breakthrough Athlete.

Holly Holm’s win over Ronda Rousey was nominated for Biggest Upset, along with Middle Tennessee over Michigan State in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, and Roberta Vinci over Serena Williams in the U.S. Open. Because fans vote for the awards, Holm could have a good shot at winning. 

Holm was also nominated for Best Play Of The Year for her November 2015 knockout of Rousey in Australia.

McGregor and Robbie Lawler were nominated for Fighter of the Year which is weird since McGregor last lost in a fight against Nate Diaz, while many thought Lawler lost in his last outing against Carlos Condit, a fight he won via a razor-thin split decision.