Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including Mick Foley divesting himself from WWE, the WBD/Netflix/Paramount story, Tokyo Sports Awards, ratings, Arena Mexico and AAA this weekend, AEW and NXT TV reports plus spoilers for the next several shows. A packed show as always so check it out~!
Tag: tokyo sports awards
Saya Kamitani makes history in Tokyo Sports Awards
Stardom wrestler Saya Kamitani has made history in the 2025 Tokyo Sports Awards, becoming the first female to be named MVP.
The award winners were unveiled today with Kamitani taking the top prize. She follows Zack Sabre Jr., Tetsuya Naito, Kazuchika Okada, and Shingo Takagi as the most recent winners.
Kamitani is the current NJPW Strong Women’s Champion and World of Stardom Champion. Speaking in character, Kamitani said she shattered all preconceptions by becoming the first female to win this award. She vowed to take pro wrestling to new heights that cannot be imagined.
A double title match featuring Kamitani is scheduled for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4. It will be Kamitani vs. Syuri in a match where the Strong Women’s Championship and IWGP Women’s Championship are both on the line.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, who is set to retire at the January 4 Tokyo Dome show, finished second in MVP voting but was recognized through winning the Technique Award.
The Tokyo Sports awards have existed for five-plus decades now and are considered very important to the legacy of wrestlers in Japan. Here is the full list of this year’s winners:
Tokyo Sports Awards 2025 —
- MVP: Saya Kamitani
- Best Match: OZAWA vs. Kaito Kiyomiya from NOAH The New Year 2025
- Women’s MVP: Saya Kamitani
- Outstanding Performer: Konosuke Takeshita
- Fighting Spirit Award: Sareee
- Technique Award: Hiroshi Tanahashi
- Best Tag Team: Knockout Brothers (OSKAR & Yuto-Ice)
- Rookie of the Year: Kaisei Takechi of DDT Pro Wrestling
- Special Topic Award: Teppei Arita of the comedy duo Cream Stew for his pro wrestling YouTube channel
WOR: Netflix changes, Dynamite and NXT, ratings
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including what changes are coming with Raw’s move to Netflix, Bronson Reed’s surgery, who won the Japanese Awards this year, ratings, AEW Dynamite and NXT reviews, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Toni Storm & her return match (spoilers), Dave’s Dynamite story
5:28: What will international fans see when WWE moves to Netflix next month
12:32: Bronson Reed undergoes foot surgery, Zack Sabre Jr. wins Tokyo Sports MVP
20:16: Ratings
24:29: Global Fight League details
32:24: AEW Dynamite Winter is Coming recap
55:42: WWE NXT recap
1:07:32: AEW Rampage spoilers
Zack Sabre Jr. wins 2024 Tokyo Sports MVP Award
In recognition of the stellar year he had in 2024, Zack Sabre Jr. has received one of the biggest honors in Japanese pro wrestling.
Tokyo Sports unveiled its annual award winners on Tuesday with Sabre receiving the MVP Award. The awards have existed for five decades now, and this is only the second time a non-Japanese wrestler has been named MVP. Bob Sapp was the first in 2022.
Sabre said he’s really pleased to win the award and believes that this was the best year he’s ever had in his career. His goal was to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and enter Wrestle Kingdom 19 as champion — and he has accomplished that. Sabre will defend the title against Shota Umino in the main event of the January 4 Tokyo Dome show. At Wrestle Dynasty the next day, Sabre is set to wrestle Ricochet. The IWGP World Heavyweight title will be on the line if Sabre is still champion.
This is the first World title reign Sabre has had in NJPW. He won the G1 Climax this summer and then dethroned Tetsuya Naito for the belt.
“Of all the things I set out to achieve this year, I thought Tokyo Sports MVP was the hardest to attain,” Sabre said. He noted that this is one of the greatest achievements not just of his career but of his life.
Naito was the Tokyo Sports MVP for 2023, the third time he’s won the award. Other recent winners include Kazuchika Okada, Shingo Takagi, and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Tokyo Sports is a long-running magazine and online publication. Their awards are considered important to the legacy of wrestlers in Japan.
Here is the full list of winners for 2024:
- MVP: Zack Sabre Jr.
- Best Match: Yota Tsuji vs. Hirooki Goto in the New Japan Cup final
- Women’s Grand Prize: Sareee
- Outstanding Performer: Yuma Anzai
- Fighting Spirit Award: Kaito Kiyomiya
- Technique Award: Shinya Aoki
- Best Tag Team: The Saito Brothers (Rei & Jun Saito)
- Rookie of the Year: Oleg Boltin
Big Audio Nightmare: Tokyo Sports Awards, early Wrestle Kingdom thoughts
The Big Audio Nightmare is back to talk about everything happening in the very busy world of Japanese professional wrestling.
This week’s topics include:
- The Tokyo Sports Awards and why you shouldn’t care about them
- El Phantasmo’s breakout performance in the World Tag League
- Thoughts on January’s Wrestle Kingdom card as it starts to come together
- NOAH’s very NJPW-dependent big upcoming show
- Why Stardom’s Dream Queendom card looks good but the vibes are off
- Notes on AJPW, Dragon Gate, GLEAT and more
Click Here to Listen (sub needed)
Tetsuya Naito wins 2023 Tokyo Sports MVP Award
Tokyo Sports has revealed its award winners for 2023.
The complete list of winners was announced on Tuesday. The awards have been presented annually since 1974, with Dave Meltzer noting that they are the most talked about pro wrestling awards in Japan and are historically the most important as far as legacy for Japanese wrestlers.
Tetsuya Naito was named the recipient of the 2023 MVP Award. This is the fourth time that Naito has won MVP in his career. He also took home the award in 2016, 2017, and 2020.
Naito was the winner of this year’s NJPW G1 Climax tournament. At Wrestle Kingdom 18 on January 4, he’s challenging SANADA for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
Here are all of this year’s Tokyo Sports Award winners:
- MVP: Tetsuya Naito
- Best Match: The Great Muta vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
- Women’s Grand Prize: Tam Nakano
- Outstanding Performer: Hiromu Takahashi
- Fighting Spirit Award: Kenoh
- Technique Award: Yuma Aoyagi
- Best Tag Team: Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
- Rookie of the Year: The Saito Brothers (Rei & Jun Saito)
NJPW’s English-language website published in-character comments from Naito, Goto & YOSHI-HASHI, and Takahashi about their wins.
Goto said he’s “hugely happy” about winning a Tokyo Sports Award for the first time.
“Thank you for this award. Apropos of nothing, I’ve been doing this 20 years now, and this is my first award, so I’m hugely happy,” Goto said. “I’m very grateful to my partner Yoh-chan, and to all the fans for their support. Bishamon will keep tearing it up in the wrestling world.”
Tokyo Sports reveals 2022 award winners
Kazuchika Okada is this year’s Tokyo Sports MVP Award winner.
Okada received 15 out of 17 editorial votes from the publication to win the award for the fifth time.
“I’m definitely delighted to win this award in this important year,” Okada said to NJPW1972.com. “I had wanted Mr. Inoki to come and watch a match this year, and it’s definitely a shame that he couldn’t do that. But taking this award is something that I’m sure he’ll be happy to see looking on, and I obviously plan to keep riding this wave, to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at his memorial event to do him proud again.”
Okada’s match with Will Ospreay at the G1 Finals was also voted Best Bout. Okada had the following to say regarding the award:
“To win that award, especially with a match that came right at the end of such a grueling tournament is something I’m really proud of, and all the more so as the winner. It’s been a tough year and a rewarding one. The matches have been that way, and so has seeing some of the legends that have come to watch and be a part of these celebrations. It’s been a heck of a 50th year, and it’s a real pleasure to be recognised for my work within it.”
“Being awarded the Tokyo Sports Pro-Wrestling Match Of The Year 2022: Vs Okada in the G1. Although I don’t like being reminded I lost & Im not sure if I get any extra money for winning Thank you so much for the award, lot of super talented guys competed for it,” Ospreay wrote on Twitter.
The annual awards were announced at 5 a.m. Japan Standard Time on December 16, 2022. The full list of winners is as follows:
- MVP: Kazuchika Okada (New Japan Pro-Wrestling)
- Best Bout: New Japan Pro-Wrestling G1 Final (August 18, Nippon Budokan) Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
- Best Tag Team: Great O Khan & Jeff Cobb (New Japan Pro-Wrestling)
- Outstanding Performance Award: Kento Miyahara (All Japan Pro-Wrestling)
- Fighting Spirit Award: Great O Khan (New Japan Pro-Wrestling)
- Technique Award: El Lindaman (GLEAT)
- Women’s Wrestling Grand Prize: Syuri (Stardom)
- Newcomer Award: Yuma Anzai (All Japan Pro-Wrestling)
- Professional Wrestling Grand Prize Honor Award: The late Antonio Inoki
Congratulations to Kazuchika Okada on being voted the 2022 Tokyo Sports pro-wrestling MVP!
Okada vs Ospreay MOTY!
Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb take best tag team!
O-Khan Fighting Spirit award!Lindaman takes Best Technique, Syuri female MVP!https://t.co/xwwutnLEbL#njpw pic.twitter.com/CCNtK7maPX
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) December 15, 2022
Tokyo Sports reveals 2021 award winners
Shingo Takagi is this year’s Tokyo Sports MVP Award winner.
Takagi, who has spent most of the year as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, commented after winning.
“Thank you for voting me as MVP,” he said upon accepting the award (via NJPW’s website). “I don’t have the time here to really express how I feel, or how happy I am at the award, but to hear that the nominations were mainly for me and Keiji Muto, that shows that [the Yamanashi prefecture] is churning out the best in Japan and the world, and that’s pretty cool in my book.”
The two nominees for the award included Takagi and Keiji Muto, with Takagi winning the first round with a majority of 14 votes. Muto, along with Go Shiozaki, won the Best Bout award, which took place in Pro Wrestling NOAH back on February 12 of this year.
The full list of awards is as follows:
- MVP: Shingo Takagi (NJPW)
- Best Tag Team: Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW)
- Best Bout: Go Shiozaki vs. Keiji Muto (NOAH)
- Outstanding Performer: Jake Lee (AJPW)
- Technique: Great-O-Khan (NJPW)
- Fighting Spirit: Konosuke Takeshita (DDT)
- Joshi: Utami Hayashishita (Stardom)
- Rookie: Yuki Arai (Tokyo Joshi Pro)
- Achievement: Rumi Kazama
Big Audio Nightmare: Previewing Road To Tokyo Dome, STARDOM & more
It’s a solo holiday express edition of the Big Audio Nightmare this week as I guide you through the world of Japanese professional wrestling as we head into the final weeks of 2020.
Topics this week include:
- The final word on Desperado vs. Hiromu
- An in-depth look at the Tokyo Sports Awards
- A preview of the Road to Tokyo Dome and a discussion of how the expanding COVID-19 outbreak in Japan could affect things
- Previews of upcoming major shows from STARDOM, Dragon Gate, AJPW, and more.
Get all that and much more on this edition of the Big Audio Nightmare.
Tokyo Sports reveals 2020 award winners
Tokyo Sports has announced their annual awards, with Tetsuya Naito winning top honors.
This year’s MVP award goes to Naito, who defeated Kazuchika Okada to win the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles at Wrestle Kingdom 14. He held those titles for most of the year, minus a short EVIL run with the titles during the summer.
The Okada/Naito bout from January 5 won Match of the Year. This marks the eighth time Okada has won the award, tying with Kenta Kobashi, The only person who has won the award more times is Genichiro Tenryu with nine.
Hiromu Takahashi, who returned from a major neck injury, won the Fighting Spirit award.
Stars from other promotions won the rest of the awards. Current GHC Heavyweight champion Go Shiozaki won the Outstanding Performer of the Year. DDT star Tetsuya Endo won the Technique award. Giulia from Stardom won the Women’s Wrestling Grand Prize, while Takashi Sugiura & Kazushi Sakuraba won Tag Team of the year.
No winner for the Newcomer award was named.
Kazuchika Okada won Tokyo Sports 2015 MVP Award
Tokyo Sports announced its 2015 pro wrestling awards:
The MVP was Kazuchika Okada who won on the first ballot, and became only the fifth wrestler in history to be a three-time winner.
Okada vs. Genichiro Tenryu on 11/15 was named Match of the Year.
In a weird one, Atsushi Onita & Chigusa Nagayo were named tag team of the year.
Minoru Suzuki was award the Most Outstanding Wrestler award.
Tomoaki Honma was named Best Technical Wrestler.
Io Shirai was named Woman’s wrestling MVP.
Genichiro Tenryu got the Distinguished Service Award.
Also honored were Eri Tosaka, Saori Yoshida and Kaori Icho, who captured world championships in amateur wrestling.