10 Shocking Winners Of Wrestling Observer Awards
6. Johnny Ace - Match Of The Year 1996
Johnny Ace's biggest influence on wrestling has been behind the scenes as the Head of Talent Relations in WWE. Under his real name of John Laurinaitis, Ace also began appearing as an on-screen authority figure in 2011, which... well, maybe we shouldn't dwell on that too much.
This was far from Laurinaitis' first on-screen appearance. As Johnny Ace, he was a well-travelled wrestler who competed for promotions including WCW and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where Ace would form a tag team with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams.
At AJPW's Super Power series in 1996, Ace and Williams teamed up to take on the legendary Japanese team of Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama. It's a match that many Western fans won't be aware of, but it's definitely worth seeking out as Dave Meltzer awarded it five stars and it later picked up the Observer's much-coveted Match of the Yea" award.
It's hard to believe that the same man who used to ride scooters down to the ring was capable of a five star classic in Japan. Then again, Steve Austin used to ride an ATV down to the ring and what's an ATV if not a big, motorised scooter?