All 33 Winners Of Wrestling Observer Newsletter's 2019 Awards REVEALED

3. Wrestler Of The Year: Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho AEW
AEW/TNT

As evidenced elsewhere in the list, there were fewer all-rounders with more on offer to entice voters than Chris Jericho.

Working major events for both NJPW and AEW with different monikers and motivations, he found career form as the genuine Ric Flair-like World Champion figurehead WWE never truly had the faith to anoint him as. He compromised nothing of himself in the process too - he'll gleefully magnify and monetise everything he can because he's wise and experienced enough to know what sticks. For a man with a catchphrase collection as long as his iconic "list", "lexicon" or loo-roll of Dean Malenko moves, "A Little Bit Of The Bubbly" turned out to be one of his most potent inadvertent braingasms.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett