Most Popular Wrestler of The Year
The PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year Award recognizes the best face or heroic professional wrestler of the year as voted by readers of the magazine. Sting and John Cena have won this award a record 4 times. Rob Van Dam was the only wrestler ever to win the award as a heel.
| Year | Winner | First runner-up | Second runner-up | Third runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Jack Brisco / Fred Curry | |||
| 1973 | Chief Jay Strongbow | |||
| 1974 | Billy Robinson | |||
| 1975 | Mil Máscaras | |||
| 1976 | Wahoo McDaniel | Chief Jay Strongbow | Mr. Wrestling II | Ivan Putski |
| 1977 | André the Giant | Dusty Rhodes | Bob Backlund | Mil Máscaras |
| 1978 | Dusty Rhodes | André the Giant | Ricky Steamboat | Bob Backlund |
| 1979 | Ivan Putski | Mr. Wrestling II | ||
| 1980 | Mr. Wrestling II | Dusty Rhodes | André the Giant | Bruno Sammartino |
| 1981 | Tommy Rich | Bob Backlund | Dusty Rhodes | |
| 1982 | André the Giant | Tommy Rich | Hulk Hogan | |
| 1983 | Jimmy Snuka | Dusty Rhodes | David Von Erich | The Junkyard Dog |
| 1984 | Kerry Von Erich | Hulk Hogan | Dusty Rhodes | Sgt. Slaughter |
| 1985 | Hulk Hogan | Magnum T.A. | Kerry Von Erich | Tito Santana |
| 1986 | Roddy Piper | Hulk Hogan | Ricky Morton | Nikita Koloff |
| 1987 | Dusty Rhodes | Randy Savage | ||
| 1988 | Randy Savage | Sting | Lex Luger | |
| 1989 | Hulk Hogan | Ric Flair | The Ultimate Warrior | |
| 1990 | Sting | The Ultimate Warrior | Lex Luger | |
| 1991 | Sting | Hulk Hogan | Sid Justice | The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) |
| 1992 | The Ultimate Warrior | The Undertaker | Ron Simmons | |
| 1993 | Lex Luger | Sting | Bret Hart | Dustin Rhodes |
| 1994 | Sting | Bret Hart | The Undertaker | Hulk Hogan |
| 1995 | Shawn Michaels | Sting | Diesel | |
| 1996 | Randy Savage | Sycho Sid | The Undertaker | |
| 1997 | Sting | Steve Austin | Ric Flair | Diamond Dallas Page |
| 1998 | Steve Austin | Goldberg | The Rock | |
| 1999 | The Rock | Steve Austin | Goldberg | Mankind |
| 2000 | Rob Van Dam | Chris Jericho | Goldberg | |
| 2001 | Rob Van Dam | The Rock | Kurt Angle | |
| 2002 | Hulk Hogan | Booker T | The Rock | |
| 2003 | Kurt Angle | Steve Austin | Rob Van Dam | Rey Mysterio |
| 2004 | John Cena | Chris Benoit | Eddie Guerrero | Eugene |
| 2005 | Batista | A.J. Styles | Rey Mysterio | |
| 2006 | Samoa Joe | John Cena | Rey Mysterio | Sting |
| 2007 | John Cena | The Undertaker | Sting | CM Punk |
| 2008 | Jeff Hardy | Shawn Michaels | Samoa Joe | The Undertaker |
| 2009 | John Cena | Sting | ||
| 2010 | Randy Orton | Rob Van Dam | Daniel Bryan | |
| 2011 | CM Punk | Sting | Randy Orton | |
| 2012 | John Cena | Sheamus | Randy Orton | Jeff Hardy |
Read more about this topic: Pro Wrestling Illustrated Awards, Active Awards
Famous quotes containing the words popular and/or year:
“People try so hard to believe in leaders now, pitifully hard. But we no sooner get a popular reformer or politician or soldier or writer or philosopher—a Roosevelt, a Tolstoy, a Wood, a Shaw, a Nietzsche, than the cross-currents of criticism wash him away. My Lord, no man can stand prominence these days. It’s the surest path to obscurity. People get sick of hearing the same name over and over.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
“Death’s a sad bone; bruised, you’d say,
and yet she waits for me, year after year,”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)