Diva Dirt presents its fifth annual Writers’ Choice Awards, as decided by the Diva Dirt team. As we come to the end of 2015, we have picked the best of the best to be awarded our Writers’ Choice trophies.
Wrestler of the Year: Sasha Banks
Each year, the task of selecting the Wrestler of the Year is simple: we take a look at the matches that impressed us the most over the last 12 months and single out the woman who was present in the most of them. In 2015, that woman was undoubtedly Sasha Banks.
Let’s count the ways:
First, in February, Sasha risked life and limb in a Fatal Four-Way match at NXT TakeOver: Rival, all in the name of winning the NXT Women’s Championship. She did just that, outsmarting Bayley, Becky Lynch and Charlotte to win the coveted title and finally take her place atop the division:
One week later, Sasha gave her first title defense, taking on former champion Charlotte. The two old friends and new rivals did battle for over 10 minutes, Sasha overcoming a Figure Four around the ring post to toss Charlotte off of the top rope and pin her (using the ropes for leverage) to escape with the belt:
At WrestleMania 31 weekend, Sasha wrestled two matches for the Axxess crowd, defeating Bayley one-on-one and then retaining the NXT Women’s Title in a Triple Threat match against Becky and Charlotte. She wasn’t making the leap to the main roster quite yet, but it certainly helped her cause to impress in front of WWE audience:
In May, Sasha and Charlotte made headlines and history when they wrestled in the main event of NXT’s first live event in Philadelphia. Main eventing an event as hyped as NXT Philly was a huge leap forward for NXT’s Divas division and, as it turned out, served as foreshadowing for Sasha’s other headlining match later that year…
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Mere days later, Sasha put on her best performance yet at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, retaining the Women’s Title against Becky Lynch in a match that outright stole the show. With submissions, suicide dives and hold reversals that would make your head spin, Becky and Sasha put on NXT’s most brutal Divas match to date, capping it all off with a top rope drop by Sasha to Becky that opened the door for the Bank Statement. Becky tapped, allowing Sasha to retain the belt and cement her Women’s Title reign as the greatest thus far:
When July rolled around, Sasha, Becky and Charlotte made the leap to the main roster with an explosive debut on Raw. They weren’t done with NXT quite yet, though, because that very same week, Sasha main evented NXT with Charlotte in a Women’s Title match. The 14-minute bout demonstrated the pair’s unique chemistry and storied history, ending with an exhausted Charlotte tapping to the Bank Statement. Clearly, these two were ready for prime time:
Sasha’s first main roster Pay-Per-View match came swiftly, as she represented Team B.A.D. in a Triple Threat match against Team Bella’s Brie Bella and Team PCB’s Charlotte at Battleground in late July. Sasha didn’t win the match – she was indisposed as Brie tapped to the Figure Eight – but she definitely impressed the WWE crowd, as soon they took to chanting, “We want Sasha!” during Raws, SmackDowns and most Divas matches that dared not feature The Boss:
Shortly after this, Sasha made another big statement, wrestling Paige in a 10-minute match that allowed her to demonstrate all the cleverness and skill she developed in NXT. She outwrestled and outmaneuvered the former Divas Champion, adding her to the long list of Divas that have submitted to the Bank Statement:
Divas Champion Nikki Bella also joined that list in August, when she fell to Sasha in a non-title match on Raw. Sasha continued to impress, pushing the champ past her limit and prompting Diva fans to ask: Why isn’t Sasha getting a title shot?
With all of this going on, it would be easy to forget that Sasha was still the NXT Women’s Champion. That wouldn’t be forgotten for long, because that following Saturday, she put the title on the line against Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn. The two wrestled in what many (including Diva Dirt) have named their Match of the Year. Sasha would lose the title to Bayley, but the night was a net gain for her, because once again, a Sasha Banks match stole the show:
Because Sasha apparently never rests, she competed again the next night at SummerSlam, teaming with Naomi and Tamina Snuka to take on Team PCB and Team Bella in a Tag Team Elimination match. Though Team B.A.D. were the first team to be eliminated, Sasha still made her mark, performing a tandem flip with Naomi over the top rope, sailing into their fellow Divas and once again providing a match its “Holy shit!” moment:
Sasha’s next major moment turned out to be her biggest feat of all: main eventing a TakeOver special. At TakeOver: RESPECT, she challenged Bayley for the NXT Women’s Title in the first Divas Iron Man match. The women once again stole the show, meeting every expectation and bringing the crowd (including the entire NXT roster) to their feet. Sasha lost to Bayley, but as she stood tearfully accepting a bouquet of flowers from NXT GM William Regal, you got the sense that her mission was accomplished anyways:
In November, Sasha was the closest she’s come to the Divas Title thus far, competing in a Fatal Four-Way match for the number one contendership against Becky Lynch, Brie Bella and Paige. She came close to earning the title match, locking Becky in the Bank Statement. Out of nowhere came Paige, who tossed Sasha into the ring post and claimed the victory for herself, hitting Becky with the RamPaige for the pin:
A week later, Sasha regrouped to face Becky on Main Event. Though the match was on a lower-tier show, the Divas put their all into it, recalling their epic bout at TakeOver earlier that year. It was a mere shade of that match, of course, but it served as an important reminder that even as main roster Divas, Becky and Sasha still have that NXT magic in them:
In Sasha’s last major match of the year, she once again took on Becky. This time, the bout had a bit more shine to it, taking place on the TLC Kickoff show. With some handy help from the Team B.A.D. cohorts, Sasha picked up yet another win, once more making her case for entering the Divas Title hunt:
Though she’s yet to get that much-deserved Divas Championship shot, Sasha is well on her way. 2016 is shaping up to be the year she breaks out on the main roster; some are even speculating that there’s a WrestleMania 32 match against Charlotte in her future. If that moment comes, it will have been earned in the months of 2015, when practically every show-stealing Diva match and moment included Sasha, in some shape or form. Hell, forget stealing the show; Sasha stole 2015.
The fans, with their ever-present “We want Sasha!” chants, can surely attest to that.
That wraps up this year’s Writers’ Choice Awards reveal! Here’s to an even better 2016.
