Pro Wrestling
Pro Wrestling

The Nikkan Battle Awards (日刊バトル大賞, Nikkan Batoru Taishō) are combat sports specific awards that have been handed out by Japanese daily sports newspaper Nikkan Sports annually since 1996. The awards are voted by the readers of the publication and divided by four categories which is Pro Wrestling, Joshi Professional Wrestling, Boxing and Combat Sports (MMA and Kick Boxing).

Pro Wrestling Category[]

MVP Award[]

Year Winner Promotion
1996 Kenta Kobashi All Japan Pro Wrestling
1997 Masahiro Chono New Japan Pro Wrestling
1998 Kenta Kobashi All Japan Pro Wrestling
1999 Keiji Mutoh New Japan Pro Wrestling
2000 Kazushi Sakuraba Pride Fighting Championships
2001 Keiji Mutoh New Japan Pro Wrestling
2002 Bob Sapp K-1

New Japan Pro Wrestling

2003 Yoshihiro Takayama Pro Wrestling NOAH
2004 Kenta Kobashi All Japan Pro Wrestling
2005
2006 Naomichi Marufuji Pro Wrestling NOAH
2007 Mitsuharu Misawa Pro Wrestling NOAH
2008 Keiji Mutoh All Japan Pro Wrestling
2009 Mitsuharu Misawa Pro Wrestling NOAH
2010 Takashi Sugiura Pro Wrestling NOAH
2011 Hiroshi Tanahashi New Japan Pro Wrestling
2012 Kazuchika Okada
2013
2014 Hiroshi Tanahashi
2015 Kazuchika Okada
2016 Tetsuya Naito
2017 Kazuchika Okada
2018 Hiroshi Tanahashi
2019 Tetsuya Naito

Match of the Year Award[]

Year Winner Promotion
1996 Nobuhiko Takada vs. Shinya Hashimoto (April 29) New Japan Pro Wrestling
1997 Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (October 21) All Japan Pro Wrestling
1998 Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (October 31)
1999 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Keiji Mutoh (May 3) New Japan Pro Wrestling
2000 Kensuke Sasaki vs. Toshiaki Kawada (October 9)
2001 Keiji Mutoh and Hiroshi Hase vs. Yuji Nagata and Jun Akiyama (October 8)
2002 Bob Sapp vs. Ernesto Hoost (December 7) K-1
2003 Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (March 1) Pro Wrestling Noah
2004 Jun Akiyama vs. Kenta Kobashi (July 10)
2005 Kensuke Sasaki vs. Kenta Kobashi (July 18)
2006 Kenta vs. Naomichi Marufuji (October 29)
2007 Jun Akiyama and Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi and Yoshihiro Takayama (December 2)
2008 Naomichi Marufuji vs. Kenta (October 25)
2009 Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (November 8) New Japan Pro Wrestling
2010 Masakatsu Funaki vs. Minoru Suzuki (March 21) All Japan Pro Wrestling
2011 Suwama vs. Jun Akiyama (October 23)
2012 Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (February 12) New Japan Pro Wrestling
2013 Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazushi Sakuraba (January 4)
2014 Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (August 10)
2015 Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi (January 4)
2016 Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega (August 13)
2017 Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (January 4)
2018 Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (June 9)
2019 Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito (January 5, 2020)

Outstanding Performance Award[]

Year Winner Promotion
1996 Kenta Kobashi All Japan Pro Wrestling
1997 Kensuke Sasaki New Japan Pro Wrestling
1998 Keiji Mutoh New Japan Pro Wrestling
1999 Kazushi Sakuraba Pride Fighting Championships
2000 Jun Akiyama All Japan Pro Wrestling

Pro Wrestling NOAH

2001 Pro Wrestling NOAH
2002 Bob Sapp New Japan Pro Wrestling

K-1

2003 Shinsuke Nakamura New Japan Pro Wrestling
2004 Kensuke Sasaki
2005 Takeshi Rikio Pro Wrestling NOAH
2006 Naomichi Marufuji
2007 Takeshi Morishima
2008 Kensuke Sasaki Kensuke Office
2009 Go Shiozaki Pro Wrestling NOAH
2010 Prince Devitt New Japan Pro Wrestling
2011 Minoru Suzuki New Japan Pro Wrestling
2012 Kazuchika Okada

Karl Anderson

Fighting Spirit Award[]

Year Winner Promotion
1996 The Great Sasuke Michinoku Pro Wrestling
1997 Kenta Kobashi All Japan Pro Wrestling
1998 Jun Akiyama
1999 Manabu Nakanishi New Japan Pro Wrestling
2000 Kazuyuki Fujita
2001 Taiyo Kea All Japan Pro Wrestling
2002 Shinjiro Ohtani Pro Wrestling Zero1
2003 Hiroshi Tanahashi New Japan Pro Wrestling
2004 Kensuke Sasaki
2005 Akira Taue Pro Wrestling NOAH
2006 Minoru Suzuki All Japan Pro Wrestling
2007 Kenta Kobashi Pro Wrestling NOAH
2008
2009 Takashi Sugiura
2010 Togi Makabe New Japan Pro Wrestling
2011 Takashi Sugiura Pro Wrestling NOAH
2012 Yuji Nagata New Japan Pro Wrestling

Technique Award[]

Year Winner Promotion
1996 Mitsuharu Misawa All Japan Pro Wrestling
1997 The Great Muta New Japan Pro Wrestling
1998 Yoshinari Ogawa All Japan Pro Wrestling
1999 Kendo Kashin New Japan Pro Wrestling
2000 Takashi Iizuka
2001 Osamu Nishimura
2002
2003
2004 Minoru Suzuki All Japan Pro Wrestling
2005
2006 Kenta Pro Wrestling NOAH
2007
2008 Naomichi Marufuji
2009 Kota Ibushi Dramatic Dream Team
2010
2011 Masato Tanaka New Japan Pro Wrestling
2012 Shinsuke Nakamura

Best Tag Team Award[]

Year Winner Promotion
2006 Takeshi Morishima and Mohammed Yone Pro Wrestling NOAH
2007 Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko New Japan Pro Wrestling
2008 Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
2009 Keiji Muto & Masakatsu Funaki All Japan Pro Wrestling
2010 Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega Dramatic Dream Team
2011 Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson New Japan Pro Wrestling
2012 Manabu Soya and Takao Omori All Japan Pro Wrestling
2014 Masato Tanaka and Takashi Sugiura Pro Wrestling NOAH

Pro Wrestling Zero1

Most Supported Promotion[]

Year Winner
2001 New Japan Pro Wrestling
2002
2003 Pro Wrestling NOAH
2004
2005
2006
2007

Joshi Pro Wrestling Category[]

Joshi Puroresu MVP[]

Year Winner Promotion
2001 Joanie Laurer New Japan Pro Wrestling
2005 Mariko Yoshida IBUKI
2006 Yoshiko Tamura NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling
2007 Shinobu Kandori JWP
2008 Kayoko Haruyama
2009 Emi Sakura Ice Ribbon
2010 Nanae Takahashi NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling
2011 Yuzuki Aikawa World Wonder Ring Stardom
2012

Joshi Best Bout Award[]

Year Winner Promotion
2005 Mirai vs. Yumi Ohka (July 17) JDStar
2006 Azumi Hyuga vs. Yoshiko Tamura (December 24) JWP
2007 Yoshiko Tamura vs. Emi Sakura (May 3) NEO
2008 Kyoko Inoue vs. Nanae Takahashi (October 4)
2009 Yoshiko Tamura vs. Emi Sakura (May 5)
2010 Nanae Takahashi vs. Fuka (March 28) Fuka Matsuri

Joshi Tag Team Award[]

Year Winner Promotion
2006 Toshie Uematsu & Ran Yu-Yu JWP
2007 Yoshiko Tamura & Emi Sakura NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling
2008 Toshie Uematsu & Ran Yu-Yu JWP
2009 Emi Sakura & Kaori Yoneyama Ice Ribbon
2010 Yoshiko Tamura & Ayumi Kurihara NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling
2011 Yuzuki Aikawa & Yoko Bito World Wonder Ring Stardom

Joshi Fighting Spirit Award[]

Year Winner Promotion
2005 Fuka JDStar
Haruka Matsuo JWP
2009 Makoto Ice Ribbon
2011 Yuzuki Aikawa World Wonder Ring Stardom

Joshi Technique Award[]

Year Winner Promotion
2005 Toshie Uematsu GAEA Japan
2006 JWP
2008

Most Supported Promotion[]

Year Winner
2007 NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling
2008

Joshi Newcomer Award[]

Year Winner Promotion
2005 Ayumi Kurihara M's Style
2006 Arisa Nakajima JWP

Major Girl's Fighting AtoZ

2007 Francoise Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling
2009 Hamuko Hoshi Ice Ribbon
2010 Yuzuki Aikawa World Wonder Ring Stardom
2011 Yoshiko World Wonder Ring Stardom

Boxing Category[]

MVP Award[]

Year Winner
2007 Daisuke Naito
2008 Hozumi Hasegawa
2009
2010
2011 Kazuto Ioka
2012
2013 Shinsuke Yamanaka
2014 Naoya Inoue
2015 Takashi Uchiyama
2016 Shinsuke Yamanaka
2017 Ryota Murata
2018 Naoya Inoue
2019

Match of the Year Award[]

Year Winner
2007 Pongsaklek Wonjongkam vs. Daisuke Naito (July 18)
2008 Daisuke Naito vs. Shingo Yamaguchi (December 23)
2009 Daisuke Naito vs. Koki Kameda (November 29)
2010 Juan Carlos Burgos vs. Hozumi Hasegawa (November 26)
2011 Toshiaki Nishioka vs. Rafael Marquez (October 1)
2012 Kazuto Ioka vs. Akira Yaegashi (June 20)
2013 Shinsuke Yamanaka vs. Jose Nieves (August 12)
2014 Akira Yaegashi vs. Roman Gonzalez (September 5)
2016 Shinsuke Yamanaka vs Anselmo Moreno (September 16)
2017 Hassan N’Dam vs. Ryota Murata (October 22)
2018 Naoya Inoue vs. Juan Carlos Payano (October 7)
2019 Naoya Inoue vs. Nonito Donaire (November 7)

Fighting Spirit Award[]

Year Winner
2008 Daisuke Naito
2009
2010 Ao Takahiro
2011 Kazuto Ioka

Combat Sports Category[]

MVP Award[]

Year Winner
2007 Semmy Schilt
2008 Masato
2009
2010 Alistair Overeem
2011
2012 Fedor Emelianenko
2013 John Jones

Match of the Year Award[]

Year Winner Promotion
2007 Masato vs. Buakaw Banchamek (October 3) K-1
2008 Masato vs. Yoshihiro Sato (October 1)
2009 Masato vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (July 13)

Fighting Spirit Award[]

Year Winner
2007 Junichi Sawayashiki
2008 Badr Hari
2009 Yuya Yamamoto

External Links[]