NXT: Predicting the 2019 Year-End Award winners

Rhea Ripley WWE SmackDown
Rhea Ripley WWE SmackDown /
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Male/Overall Competitor of the Year: Adam Cole

You could make a reasonable case for the other nominees in this category. Tommaso Ciampa started the year as NXT Champion and arguably the most despised heel in the industry and seamlessly returned as one of the most over babyfaces in all of WWE upon his return from neck surgery.

Velveteen Dream also put forth a stellar 2019 as North American Champion before losing the title to Roderick Strong and landing on the injured list. Over on NXT UK, few wrestlers have enjoyed a stronger push than WWE United Kingdom Champion WALTER and his work has been equally as impressive.

Heck, it took hours of mulling for me to decide whether Adam Cole or Johnny Gargano should get this award given how important each has been to the other’s catalog of great matches this year.

But ultimately, Cole wins out thanks to his lengthy reign as NXT Champion – which sits at 207 days as of this piece’s publication – and his wealth of great TV matches with the likes of Matt Riddle, Finn Balor, Jordan Myles, and Daniel Bryan. That resume and his “cool heel” aura will probably get him the Overall Competitor award, too.

NXT head man Triple H has always maintained a relatively old-school, NWA/WCW-style booking philosophy in which the show is built around a top heel with a horde of top babyfaces chasing the title. In Adam Cole, he has found the best possible man for that job.