IMPACT Wrestling had a prosperous year in 2019 that included new talent signees, four pay-per-views, and finding a new home on television with AXS TV.
In celebration of 2019 drawing to a close, IMPACT Wrestling presented the first part of their end of the year awards in a special airing of IMPACT on December 28, with the second half set to air on January 4.
IMPACT Wrestling shared the following with Fightful revealing the winners from December 28 and previewing the awards to be presented on January 4.
2019 IMPACT! YEAR END AWARDS HONOR TAYA VALKYRIE, SAMI CALLIHAN AND WILLIE MACK AS THE FIRST WINNERS WERE REVEALED TONIGHT ON A SPECIAL EPISODE OF IMPACT! ON AXS TV
LOS ANGELES – Dec. 28, 2019 – IMPACT Wrestling tonight announced the first three winners of the 2019 IMPACT! Year End Awards during the first of two special episodes of IMPACT! on AXS TV. Bringing home gold, Taya Valkyrie was awarded Knockout of the Year, Sami Callihan’s world title victory was named “Moment of the Year” and fan-favorite Willie Mack was declared the One to Watch in 2020. The IMPACT! Year End Awards are IMPACT Wrestling’s annual fan-voted awards show honoring the best athletes and moments of the year.
Callihan’s Moment of the Year victory over World Champion Brian Cage was the culmination of his year-long crusade to become the top wrestler in IMPACT and also marked a historic moment for IMPACT Wrestling as the promotion finally made its AXS TV debut that night. Since winning IMPACT Wrestler of the Year in 2018, Callihan and his crew of fellow Ohioans in oVe have wreaked havoc across the IMPACT Roster and Callihan will look to take home the award for a second consecutive year next Saturday, Jan. 4 before defending his title for the first time against bitter rival Blanchard at “Hard To Kill” Sunday, Jan. 12.
Valkyrie adds Knockout of the Year to her impressive list of 2019 accolades, which include her current reign as Knockouts Champion—the longest in IMPACT Wrestling history—and her third reign as the AAA Reina de Reinas Champion, both titles she won from Tessa Blanchard. A breakout star this year in IMPACT, Mack’s high-energy matches and infectious personality during his 2019 run with tag-team partner Rich Swann has caught the attention of the wrestling world and established the Los Angeles-native as a fan-favorite as evidenced by winning One to Watch in 2020.
Following the special, IMPACTWrestling.com exclusively announced Rich Swann as the X-Division Star of the Year and Tessa Blanchard's "Magnum" as Finishing Move of the Year.
Next Saturday, Jan. 4 on another special episode of IMPACT! on AXS TV, hosts Josh Mathews and Scott D’Amore will hand out the awards for Tag Team of the Year, Wrestler of the Year and the coveted IMPACT Match of the Year, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
IMPACT! on AXS TV returns to its regular Tuesday primetime schedule Jan. 7 ahead of Hard To Kill Sunday, Jan. 12 live from the Bomb Factory in Dallas. Tickets for Hard To Kill are available here.
Here is the list of 2019 IMPACT! Year End Award winners so far:
Knockout of the Year – Taya Valkyrie
Moment of the Year – Sami Callihan wins the World Title on IMPACT!’s AXS TV debut
One to Watch in 2020 – Willie Mack
Awards still to be announced include:
X-Division Star of the Year – Rich Swann
Finishing Move of the Year – Tessa Blanchard's "Magnum"
Tag Team of the Year – Winner Revealed on IMPACT! Saturday, Jan. 4
Wrestler of the Year – Winner Revealed on IMPACT! Saturday, Jan. 4
IMPACT Match of the Year – Winner Revealed on IMPACT! Saturday, Jan. 4
About IMPACT Wrestling
IMPACT Wrestling is one of the world’s largest wrestling entertainment properties, creating more than 300 hours of original content annually across television and other digital platforms. IMPACT Wrestling specializes in premium content, pay-per-view events, products and merchandise, as well as the management and promotion and training of professional wrestlers. Its highly successful flagship show IMPACT! is televised on numerous networks including Fight Network and GameTV in Canada, Twitch.TV, Pursuit Channel, and AXS TV in the US, Sony ESPN in India, 5STAR and Fight Network in the United Kingdom, SuperSport in Africa and MVStv in Mexico. IMPACT Wrestling also streams a 24-hour channel on Twitch.tv and provides a premium channel on Pluto TV.
IMPACT Wrestling's next pay-per-view, Hard To Kill takes place on January 12. The event will see Tessa Blanchard challenge Sami Callihan for the IMPACT World Championship.
