AJ Styles, The Miz and WWE's MVPs of 2016

AJ Styles was WWE's premier attraction in 2016, with the dynamo leaping, punching and boasting his way to the top spot in Vince McMahon's circus.

After years of thriving elsewhere—from TNA to New Japan Pro Wrestling—The Phenomenal One finally had an opportunity to shine on the WWE stage. And boy, did he shine.

Styles electrified the WWE product in and out of the ring—against everyone from Roman Reigns to James Ellsworth. He upped his game when called upon, becoming the best big-match performer on the roster in just his first year.

A renaissance from Chris Jericho, a revolutionary year from Charlotte Flair and a motley collection of moments from Dean Ambrose led to those Superstars making their own cases to be named the MVP of the squared circle.

Who had the most notable year? Who most delivered as a wrestler and an orator? 

The Superstars were stacked up against each other here based on the masterpieces they produced on the mat, how many of their promos left impressions on the WWE fanbase and whose characters and charisma most made for must-see TV.

Being a part of great rivalries and starring in memorable stories affected the rankings as well. Prolificity counted, too. John Cena, Goldberg and Brock Lesnar fell off the list, thanks to limited appearances. 

Let's dive into the discussion of which Superstar earned the right to be called WWE's MVP in 2016.

Honorable Mentions

• The New Day
• Roman Reigns
• Sami Zayn
• Seth Rollins

The New Day entertained in 2016 with more fun-loving, off-kilter antics. The trio has to be considered here for that alone. The group also composed a number of high-octane matches near the end of its historic reign as tag champs. 

A thin tag team division and a lack of quality opponents hurt The New Day, though. The trio simply didn't have any stellar rivalries.

Seth Rollins missed a good chunk of the year because of a major knee injury he suffered in 2015. His run as a babyface disappointed at times, too. Still, Rollins' excellence in the ring has to be acknowledged.

The Architect bettered the WWE product each time he stepped into the squared circle. 

Zayn had two great stretches in 2016: his battle with Kevin Owens and his feud with Braun Strowman. He announced himself as a future star and an elite storyteller with these two stories.

For too much of the year, though, WWE pushed him to the background. Zayn fell behind the likes of Owens and Chris Jericho, thanks to the company's failure to take advantage of him more often.

7. Sasha Banks

Top Matches

• vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair (WrestleMania 32)
• vs. Charlotte Flair (Raw, July 25)
• vs. Charlotte Flair (Hell in a Cell)
• Vs. Charlotte Flair (Roadblock: End of the Line)

Key Rivals

• Charlotte Flair 

Sasha Banks spearheaded a revolutionary year for women's wrestling.

She and Flair produced an enthralling rivalry, complete with a stack of stellar showings. The Boss and The Queen made full use of a variety of gimmick matches, many times marking the first time women met in such bouts.

Banks also provided the WWE product with plenty of emotion. Her first Raw Women's Championship win was a stirring moment. And each time she lost, she effectively spilled her guts out in the ring as she addressed her defeat.

The Boss sat out too long to be ranked higher, however. Before she and Flair started to tear at each other's flesh, WWE kept her sidelined, wasting her momentum.

More standout rivalries outside of Flair would have helped her MVP case, too. The top candidates were at the centers of multiple impressive stories.

6. Kevin Owens

Top Matches

• vs. Dean Ambrose (Royal Rumble)
• vs. The Miz vs. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (Extreme Rules)
• vs. Sami Zayn (Battleground)
• vs. Seth Rollins (Hell in a Cell)

Key Rivals

• Dean Ambrose
• Sami Zayn
• Seth Rollins 

For his in-ring trash talk alone, Kevin Owens deserves to be in the conversation as one of 2016's top performers. He made even the most insignificant matches memorable by what he yelled at grounded opponents.

He and Chris Jericho were Raw's most hilarious duo. Their chemistry popped.

His unending verbal abuse of commentator Tom Phillips was comedy gold.

Owens was a steady hand between the ropes as well. He consistently delivered—be it against archenemy Zayn or against Ambrose in a battle for the Intercontinental Championship. 

KO's marquee rivalry with Rollins underwhelmed, though. And he didn't have nearly the number of classics to his name as some of his peers.

5. Dean Ambrose

Top Matches

• vs. Kevin Owens (Royal Rumble)
• vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (Fastlane)
• vs. Triple H (Roadblock)
• vs. AJ Styles (Backlash)
• vs. AJ Styles (TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs)

Key Rivals

• AJ Styles
• Brock Lesnar
• Chris Jericho
• Kevin Owens
• John Cena

WWE looked to showcase others more at times, but Dean Ambrose always shone. The Lunatic Fringe was a versatile performer, flourishing regardless of whether he was part of a comedic tale or a dramatic feud.

His antics during the James Ellsworth angle tickled. In preparing for his war with Lesnar, though, he displayed his brawler side. Both versions of Ambrose were fun to watch.

The company didn't change its mind, but ahead of WrestleMania, he made the case for WWE to put him in the main event over Reigns.

He produced strong work against just about everybody. His feud with Jericho fizzled out, though. And many fans weren't satisfied with the climax of his rivalry with Lesnar.

Ambrose consequently had more of an All-Pro year than one worthy of an MVP award. 

4. Chris Jericho

Top Matches

• vs. AJ Styles (Fastlane)
• vs. Sami Zayn (Clash of Champions)
• vs. AJ Styles vs. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens (Raw, April 4)

Key Rivals

• AJ Styles
• Dean Ambrose
• Seth Rollins

When WWE compiles Chris Jericho's Hall of Fame video package, it's going to include a good amount of 2016.

The year turned out to be one of Jericho's best. His turn as a scarf-wearing, list-making irritant was hugely entertaining. Time and again, he was one of the funniest elements of Raw.

Many wrestlers would kill to be as popular as The List of Jericho became.

His comic shenanigans were first-class. His ring work was strong, too, but we didn't see Ruthless Aggression Y2J. Jericho was more of a solid, dependable veteran in 2016 than a show-stealing Superstar night in and night out.

3. Charlotte Flair

Top Matches

• vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks (WrestleMania 32)
• vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (Clash of Champions)
• vs. Sasha Banks (Hell in a Cell) 
• vs. Sasha Banks (Raw, Nov. 28)

Key Rivals

• Becky Lynch
• Natalya
• Sasha Banks

Few wrestling nicknames are as fitting as Charlotte Flair's. She was indeed The Queen of WWE in 2016, growing into a top-tier performer during a trailblazing year.

Her feud with Banks produced classic after classic. As they battled for the Raw Women's Championship, they earned the right to main-event Raw and Hell in a Cell and to be talked about on the level of Lita vs. Trish Stratus as the greatest WWE women's feud we've seen.

Beyond that, Flair established herself as one of the company's top heels. Whether she was abusing Dana Brooke, bringing her father, Ric Flair, to tears or leaving The Boss a bloody mess, Flair captivated. 

Her list of white-hot promos wasn't as long as The Miz's, and her collection of great matches wasn't quite as robust as AJ Styles', but she killed it in 2016, just her fourth year in the business.  

2. The Miz

Top Matches

• vs. AJ Styles (Raw, Feb. 15)
• vs. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn (Extreme Rules)
• vs. Dolph Ziggler (Backlash)
• vs. Dolph Ziggler (No Mercy)

Key Rivals

• Cesaro
• Daniel Bryan
• Dolph Ziggler

Long dismissed as a reality star playing a pro wrestler, The Miz shut his critics up in 2016 with the run of his life.

The Awesome One was arguably the best heel in the company all year. He thrived as a braggart who believed his own hype. His mic work was machete-sharp, as he cut down foes with truth-tinged promos. 

There was no better example of that than when The Miz tore into SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan on Talking Smack.

With that fiery speech, he injected the post-SmackDown show with a heavy dose of buzz. And he showed off just how compelling he has become.

In the ring, The Miz turned in his best year to date. His battles with Ziggler, Styles and Dean Ambrose showcased a marked improvement as an in-ring storyteller. His bouts helped make SmackDown the superior brand.

The Miz gets bonus points for restoring some of the Intercontinental Championship's relevance, too. 

1. AJ Styles

Top Matches

• vs. Roman Reigns (Extreme Rules)
• vs. Roman Reigns (Payback)
• vs. John Cena (Money in the Bank)
• vs. John Cena (SummerSlam)
• vs. Dean Ambrose (TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs)

Key Rivals

• Dean Ambrose
• Chris Jericho
• John Cena
• Roman Reigns
• James Ellsworth

AJ Styles took over WWE.

Soon after he debuted at the Royal Rumble in January, The Phenomenal One proved to be one of WWE's biggest assets. Every doubt anyone had about his skills not translating from TNA soon vanished. He flourished in rivalries with Reigns and Cena, and he even made a star out of the chinless warrior, Ellsworth.

Styles made everyone look like dynamite in the ring. 

He rattled off a series of standout TV matches and killed it every time out on PPV. By the time 2016 was done, WWE had more than enough material to make a stellar DVD of Styles' first year's worth of showdowns.

No one produced more memorable matches in 2016. No one had the list of intriguing feuds that Styles had, either.

As SmackDown's captain and a key figure in WWE's march into the New Era, Styles made it clear he not only belonged on wrestling's biggest stage, but also deserved to be WWE royalty.