List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards
Inspirational Wrestler of the Year
The PWI Inspirational Wrestler of the Year award recognizes the most inspirational professional wrestler of the year. The award has been given yearly since 1972, and in this time, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, Jerry Lawler, Bayley and Eddie Guerrero are the only people to have won the award more than once, with all five winning twice.

List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards

Section Title: Inspirational Wrestler of the Year
Table Section Text: The PWI Inspirational Wrestler of the Year award recognizes the most inspirational professional wrestler of the year. The award has been given yearly since 1972, and in this time, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, Jerry Lawler, Bayley and Eddie Guerrero are the only people to have won the award more than once, with all five winning twice.

Year	Winner	Runner-up	Second runner-up	Third runner-up

1972	Lord Alfred Hayes	N/A	N/A	N/A

1973	Johnny Valentine	N/A	N/A	N/A

1974	Dick Murdoch	N/A	N/A	N/A

1975	Mike McCord	N/A	N/A	N/A

1976	Bruno Sammartino	Wahoo McDaniel	Bob Roop	Bob Armstrong

1977	Bob Backlund	Don Muraco	Bruno Sammartino	Terry Funk

1978	Blackjack Mulligan	Bruno Sammartino	Mr. Wrestling II	Jim Brunzell

1979	Chief Jay Strongbow	Ric Flair	Mr. Wrestling II	Dusty Rhodes

1980	Junkyard Dog	Ricky Steamboat	Verne Gagne	Mr. Florida

1981	Bob Backlund (2)	Ted DiBiase	Tito Santana	Mr. Wrestling II

1982	Roddy Piper	Jimmy Snuka	Mil Máscaras	Jimmy Valiant

1983	Hulk Hogan	Roddy Piper	Buzz Sawyer	Buddy Rose

1984	Sgt. Slaughter	Kerry Von Erich	Kevin Von Erich	Bob Backlund

1985	Mike Von Erich	Paul Orndorff	Jim Duggan	Kevin Von Erich

1986	Chris Adams	Magnum T.A.	Kerry Von Erich	Steve Williams

1987	Nikita Koloff	Dynamite Kid	Chris Adams	Superstar Billy Graham

1988	Jerry Lawler	Kerry Von Erich	Road Warrior Animal	Jake Roberts

1989	Eric Embry	Nikita Koloff	Billy Jack Haynes	Ric Flair

1990	Sting	Hulk Hogan	Jerry Lawler	Nikolai Volkoff

1991	The Patriot	Jerry Lawler	Sid Justice	Bill Dundee

1992	Ron Simmons	The Undertaker	Ricky Steamboat	Eric Embry

1993	Cactus Jack	Lex Luger	The 1-2-3 Kid	Brutus Beefcake

1994	Bret Hart	Terry Funk	The Guardian Angel	Dave Sullivan

1995	Barry Horowitz	Sabu	Antonio Inoki	Dan Severn

1996	Jake Roberts	Jushin Thunder Liger	Ahmed Johnson	Rey Misterio, Jr.

1997	Terry Funk	Stone Cold Steve Austin	Perry Saturn	Roddy Piper

1998	Goldberg	Stone Cold Steve Austin	Mankind	Shane Douglas

1999	Hulk Hogan (2)	Bret Hart	X-Pac	Jim Duggan

2000	Booker T	Mick Foley	Crash Holly	Chyna

2001	Kurt Angle	Chris Jericho	Shane McMahon	Spike Dudley

2002	Eddie Guerrero	Hollywood Hulk Hogan	Shawn Michaels	Chris Benoit

2003	Zach Gowen	Kurt Angle	A.J. Styles	Rey Mysterio

2004	Eddie Guerrero (2)	Chris Benoit	Eugene	William Regal

2005	Chris Candido	Matt Hardy	Steve Williams	Rey Mysterio

2006	Matt Cappotelli	Rey Mysterio	Hardcore Holly	CM Punk

2007	Jeff Jarrett	CM Punk	John Cena	Sting

2008	Ric Flair	CM Punk	John Cena	Jeff Hardy

2009	Ricky Steamboat	Tommy Dreamer	Sting	John Cena

2010	Shawn Michaels	Kurt Angle	John Cena	Rob Van Dam

2011	Rosita	Gregory Iron	Rob Fury	CM Punk

2012	Jerry Lawler (2)	Austin Aries	Shawn Daivari	John Cena

2013	Darren Young	Dallas Page	Daniel Bryan	John Cena

2014	Daniel Bryan	Eric Young	Chris Melendez	Ashley Sixx

2015	Bayley	John Cena	Kevin Owens	Sami Zayn

2016	Bayley (2)	Cody Rhodes	Seth Rollins	Dean Ambrose

2017	Christopher Daniels	John Cena	Shane McMahon	Mia Yim

2018	Roman Reigns	Cody	Tommy Dreamer	LuFisto

Sentence(s)

Johnny Valentine was one of the recipients of the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award.

final_sentence: Johnny Valentine was one of the recipients of the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award.