Wrestler Of The Year
1. John Cena (Winner)
2. Randy Orton
3. Cody Rhodes
4. Mark Henry
5. Bully Ray
6. Christian
7. Jeff Jarrett
8. Kurt Angle
9. Dolph Ziggler
10. Sting
Most Improved Star Of The Year
1. R-Truth (Winner)
2. Gunner
3. Mark Henry
4. Cody Rhodes
5. James Storm
6. Bully Ray
Breakout Star Of The Year (Debuting in TNA or WWE)
1. Booker T (Commentary) (Winner)
2. Hunico
3. Garrett Bischoff
4. Mason Ryan
5. Austin Aries
In-Ring Worker Of The Year
1. Randy Orton (Winner)
2. Christian
3. Kurt Angle
4. AJ Styles
5. Dolph Ziggler
Tag Team Of The Year
1. Mexican America (Winner)
2. Bully Ray and Scott Steiner (Turning Point PPV)
3. The Usos
4. Beer Money
5. The Awesome Truth
Female Wrestler Of The Year
1. Madison Rayne (Winner)
2. Winter
3. Mickie James
4. ODB
5. Angelina Love
Non-Wrestling Personality Of The Year
1. Michael Cole (Winner)
2. John Laurinaitis
3. Karen Jarrett
4. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin (Tough Enough)
5. Ricardo Rodriguez
Best Promos Of The Year
1. Michael Cole (Winner)
2. Bully Ray
3. Cody Rhodes
4. The Miz
5. Karen Jarrett
Announcer Of The Year
1. Michael Cole (Winner)
2. Josh Matthews
3. Booker T
4. Mike Tenay
5. Matt Striker
Angle Of The Year
1. John Cena vs. The Rock (Winner)
2. John Cena vs. CM Punk
3. Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler
4. Kurt Angle vs. Jeff and Karen Jarrett
5. Cody Rhodes' Broken Nose
Match Of The Year
1. John Cena vs. CM Punk - Money In The Bank (Winner)
2. Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett - Lockdown
3. Royal Rumble match
4. Randy Orton vs. Christian - cage match on Super Smackdown 30/8
5. Bully Ray vs. AJ Styles - Slammiversary
PPV Of The Year
1. Money In The Bank (Winner)
2. Extreme Rules
3. Summerslam
4. Royal Rumble
5. Vengeance
TV Show Of The Year
1. Smackdown (Winner)
2. Raw
3. Impact
4. Tough Enough
5. Superstars
Shocker Of The Year
1. Teddy Long announces a tag team match (Winner)
2. The Rock returns
3. CM Punk goes from amazing to shit almost overnight
4. CM Punk wins the world title and escapes the Chicago arena
5. The Rock vs. John Cena booked for WrestleMania 28
Worst Wrestler Of The Year
1. Crimson (Winner)
2. Daniel Bryan
3. Sin Cara
4. Robert Roode
5. Ted Dibiase
Falling Star Of The Year
1. Mr. Anderson (Winner)
2. CM Punk
3. Rob Van Dam
4. Samoa Joe
5. Jerry Lawler
Worst Newcomer Of The Year
1. Sin Cara (Winner)
2. Andy from Tough Enough
3. Mark Haskins
4. Jack Evans
5. Anthony Nese
Worst Worker Of The Year
1. Sin Cara (Winner)
2. Great Khali
3. Jim Ross
4. Chyna
5. Crimson
Worst Tag Team Of The Year
1. Generation Me (Winner)
2. Ink Inc.
3. Air Boom
4. Divas of Doom
5. TNT - Tara 'n' Tessmacher
Worst Female Wrestler Of The Year
1. Beth Phoenix (Winner)
2. Chyna
3. Miss Tessmacher
4. Kaitlyn
5. Maxine
Worst Non-Wrestling Personality Of The Year
1. Jim Ross (Winner)
2. Hornswoggle
3. Dixie Carter
4. The Rock
5. Mick Foley
Worst Promos Of The Year
1. Matt Hardy (Winner)
2. Jeff Hardy
3. Daniel Bryan
4. The Rock
5. CM Punk
Worst Announcer Of The Year
1. Jerry Lawler (Winner)
2. Jim Ross
3. Todd Grisham
4. Kevin Kelly
5. Taz
Worst Angle Of The Year
1. Crimson "Undefeated" (Winner)
2. CM Punk turns face and his semi-shoot promo wars with Triple H, promises to make the WWE title "interesting" and then doesn't
3. The New Nexus and The Corre
4. Daniel Bryan wins Money in the Bank and then the World Title
5. Divas of Doom
Worst Match Of The Year
1. Crimson vs. Matt Morgan - Turning Point (Winner)
2. Jeff Hardy vs. Sting - Victory Road
3. The Miz vs. John Cena - Over The Limit
4. The Miz vs. John Cena - WrestleMania 27
5. Sting vs. RVD - Sacrifice
Worst PPV Of The Year
1. Victory Road (Winner)
2. WrestleMania 27
3. Sacrifice
4. Capitol Punishment
5. Turning Point
Worst TV Show Of The Year
1. ROH (Winner)
2. Raw - Rock's Birthday Party Special
3. Mid-Card Mafia
4. Z! True Long Island Story
5. NXT
Most Overrated
1. Daniel Bryan (Winner)
2. Jim Ross
3. Beth Phoenix
4. Robert Roode
5. Crimson
Most Underrated
1. Gunner (Winner)
2. John Cena
3. Mexican America
4. Heath Slater
5. David Otunga
Gimmick Of The Year
1. R-Truth, insane (Winner)
2. Mark Henry, pissed off big guy
3. Bully Ray, bully who runs his new york mouth
4. Cody Rhodes, protective mask, "disfigured"
5. Michael Cole, troll heel commentator
Worst Gimmick of The Year
1. Daniel Bryan, uncharismatic nerd whos only credibility is from his ROH daus, who 99 percent of fans have never seen (Winner)
2. CM Punk (face), shoots on everyone for being boring and dull when he has become even worse
3. Zack Ryder, catchphrase spouting, merchandise shifting, lame "Jersey Shore" rip off, whos own rip-off in TNA became even funnier than him (Robbie E)
4. Robert Roode, random heel turn that came out of nowhere, so suddenly he starts wearing a suit, because thats what heels do..
5. Air Boom, something to do with pyros, and air.. or a "sneaky fart" as R-Truth said
Best Entrance Of The Year
1. Alberto Del Rio (Winner)
2. R-Truth ("the truth will set you free" + then silence)
3. The Usos
4. Cody Rhodes
5. Madison Rayne
Worst Entrance Of The Year
1. Daniel Bryan (Winner)
2. Jeff Hardy (heel)
3. Air Boom
4. Beth Phoenix and Natalya (tissues and fake crying)
5. Ted Dibiase (face)
Leave The Memories Alone Award
Edge (Winner)
Special Award for Pervert Of The Year
Earl Hebner, for consistently groping the knockouts during their matches. (Winner)
Showing posts with label Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment. Show all posts
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Wrestler Of The Year 2011
This is it. The grandaddy of them all, the most prestigious award in the wrestling world as we know it today - the WDA for Wrestler Of The Year. All things are taken into consideration in this category - quality of wrestling, microphone work, notable angles, star power etc.
It has been a rollercoaster year for some - namely CM Punk. While Punk was on course to be the wrestler of the year for a few weeks back in the breezy summer of 2011, or the "summer of Punk", his stock has plummeted since his disastrous face-turn. So, with Punk out of the way (lets just say he was 11 for the sake of it) - just who will be named the wrestler of the year for 2011? Let the countdown commence..
10. Sting
Sting over CM Punk, you ask already.. Sure - why not? Sting main evented a plentitude of PPVs this year, and though many of those matches stunk, it was his presence as the Insane Icon on Impact that helps him land at number 10 in the Superstar Of The Year Award. Though the critics panned the idea of a Sting-Hogan match from the moment it was implied back at Lockdown, the two veterans put on their boots and showed the rest of the TNA locker room how to work a match. X Division take note - slow down, tell a story. The crowd ate out of Hogan and Sting's collective hand that night at Bound For Glory as the culmination of an almost two year long angle came to a glorious end. Of course, Hulk was the biggest part of this spectacle, but Sting was the guy who was getting the best out of him week in and week out on Impact. The Dark Knight Joker rip-off gimmick, mixed with a random, camp accent was gold and one of the reasons to watch Impact over the last year. His rumoured match with The Undertaker at the beginning of the year also proved how much of a presence Sting still has in the wrestling industry, in a year where young stars are beginning to make a name for themselves..
9. Dolph Ziggler
..such as Dolph Ziggler. Dolph started the year feuding with Edge for the World Heavyweight Title and ended it feuding with CM Punk for the WWE title. Despite this, you could hardly look back at 2011 as a time Dolph Ziggler got a main event push. He barely had any notable feuds on TV and his only in-depth storyline played out on Zack Ryder's Youtube show. But it was on this Youtube show, and on Twitter, where Ziggler finally found the panache he had been missing to turn him from just a great worker to a great wrestler. Regularly he outshone Ryder on his own show, with his unique promo style and assortment of smark-baiting catchphrases, #HEEL and "later... marks". And if Ziggler was a good worker at the start of the year, he had become one of the best by the end of the year, with many arguing that he is the best on the current WWE roster. Look for 2012 to be a big year for the #HEEL.
8. Kurt Angle
When Kurt Angle says he is the best wrestler in the world right now, it's pretty much an accurate statement. There is nobody better in the ring than Kurt right now, but Randy Orton could make a claim to that in a year or two if he keeps progressing. One of the funnier feuds of the year was Orton vs. Angle, starting with Orton stealing Angle's Olympic Slam move as one of his signatures. After Angle went on a drunken rant on Twitter about the lack of respect Orton shown and then blamed it on a hacker, or his dog or something, he went and scored even - so he thought - by RKO'ing Jeff Jarrett in one of their great matches. And how great those matches were, as Angle and Jarrett became THE feud of 2011 in TNA. A feud that deep rooted in personal issues that dated back years and spread out over half a year, every match of theirs, every promo, regularly stole the show..
7. Jeff Jarrett
..but Jeff Jarrett just tips Angle in this countdown. He came into the year strong on the back of his Double J Double M A gimmick, reintroducing the great Karen Jarrett who became one of the promo masters of the year. But Jeff's promos were sublime too - regularly funny, if not hilarious, but when he needed to go serious he did so. Everything about Jarrett and Angle just clicked - their wrestling skills, their promo styles, their size and weight and their whole history together. Jarrett's vignettes at home as "Big Daddy" were gold, and surely a Youtube favourite for many years to come. They also fought one of the best matches of the year, at Lockdown in the "Ultra Male Rules" match, which Jarrett won in his typically cowardly heel fashion. Though many smarks had been calling for Jarrett to step down in recent years and give the young guys a chance, Double J went and proved himself to still be one of the best wrestlers in the business today.
6. Christian
Christian was one of the most successful heels in 2011, most notably for his extended feud with Randy Orton. But let us not forget how joyous the moment of his first title win was at Extreme Rules, defeating Alberto Del Rio in an excellent ladder match. That all came crashing down two days later, as Orton went over Christian for the gold on Smackdown - to the outrage of thousands of fans who went to Twitter in protest. But how short-sighted and stupid they were, as Christian went on to become one of the best heels of 2011. He evolved first into a character you actually wanted to see get the shit kicked out of by Randy Orton because of his genuinely annoying demeanor. They went on to have some of the best matches of the year and regularly stole the card together, turning mediocre PPVs into good ones. Then Christian became one of the funnier heels on the roster, starring in such classic segments as "Randy! Riley! Jimmy!!!" and frequently begging for "one more match". Sadly getting injured at the end of the year, he still managed to milk that for all it was worth, sporting a comical neckbrace after suffering a "devastating" choke slam from the Big Show. It remains to be seen if Christian can capitalise on his new found character and take it into the next year.
5. Bully Ray
It would seem bizzarre this time last year to say that Bully Ray would be one of the top 5 wrestlers of the year - and the best in TNA - but that is how far the former Team 3D star has come since his split with D-Von. Not only has he got in the best shape of his life, not only is he cutting the best promos of his life, but he is working some of the best matches of his life since his TLC days in the WWE. Great matches such as his Last Man Standing match with AJ Styles, or his hardcore bout with Mr. Anderson. True, his better matches have come in the form of gimmick matches - but he is still one of the best right now when it comes to telling a story in the ring. Which has been one of his greatest successes this year and has set him apart from his former tag team partner D-Von. His promo work deserves an article all of its own though, how good it has been. So good, in fact, he managed to turn the Philadelphia crowd against him with a masterful heel promo at Bound For Glory - essentially his homecoming crowd from his ECW days. He rose up through the ranks and became the mouthpiece for Immortal, directing the likes of Jarrett, Steiner and others. He even helped get over the unconvincing Robert Roode at the end of the year, losing to him in the finals of the BFG series as well as becoming his mouthpiece during his dodgy title run. He goes into 2012 as one of TNA's golden assets, with rumoured WWE interest - so strong has his singles rise been in the last year.
4. Mark Henry
Just like it would seem bizarre to cite Bully Ray as one of the top 5 wrestlers of the year this time last year, that would be the case even more so when it came to Mark Henry. Floundering around the mid-card in his big red kool-aid suit, Mark Henry was surely on the brink of being future endeavored. Boring matches, no promo style to speak of and out of shape, Henry was 10 years past his prime. But somebody saw something in Mark Henry and drafting him to Smackdown and turning him heel, he became one of the best draws of the year for WWE. It is undeniable that the Smackdown ratings went up as Henry became the World Champ, in what was probably the best title run of the year. Henry's in-ring work became good and he even had exciting matches with Big Show, in what could have easily been thought of as a nightmare feud before we got to see it in action. Of course, Big Show deserves credit for his role and is also one of the more improved wrestlers of the year - but the fact Mark Henry came from nothing all the way to the top is the real success story. His ad-libs during his entrance and his matches were the icing on the cake, as was his Hall of Pain. Anyone else that would have sounded cheesy as hell, but for Henry it worked. Watching Henry shatter the ankle of wrestler after wrestler was amazing, and taking out random members of WWE staff was also hilarious - such as throwing the sound guy over his desk, or laying out a cameraman with a chair. Hopefully now Henry will go on to have one of the big matches at WrestleMania, perhaps a final match with Big Show to end the feud once and for all - he deserves it.
3. Cody Rhodes
Maybe not one year ago, but if you told me two years ago that Cody Rhodes would be were he is at now, again I would have laughed. I remember when Cody first came to the WWE, getting slapped by Randy Orton on Raw, wearing yellow trunks. His generic rock music entrance and tagging with Hardcore Holly - I thought, this kid sucks and the only reason he's got a job is because he's the son of Dusty Rhodes. How wrong I was though, as Cody has gone on to become a legit main eventer. I've talked about how well his character development has been already in prior award articles, from "Dashing" to "Undashing" to his current borderline-psycho thing he's got going on now. His in-ring work has blossomed too, and his Beautiful Disaster kick/knee move is one of my favourites in wrestling right now. His feud with Rey Mysterio held some of the better matches of the year, including one of the top 2 or 3 matches at WrestleMania and a brilliant falls count anywhere bout with Rey Mysterio at Extreme Rules. Rhodes is in the process of bringing prestige back to the Intercontinental title, and after he is done with that he is bound to be ready for a main event push for the World Heavyweight title or the WWE title. A feud with Randy Orton over either belt would be great...
2. Randy Orton
..because despite the fact it has been a relatively quiet year for the Apex Predator, Orton has cemented himself as perhaps the best worker in the world right now. Even Bret Hart - a man all about the wrestling - came out to say Orton was the best in the business at the moment. And he proved it time after time, putting on fantastic matches with seemingly everyone on the Smackdown roster - Christian, Cody Rhodes, Sheamus, Mark Henry and even one of the TV matches of the year with Kane in a long Smackdown main event. He may not have the charisma or the energy that he did during his main event heel run on Raw a few years ago, but his reserved and cold style is a refreshing change to all the tag-hands smiling happy-go-lucky babyfaces in the WWE. Of course, the smarks turned on him - especially during his feud with Christian - but regularly the boos in those matches turned to cheers as he regularly kept on working the best matches on the card, and so no "Lets go Randy, Randy sucks" chants broke out...
1. John Cena (Winner)
...which was really the story of the year for the undisputed wrestler of the year, John Cena. Since The Rock returned in February and buried Cena in his comeback promo, the boos that were once eminating from 25-35% of the crowd became more in the region of 50-80% and occasionally 100% as we saw in Chicago at Money In The Bank. Despite being the ultimate babyface in wrestling, Cena was getting the most heel heat in the business - an amount of heat even Michael Cole would be proud of. But still, he was getting bigger babyface pops than anyone else too. I attended a Raw TV taping this year and despite the fact half the crowd was wearing CM Punk shirts, everyone had come to chant "Lets go Cena, Cena sucks" before the show had even started, and long on into the night.
This whole reaction from the crowd from the moment Rock buried Cena was the catalyst for the paradigm shift we see in the WWE today. The rise of CM Punk would not have come about if not for Cena to be the guy for him to play off, and how little credit does Cena get when it comes to talking about that feud. His in-ring work has been brilliant and despite chants of "you can't wrestle" on the night of Money in the Bank, Cena and Punk together put on a clinic in what was the undisputed match of the year. And how many other great matches there were too - Cena-Punk II at Summerslam, Cena-Mysterio for the WWE title on Raw and Cena-Miz for the WWE title on Raw. But admittedly, Cena's PPV matches with Miz were all terrible. His WrestleMania match was poorly booked and overshadowed by The Rock's presence, the I Quit match with The Miz was overshadowed by the fact that Cena is never going to say "I Quit", especially on a secondary PPV, and the triple threat cage match with Miz and Morrison was overshadowed by Bin Laden being captured and killed halfway through the event, taking the world's attention away from the match. But Miz and Cena had their final great title match at last on Raw - one that does not get any of the credit it deserves.
Which is the main problem with Cena - he gets no credit for how good he is in the ring, how good his promo work is and just how important he is to wrestling as a whole. Sure, he isn't perfect and sometimes his promo work sucks, his matches are not at the level of Orton's - but the problem is people want to hate him now. People are sick of SuperCena and The Rock's promos only emphasised that. But don't forget this is Vince Mcmahon's TV show and it is all by design - he wouldn't let The Rock say half the things he did if he didn't have an agenda, and what we have seen throughout the year has all been part of the Cena agenda. The feud with Rock, the feud with Punk and now the feud with Kane - all have been a long story arc with the ultimate goal of who knows what, but there are subtle hints as to what is to come. Ultimately, we are expecting a Cena heel turn, and all the clues are there - and that is one of the best things about wrestling. Like Jericho's recent return, we were still all guessing who it could be until the last minute and we are still guessing what his motives are - even if he is heel or face. That is the success of the angle, and it will be the success of this whole Cena angle when it is all played out.
The fact Cena is wrestler of the year, is because everything the WWE has done this year has revolved around Cena, even if he wasn't in the picture. Even though it looked like the "Summer of Punk" and many people would say he was the star of the year, that whole angle came back to the ultimate nexus of the WWE, John Cena. With Cena vs. Rock undoubtedly set to be the biggest match in wrestling since, perhaps, Hogan vs. Andre, this year had to be about John Cena - and it was. He is the wrestler of the year.
It has been a rollercoaster year for some - namely CM Punk. While Punk was on course to be the wrestler of the year for a few weeks back in the breezy summer of 2011, or the "summer of Punk", his stock has plummeted since his disastrous face-turn. So, with Punk out of the way (lets just say he was 11 for the sake of it) - just who will be named the wrestler of the year for 2011? Let the countdown commence..
10. StingSting over CM Punk, you ask already.. Sure - why not? Sting main evented a plentitude of PPVs this year, and though many of those matches stunk, it was his presence as the Insane Icon on Impact that helps him land at number 10 in the Superstar Of The Year Award. Though the critics panned the idea of a Sting-Hogan match from the moment it was implied back at Lockdown, the two veterans put on their boots and showed the rest of the TNA locker room how to work a match. X Division take note - slow down, tell a story. The crowd ate out of Hogan and Sting's collective hand that night at Bound For Glory as the culmination of an almost two year long angle came to a glorious end. Of course, Hulk was the biggest part of this spectacle, but Sting was the guy who was getting the best out of him week in and week out on Impact. The Dark Knight Joker rip-off gimmick, mixed with a random, camp accent was gold and one of the reasons to watch Impact over the last year. His rumoured match with The Undertaker at the beginning of the year also proved how much of a presence Sting still has in the wrestling industry, in a year where young stars are beginning to make a name for themselves..
9. Dolph Ziggler..such as Dolph Ziggler. Dolph started the year feuding with Edge for the World Heavyweight Title and ended it feuding with CM Punk for the WWE title. Despite this, you could hardly look back at 2011 as a time Dolph Ziggler got a main event push. He barely had any notable feuds on TV and his only in-depth storyline played out on Zack Ryder's Youtube show. But it was on this Youtube show, and on Twitter, where Ziggler finally found the panache he had been missing to turn him from just a great worker to a great wrestler. Regularly he outshone Ryder on his own show, with his unique promo style and assortment of smark-baiting catchphrases, #HEEL and "later... marks". And if Ziggler was a good worker at the start of the year, he had become one of the best by the end of the year, with many arguing that he is the best on the current WWE roster. Look for 2012 to be a big year for the #HEEL.
8. Kurt AngleWhen Kurt Angle says he is the best wrestler in the world right now, it's pretty much an accurate statement. There is nobody better in the ring than Kurt right now, but Randy Orton could make a claim to that in a year or two if he keeps progressing. One of the funnier feuds of the year was Orton vs. Angle, starting with Orton stealing Angle's Olympic Slam move as one of his signatures. After Angle went on a drunken rant on Twitter about the lack of respect Orton shown and then blamed it on a hacker, or his dog or something, he went and scored even - so he thought - by RKO'ing Jeff Jarrett in one of their great matches. And how great those matches were, as Angle and Jarrett became THE feud of 2011 in TNA. A feud that deep rooted in personal issues that dated back years and spread out over half a year, every match of theirs, every promo, regularly stole the show..
7. Jeff Jarrett..but Jeff Jarrett just tips Angle in this countdown. He came into the year strong on the back of his Double J Double M A gimmick, reintroducing the great Karen Jarrett who became one of the promo masters of the year. But Jeff's promos were sublime too - regularly funny, if not hilarious, but when he needed to go serious he did so. Everything about Jarrett and Angle just clicked - their wrestling skills, their promo styles, their size and weight and their whole history together. Jarrett's vignettes at home as "Big Daddy" were gold, and surely a Youtube favourite for many years to come. They also fought one of the best matches of the year, at Lockdown in the "Ultra Male Rules" match, which Jarrett won in his typically cowardly heel fashion. Though many smarks had been calling for Jarrett to step down in recent years and give the young guys a chance, Double J went and proved himself to still be one of the best wrestlers in the business today.
6. ChristianChristian was one of the most successful heels in 2011, most notably for his extended feud with Randy Orton. But let us not forget how joyous the moment of his first title win was at Extreme Rules, defeating Alberto Del Rio in an excellent ladder match. That all came crashing down two days later, as Orton went over Christian for the gold on Smackdown - to the outrage of thousands of fans who went to Twitter in protest. But how short-sighted and stupid they were, as Christian went on to become one of the best heels of 2011. He evolved first into a character you actually wanted to see get the shit kicked out of by Randy Orton because of his genuinely annoying demeanor. They went on to have some of the best matches of the year and regularly stole the card together, turning mediocre PPVs into good ones. Then Christian became one of the funnier heels on the roster, starring in such classic segments as "Randy! Riley! Jimmy!!!" and frequently begging for "one more match". Sadly getting injured at the end of the year, he still managed to milk that for all it was worth, sporting a comical neckbrace after suffering a "devastating" choke slam from the Big Show. It remains to be seen if Christian can capitalise on his new found character and take it into the next year.
5. Bully RayIt would seem bizzarre this time last year to say that Bully Ray would be one of the top 5 wrestlers of the year - and the best in TNA - but that is how far the former Team 3D star has come since his split with D-Von. Not only has he got in the best shape of his life, not only is he cutting the best promos of his life, but he is working some of the best matches of his life since his TLC days in the WWE. Great matches such as his Last Man Standing match with AJ Styles, or his hardcore bout with Mr. Anderson. True, his better matches have come in the form of gimmick matches - but he is still one of the best right now when it comes to telling a story in the ring. Which has been one of his greatest successes this year and has set him apart from his former tag team partner D-Von. His promo work deserves an article all of its own though, how good it has been. So good, in fact, he managed to turn the Philadelphia crowd against him with a masterful heel promo at Bound For Glory - essentially his homecoming crowd from his ECW days. He rose up through the ranks and became the mouthpiece for Immortal, directing the likes of Jarrett, Steiner and others. He even helped get over the unconvincing Robert Roode at the end of the year, losing to him in the finals of the BFG series as well as becoming his mouthpiece during his dodgy title run. He goes into 2012 as one of TNA's golden assets, with rumoured WWE interest - so strong has his singles rise been in the last year.
4. Mark HenryJust like it would seem bizarre to cite Bully Ray as one of the top 5 wrestlers of the year this time last year, that would be the case even more so when it came to Mark Henry. Floundering around the mid-card in his big red kool-aid suit, Mark Henry was surely on the brink of being future endeavored. Boring matches, no promo style to speak of and out of shape, Henry was 10 years past his prime. But somebody saw something in Mark Henry and drafting him to Smackdown and turning him heel, he became one of the best draws of the year for WWE. It is undeniable that the Smackdown ratings went up as Henry became the World Champ, in what was probably the best title run of the year. Henry's in-ring work became good and he even had exciting matches with Big Show, in what could have easily been thought of as a nightmare feud before we got to see it in action. Of course, Big Show deserves credit for his role and is also one of the more improved wrestlers of the year - but the fact Mark Henry came from nothing all the way to the top is the real success story. His ad-libs during his entrance and his matches were the icing on the cake, as was his Hall of Pain. Anyone else that would have sounded cheesy as hell, but for Henry it worked. Watching Henry shatter the ankle of wrestler after wrestler was amazing, and taking out random members of WWE staff was also hilarious - such as throwing the sound guy over his desk, or laying out a cameraman with a chair. Hopefully now Henry will go on to have one of the big matches at WrestleMania, perhaps a final match with Big Show to end the feud once and for all - he deserves it.
3. Cody RhodesMaybe not one year ago, but if you told me two years ago that Cody Rhodes would be were he is at now, again I would have laughed. I remember when Cody first came to the WWE, getting slapped by Randy Orton on Raw, wearing yellow trunks. His generic rock music entrance and tagging with Hardcore Holly - I thought, this kid sucks and the only reason he's got a job is because he's the son of Dusty Rhodes. How wrong I was though, as Cody has gone on to become a legit main eventer. I've talked about how well his character development has been already in prior award articles, from "Dashing" to "Undashing" to his current borderline-psycho thing he's got going on now. His in-ring work has blossomed too, and his Beautiful Disaster kick/knee move is one of my favourites in wrestling right now. His feud with Rey Mysterio held some of the better matches of the year, including one of the top 2 or 3 matches at WrestleMania and a brilliant falls count anywhere bout with Rey Mysterio at Extreme Rules. Rhodes is in the process of bringing prestige back to the Intercontinental title, and after he is done with that he is bound to be ready for a main event push for the World Heavyweight title or the WWE title. A feud with Randy Orton over either belt would be great...
2. Randy Orton..because despite the fact it has been a relatively quiet year for the Apex Predator, Orton has cemented himself as perhaps the best worker in the world right now. Even Bret Hart - a man all about the wrestling - came out to say Orton was the best in the business at the moment. And he proved it time after time, putting on fantastic matches with seemingly everyone on the Smackdown roster - Christian, Cody Rhodes, Sheamus, Mark Henry and even one of the TV matches of the year with Kane in a long Smackdown main event. He may not have the charisma or the energy that he did during his main event heel run on Raw a few years ago, but his reserved and cold style is a refreshing change to all the tag-hands smiling happy-go-lucky babyfaces in the WWE. Of course, the smarks turned on him - especially during his feud with Christian - but regularly the boos in those matches turned to cheers as he regularly kept on working the best matches on the card, and so no "Lets go Randy, Randy sucks" chants broke out...
...which was really the story of the year for the undisputed wrestler of the year, John Cena. Since The Rock returned in February and buried Cena in his comeback promo, the boos that were once eminating from 25-35% of the crowd became more in the region of 50-80% and occasionally 100% as we saw in Chicago at Money In The Bank. Despite being the ultimate babyface in wrestling, Cena was getting the most heel heat in the business - an amount of heat even Michael Cole would be proud of. But still, he was getting bigger babyface pops than anyone else too. I attended a Raw TV taping this year and despite the fact half the crowd was wearing CM Punk shirts, everyone had come to chant "Lets go Cena, Cena sucks" before the show had even started, and long on into the night.
This whole reaction from the crowd from the moment Rock buried Cena was the catalyst for the paradigm shift we see in the WWE today. The rise of CM Punk would not have come about if not for Cena to be the guy for him to play off, and how little credit does Cena get when it comes to talking about that feud. His in-ring work has been brilliant and despite chants of "you can't wrestle" on the night of Money in the Bank, Cena and Punk together put on a clinic in what was the undisputed match of the year. And how many other great matches there were too - Cena-Punk II at Summerslam, Cena-Mysterio for the WWE title on Raw and Cena-Miz for the WWE title on Raw. But admittedly, Cena's PPV matches with Miz were all terrible. His WrestleMania match was poorly booked and overshadowed by The Rock's presence, the I Quit match with The Miz was overshadowed by the fact that Cena is never going to say "I Quit", especially on a secondary PPV, and the triple threat cage match with Miz and Morrison was overshadowed by Bin Laden being captured and killed halfway through the event, taking the world's attention away from the match. But Miz and Cena had their final great title match at last on Raw - one that does not get any of the credit it deserves.
Which is the main problem with Cena - he gets no credit for how good he is in the ring, how good his promo work is and just how important he is to wrestling as a whole. Sure, he isn't perfect and sometimes his promo work sucks, his matches are not at the level of Orton's - but the problem is people want to hate him now. People are sick of SuperCena and The Rock's promos only emphasised that. But don't forget this is Vince Mcmahon's TV show and it is all by design - he wouldn't let The Rock say half the things he did if he didn't have an agenda, and what we have seen throughout the year has all been part of the Cena agenda. The feud with Rock, the feud with Punk and now the feud with Kane - all have been a long story arc with the ultimate goal of who knows what, but there are subtle hints as to what is to come. Ultimately, we are expecting a Cena heel turn, and all the clues are there - and that is one of the best things about wrestling. Like Jericho's recent return, we were still all guessing who it could be until the last minute and we are still guessing what his motives are - even if he is heel or face. That is the success of the angle, and it will be the success of this whole Cena angle when it is all played out.
The fact Cena is wrestler of the year, is because everything the WWE has done this year has revolved around Cena, even if he wasn't in the picture. Even though it looked like the "Summer of Punk" and many people would say he was the star of the year, that whole angle came back to the ultimate nexus of the WWE, John Cena. With Cena vs. Rock undoubtedly set to be the biggest match in wrestling since, perhaps, Hogan vs. Andre, this year had to be about John Cena - and it was. He is the wrestler of the year.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Angle Of The Year Award 2011 - WDAFEISE
This Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment award, Angle Of The Year, goes to the best angle or feud within the last year.
5. Cody Rhodes' Broken Nose
Who would have thought a legitimate injury suffered by Cody Rhodes would have propelled him to the unforeseen heights he finds himself in today. As the year of 2010 came to a close, Cody was one of the bright sparks on Smackdown, with his funny "Dashing" gimmick - but it wasn't until he came back with a protective mask that we saw the best of what he had to offer. A long feud with Rey Mysterio also helped, with Cody beating Rey at WrestleMania in one of the best matches of the night, followed by a brilliant falls count anywhere match at Extreme Rules. But it was Cody's promos that had us all enthralled, and his way with words payed off for him as he has become a regular in the opening promo slot on Smackdown. His transformation and evolution over the year added much depth to his character, that when the mask finally came off, he didn't have Kane syndrome and suddenly become stale, or bald - but infact he became even better. Little mannerisms like his face twitching and his nasal, "Whaaat"-repellent promo style remained and surely enough his character transformation will continue in to 2012 and result in a main event run sometime after WrestleMania.
4. Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett/Karen JarrettOne thing many wrestling fans complain about is short-sighted, hot shot angles that run their course in a matter of 1 or 2 months, but the Angle-Jarrett feud of 2011 was one that dated back to 2010 when Jarrett began his Double J, Double M-A gimmick, mocking Angle before his comeback by utilising his ankle lock submission. In fact, it went even futher back than that, with Karen Jarrett (nee Angle) being one of the cental plot devices in this grudge feud, and we all know the story there. Aside from the introduction of Chyna at one point, this angle was perfect throughout and we were spoiled with great match after great match between the two veterans. When you put together two guys who are unarguably two of the best wrestlers of all time, along with the fact that they are both fantastic on the mic (including Karen Jarrett, who was probably even better than both) - magic happens, and so it did. The Lockdown cage match was the highlight of the feud, in one of the matches of the year, but it continued on long after that right into the Summer in their final payoff fight on Impact in the parking lot brawl, which Angle as the face rightfully won. People can criticise Russo and Bischoff all they like, but both guys know how to write a long, drawn out feud.
3. Michael Cole vs. Jerry LawlerAt the start of 2011, the must-see star of Raw was not infact the self-proclaimed "must-see" WWE champion, The Miz. It was the "voice of the WWE", Michael Cole. With seemingly a new crowd-riling catchphrase born every week, Cole was one of the stars of Raw - talking over every boring mid-card and divas match, keeping the viewers engaged throughout the show with his heel antics. But when he started cutting promos in the ring on Jerry Lawler, after costing him the WWE title, Cole propelled himself into the main event of the WWE - a place nobody a year ago would have expected him to be. For he was just the lowly, goodie two shoes commentator who had no personality of his own, except to schill the next PPV with a soulless, drab voice. Cole had become the best heel in wrestling since JBL, universally hated by marks and smarks alike, a fear rarely achieved. With only 0.5-1% of viewers enjoying the new "vintage" Cole, we became known as the "Cole Miners". He stood for everything we believed in wrestling and everything on our minds, he dared to say it, every week. Daniel Bryan - boring midget with no charisma.. Jim Ross - fat, arrogant buffoon who can't put two words together anymore.. Jerry Lawler - 10 years past his sell by date. And nobody could touch him, because he was in the sacred space known as the Cole Mine. He won at WrestleMania after getting a beat down and even when Cole naturally lost his feud, it was fun to watch him get his just deserts and see JR spray BBQ sauce all over him - because he sold it better than anyone. Quite simply, Cole was, for half of 2011, the best heel in wrestling for the last 5 years.
2. John Cena vs. CM Punk
Another boring, stale Raw was coming to a close in the breezy Summer of 2011, in a main event match I can barely remember - just that John Cena was in it - and then out came CM Punk, donned in a Stone Cold t-shirt of all things, and proceeded to cut one of the best promos of the year, one that set the internet ablaze... Punk had, in his own words, "broken the 4th wall". Still a heel at the time, Punk became the anti-establishment "voice of the people" and dared to rail against the WWE, Vince Mcmahon, The Rock and of course John Cena. The year could have easily been a boring one, with the main event of WrestleMania 28 already set as Cena vs. The Rock, but WWE dared to do something out of the ordinary for two months or so it paid off. We got two of the matches of the year in Cena-Punk I and Cena-Punk II and the chemistry between both men was what made the feud. But Punk wasn't the only piece - John Cena played his part just as well. Make no mistake about it, Cena helped elevate Punk to the level he is at today by being the "New York Yankees" guy. And even though the current CM Punk on Raw is a shadow of his former self, for those 2 months with Cena, he was the most exciting thing in wrestling for a long time. The world was tuning in just to see what CM Punk had to say each week. Though we all knew he wasn't truly "shooting" to a full extent, our disbelief was suspended just for a short time and we were able to watch as we did as children, believing there was some legitimacy in everything that was happening - and that is when wrestling is at its best...
1. John Cena vs. The Rock (Winner)
...which is why John Cena vs. The Rock is the best angle of the year. Is there a legitimate beef between Cena and Rock? Maybe, maybe not - but making the comeback of the year, Rock's admittedly brilliant comeback promo quickly made a target of John Cena set the tone for the rest of the year. For an angle that is barely in its infancy stages, it shows just how grand a feud it is for it to be the winner of this prestigious award. Even CM Punk vs. John Cena itself was in part inspired by this feud, as Rock's (real) name (Dwayne) was all over their semi-shoot promos every week. Cena, Punk, Orton and others have all come out saying that Rock is nothing more than a glorified celebrity guest host, which may be true - but it doesn't stop the fact that Cena and Rock is the feud of 2011, going into 2012. Every angle involving Cena on Raw throughout the year has been touched in some way by this feud - including his current "Rise Above Hate" angle ongoing with Kane. As much as the main event (and whole show) of WrestleMania 27 sucked, it was made up for the fact that we were promised the dream match of Cena-Rock the year after, in The Rock's hometown of Miami. A match nobody can truly predict in any way. Who will win? Will Cena be heel going into the match, and if not will he turn heel? Will Cena get booed out of the building? As disappointing as Survivor Series main event of Cena/Rock vs. The Awesome Truth was, WrestleMania should be different - perhaps, in the immortal words of Tony Schiavone, the greatest match in the history of our sport.
Honorable mentions: Orton-Christian, Mark Henry's Hall of Pain, Hogan-Sting, Bound For Glory Series, R-Truth goes insane
Who would have thought a legitimate injury suffered by Cody Rhodes would have propelled him to the unforeseen heights he finds himself in today. As the year of 2010 came to a close, Cody was one of the bright sparks on Smackdown, with his funny "Dashing" gimmick - but it wasn't until he came back with a protective mask that we saw the best of what he had to offer. A long feud with Rey Mysterio also helped, with Cody beating Rey at WrestleMania in one of the best matches of the night, followed by a brilliant falls count anywhere match at Extreme Rules. But it was Cody's promos that had us all enthralled, and his way with words payed off for him as he has become a regular in the opening promo slot on Smackdown. His transformation and evolution over the year added much depth to his character, that when the mask finally came off, he didn't have Kane syndrome and suddenly become stale, or bald - but infact he became even better. Little mannerisms like his face twitching and his nasal, "Whaaat"-repellent promo style remained and surely enough his character transformation will continue in to 2012 and result in a main event run sometime after WrestleMania.
4. Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett/Karen JarrettOne thing many wrestling fans complain about is short-sighted, hot shot angles that run their course in a matter of 1 or 2 months, but the Angle-Jarrett feud of 2011 was one that dated back to 2010 when Jarrett began his Double J, Double M-A gimmick, mocking Angle before his comeback by utilising his ankle lock submission. In fact, it went even futher back than that, with Karen Jarrett (nee Angle) being one of the cental plot devices in this grudge feud, and we all know the story there. Aside from the introduction of Chyna at one point, this angle was perfect throughout and we were spoiled with great match after great match between the two veterans. When you put together two guys who are unarguably two of the best wrestlers of all time, along with the fact that they are both fantastic on the mic (including Karen Jarrett, who was probably even better than both) - magic happens, and so it did. The Lockdown cage match was the highlight of the feud, in one of the matches of the year, but it continued on long after that right into the Summer in their final payoff fight on Impact in the parking lot brawl, which Angle as the face rightfully won. People can criticise Russo and Bischoff all they like, but both guys know how to write a long, drawn out feud.3. Michael Cole vs. Jerry LawlerAt the start of 2011, the must-see star of Raw was not infact the self-proclaimed "must-see" WWE champion, The Miz. It was the "voice of the WWE", Michael Cole. With seemingly a new crowd-riling catchphrase born every week, Cole was one of the stars of Raw - talking over every boring mid-card and divas match, keeping the viewers engaged throughout the show with his heel antics. But when he started cutting promos in the ring on Jerry Lawler, after costing him the WWE title, Cole propelled himself into the main event of the WWE - a place nobody a year ago would have expected him to be. For he was just the lowly, goodie two shoes commentator who had no personality of his own, except to schill the next PPV with a soulless, drab voice. Cole had become the best heel in wrestling since JBL, universally hated by marks and smarks alike, a fear rarely achieved. With only 0.5-1% of viewers enjoying the new "vintage" Cole, we became known as the "Cole Miners". He stood for everything we believed in wrestling and everything on our minds, he dared to say it, every week. Daniel Bryan - boring midget with no charisma.. Jim Ross - fat, arrogant buffoon who can't put two words together anymore.. Jerry Lawler - 10 years past his sell by date. And nobody could touch him, because he was in the sacred space known as the Cole Mine. He won at WrestleMania after getting a beat down and even when Cole naturally lost his feud, it was fun to watch him get his just deserts and see JR spray BBQ sauce all over him - because he sold it better than anyone. Quite simply, Cole was, for half of 2011, the best heel in wrestling for the last 5 years.2. John Cena vs. CM PunkAnother boring, stale Raw was coming to a close in the breezy Summer of 2011, in a main event match I can barely remember - just that John Cena was in it - and then out came CM Punk, donned in a Stone Cold t-shirt of all things, and proceeded to cut one of the best promos of the year, one that set the internet ablaze... Punk had, in his own words, "broken the 4th wall". Still a heel at the time, Punk became the anti-establishment "voice of the people" and dared to rail against the WWE, Vince Mcmahon, The Rock and of course John Cena. The year could have easily been a boring one, with the main event of WrestleMania 28 already set as Cena vs. The Rock, but WWE dared to do something out of the ordinary for two months or so it paid off. We got two of the matches of the year in Cena-Punk I and Cena-Punk II and the chemistry between both men was what made the feud. But Punk wasn't the only piece - John Cena played his part just as well. Make no mistake about it, Cena helped elevate Punk to the level he is at today by being the "New York Yankees" guy. And even though the current CM Punk on Raw is a shadow of his former self, for those 2 months with Cena, he was the most exciting thing in wrestling for a long time. The world was tuning in just to see what CM Punk had to say each week. Though we all knew he wasn't truly "shooting" to a full extent, our disbelief was suspended just for a short time and we were able to watch as we did as children, believing there was some legitimacy in everything that was happening - and that is when wrestling is at its best...
1. John Cena vs. The Rock (Winner)
...which is why John Cena vs. The Rock is the best angle of the year. Is there a legitimate beef between Cena and Rock? Maybe, maybe not - but making the comeback of the year, Rock's admittedly brilliant comeback promo quickly made a target of John Cena set the tone for the rest of the year. For an angle that is barely in its infancy stages, it shows just how grand a feud it is for it to be the winner of this prestigious award. Even CM Punk vs. John Cena itself was in part inspired by this feud, as Rock's (real) name (Dwayne) was all over their semi-shoot promos every week. Cena, Punk, Orton and others have all come out saying that Rock is nothing more than a glorified celebrity guest host, which may be true - but it doesn't stop the fact that Cena and Rock is the feud of 2011, going into 2012. Every angle involving Cena on Raw throughout the year has been touched in some way by this feud - including his current "Rise Above Hate" angle ongoing with Kane. As much as the main event (and whole show) of WrestleMania 27 sucked, it was made up for the fact that we were promised the dream match of Cena-Rock the year after, in The Rock's hometown of Miami. A match nobody can truly predict in any way. Who will win? Will Cena be heel going into the match, and if not will he turn heel? Will Cena get booed out of the building? As disappointing as Survivor Series main event of Cena/Rock vs. The Awesome Truth was, WrestleMania should be different - perhaps, in the immortal words of Tony Schiavone, the greatest match in the history of our sport.
Honorable mentions: Orton-Christian, Mark Henry's Hall of Pain, Hogan-Sting, Bound For Glory Series, R-Truth goes insane
Monday, 26 December 2011
Most Improved Star Of The Year Award - Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment
This Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment award, the Most Improved Star Of The Year, goes to the most improved wrestler or wrestling personality in the last year.
6. Bully Ray
Bully mother f'n Ray. The best promo guy in the wrestling business, officially. Brother/Bubba/Bully Ray was always a great trash talker as part of The Dudleyz/Team 3D, but he has really come into his own as a singles wrestler this year since turning heel on D-Von.
And while you could say Bully Ray is one of the best on the mic, it would be foolish to say he is a bad in-ring worker. Having gotten into shape and dropped a lot of fat this year, The Bully - as Mike Tenay affectionately refers to him as - has had quite a few top matches including a match of the year candidate with AJ Styles in their last man standing bout.
After a great career as a tag team wrestler, Bully Ray has found his niche as a singles star and elevated himself to a position where fans are craving to see him win a world title. As The Bully said in a backstage promo during his initial push earlier this year, in other words: "I would love to win the World Title.. can you imagine how pissed the wrestling world would be if Bully Ray was World Champ?"
While many smarks would have been pissed off at the time if that had come true, even smarks have some sense and they too have come around to Bully Ray being one of the best wrestlers in the business today. Who says only push youth?
5. James Storm
While Beer Money were the best tag team of 2010, the former TNA tag team champions got over on their superb wrestling abilities in their long series of matches with the Motor City Machine Guns. Everyone knew James Storm and Bobby Roode could go in the ring - but what everyone did not know was just how good James Storm was on the mic.
Clearly the Shawn Michaels to Bobby Roode's Marty Jannetty, James Storm was the breakout star of Beer Money during the Bound For Glory series finale - in which Bobby Roode undeservedly won. Just like Bully Ray is currently doing, James Storm carried Bobby Roode as a singles wrestler via his microphone skills, putting over his tag team partner in the build for his TNA World Title match at Bound For Glory with Kurt Angle. It became obvious who the real talent of the group had been all that time.
Though Storm is not as ripped as his former tag team partner, part of his appeal is his everyman look. A little on the fat side he may be, but it doesn't stop him from looking twice as tough and a more legitimate threat in the ring than Roode does since his cliched and uninspired heel turn.
Winning the world title, albeit for a brief amount of time, was clearly the highlight of Storm's year and his whole career. Roode may have stole his thunder for now, but when the TNA bookers realise Storm has more potential to be a main event player, he will be right back up there with the best of them. A win over Kurt Angle at the latest PPV shows he isn't done on top just yet.
4. Cody Rhodes
When Cody Rhodes first appeared on Raw all those years ago, getting slapped by Orton before being schooled by Hardcore Holly - it seemed that the current Intercontinental Champ was just another undeserving and pathetic-looking 2nd generation star who had got a WWE contract through family links alone.
How wrong was I, as Cody Rhodes has since elevated himself to become an almost permanent fixture in my fave five. While he was decent in Legacy, Rhodes really took off in 2010 when drafted to Smackdown - debuting his "Dashing" gimmick. After cutting a hilarious semi-shoot promo on the fat, wasting Matt Hardy, people began to take notice of Dusty's son.
But he'll never be as good as Goldust, they cried. How wrong they were. While the "Dashing" gimmick was fun, the best was yet to come - as at the beginning of 2011 the new Cody Rhodes was born. "Hideous" and "Grotesque" were the words standing out from his titantron video. After legitimately breaking his nose, Rhodes was forced to wear a protective mask which he worked into his character and so began a 4-month feud with Rey Mysterio in where Cody showed his real signs of being a future world champion.
Since his "Undashing" gimmick, a series of excellent matches and brilliant promos, Rhodes has emerged as one of the brightest talents in the WWE and for sure a world champion sometime in 2012. He has elevated the status of the IC title, just as he said he would do and brought more credibility to that belt than Daniel Bryan has reduced credibility from the world title.
Now unmasked and with plenty of character depth, Rhodes has all the freedom and potential to move up to the next level. A long feud with a legitimate main eventer such as Randy Orton or John Cena in 2012 will take him there.
3. Mark Henry
When I try to think of the worst aspects of WWE in the past few years, the tag team of MVP and Mark Henry often come to mind. While MVP was brilliant as the heel U.S. champion on Smackdown, tagging with Mark Henry in matching red outfits after a big losing streak was the sign of his demise, which would eventually see him leave for a new challenge in NJPW.
But Mark Henry didn't even have that period in his career he could look back on that MVP had. A feud or two with Undertaker and a run as ECW champion was okay, but nothing people would remember in 10 years time. No, Mark Henry would undoubtedly be remembered as the guy who got Mae Young pregnant and subsequently became the proud father of.. a plastic hand.
Then, the 2011 draft came and Mark Henry was moved to Smackdown as one of the "big moves" shown on the draft edition of Raw. A collective groan was emitted within the wrestling world, as a draft pick was seemingly wasted on the happy-go-lucky guy in the big red Kool-Aid outfit. But their groans were about to be proven erroneous and short-sighed, as Mark Henry turned heel that very same night, clotheslining John Cena.
Big deal, we cried - Mark Henry sucks heel or face. But how wrong we all were. The world's strongest man went on to become one of the biggest draws of the year in WWE and the Smackdown ratings went in the opposite direction to Raw's - they rised. Of course, there was more to that than just Mark Henry, but he was a vital ingredient in the success of Smackdown this year. His feuds with Sheamus, Randy Orton and Big Show were all incredible and featured surprisingly good matches - a rare feat for such a big guy (especially 2 big guys, when it came to his matches with Big Show). It was the first time in a long time the fans got to enjoy a dominant heel destroy everything in his path, and suddenly with his tough bastard ad-libbing and slapping up WWE production staff, Mark Henry felt fresh. Then he became the World Champion and you know the rest.
2. Gunner
If you told me this time last year than Gunner would become one of my favourite wrestlers in TNA, I would have said: who's Gunner? Oh, that guy who acts as security for Jeff Jarrett and Immortal? He's a wrestler?
Fast forward to twelve months later, and Mr. Intensity is piledriving Garrett Bischoff onto the exposed concrete. Concrete exposed by his new manager Ric Flair, no less.
He held the TV title for a while, but Gunner really had his breakout moment after pinning Mr. Anderson and Sting 2 weeks in a row, both of whom were the world champion at the time of defeat. It seemed like he was about to break out as the next big thing in TNA and perhaps even wrestling as a whole. His backstage promos were cold, calculating and believable. His in-ring work was hard-hitting and exciting.
But his push was put on hold and not even featured in the BFG series, a (fake) undefeated streak (17 wins and 3 losses) that Gunner deserved was given to the drab, boring Crimson. When a wrestler is named after the colour of his hair, you know he has no distinguishable charisma.
Still, Gunner has re-emerged towards the end of the year and now being managed by Ric Flair after Immortal has crumbled into ashes, a big feud with Garrett Bischoff going into 2012 is just the ticket to get him back on the map. Do I smell a World title next year?
1. R-Truth (Winner)
If a heel turn ever saved someone's WWE career, it was R-Truth in 2011. The phony "What's Up" rapping entrance, which was boring from the moment it was conceived, gave way to one of the funniest and most charismatic superstars in wrestling today.
John Morrison was hit with the Jannetty curse for a 2nd time, as after Miz had gone on to greatness after Miz 'n' Morrison, R-Truth went on to main event another 2 PPV's this year after turning heel and blowing smoke in his former tag team partner's face. Having already been in 2 main events (if you count the Royal Rumble) - R-Truth took his tally to an impressive 4 PPV main events after turning heel - a WWE title match with John Cena at Capitol Punishment, the PPV which was built around Truth himself. And then being involved in the Survivor Series main event against the returning Rock as part of The Awesome Truth with The Miz. A dream year for a guy who this time last year was rapping to fat kids in the audience "What's up?" to which they would reply in their high-pitched voices, and off-time with the music "...What's up?"
But it isn't just Truth's stellar mic work and gimmick that needs to be recognised - his in-ring work has for a long time been great. He just needed this gimmick and the feuds he has had this year to compliment his wrestling abilities. Now that he has been suspended (for smoking weed presumably), he could come back as heel or face and his gimmick would work either way and suit his in-ring style, such is the genius of his new creation.
And so I could go on about how funny Truth's promos were and how he was the greatest thing in wrestling for a number of months - the reason to tune in to Raw every week - but the best thing I could do is post up a video. So here it is:
One last thing that really shows how high Truth set the bar this year - he actually made the "WHAAAAAT?" chants become something funny to appreciate and laugh along with, instead of being tired and old. Dont what me!
6. Bully Ray
Bully mother f'n Ray. The best promo guy in the wrestling business, officially. Brother/Bubba/Bully Ray was always a great trash talker as part of The Dudleyz/Team 3D, but he has really come into his own as a singles wrestler this year since turning heel on D-Von.
And while you could say Bully Ray is one of the best on the mic, it would be foolish to say he is a bad in-ring worker. Having gotten into shape and dropped a lot of fat this year, The Bully - as Mike Tenay affectionately refers to him as - has had quite a few top matches including a match of the year candidate with AJ Styles in their last man standing bout.
After a great career as a tag team wrestler, Bully Ray has found his niche as a singles star and elevated himself to a position where fans are craving to see him win a world title. As The Bully said in a backstage promo during his initial push earlier this year, in other words: "I would love to win the World Title.. can you imagine how pissed the wrestling world would be if Bully Ray was World Champ?"
While many smarks would have been pissed off at the time if that had come true, even smarks have some sense and they too have come around to Bully Ray being one of the best wrestlers in the business today. Who says only push youth?
5. James StormWhile Beer Money were the best tag team of 2010, the former TNA tag team champions got over on their superb wrestling abilities in their long series of matches with the Motor City Machine Guns. Everyone knew James Storm and Bobby Roode could go in the ring - but what everyone did not know was just how good James Storm was on the mic.
Clearly the Shawn Michaels to Bobby Roode's Marty Jannetty, James Storm was the breakout star of Beer Money during the Bound For Glory series finale - in which Bobby Roode undeservedly won. Just like Bully Ray is currently doing, James Storm carried Bobby Roode as a singles wrestler via his microphone skills, putting over his tag team partner in the build for his TNA World Title match at Bound For Glory with Kurt Angle. It became obvious who the real talent of the group had been all that time.
Though Storm is not as ripped as his former tag team partner, part of his appeal is his everyman look. A little on the fat side he may be, but it doesn't stop him from looking twice as tough and a more legitimate threat in the ring than Roode does since his cliched and uninspired heel turn.
Winning the world title, albeit for a brief amount of time, was clearly the highlight of Storm's year and his whole career. Roode may have stole his thunder for now, but when the TNA bookers realise Storm has more potential to be a main event player, he will be right back up there with the best of them. A win over Kurt Angle at the latest PPV shows he isn't done on top just yet.
4. Cody RhodesWhen Cody Rhodes first appeared on Raw all those years ago, getting slapped by Orton before being schooled by Hardcore Holly - it seemed that the current Intercontinental Champ was just another undeserving and pathetic-looking 2nd generation star who had got a WWE contract through family links alone.
How wrong was I, as Cody Rhodes has since elevated himself to become an almost permanent fixture in my fave five. While he was decent in Legacy, Rhodes really took off in 2010 when drafted to Smackdown - debuting his "Dashing" gimmick. After cutting a hilarious semi-shoot promo on the fat, wasting Matt Hardy, people began to take notice of Dusty's son.
But he'll never be as good as Goldust, they cried. How wrong they were. While the "Dashing" gimmick was fun, the best was yet to come - as at the beginning of 2011 the new Cody Rhodes was born. "Hideous" and "Grotesque" were the words standing out from his titantron video. After legitimately breaking his nose, Rhodes was forced to wear a protective mask which he worked into his character and so began a 4-month feud with Rey Mysterio in where Cody showed his real signs of being a future world champion.
Since his "Undashing" gimmick, a series of excellent matches and brilliant promos, Rhodes has emerged as one of the brightest talents in the WWE and for sure a world champion sometime in 2012. He has elevated the status of the IC title, just as he said he would do and brought more credibility to that belt than Daniel Bryan has reduced credibility from the world title.
Now unmasked and with plenty of character depth, Rhodes has all the freedom and potential to move up to the next level. A long feud with a legitimate main eventer such as Randy Orton or John Cena in 2012 will take him there.
3. Mark HenryWhen I try to think of the worst aspects of WWE in the past few years, the tag team of MVP and Mark Henry often come to mind. While MVP was brilliant as the heel U.S. champion on Smackdown, tagging with Mark Henry in matching red outfits after a big losing streak was the sign of his demise, which would eventually see him leave for a new challenge in NJPW.
But Mark Henry didn't even have that period in his career he could look back on that MVP had. A feud or two with Undertaker and a run as ECW champion was okay, but nothing people would remember in 10 years time. No, Mark Henry would undoubtedly be remembered as the guy who got Mae Young pregnant and subsequently became the proud father of.. a plastic hand.
Then, the 2011 draft came and Mark Henry was moved to Smackdown as one of the "big moves" shown on the draft edition of Raw. A collective groan was emitted within the wrestling world, as a draft pick was seemingly wasted on the happy-go-lucky guy in the big red Kool-Aid outfit. But their groans were about to be proven erroneous and short-sighed, as Mark Henry turned heel that very same night, clotheslining John Cena.
Big deal, we cried - Mark Henry sucks heel or face. But how wrong we all were. The world's strongest man went on to become one of the biggest draws of the year in WWE and the Smackdown ratings went in the opposite direction to Raw's - they rised. Of course, there was more to that than just Mark Henry, but he was a vital ingredient in the success of Smackdown this year. His feuds with Sheamus, Randy Orton and Big Show were all incredible and featured surprisingly good matches - a rare feat for such a big guy (especially 2 big guys, when it came to his matches with Big Show). It was the first time in a long time the fans got to enjoy a dominant heel destroy everything in his path, and suddenly with his tough bastard ad-libbing and slapping up WWE production staff, Mark Henry felt fresh. Then he became the World Champion and you know the rest.
2. GunnerIf you told me this time last year than Gunner would become one of my favourite wrestlers in TNA, I would have said: who's Gunner? Oh, that guy who acts as security for Jeff Jarrett and Immortal? He's a wrestler?
Fast forward to twelve months later, and Mr. Intensity is piledriving Garrett Bischoff onto the exposed concrete. Concrete exposed by his new manager Ric Flair, no less.
He held the TV title for a while, but Gunner really had his breakout moment after pinning Mr. Anderson and Sting 2 weeks in a row, both of whom were the world champion at the time of defeat. It seemed like he was about to break out as the next big thing in TNA and perhaps even wrestling as a whole. His backstage promos were cold, calculating and believable. His in-ring work was hard-hitting and exciting.
But his push was put on hold and not even featured in the BFG series, a (fake) undefeated streak (17 wins and 3 losses) that Gunner deserved was given to the drab, boring Crimson. When a wrestler is named after the colour of his hair, you know he has no distinguishable charisma.
Still, Gunner has re-emerged towards the end of the year and now being managed by Ric Flair after Immortal has crumbled into ashes, a big feud with Garrett Bischoff going into 2012 is just the ticket to get him back on the map. Do I smell a World title next year?
1. R-Truth (Winner)
If a heel turn ever saved someone's WWE career, it was R-Truth in 2011. The phony "What's Up" rapping entrance, which was boring from the moment it was conceived, gave way to one of the funniest and most charismatic superstars in wrestling today.
John Morrison was hit with the Jannetty curse for a 2nd time, as after Miz had gone on to greatness after Miz 'n' Morrison, R-Truth went on to main event another 2 PPV's this year after turning heel and blowing smoke in his former tag team partner's face. Having already been in 2 main events (if you count the Royal Rumble) - R-Truth took his tally to an impressive 4 PPV main events after turning heel - a WWE title match with John Cena at Capitol Punishment, the PPV which was built around Truth himself. And then being involved in the Survivor Series main event against the returning Rock as part of The Awesome Truth with The Miz. A dream year for a guy who this time last year was rapping to fat kids in the audience "What's up?" to which they would reply in their high-pitched voices, and off-time with the music "...What's up?"
But it isn't just Truth's stellar mic work and gimmick that needs to be recognised - his in-ring work has for a long time been great. He just needed this gimmick and the feuds he has had this year to compliment his wrestling abilities. Now that he has been suspended (for smoking weed presumably), he could come back as heel or face and his gimmick would work either way and suit his in-ring style, such is the genius of his new creation.
And so I could go on about how funny Truth's promos were and how he was the greatest thing in wrestling for a number of months - the reason to tune in to Raw every week - but the best thing I could do is post up a video. So here it is:
One last thing that really shows how high Truth set the bar this year - he actually made the "WHAAAAAT?" chants become something funny to appreciate and laugh along with, instead of being tired and old. Dont what me!
Friday, 16 December 2011
Breakout Star Of The Year Award - Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment
This Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment award, the Breakout Star Of The Year goes to the best newcomer to a promotion within the last year.
5. Austin Aries
As Austin Aries made his way down the Impact Zone ramp donned in some kind of shit purple cape for the first time, me and my friends thought - who is this guy? Another lame skinny loser from ROH who thinks he's a big shot.
Then the match started and off he went, proving us all wrong. Finishing off some jobber with a sick-looking brainbuster, the saviour of the X Division was finally here. A little guy who actually carried himself like a main eventer, who didn't look nervous when he spoke, who could get away with his size because he acted like a man and not a boy.
What the X Division was lacking was someone like Aries, someone to give the division credibility. And sure enough, he became X Division champion within a couple of months of debuting - and rightfully so. While Kendrick had his funny moments through the year (calling Hogan a reptilian being the highlight) his in-ring style was bland and looked weak and ineffective. Aries hits much harder and his stiffness paid off for him.
But unfortunately Aries has fizzled out towards the end of the year after his impactful debut. The returning Kid Kash began to steal his spotlight and looked like the real star of the X Division, the new alpha male. Hopefully next year things will pick up for him again and it would be nice to see Aries against some bigger opponents.
4. Mason Ryan
"OMG BATISTA HAS JOINED THE NEW NEXUS WTF" were the collective thoughts of the Raw viewing audience as Mason Ryan made his debut attacking [insert whoever Punk was feuding with at the time here], and no doubt if WWE was as obsessed with Twitter as they are now then "Batista" would have been a trending topic popping up in the bottom left corner of the screen.
But it was not Batista joining the New Nexus that fateful night, it was Mason Ryan. While his debut year has been far from impressive, with no notable feuds or matches to speak of, the potential in Ryan is what sees him enter at number 4 on this list.
The big man from Wales has all the qualities to get a big push in the next year - i.e. he is one of the most muscular guys the WWE has ever seen. You can only imagine what he would have looked like during the 80's and 90's when everyone was on steroids. If guys like Evan Bourne and R-Truth can get busted on the Wellness policy and Ryan can't, then I don't know what he is eating for breakfast.
3. Garrett Bischoff
In one of the top contenders for match of the year (Hulk Hogan vs. Sting, Bound For Glory), Garrett Bischoff had his star-making moment. Like Clark Kent turning into Superman, the lowly referee Jackson James became the rebellious son of Eric Bischoff, Garrett. And not only was Garrett no longer a referee, he was the breakout superstar for TNA in 2011.
Flashing the Bischoff crest on his left pec with pride was another defining moment for the young star, standing up to his father for his evil wrong-doings in Immortal. And so begins the father-son feud between the two Bischoffs which will likely (hopefully) run long into the next year. One can only hope TNA brings in David Flair, son of Ric, to have a dream feud with Garrett Bischoff, son of Eric. Perhaps in 2012? Sometimes dreams do come true (see: Kevin Nash returning to the WWE).
2. Hunico
The lights dim down to a golden hue, the ethereal new age music begins, summoning spirits of the Aztecs, the rich heritage of the luchadors, the soul of Mexico. The trampoline is in place for the big entrance. And here he comes, Latin America's biggest wrestling superstar and the man that the all-mighty, all-knowing Wrestling Observer newsletter (more like MMA Observer these days) dubbed the "Wrestler of the year" back in 2006.
And then Sin Cara, a.k.a. Mistico, botches his ring entrance. Then he botches in his debut match. And again, and again. And then he fails the wellness test. Then he fucked his leg up with an injury. And the big project, designed to be the next Rey Mysterio to shift cheap masks to kids, completely fails.
But fortunately WWE has a plan. In comes Sin Cara Negro, the arch-nemesis of Sin Cara. And it turns out this guy is better than the real Sin Cara, much better in fact.
While Sin Cara was out for smoking weed, or whatever he did wrong, Sin Cara Negro was making the Sin Cara character look good. And so one of the worst feuds of the year began, Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara - then quickly ended, with Sin Cara Negro being unmasked in the end, who then became Hunico.
Hunico already looks like one of the best workers in the WWE today already and it would be a crime if they let him slip under the radar now. He has already had good matches as the fake Sin Cara and as Hunico - and being one of the last 4 in this years Survivor Series match was a mark-out moment for myself personally. If WWE want another guy for the Mexican audience to enjoy, here is your man. Dump Sin Cara and let him go back to Mexico, or the TNA X Division. Hunico is the next big thing.
1. Booker T (Winner)
WHUT DA HEYYUULLLL!
And with the greatest of ease, Booker T comes in at number one, the winner of the prestigious Breakout Star Of The Year Award! Of course, he makes this entry for his commentary career and not his wrestling career (which incidentally starts again this Sunday against Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental title).
First, let me take you back to last year. As the cameras rolled for NXT Season 3, the all divas season, and Michael Cole was just getting into full swing with his comedy heel character - things were good, but he needed someone to bounce off. The good guy to be the butt of his jokes - just as he had been for JBL years ago on Smackdown. Josh Matthews couldn't be that guy - though he has brilliant chemistry with Cole, he is simply too quiet and unopinionated. Though Josh is great, he works best as the subtle troll announcer - but that's a whole other article in itself.
So after turning up at the Royal Rumble and being one of the trainers for this year's Tough Enough, Booker T landed himself a commentary position on the Smackdown announce table. With cliche after cliche, smarks complaining online in droves about his ineffectual commentary and Cole ribbing him throughout the whole show, a new era of Smackdown was born. Smackdown became the absolute best wrestling show on TV this year, surpassing Raw and Impact. Of course, Orton, Christian, Mark Henry, Cody Rhodes, Sheamus and others were a big part of that - but it would not have been the same without Booker, Cole and Matthews calling the action.
To celebrate the first ever Breakout Star of the Year award winner, let us take a look at this very special clip of the man we know as the five time, five time, five time dubya C dubya champion, Booker T. Oh mah goodness!
5. Austin AriesAs Austin Aries made his way down the Impact Zone ramp donned in some kind of shit purple cape for the first time, me and my friends thought - who is this guy? Another lame skinny loser from ROH who thinks he's a big shot.
Then the match started and off he went, proving us all wrong. Finishing off some jobber with a sick-looking brainbuster, the saviour of the X Division was finally here. A little guy who actually carried himself like a main eventer, who didn't look nervous when he spoke, who could get away with his size because he acted like a man and not a boy.
What the X Division was lacking was someone like Aries, someone to give the division credibility. And sure enough, he became X Division champion within a couple of months of debuting - and rightfully so. While Kendrick had his funny moments through the year (calling Hogan a reptilian being the highlight) his in-ring style was bland and looked weak and ineffective. Aries hits much harder and his stiffness paid off for him.
But unfortunately Aries has fizzled out towards the end of the year after his impactful debut. The returning Kid Kash began to steal his spotlight and looked like the real star of the X Division, the new alpha male. Hopefully next year things will pick up for him again and it would be nice to see Aries against some bigger opponents.
4. Mason Ryan"OMG BATISTA HAS JOINED THE NEW NEXUS WTF" were the collective thoughts of the Raw viewing audience as Mason Ryan made his debut attacking [insert whoever Punk was feuding with at the time here], and no doubt if WWE was as obsessed with Twitter as they are now then "Batista" would have been a trending topic popping up in the bottom left corner of the screen.
But it was not Batista joining the New Nexus that fateful night, it was Mason Ryan. While his debut year has been far from impressive, with no notable feuds or matches to speak of, the potential in Ryan is what sees him enter at number 4 on this list.
The big man from Wales has all the qualities to get a big push in the next year - i.e. he is one of the most muscular guys the WWE has ever seen. You can only imagine what he would have looked like during the 80's and 90's when everyone was on steroids. If guys like Evan Bourne and R-Truth can get busted on the Wellness policy and Ryan can't, then I don't know what he is eating for breakfast.
3. Garrett BischoffIn one of the top contenders for match of the year (Hulk Hogan vs. Sting, Bound For Glory), Garrett Bischoff had his star-making moment. Like Clark Kent turning into Superman, the lowly referee Jackson James became the rebellious son of Eric Bischoff, Garrett. And not only was Garrett no longer a referee, he was the breakout superstar for TNA in 2011.
Flashing the Bischoff crest on his left pec with pride was another defining moment for the young star, standing up to his father for his evil wrong-doings in Immortal. And so begins the father-son feud between the two Bischoffs which will likely (hopefully) run long into the next year. One can only hope TNA brings in David Flair, son of Ric, to have a dream feud with Garrett Bischoff, son of Eric. Perhaps in 2012? Sometimes dreams do come true (see: Kevin Nash returning to the WWE).
2. HunicoThe lights dim down to a golden hue, the ethereal new age music begins, summoning spirits of the Aztecs, the rich heritage of the luchadors, the soul of Mexico. The trampoline is in place for the big entrance. And here he comes, Latin America's biggest wrestling superstar and the man that the all-mighty, all-knowing Wrestling Observer newsletter (more like MMA Observer these days) dubbed the "Wrestler of the year" back in 2006.
And then Sin Cara, a.k.a. Mistico, botches his ring entrance. Then he botches in his debut match. And again, and again. And then he fails the wellness test. Then he fucked his leg up with an injury. And the big project, designed to be the next Rey Mysterio to shift cheap masks to kids, completely fails.
But fortunately WWE has a plan. In comes Sin Cara Negro, the arch-nemesis of Sin Cara. And it turns out this guy is better than the real Sin Cara, much better in fact.
While Sin Cara was out for smoking weed, or whatever he did wrong, Sin Cara Negro was making the Sin Cara character look good. And so one of the worst feuds of the year began, Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara - then quickly ended, with Sin Cara Negro being unmasked in the end, who then became Hunico.
Hunico already looks like one of the best workers in the WWE today already and it would be a crime if they let him slip under the radar now. He has already had good matches as the fake Sin Cara and as Hunico - and being one of the last 4 in this years Survivor Series match was a mark-out moment for myself personally. If WWE want another guy for the Mexican audience to enjoy, here is your man. Dump Sin Cara and let him go back to Mexico, or the TNA X Division. Hunico is the next big thing.
1. Booker T (Winner)
WHUT DA HEYYUULLLL!
And with the greatest of ease, Booker T comes in at number one, the winner of the prestigious Breakout Star Of The Year Award! Of course, he makes this entry for his commentary career and not his wrestling career (which incidentally starts again this Sunday against Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental title).
First, let me take you back to last year. As the cameras rolled for NXT Season 3, the all divas season, and Michael Cole was just getting into full swing with his comedy heel character - things were good, but he needed someone to bounce off. The good guy to be the butt of his jokes - just as he had been for JBL years ago on Smackdown. Josh Matthews couldn't be that guy - though he has brilliant chemistry with Cole, he is simply too quiet and unopinionated. Though Josh is great, he works best as the subtle troll announcer - but that's a whole other article in itself.
So after turning up at the Royal Rumble and being one of the trainers for this year's Tough Enough, Booker T landed himself a commentary position on the Smackdown announce table. With cliche after cliche, smarks complaining online in droves about his ineffectual commentary and Cole ribbing him throughout the whole show, a new era of Smackdown was born. Smackdown became the absolute best wrestling show on TV this year, surpassing Raw and Impact. Of course, Orton, Christian, Mark Henry, Cody Rhodes, Sheamus and others were a big part of that - but it would not have been the same without Booker, Cole and Matthews calling the action.
To celebrate the first ever Breakout Star of the Year award winner, let us take a look at this very special clip of the man we know as the five time, five time, five time dubya C dubya champion, Booker T. Oh mah goodness!
Thursday, 15 December 2011
I'm Back!
So I was out with a torn quad for a few months but now, like masked Kane, I'm back.
And what a time to return as well, as the end of the year approaches.. It's awards season time! The Slammies have just taken place this past monday on Raw - which as a show was a fun show, but the actual awards themselves sucked. Over the next couple of weeks you will start to see me present the most prestigious awards in the history of our sport - the Smarkies.. or the Chickies.. Perhaps just the "Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment."
In the time I've been away I went to see Raw live in Liverpool which was my first ever live Raw. That was fun and we had a great time despite being in the nosebleed seats. My only disappointment was that Michael Cole didn't grace us with any mic time, but seeing him walk out at the beginning of the show was a pleasure, nonetheless.
Anyway, I've given you enough of my precious time already and I don't want to sour my return by overstaying my welcome - need to retain some of my enigmatic charisma. So hit my damn music..
And what a time to return as well, as the end of the year approaches.. It's awards season time! The Slammies have just taken place this past monday on Raw - which as a show was a fun show, but the actual awards themselves sucked. Over the next couple of weeks you will start to see me present the most prestigious awards in the history of our sport - the Smarkies.. or the Chickies.. Perhaps just the "Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment."
In the time I've been away I went to see Raw live in Liverpool which was my first ever live Raw. That was fun and we had a great time despite being in the nosebleed seats. My only disappointment was that Michael Cole didn't grace us with any mic time, but seeing him walk out at the beginning of the show was a pleasure, nonetheless.
Anyway, I've given you enough of my precious time already and I don't want to sour my return by overstaying my welcome - need to retain some of my enigmatic charisma. So hit my damn music..
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