The Richard Blood Award - Best Babyface of 2010

This award recognizes the performers who have played the role of the hero or the good guy - the babyface, in wrestling parlance - the best, and have caused audiences to connect with them in this capacity. This award is named after Ricky Steamboat (Richard Blood), who wrestled his whole career as a face.

WINNER- JOHN CENA

Though many viewers, notably males above the age of 18 (myself included), find Cena's pure white, over-cheerful and sanitized superhero act annoying at times, the facts must be faced. No other babyface in world wrestling has the kind of connection that John Cena has with the crowd. Children and women in particular love him. The man is a merchandise-selling machine. The only wrestler who has earned more money for WWE through merchandise sales is Stone Cold Steve Austin. How valuable is such a performer? Consider this: WWE was so afraid of alienating fans and losing sales that they didn't even keep Cena off television for a single week after he was "fired" in the Nexus storyline. But to understand why Cena is worthy of this award, go on Youtube and view the insane reactions of children (and some adults) when he was forced to join the Nexus, and later during the firing angle. Case closed.

1st RUNNER UP - RANDY ORTON

Last year, it was hard to imagine that anyone could play a heel better than Randy Orton. This year, his character was essentially the same, and yet here is, inches away from ousting John Cena as the company's top face. What happened? Orton was so good at being bad that the fans desperately wanted to cheer him. WWE wisely decided to swim with the tide and turned him face in rivalries with Sheamus and Orton's own stable, Legacy. "The Viper" became intensely popular with the crowd, receiving reactions that rivaled and sometimes even dwarfed Cena's. At one point it seemed Orton had surpassed Cena in the pecking order, but Cena has regained some prominence in the later part of the year with the Barrett feud. Still, Orton embodies the modern babyface - the antihero who doesn't play to the crowd - better than anyone. Besides, nothing is close to being as awesome as the RKO.

2nd RUNNER UP - MR. ANDERSON

Much like Orton, Anderson's transformation into a babyface was dictated by the audience. In fact, the Impact Zone crowd loved his villainous rants so much that they proudly chanted "We're all assholes" after Anderson used the term to describe them. How could they not turn him after that? With his fantastic and unique style on his fantastic and unique microphone, Anderson is a riot to watch, and will continue to enthrall viewers. Anderson is one of the edgier babyfaces we have seen, and his success is further proof that the traditional see-no-evil type of hero is on his way out in today's wrestling scape.