Saturday, December 31, 2011
The Roderick Toombs Award - Best Performer on the Microphone in 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
The Fred Ottman Award - Worst Gimmick of 2011
The Brock Lesnar Award - Most Promising Wrestler for 2012
Last Year's Awards:
WINNER - DOLPH ZIGGLER
Technically, Dolph Ziggler became a World Champion in 2011, and that should make him ineligible for this award, but I have decided to overlook his championship reign since it essentially lasted only five minutes. Last year, I wrote that to make the leap to the main event, Dolph Ziggler needed to 1) Become more comfortable on the microphone and 2) Start developing his own heel persona instead of relying on Vickie Guerrero's heat. He has done both those things admirably. Through a combination of exaggerated cockiness, arrogant mannerisms and showing off his physical and athletic attributes, Dolph has evolved into a true, genuinely unlikable heel as opposed to a cool one whom you feel like cheering. He has also become remarkably at ease on the mic, and always comes across like a star in his promos. It is a great progression from the nervous, generic and stilted promos his was delivering a year or so ago. As for his in-ring work, he is arguably the best in-ring worker in WWE right now. He's got impeccable technique, great pacing and psychology and can sell like nobody else. He can also carry anyone to a good match (see Ryan, Mason) and is WWE's leading workhorse. This is evident from the fact that Dolph became the first man in more than fifteen years to wrestle two matches on the same night on consecutive pay-per-views. The last person to do it? Bret Hart.
1st RUNNER UP - WADE BARRETT
Wade Barrett should have become a World Champion in 2010 as part of the Nexus story arc. But much like WWE bungled that storyline, they also completely mismanaged Barrett as a character. Here is a performer with extraordinary presence and verbal skills, which make up for his somewhat limited wrestling style. Yet WWE never quite managed to find the right role for him apart from his spot-on casting as the leader of the rebel group. After the disintegration of the Nexus, Barrett was moved to Smackdown, where he floundered in the midcard. This included a disastrous stint in 'The Corre', one of the worst stables in memory. WWE seemed to realize the error of their ways towards the end of the year, and began positioning Barrett as a man with a higher agenda - a persona that perfectly suits him. As I write this Barrett is on his 'Barrett Barrage', an impressive winning streak, and being featured very strongly in a feud with Randy Orton. I suspect a Wrestlemania feud with The Undertaker and a World Championship could be in Wade Barrett's future in 2012.
2nd RUNNER UP - CODY RHODES
I oscillate in my views on Cody Rhodes. He is either hot or cold. Hit or miss. He is a very good wrestler, but tends to overact and go overboard with his facial expressions or promos. He also comes across as someone who is playing a character rather than extending his natural personality. However, there is no denying that he stands out, which is an achievement in WWE's current assembly-line environment of generic "WWE Superstars" who look and talk the same. At least Cody Rhodes is doing something different. He went from the "Dashing" narcissist persona to a tortued, masked "Phantom of the Opera" type character who believed himself to be disfigured, and did it quite convincingly. He brought back the classic WWE Intercontinental Championship, which was quite fitting in a way, because Cody Rhodes is somewhat of a throwback to the colourful wrestling personalities of the '80s and '90s. I was happy to see Cody shedding the mask and toning down the drama towards the end of the year. He is one of the best performers WWE has in the ring, and this combined with his unique persona makes him a prime candidate for a main event spot next year. I would hazard a guess that Cody wins a briefcase in July.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
The Vince Russo Award - Worst Wrestling Show of 2011
The tagline for TNA Impact read "Cross the Line". And that is exactly what the company has done - cross the line into full-fledged lunacy. They had astonishing angles such as the one in which Winter exercised mind control on Angelina Love. Fine. They pushed Eric Bischoff's son Garrett and a security guard named Gunner into main event positions. Okay. Soon after WWE dropped the "World Wrestling Entertainment" expansion since they didn't want to be associated with wrestling, TNA promptly changed the name of their show to 'Impact Wrestling', complete with the tagline 'Wrestling Matters'. They of course then went on to systematically reduce the amount of wrestling they featured on television. Aggravating, but let's say that's okay too. But when they choose to headline their biggest pay-per-view of the year with a match between the 58-year-old Hulk Hogan (who less than a year earlier had been on crutches after a back surgery) and the 52-year-old Sting (repackaged as The Joker, complete with clown makeup and maniacal laugh) and promote it as the greatest match of all time, I realized it was time to eliminate TNA from my life for the sake of my mental health. Total Nonsense Action.
Friday, December 16, 2011
The Paul Heyman Award - Best Wrestling Show of 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
The Katie Vick Award - Worst Storyline of 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Coming Soon - The 2011 Gorilla Awards
And the most prestigious wrestling awards in *name obscured by convenient cough* are back! Over the next few weeks I shall unveil The Gorilla Awards to honour wrestling's best in my own comically insignificant way. The awards shall be spread across 44 categories as usual. Too many, some (everyone but me) may say. But it must be done, because 44 is the age at which Shawn Michaels retired.
A disclaimer is in order: My wrestling viewing in 2011 has been dominated by WWE. I stopped watching TNA on the advice of my doctor, and I am ashamed to admit I have watched no ROH whatsoever. As for the other promotions, I have barely followed their progress online. So this is going to be a WWE-dominated list. Let's hope that changes next year.
So to those of you unfamiliar with the categories, I hereby present them to you in alphabetical order...
1. The Austin/McMahon Award – Best Feud
2. The Benoit/Guerrero Award – Most Memorable Moment
3. The Bret Hart Award – Best In-Ring Performer
4. The Brock Lesnar Award – Most Promising Wrestler
5. The Chris Benoit Award – Best Technical Wrestler
6. The Chris Irvine Award - Best Catchphrase
7. The Curt Hennig Award – Most Underrated
8. The Dalip Rana Award - Worst Wrestler
9. The Dwayne Johnson Award – Most Charismatic
10. The Eddie Guerrero Award – Retired/Injured/Late Wrestler who was Missed the Most
11. The Fliehr/Lunde/Rogowski/Blanchard Award - Best Stable
12. The Fred Ottman Award - Worst Gimmick
13. The Hart/Austin Award – Best Match
14. The Hector Guerrero Award - Biggest Letdown
15. The Henry/Young Award – Most Absurd/Unintentionally Funny Moment
16. The Howard Finkel Award - Best Major Show
17. The Jacobs/Levesque Award - Worst Feud
18. The Jim Ross Award – Best Announcer
19. The John Layfield Award – Best Gimmick Change
20. The Katie Vick Award – Storyline in Poorest Taste
21. The Keiichi Yamada Award - Best Wrestling Maneuver
22. The Kurt Angle Award – Best Debut Performer
23. The Mark Calaway Award - Best Gimmick
24. The Matt Cappotelli Award – Most Inspirational Wrestling Personality
25. The McMahon/Hart Award – Off-screen Story of the Year
26. The Michael Hickenbottom Award – Best All-Round Performer
27. The Mick Foley Award - Best Spot
28. The Mike Adamle Award – Worst Announcer
29. The Morasca/Sullivan Award - Worst Match
30. The Oscar Gutierrez Award – Best High-Flier
31. The Patricia Stratigias Award - Best Female Wrestler
32. The Paul Heyman Award - Best Wrestling Show
33. The Paul Wight Award- Most Improved Wrestler
34. The Phil Brooks Award – Best Face/Heel Turn
35. The Richard Blood Award - Best Babyface
36. The Richard Fliehr Award - Best Promo
37. The Roderick Toombs Award – Best Performer on the Microphone
38. The Scott Hall Award - Most Embarrassing Wrestling Personality
39. The Smith/Billington Award – Best Tag Team
40. The Steve Austin Award – Biggest Star
41. The Ted Dibiase Award - Best Heel
42. The Terry Bollea Award – Most Overrated
43. The Vince McMahon Award – Best Non-Wrestling Performer
44. The Vince Russo Award - Worst Wrestling Show