The Phil Brooks Award - Best Executed Face/Heel Turn of 2011

This award honours the best "turn" of the year, in which a wrestler was shifted to the other end of the good/evil spectrum in the most compelling manner. Named after CM Punk, whose turn from a generic babyface to militant preacher is one of the best in wrestling history.

Last Year's Awards:

Winner - Randy Orton (From Heel to Face - Slow Turn in January 2010)

1st Runner Up - Mr. Anderson (From Heel to Face - at TNA Sacrifice)

2nd Runner Up - Jeff Hardy (From Face to Heel - at TNA Bound For Glory)

WINNER - CM PUNK (FROM HEEL TO FACE - JUNE 27 2011)

A little over six minutes is all it took to transform CM Punk from one of the most despised heels as the leader of the New Nexus to the biggest anti-establishment babyface since Stone Cold Steve Austin. Punk's venomous, semi-shoot promo ripping Vince McMahon and the WWE is now legendary (If you haven't watched it, Google 'CM Punk 27 June' NOW) but I doubt if even Punk himself anticipated that it would turn him into a face almost immediately. Punk masterfully suppressed the mounting cheers during his speech by turning on the crowd, but by the following week's RAW, he had become a face in the eyes of a large part of the audience. The transformation was always instant. The fans recognized that they had seen something special, and just couldn't boo the man anymore. I do not know if this was an accidental turn, but it was a fantastic one nevertheless. Punk may be a master heel, but he has since proved to be a great face as well, managing to garner huge crowd support without losing the edge that sets him apart.

1st RUNNER UP - MARK HENRY (FROM FACE TO HEEL - APRIL 25 2011)

Mark Henry's Wikipedia page has a section titled "Face Turn and Various Tag Teams (2009-2011)" and that pretty much defines his career for the last two years. However, on the Draft episode of RAW, WWE turned Mark Henry heel by having him attack John Cena and Christian, whom he was partnering in a six-man tag match. The turn itself was routine textbook material - if there was a text book on how to become a heel, 'Attack Tag Team Partner' would probably be in the first chapter. However, it was the aftermath of the turn that was truly outstanding. WWE booked Mark Henry as an unstoppable monster, having him destroy Big Show, Kane and Vladimir Kozlov, and also showcasing him in amazing feats of strength, such as ripping off the door of a steel cage. This was a fantastically executed heel turn that finally made Mark Henry relevant after fifteen years and brought him a World Heavyweight Championship.

2nd RUNNER UP - SHEAMUS (FROM HEEL TO FACE - SLOW TURN IN JUNE 2011)

This was another case of a crowd defining a wrestler's direction. Sheamus's highly physical wrestling style and no-nonsense demeanour was beginning to earn him a fair amount of cheers during his matches. WWE decided to embrace this favourable sentiment and turn Sheamus babyface. It was apparent in early June that WWE was holding off from having Sheamus do any particularly nefarious deeds, as he transitioned into a tweener. When Sheamus returned in just two weeks from a Randy Orton punt, it built up the audience's respect for him. WWE perfectly sealed his face turn by having him be the first to confront a rampaging Mark Henry. Everyone loves someone who stands up to a bully, and WWE used the fact very cleverly to consolidate support for the Irishman. The turn seems to have worked really well. Sheamus frequently receives among the biggest pops of the night and looks set for a big push and possibly a Royal Rumble victory heading into 2012.

The Scott Hall Award - Most Embarrassing Wrestling Personality of 2011

This award recognizes the person whose behaviour caused the most shame, or indeed, concern, to the professional wrestling industry. It may be awarded to someone who gave the business a bad name through his/her actions, or just someone who has acted like a complete idiot. Named after Scott Hall, who has had a sadly distinguished history of embarrassing behaviour.

Last Year's Awards:

Winner - Bubba the Love Sponge

1st Runner Up - Matt Hardy

2nd Runner Up - Scott Hall

WINNER - MATT HARDY

I wrote about Matt Hardy antics last year in a humorous manner, but it would be mean-spirited to do the same this time considering that he has regressed from what were attention-seeking and immature antics a year ago into genuinely self-destructive behaviour. He was hired by TNA early in the year after being let go by WWE late in 2010. Although he continued to post ridiculous videos and annoying messages online, the first sign of a serious downward spiral came in August when he crashed into a tree while driving drunk. He was soon released by TNA, although in typical Matt Hardy fashion, he claimed that the entire ordeal had been a rebirth for him, and that he had felt the "Blood of an angel" flowing inside him as he lay in the wreckage of his car. A few days later he did something truly frightening, posting a "Goodbye World" suicide video on Youtube. Concerned fans made around thirty calls to 911, and the police reached Hardy's home only to find that he had been faking. This of course lead to angry backlash against Matt online, including harsh words from Jeff's wife. Matt promptly backed down, using the preposterous reasoning that since the words 'suicide' or 'death' had never been in the video, it was all in our imaginations. He continued to have a horribly troubled year, including three arrests in a single month for counts of drunk driving and possession of drugs. He appeared to take a positive step by joining a WWE-sponsored rehab program, but was kicked out for secretly drinking alcohol, following which he was arrested again. It is sad to think Matt Hardy has reached this state when he was once considered the level-headed and easygoing of the Hardy brothers. I truly hope he manages to get his life back in order in 2012.

1st RUNNER UP - JEFF HARDY

Unlike his brother Matt who has only recently begun acting like an idiot, Jeff Hardy has had years of experience. WWE must be silently thankful that they got rid of him when they did, even though it seemed like a big blow at the time. Less than two weeks after Jeff's departure from WWE in 2009 did his infamous arrest for drug possession and trafficking take place. The game of legal hopscotch that he and his lawyers successfully played in 2010 continued in 2011, with innumerable delays, adjournments and continuances meaning that he successfully stayed out of jail for most of the year. He only ended up with a fine, 30 months of probation and 10 days in jail. I am not qualified to make an assessment as to whether that is legally fair, but I am still amazed that despite his proven unreliability TNA still wanted this man to be their World Heavyweight Champion at the start of the year. Their decision blew up in their face at Victory Road in March. Apparently Hardy showed up completely high and in no condition to wrestle. This resulted in one of the most embarrassing main events in wrestling history. With Jeff Hardy barely able to function much less work a match, his opponent Sting had to legitimately use his strength and pin him in a match that lasted 88 seconds. The crowd was justifiably furious, and even Sting was shaking his head and could be seen saying "I agree" to the fans. TNA had to offer fans who bought the PPV free access to their video library for six months in compensation. Jeff was sent home, and only returned months later to perform. The first thing he did was apologize to the fans and ask for one more chance to finally get his life back in order, and we can only hope he does because he is a genuinely talented and exciting performer.

2nd RUNNER UP - MELINA

Since I couldn't fairly mock Matt and Jeff for their serious problems, I am glad to able to write about Melina as the third most embarrassing wrestling personality of 2011 purely for her extremely vocal opinions, which thankfully coincide with outstandingly annoying personality traits, bad spelling and mild stupidity to make for some nice comic relief. As much as WWE did to promote Twitter in 2011, Melina was among the leading arguments against the website. Following her release from WWE, she continuously weighed in with expert critique on wrestling, using a shrillness usually reserved for fingernails on a chalkboard. She alternated between commenting that high powers were strangling the 'art of wrestling' due to certain events on the latest RAW and claiming that she did not watch the show anyway, so could we please tell her what these certain events on the latest RAW were. Yes, you read that right. The woman whose greatest contribution to wrestling was the sight of a full split in a skirt did in fact make choice comments on the art of wrestling. But let's back up a minute...why was she released? Melina had always had heat in the locker room, but the final straw may have come at Wrestlemania. Melina was apparently hugely jealous that Trish Stratus had got a spot on the card, feeling that she deserved it instead. Due to this, she and her boyfriend John Morrison were apparently hugely disrespectful to the universally-liked Trish. Morrison, who was in the match with Trish even refused to listen to her ideas and gave her the could shoulder during the post-match celebrations. We don't know if this was the breaking point, but Melina was released in a couple of months. Embarrassingly, she continued to accompany John Morrison on the road, and eventually had to be told to leave the arena before an episode of RAW. Here's hoping Melina sticks to what she does best and uses her Twitter account only to post pictures of herself doing splits.

New Year's Special - 12 Suggestions for WWE in 2012 - Part 2

As promised, here is Part 2, with Abhishek Sen weighing in with his half. He too is a hardcore wrestling fan, as will become obvious when you read this post. He also has his own blog, which you can read at http://scene-unsorted.blogspot.com. So here are his six suggestions for WWE in 2011:

GIVE US MORE OF TOUGH ENOUGH

As the Wrestling year started in April, Tough Enough was being promoted as the newest and next big thing in profesional wrestling. And it did not disappoint with contestants like Jeremiah, from an MMA background, Miss America Rima Fakih, 'Pretty Boy' Luke Robinson, Martin Casuas (personal favorite), & the eventual winner Andy Leavine. The best part of Tough Enough was that it showed what it took to become a professional wrestler. Even non-wrestling fans sat up and took notice at the conditioning, dedication and will it takes to perform at the highest level everyday. The star-mentoring was great, with appearances from John Cena, Big Show, Bret Hart, The Miz, & The Rock amongst others. But the real surprise package was Stone Cold Steve Austin, as the mentor for the contestants and the host of the show. I was a bit circumspect as to whether Austin could carry the mantle of being a reality show host, but he did it with the pure Texan aplomb that made him such a fan favourite to start with.

P.S. Booker T losing his shit with Ryan was a legendary TV moment.

BRING BACK THE MEGA-STABLES

I, for one, love the old school Mega Stables. Major stars, all in one group, under the tutelage of someone who is (or at least thinks he is the) best. WWE has been the home of some awesome stables. Evolution, DX, The Corporation, The Nation of Domination, The Ministry of Darkness, The Corporate Ministry are some of the names which come to mind when you talk of Mega stables. I guess stables are one of the best ways to build up stars (Case in point : Orton, Batista, Chyna, HHH, The Rock, Edge). For a company that has a major problem in starpower, this is one tried and tested method that is almost guaranteed not to fail.

TURN CM PUNK HEEL

This guy singlehandedly made wrestling relevant again. One promo in June was all it took to get the ball rolling and make wrestling fun again. Then HHH and his massive ego completely destroyed his momentum, but 2011 was the year of CM Punk. Firebrand promos, amazing ringwork and brilliant storytelling made this guy the best wrestler in the pro wrestling world in 2011. That being said, I personally feel Punk works best when he is despised. His militant straight-edge views, razor-sharp promos (refer to the Jeff Hardy feud) make him a wrestler fans love to hate. (Remember the segment of him & Randy Orton, in Orton's tour bus or his nefarious manipulation in the Rumble match last year) I would love to see him turn heel personally, though I know its not gonna happen. But it definitely will be a shot in the arm for a company who have a major problem when it comes to finding a Mega Heel.

PRESERVE THE SANCTITY OF SPECIALTY MATCHES AND DON'T USE THEM AS GIMMICKS TO MAKE NEW PPVs

One of my pet peeves, this. WWE has demeaned so many of the matches that were once legendary. Matches like Hell in a Cell, TLC and Extreme Rules were all matches which catapulted lesser beings to immortality and gave us many a 'Holy Crap' moment. I don't understand why the WWE (read Vince McMahon) has chosen to cancel many of the PPVs that the wrestling fans of the 90's grew up watching. Unforgiven, Armageddon, Fully Loaded, Bad Blood are some of the PPVs which come to mind when talking about the old PPVs. I shudder to think what would happen if Iron Man is made into a PPV! Plus, I think we can agree that the older PPV names were much cooler.

GIVE DOLPH ZIGGLER A ROYAL RUMBLE VICTORY

Another guy who had an amazing 2011. Great in-ring work, constant improvement on the mic, and Dolph Ziggler is fast becoming a guy who can draw genuine heat from the fans. The only logical step for the WWE is now to give him an opportunity in the main event. He has been a mid-carder for too long, and personally I would love to see him win the Royal Rumble this year. That would give the WWE a great chance in finding out if Ziggler has what it takes to carry the company. I would agree with my tag partner ADM, that we both see a little bit of Shawn Michaels in Ziggler. So I say give him the proverbial ball and let him run with it.

TURN JOHN CENA HEEL

This HAS to happen. Not only will it make for great TV, but it also will possibly save John Cena's career & credibility. WWE has screwed the pooch with Cena's booking over the past 18 months. He has been made to look like a superhuman, Hulk-Hoganesque, can-rise-above-any-adversity type of character. I completely understand that the WWE's demography has changed, and with the PG thing, it is trying to garner a more mainstream appeal. But they have to realise that Cena has over stayed his run as a face. Its more & more evident each & every week on Raw. I guess with the feud with The Rock at WM coming up, a heel turn seems imminent. But WWE has been changing storylines (or forgetting about them) for quite some time now. One of the best storylines in recent history was Hogan turning heel & forming the nWo. That defined a generatoion & set the tone for what was to be called the Monday Night Wars. With Raw's viewership falling consistently every week & PPV buys dwindling, this is the one change which needs to take place.

New Year's Special - 12 Suggestions for WWE in 2012 - Part 1

A very Happy New Year to all you readers! The skeptic may at this point snicker and say "Which readers?", but they can doubt all they want, for my visitor count seems to suggest that my blog is, however inexplicably, being read or at least visited by sentient beings. Of course, the more diligent and annoying skeptic might then ask whether I and these sentient beings have ever been seen together in the same place. Moving on.

We will be having our very first guest blogger shortly - Abhishek Sen, a fellow wrestlemaniac from Shillong will chime in with his thoughts. You can read his blog here at http://scene-unsorted.blogspot.com. This is hopefully the first of many collaborations on The Gorilla Post.

Today's post is about 12 things we would like to see WWE doing in 2012. (Aren't you glad it isn't 1999?). We both came up with our own lists - they were quite different,but had some overlapping points. Eventually we narrowed it down, and we will each write about 6 suggestions (Although wishes may be a more appropriate word).

So here we go, with my half in Red. His will follow shortly in Blue.

BRING BACK JR

Among all the unfathomable decisions that WWE has made over the last couple of years, perhaps one of the most bizarre is replacing Jim Ross with Michael Cole as the voice of the WWE. I understand the need to make prudent decisions with an eye on the future, but benching arguably the greatest play-by-play announcer in the history of wrestling when he's still in fine health and top form is not a prudent decision, and Michael Cole is not much of a future. Some of the greatest wrestling memories of the past are preserved in my head accompanied by the soundtrack of JR's commentary ("Stunner! Bah gawd he's broken in half", "Shawn Michaels is the World Champion.Do you believe in miracles?", "I just had an out of body experience!") while all that the announcers seem to talk about since his departure is what's trending worldwide on Twitter. Enough. Bring him back.

REBUILD THE TAG DIVISION

Tag team wrestling is a legitimately different skill from singles wrestling. It adds an interesting aspect of teamwork to the story of each match, contains ample potential for drama, high spots, chain wrestling and is also a great way for undercard wrestlers to develop their skills and get over with the crowd. The basic dynamic of good vs. evil often takes on more intensity when there are teams involved. For this reason, tag teams often form strong bonds with audiences. WWE has been sadly ignoring this art for around six years, and they do it a great disservice whenever they shove together two wrestlers to forcibly construct a short-term alliance instead of building complementary and synchronized teams. The division seems to have seen some resurgence over the last few months due to decent teams like Air Boom, The Usos and Primo & Epico. This needs to continue in 2012. It would be great if WWE hired some known teams from the independent circuit.

HIRE FEMALE WRESTLERS, NOT MODELS

I get it. WWE loves gorgeous women. Who doesn't? But it makes me cringe every time I see Kelly Kelly bounce awkwardly off the ropes or Alicia Fox throw a punch. Even if WWE were only hiring pretty faces (and I'm not saying they are) I refuse to believe there are no decent looking women in the world who also happen know what to do inside a ring. If you belong to that school of thought, I've got two words for you: Trish Stratus. There is a large enough pool of female wrestlers in the world to at least make an effort. Continue to feature the Kellys and Eves. They are improving and will continue to do so. But give great female performers the chance to showcase their talent in the biggest wrestling company in the world. The young male demographic isn't as fixated on looks as you think. Give us a hell of a match, and we'll thank you for it.

CHANGE THE WWE CHAMPIONSHIP BELT

Gather a hundred people who have never seen wrestling before. Give them a brief history of the industry. Tell them about its most prestigious prize - a championship belt that has been handed down with honour over half a century, starting with Buddy Rogers in 1963, all the way to CM Punk in 2011. Now tell them to sketch what they think this holy artifact would look like, based on the description. Then tell them to sketch large shiny objects that they think might be found in Snoop Dogg's attic. Do you see where I'm going with this?

"The current title is old and passe. Its gaudy and ugly. It says "Champ" instead of Champion. That's ridiculous! I need a dignified title, not a blinged out rapper accessory." - CM Punk

"When football players win the Super Bowl or basketball players win the NBA finals, you'll usually see one of the players sporting a championship from WWE. But it's always the World Heavyweight Title. It doesn't take much to figure out why that is." - The Miz

BUILD STORYLINES AROUND CHAMPIONSHIPS

Look at the biggest angles of the last couple of years. The Nexus. John Cena getting "fired". The Rock returning to challenge John Cena. CM Punk leading a 'reality' revoultion. What do they all have in common? They all featured the WWE Championship, but the storylines had nothing to do with the title, relying on great dramatic hooks instead. Lance Storm really made an excellent point last year when he suggested on his blog that falling pay-per-view buys and TV ratings might be due to WWE focusing on storylines rather than angles. The difference? In the old days, wrestlers would be built up individually, and an angle (intersection of the two lines or paths taken by the separate performers) constructed to set up a match between the two. The anticipation would be solely for the match. In the modern WWE, all the intrigue is about whether someone will get fired, leave, come back, betray someone or align with someone else. As a result, the casual fans don't have to watch the show to find out what happens. They can skip the pay-per-view main event and watch RAW instead. They can even forget about RAW and go online. Professional wrestling works best when its about the matches. The championships are a legitimately big deal. They need to be treated with respect again. It's sports entertainment. Sports comes first.

DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO BOOK CM PUNK vs. CHRIS JERICHO FOR WRESTLEMANIA

"The Best in the World".

Wrestling is traditionally full of hyperbole and exaggeration. But when CM Punk calls himself the best wrestler in the world, he is telling the truth. By "wrestler" here, what he means is "performer", and no wrestler in the world is a more complete performer than Punk at this point. Or should I say no active wrestler. Because there is one man in recent memory who has performed at just as high a level as Punk is doing right now. Perhaps higher. He even called himself the best in the world two years ago, and at the time he was telling the truth too. That man is Chris Jericho. To those of you who sneer at wrestling and consider its practitioners brainless, I challenge you to look at CM Punk and Chris Jericho and still say the same thing with a straight face. Here are two performers who elevate wrestling to high art - staying in touch with the audience, continuously evolving their looks and characters, incorporating elements from both popular and obscure culture into their personas and always staying fresh, relevant and interesting. These are men who are masters of the microphone and generals of the ring, alchemists who turn everything that they touch into gold. In a landscape populated by athletes, actors and apers, these men are artists. Which is why WWE must do anything in their power to get Chris Jericho to come back, even if it is only to feud with CM Punk for Wrestlemania. Promise him a movie, an unreasonable amount of money or a night with the Bella twins. Whatever it takes. When he left, Jericho said he would come back if the time was right. Well, the time is right . Wrestlemania is being headlined by the two biggest stars of Jericho's and Punk's respective generations. Bring back Chris Jericho, and the artists can show the stars how it's really done.