Real Year End Awards! (All vote, why not?)

[Simply Beautiful]

OK, here's an idea I thought up since I'm bored as hell and my buddies don't get out of work til 10. We'll hand out awards, in mostly the categories WON uses. Feel free to vote, not vote, poke fun, whatever baby!

Promotion of the Year: TNA
Runner Up: WWE

Yeah, I know. I only started following it full-time recently. But just listen to the crowds chanting TNA at wrestling shows. It's growing, man, and it's not because of a couple of idiots calling out DX and Vince. It has the highest caliber of wrestling around right now, and once the show format improves, and they get two hours, WWE might be in trouble - probably not, since they don't go head to head, but hey, it's comp, baby!

Wrestler of the Year: Christian Cage
Runner Up: Samoa Joe

Thought about handing it to Samoa Joe, but Christian had such a great, breakout year. And he finally got the serious main event push that he never got in WWE - and now he's the NWA Champ, again.

Tag Team of the Year: London and Kendrick - Hooligans
Runners Up: LAX

LAX is great and all, but I've been a big fan of London and Kendrick for quite some time now, since they got their initial push around WM time. They've been cruising with the belts ever since, and were in an AWESOME 4 way tag ladder match where they pulled off some crazy, breath taking moves.

Match of the Year: Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker - No Way Out
Runner-Up: Rob Van Dam vs. Shelton Benjamin - Backlash

I posted my matches of the year earlier in a thread that Ryan started. I've changed my mind, however. I now say Angle vs. Taker is the best match I've seen. No gimmicks, nothing flashy. Just two of the very best wrestlers of all time, in a PPV main event. Thanks for the memories, Kurt, you crazy bastard. RVD and Shelton move up because I saw the match again recently and I remembered how great it really was.

Most Improved Wrestler: Edge
Runner Up: Umaga

People always ripped on Edge, and still do. Why, I don't know. I like him. He's a GREAT heel, and his in-ring work is solid. As for Umaga...he went from being Jamal, to be being a believable, monster heel with main event status. Not bad.


Moment of the Year: RVD wins the WWE Championship
Runner Up: Angle leaves WWE, Joins TNA Wrestling

RVD winning the belt was just great to see, a guy who for years was a top notch wrestler who just never got that top push, and finally did. Angle leaving was huge as well since he was the best wrestler WWE had and suddenly he's in TNA and going insane.

Feud of the Year: Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair
Runner Up: JBL vs. Rey Mysterio

Foley vs. Flair was awesome, especially if you've read their books and understand the real life heat they have with each other. JBL vs. Mysterio because JBL was in top notch heat-garnering form WITHOUT bad mouthing Eddie, and the match was a pretty good one on top of it.

Best Promos: Mick Foley
Runner Up: Konnan

Foley's always great on the mic, and he was just captivating in 2006. I idolize the guy, but i wouldn't just hand him the award if I didn't think he did a great job - and he did. As much as I dislike Konnan, he's done a great job getting LAX over. I hope he gets healthy soon.

Best Technical Wrestler: Kurt Angle
Runner Up: Chris Benoit

Angle edges him out because Benoit missed a lot of time with injuries.

Best Brawler: Samoa Joe
Runner Up: Dave Finlay

Samoa Joe is BRUTAL, every move looks like it kills the opponent, yet he doesn't injure anybody. Finlay is the same way, but Joe gets it because he's got a higher profile.

Best High Flyer: AJ Styles
Runner Up: Rey Mysterio

Rey-Rey only loses because of the injury and because his title run suck-diddly-ucked.

Most Ovverrated: Jeff (BLEEP)ing Jarret
Runner Up: Batista

OK, I'll be nice. I can't stand Jeff Jarrett. He uses his pull to stay on top of TNA, and puts on matches that just aren't special. He's good, yea, but he's ALWAYS the champion, for God's sake. And I've gotten sick of Batista already.

Most Underrated: CM Punk
Runner Up: Shelton Benjamin/Carlito (tie)

Three guys trapped in the doghouse thanks to politics. Whatever, TNA is waiting.

Best Weekly TV Show: RAW
Runner Up: TNA iMPACT!

Raw was good this year, even if it was pretty heavily based on segments. iMPACT! could be better, and is only on here because SmackDown! stunk most of the year and ECW is awful.

Commentator of the Year: JBL
Runner Up: Jim Ross

JBL is half the reason to watch SmackDown. Really. Ross is always great, too.

OK, I'm done. That was a good timekiller.

[Ravager]

I realize it's all about opinions and preferences. I have different preferences than others. And I have the utmost respect for you.

But Christian Cage, Wrestler of the Year? Ahead of Samoa "I'll put up with crazy Kurt Angle" Joe? Stay off the pipe son, that stuff rots your brain.

[Simply Beautiful]

Main reason: Joe/Angle sucked, and it should have been out of this world. Yeah, Angle is nuts, but that's out of the ring. It was supposed to be legendary - it ended up being nothing to write home about.

Christian was involved in a lot of good storylines, as well as some great matches (vs. Rhyno in a Barbed Wire cage comes to mind)

No one in WWE deserved it, except maybe Taker for the quality rather than quantity of matches he was involved in, though nonw he's becoming more of a regular TV guy again. Angle didn't because of his weird spell right round the time before his WWE release, and because of how poor the Angle/Joe matches were. (compared to how they should have been, because all three matches were good, even if I only saw one.)


Styles hasn't done much in 06. Neither has Daniels, and Jarret makes me puke.

So, I narrowed it down to these five. Cage, Joe, Angle, Undertaker, and Sting.

Cage won the NWA title twice, and worked well as a heel and face.

Angle had great matches in the WWE, but that was up until WM. After that he faded out, and he wasn't what he was supposed to be in TNA.

For Joe, pretty much see above.

Sting has been good, but not at the level of the others involved.

Taker hasn't been around enough.

Therefore, I picked Cage. Would some pick Joe? Yeah. Would I? I almost did, but changed my mind. I really think Christian has done that good of a job, and deserves some recognition for it, even if it's just from me lol.

[Ravager]

As a Canadian, I am happy that Christian is getting the push he's got. He has a lot of charisma. But here's the thing:

A good wrestler can get in the ring with a broomstick and make it look good. Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Chris Benoit, they can all do this.

Christian was in the ring with Alex Shelley, a phenomenal talent, and they had a poor match. And it wasn't Shelley's fault. Christian is a good wrestler. But he's not great. (don't stone me yet, I do have a point). I don't think his TNA title run was well booked. I don;t think the WWE gave him a chance. But I don't think he's that great a wrestler. And he certainly doesn't command the ring like Joe did, bad matches with Angle aside.

But that's just one man's opinion.

[Simply Beautiful]

I can definetly agree with you on a lot of that, and you've seen more TNA then I have. Points well taken, but I'm not gonna abandon Christian now lol.

[Ryan Ro [NAPW]]

Promotion of the Year: ROH
Runner Up: Suck it!

No other option. WWE is balls. TNA? One step forward, three steps back and too embarassing/frustrating. ROH? Great storylines all year with ROH vs CZW and the Road To Homicide, plus KENTA and Marfuji. DOn't forget about Bryan Danielson's amazing title run. ROH, ROH, ROH.

Wrestler of the Year: Bryan Danielson
Runner Up: Homicide

Danielson = Best Wrestler In Years. Unbelievable. Not only a great wrestler but a great personality with charisma and insane heat. Homicide? Wow. What the hell else do you say? In TNA or ROH he's the man, even with very different roles.

Tag Team of the Year: LAX
Runners Up: Kings of Wrestling

LAX is something special in wrestling. They have incredible heat, a good entrance, and fantastic charisma. Konnan the mouthpiece, Hernandez the more-than-capable muscle, and Homicide to make sure it all comes together. Intense, hip, and actually justified.

Kings of Wrestling I may not have seen THAT much of. But my God hahahaha, from the We Are The Champions entrance to Chris Hero's ultra-heel act and Claudio's "EHHH!"... love them. LOVE THEM.

Match of the Year: Danielson/McGuinness, Unified
Runner-Up: Danielson/KENTA

Yep. Watch them. Now.

Most Improved Wrestler: Edge
Runner Up: Delirious?

This is the first year I really BOUGHT Edge as a serious, main-event level heel. I really think WWE dropped the ball by having Cena win the belt two weeks after NYR at the Rumble. Edge/Cena with Cena finally getting the belt back would have been awesome. But basically: Edge really stepped up to become a better wrestler and made one hell of a rivalry with Cena work.

DELIRIOUS WINS! DELIRIOUS WINS! BRAAAA BAAAA RAAAAA!


Moment of the Year: ANGLE IN TNA WTF
Runner Up: HOMICIDE IN CAGE OF DEATH

Forget everything that happened before or after. Angle getting fired/quitting WWE was shocking enough. Then. "Our Ring Has Six Sides... but only one Angle." Not expected at ALL.

Storyline/match wise, HOMICIDE showing up to help ROH win Cage of Death was one of the most electrifying moments in wrestling, ever. Honorable mention to LAX vs Daniels/Styles. This one episode of Impact... LAX were assaulting Daniels behind a chainlink fence, and Styles couldn't get in. I don't recall exactly. Styles reached through the gate and like gripped Daniels hand even as LAX assaulted him brutally. I almost started crying. It was one of the most amazing, dramatic moments and it slipped by like *that*. Too bad (BLEEP)ing Russo had to turn Styles heel for no good reason and ruin that dynamic.

Feud of the Year: ROH vs CZW
Runner Up: LAX vs Styles & Daniels

If you missed them, you missed out. Get DVDs.


Most Overrated: Batista
Runner Up: Ric Flair

I'll admit being a fan of Batista's when he first went on to win the belt. But since he came back... wtf? He sucks. He can't wrestle. He barely moves. He sucks in the ring, and he's a babyface wimp, smiling at the fans. Some "Animal." Just awful. Booker carried their feud and made it seem like it mattered.

Flair is and will always be FLAIR but unfortunately he's jobbed so much that a win over him doesn't mean anything. It's fun to see him in the ring but I mean, a win over Ric Flair should be HUGE. It's not. Everybody pins Ric Flair these days. Oh well. He'll probably die in the ring.

Best Weekly TV Show: NONE
Raw sucks. Smackdown... actually it's passable with solid wrestling and JBL commentary. ECW, nuff said. Impact? I hate Impact. It's not only rushed in terms of angles, but pacing. It's a TAPED SHOW that takes four minute commercial breaks in the middle of matches. WTF. SHOW ME THE MATCH. They don't understand drama at the show. One music ends and another starts immediately. There's no time or pause for the first wrestler to play the crowd, no no, WILD CAMERA SWING to the entrance for guy two. It's brutal. Add in West & Tenay's over-hyped shilling and the "ADRENALINE" music... it's a bad, bad show. I understand it's only an hour but I can barely sit through it due to so many production choices.


Commentator of the Year: JBL
Runner Up: Jim Ross

JBL - ANNOUNCING GOD. Wow. Amazing. He cites HISTORY. He puts OVER THE WRESTLERS. He makes matches seem IMPORTANT. He can relate storytelling about the matches and what it's like to be in the ring. And he has decent chemistry with Cole already.

JR might not be as sharp as he was, but thing is? He's still one of the best at getting you involved. Tenay and West overhype everything. When Ross gets emotional, it's intense and real because he doesn't get like that all the time. He still has various ways of saying "this match sucks" without SAYING it outright. JR and King is a bit played out, but thing is... who's better? NOt really anybody, and they do have great chemistry still.










[/quote]

[Simply Beautiful]

You ROH mark. lol

I need to see some ROH. Hopefully next time I have the dough to bid on ebay I'll win.

I could go the easy route and just BUY them from the ROH website, but there's not adventure in that.

I officially recant Christian Cage's wreslter of the year award. And grant it toooooo............Samoa Joe.

New runner up - Koko B. Ware w/ Freddie

[David Banks]

I just wanted to say that JBL is the promo KING!!

Mick who??

[Ryan Ro [NAPW]]

I might be becoming an ROH mark. I have seen a couple shows that were just "okay."

But realistically as a wrestling fan, WWE and TNA are both aggravating. Do both promotions have high points? Sure. But too much is just annoying...

[Ravager]

ROH does awesome stuff. Their fans are incredibly arrogant. When one of their regulars is more well known than the wrestlers, and winds up getting banned for life (and challenged by Teddy Hart to come to Calgary for a fight) you know you have problems.

Also, if you want some good indy stuff, check out IWA MId-South. Great wrestling there.

[Stone Zellor]

PWG! So-Cal baby