The major
Japanese leagues, AJPW and NJPW, suffered hard times especially AJ when
Misawa split and took most of the roster, forming Pro Wrestling NOAH.
NJPW's hard times weren't financially, since they are #2 in the world in
that department, but rather product-wise, becoming the worst league in
Japan with only junior matches making the product slightly watchable. The
burial of Shinya Hashimoto early this year was depressing. An excellent
array of indies carried the puroresu scene in 2000. Toryumon and Michinoku
Pro (using Toryumon talent along with it's own) were and still are the
best pound for pound leagues on earth. Big Japan Pro-Wrestling continued
to redefine hardcore wrestling, serving us the match of the year between
the awesome Honma and Yamakawa. However in April when CZW (Combat Zone
Wrestling) arrived from America to work with Big Japan, it went downhill.
Other promotions such as FMW, Osaka Pro and even Onita Pro provided us
with some great wrestling, making 2000 not completely disasterous for the
business.
JOE KLEMM: This year, WCW went way downhill. From bringing back Vince
Russo as booker, to giving David Arquette the title (somewhere David's
grandpa, Charlie Weaver, is rolling in his grave), all theway to a heel
Duggan, WCW has become even worse than it was last year.
DON DEL GRANDE: Some awards are hard to vote on based just on a line of
text in the nominations - for example, some of us can't remember what the
highlights (and lowlights) were in most of the major shows (awards 37,
46). How about a little more description, even if it means splitting the
nomimations into two posts next year?
RICHARD BEAUBIEN: Oh what a difference a year makes in terms of voting in
the RSPW awards. From a North American stand point (My Puro knowledge not
being up to snuff to vote for them in most categories) last year was
pretty even in awards, even with WCW's free fall in quality. They still
had Benoit, Guerrero, and so many other tools to put on a quality product
and factor into the awards. This year it isn't even close, with all of the
good stuff coming mostly from the WWF, and all of the crap coming from
WCW. With the departure of the Radicals to the WWF to the booking of Vince
Russo (it's a shoot baby), never has the awards process been so simple and
easy to follow. Which in many ways may be a bad sign for the business, as
the WWF starts to fall into the rut that lead to there first collapse...
M. PALUMBO: A very dismal year for wrestling in general, many poor
nominees for catagories.
TORREY SPEARS: 2000 Was the year for Triple H. No doubt about it.
Triple H came on this year and really established himself as one of the
best wrestlers/workers in the business. Some question his willingness to
job, and he occasionally overbooks himself, but anyone who can wrestle a
Hell in a Cell match, and follow it up with an iron man match, never
skipping a night in between, deserves all the accolades in the world.
Give it up for Right To Censor... taking perennial midcarders Bull
Buchanan and Godfather and giving them an angle w/ purpose... now if only
Val would dress like the rest of them... Kurt Angle exploded onto the
scene, and has been golden this year. Right now, he's current booking
sucks, but I still look for big things from the Olympic hero in the
future! The Rock, in attempting to make his moveset for variable, just
looks out of control and sloppy in the ring. What happend to the Rock?
He used to be original, witty, funny, and fresh... now he's stale and
boring, and only appeals to the marks. I miss "Rocky Sucks!".... ....
The thought of Booker T. as WCW champion seemed almost perfect... he's an
outstanding worker with great talent, and okay mic skills. What happend?
They tried to make him into another "Rock", and it failed... now you have
this 'guy' out there who's holding the belt... WCW in itself is in such
disarray, it's a shame to see such a proud franchise in turmoil. Vince
Russo has ruined WCW beyond repair. Trying to turn it into the WWF2 was a
BIG mistake... the shock value was cool for all of 2 weeks, but the WCW
prides itself on in-ring work, not backstage gimmicks. The best Nitroes
of the past year were the Johnny Ace and Co. booked technical fests...
gone are those days I know, but WCW needs to set itself apart from WWF in
order to gain back viewers, not play 'Can You Top This?' ... All in all,
the megapush that brought wrestling out of his backwoods hick phase, is
ultimately what's going to do it in... there's too much of it, it's all
over the place, and trying to cater to everybody, the result, a poor
product that die hard wrestling fans will soon turn off in favor of
videotape classics from days past... and the fickle fairweather fan that
the WWF and WCW are trying so hard to capture will soon pass on, and WHO
(n.N.) will be watching wrestling then?... ... ...
CHRIS BIRD: Hoo-boy, it's been a wild year, hasn't it? WCW collapsing, the
long-awaited jump of Chris Benoit, ECW going bankrupt, Vince McMahon
putting together the XFL, Mitsuhara Misawa splitting from AJPW to form
NOAH, the rise to prominence of Triple H, CRZ finally getting rid of the
Best Jobber categories, and the WWF doing gangbusters business without the
presence of Steve Austin. Plus, this was the year that brought us the
return of the Conquistadors, Ken the Box, and Vince Russo running a
company into the ground not once but twice. I stand agog - this has been a
largely exciting year for wrestling, despite the recent tedium, and this
year's awards will likely reflect that.
WILL GEDDES: Scott Keith said last lear - rule one of the WWF is Vince
loves big talentless lugs... Vince signs some of the best damn wrestlers
in the world and repeatedly uses them to put over The Rock, who gets
staler by the day and no talent goofs like DX and Rikishi. On a brighter
note, Kurt Angle is the greatest find in recent wrestling history - best
Angle is Kurt! Meanwhile Atlanta falls apart, just cos the other Vince
hates wrestling and non-americans, and likes goofy angles, stupid
characters and loves himself. But at least we shall never need to speak
the name of the Orange Goblin again (I hope). ECW continues to provide
good quality wrestling on a budget of $2.50 - even if that involves not
paying anyone.
SAMUEL SKLAROFF: I've watched barely any WCW this year, so I may be
biased.
JOEY CREIGHTON: Sorry, but I couldn't vote for everything, due to lack of
knowledge. All my votes come from what is available to me, therefore no
international wrestlers or organizations.
MATTHEW HEMING: WCW is so bad, I don't even watch it anymore, I just read
the Nitro recaps, and even those are painful.
TOMSTONE: The WWF had a truly outstanding year. They gave the ball to
people like The Rock, Triple H, and Chris Benoit, and none disappointed.
WCW and ECW had horrible years, thanks to horrible bookers, horrible
talent, blatant ripoffs, and a decreasing budget. Still, this was an
improvement over last year.
BEN WEINER: WCW further flushes itself down the toilet while the WWF could
air still shots of Rikishi's ass dimples and get 6.0 QH's.
JASON MEAD: This year, 2000, included many great moments from the main
company in the business, especially in North America, the WWF. Sure, they
made some mistakes, but this year was generally solid for them, both
wrestling and entertainment wise. The rise of Triple H, Chris Benoit, and
Kurt Angle will be remembered for a long time. All in all, however, this
year sucked. WCW, ECW, and any Japanese tapes I've seen haven't been so
good.
HAWKER JOHN S. WILCOX: For fans who never heard of XPW. XPW is basically a
West Coast version of ECW but without any good wrestling created by Porno
King Rob Black. They sometimes show Lucha and Chris Daniels matches, but
it's mostly shitty "Hardcore" matches with ECW retreads Sabu, Big Dick
Dudley, Axl Rotten, and a fatter John Kronus. And their "original"
wrestlers are rip-offs of Sandman, Raven, the Gangtaz, and Steve Corino.
They don't even show wrestling anymore. It's just stupid viginettes of Rob
Black talking to a damn doll, White Trash Johnny something looking for a
"Homeless Jimmy". and twins holding Rob Black's wife captive for a car,
and their announcer Kris Kloss is so damn annoying with his screaming i'd
beat this guy to death. The only saving grace is the announcer Larry
Rivera, with his sterotypical cuban immigrant gimmick. Avoid watching this
Indy sleaze smarts. HHH greatly improved from an average wrestler with a
weak moveset, to carrying most of the WWF's PPV's this year. Chris
Jericho's mic skills really deteriorated when he entered the WWF last
year, now it's just catchphrases and calling Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley a
whore. Curry Man: Hot, spicy, OTAKI!!!
EDC: General comments: Tough year for wrestling, My thanks go to CRZ for
actually remembering to do this again this year.
BRANDON BOLLOM: I didn't vote for most of the "worst" categories, and I
skipped a few of the others too. These are my votes!
DUDICALY2K: Sorry I didn't fill out every ballot position. Inherintly, I
don't believe in voting for "the worst this and the worst that." Also,
some positions were hard to chose from because of how bad and blurred
American wrestling has become. But here are my comments nonetheless.
SCOTT W.: Hey Chris, do you think the Florida voters will get confused?
I wonder if Mike Samuda can understand this easy ballot? Maybe you should
have said "All Florida Votes will not be counted." If my choices for #1
are not number 1, then I want a hand recount again. :-)
BRINK: Sorry for the Overly WWF bias of this. WCW is really painful to
watch now and I get ill just reading the re-capps of the PPV's. ECW got
worse as the year went on but hasn't hot the new lows that WCW come sup
with and look like a gem in comparison.
DONNIE VOMIT: It was a great year to be a WWF fan. However, it was a bad
year to be a fan of wrestling in general.
RICHARD SHAW-WRIGHT: This year just felt strange. Benoit proved himself as
the best worker in the world, and why didn't WCW let him on the mic more
often! Angle was hillarious, a deserving World Champ, Arquette, however,
was not! Roll on 2001!
BEANS: A best and worst cruiserweight pair of categories might be a good
addition. Also, please use 'Beans' if you happen to quote one of my
comments.
JOHN C.: The year 2000 was a good year for the wrestling in that the WWF
had tremendous success. The addition of the Radicals helped them out
greatly as they improved their workrate, creating more coherent storylines
and developing a lot of their younger stars without relying on people like
Steve Austin, Vince McMahon or the Undertaker like they did in years past.
Meanwhile, the gap between the WWF and the competition widened with the
continued failures of WCW and the loss of a TV deal forcing ECW to scratch
and crawl their way to survive. The wrestling business is no longer a two
horse race and because of that the WWF product could become stale again
although with the roster they currently have that sort of thing would be
extremely hard to do. People like Mick Foley and Bret Hart, who racked up
several RSPW Awards during their careers, called it a career although they
left under entirely different circumstances. While Foley's departure was
met with a lot of fanfare, Hart left in utter silence as his legacy faded
away thanks to an errant kick from a green monster named Goldberg. This
was a great year for the WWF although for me what I will remember most is
the retirement of two legends who helped make wrestling what it is today.
DAVEN HOWARD: David Arquette -- he was horrible when we were supposed to
like him, he was horrible when we were supposed to hate him, and may we
never have to speak of him related to wrestling ever again.
GABY McMAHON: I hate Stephanie as a heel
JIZZAY: 1. Lance Storm's finisher, the Maple Leaf, is the sweetest move
when it's done in the rolling fashion. Otherwise it sucks. So, I can't
put it on the list. 2. The "worst babyfaces" on my list are that way
because they belong as heels, not because they suck. 3. Where's Mick
Foley on the "Most Deteriorated Wrestler" question? 4. Since we're all
smarks here, I think there should be a "biggest mark-out moment" category.
(I'm going with Big Show doing the "Showster" rip-off) 5. No rookie of
the year category? Not that we need it this year with Kurt Angle, but I'm
just dying to know who's in 2nd and 3rd! 6. How bout a "Most sick of"
cat.? I'm dying to put Rocky in the Worst Wrestler, but that's not
actually true. Like you care.
ANDREW CURRY: Both major North American companies put their championship
belts around the waists of relative newcomers. The WWF chose Kurt Angle.
WCW chose David Arquette. And nothing better typifies the differences
between the two organizations. Never has Vince MacMahon's ultimate power
and genius been more evident than during the WCW run of Vince Russo, who
insulted us with one misbegotten notion after another--Powers That Be,
pinata on a pole, Oklahoma, Arquette, Hogan/Kidman, the new nWo, janitor
Hacksaw, Amway Chavo, GI Bro, Hugh G. Rection, That 70's Guy,
Cruiserweight champions Daffney and Madusa, Jimmy Hart vs. Mancow
(twice)...the list goes on and on. And on. And on. Clearly Vinnie Mac
was giving the red and green lights to Vinnie Ru in New York. If only I
could have selected ten candidates for Worst Promotional move or Worst
Angle. WCW brightspots were few and far between, but in fairness, there
were some worth mentioning. Booker T as champ. Jeff Jarrett in the main
event picture. Banishing Hogan and Bischoff. Ummm...Okay, well, that's a
thin list to be sure. WWF not only went on without Russo, it thrived.
Never has a line-up had so many people that were over. From the usual
suspects like the Rock and HHH to the pleasant surprises like Benoit and
Edge and Christian to the downright mystifying successes like Steve
Blackman, the WWF seemed to succeed effortlessly in getting their talent
over with the crowds. And if a certain complacency has set in over the
last few weeks, who can blame them? I hope that it won't last too long
(in short, no more Kane/Undertaker). At this point, being signed to a WWF
contract must almost seem to be a mixed blessing. While you are a part of
the hottest organization in the world, you have to fight like hell to make
an impression. Talents like Raven and Tazz (superstars in former days)
have discovered this during the past year. I've gone from watching Nitro,
Thunder, Raw, Smackdown and Heat every week to completely eliminating
Thunder, cutting Nitro back to once a month or so, and remaining loyal to
the WWF product. And now that my illegal sattelite hook-up is gone, I
haven't seen a WCW ppv in months (New Blood Rising taught me my lesson).
But I still faithfully chip in my $30.00 to WWF's ppv product each and
every month. Call me a mark. Call me biased. Call me whatever you
choose. But anyone that denies that there are fundamental and serious
differences between WWF and WCW is delusional. I'm hardly the first to
note this obvious discrepancy. Let's just hope that my opinion, tossed on
the mountain of similar opinions, might make WCW sit up and take notice.
Things may have to get worse before they get better. I just won't be
watching in the meantime.
AHW44: The worst thing I have ever seen on TV was the smackdown where
Steph slapped Linda for the main event. That is the lowest point in
wrestling. Joe C and Kid Rock was just as bad
AL RITCHIE: I resisted the temptation to vote: Best Angle: Kurt, Worst
Angle: Eric. Do I win a prize?
ANDY P. GOSS: Wow. What a wild, strange trip it's been in 2000. As a fan
of wrestling, and not just one of these critics, I've enjoyed every minute
of it. And now, let's look for the best.
JONATHAN MUGGLETON: I realize Foley is retired, but I couldn't think of
good babyfaces. As you can see, I'm a total WWF mark, but I do like ECW.
The only contact I have with WCW is your recaps.
MOSES GATES: My only general comment is that I don't have cable, and
therefor watch only Jakked and Smackdown on a regular basis, and only
occasionaly catch Raw/Nitro/or ECW (although I try to catch ECW whenever
possible). My votes are probably biased accordingly.
TATEWKIKNO: I didn't vote for some of the "worst" categories, because who
am I to say who the worst promotion in the world is?
LON GRAHAM: As you can see, I am a WWF "mark" all the way baby! Although
if they don't gets their head out of their rearends then next year could
be different.
ADAM BLODGETT: I guess I'm just not obsessed with wrestling enough to
answer every category.... I rather not vote at all in a category instead
of making stupid choice.
DAVID COHEN: Triple H should win the Triple H award...Don't ask me what it
is, but he certainly deserves it!
EDDIE BURKETT: In general, I tried to disregard WCW as much as possible.
I don't watch much of their programming, so I decided to be "fair".
KEVIN RICHARDSON: I think this was the best year for the WWF as the
signing of the Radicalz brought wrestling back. The year hasn't ended too
strongly though, and I can't believe the IC strap has been put on Billy
Gunn!
MIKE: That's my opinion. Hope you appreciate it as I spent over an hour on
it. If your RAW/Nitro recaps weren't so fucking funny, I never would have
done this. Peace.
SHAUN THOMAS: 1. All of the best wrestlers (Benoit Jericho and Storm) are
Canadian. 2. What the hell does "Don't hate the playa, hate the game"
mean? 3. If he goes singles, I see Jeff Hardy as the future.
DAVE B: I am so frickin sick of the frickin rock and his frickin
ridiculous antics and stupid obnoxious personality. When he was a bad
guy, I lapped it up. But it's sickening and so god damn annoying to see
this idiot go out there day and night to talk about shoving things up
people's asses, piles of monkey dung and buffalo chips, and proclaiming
triumphantly his return to (insert city here). What's next? "Ladies and
gentlemen... the rock has left the building?" How about shutting his
mouth and revising his role?
JASON KNUDSON: I pretty much just picked three WCW shows for the worst
shows of the year. They've all pretty well sucked. As for the best
angle, I'm sorry, but the Al Snow/Steve Blackman angle made me die
laughing. Especially "The Comedy Stylings of Steve Blackman." That one
was hilarious. They weren't a bad tag team, either. Oh, and one more
thing, MIKE AWESOME SHOULD GO BACK TO ECW WHERE HE WILL BE APPRECIATED AND
FINALLY USED PROPERLY INSTEAD OF BEING THE BUTT OF EVERY WCW JOKE THEY CAN
COME UP WITH. There, I feel better.
NICOLáS D. SCHAPIRA: 1. worst matches/shows are inordinantly more
difficult to remember, for good reason, they sucked so badly we put it in
the back of our minds. 2. I don't get much japan or indie stuff, hence
why I can't rate them. 3. I'm obviously a WWF mark, but for good reason,
they were the best promotion this year, and thus made me care more about
their wrestlers. 4. Jeff jarret is one of the few reasons to watch WCW.
JOHN WEILENMANN: All votes cast on what I have personally seen, thus no
Japanese votes (no access to tv or tapes). -A monstrous year for the WWF,
with little or no competition from WCW or ECW (except in some of the
"worst" catagories). Triple H was, hands down, the most valuable wrestler
in the business. It was also good to see the infusion of some new faces
into the fed, though most came at the expense of the WWF's competitors
(with the notable exception of Kurt Angle). However, there is legitimate
concern that by the end of the year, Vince and company were resting on
their laurels. If they don't start booking aggressively again, as at the
beginning of the year, they could lose the attention of the casual viewer
who has built the WWF's high ratings. -WCW's stumbling, bumbling and
fumbling continue, with a poor year by almost any standards. There were
few bright spots at any point, though some faint glimmers of hope have
emerged of late (Jeff Jarrett, Crowbar, Big Vito, and some of the Power
Plant grads). The occasional good match or effort aside, WCW was simply
hard to watch this year. -ECW, though producing consistently good effort,
has yet to return to the strong storylines that brought them to the dance
in the mid-90's. At times, it seems Paul E. is trying to piss off his
core fans with his booking rather than pleasing them. This, combined with
bush league production values for television, the lack of a weekly show,
and on-going financial issues make me fear for ECW's future. -All in all,
what began as a strong year for the business has limped to an end, with
warning signs abundant that the wave of support that carried wrestling
through the past 3 years has subsided. It makes for a nervous beginning
for the 2001 RSPW awards year.
BOB MORRIS: General comments: If there was a Y2K bug, it certainly
affected wrestling this year. As 1999 came to an end, we had Vince Russo
signing with WCW and some optimism that the company might turn itself
around, but then Bret Hart suffered a concussion, Russo's booking was
panned by many, then he got ousted and replaced by Sullivan...only a few
months later, Sullivan is out, Russo is back in only with Bischoff working
wit him...only just a couple months later, the two no longer are working
with each other. With everything that happened to WCW this year, it just
sent the company further and further into a tailspin. And the fact that
WCW is losing money like crazy makes their situation only worse as the
company kept looking for ways to cut costs. In ECW, the company had a
national TV deal with TNN late in 1999, and one year later, the company
has no such deal. Reports continue to circulate that wrestlers are getting
paychecks late, and that some talent is rumored to be looking for work
elsewhere. The TV deal ECW got last year appeared to be what might turn
its fortunes around, but that never happened, and the company remains in a
bad position. The WWF did have a strong start for the year 2000, with
Triple H rising to prominence after many doubted he could be a main
eventer, plus its acquistion of new talent gave the company a promising
outlook for the future. But as we approach year's end, WWF has gotten
stuck in a creative rut and there are vocal complaints about certain
wrestlers not getting elevated. Kurt Angle was one of those younger stars
that was able to break through to the top, but there's a perception that
wrestlers like Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero aren't
truly being allowed to move up the ranks. While the WWF remained
profitable throughout 2000, the signs are pointing to the company possibly
sliding downhill if they aren't able to shake off the creative rut the
company is in. The year 2001 will tell us if the WWF can maintain its
current level of success, or if it will start to slide downhill.
CLAUDIA FOGL: For the tag team award I'd like to say that Jindrak and
O'Hare and Lt. Loco and Corp. Cajun, although they aren't quite as good as
the 3 I've named are still downright fantastic. Also on the heels, RTC
are also good. I was sent here by John C. from Rajah.com
RICH HUMPHREYS: If this is Hogan's last year as an active wrestler, the
most deteriorated category should be named after him in tribute.
RYAN SLADE: 1. I'd like to note that I didn't vote in the Major Show
categories, simply because I can not afford pay-per-view, and the cable
company only brought them back in August after mysteriously doing away
with pay-per-view for two years. Why? I don't know. 2. I flipped a coin
and gave Edge the vote for third Most Favourite Wrestler. Honourary
mentioning should go out to Christian. I would have like to put him on,
but I couldn't bring myself to remove Kurt Angle from the list. Perhaps if
Hardcore Holly was still injured I'd have forgotten about him, seeing as
wrestling companies don't think we remember anything. For example, the
other night when Benoit fought Austin, J.R. and Jerry Lawler were
marvelling at the fact that Austin was actually wrestling. I couldn't
believe it myself, but not because I have a short-attention span, but
because I haven't seen him perform a wrestling match without the same
punch-kick 5 minute brawl sequence into the crowd for the last 2 years.
Doesn't anyone remmber the Ringmaster? Anyhow, back to the point at hand,
Christian is just as worthy as Edge for thrid Most Favourite. 3. What's
the deal with people voting for Hulk Hogan as the Most Deteriorated
Wrestler over and over and over and over again? Though he had good
wrestling matches in the eighties, he was usually being carried through
them by guys like "Macho Man", except for that match against the Warrior.
Man, was Hogan proving his worth at WM 6. Anyhow, fuzzy memories aside, he
was never more than an average wrestler where as technical ability is
concerned, and I can't help asking myself how an average worker at best
could lose more talent than anyone else for most of the 90's! I brought
this point up last year, but yet, Hogan still won. Therefore, until guys
like Hogan and Jake Roberts, who went through the deterioration process
many years ago haven't got enough skill to lose anymore. 4. I hope this
comment isn't stupid, for I know not how the results will turn out, but
I'm going to assume that relatively very few people are going to vote for
Taka Michinoku as the Most Underrated Wrestler in wrestling! If this
happens, it just goes to show you how Underappreciated he is as well. Does
anybody remember Taka vs. HHH? I know I do. Sure, HHH was a super-over
heel, and maybe Taka was helped by some of that underdog babyface heat,
but if it was Grandmaster Sexay, would people have been popping like mad
and chanting for him? Well, yeah, I guess they would.... which brings me
to my next quesiton: Why are people suckers for goofy looking wannabe
hip-hop gangstas that dance? 5. Man, when Hardcore Holly suffered a broken
arm I thought wrestling was going to enter another recession the size of
1995 or 1996. Another dismal year? Nope, it wasn't a return to the dark
ages of wrestling, but still 5 monthes without Hardcore is 5 monthes too
many, that is why his injury was the most disappointing news item of the
past year. 6. Also, on the Disappointing News Item front, people ought to
stop voting for peoples' deathes to win this award. Say whatever you want
to about me, but I'm not trying to be rude. I just think that when a guy
as old as Gorilla Monsoon dies, as much of a fan of his I was, people have
to accept it for as it is. It's sad that people die, but death is all
around us, and old people die all of the time. I'm not too sympathetic
about drug-overdose or related deathes, but they too are just as
unpleasant to hear about. I would vote the death of a wrestler as the most
disappointing news item during the year if it were to happen while in the
ring, or maybe if it was like a car wreck or something, things that
otherwise shouldn't have happened. The taking of drugs will lead to death,
and therefore the taking should have otherwise not have happened, not the
death. Am I confussing? 7. Finally, I want to talk about all of the
wrestling moves that Hardcore Holly performs better than anyone in
wrestling. I didn't vote for them as Best Wrestling
JO$HUA LUTZ: I should have made macros for "Hulk Hogan" and "Mick Foley,"
since they popped up a lot... A Rookie of the Year catergory is needed so
Kurt Angle can win something, too... "WCW" should be a viable answer to
questions like Worst Promotional Move and Worst TV Show...
JEREMY SORIA: I really liked the wrestling this year from both WCW and
WWF, but of course, the WWF is leaps and bounds ahead of WCW. WCW
continues to throw things at the wall to see what sticks, but they can't
seem to know which ideas to go with. WCW's got a lot of young talent, even
seasoned young talent. They are the keys to keeping WCW alive. WCW must
finally move on and start pushing the young talent, recognize their
perpetually improving skill, and make them the next big superstars. The
WWF is doing a great job with its roster as well, creating an improvement
in the in-ring product across the board at the WWF. I can only hope that
the nonsensical angles that they started pulling off in the beginning of
the 2001 voting period don't begin to disrupt and dismantle all the
positive work the WWF has done over the past year to undo the damage done
by Vince Russo and Ed Ferrera. Once again, in the WWF, they're about
wrestling. Two men wrestling in nothing but their underwear is most
definitely not boring!
JOE KAZMER: Steve Blackman would be 5 on my favorite wrestlers.
Blackman... 4 Life.
PAUL JACOBUS: Man, I hate forgetting these things until the last minute.
TROY OLSON: My overall comment to the voting is that I found I
unfortunately didn't know who most of the foreign wrestlers were nor did I
know any of the angles that were going on in any of the Japanese and
Mexican federations. This left me limited, as I assume most people are,
to voting for American wrestling down the board. I'm pretty confident
that the second best worker in the world isn't HHH, but then I've never
seen Kawada, Akiyama, or Super Delfin work, so how could I vote for any of
them? Same is true for the rest of categories 1-7, in particular. Maybe
the voting should go back to North American and non-North American
categories to accommodate this. None the less, I know I'll be ordering
some tapes and paying more attention to the foreign scene to get a more
rounded appreciation of wrestling and to see who really is the best for
next year.
BILL LEHECKA: For the sake of refraining from overexposure, I will not
make any parallels or jokes about this ballot compared to the Florida
ballot, and I will not demand a recount. Anyway, this race wasn't even
close. Even though the WWF, throughout the year, started to step down in
quality and unpredictability, they still destroyed WCW in terms of
coherent storylines, in-ring work, and overall appeal. Before I give my
blow-by-blow, the TNN move was dumb. Dumb, dumb, dumb... Dumb and
ANNOYING. One more thing, was Vince Russo trying to swerve us every week,
then, to royally swerve us, have a clean ending without any hijinks? I
just want to know.
NATE PATRIN: Obviously I'm biased for the WWF and against the WCW- but
simply because at this stage... well, think of it as being a baseball fan
in New York City back in the days. In the late '50s you had the juggernaut
Yankees (WWF), always-competitive Giants (WCW) and likeable underdog
Dodgers (ECW). But now it's 1962, the Dodgers as we know them are no more,
and instead of the Giants, the WCW is acting more like the Mets. And not
the Tom Seaver Mets. The Marv Throneberry Mets. (OK, that may be over some
wrestling fans' heads, but you should see baseball enthusiasts when I tell
'em that Frank Thomas is the Chris Benoit of the American League.)
LADEBAQ: Lousy year for pro wrestling= little to discuss.
SHAWN COLTON: I don't like voting for worst anything so I didn't, though
my choices of best are probably the worst choices in the eyes of the
smarky community. Oddly, I don't care.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Maybe I'm biased, but I honestly think Y2K turned out
to be one of the best years for wrestling in recent memory... for the WWF,
anyway. Good matches weekly, multiple MOTY contenders almost every PPV,
hot crowds (well, sometimes...), booming business... everything really.
WCW, meanwhile, stopped simply sliding into mediocrity, and just plunged
in headfirst, while the bottom fell out of ECW. I think it should surprise
nobody that all of my "Best of" votes in these awards seem to have gone to
the WWF. Their top card certainly seems to be in the best shape it's been
for years, since 95-96 when Shawn Michaels was carrying everyone and their
brother to great matches at the drop of a hat, and the undercard's far
better than it's ever been. Sports Entertainment is still the order of the
day, unfortunately, but longer and better matches mean I'm a happy camper.
WCW? Not much to say, really. All of the ongoing chaos backstage hardly
gave them the time to put together a great wrestling product... but I'm
not sure that's an excuse for some of the crap they've made us suffer
through this year. It's not as bad as it has been in years past, actually,
but it's pretty close. As for ECW, I unfortunately think that it's only a
matter of time before its gone. It's almost tragic, cause they were just
amazing in the middle part of the decade.
DRUNKERPELICAN: This is my first year voting. I had fun putting my choices
together, hope I didn't mess anything up.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Sure I'm a WWF mark, but come on, this is just too
easy.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: 2000 has been a down year for most all the wrestling
companies except the WWF. While WCW was destructed between skirmishes
between Sullivan and Russo, while Paul E. got his talent stolen and
couldn't pay the bills...the WWF signed four great wrestlers and suddenly
switched gears from the fed that had lesser wrestling in the US to the fed
that had the best wrestling. With everyone else in decline and the WWF
putting out a great product, it's really no surprise or that they dominate
this year's winners. This year, Scaia's WWF marks won't make a
difference...
ROB "R2K" EVANS: Thanks once again, CRZ, for devoting your time and
energy to organize these awards year after year.
JBELL55146: WE STILL MISS YOU OWEN!!!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Wrestler
Award Description:
To be given to the athlete who was the best overall wrestler of the year.
This includes all facets of wrestling: workrate, technical ability,
interviews, charisma, value to his/her promotion, etc. In 1994, this award
was split into three: North American, Non-North American, and overall. In
1998, it was recombined into one.
Previous Winners:
1990: Curt Hennig
1991: Ric Flair
1992: Ric Flair
1993: Big Van Vader
1994: Bret Hart
1994: (NA) Sabu
1994: (non-NA) Chris Benoit
1995: (overall/NA) Shawn Michaels
1995: (non-NA) Chris Benoit
1996: (overall/NA) Shawn Michaels
1996: (non-NA) Jushin Liger
1997: (overall/NA) Shawn Michaels
1997: (non-NA) Taka Michinoku
1998: Stone Cold Steve Austin
1999: Chris Benoit
**2000**: Triple H
574 first place votes
565 second place votes
559 third place votes
320 74 38 1898 Triple H
150 167 75 1401 Chris Benoit
21 69 96 504 Kurt Angle
8 58 49 312 Rock
15 43 47 298 Chris Jericho
9 20 35 175 Yoshihiro Tajiri
2 14 37 126 Booker T.
0 19 27 111 Lance Storm
9 8 13 95 Toshiaki Kawada
2 13 19 87 Eddie Guerrero
3 13 16 86 Jeff Jarrett
2 7 13 57 Jerry Lynn
1 8 11 51 Mick Foley
1 3 10 34 Dean Malenko
2 3 4 27 Kenta Kobashi
2 3 4 27 Cima
1 4 3 23 Mike Awesome
2 2 3 22 Aja Kong
1 3 3 20 Steve Austin
3 1 0 18 Scott Steiner
1 3 2 18 Mitsuharu Misawa
1 3 2 18 Jun Akiyama
0 2 5 16 Rob Van Dam
1 2 2 15 Hardcore Holly
2 0 1 12 Mariko Yoshida
1 1 2 12 Minoru Tanaka
1 2 0 11 Tomoaki Honma
2 0 0 10 Dick Togo
1 1 1 10 Steve Blackman
0 2 2 10 William Regal
0 2 2 10 Kane
0 2 2 10 Great Sasuke
1 1 0 8 Hijo del Santo
1 1 0 8 D'Lo Brown
1 0 1 7 Mayumi Ozaki
0 1 2 7 Masato Tanaka
0 0 3 6 Undertaker
1 0 0 5 Trent Acid
1 0 0 5 Shawn Michaels
1 0 0 5 Sandman
1 0 0 5 Hayabusa
1 0 0 5 El Samurai
1 0 0 5 Christian
1 0 0 5 Cat
0 1 1 5 Steve Corino
0 1 1 5 Al Snow
0 0 2 4 Super Crazy
0 0 2 4 Shinjiro Ohtani
0 0 2 4 Lita
0 0 2 4 Kid Kash
0 0 2 4 Crowbar
0 0 2 4 Akino
0 1 0 3 Tazz
0 1 0 3 Suwa
0 1 0 3 Rey Mysterio Jr.
0 1 0 3 Onryo
0 1 0 3 Naoki Sano
0 1 0 3 Mari Apache
0 1 0 3 Kintaro Kanemura
0 1 0 3 Goldberg
0 1 0 3 Essa Rios
0 0 1 2 X-Pac
0 0 1 2 Vader
0 0 1 2 Twiggy Ramirez
0 0 1 2 Sabu
0 0 1 2 Naoshi Sano
0 0 1 2 Mr. Gannosuke
0 0 1 2 Meng
0 0 1 2 Masked Angel Rosetta (Hiromi Yaginuma)
0 0 1 2 Lenny Lane
0 0 1 2 Kaoru
0 0 1 2 Justin Credible
0 0 1 2 Jushin Liger
0 0 1 2 Jeff Hardy
0 0 1 2 Bret Hart
0 0 1 2 Azumi Hyuga (Tomoko Kuzumi)
0 0 1 2 Alex Porteau
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: Could have been a Toss up between the top two. Benoit
gets the nod based on widespread coverage of his matches (starting in WCW
in Nov. 1999 and now in WWF)
RICHARD BEAUBIEN: The wrestlers of the year in 2000 in North America is
HHH, and it's hard to argue against it. This is a reluctant vote for him,
but a vote none the less because the man is, as he says, the Game. Quite
simply HHH had the best overall year of any wrestler in the business; he
drew money, he wrestled great matches, he cut great promo's, and he worked
the backstage politics like only a member of the famed Clique could. Love
him or hate him, he's definitly been the man in 2000 in the business, and
it doesn't look like his grip on power is fading.
HIRO: No doubt about it, WCW's loss is WWF's gain. Benoit brought all of
his tricks when he moved to the WWF, and he had some tremendous matches
both on TV and PPV. Jericho benefitted most from Benoit's move, all of
their matches have been either the highlight of a PPV or the saving grace
of it. Even on his own, Jericho rarely disappoints. Triple H had awesome
PPV matches with Mick Foley, Rock and of course the two Chrisses (Chris
Benoit and Chris Jericho), as well as being an awesome heel (and
'tweener), so I think he deserves 3rd.
DEAN RASMUSSEN: Aja Kong rocked like a fricking QUEEN this year. Her MOTY
candidate with Meiko Satomura ruled in thoroughly different ways that her
MOTY candidate against KAORU ruled- the former being a really good
approximation of Tsurta vs Misawa and the latter being a good
approximation of too crazy old broads beating the hell out of each other
with chairs and tables. Toshiaki Kawada would be number one, but all of
his stuff is on hard to find All Japan cliptastic commercial tapes so I
didn't see enough to put him over the top, but his AWWWEEESSSOME match
against Kensuke Sasaki puts him into the fromt-running for RSWP-I fiscal
year 2001 wrestler of the year.
CHRIS BIRD: Triple H should walk away with this award in a heartbeat. He's
got a fantastic string of matches under his belt, including no less than
seven four-star matches. He's made the likes of Hardcore Holly and Taka
Michinoku look like credible threats to his title reign. He's been drawing
mad money, his merchandise sales are huge, he's a superb interview - this
is really a no-contest, so much so that even many of the puroheads are
giving him their vote. Second goes to Chris Benoit, who actually had an
even better year than he did last year (where he was Wrestler of the
Year), wrestling countless good matches with practically the entire WWF
roster and improving his interview skills - in any other year, he'd walk
away with this, but this was the Year of Triple H, so there you go. Third
place is Chris Jericho's, for his proven drawing capability, an extremely
strong year's worth of work against Triple H, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle,
Eddie Guerrero, and even Chyna, and just generally being entertaining. I'd
also like to give an honorable mention to the oft-unfairly maligned Jeff
Jarrett, who's doing as good a job with the crap WCW feeds him as just
about anybody could, and who has wrestled consistently well this year.
Better luck next year, Dubbajay.
BRUNO PULVER: Scott Steiner is for real. Scott Steiner defines the meaning
of HEEL
MICHAEL BANKER: I would have put Mick Foley on the list, but he just
didn't wrestle for enough of the year.
JASON BOUGGER: Triple H/Rock/Angle: The generic choice for top 3, but
they really did have it all this year.
JUSTIN McGROTTY: Would have nominated Super Crazy as best wrestler if he
was listed...
ALEX BECKERS: First two were easy... Tajiri was a tough pick from the rest
of them.
MATTHEW HEMING: The only thing I really miss now that ECW isn't on TNN is
Tajiri, because there is no chance he will ever appear in either of the
national feds.
ROBERT STRUPP: Triple H has been the Best Wrestler all year. In the last
12 months, he has had the most amazing string of matches. He had two
excellent brawls with Mick Foley, a very good match with Vince MacMahon,
wrestling heavy matches on tv agains Chris Jericho (twice), Chris Benoit,
and TAKA Michunoku, a Wrestlemania Main Event that was very good despite
the presence of the Big Show and Mick Foley, and a run against the Rock
that brought out the best matches Rocky has had in the last three years.
Chris Benoit gets my second place vote, because I believe he should get
all or most of the credit for the improvement in the upper-mid card, and
later the Top of the card. Booker T has had a very strong run as WCW
Champion, and has been solid all year for a company that spent most of the
year in a horrid funk.
BEN WEINER: To hell with it, I'm giving it to Benoit.
ALEX GIPSON: This was the year I became a Benoit fan, as he really caught
my attention after winning the Intercontinental belt at Wrestlemania,
defending it almost week in and out in consistently good matches. Triple
H, of course, literally stepped up his game this year, and the Rock
continues to amaze me week in and out; his adaptability is incredible.
CHRIS OSTER: Is there any doubt? Triple H was THE MAN this year. He rose
far above the naysayers (myself included) who said he didn't have what it
took to be a dominant heel OR a credible champion. He has carried the WWF
on his back this year, and looked damn good doing it. And, oh yeah, he's
produced the greatest string of main-event matches since Bret Hart and
Shawn Michaels were on top. What hasn't he done? Well, he hasn't been
announced as both the WCW and WWF champion in the same year...Chris Benoit
gets my second-place vote. Another solid year from everyone's favourite
technical marvel. Third place goes to Kurt Angle. I mean how can you NOT
give a vote to a guy who's gone from dark matches to the WWF title in one
year?
EDC: Triple H had a banner here, really stepping up his game and in ring
persona. Benoit is approaching slowly but surely, but lack of Crowd heat
is keeping him down at this point. Kawada gets up here for being Stiff all
these years
ANDREW BAYER: OK, so I primarily watch the WWF, but tell me Triple H
hasn't been godly this year. Eddie is just wonderful, whenever they
actually let him be the dickish heel that he does so well. And
Benoit...there's a reason the upper-card has been getting so technically
decent in the WWF lately, and I'd say Benoit's feuds with Rock, HHH, and
Austin have something to do with it.
DUDICALY2K: BEST WRESTLER: I'm sure HHH is going to win in a sweep, but
he's had a year for the ages. The one thing that sets him apart from any
other character is that he has been for the whole year fun. He relishes
his asshole persona, he made quite the fun little "faux face" for a few
weeks and on top of it, he has really good US pro-style matches with a
variety of different wrestlers. Chris Benoit is just an awesome wrestler,
capable of having good matches with Sid Vicious. He'd get my vote if HHH
didn't have a Pedro Martinez-esque year. Kawada remains the stiffest
wrestler in the world, complete with his trademarked stoicism, and saw a
lot of other wrestlers just up and leave his promotion. Kawada rules.
DANIEL HERMAN: Benoit gets my nod for getting top matches in little time
on TV from most of the WWF top-card. Naoki Sano I love because he can
wrestle. Naoshi, who is different, is a great little Japanese Indy worker
with lots of spunk.
SCOTT W.: Chris Benoit can probably carry a dead guy to a watch-able
match. The man is amazing. Kurt Angle and Tajiri run a close 2nd and
3rd. I went with Angle cause of the gold medals. Tajiri is coming close
to being a new god.
CHANCE50JR: From the number of PPVs headlined to the transition to heel to
face and back, Triple H is my wrestler of the year. A close second is
Kurt Angle, who really amazed me with two things- his style in the ring
and his style on the mic. It's true (it's true) he has some things to
work on, but he's done more in his first year than some wrestlers have
ever done in their careers. Finishing third is a sentimental pick, The
Rock, who, yes, he was the face that drove the WWF and wrestling in the
absence of Stone Cold, but would not have been nearly as successful if HHH
hadn't been the force that he was.
DONNIE VOMIT: No question, it was Triple H's year. He was in the best two
matches and three of the top five. Although I've never hated HHH, he's
certainly a lot better than I ever expected him to be. Benoit's made
improvements in his mic work while bringing back workrate to the WWF main
event. And Angle is the champ for frick sake! One year ago when he
debuted, his gimmick was so tongue in cheek that people weren't sure if he
was trying to be a face.
MARCUS SPARKS: Nobody's stepped it up like "The Game" has this year.
He's worked a versatile number of styles and did them all well. Chris
Benoit is still the best technical wrestler in the US. Eddie should be
applauded for not letting his forced association with the WWF's "heat
sink" lower his standards in the ring. 2. MARCUS SPARKS: Lots of people
will say The Hardy Boys and The Dudley Boys for this, but the Dudleys have
been turned into one-trick ponies (the *yawn* tables) and the Hardys are
just highspot machines. Edge and Christian have nicely put together the
package of what a tag team should be - good teamwork and versatile styles.
The Acolytes are perhaps the best power team in wrestling at the moment
despite being pigeonholed by WWF booking. Tajiri and Mikey are the 2nd
best tagteam in ECW, but since Doring and Roadkill managed not to get
nominated...
JOHN C.: This year was definitely the year of The Game, Triple H. His
emergence this year was tremendous as he became a terrific worker capable
of carrying anybody to a good match along with his improved skills on the
microphone that made him the most complete package the WWF has seen since
HBK in the mid-90's. He was an easy number one choice in a year that
featured the emergence of plenty WWF stars. At number two, I have to go
with The Rock because of his improved work in the ring, his excellent
promos and his ability to make all of his matches watchable. Picking a
third person was tough although in the end I had to go with Kurt Angle
because he was impressive from start to finish. Angle just beat out Chris
Benoit and Booker T. in the end because Benoit's three months in WCW hurt
his career more than it helped him and I couldn't put Booker any higher
because his competition is nowhere near the competition in the WWF.
GREG NECASTRO: Could anyone have a better year than Triple H?
JOSEPH MICELI: Tajiri is just plain fun to watch, but Benoit is the man.
MATTHEW HUBARTT: I intentionally left off Steve Austin due to his inaction
for most of the past year. However, no one can deny the size of the pops
he still gets.
STEVE SHIVES: This was really a no-contest--Triple H just ran away with
it. Who would've thunk it, too--the guy who NOBODY wanted as champion
just a little over a year ago is suddenly the best heel World Champion
since Ric Flair's hey-day. He was involved in the best angle and the best
feud, too. If there was a category for "Smartest Man in Wrestling", he'd
win that, too. Let's hope he doesn't go all Hogan on us. I'll keep my
fingers crossed. Benoit and Jericho get second and third place,
respectively, for me, since they both had great matches with Triple H, had
great matches all year with each other, and Benoit even got some good
stuff outta The Rock, too.
TONY LING: I don't think there's much in the way of debate here.
ANDY P. GOSS: My criteria here was simple: the person had to earn a world
championship, and had to be involved in many consistent matches, with a
share of making the opponent look good and making himself look good. All
three of these people did that. Kurt Angle's rookie season makes him the
MVP with his ability to juggle storylines and play the old-school cowardly
heel. WCW MVP Jeff Jarrett has been the consummate professional, and one
shudders to think about how he'd do in the WWF. Jerry Lynn, meanwhile,
deserved more than a one-month reign as ECW champ. Remember: he was RVD's
successor in many people's books.
CHRIS BURKE: No question about it…this was the year of HHH. Despite being
the only heel to go over in a WM main event, the guy proved he is the best
at almost all aspects of the industry. He went from getting monster heel
heat to face pops, and then instantly went back over to heel…I’m not sure
anyone else in the industry could do that with the level of success that
HHH has. His reign as champ was obviously great, and he brought out the
best in Foley and the Rock during their feuds. Would have liked to see
him develop the Angle feud a little deeper, but I guess the return of
Austin threw a wrench in that plan. Overall, thought, in 2000 HHH was the
best…the guy we love to hate, and hate to love.
JON WALTON: Chris Benoit is once again the best wrestler on the planet,
due to his ability to get the most out of nearly every opponent, and teach
those who are average (The Rock comes to mind) to take their level up a
notch. Eddy Guerrero continues to be a joy to watch and Jeff Jarrett
absolutely defines the cowardly heel in today's wrestling universe.
SCOTT CRAWFORD: Jericho ALMOST got the duke for third place, as he
provided a lot of "holy shit" moments over the past year, but in the end,
I went with Benoit's consistency.
MARKUS: these 3 guys all entertained me the whole year.
JONAH ROSCH: I cannot put a single non WWF wrestler in this category, and
I don't like that. And it's not because I'm a WWF Mark. (It is partially
cause I never see any International wrestling, I'll give you that). Triple
H totally dominated a federation like I haven't seen since Vader in 93. He
gave great promos, solid matches, and acted like a true world champion,
and not just a wrestler with the belt. Chris Benoit was solid all year,
finally getting his due from the major federations. And there's just
nothing else you can say about Kurt Angle. From rookie to WWF Champion in
1 year. There are things I don't like about Angle, but not enough. It's
just a sad state when I cannot find a person in ECW or WCW to put in this
category.
EDDIE BURKETT: Triple H is THE GAME!!! 'nuff said.
JAMES HOWARD: Chris Benoit is a god. Chris Jericho is also a god. Triple H
is an *evil* god. Remember the days when wrestling fans only had one or
two gods to worship? Nowadays there's, like, twenty. ^_^
GEORGE JOHNSON: Are you sure this Triple H is the same guy I remember from
'95?
DAVE B: About a year and a half ago, I would have had him as worst
wrestler. I couldn't stand him and felt his push was totally undeserved.
But dammmmmn... he really has stepped it up and I truly respect the way
that Paul Levesque goes about his business behind the scenes. He'll job
when required and is willing to bust his ass off in matches. A true
champion.
JUSTIN SLOAN: Other Best Wrestlers should include: Chris Kanyon, Vampiro,
Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, Eddie Geurrero, and Jeff Hardy. I am from
Texas, thats why I like the Canadien wrestlers so much. Wait a
minute.......
JOE GAGNE: Triple H is the Wrestler of the Year, no question. He was the
top guy in the WWF, becoming the best heel in years and having an
incredible streak of awesome PPV matches. Chris Benoit also had a great
year in the ring, greatly boosting the quality of wrestling in the WWF.
Booker T was one of the few bright spots in WCW this year.
BOB MORRIS: Without a doubt, Hunter Hearst Helmsley proved every critic of
his wrong this year...many, including myself, thought he would never be
World championship material, but he proved otherwise this year. Hands
down, he deserves to be the wrestler of the year. Even though some are
questioning his motives backstage, there is no denying that he earned
every ounce of his push this year and proved he belonged in the main event
picture.
C READ: Just out of interest- has there been any singles matches that have
topped **** this year that hasn't involved one of those 3 (Benoit, Rock,
HHH)?
JPM38: Triple H hurt his back late in the year, and I'm sure it's because
he carried the promotion all throughout the year. He's had one of the
all-time great years in terms of dominance and money matches this year,
rivaling only HBK 96, Austin 97 and Flair in 1989. Close in the 2 and 3
spots are the Chrises. Benoit gets the nod because of his tremendous
improvement on the stick, and also the fact that Jericho has pretty much
died out after the awesome angle with Triple H.
JEREMY SORIA: The Revolution, minus Shane Douglas, jump to the WWF. Of
those that went over, Chris Benoit was the highlight there. But then,
isn't he always the highlight of every wrestling year? Kurt Angle
deserves a top three status. Though he might have seemed way too green
about a year ago, in that time, he has developed a great sense of
wrestling and a riveting personality. He's not annoying enough to the
point that you hate him just because he annoys you.
RICK SCAIA: This category combines just about every aspect of a guy's
performance into one measuring stick, and then tosses in a heavy dose of
how valuable that guy is to his company on top of it all. By those
criteria, Triple H is my hands down Wrestler of the Year. He delivered
good matches and good interviews throughout the voting year, and via his
"marriage" to Stephanie McMahon, ensured himself a key spot as the Fed's
top heel, too. Chris Benoit is almost certainly a more skilled in-ring
performer than anyone on this list, but he has yet to break through as a
man who can be counted on to carry his promotion for weeks or months at a
time; he gets stuck at #2. Jeff Jarrett rounds out the list at #3 for that
very reason: he's been WCW's only reliable heel over the past 12 months,
and has pulled off the trick while being a steady in-ring worker and
interviewee.
NATHAN LONEY: When I think of the best wrestler, I think of the best
all-around wrestler. Technical wrestler, brawler, high-flyer... and the
best for my money is Chris Benoit. Especially this year, when he had a
year filled with some great technical matches and some great brawls. My
second choice is Yoshihiro Tajiri, with a great combination of brawling,
technical wrestling, and high-flying (find some of his previous work in
Japan... awesome stuff). The Rock has had some great matches, and can pull
it all together.
BILL LEHECKA: Triple H is God. Benoit's a close second. If Benoit was
actually given the WWF title instead of the TWO stupid-ass Dusty finishes,
then Benoit would be at a level above God. I don't know what that level
is. Kurt Angle is a demi-god. He's close. I mean, can anyone comprehend
this guy's meteoric rise? And he's actually over!
MATT SPAULDING: Note the criteria: "To be given to the athlete who was the
best overall wrestler of the year. This includes all facets of wrestling:
workrate, technical ability, interviews, charisma, *value to his/her
promotion, etc.*" On that last point, I give the edge to The Rock, as his
ability and willingness to get and put people over was invaluable to the
further development of the WWF's talent base. Also, Rock *was* the face
of the WWF to the mainstream media in its biggest year ever. I'm not as
high on Triple H as most people, but there's no denying what the guy
accomplished, so he's a close second.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: I don't think there's any doubt that this was the year
of Triple H. He was in all of the best matches (and carried many of them),
all of the memorable feuds, headlined some of the best cards in recent
memory... He is quite clearly *the* man in pro wrestling nowadays. Who'd
have seen that coming as little as 18 months ago? Not me, certainly. Chris
Benoit is, beyond a doubt, the best in-ring wrestler in the world today.
He's had a great year, too, churning out great matches almost weekly and
wrestling for the WWF title after less than a year with the company. *And*
he's finally picking up some interview ability too. Finally, Kurt Angle,
after only a year in the business, is the reigning WWF champion, as well
as being a great interview and a fine worker who just oozes talent.
THE TALBOTS: Triple H has proven himself the most adaptable wrestler
around. It doesn't matter what match he's in or who he's facing, he will
have a good match. He's the new Ric Flair.
ERIC STRAGAND: It really made my year (in wrestling at least), to see
Booker walk around with the strap for a few months. Angle's meteoric rise
was wel justified in my book, and gets him included here.
OCTAVIAN: workrate, technical ability, interviews, charisma, value to
his/her promotion: HHH is in the top percentage of all except perhaps
technical ability. Claiming top honors in four out of the five
requirements gives him the nod as Best Wrestler How dull would the WWF
have been without him this past year?
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Triple H carried the WWF
TANVIR RAQUIB: Lynn's mix of aerial and technical ability continues to
astound me. Benoit is not Allah, but he's close. And Malenko is 40 plus
and still rules. All three deserve a standing ovation everytime they walk
into their local supermarkets.
RAVI MISRA: Rumored ego issues aside, Triple H was THE man in all of
North American wrestling last year.
ALEX CARNEVALE: Chris Benoit has cemented his reputation this year as the
best worker in the world. His ****+ matches with Jericho, Rock and HHH
were unmatched in terms of workrate, and the development of his heel
character has gotten him more over than ever before. Increasingly, he is
the man who will carry the WWF into 2001. This is his year.
MIKE PLYLEY: Triple H had the best year in wrestling, hands down. Just
think about how many ****+ matches he's had, and how long he's been able
to make the marriage angle last without it getting tiresome. Is he the
greatest actual WRESTLER? No, but he sure as hell works hard, looks
great, and has great mic skills. I don't give a crap about his supposed
ego, all I know is what I see, and I see him as the greatest complete
package since Ric Flair. Chris Benoit is still probably the best wrestler
I've ever seen, and the way he's presented himself in the WWF has been
great. Two years from now, he will be an absolute legend. And Jeff
Jarrett has been one of the only bright things about WCW this year. Even
though he's been jobbed out of championship reigns left and right, and is
now fueding with midcard losers like The Cat and Buff, he's kept up the
work in the ring, and managed to stay over as a heel.
COLIN MacKINNON: I found it pretty difficult to narrow down the field for
Best Wrestler, but in the end, I decided to go with Kurt Angle. The
reason? Because I really can't think of a rookie wrestler who's managed
to do as much as Angle has done within the past year, From wrestling Shawn
Stasiak to wrestling The Rock for the World Title... He's not the best
worker, or the best heel, but he's a nice, complete package. I have no
idea what'll happen in a year or two, but from what I saw this year, Angle
impressed me enough to earn the honors. Only argument I can think of is
that Vince pushed him to the top too fast, but at least the WWF managed to
create another main eventer to keep the scene fresh for now.
TOM CRUZ: I don't see how anyone can debate Triple H as the wrestler of
the year. He's really done it all this year. Great interviews, great
angles, and most importantly, great matches. Triple H has, through great
pacing and outstanding selling, put together some of the most dramatic
matches in WWF history. Similarly, Chris Benoit has put together an
outstanding year. Everyone knows how good this guy is, so I'll refrain
from saying more, short of that I'm a big fan. I was going to put Kurt
Angle third, but he actually hasn't impressed me too much this year in
terms of ring prowess. Sure, he's a great interview and all that, but for
an Olympic champion he sure seems reluctant to do mat work.
NICK RANGEL: Triple H had an unbelievable year, maybe the best in recent
memory. He's been the most credible standard bearer that the WWF has had
for a long time with matches that I never thought he had in him.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: HHH has truly had a MVP-type year between his steady
stream of ****-ish PPV matches as well as deep feuds with Cactus Jack,
Rock, Benoit, and Kurt Angle. Chris Benoit is great as always. The Rock,
despite what some say, doesn't SUCK. He's turned from a catch-phrase
machine to someone much more creative and his feud with Benoit really gave
his moveset a big boost.
PHIL PRZYBYLO: A superb year by many wrestlers, but Triple H has been
christened the new wrestling god with this year's performance. No one can
really pinpoint what exactly he does so good, though. He just
consistently put out 4-5 star matches every month. Rock and Benoit come in
second and third. Rock would have a chance at one if it weren't for his
tendency to lean toward the Russo-style main events (pointless brawling
outside). Benoit's personality almost matched his supreme work ethic in
the ring.
C McMURTRY: At this time last year, most thought Triple H was a paper
champion who was in the right place at the right time, resulting in him
getting the World Title. However, over the course of 2000, no one has had
great match after great like Hunter. Having 13 MOTY nominations should
prove that. I don't care how he kept himself in that top spot politically.
All I know is no one was on their game in 2000 like "The Game". Chris
Benoit, now out of WCW, was able to show what all the "smart" fans had
been saying all along: that he is the best wrestler in the world. He was
also, under the WWF machine, able to improve his personality, and it has
shown. Toshiaki Kawada gets the third spot because he was able to keep All
Japan afloat when, after Misawa and crew left, it didn't look possible.
His matches with Kobashi at the beginning of the year, as well as his
amazing Tokyo Dome bout with Kensuke Sasaki later on showed just why he
should have been the cornerstone of All Japan so many years ago.
JBELL55146: 3 Years ago I voted for Least Favorite Wrestler and hands down
I voted for Hunter. This year I voted him Wrestler of The Year and
Favorite Wrestler. How this is a strange sport. Nobody had the year he
had. Nobody was even close. All of his interviews were top notch, at a PPV
I don't remember him wrestling one match that wasn't **** or better, and
he just plain rocked the free world. Beniot had another great year winning
the WCW title and WWF IC title and again proved he is pound for pound the
best "wrestler" on the planet. And The Rock had great matches vs Benoit,
HHH and Kurt Angle and was THE babyface during the middle part of the year
while Taker' and Austin were both out.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Tag Team
Award Description:
To be given to the tag team who were the best overall team of the year. This
includes all facets of wrestling: workrate, technical ability, interviews,
charisma, hot team moves, value to their promotion, etc. In 1994, this award
was split into three: North American, Non-North American, and overall. In
1998, it was recombined into one.
Previous Winners:
1990: The Steiners: Rick & Scott
1991: The Steiners: Rick & Scott
1992: Terry Gordy & Steve Williams
1993: The Hollywood Blonds: Brian Pillman & Steve Austin
1994: (overall/non-NA) The Steiners: Rick & Scott
1994: (NA) Eddy Guerrero & Love Machine
1995: (overall/NA) Public Enemy: Flyboy Rocco Rock & Johnny Grunge
1995: (non-NA) Mitsuhara Misawa & Kenta Kobashi
1996: (overall/NA) Harlem Heat: Booker T & Stevie Ray
1996: (non-NA) Doug Furnas & Dan Kroffat
1997: (overall/NA) The Eliminators: John Kronus & Perry Saturn
1997: (non-NA) NWO: Masahiro Chono & Great Muta
1998: New Age Outlaws: Road Dogg Jesse James & Badd Ass Billy Gunn
1999: Hardy Boyz: Matt & Jeff
**2000**: Edge & Christian
573 first place votes
564 second place votes
551 third place votes
368 110 38 2246 Edge & Christian
120 249 92 1531 Hardy Boyz - Matt & Jeff
19 74 184 685 Dudley Boyz - Buh Buh Ray & D-Von
16 33 47 273 Yoshihiro Tajiri & Mikey Whipwreck
5 13 22 108 Acolytes - Faarooq & Bradshaw
2 8 14 62 Al Snow & Steve Blackman
3 6 12 57 Filthy Animals - Rey Mysterio Jr. & Juventud Guerrera
2 11 7 57 Full Blooded Italians - Guido Maritato & Tony Mamaluke
0 7 13 47 Mark Jindrak & Sean O'Haire
2 6 8 44 Los Conquistadors - 1 & 2
0 4 14 40 Too Cool - Grand Master Sexay & Scotty 2 Hotty
3 1 10 38 3 Count - Evan Karagias & Shane Helms & Shannon Moore
1 7 6 38 Danny Doring & Roadkill
4 1 6 35 Jung Dragons - Kaz & Yang & Jamie-san
3 4 3 33 Ryuji Yamakawa & Tomoaki Honma
2 4 3 28 Cima & Suwa
0 4 7 26 T & A - Test & Albert
1 0 10 25 Los Fabulosos - Silver King & El Dandy
0 2 9 24 Kai En Tai - Taka Michinoku & Funaki
2 1 5 23 Lo Down - D'Lo Brown & Chaz
3 0 0 15 Chikayo Nagashima & Sugar Sato
2 1 0 13 Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda
2 1 0 13 Las Cachorrus Orientales - Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita
1 2 1 13 Ayako Hamada & Akino
0 2 3 12 Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Shinjiro Ohtani
0 2 3 12 Mamalukes - Big Vito & Johnny the Bull
0 2 3 12 Impact Players - Lance Storm & Justin Credible
1 0 3 11 Boogie Knights - Alex Wright & Disqo
0 1 3 9 Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
0 2 1 8 Great Sasuke & Chapparita Asari
1 0 1 7 Gran Hamada & Ayako Hamada
1 0 1 7 Backseat Boyz - Johnny Kashmere & Trent Acid
0 2 0 6 Gedo & Jado
0 0 3 6 Radicalz
1 0 0 5 Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi
1 0 0 5 Simon Diamond & Swinger
1 0 0 5 Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa
1 0 0 5 M2K
1 0 0 5 Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka
1 0 0 5 Kenta Kobaski & Akira Taue
1 0 0 5 Hideki Hosaka & Mammoth Sasaki
1 0 0 5 Hayabusa & Mr. Gannosuke
1 0 0 5 Great Sasuke & Magnum Tokyo
0 0 2 4 Tiger Mask IV & Hiromi Yaginuma
0 0 2 4 Perfect Event - Perfectshawn Stasiak & Chuck Palumbo
0 0 2 4 Filthy Animals - Kidman & Rey Mysterio Jr.
0 1 0 3 X-Pac & Kane
0 1 0 3 Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue
0 1 0 3 Mean Street Posse - Rodney & Pete Gas
0 1 0 3 Barry Windham & Kendall Windham
0 0 1 2 Vampiro & Great Muta
0 0 1 2 Shane Douglas & Chris Candido
0 0 1 2 Re-enforcers - Mike Sanders & Allan Funk
0 0 1 2 Raven & Tommy Dreamer
0 0 1 2 Raven & Tazz
0 0 1 2 Outsiders - Scott Hall & Kevin Nash
0 0 1 2 Nova & Chris Chetti
0 0 1 2 New Age Outlaws - Road Dogg & Mr. Ass
0 0 1 2 Mr. Gannosuke & Kintaro Kanemura
0 0 1 2 Minoru Tanaka & Yumi Fukawa
0 0 1 2 Kronik - Brian Adams & Bryan Clark
0 0 1 2 Ichiro Yaguchi & Nise Ichiro Yaguchi
0 0 1 2 Crash & Hardcore Holly
REJECTED
0 0 1 "Tie" votes
RICHARD BEAUBIEN: The best Tag team is a three team race between the
Dudley's, the Hardyz, and Edge and Chrisitan. All three deserve the award,
and would of easily won it if not for the other teams. They helped
ressurct the stagnant world of Tag Team wrestling, and inject new blood
into it. But alas, only one could win the award, and for me the team of
the year was the Hardyz. Edge and Christian are second, with the Dudley's
third...
HIRO: These three teams were in two of the best matches this year, namely
the Wrestlemania Tag Team Ladder Match and that TLC (Oh My!) spotfest on
Summerslam, so they get my nod, since I haven't seen any of the Japanese
puroresu stuff to judge these three against.
DEAN RASMUSSEN: Chikayo Nagashima and Sugar Sato are the best- looking
great against the GAEA Bridgeclub and against the insanely angry youngster
contingent alike. Sugar is great and truly came into her own as a real
redneck ass-kicker this year. Ryuji Yamakawa and Tomiaki Honma can carry
ANYBODY including CZW shmoes to a good match. And they did this year.
Yoshihiro Tajiri and Mikey Whipwreck had the coolest matches in the US
this year that I saw. Weird chemistry that works like a charm.
CHRIS BIRD: Edge and Christian will probably take it, and they certainly
are deserving - they're hilarious on the mic, they've had more than a few
crazy-ass matches of high caliber this year, and they consistently
entertain. However, the Hardy Boyz are my number one pick, simply because
they've done the one thing Edge and Christian haven't - have numerous good
matches with crappy wrestlers. (See: T and A. See also: Acolytes. See
also: Road Dogg and X-Pac.) Third place goes to the brilliantly inspired
team of Yoshihiro Tajiri and Mikey Whipwreck, who, if they weren't in a
bush-league environment with no TV deal, would be reinventing tag
wrestling for the masses.
MARK POLISHUK: Edge and Christian are maybe the best tag team not just
this year, but EVER. And Russo didn't let these guys talk...that reeks of
heinosity. Hey, this year the only team worthy of being called "the best"
really ARE the Conquistadors.
MATTHEW HEMING: Edge and Christian are so TOTALLY awesome, there is no
chance of them reeking of stinktitude!!!
J3R CR0WE: Edge and Christian can't be tested. They have the complete
package! If the Hardyz were good on the mic, then they would definately be
closer to number 1.
ROBERT STRUPP: Edge & Christian have been some of the most entertaining
personalities in wrestling all year. Their workrate and interview skills
are both among the best in American Wrestling right now. The Hardyz and
Dudleyz are right below them. The Dudleyz may be the most over tag team
right now, and for most of the year, and the Hardyz ring work has been,
for the most part, outstanding no matter who was in the ring with them.
BEN WEINER: Hardyz fo the sheer amount of holy shit moments. Gotta love
Head Cheese.
DEVON: This seems like a no-brainer to me. There were many great tag
teams in the WWF this year, but Edge and Christian just outshined them
all. No other team was as consistently entertaining as they were, and no
other team consistently put on great matches. Head Cheese gets an
honorable mention because of the brilliance of the angle.
CHRIS OSTER: No doubt as to which three teams get the votes, but in what
order? Edge and Christian proved themselves to be the total package this
year...good skills, a great gimmick, and nearly unsurpassed mic work make
them the team most TOTALLY REEKING OF COOLNESS! this year. Hardy Boyz get
second, and I hope they're still able to collect votes at this time next
year, and not disability insurance. And learn how to talk, for God's
sake. Which leaves Those Damn Dudleys in third, as they kinda dropped off
toward the end of the year and became confined to their one-dimensional
table gimmick. Still, though, being involved in three MOTYCs gives you
high marks.
EDC: Funny, the Jung Dragons were the closest thing to a true Lucha tag
team, yet they were all non-mexican. Great High Flyers being kept down by
the WCW "braintrust". Hardyz are still the best american team. Mamaluke
makes the FBI fun to watch as he is not above dying for your pleasure.
ANDREW BAYER: Edge and Christian - What more do I have to say?
DUDICALY2K: TAG TEAM: Edge and Christian's airhead routine is pure gold.
On top of it, they're pretty good wrestlers. Not the best, but they aren't
bad either. The Hardyz are great wrestlers who are being used as
daredevils. Watch them while you can, because one of them is going to die
soon. Tajiri and Mikey had a good series of matches and were really fun.
DANIEL HERMAN: I'm surprised that Taijiri and Mikey gelled so well, Edge &
Christian were allowed to put on a few good wrestling matches and I'm a
Hardy mark.
SCOTT W.: Edge and Christian are the best tag team. They have the work
rate and mic skills. No team is funnier. I put the Dudley Boyz and Hardy
Boyz as 2 and 3 cause of the 3 way rivalry.
CHANCE50JR: After a year where tag team wrestling was weighed down by the
likes of the Rock & Sock Connection and the New Age Outlaws, Edge and
Christian were simultaneously refreshing and made the whole thing fun
again. Even though they were heels, I was a fan of theirs. They made
being cowardly heels cool again. Number two goes to Los Conquistadors, an
angle that will get killed waaay too soon.
DONNIE VOMIT: I'm not going to make a mimbo play on words, I'll leave that
to the lamers. Truth is, Edge and Christian are the longest running tag
team in the WWF and have been in need of a push for a while now. Their
ringwork and interviews proved they deserved it. Yoshi and Mikey are my
favorite non-WWF team right now, even though they're stuck in traction in
ECW. And Los Fabulosos had such a bright future ahead of them until Russo
decided to kill all the Mexicans. El diablo con dinero.
JOHN C.: My fellow Canadians Edge & Christian were the greatest WWF tag
team this year with the Hardy Boyz coming in a close second followed by
the Dudley's. Even though E&C are great in the ring, they will be
remembered mostly for their interviews and vignettes where they developed
several humorous phrases that "reeked of awesomeness." The Hardy's and
Dudley's had a great year as they helped give the WWF their best tag team
division ever.
JOSEPH MICELI: see above, minus the Benoit comment
REISMARK: The Hardys and Edge & Christian are equals in the ring. But the
Maple Leaf Blondes one-up the Extreme Boyz to infinity on the mike. Thank
God the WWF decided to let these two talk.
TONY LING: The WWF went from having the New Age Outlaws as champs to four
viable tag teams that could have been champions. But I really wish Too
Cool had had a longer tag title reign.
ANDY P. GOSS: Picking the tag teams is tough, simply because wrestling
ability can't summarize it all. Teams like the Hardys, Dudleyz, and E&C
Joke Factory are, I'm sure, going to compete for first-place votes, but
each one is a spot machine that has trouble wrestling a normal match.
The TNN Raw ladder match showed just how painfully reliant they are on
spots. My picks, meanwhile, could work, had chemistry, and each person
individually brings something to the table -- Faarooq's power, Bradshaw's
size, Guido's technical expertise, Mamaluke's selling capabilities, Snow's
weirder edge, and Blackman's true martial arts. Hence, my votes were, in
order, Acolytes, FBI, and Snow/Blackman.
CHRIS BURKE: The WWF finally let Edge and Christian have the mics, and
they took flight with them. Their interviews and in-ring match intros
were among the best in the business, and while the Hardys and Dudleys may
get more attention for high-flying and table-breaking, their best matches
are always against the Dynamic Duo. The run as Los Conquistadors was
great! Hopefully, the WWF keeps this team together, even though there
might be temptation to break them into singles competition.
JON WALTON: Edge and Christian were the only logical choice in this
category. Whether it was their hillarious interviews, the resurrection of
the Conquistadors or their commentary rife with insider terms.
Edge/Christian defined tag team wrestling this year.
SCOTT CRAWFORD: It was DAMN hard to resist voting for Los Fabulosos here!
JONAH ROSCH: I don't think I've ever seen a tag team dominate a federation
both in interviews and in match quality like Edge and Christian have done.
Yes, the Hardy Boyz are a more impressive team in the ring, but Edge and
Christian have dominated the year. Ever since they started to tease their
heel turn prior to WrestleMania, upto their recent teaming with Kurt
Angle, they have been dominant.
LOSIFER: Close call between the Hardyz and the Blondes -- I gave it to the
Hardyz perhaps underservingly, because I'm a sucker for highspots. E&C
developed great characters this year, and deserve at LEAST 2nd place.
EDDIE BURKETT: Edge and Christian so totally rule. The Hardy Boyz are
still awesome, and I'm somewhat partial to Head Cheese. 'nuff said.
JAMES HOWARD: Between the nuts, the Avalanche losing, the missed field
goal, the fat Elvis, the *really* fat Elvis, the choking, the streamer,
the kazoo, the sunglasses, and the boots that say "Edge" on them, the last
several months of the WWF have not had a Tag Team division. They have had
the Edge and Christian show. :) Also outstanding during the year were the
Hardyz, who are *finally* recognized as a major team, and the team of
Tajiri and Whipwreck, who have managed to leave me absolutely breathless
despite having only had about eight televised matches as a team. Now
*that*'s quality. :)
GEORGE JOHNSON: Edge and Christian have become the most entertaining combo
since Flair, Mr. Perfect, and Heenan back in '92.
JOE GAGNE: Edge and Christian were the total package this year, being
highly entertaining in the ring and on the mic. The Hardys may still be a
little spotty, but had another year of excellent matches. The Dudleys
definitely stepped up their game, and would have been higher had they not
been bogged down in poor feuds against T&A and D-X.
BOB MORRIS: This was the breakthrough year for Edge and
Christian...letting these two work the mic instead of being silent proved
to work wonders for these two and help them rise to prominence. We knew
from their past matches that the two were good workers, but throw in the
mic skills and they were just that much better as a tag team. While the
rumors of the team splitting up have yet to be proven true, I would be
interested to see how they fare as singles competitors.
C READ: Was hard for all 3 (4) spots, Edge/Christian and II Cool both have
re-invented themselves highly- but E&C have been involved in more main
event angles than II Cool. Also very close for 4th between the Dudleys and
the Hardyz but using the same mentality, the Hardyz get it
SCOTT ZUCKER: The Hardy Boyz, in my opinion are without a doubt the best
tag team. I don't think any other tag team can really be compared to them.
JPM38: The Maple Leaf Blondes so TOTALLY ruled this year. Their 3-ways for
the titles with the other 2 contenders were awesome motyc's, but they get
the nod over the other two pairs of Boyz for cracking me up on a regular
basis, especially with the kazoos and the theme music.
JEREMY SORIA: I think the same three tag teams we've seen throughout the
last year in the same matches have got to get the nod here. Frankly, I've
gotten tired of seeing the same six wrestlers in the same match every
time. It's too bad no WCW tag teams made the survey this high. I like the
Natural Born Thrillers very much, and they could become a nice stable of
wrestlers over the next year.
RICK SCAIA: Edge/Christian, Dudleys, Hardys.... it doesn't really matter
what order you put 'em in, I guess, but those are my three choices for
2000's best tag teams. By combining various amounts of humorous promos,
trademark spots, and death-defying ring work, these three duos blow away
the competition. It helps that they worked with each other at so many key
points along the way this year, too.
TROY OLSON: Special mention to Los Fabulosos. They were two very sexy
men.
NATHAN LONEY: Tajiri and Whipwreck are two shining beacons in ECW (IMO),
and I can't be the only person who gets a real kick out of the Sinister
Minister. Edge and Christian are the cream of the crop in the overstocked
tag team pool of the WWF. Great in the ring, great on the microphone.
The Hardy Boyz still remain the future of the WWF, and they let their
talent shine through this year.
BILL LEHECKA: If Edge & Christian never got near a microphone, they'd be
2nd or 3rd here. These guys "so totally reek of awesomeness and lack
heinousity." Along with their smark references, they're an easy #1 choice
for the best tag team of all the land.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: It goes without saying that Edge and Christian are the
best tag team in the world. They've literally got everything--talent,
charisma, interviewing ability, a great gimmick... They're certainly the
most entertaining duo since the early days of the NAO, as well as the
funniest. That said, my top vote goes to the Hardy Boyz, since I like both
teams about equally, and E&C hardly need my help to get a landslide win in
these awards. The Dudleys round out the list, largely due to a great run
from January to March of the year.
THE TALBOTS: Last year, the Hardyz were the top tag team but that was
before either team had said more than 5 words. Now, Edge and Christian
that they have the longer shelf life. They've gone through several shows
without having to wrestle, yet they remain over because of their
hilariously insulting interviews.
OCTAVIAN: Edge and Christian, Dudleyz, and Hardyz were easily the top
three tag teams in any promotion this year. The only thing to contest is
their order.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Probably the only vote for Kai En Tai..but they RULE!
TANVIR RAQUIB: Alex Wright carried Disqo in his return back to the ring -
with both guys bringing out all the great fundamental moves I've always
dug. KNEEDROP~! DOUBLE AXE-HANDLE~!
ALEX CARNEVALE: In a weak year for tag teams, the WWF put on the show with
two ****1/2 matches at WM and Summerslam. Edge and Christian get the top
nod for their hilarious characters, and the Hardyz second for their insane
spots. Best year the Duds have had yet.
TOM CRUZ: Edge and Christian so TOTALLY ruled the WWF this year. The thing
that made their run completely awesome was that they had an equally
talented team to go against. Thus, the Hardyz find their way in here.
Despite the Dudleyz reliance on one or two spots to get them through most
matches (GET THE TABLE and the headbutt to the groin are so annoying now),
they do step up when the situation calls for it. Thus, they find their way
into the top 3 as well.
NICK RANGEL: Edge and Christian improved immensely, becoming the most
entertaining tag team in either of the big two. Their interviews and
skits were consistently hilarious with rings skills to match.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Edge & Christian take this spot due to sheer hilarity
and the fact that no tag team really stood out this year. Hardyz check in
at number 2 only because Jeff Hardy is a couple steps slower due to
nagging injuries. Mamalukes are in the Show position because they
overcame a bad Russo gimmick to rapidly improve and get over.
PHIL PRZYBYLO: This category's unfair because there are just too many damn
good teams... in the WWF. Edge & Christian are basically "above" the
division and the titles; that's how good they are. The Dudley Boyz come
in second as they are probably one of the biggest success stories of the
year. Hardy Boyz stay exciting at number 3, but stay way too complacent.
ROB "R2K" EVANS: Best Tag Team - How to choose between the Hardyz,
Dudleyz, and Edge & Christian. So many great matches between all of these
teams all year long. Got to give the (sic) Edge to E&C for their totally
improved mic work. It reaked of awesomeness. Second goes to the Hardyz
for all of their high-flying feats o' death. Third to the Duds. There's
something about seeing women powerbombed through tables that gets me all
euphoric.
C McMURTRY: Edge & Christian not only had good match after good match this
year, they were able to do something few teams can do. They transended the
tag division, routinely working in main events. With their backstage
vignettes, no team over the course of 2000 entertained like E&C. Kojima &
Tenzan, quite simply, are one of the few reasons to still watch New Japan,
and are doing a tremendous job of keeping the IWGP Tag straps on the mind.
And what needs to be said about The Hardys? One of the most over babyfaces
teams in years.
THE CUBS FAN: Okay, we've got two young kids, let's call them Mike and
Allan. Or maybe Alan. Or even Allen. Doesn't really matter much. What
does really matter is that these two kids were just out of the Power
Plant, with just a little indy experience, so they were really green.
Just to get them out in front of 'live' crowds (or whatever they were this
year), they get thrown together as a tag team. Someone, maybe them, maybe
somone in the back who had nothing better to do, gave them a little
gimmick - the Re-Enforcers. They'd call out the top teams they could
think off, some who didn't even wrestle anymore, and put down Arn
Anderson. It wasn't high concept stuff, but it had an early New Age
Outlaws feel to it (down to the repeated spiel before the match started.)
After five weeks, WCW can tell that these two have talent and they're
still green. The smart move would have been to keep them together and
pushed at a low level until they got a lot more experience time under
them. The WCW idea was to push Mike to the moon without the credibilty
for the fans to buy it, and to change Allan into ambiguously gay wardrope
person. WCW didn't suck this year because of instability behind the
scenes. It sucked because no matter who was leading the thing, they were
really stuipd.
JBELL55146: Last year was the Hardyz year to break out, this year, Edge
and Christian were clearly the best tag team in North America. Their
interviews are always instant classics, and their matches with the Hardyz
have become stuff of legends. The Hardyz had another great year wrestling
great matches against the Dudlyz and Edge/Christian. And the Dudlyz have
improved 100% over their time in ECW. 4 Little Words 'D-Von, Get A Table'
have made them more over and more popular then any other tag team.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Heel
Award Description:
To be given to the person who was the best villain this past year. This
person should bring out the fans' wrath. Match quality is not paramount
here; this award should be based primarily on how over the wrestler was in
the past year.
Previous Winners:
1990: Ted DiBiase
1991: Cactus Jack
1992: Jake Roberts
1993: Big Van Vader
1994: Bob Backlund
1995: Big Van Vader
1996: Steve Austin (Ring Master)
1997: Shawn Michaels
1998: Mr. McMahon (Vince McMahon)
1999: Triple H
**2000**: Triple H
573 first place votes
565 second place votes
554 third place votes
441 53 20 2404 Triple H
42 98 105 1014 Kurt Angle
11 73 78 430 Chris Benoit
5 49 40 252 Jeff Jarrett
8 39 41 239 Eddie Guerrero
4 29 50 207 Lance Storm
10 12 33 152 Steven Richards
4 21 30 143 Scott Steiner
5 14 18 103 Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley
3 11 15 78 Steve Corino
3 11 11 70 Vince McMahon
7 4 7 61 Cima
2 6 7 42 Vince Russo
5 2 3 37 Suwa
3 3 5 34 Dick Togo
1 5 7 34 Tazz
2 5 2 29 Jun Akiyama
1 0 11 27 Christian
2 1 6 25 Justin Credible
0 3 8 25 Edge
1 0 8 21 William Regal
1 1 6 20 Shane McMahon
1 4 1 19 Shinjiro Ohtani
1 3 1 16 Yoshihiro Tajiri
1 0 4 13 Vader
2 0 1 12 Bokujin Ken
1 1 2 12 X-Pac
2 0 0 10 Akira Hokuto
0 3 0 9 Mayumi Ozaki
0 0 4 8 Rikishi
0 0 3 6 Rhino
0 0 3 6 Mima Shimoda
0 0 3 6 Hardcore Holly
1 0 0 5 Trent Acid
1 0 0 5 Masao Orihara
1 0 0 5 Kodo Fuyuki
0 1 1 5 Koji Kanemoto
0 1 1 5 Big Bossman
0 1 0 3 Toshiaki Kawada
0 1 0 3 Sugar Sato
0 1 0 3 Simon Diamond
0 1 0 3 Shane Douglas
0 1 0 3 Ric Flair
0 1 0 3 Mr. Gannosuke
0 1 0 3 Chris Jericho
0 1 0 3 Abismo Negro
0 0 1 2 Takeshi Ono
0 0 1 2 Steven Regal
0 0 1 2 Rob Black
0 0 1 2 Raven
0 0 1 2 Poodle
0 0 1 2 Mike Sanders
0 0 1 2 H (Eiji Ezaki)
0 0 1 2 Cyrus
0 0 1 2 Big Poppa Pump
0 0 1 2 Bauxite Medium
0 0 1 2 Achilles
REJECTED
0 2 3 Edge & Christian (ineligible)
0 2 1 Duplicate votes
0 0 4 "Tie" votes
1 0 0 Full Blooded Italians (ineligible)
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: Russo would have gotten the nod if he had started at
the start of the ballot year. But Russo did beat Jarrett because simply,
in my opinion, he was not a wrestler and made a terrific non-wrestling
asshole (sorry, but I had to say it).
HIRO: Triple H is undoubtly the best heel right now. The shortlived
'tweener act didn't even cause a dent to this although he turned heel back
again by the time the poll's timeframe closed. Kurt Angle's act could be
the heel act of the future, even though he didn't do too much of typical
heel stuff. Benoit's Rabid Wolverine act is a good heel act too (giving
Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley the headbutt rules!), and now that the R4dicalz
have reformed, expect them to be the top heel group in the WWF supplanting
RTC and the hopefully forever dead DX.
DEAN RASMUSSEN: Suwa is both psychotic and also a GREAT pure rudo in the
Fuerza Guerrera mold. Mayumi Ozaki was such a lesbianic psychotic sex
kitten in the super psychosexual KAORU feud that she scared me and got me
all worked up all at once. WHAT ELSE COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT!? Dick Togo
is back and he rules. He even made a couple Onita Pro Main Events almost
watchable.
BRUNO PULVER: Scott Steiner is the best heel in a business and world title
reign is extremely fucking long over due
ADAM FROM TORONTO: There's just something about Eddy that makes me want to
hit him in the face with a frying pan.
ROBERT STRUPP: Again, Triple H was easily the best wrestler all year, and
the best heel, with top feuds against Rock, Jericho, Foley and Angle.
Angle was the only WWF star to be a heel through the entire voting period,
and his rise throughout the year to WWF champion is amazing. Steiner plays
the unpredictable psycho very well. This year was short on good heels.
Benoit could also be considered, but Hunter, Angle, and Steiner did it for
a longer period during the year.
BEN WEINER: Not a great year for heels.
ALEX GIPSON: Triple H is the best heel I've seen in my eight years in
watching wrestling. At a house show I attended in January, the level of
hatred that the audience conveyed towards him was unbelievable. Backstage
controversy or not, the man is the best at what he does.
CHRIS OSTER: Continuation of a LONG trend in this category, as Triple H
gets my top vote again. He's done the unthinkable - stayed away from
using a catchphrase as a crutch in interviews, and from trying to be
"cool" instead of being the asshole the fans boo on sight, and created a
truly great heel character. Kurt Angle takes second with one of the most
inventive gimmicks in a while...a heel hero! Genius. And, since I can't
vote for Edge and Christian as a team, and don't want to single either one
out, third goes to Eddie Guerrero, who went back to being the best dickish
heel around.
EDC: Scott Steiner is a great heel because it comes naturally for him as a
Roided out, maniac Monster. Even Russo couldnt screw this one up that
badly. JJ is the closest thing to a old school Heel, but you can tell that
he doesnt like where he is now. HHH comes in at the bottom below a God
Heel, and a Heel that has been doing this longer than he has.
DUDICALY2K: BEST HEEL: HHH communicates hatred and asshole-ness like no
one has since the days of Ric Flair at 6:05 p.m. on WTBS. Eddy is also a
great, great heel in an awful character. Benoit is starting to blossom as
a mic-worker.
DANIEL HERMAN: No US heel in recent memory has gotten me to hate their
character nearly as much as HHH at the beginning of the year. Dick Togo is
just great at being evil, as is Poodle.
SCOTT W.: Triple H is the greatest heel I have ever seen. He even beats
Ric Flair in the department. (To steal from Rick Scaia, "In my own damned
personal opinion." Kurt Angle being a legit Amercian Hero and getting
booed is a definite second. 3rd, well Vinny Mac always gets a heel vote
from me.
DONNIE VOMIT: Triple H and Angle are self explanatory. Lance Storm is a
great heel in the Jake The Snake mold, really subdued, but still gets fan
reaction (no crack, though).
MARCUS SPARKS: The RTC would never have worked if it hadn't been for
Steven's skill on the microphone and willingness to look like a complete
fool from time to time. It's a testament to him the group is hated.
Kurt's smarmy facade had developed nicely over the past year, with little
or no real impetus for the fans to even consider cheering him. Despite
WCW's troubles, "The Chosen One" has truly been one of the best things
about WCW week in and week out.
JOHN C.: Triple H wins here because of his magnificent work both in the
ring and on the microphone allowing himself to be the best heel the
business has seen since Ric Flair was in his prime. There's nothing better
than an old school heel who backs up his words by kicking ass in the ring
and that's exactly what Triple H did. Rounding out the top three are Angle
& Benoit who both had good success as main event heels although neither
could come close to the standard that Triple H set.
GREG NECASTRO: Triple H was born to be hated.
JOSEPH MICELI: HHH gets too many pops to be a super-heel
TONY LING: Gotta be impressed by the way HHH stepped up his performance,
both in the ring and as the #1 heel in wrestling. The McMahon-Helmsley
stuff got on my nerves after a while, ESPECIALLY after WM, but it was
still a good angle.
ANDY P. GOSS: Yeah, I picked Vader. It's a lifetime achievement award
more than anything else. Eddie Guerrero's sleazy Latino Heat stuff
(wooing Chyna, being in denial, cheating to win) really caught my
attention. And Vince Russo the character could have people hating him in
a Noo Yawk minit.
JON WALTON:WCW did many moronic things this year, but one thing they did
right was keep Jeff Jarrett as a top heel. It never ceased to amaze me
how much crap Jarrett took for being the solid, old school heel that every
federation needs. His work ethic and exceptional heeldom were the only
thing that kept WCW interesting for a three month period.
MARKUS: Triple H is just doing the best heel schtick to be done in years.
The other two I think are two highly under-rated heels, but I dig 'em.
JONAH ROSCH: It was tough picking the winner in this category. All three
wrestlers have come into their own, especially in being heels. I went with
Triple H mostly due to the way that he has been pushed as a heel. Jarrett
has been the classic Flair-like heel, and Angle has been the humorous
cowardly heel. But it has been Triple-H, who has totally redefined what
it means to be a heel that a federation can focus on. Triple-H has been
allowed to back up his actions with key PPV victories, and even the marks
view him as a significant threat in the ring. That makes him the top heel,
in my book.
COLIN MORTON: Is Triple H a face or a heel? The slow build to a turn has
been going on for months.
EDDIE BURKETT: Triple H is THE GAME!!! 'nuff said.
JAMES HOWARD: Patriotism is EVIL! It is EVIL EVIL EVIL AND BAD! Or it
least, it apparently is if you're *Canadian*. And if there's one person
who can pull that off, it's Bret Hart. But Lance Storm does it just as
well, and *that*'s something to be commended. Also to be commended is Kurt
Angle, who has proven himself to be mankind's last savior of cowardly heel
tactics until Jericho gets back around to doing it. And I never would have
thought that Triple H wouldn't make my Best Heel list this year, but- "I'd
smack you 'cross your face, but it looks like *God* already beat me *to*
it!" One line, *one* line, and Tazz became the most hated man on the
planet. Call me a sucker for a great Groucho line. :)
JUST JEFF: Stevie Richards' transformation from funnyman to serious,
"civic-minded" Steven is a stroke of creative genius on the WWF, and a
lesson to Russo on how to do a "worked shoot" promo the right way. Kurt
Angle's twist on the concept of the American Hero fits very well with
today's cynical generation of viewers and fans, to say the least. I
wouldn't be surprised if the Censor and the Olympic Hero remain fresh
enough for inclusion in next year's poll. But Best Heel still goes to HHH
for his contributions to the WWF, and for making the fans hate him for
being "that damn good."
MAGNOOOS: I really think Mike Sanders should have been nominated in more
categories. In my opinion he really saves the Natural Born Thrillers from
being a disastrous gimmick.
BOB MORRIS: I gave the nod to Kurt Angle here, because his gimmick was so
simple, just so effective, and drew massive heel heat for himself quickly.
The last person to rise to prominence this quickly was Bill Goldberg in
WCW, and a lot of that credit has to go to the fact that Angle's heel
schitck was very effective. Hopefully the WWF will keep him as one of the
promotion's major players for years to come.
SCOTT ZUCKER: SUWA, CIMA, and Dick Togo are my top three heels. All of
them are aware of how to get a crowd against them, and they do it with
ease. Honorable mention to Eddy Guerrero who was able to get a large crowd
reaction when he was injured.
JEREMY SORIA: It has to be Triple H, bar none. With the exception of when
he was questioning Kurt Angle's sexuality, he never had to resort to cheap
tactics to get heat. Kurt Angle's a great heel too. Deep down, you know
whatever Kurt Angle says is true. Steven Richards, in his Right To Censor
gimmick, has finally found the role for himself. He's the perfect guy to
throw the whole censorship issue back in everyone's face.
RICK SCAIA: One of the easiest no brainers in this year's voting is making
Triple H the Best Heel of the Year. If you need an explanation why, you
just weren't watching TV... Jeff Jarrett did his level best to equal
HHH's dedication to bastardly behavior in WCW, and gets second on the
list. And I'll go with Kurt Angle for #3, if only because it cracks me up
that he can get such great heel heat by being relatively clean-cut and
truthful in his promos.
JEREMY DELINE: If 'Best Heel' means most successful, give it to Triple H.
If 'Best Heel' means most heel heat, give it to triple H. If 'Best Heel'
means best matches, you could argue a case for triple H. Kurt Angle's
character, who developed in leaps and bounds over the year from arrogant
'real' wrestler with an unbeaten streak to slimy homewrecker to cowardly
'I'll-do-anything-to-keep-the-belt-and-credibility-be-damned' champion,
really grew on me. Steve Corino's old school heel character was great
before he morphed into a face, both for the the mass amounts of blood he
spilled from his grotesquely over-scarred forehead, and for his mocking of
Dusty Rhodes.
NATHAN LONEY: Kurt Angle. Yes, he plays the coward. Yes, he plays the
clown. Yes, he's also a great heel. He knows what it takes to whip the
crowd into a frenzy, and he does it perfectly. Chris Benoit is almost as
good, except he doesn't get the crowd as riled as Angle. Steph Bear gets
my third vote, because she works the crowd up as good as Angle. My only
question is, "What kind of heat does she draw?"
BILL LEHECKA: Triple H's that damn good... at being a heel. While I don't
like the way he seems to go over EVERYONE, I do appreciate the heat he
generates. Kurt Angle wasn't that type of heel. While Triple H was a
bad-ass, Kurt was a meddling prick. Lance Storm was a Canadian Prick. I
appreciate all kinds of prickiness.
NATE PATRIN: How can Chris Benoit be the best wrestler but not the best
heel? Personally, he's just not believably EVIL as a heel as of late.
Arrogant? Crowd-baiting? Yeah, but not evil. (Check out the beginning
promo of the 11.20.00 RAW against Steve Austin- pops and heat regardless,
Austin looked like the bigger asshole to me.) Kurt would also be higher if
he learned to get heat without resorting to "your local sports team
sucks!" (I mean... 'I'm not the Minnesota Timberwolves of the WWF'?
Puh-leeze.)
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Triple H, of course. I mean, has anyone else managed to
get the crowd rallying behind TAKA Michinoku's quest for the WWF title?
Didn't think so. Kurt Angle is the only real competition, and he gets
second. It's amazing how obnoxious he is; it's great when he gets a crowd
cheering for him only to kick them right in the face. And he seems to do
that with amazing regularity. Steph gets third. She can be amazingly
annoying at times, but the crowd just hate her guts.
THE TALBOTS: Triple H could contend for best babyface and best heel in the
same year. However, his heeldom far surpasses anyone else in the business.
There are better babyfaces than Triple H but no one is a better heel.
OCTAVIAN: Kurt Angle and Stephen Richards are the break out heels of the
year in terms of how quickly the crowd took to hating them.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: E&C count as one heel if you ask me.
TANVIR RAQUIB: VKM plays himself quite well. Eddie Guerrero is an asshole.
Triple H Hates All Of You.
MIKE PLYLEY: Is there any doubt that Triple H was the best heel of the
year? The guy who retired Foley, the heel who walked out of Wrestlemania
champion, this guy's done it all. Jarrett gets #2 for being a great
non-comical heel, while Kurt was the best of the comical heels and gets
#3.
TOM CRUZ: Triple H was the guy you wanted to see lose. Not the guy you
loved to hate, but the guy you wanted to lose. It took him a while, but
once he got over as a heel, he got over huge. Kurt Angle is remarkable in
that he's a funny (as in he says funny stuff, not that he acts goofy)
heel. In the WWF, if you're funny, you're a face. The fact that he's still
a heel speaks volumes about how good he is. Jeff Jarrett is the only
person I can think of who comes even close two in terms of heel heat, not
to mention the fact that he's the only person I can think of who hasn't
randomly flip-flopped between face/heel status under Russo.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Triple H just has to get this one as he had a run as
probably about the best heel champion since Ric Flair. Kurt Angle is
second due to his awesome cheap heat promos. Eddy gets three because he
just RULES as EL RUDO~!
PHIL PRZYBYLO: Another number one spot for Mr. Helmsley. Part high school
bully, part spoiled brat, part heartless bastard, and part badass.
Triple H's heeldom is almost an art form. Tazz and Benoit come in second
and third. A little touch of old school with these new heels has made the
Attitude era more interesting.
ROB "R2K" EVANS: Best Heel - Like CRZ sez: HHH is "The New Man."
C McMURTRY: Triple H is a rarity in North American pro wrestling in that
he appears to actually like being a heel. When he was working as a
babyface, it was clear he wasn't as comfortable. While most wrestlers are
marks for the pops, HHH seemed to relish in being jeered, which made him
work better as a heel to get them. Steve Corino as the old school heel was
perfect. It may have been cheap heat, but Corino always got heat
nonetheless, and like HHH, he played really well off of the fans
reactions. CIMA is another old school, yet effective heel who I can't get
enough of.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Babyface
Award Description:
To be given to the person who best portrayed the hero this past year. This
person should get lots of fan support. Match quality is not paramount
here; this award should be based primarily on how over the wrestler was in
the past year.
Previous Winners:
1990: Hulk Hogan
1991: Brian Pillman
1992: Sting
1993: Bret Hart
1994: Bret Hart
1995: Shawn Michaels
1996: Shawn Michaels
1997: Steve Austin
1998: Stone Cold Steve Austin
1999: The Rock
**2000**: The Rock
576 first place votes
555 second place votes
536 third place votes
285 75 46 1742 Rock
89 112 68 917 Mick Foley (Mankind / Cactus Jack)
51 131 103 854 Chris Jericho
32 49 84 475 Booker T.
28 63 47 423 Steve Austin
33 1 6 180 Survival Tobita
5 13 22 108 Ric Flair
5 10 25 105 Goldberg
6 13 11 91 Undertaker
8 5 11 77 Triple H
3 12 13 77 Sting
7 7 7 70 Rob Van Dam
2 9 8 53 Tommy Dreamer
0 11 10 53 Jerry Lynn
1 8 3 35 Magnum Tokyo
3 2 4 29 Great Sasuke
2 3 5 29 Rikishi
3 0 5 25 Ryuji Yamakawa
1 2 6 23 Crash
2 2 3 22 Yoshihiro Tajiri
1 4 1 19 Ayako Hamada
2 1 1 15 Lita
1 1 3 14 Alexander Otsuka
0 3 2 13 Tomoaki Honma
0 1 5 13 Scotty 2 Hotty
1 1 1 10 Al Snow
0 1 3 9 Steve Corino
0 1 3 9 Matt Hardy
0 2 1 8 Meiko Satomura
0 1 2 7 Kenta Kobashi
0 0 3 6 Eddie Guerrero
1 0 0 5 Super Delfin
1 0 0 5 Shawn Michaels
1 0 0 5 Ricky Marvin
1 0 0 5 Hayabusa
1 0 0 5 H (Eiji Ezaki)
0 1 1 5 Kane
0 1 1 5 Jeff Hardy
0 0 2 4 Shark Boy
0 0 2 4 Norman Smiley
0 0 2 4 Kevin Nash
0 0 2 4 Jerry Lawler
0 0 2 4 Chyna
0 1 0 3 Toshiaki Kawada
0 1 0 3 Onryo
0 1 0 3 Momoe Nakanishi
0 1 0 3 Jushin Liger
0 1 0 3 Hardcore Holly
0 1 0 3 General Rection
0 0 1 2 Terri Gold
0 0 1 2 Stevie Richards
0 0 1 2 Steve Blackman
0 0 1 2 Mike Awesome
0 0 1 2 Masato Yakushiji
0 0 1 2 Little Spike Dudley
0 0 1 2 Cima
0 0 1 2 Buh Buh Ray Dudley
REJECTED
0 1 1 Hardy Boyz (ineligible)
0 0 2 Dudley Boyz (ineligible)
0 1 0 Duplicate votes
0 1 0 Molly Holly (ineligible - time)
0 0 1 "Tie" votes
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: Sentimental, ain't I?
DON DEL GRANDE: Goldberg is like the Road Warriors and Jimmy Garvin
(pre-Freebirds); you can make them act like heels, but the fans know
better.
HIRO: These three gets the best face pop in the WWF (until Rikishi turned
heel of course) in that order IMO. Why Rikishi? Well, he has that stink
face move which pops huge when applied on everyone and anyone, faces and
heels alike. Also, the dance with Too Cool was the most over non-wrestling
move/thing. Rock and Jericho are self-explanatory, and Rock is on top
because he is the number one face just as Triple H is the #1 heel. Austin
arrived too late to figure much this year.
DEAN RASMUSSEN: The snakeskin pants, the bleached hair, the Journey
"Separate Ways" entrance music- ah, you are Ryuji Yamakawa and YOU rock my
little world, Hoss. Ayako Hamada had the tiny pants and Sub-Mariner
eyebrows that made her favorite of mine. Especially at shower time!
HAHAHAHAHA! But I kid the ballot... Meanwhile, Survival Tobita created
the coolest things in all of the entire planet earth to wrestle. He
defended Japan and also defended MY world with thorough balls-out abandon
while being totally unencumbered by wrestling skill. Tobita is a hero we
can all look up to in these otherwise cynical, stupid, fucked-up times.
MICHAEL BANKER: Ric Flair would have been higher than #3, but he was gone
for too much of the year.
ROBERT STRUPP: No contest, really. Rock is the Rock, against all evil,
whether is Big Show, Hunter, Benoit or Rikishi. The Top Face in the Top
Promotion. Booker is so underrated, had a very good run against Jarrett.
Jericho got good matches out of Chyna, and had a great feud with Benoit in
the summer. The best upper-mid card face, plus he was a face throughout
the year.
CHRIS OSTER: I interpret this to mean, "Who gets the fans on their feet
and keeps them there?" By thaose criteria, The Rock is the runaway winner
of this category. Second (and a rare WCW vote) goes to Booker T, who rose
above a stupid, insulting gimmick and kept the fans interested in him.
Chris Jericho, who was probably the second-biggest face in wrestling in
mid-year, gets third. It helps that he provided my single biggest markout
moment of 2000 by winning the title back in April.
EDC: I put Scotty 2 Hottie there because of one reason only: the WORM. At
its height, the pop for Scotty doing the Worm was incredible, rivaling the
Rocks or Austin's Pop. I remeber people would tell me that they would be
upset because they didnt get to see the worm on a RAW, or in a House show.
DUDICALY2K: BEST FACE: In this, the age of blurred lines and worked-shoots
and sports entertainment, there are very few face wrestlers who are indeed
heroes. The premise of SPWC is simple-- an area of Japan is attacked by a
cadre of monsters. One man fends them off. That is the definition of
babyface-- and that is the definition of Survival Tobita. ATTACK ALL
MONSTER, FIGHT ALL ENEMY-- it is a catchphrase more appropos of a true
good guy than "smell what the Rock is cooking." Survival Tobita is a god
among men, a true visionary and a hero to those who live in suburban
Tokyo. Chris Jericho's populism is also catchy. He's been criticized for
his goofball routine-- I see it as he's someone who CAN make it to the
next level and be a champion but he'd rather have fun. And Corino as "Old
School Hero" was a hoot.
DANIEL HERMAN: There is no babyface who compares to the slayer of
monsters, HE'S JUST JAPANESE ROCK AND ROLLER
SCOTT W.: The Rock is the best babyface. The crowd is in his hands for
everything. Very hard to turn this guy heel. No one can come close to
this guy in the vote department.
DONNIE VOMIT: Mick and The Rock were the only 100% faces in the WWF this
year. Mangum Tokyo has a really neato entrance, so I'll give him third.
MARCUS SPARKS: Booker T went from hopeless midcarder to world champ in WCW
on the backs of the fans. Steve Austin is still the anti-hero people
love. Jericho is just too much fun to watch.
JOHN C.: The Rock is the obvious winner here as he usually received the
most pops all around the world. Booker T. had a great year in WCW even
though he rarely performs in front a big crowd, he has to deal with inept
bookers and it took far too long for him to reach the top but once he made
it there he proved just how good he is. Even though Mick Foley retired in
February (only to come back for WrestleMania) he gets my third spot
because during his last three months in the WWF he got tremendous ovations
from the crowd who thanked him for his fantastic work over the years.
JOSEPH MICELI: Consistant pops for the top 2, as for the third, well, you
watch the show too so you know what i mean
MATTHEW HUBARTT: I intentionally left off Steve Austin due to his inaction
for most of the past year. However, no one can deny the size of the pops
he still gets.
STEVE SHIVES: Booker T really deserves this one. Not only that rarest of
things--a deserving champion--but also an equally rare commodity in
today's wrestling environment: an actual babyface. Not an egotistical
ass like The Rock, not a rogue like Steve Austin, just a good guy who
cares about his World Title, and defends it like a champion. The Rock
gets second place because, even though he's an egomaniac and a jerk, he's
still over as shit, and, since his face turn last year, he's always done
the right thing when it comes down to it, which for me is always the true
mark of a good babyface.
TONY LING: Again, this is absolutely no contest. It would have been,
though, if Austin'd come back earlier.
ANDY P. GOSS: Best Babyface is a tough category. People like Austin,
Jericho, Nash, et al., didn't behave like faces, but became such. Rock,
Sting, and Goldberg were true babyfaces, and each held the crowd in the
palms of their hands.
DARREN MANTLE: I think Dreamer sucks as a wrestler, but the fans love him
STEPHEN TISZENKEL: You know how much of a bad year for babyfaces this was?
I was forced to vote for Goldberg, with whom I'm not particularly
enthralled, in third place. Besides my top two picks, there was just
nobody else who did a credible job as a babyface.
JON WALTON: The Great Sasuke's overwhelming popularity in nearly every
match I've seen him in, combined with his charisma make him a natural
choice. Honorable mention to The Rock who is just gonzo over and Booker T
who did an admirable job as babyface champion
SCOTT CRAWFORD: Has any single tag team wrestler (Road Dogg's "Ladies and
gentlemen..." shtick included) ever gotten the kind of pop that Scott
Taylor gets for The Worm? Plus, he just gets that GREAT look on his face.
MARKUS: Let's face it, I may not be as high on the Rock as I was back in
the day, but the kiddies still like 'im, and he's good at keeping it that
way. Jericho is still coming into his own, and Foley just rocks, how can
you not love the guy?
JONAH ROSCH: I went traditional with this pick. I like the babyface who
has to overcome adversity and claw his way up to the top and somehow
triumphs in the ring. Booker T fits that profile. After languishing in
pointless feuds, Booker gets pushed to the top of WCW and stays true to
the character that he has created all these years. He's a likeable guy,
who we want to see succeed, whereas other babyfaces are ones that you know
will succeed regardless.
COLIN MORTON: Is Triple H a face or a heel? The slow build to a turn has
been going on for months.
DEWEY: Kind of a weak year for babyfaces, IMHO. I was tempted to put HHH
in there as one of the top 3, but I think that would've been stupid, but
truth be told, he was pretty effective when booked as a quasi-face. Stone
Cold would be definetely number one if these were only based on the last
half of the year.
EDDIE BURKETT: I think Mick Foley, especially in Jan/Feb, was really
rockin the babyface vibe.
JAMES HOWARD: Remember the days of the Unstoppable, Undamagable Babyface?
Poof! They're gone. Call it a telling sign of the times we live in, but
the fans don't seem to like indestructable folks as much anymore; they
want people who will take an absolute shitkicking for them. Chris Jericho,
the Rock, and Booker T have had their asses handed to them consistently
the entire year, and still the fans rallied behind them. All three were
great faces this year, but I have to give it to Jericho this year. He has
had the fans behind him all the way ever since going face, and can't
possibly have won more then ten televised singles matches all year. The
man lost to *Viscera*, lost to *Chyna*, lost to Kane over and over without
once getting a *win* back, lost to *Triple H* over and over without once
getting a win back that wasn't immediately repealed, lost to the *Rock*
over and over without once getting a win back that didn't involve the
entire Facgime interfering, and throughout all that he *still* hasn't lost
the slightest amount of heat. Go! Jericho! Go! Go! Jericho! Go! :)
DOUG CORTI: Now that we have entered the days in which a promotion's top
babyface is a man who beats up women, throws the bird and will use
language that would make George Carlin blush, it is refreshing to finally
have a hero that the whole world can cheer. While other so-called
babyfaces might cower at the concept of trying to save the world from
anti-littering robots and virtual pets that have come to life, the
legendary Survival Tobita is the one soldier that will take up the noble
goal of trying to save the earth from these menaces. We all know that he
would rather relax in his true career, that of just being a Japanese Rock
'n' Roller, but Tobita has made a brave sacrifice for our society. It is
up to us a society to teach our children and our children's children about
this person, whose mission, as he crudely puts it, to "attack all
monster". He was not content to sit by and watch as a giant tree named Ken
attacked villagers. Despite the fearsome Swinging Branch Punch, a move
that has reduced thousands upon thousands of men to mere quivering masses
of Jello, Survival Tobita took up the challenge of an creature that has
been nicknamed "Ken The Box" by a cult-like group of fanatics. Tobita may
have failed in this mission, but he could hold his head up high that he
pushed Ken to its limits, thereby showing Ken that his attempts to attack
villagers will not go unanswered by humanity. Even families that have
their hearts set on evil are unable to perform their nefarious deeds
without having to answer to this hero first. One can only imagine the
mayhem that the Lantern Ghost Obake and his son would unleash on humanity
if Tobita was not present to protect us all. Some might say "Why should I
exalt a man who fights a giant turnip and a cardboard box?". Before you
scoff, just imagine what the world would be like if not for Tobita. Giant
cardboard boxes as our leaders, with us humans being forced to bow down to
them as masters. Can you imagine that? That is why you should accept
Tobita as the top babyface. We know that he battles these monsters to
challenges the limits of humans. Thus, we as humans, are all elevated
through his battles. We respect your calling in life. Rock on noble
fighter. Rock on Survival.
BOB MORRIS: Say what you want about the Rock's workrate or his
repetitiveness in his mic work, but there's no question that this man
holds the crowd in the palm of his hand every time he steps out from
behind the curtain. The fans eat up everything he has to say, and
everything he does inside the ring, and the heat for him just won't die.
That's the mark of a great babyface.
JEREMY SORIA: No one got a crowd more fired up than The Rock this year.
You had to love Mick Foley's last few months wrestling; it was nice to see
him have fun one last time. Stone Cold Steve Austin gets a crowd fired up
even better than the Rock, but given that he was only in wrestling 2
months out of the year this time, the Rock gets the nod for the top spot.
RICK SCAIA: The Rock combines the industry's most powerful arsenal of
catchphrases with a genuinely quick wit and likability that means he can
adapt to different situations and still be appealing. The response he
gets from fans is distressingly Pavlovian at times, but even when I try to
be cynical, I can't deny the Rock's earned those cheers. Mick Foley spent
part of the voting year as one of the more popular babyface wrestlers, and
then came back a few months later and proved he could translate that
popularity into a non-wrestling Commissioner role; he's my #2 top
babyface. Third place was a tough call, but I decided to bounce Goldberg
from the list (the magic is seemingly gone, and a failed heel turn didn't
help matters any) in favor of Rob Van Dam, who pretty much OWNED every ECW
crowd he performed in front of.
JEREMY DELINE: 1999-2000 wasn't a year with many pure babyfaces. Booker T,
however, managed to be compelling and sympathetic all year long-even
during his stint as G.I. Bro..and he managed to climb to the top of WCW
and win the belt as well.(admittedly, not that great a feat at the
moment..but still) Mick Foley gets a vote as number two for his feud with
Triple H, his retirement, and the fact that this is the last year I'll be
able to vote for Foley. Austin gets number three-despite the fact I don't
really think he's a babyface, he gets mammoth face pops every time he
twitches an eyebrow, so he must be doing something right.
NATHAN LONEY: Mick Foley was a very sympathetic character the entire year,
and he deserves this first place vote for moving me the way he did.
Steve Austin has been hailed as a returning hero, and rightfully so.
He's also opened up some wrestling ability that hasn't been seen for a few
years. And time in, and time out, The Rock gets a great response from the
fans. I can't tell you why... hell, I like the guy myself! Why do the
fans like a guy who's an out-and-out asshole? All that matters is that
they do.
BILL LEHECKA: People love Mick Foley. There's just no way people can hate
him. I mean, his constant "cheap heat" is priceless.
NATE PATRIN: Special Honors go to the Radicalz during their first week in
the WWF as McMahon-Helmsley Regime-taunting faces.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: I hate the Rock. I despise the Rock. It's one of my
least favourite gimmicks in the world today. I have nothing against Dwayne
Johnson, but there's something about the character of the Rock that just
galls me. Unfortunately, even I am willing to admit that he's the single
most popular wrestler on the face of God's green earth. Sad, but true.
Steve Austin (who conversely, I still very much like) gets second. The
fact that every PPV with an appearance from him was among the top few
buyrates of the year must mean something, after all. Third place should go
to Mick Foley, since the people still absolutely love him, but I have to
give Chris Jericho props for being the second biggest babyface in the
world for much of the year, so he gets it instead.
TANVIR RAQUIB: The People Champion is truly the Champion of the People.
Steve Austin makes people make loud noises involuntarily.
MIKE PLYLEY: The Rock has kept the crowd behind him all year long, and the
size of the pops hasn't changed, even during his 5-month title reign.
Easy winner. Chris Jericho still gets massive face pops despite being
mired in the midcard, and Mick Foley's cheap pops are still getting pops.
COLIN MacKINNON: I'll admit I feel a little dirty about giving Rock one of
my votes, even though it wasn't the first place vote, but in terms of
being one of the best babyfaces... Rock is 100 times better than Survival
Tobita. And I don't feel dirty saying that at all.
TOM CRUZ: The Rock, Mick Foley, and Scotty 2 Hotty are so over as faces
that they really don't have to do anything. The fans just cheer regardless
of what they may say or do. Austin would have easily been on this list, if
he hadn't been injured all year. W-O-R-M
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: I think Mick Foley at the beginning of the year was
about the best babyface ever and the most likeable in the way his career
ended. Simply an AWESOME angle folks. Rock is #2 because he's improvemed.
Booker T gets the third spot for doing an admirable job despite being in
some bad angles.
PHIL PRZYBYLO: The Rock=the guy you probably want to be. Foley=the guy
you probably are. Flair=the guy you probably look up to.
C McMURTRY: Not only as commissioner, but also as Cactus Jack in his
stretch run at the beginning of the year, Mick Foley as a babyface is able
to interact with fans better than anyone. From his promos to his
wrestling, Foley is a character any fan can look to for inspiration, even
in today's "balls to the wall" wrestling era. Though he is good as a heel
too, Chris Jericho's in ring style of a resilient babyface works so well.
And Tajiri because he did what the Vince Russo's of the world would like
you to believe is impossible, he was able to make fans care positively
about a foreign wrestler.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Worker
Award Description:
To be given to the wrestler with, on average, the best workrate. In 1994,
this award was split into three: North American, Non-North American, and
overall. In 1998, it was recombined into one.
Previous Winners:
1990: Ric Flair / Randy Savage (tie)
1991: Jushin Liger
1992: Jushin Liger
1993: Bret Hart
1994: (overall/NA) Sabu
1994: (non-NA) Chris Benoit
1995: (overall/NA) Shawn Michaels
1995: (non-NA) Chris Benoit
1996: (overall/NA) Rey Mysterio, Jr.
1996: (non-NA) Jushin Liger
1997: (overall/NA) Shawn Michaels
1997: (non-NA) Taka Michinoku
1998: Mankind (Cactus Jack / Dude Love / Mick Foley)
1999: Chris Benoit
**2000**: Chris Benoit
569 first place votes
559 second place votes
550 third place votes
303 136 39 2001 Chris Benoit
140 104 65 1142 Triple H
8 45 58 291 Chris Jericho
21 35 37 284 Yoshihiro Tajiri
9 33 38 220 Lance Storm
9 23 38 190 Jeff Hardy
10 21 31 175 Eddie Guerrero
4 23 16 121 Dean Malenko
1 15 26 102 Booker T.
10 11 9 101 Toshiaki Kawada
7 8 20 99 Jerry Lynn
3 6 25 83 William Regal
1 11 18 74 Kurt Angle
4 10 11 72 Rob Van Dam
3 6 19 71 Jeff Jarrett
1 8 12 53 Rock
5 4 3 43 Christopher Daniels
1 6 4 31 Matt Hardy
3 3 1 26 Cima
1 4 3 23 Mick Foley
1 3 4 22 Minoru Tanaka
0 4 5 22 Steve Corino
1 0 6 17 Christian
0 1 7 17 Mike Awesome
0 1 7 17 Masato Tanaka
2 0 3 16 Kenta Kobashi
2 0 2 14 Shane McMahon
1 3 0 14 Hardcore Holly
2 1 0 13 Chikayo Nagashima
1 1 1 10 Crowbar
1 0 2 9 Tomoaki Honma
0 1 3 9 Undertaker
1 1 0 8 Dick Togo
1 1 0 8 D'Lo Brown
1 1 0 8 Aja Kong
0 1 2 7 Suwa
0 1 2 7 Edge
0 2 0 6 Perry Saturn
0 2 0 6 Jun Akiyama
1 0 0 5 Yuji Nagata
1 0 0 5 Trent Acid
1 0 0 5 Shawn Michaels
1 0 0 5 Mitsuharu Misawa
1 0 0 5 Mariko Yoshida
1 0 0 5 Kevin Nash
1 0 0 5 Hayabusa
1 0 0 5 Bokujin Ken
0 1 1 5 X-Pac
0 1 1 5 Vampiro
0 1 1 5 Tazz
0 1 1 5 Shinjiro Ohtani
0 1 1 5 Chris Kanyon
0 1 1 5 Alexander Otsuka
0 1 1 5 Al Snow
0 0 2 4 Super Crazy
0 0 2 4 Steve Blackman
0 0 2 4 Steve Austin
0 1 0 3 Trish Stratus
0 1 0 3 Sonoko Kato
0 1 0 3 Ryuji Yamakawa
0 1 0 3 Mr. Gannosuke
0 1 0 3 Michael Modest
0 1 0 3 Lex Luger
0 1 0 3 Kidman
0 1 0 3 Justin Credible
0 1 0 3 Guido Maritato
0 1 0 3 El Samurai
0 1 0 3 Chyna
0 1 0 3 Ape Virgon
0 1 0 3 Akira Taue
0 0 1 2 Val Venis
0 0 1 2 Tiger Mask IV
0 0 1 2 Taka Michinoku
0 0 1 2 Spike Dudley
0 0 1 2 Psicosis
0 0 1 2 Megumi Yabushita
0 0 1 2 Mark Henry
0 0 1 2 Lita
0 0 1 2 Kane
0 0 1 2 Jushin Liger
0 0 1 2 Jodie Fleish
0 0 1 2 Great Sasuke
0 0 1 2 El Hijo del Santo
0 0 1 2 EZ Money
0 0 1 2 Daisuke Ikeda
0 0 1 2 Crash
0 0 1 2 Chris Daniels
0 0 1 2 Akino
REJECTED
2 0 0 "Tie" votes
1 1 1 Hardy Boyz (ineligible)
0 2 1 Duplicate votes
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: Tie because we all know the work ethic of both men,
both will work injured and in serious pain, but still put on a terrific
show time and time again..
HIRO: Basically a rehash of category 1, but you can say that Jericho is
trying very hard to copy Benoit's act in his own way (the top rope
hurricanrana really does it). Triple H also added a lot into his formerly
limited workrate, and has improved very much and had the injuries to prove
it.
DEAN RASMUSSEN: Chikayo Nagashima gets the nod because this year she moved
beyond being the best luchadorette in Joshi Puroresu by developing a
credible power arsenal. She looks more credible on offense than her
mentor- Mayumi Ozaki. Minoru Tanaka was technically perfect and
innnovative and great and had three really great matches in three
different styles and he rules and he is God and you should go get every
tape with Minoru Tanaka on it.
ROBERT STRUPP: Triple H got 2 ***** matches from a crippled Mick Foley,
went 60 minutes with Rocky that only had a limited outside the ring brawl
and was better than anyone ever thought it would be, and had terrific
matches with different styles agains TAKA and Jericho. He truly had an
amazing run this year. I put Booker slightly ahead of Benoit, because he
had a worse grade of crap to work with in WCW, as Benoit spent half of the
year wrestling Jericho and Angle, while Booker had to wrestle Steiner.
ALEX GIPSON: Again, I have to give the nod to Triple H, as he has
delivered top notch performances year-round and has showed little signs of
slowing down. Benoit is Benoit, and Kurt Angle's style is really catching
on with me-if his rookie year is any indication, just think of where he'll
be on these lists one year from now.
CHRIS OSTER: Close one here, but Benoit still works his ass off more than
anyone in wrestling. Triple H barely takes second, and Jericho rounds out
my top 3. When do you ever see really bad matches from these three?
EDC: Benoit has truely become the best Technical wrestler in the world
today. He is in such a groove right now, that I dont think he's had a sub
*** match in years. Which makes it still a crime that he Left WCW and isnt
recognized as a World Champion somewhere. If he had stayed, I wonder if
things would have been better or worse for them and for him? Would he be
like Jeff JArrett, a former 4 time Heavy weight title holder?
ANDREW BAYER: I love Eddie, I love Benoit, but Regal has just blown me
away. I haven't seen enough of him this year to give him the nod ahead of
Eddie and Chris, but wait 'til next year...
DANIEL HERMAN: Seeing the Benoit v. Regal match live was amazing, it is
great to see Regal back in top form, he truly is the best in the world.
SCOTT W.: Well duh. Chris Benoit is the best. second and 3rd are close
with Eddie and Tajiri.
CHANCE50JR: I'm happy Malenko is in the WWF, but he's being wasted.
Still, after that match at Backlash, he's my #1.
MARCUS SPARKS: Chris Benoit is the best worker in the US today. Period.
Lance has done great work in ECW, and has brought the same attitude into
WCW rings despite being within sniffing distance of Big Poochie. Regal is
easy to watch, and still pays attention to the psychological details of a
match.
JOHN C.: Although I never thought I would say this a year ago, Triple H
was the best worker in wrestling this year. He consistently had the best
match with opponents ranging from Kane to Rikishi to TAKA to Foley to
Jericho to Benoit to Rock proving that he could have a good match with
anybody. That's the definition of what a good worker is. I think Chris
Benoit took a while to adapt to the styles of some WWF wrestlers so he
didn't really find his groove until the summer although once he did that
he pulled off some beautiful matches with everybody. Rounding out my top
three is Booker T. who has been one of the lone bright spots in a company
that had a lot of dark clouds. Even though his matches were not legendary
like Triple H or Benoit, he worked harder than anybody in WCW and was able
to pull good matches out of everybody he went up against.
GREG NECASTRO: Triple H busted his ass and deserved every main event he
was in.
JOSEPH MICELI: If you've seen their matches you know what i'm talking
about
TONY LING: The top two are easy, but I put Booker T there because I'm
happy he's WCW champ and he's had some good matches with Jeff
Jarrett-maybe the only good WCW matches this year.
ANDY P. GOSS: Jeff Jarrett first, Lance Storm second, Steve Corino third.
Simply put, these guys are a boss's dream come true, willing to do damn
near ANYTHING to put on a show. Jeff was willing to work through a
concussion. Lance agreed to team with Jim Duggan to help the company
feud. And Corino will make anyone look like a vicious, brutal man.
Can't ask for much more from your workers.
JON WALTON: Chris Benoit is in a class by himself...Dean Malenko and Eddy
Guerrero form the next tier. Period.
EZE4DA3747: Benoit's a given and even though X-Pac "doesn't job", he still
puts on one hell of a match. Even though Austin is the companies top star,
he sure as hell doesn't look invincible during his matches, which means
he's good
MARKUS: Benoit =3D Well DUH. Hunter works his ass off in there, and Regal
has something to prove, so he does too.
JONAH ROSCH: Chris Benoit, what more is there to say. A man who takes
wrestling to another level completely. Has increased the workrate for the
WWF immediately upon his arrival. My cynical guess is that he's being
programmed with the top WWF stars because they don't want him showing up
the really weak lower level wrestlers. (not that he wouldn't show up the
top guys, but they can usually disguise it better)
JAMES HOWARD: Jeff Hardy is a terrific highflyer and a good technical
wrestler, but could improve his brawling a bit. Tajiri is a terrific
technical wrestler and a good brawler, but could improve his highflying a
bit. Chris Benoit is a terrific technical wrestler, a terrific brawler,
and a good highflyer - *and* he makes his opponents look good. And he also
headbutted Stephanie McMahon dead. Your winner, ladies and gentlemen. :)
GEORGE JOHNSON: I've never seen a Benoit match that wasn't at least
watchable.
JEREMY SORIA: Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Kurt Angle, without any
hesitation. No one's worked harder at the wrestling this year than those
three.
RICK SCAIA: I consider "Best Worker" to be something of an amalgam of the
"Best Flyer" and "Best Technical Wrestler" and "Best Brawler" categories,
with maybe a few minor intangibles (such as bump-taking, use of
psychology, and the charisma to tell a story and involve a crowd) thrown
in for good measure. When I weighed everything, I decided to give my nod
for Best Worker this year to Yoshihiro Tajiri... I just think that they
guy is the total package: he flies, he chain wrestles, he can go balls-out
toe-to-toe with fists and kicks, and he's got great fan support
considering he doesn't speak a word of English. His matches are just a
pleasure to watch. Chris Benoit doesn't fly much these days, but he's
still a superb technical wrestler and a very capable brawler, which gets
him #2 on this list. Just to piss off the smarks who tend to equate
hurricaranas and moonsaults with "workrate," I'm giving #3 to Triple H,
who is an excellent brawler, a solid bump-taker, and a man with a great
handle on translating good work into a story that the fans will get into.
JEREMY DELINE: I know Benoit's going to win Best Worker, so I'm not voting
for him (boy, will my face be red if he doesn't get it by 1 vote).
Instead, a few other workers who I've consistantly enjoyed-Tajiri has been
the best thing about ECW for me this year-every match he does is intense,
watchable, and tells a story. Lance Storm is a close second, both for his
work in ECW, and his presence in WCW-he seems to be one of the few people
there at the moment putting a consistant effort into all his matches. I'm
going with Christian for third. He sort of reminds me of Shawn Micheals
right before he threw Janetty through a window head-first. I hope that
doesn't mean Edge is turning into Marty...
NATHAN LONEY: Crisp matwork. Strong chain wrestling. Awesome suplexes.
Chris Benoit is the best worker in the world. Yoshihiro Tajiri is very
talented in the ring. I'm disappointed that I haven't seen his rolling
leg splits in a while, but as long as he keeps kicking people and working
his solid mat game (and stays the hell AWAY from tables and chairs), I
won't complain. Dean Malenko is lacking some suplexes, but if he busts
out that awesome top-rope DDT a few more times, I won't complain. Great
wrestler.
BILL LEHECKA: Is there anyone out there that makes his opponent look
better than Chris Benoit? He's been involved in a lot of memorable
matches this year. His program with the Rock made the Rock a better
wrestler for it.
NATE PATRIN: Special Honors to the Rock and HHH for their PPV efforts.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Is it just me, or does Chris Benoit seem to have had
the best match of the night on something like two out of every three RAWs
and Smackdown!s? Triple H has had the higher peaks this year, as evidenced
by the fact that most of the top contenders for MOTY involve him, but
Benoit has been far more consistent, so he beats H by a nose. (Sorry!)
Jeff Hardy gets third for almost killing himself on a weekly basis.
KEVIN SMITH: I give the nod to HHH over Benoit here simply because HHH is
so well-rounded. He can brawl as good as anybody and he's a very competent
wrestler when against the right opponent.
THE TALBOTS: I think the important one to note in this category is The
Rock. He's improved his workrate by leaps and bounds. He's continually
adding to his arsenal (although in some areas he needs work...his is the
worst Sharpshooter I've ever seen). The fact is, The Rock is improving
himself in the main event while others tend to stagnate there.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Write-in for Hardcore because when he broke his arm,
he continued to wrestle for over a minute! When I watched the tape, it was
painful to see every move he worked through. That was all guts.
TANVIR RAQUIB: People damn well better know who Chris Benoit is. He's the
best worker in the biz. Chris Daniels makes Worldwide crowds know he's
coming close to God-like status in 5 minute jobs. Fah real.
RAVI MISRA: Triple H edges out Benoit here only due to the prominence he
had in the WWF before Benoit arrived. I wouldn't be surprised to see
Benoit as a champion, or once again winning this category next year,
though.
TOM CRUZ: I find it odd that Christian was nominated, but not Edge.
Furthermore, just who the hell is Mohammed Yone? The Iron Sheik's nephew?
Cameraman, ZOOM!
NICK RANGEL: Heyman is really missing the boat with Tajiri. Sacrificing
him to Rhino was a tragedy, and his continued presence on the mid-card
only magnifies that fact.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: I'm a follower so I'm voting Benoit. HHH had a great
year but didn't ALWAYS work like Benoit does. Jeff Hardy gets it for
killing himself on a nightly basis. Giving as much as you can is really
all we net marks ask (and why we hate Hulk Hogan).
PHIL PRZYBYLO: Because of this year, I have become what I almost detested
not too long ago: a Benoit mark. Every match is so intense. And he pays
attention to the tiniest of details that make the matches worthwhile.
Booker T comes in second as he is the only reason to watch WCW anymore.
And Triple H comes in third for putting on many classic matches.
C McMURTRY: Chris Benoit still remains, all around, the best wrestler in
the world, and was able to add more names to his list of people who had
their best match ever with him this past year. CIMA is my favorite
puroresu wrestler to watch, not only because of his workrate, but because
of his heelish actions. And the best part is, he is only going to get
better. And HHH had more great matches that I saw than anybody else all
year, so it would be foolish to leave him off, even if his ring style
isn't as stunning as others nominated.
JBELL55146: Comon', like Benoit isn't going to win! Nobody is even in the
same ball game as him. While Triple H might not be 'The best technical
champion in WWF history' as Jim Ross says, he is pretty damn good in his
own right. And Chris Jericho is able to have passable matches with Kane
and Chyna, he must be doing something right.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Jobber
Award Description:
To be given to the Professional Loser that does an incredible job of putting
his name opponent over. Maybe the bumps that this person takes are just that
much more spectacular than other PLs. After seeing a match with this person,
you feel sorry about the punishment he/she took and realize how good it made
his/her name opponent look. In 2000, this category was removed.
Previous Winners:
1990: Barry Horowitz
1991: Rip Rogers
1992: Barry Horowitz
1993: Barry Horowitz
1994: Barry Horowitz
1995: Barry Horowitz
1996: Barry Horowitz
1997: Spike Dudley
1998: Lenny Lane
1999: Bad Barry Horowitz
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Jobber to the Stars
To be given to the "Superstar" who has no problem defeating "real" jobbers,
but for some reason can't score the victory when facing comparable opposition.
This award should recognise performers who manage to look good both in
victory AND defeat, as well as helping their opponents look good while
jobbing, and may or may not represent a wrestler deserving of a push (that is
better reflected in the "Most Underrated" category). In 2000, this category
was removed.
1998: Chris Benoit
1999: Al Snow
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Flyer
Award Description:
To be given to the wrestler who did the most and the best high-flying
maneuvers throughout the year. In 1994, this award was split into two: North
American and Non-North American. In 1998, it was recombined.
Previous Winners:
1991: Jushin Liger
1992: Jushin Liger
1993: 1-2-3 Kid (Lightning Kid)
1994: (NA) 1-2-3 Kid
1994: (non-NA) Jushin Liger
1995: (NA) Sabu
1995: (non-NA) Jushin Liger
1996: (NA) Rey Mysterio, Jr.
1996: (non-NA) Jushin Liger
1997: (NA) Rey Mysterio, Jr.
1997: (non-NA) Taka Michinoku
1998: (Billy) Kidman
1999: Jeff Hardy
**2000**: Jeff Hardy
565 first place votes
548 second place votes
538 third place votes
330 88 45 2004 Jeff Hardy
31 61 53 444 Super Crazy
32 51 34 381 Kid Kash
20 45 51 337 Essa Rios
15 63 26 316 Matt Hardy
12 21 43 209 Lita
10 19 24 155 Rey Mysterio Jr.
9 18 8 115 Yoshihiro Tajiri
7 12 15 101 Rob Van Dam
6 12 16 98 Eddie Guerrero
7 7 19 94 Taka Michinoku
13 7 2 90 Jodie Fleisch
4 14 14 90 Edge
6 8 13 80 Psicosis
3 11 16 80 Christian
7 12 4 79 Dragon Kid
2 9 19 75 Billy Kidman
1 12 15 71 Chris Jericho
9 4 1 59 Ricky Marvin
6 7 3 57 Great Sasuke
2 8 9 52 Mike Awesome
2 7 7 45 Juventud Guerrera
3 5 6 42 Christopher Daniels
0 7 6 33 Shannon Moore
2 3 6 31 Cima
2 4 4 30 Nova
1 2 9 29 Kaz Hayashi
4 0 3 26 Asian Cougar
1 1 9 26 Shane Helms
1 4 1 19 Onryo
2 0 3 16 General Rection (Hugh Morrus)
0 0 7 14 K-Krush
2 0 1 12 Hayabusa
1 2 0 11 D'Lo Brown
1 2 0 11 Ayako Hamada
0 2 2 10 Tiger Mask IV
0 3 0 9 Sean O'Haire
1 1 0 8 Trent Acid
1 1 0 8 Chapparita Asari
1 0 1 7 Magnum Tokyo
1 0 1 7 Kaoru
0 1 2 7 Shane McMahon
0 2 0 6 Shawn O'Haire
0 2 0 6 Jamie Howard
1 0 0 5 Yun Yang
1 0 0 5 Tony Mamaluke
1 0 0 5 Sumo Fuji
0 1 1 5 Jerry Lynn
0 1 1 5 FM-Taro
0 1 1 5 Blitzkrieg
0 0 2 4 Sabu
0 0 2 4 Molly Holly
0 0 2 4 Genki Horiguchi
0 0 2 4 EZ Money
0 0 2 4 Crowbar
0 0 2 4 Crash
0 1 0 3 X-Pac
0 1 0 3 Suwa
0 1 0 3 Spike Dudley
0 1 0 3 Ric Blade
0 1 0 3 Chris Kanyon
0 1 0 3 Chris Daniels
0 1 0 3 Chris Benoit
0 0 1 2 Triple H
0 0 1 2 Tony Kozina
0 0 1 2 Test
0 0 1 2 Shark Boy
0 0 1 2 Rikishi
0 0 1 2 New Jack
0 0 1 2 Masato Tanaka
0 0 1 2 Lt. Loco
0 0 1 2 Kid Dragon
0 0 1 2 Kevin Nash
0 0 1 2 Kane
0 0 1 2 Jushin Liger
0 0 1 2 Fantastik (Shiryu 2)
0 0 1 2 Elix Skipper
0 0 1 2 Darkness Dragon
0 0 1 2 Chappinger
0 0 1 2 Bull Buchanan
0 0 1 2 Brian Christopher
0 0 1 2 Barry Hardy
0 0 1 2 Al Snow
0 0 1 2 Akino
REJECTED
4 0 4 "Tie" votes
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: Edge gets third despite the 15 foot high off the ladder
spear on 9-25 RAW on TNN?
HIRO: Edge is only here because of that awesome midair Spear he did to
Jeff Hardy. Essa Rios could've been number one if only he had more airtime
either on TV or PPV. Jeff is the same old crazy high-spot junkie, though
he did tone his act a bit. The top ladder Swanton Bomb on Buh Buh Dudley
on a table at WM 2000 was really the highlight of the match. I'm surprised
Rikishi didn't get a nomination because of his top cage Superfly Splash at
Fully Loaded.
OTTO HEUER: Best Flyer--This was one of the hardest to narrow down to
three, but I finally ended up with: 1st: Kid Kash (Just about every match
leaves me with my jaw on the floor wondering how he's still alive) 2nd:
Kaz Hayashi (for getting zero push, this kid lays his life on the line)
3rd: Jeff Hardy (there's a reaosn he won last year) Honorable mention to
Shawn O'Haire, Mike Awesome, Tony Mamaluke, Psicosis, Super Crazy, Tajiri,
etc
DEAN RASMUSSEN: This year, I started turning more against high-flyers who
couldn't actually work- so to hell with Dragon Kid and Jody Fleish. Asian
Cougar rules the world. He can work a match and knows how to set up his
highspots and his mostly leg-drop variation highspots are all
breathtakingly skull-crushing. He's got energy and intensity that puts him
above the rest. FM-Taro has a real sleazy Japan indie vibe that makes the
really graceful highflying pop out like big jelly doughnut amidst a bunch
of plain glazed. Plus he will actually land on his shoulder wrong more
often than the fucking crazy ONRYO. ONRYO is fucking crazy, but folks
forget that he is a really good worker too. He is definately more than
just his highspots. It's a cool gimmick too. And he died and died and
died for your pleasure this year. Between ONRYO and Bio-Franken, it was a
big year for the living dead.
ROBERT STRUPP: Both Hardyz are amazing. Jeff gets the nod, as he has a bit
more in his arsenal. Shannon and Shane are a bright spot in WCW, taking
the places of Rey Jr. and Juvi.
CHANCE BIDELMAN: I can't really put one Hardy over the other as best
flyer, they both deserve it esp. from wrestlemania 2000.
EDC: Jody Fleisch is the greatest Unknown Flyer in the world. I wonder if
there will ever be a CW division like WCW pissed away that would allow him
to appear on TV ever again...
DANIEL HERMAN: All the best flyers now are working Japanese indies,
although I haven't seen enough Lucha to say that definitively
SCOTT W.: Super Crazy is the best flyer I have seen. TAKA is good too,
but some of you may not know that with his lack of a push. Jeff Hardy
takes 3rd with that awesome tope con hilo he hit on Benoit on SamckDown a
few months back.
CHANCE50JR: Judging by the pop he got at No Mercy and the fall return, I
gotta go with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Second is Kurt Angle, who quickly
developed into a favorite just by being him.
MARCUS SPARKS: Watching Kid Kash live gave me a whole new appreciation for
his ability. He's insane in a way rarely seen, and I point to the
Superhurancanrana he did on EZ-Money as proof. Matt Hardy is as reckless
with his body, but has gotten very stale doing the same spots time and
time again. Super Crazy isn't the insane luchador for nothing.
JOHN C.: No doubt about it, Jeff Hardy takes this award. The guy is insane
when it comes to the things he does in the ring although one has to worry
about his future if he continues this reckless pace. While Rey Mysterio
was the best flyer a few years ago he really has slowed his pace down so I
had to go with Kid Kash and Christian as my other two. Had I seen more of
Essa Rios he probably would have been here too but because of his push
being stopped in the spring I really couldn't judge him based on that.
GREG NECASTRO: Jeff is great, but he needs to tone it down or he's going
to have a short career.
JOSEPH MICELI: With nobody decent to wrestle Mysterio, Jeff is about the
only high flyer left in the mainstream
ANDY P. GOSS: For any woman to be able to do a moonsault is amazing, and
Lita is by far the most over woman in competition in *years*. Any human
being who can and does do a shooting star press on a regular basis
deserves a vote. And General Rection does one of the better big man
moonsaults since Vader.
JON WALTON: Essa Rios's well timed highspots are one of the many reasons
WWF Metal and Jakked are actually fun to watch. His timing since his days
as Aguila has improved 100% as well making him an easy choice.
JONAH ROSCH: It's amazing how things change. It doesn't seem that long ago
when the top flyer would have had a great dropkick. And now, you have to
look at which daredevil goes to a new level of moves and death-defying
maneuvers. I'm going with Super Crazy. Nothing against the Hardy boys,
but Super Crazy is a more complete flyer, and not just a wrestler who has
some lunatic flying spots. He's a tremendous athlete.
DEWEY: Shane probably isn't the third best flyer in wrestling, but any
part owner of a company who busts ass as hard as he does in matches
deserves some kind of vote for something!
JAMES HOWARD: Essa Rios, Kid Kash and Jeff Hardy will now step up to the
podium and recieve their oh *shit* HEY! GET DOWN FROM THER-
JOE GAGNE: The few times I saw Ricky Marvin, he blew me away, especially
with the springboard corkscrew plancha. This could be the guy that
carries lucha libre in the future. I'm not a big fan of Kid Kash, but he
does get serious air with his moves. Jeff Hardy still has problems making
contact with his big moves, but he?s still amazing to watch.
C READ: This award was pretty much meaningless...Hardy was an obvious
choice, Kidman basically never uses high-flying wrestling anymore so hey,
who cares??
JEREMY SORIA: The Hardyz and Edge, basically by default, get the top spots
here. With Steve Austin returning to his wrestling roots, perhaps we could
get more wrestlers to get high spots without having to do a lot of jumping
off of top ropes.
NATHAN LONEY: Jeff Hardy. Omega? Apropo, in my opinion, because he is a
alpha and omega of flyers, at least in the WWF. Psicosis can pull off
some wicked shit through the air... at least he's still healthy, unlike
Rey Rey, to do what he's best at. Super Crazy eeks out TAKA for the third
place spot, because TAKA had a tough year, while Crazy keeps on flying.
I've always been greatly entertained by Crazy. He can carve up the air
over an ECW ring like an expert snowboarder carves snow.
BILL LEHECKA: Jeff Hardy is a bump machine. The moves he does are
absolutely insane, and the crowd loves him for it.
NATE PATRIN: Tentative Special Honors to K-Krush/Kwick. Here's hoping
he'll only get better- and ditch Road Dogg for someone- ANYONE else.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Jeff Hardy is simply insane, which is usually a good
indication that a guy should get the top spot in this category. Super
Crazy is an easy second, based on what little I've seen of him this year
(caring about ECW is just not my forte.) Essa Rios gets third; he still
not particularly well rounded, but he flies beautifully. I think his
moonsault alone would be enough to net him this spot, if there weren't a
couple guys who were just that little bit better.
OCTAVIAN: No one outclasses Jeff Hardy in death defying spots/sheer
stupidity
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Both of the Hardyz should be dead. That's why they're
the best.
TANVIR RAQUIB: Nova made everything. Including the air he flies in. Stop
looking at me funny. HE FLIES!
RAVI MISRA: It's amazing to watch the human pretzel known as Jeff Hardy
and even more amazing is the fact that he can still walk. Now if he could
only throw a punch...
TOM CRUZ: With Rey Jr. a shadow of his former self, Juvy hopped up on
goofballs, and Super Crazy off working Mexican indies somewhere, there's
been a real dearth of lucha-type flyers in wrestling this year. Sure,
Shane Helms, Shannon Moore, Essa Rios, et al. are flyers, but Rey and Juvy
were just on a completely different level.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Not really any great new flyers in the US this year,
so Jeff Hardy gets the nod again. Psicosis is crazy and Esse Rios gets
major airtime on his highspots.
JBELL55146: I fear for Jeff Hardy's life sometimes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Technical Wrestler
Award Description:
To be given to the wrestler who has the most technical ability. The number
of holds and moves you see this person do and the crispness with which the
moves are executed makes his/her matches a pleasure to watch. In 1994, this
award was split into three: North American, Non-North American, and overall.
In 1998, it was recombined into one.
Previous Winners:
1991: Bret Hart
1992: Bret Hart
1993: Bret Hart
1994: (overall/NA) Bret Hart
1994: (non-NA) Chris Benoit
1995: (overall/NA) Dean Malenko
1995: (non-NA) Chris Benoit
1996: (sweep) Dean Malenko
1997: (overall/NA) Dean Malenko
1997: (non-NA) Jushin Liger
1998: Dean Malenko
1999: Chris Benoit
**2000**: Chris Benoit
570 first place votes
554 second place votes
544 third place votes
431 73 22 2417 Chris Benoit
42 119 103 773 Dean Malenko
13 92 87 515 Lance Storm
15 52 75 381 William Regal
13 36 51 275 Kurt Angle
7 42 39 239 Triple H
2 35 27 169 Chris Jericho
3 20 34 143 Eddie Guerrero
5 19 18 118 Yoshihiro Tajiri
5 8 18 85 Jerry Lynn
8 5 5 65 Minoru Tanaka
4 3 5 39 Bret Hart
1 6 7 37 Jeff Jarrett
0 6 5 28 Guido Maritato
4 1 1 25 Mariko Yoshida
1 3 3 20 Jun Akiyama
1 3 3 20 Daisuke Ikeda
1 4 1 19 Perry Saturn
1 2 3 17 Yuki Ishikawa
1 2 3 17 Norman Smiley
0 4 1 14 Shinjiro Ohtani
0 2 4 14 Yumi Fukawa
0 2 3 12 Steve Austin
2 0 0 10 Yuji Nagata
0 2 2 10 Tazz
1 0 2 9 Dick Togo
1 1 0 8 Toshiaki Kawada
0 2 0 6 Rob Van Dam
1 0 0 5 Trent Acid
1 0 0 5 Simon Diamond
1 0 0 5 Kenta Kobashi
1 0 0 5 Hiromi Yagi
1 0 0 5 El Hijo del Santo
1 0 0 5 Chris Kanyon
1 0 0 5 Booker T.
1 0 0 5 Al Snow
0 1 1 5 Tiger Mask IV
0 1 1 5 Steve Corino
0 1 1 5 Matt Hardy
0 0 2 4 Ric Flair
0 1 0 3 Villano III
0 1 0 3 Super Crazy
0 1 0 3 Shawn Michaels
0 1 0 3 Scott Steiner
0 1 0 3 Prodigette
0 1 0 3 El Samurai
0 1 0 3 Alexander Otsuka
0 0 1 2 X-Pac
0 0 1 2 Val Venis
0 0 1 2 Taka Michinoku
0 0 1 2 Super Benoit
0 0 1 2 Steve Blackman
0 0 1 2 Scotty 2 Hotty
0 0 1 2 Naoki Sano
0 0 1 2 Michael Modest
0 0 1 2 Kendo Azteca
0 0 1 2 Katsumi Usuda
0 0 1 2 Johnny Smith
0 0 1 2 Jeff Hardy
0 0 1 2 Harcore Holly
0 0 1 2 Crash
0 0 1 2 Christopher Daniels
0 0 1 2 Christian
0 0 1 2 CW Anderson
HIRO: Like I said in category 1, Benoit brought his bag of tricks when he
came to the WWF. So did Dean, too bad he gets less exposure in the WWF
even though he is still the reigning LHW Champion (the longest reign this
year in fact). Seeing Steven Regal back in the ring makes me really happy
too.
J3R CR0WE: Chris Benoit IS the best, and nobody has proven him wrong. God
I love that line!
ROBERT STRUPP: Benoit is pretty self explanatory. Eddy is really crisp in
the ring, and his moves are almost always timed right, and executed
without killing himself or his opponent. His elbow injury was really just
a fluke. Triple H proved he could hold his own against Benoit, Eddy, TAKA
and Jericho.
ALEX GIPSON: Chris Benoit has made me a fan of the technical style this
year, even though some might argue that he hasn't had the best opportunity
to showcase his talents to their fullest on the WWF stage because of
matches against the Rock and such. What little I've seen of both Malenko
and Regal has been eye-opening, as well.
CHRIS OSTER: Benoit, Malenko and Jericho...and to think ALL of them were
under WCW contract eighteen months ago. Way to hold onto that talent,
guys.
EDC: Chris Benoit 2000 = Bret Hart 1995
SCOTT W.: Dean Malenko always gets the vote. I wish the fans could
appreciate what he does. Man, the guy is just awesome. Benoit is a close
second and in a close third, Eddie. Hmm, 3 Radicalz.
MARCUS SPARKS: Benoit would have been Wrestler of the Year if he was a bit
stronger on interviews. William Regal is a more sound technical wrestler
than Storm, hence the flip-flop from above.
JOHN C.: Benoit leads the way here once again. Nobody comes close to the
crispness of his moves or the ability to apply those moves on men of all
sizes. Malenko gets the second spot here because he is still a technical
wrestling king despite the fact that he was not utilized very well by the
WWF. Lance Storm rounds out the top three due to his excellent work in WCW
where he has been trying to get technical wrestling over with a crowd that
would rather see a table.
ANDY P. GOSS: Dean Malenko's entire persona is that he's a calculated
technician. The guy's so good at it, he can draw heat for it on his own.
Guido Maritato needs to lose Sal E., or at least have Big Sal be inactive
for one match, in order to help show how good he *really* is to most fans.
And, well, I think I'd lose my Rant Crew license if I didn't vote for
Benoit.
STEPHEN TISZENKEL: I feel guilty for doing this, but Kurt Angle takes
second on one match alone -- that Raw title match against Steve Austin.
This guy's an Olympic gold medalist, for God's sake. Why can't he use his
skills more often instead of punching and kicking so much?
JON WALTON: Dean Malenko mine as well have this category named for him,
his in ring generalship is unparallelled.
JONAH ROSCH: I have to say that Lance Storm has really polished his
technical wrestling ability in the last year. I think Chris Benoit is
excellent, but so much of his game these days are his chops and his flying
headbutt. I think we have seen a more rounded technical aspect to Lance
Storm's wrestling this past year, than Chris Benoit.
JAMES HOWARD: Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle and Steven Regal. Book them in a
six-man tag against three broomsticks, and it'd be the neatest thing you'd
ever see. :)
GEORGE JOHNSON: I wish Benoit didn't have to limit his arsenal in the name
of protecting other wrestlers' moves.
JEREMY SORIA: See Best Worker category. No one works harder in wrestling
than Benoit, Jericho, and Angle.
NATHAN LONEY: Chris Benoit is the best technical wrestler in the WWF
today. He says it, he means it, and whenever he gets a chance to shine in
the ring, he shows it. I'd like to think that extends to the world.
(Steven) William Regal gets in the ring, and he's the fucking MAN. Great
mat wrestling that has never gone away, and great facial expressions go a
long way towards telling his story. Dean Malenko is just a TOUCH under
Regal, but still damned good.
BILL LEHECKA: Chris Benoit has said it himself. He is the best damn
technical wrestler in the WWF. No one is in his league right now.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: When Chris Benoit refers to himself as the best
technical wrestler in the industry today, that's not just another
catchphrase. He really is (with apologies) that damn good. Beautifully
executed moves, and many of 'em. (Steven) William Regal gets second
easily. Dean Malenko gets third, and he'd still be number one if the WWF
allowed him to wrestle for more than three minutes at a time. :( Oh, and
I'm tempted to vote for Steve Austin, after seeing his 11/20 Raw match
against Benoit, just to piss certain people off. :)
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Prove me wrong. TAKA should have been a nominee.
TANVIR RAQUIB: Benoit and Malenko are amazing on the mat. Guido can flat
out rule the mat given the right opponent (Super Crazy).
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Regal gets this one because seems to do the littier
things right. Benoit just does all the little things. Malenko is going
downhill but he can still go.
ROB "R2K" EVANS: Best Technical Wrestler - Can't prove Benoit wrong. He
is the greatest technical wrestler in the business. Now give him the damn
WWF Title for his efforts.
JIMBO: Well, after all, hes the best DAMN TECHNICAL WRESTLER IN THE WWF!
He deserves this place!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Brawler
Award Description:
To be given to the wrestler who brawled his/her way through the year most
convincingly. This award would go to Frank "Bruiser Brody" Goodish if he
were still around. In 1994, this award was split into two: North American
and Non-North American. In 1998, it was recombined.
Previous Winners:
1991: Stan Hansen
1992: Cactus Jack
1993: Big Van Vader
1994: (NA) Cactus Jack
1994: (non-NA) Stan Hansen
1995: (NA) Cactus Jack
1995: (non-NA) Stan Hansen
1996: (NA) Mankind (Cactus Jack)
1996: (non-NA) Terry Funk
1997: (NA) Mankind
1997: (non-NA) Stan Hansen
1998: Mankind (Cactus Jack / Mick Foley / Dude Love)
1999: Mankind
**2000**: Mick Foley (Cactus Jack / Mankind)
563 first place votes
551 second place votes
532 third place votes
183 87 37 1245 Cactus Jack (Mankind / Mick Foley)
120 85 52 959 Triple H
72 39 36 549 Steve Austin
15 35 54 288 Steve Blackman
23 21 40 258 Rock
15 24 22 191 Chris Benoit
8 32 27 190 Mike Awesome
17 21 16 180 New Jack
11 13 15 124 Hardcore Holly
5 19 18 118 Tazz
4 18 20 114 Kane
6 14 13 98 Scott Steiner
10 8 11 96 Masato Tanaka
5 12 14 89 Undertaker
8 6 14 86 Rhino
6 13 3 75 Ryuji Yamakawa
5 10 10 75 Balls Mahoney
5 7 13 72 Goldberg
3 10 11 67 Tommy Dreamer
7 7 5 66 Tomoaki Honma
5 5 11 62 Yoshihiro Tajiri
0 10 9 48 Steve Corino
2 7 8 47 Vader
4 3 7 43 Big Vito
2 7 6 43 Bradshaw
2 1 6 25 Sandman
1 4 3 23 Buh Buh Ray Dudley
1 2 6 23 Rikishi
3 0 3 21 Brooklyn Brawler
1 3 3 20 Raven
1 4 1 19 Perry Saturn
1 2 4 19 Test
1 2 2 15 Crash
1 2 1 13 Kintaro Kanemura
1 1 2 12 Crowbar
1 0 3 11 Booker T.
2 0 0 10 Aja Kong
1 1 1 10 Mayumi Ozaki
1 0 2 9 Kaoru
0 3 0 9 Faarooq
0 0 4 8 Terry Funk
1 0 0 5 Shane Douglas
1 0 0 5 Rjuji Yamakawa
1 0 0 5 Genichiro Tenryu
1 0 0 5 Chris Jericho
0 1 1 5 Survival Tobita
0 1 1 5 Spike Dudley
0 1 1 5 Kurt Angle
0 0 2 4 Shane McMahon
0 0 2 4 Hulk Hogan
0 0 2 4 Bam Bam Bigelow
0 1 0 3 Toshiaki Kawada
0 1 0 3 Tomaoki Honma
0 1 0 3 Sugar Sato
0 1 0 3 Norman Smiley
0 1 0 3 Meng
0 1 0 3 Masahiro Tanaka
0 1 0 3 Lobo (CZW)
0 1 0 3 Kyoko Inoue
0 1 0 3 Jeff Jarrett
0 1 0 3 Albert
0 0 1 2 Tomoko Watanabe
0 0 1 2 Tank Abbott
0 0 1 2 Tamoaki Honma
0 0 1 2 SCSA
0 0 1 2 Justin Credible
0 0 1 2 Jeff Hardy
0 0 1 2 Diamond Dallas Page
0 0 1 2 Big Boss Man
REJECTED
0 0 1 Anyone from ECW
0 0 1 Acolytes
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: Who in the hell is Buffy Republic?
HIRO: Triple H wins this one after beating Mick senseless in their two
matches early this year. Benoit is here only because of his kicks and
chops.
DEAN RASMUSSEN: Rjuji Yamakawa edges out Honma for the simple fact that he
is better carrier of lesser workers of the two. Honma wins in the Power
Sprayer Of Sweeet Sweet Blood department and Honma brawls like a total
motherfucker- and he is a better technical wrestler than Yamakawa, but-
this is gonna sound really weird, I know- Yamakawa is a SMARTER worker.
When you notice what total idiots these two are and how each match they
are in knocks off 4 months of their lives, smarter is a relative term.
Yamakawa is better at telling a story and sets up his big hellishly
horrible spots better. It's really close because both will selflessly take
absolutely ANY bump to the match over with the seedy Big Japan rubes in
attendence and we toothless yahoo tape-collecting rubes here in the
states. Kaoru became even HOTTER and more VIXENLIKE becoming Hardcore
KAORU and then proceeds to go out and have to of the best deathmatches in
the annals of Joshi- the ass-stomp against Aja and the Heart's- Greatest-
Hits- On- A- Pole Stevie Nicks Invitational Redneck Chicks Angry And On
High-Grade Crank Deathmatch of Deathmatches. I could have also put her as
one of the top three high-flyers but her high-flying is now just part of
the fabulously slutty, cocktail-waittressy brawling style she has created-
so to call it simple high-flying is to misinterpret her work. Oh yeah!
JASON BOUGGER: You can't go with Foley this year. He sat out just about
all year.
MARK POLISHUK: Tajiri's (Insert country here) Death Matches with Super
Crazy never failed to rule.
ALEX BECKERS: Even though he wasn't nominated I had to put Bradshaw in
there. Wrestlemania hardcore battle royale, 'nuff said.
ROBERT STRUPP: Very weak field this year, as the WWF has tried to get away
from this, Steve Austin was hurt all year, and WCW doesn't do it very
well. Rhino and Sandman excel at this, though, so they get the top two
spots. Foley and Hunter had two ***** brawls early in the year, and I've
voted Hunter enough in these awards, so Foley gets the third spot here.
ALEX GIPSON: Foley's back-to-back knockout performances at Royal Rumble
and No Way Out early in the year only further solidified his dominance in
this division; there is no one better, and probably never will be, IMO.
Triple H's matches against Foley and Jericho added a piece to the puzzle
which is lacking in several hardcore matches-storyline, hence he gets my
second place vote.
CHRIS OSTER: How do you wrestle for only three months (plus one match) of
the qualifying period, and still get a high vote in one of these
categories? Easy...be Mick Foley, and put on one great brawl after another
around the turn of the faux millennium. Triple H outranks him only
because he had another one in him, against Jericho at Fully Loaded.
Masato Tanaka takes third for his two superlative World title matches on
TNN against Mike Awesome, and because I like him way more than Awesome.
DANIEL HERMAN: Foley gets the nod for having two high-snowflake matches at
the beginning of the year. Vito is shaping up to be a top brawler and
Tobita is Tobita.
SCOTT W.: Why is there 2 choices for Mick Foley? Cactus Jack and Mick are
on the ballot. Well, Foley gets the nod with New Jack and Balls coming in
2nd and 3rd. I wonder if the workrate freaks skip over this part of the
ballot? LOSERS!!
MARCUS SPARKS: Tommy Dreamer's proven himself to be brutal and innovative
with violent spots before he screwed up his back. Even after that he's
only slowed down a bit. Steve Austin's a bit more reliant on just
punching and kicking, and New Jack's a weapon machine. Either way, when
their music hits, you know someone's getting their ass handed to them.
JOHN C.: The Game wins again. More often than not, Hunter's matches have
been tremendous brawls that go all around the arena so he was the easy
choice once again. Mick Foley gets the second spot here as he ended his
career using the same reckless style that made him famous in the first
place. Finally, Mike Awesome gets kudos for his work mostly in ECW where
he had some magnificent brawls with the likes of Masato Tanaka and Spike
Dudley.
MICHAELA FISCHER: Isn't Lombardi the only "Brawler" in wrestling?
TONY LING: BLACKMAN HARDCORE CHAMP 4 LIFE
ANDY P. GOSS: Fine, here's your damn HHH vote! His matches with Cactus
Jack and Chris Jericho proved he could brawl with the best of them.
Steve Blackman and New Jack are almost exclusively brawlers nowadays, but
that's cool. Their matches define mindless brawl, and the fans love them.
JON WALTON: While not the most punishing brawler, the brawling that Austin
has used to compensate for his declining in ring skills is always extremly
convincing and intense. A mention of New Jack for consistently killing
himself on a nightly basis.
JAMES HOWARD: Mike Awesome, Kane and Vader are all giant men who use a
brawling style. And their matches are a lot of fun to watch. Think about
that: Huge brawling giants... *who consistently have good matches*. It's a
short list - in fact, it's a three-person list, and there they are. :)
JOE GAGNE: His Royal Rumble and No Way Out matches easily earn Foley the
top spot. Vader has returned to proper asskicking form in Japan.
Hardcore Holly was having some very good brawls before the arm injury.
JEREMY SORIA: Mick Foley gets the nod for the top spot, if only for the
final run in wrestling. Tazz is number two here… but mostly that's from
his early weeks in the WWF, before he injured himself and briefly removed
himself from competition. (Someone tell him to bring back that singlet and
get back into suplexing wrestlers into submission. Or the Tazmission, as
it were.) Chris Benoit again is here, because he has great ability to
adapt.
TROY OLSON: Interesting that HHH stepped up to have good technical matches
with Benoit, Angle, Rock as well as establishing himself as a great
brawler against Foley.
JEREMY DELINE: Best Brawler-Voting in Memory of Mick Foley, and his last
blaze of glory (not withstanding the Wrestlemania 2000 main event). Second
place goes to Steve Corino, the walking plasma bank who'll twist his body
into a crushed pretzel for the amusement of a handful of fans. Third place
is a toss-up. I picked Mike Awesome partly for his decimation of the ECW
roster, and partly for his solid work in WCW (if only he'd given ICP those
concussions in their hardcore handicap match instead of hurting
Vampiro..if only..)
NATHAN LONEY: Did you see the street fight in January? That's my example
that Mick Foley is the best brawler... or was the best brawler... in the
biz. Something has happened to Steve Austin. The guy who only used his
fists and boots in a fight has been replaced... with a guy who can GO in
the ring! However, I held out on awarding him, because I want to see
more. Now brawling... he's done that for a while, and with great results!
Tazz is a guilty pleasure of mine, and he's got the thug persona down.
He's beating people up, tossing them around like sacks of shit, and
choking them out. Very adept at brawling.
BILL LEHECKA: I have to point to Triple H's brawl with Chris Jericho
(their last man standing match). I just like the way Triple H can either
go at it in a technical match or just go at it in a bloody brawl. It's
too bad there's no category for best bladejob of the year (what I've
seen), because Triple H's gusher gave me goose bumps.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Well, it's the last time I'll be able to vote for him,
but Mick Foley is still the best brawler of all time. Bar none. I doubt
he'll have any trouble winning that one last award in this category, and
all power to him! He may only have been active the first few months of the
year, but I think he deserves this one for his two matches with Triple H
alone. And, speaking of Triple H, he gets an easy second. He's had some
great, psychotic brawls against not only Mick, but also the likes of
Jericho, Benoit and Rock, and I wouldn't be surprised if I end up voting
for him here next year as well. Buh Buh Ray Dudley get third, since he's
worked his ass off in all of his high-profile matches this year, and I'm
not about to vote for him as Best Worker...
KEVIN SMITH: Triple H and the Rock over Cactus Jack simply because while
Mick's stunts are awesome, he's lucky to still be able to walk. I find HHH
and Rock entertaining without them risking their lives.
OCTAVIAN: Mick Foley gets my only vote in this category. Happy
retirement, Mick!
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Can't spell Blackman without the MAN!
TANVIR RAQUIB: In my definition, brawlers are those who punch and bleed
alot. And they also do especially stupid things during their matches. New
Jack punches, bleeds and does INCREDIBLY stupid things in his matches.
Give him "Best Brawler", damnit.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Cactus has to get the nod here... a truly legendary
brawler. Triple H gets #2 based on the strength of his work with Mr. Bang
Bang! Steve Blackman after beholding the power of cheese got over and
truly found his niche in the hardcore division.
JBELL55146: Triple H proved in his wars with Mick Foley in the early part
of the year that he can brawl with anybody and anything. And it's gonna be
hard not voting next year for Foley.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most Favourite Wrestler
Award Description:
To be given to the wrestler you like the most, regardless of the reason.
Previous Winners:
1991: Ric Flair
1992: Ric Flair
1993: Ric Flair
1994: Ric Flair
1995: Shawn Michaels
1996: Stone Cold Steve Austin
1997: Stone Cold Steve Austin
1998: Mankind (Cactus Jack / Dude Love / Mick Foley)
1999: Chris Jericho
**2000**: Triple H
570 first place votes
562 second place votes
560 third place votes
126 55 44 883 Triple H
83 83 42 748 Chris Benoit
54 65 44 553 Chris Jericho
56 62 38 542 Kurt Angle
24 18 21 216 Rock
26 14 20 212 Mick Foley
19 14 27 191 Yoshihiro Tajiri
20 21 10 183 Steve Austin
7 17 26 138 Eddie Guerrero
12 12 15 126 Edge
8 9 21 109 Ric Flair
4 9 22 91 William Regal
1 15 19 88 Lance Storm
7 6 16 85 Jeff Hardy
6 11 9 81 Christian
3 8 10 59 Tazz
7 4 4 55 Undertaker
1 10 7 49 Jeff Jarrett
5 6 2 47 Cima
6 4 2 46 Dean Malenko
4 4 6 44 Toshiaki Kawada
4 4 4 40 Hardcore Holly
3 3 7 38 Steve Blackman
2 5 5 35 Christopher Daniels
0 4 11 34 Crash
3 3 4 32 Kane
0 3 11 31 Rob Van Dam
4 2 2 30 Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley
2 4 4 30 Goldberg
4 1 2 27 D'Lo Brown
2 2 5 26 Raven
2 3 3 25 Scott Steiner
3 2 1 23 Bokujin Ken
1 3 4 22 Booker T.
3 0 3 21 Jerry Lynn
2 3 0 19 Matt Hardy
1 2 4 19 Buh Buh Ray Dudley
0 5 2 19 Cactus Jack
2 2 1 18 Bret Hart
2 1 2 17 Lita
1 2 3 17 Kid Kash
2 2 0 16 Onryo
3 0 0 15 Shawn Michaels
1 2 2 15 Survival Tobita
1 2 1 13 Sting
1 2 1 13 Crowbar
1 0 4 13 Tomoaki Honma
2 0 1 12 X-Pac
2 0 1 12 Mariko Yoshida
2 0 1 12 Al Snow
2 0 1 12 Aja Kong
1 0 3 11 Essa Rios
1 1 1 10 Ryuji Yamakawa
0 2 2 10 Steve Corino
1 0 2 9 Tommy Dreamer
1 1 0 8 Vader
1 1 0 8 Shinjiro Ohtani
1 1 0 8 Norman Smiley
1 1 0 8 Mitsuharu Misawa
1 1 0 8 Magnum Tokyo
1 1 0 8 Hayabusa
1 1 0 8 Candy Okutsu
1 1 0 8 Bradshaw
0 2 1 8 Yumi Fukawa
1 0 1 7 Taka Michinoku
1 0 1 7 Mike Sanders
0 1 2 7 Mike Awesome
0 2 0 6 Kenta Kobashi
0 2 0 6 Alexander Otsuka
0 0 3 6 Hulk Hogan
1 0 0 5 Vampiro
1 0 0 5 Trent Acid
1 0 0 5 Tiger Ali Singh
1 0 0 5 Shane Douglas
1 0 0 5 Ricky Marvin
1 0 0 5 Rhino
1 0 0 5 Meng
1 0 0 5 Meiko Satomura
1 0 0 5 Manami Toyota
1 0 0 5 Lenny Lane
1 0 0 5 La Parka
1 0 0 5 Jerry Lawler
1 0 0 5 Faarooq
1 0 0 5 El Samurai
1 0 0 5 Cat
1 0 0 5 British Bulldog
1 0 0 5 Bob Holly
1 0 0 5 Ai Fujita
0 1 1 5 Suwa
0 1 1 5 Steven Richards
0 1 1 5 Roadkill
0 1 1 5 K-Krush
0 1 1 5 Jushin Liger
0 1 1 5 Chyna
0 1 1 5 Alex Wright
0 0 2 4 Perry Saturn
0 1 0 3 Tiger Mask IV
0 1 0 3 Terry Funk
0 1 0 3 Simon Diamond
0 1 0 3 Sabu
0 1 0 3 Rikishi
0 1 0 3 Ricky Fuji
0 1 0 3 Michael Modest
0 1 0 3 Mayumi Ozaki
0 1 0 3 Kyoko Inoue
0 1 0 3 Koji Kanemoto
0 1 0 3 Kaoru
0 1 0 3 H (Eiji Eizaki)
0 1 0 3 Gangrel
0 1 0 3 Funaki
0 1 0 3 Dick Togo
0 1 0 3 Chris Harris
0 1 0 3 Chris Hammrick
0 1 0 3 Billy Gunn
0 1 0 3 Big Show
0 1 0 3 Ayako Hamada
0 1 0 3 Alex Porteau
0 1 0 3 Albert
0 0 1 2 Test
0 0 1 2 Stoker Ichikawa
0 0 1 2 Shane McMahon
0 0 1 2 Scott Hall
0 0 1 2 Sandman
0 0 1 2 Rey Mysterio Jr.
0 0 1 2 Randy Savaga
0 0 1 2 Nova
0 0 1 2 Mr. Gannosuke
0 0 1 2 Minoru Tanaka
0 0 1 2 Men's Teioh
0 0 1 2 Masked Angel Rosetta (Hiromi Yaginuma)
0 0 1 2 M.I. Smooth
0 0 1 2 Lodi (Idol / Rave)
0 0 1 2 Kintaro Kanemura
0 0 1 2 Justin Credible
0 0 1 2 Jun Akiyama
0 0 1 2 Joey Abs
0 0 1 2 Hijo del Santo
0 0 1 2 Great Sasuke
0 0 1 2 Elix Skipper
0 0 1 2 Curt Hennig
0 0 1 2 Chuck Palumbo
0 0 1 2 Chris Kanyon
0 0 1 2 Chris Daniels
0 0 1 2 Arn Anderson
REJECTED
1 1 5 "Tie" votes
0 2 2 Edge & Christian
0 0 4 Hardy Boyz
1 0 0 Acolytes
0 2 2 Duplicate votes
0 1 1 Dudley Boyz
HIRO: Jericho is the complete package. He has the workrate and also the
charisma. Benoit is again self-explanatory. Mick Foley is the fan
favorite, and when he did that South East Asian tour, he really came off
like the nice guy that he really is, even though I didn't actually get to
meet him.
BRUNO PULVER: Scott Steiner is true loose cannon, what you see is what he
really is
MICHAEL BANKER: Ric Flair, HHH, and Mick Foley all were very close; it was
very, very difficult to choose which one was to be rated above the others.
JASON BOUGGER: I voted for Christian, but Hell, I also voted for Harry
Browne (Lib) for pres.
MATTHEW HEMING: It doesn't matter what he does now, ever since he carried
that picture of Stanko Malenko to the ring, I'll always be a Jericho mark,
no matter how many weak punches he throws.
J3R CR0WE: Christian has always been my perennial favorite over Edge...
maybe it's the goofy sunglasses?
ROBERT STRUPP: Jericho had held the top spot as my favourite wrestler ever
since his "Arm Bar" interview. But, Benoit's work in the WWF and his
improved interviews put him on top this year. Kane is, in my opinion, one
of the more underrated wrestlers right now. The less he talks, the better
usually, but he alwys entertains me, and I generally look forward to his
matches.
DUDICALY2K: MOST FAVOURITE WRESTLER: The SPWC tape featuring the epic
battles of KEN~ and Survival has become a cult classic. Wrestling is
supposed to be fun above all else-- and there is nothing more fun, albeit
in a surreal way, than SPWC. I like "class clown" Jericho a lot, because
he's also got that fun quality about him.
SCOTT W.: Foley is GOD!!!! He will always be my favorite. Any guy who
puts his body on the line, jobs, cuts killer a promo, and makes his
opponent look good is my favorite. Foley is all that. Angle is #2 no
questions asked. Will be #1 when the vote for next year comes up.
Tajirir is a 3rd, but not distant. The guy guy puts my ass in the seat.
DONNIE VOMIT: How nobody nominated La Parka for Favorite Wrestler is
beyond me. Tazz and Roadkill aren't getting appropriate pushes, but I
still meck oot for them.
MARCUS SPARKS: Purely subjective. I've always enjoyed Bob Holly's
ringwork, but the Big Shot personality made him tops on my list. I love
Tajiri's facial expression and those KICKS! Steve Blackman's always been
a guilty pleasure of mine, and now that he's found a niche that works for
him it's even better. 10. MARCUS SPARKS: William Regal, while not really
improving himself in the ring, did everything he needed outside the ring
to clean up his act and get back into the biz. I applaud him for this,
and hope he wins this "award" in recognition of his efforts. Kid Kash
went from jerking curtains to main-eventing while stepping up his extreme
style. Guido Maritato's gone from boring FBI stooge to a credible mat
killer.
JOHN C.: As far as I'm concerned, Eddy Guerrero is a wrestling God.
Although I despised his angle involving Chyna, I was happy to see his true
colours come out when he turned heel during the summer. Hopefully the WWF
can realize his greatness so that he can capture the glory he never
received in WCW. Booker T. has been a favourite of mine for a long time so
I was very happy to see him be the number one guy this year. I have always
liked Chris Benoit but this year I got a chance to see a lot more of him
in a role that suited him well (as a badass heel) which is why he cracked
my list. Jericho falls out of the list because his character grew too
stale for my tastes although I'm sure he'll bounce back if he turns heel
or develops a serious side like Austin or Rock.
TONY LING: ROCKY ROCKY ROCKY AUSTIN AUSTIN AUSTIN and Jericho
JEB LUND: These three are consistently a pure joy to watch. No matter how
fantastically retarded their angles get (and it seems that these guys have
a real history of being involved in mind-numbingly stupid plot-lines), the
wrestling display they give the viewer is consistently incredible. I put
Jericho over the others because his solid work on the stick shows a lot
more presence, magnetism, and attitude... although I’m thrilled to see
Benoit get better at cutting heel promos. Guerrero, on the other hand, can
stand with eyebrows raised, arms out and palms upturned (kind of like a
benificient pontiff) and have everyone hiss, curse and revile him.
Awesome.
ANDY P. GOSS: Well, Most Favo(u)rite is subjective, so not much to say
here, other than I like Eddie, Jeff, and Sanders. They're all pretty much
the total package (technical skill, crowd heat, mic skill, etc.).
MARKUS: HHH has just been the F*cking Man this year, ever time this guy's
on TV, I find myself enjoying it. Same with Benoit & Eddie, though these
two tend to wow me a bit more with their ring work than HHH does.
STEVE GUM: Blackman and Jericho could almost be a tie, because I love it
when Blackman says, "It's party time"
EDDIE BURKETT: Triple H is THE GAME!!! 'nuff said.
JAMES HOWARD: You know what the best thing about my favorite wrestler's
boots are? It says "Edge" on them. :)
JUST JEFF: Why is Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley included here and not Lita?
Come to think of it, why isn't Shane on the ballot as well? He's a better
wrestler than Stephanie.
GEORGE JOHNSON: Am I the only person that thinks Dean Malenko absolutely
reeks of personality without even having to say a word? I seriously mark
out every time I see this guy.
JEREMY SORIA: Like I say every year - Do I have to choose just three
wrestlers?
TROY OLSON: Benoit worked his way into my heart this year. I love
watching him work. Can't wait to get some of his old tapes.
NATHAN LONEY: I'm a Tajiri mark, through and through. I find the guy
amazing to watch in the ring, and even more fun before he had his face
turn. Watching him egg on the crowd and taunt his opponent made me smile,
watching him kick his opponent makes me gasp, and watching him level his
opponent with a brainbuster automatically makes me count to three. Steve
Austin has always made me mark like a girl at an 'N Sync concert, with
less screaming. I just find him extremely entertaining. Chris Benoit is
another guy who I love cheering for, even if the people around me are
booing their asses off. I love the wolverine persona, the badass that
makes threats and backs them up.
BILL LEHECKA: I just wish they'd push Benoit harder. It's nice to see
that he's wrestling the upper echelon, but it'd be nice if he was given
the WWF Championship belt for longer than 3 minutes.
NATE PATRIN: The Rock at least *was* my favorite when he was an underdog
fighting for the belt against a heel HHH.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit are easily my favourite
wrestlers right now. They're pretty much neck and neck, so I might as well
flip a coin to decide between 'em. :) I prefer Benoit's gimmick slightly,
and he's certainly the better worker, so I'll give it to him. I'd point
out, in Y2J's defense, that his WWF title "victory" was my single biggest
markout moment of the year. Triple H gets a close third. He just
positively rules. Honourable mentions to Edge, Christian and the Hardy
Boyz, my favourite tag wrestlers. I just love seeing all of them work. If
I'd been able to choose just one of em, he might have knocked Triple H off
this list.
KEVIN SMITH: Essa Rios: someone teach the man some damn english!!
THE TALBOTS: D'Lo Brown has the charisma, talent, and raw mic skills to
make it in the WWF. His moves are always crisp and his style is constantly
improving. He just needs that extra little "push" to get there.
ERIC STRAGAND: Flair still makes me pay attention, regardless of the
story. Benoit is one of the few characters who make me proud to be a
wrestling fan. The Dudleyz and APA tied for my third favorite. They just
seem like they're having fun in their jobs.
OCTAVIAN: It's not accident that my choices for Best Worker and Most
Favorite differed only in the order of their names.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Somebody please push Jericho again!
TANVIR RAQUIB: Tiger Ali Singh became my hero IMMEDIATELY after I saw him
a few years ago. The Kuwaiti Cup (?) winner represented South Asia quite
poorly, but he repped nonetheless.
COLIN MacKINNON: Ricky Marvin is going to be something big someday. Mark
my words. Barring a major knee injury, he could be (I don't want to jinx
him and say he will be) the next Rey Misterio Jr.; actually, out of all
the young luchadors in Mexico, Marvin probably has the best chance. And
even though she wasn't on the ballot for some reason that I can't
understand, Yumi Fukawa still gets my second vote. It's a shame she has
to retire so soon, but ever since I got into joshi puroresu, she's been
one of my favorites. And she'll still continue to be one of them.
NICK RANGEL: Benoit is the true ruler of the world. That the WWF seems
intent on making him into an Austin-style badass bodes well for his
future.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Kurt Angle is just amazing and will probably get a lot
better. Everyone loves Foley as a wrestler when he's being serious and
puts himself on the line. Jericho is kinda blah now but he still has his
moments.
JBELL55146: Again how one wrestler can go from my least favorite to my
most favorite in 3 years time, I have no clue, but Triple H did it. Kurt
Angle is just so old school heel he is awesome. It's true, It's true. And
I am and always will be the biggest Steve Austin mark on the planet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most Improved Wrestler
Award Description:
To be given to the wrestler who most improved himself/herself in all facets
of the sport in the past year.
Previous Winners:
1990: Lex Luger
1991: Ron Simmons
1992: Steve Austin
1993: Marcus Alexander Bagwell
1994: Diesel
1995: Johnny B. Badd
1996: Wildman Marc Mero (Johnny B. Badd)
1997: Ken Shamrock
1998: The Rock
1999: Hardcore Holly
**2000**: Triple H
561 first place votes
541 second place votes
522 third place votes
168 71 32 1117 Triple H
150 61 43 1019 Kurt Angle
38 71 58 519 Rock
17 28 22 213 Steve Blackman
13 15 24 158 William Regal
11 21 19 156 Rikishi
13 13 23 150 Edge
9 21 20 148 Kid Kash
11 15 17 134 Hardcore Holly
12 13 16 131 Steve Corino
6 16 16 110 Lance Storm
1 15 19 88 Lita
4 13 13 85 Mike Sanders
5 9 15 82 Shane McMahon
9 7 6 78 Buh Buh Ray Dudley
3 8 11 61 Christian
6 6 5 58 Justin Credible
3 9 8 58 Scotty 2 Hotty
4 6 3 44 Undertaker
3 5 7 44 Chris Benoit
3 6 3 39 Steve Austin
2 4 8 38 Big Vito
0 6 10 38 Booker T.
3 4 5 37 Crash
5 3 1 36 Crowbar
2 6 4 36 Val Venis
1 4 8 33 Mikey Whipwreck
3 3 4 32 Sean O'Haire
1 5 6 32 Scott Steiner
2 4 4 30 Kane
1 7 2 30 Chris Jericho
1 5 4 28 Yoshihiro Tajiri
4 0 2 24 C.W. Anderson
3 2 1 23 Minoru Fujita
2 3 2 23 Elix Skipper
1 4 3 23 Cima
0 1 10 23 Trish Stratus
2 2 3 22 Jeff Jarrett
1 5 1 22 Roadkill
3 1 1 20 Ikuto Hidaka
2 2 2 20 General Rection
2 2 1 18 Eddie Guerrero
0 4 3 18 D-Von Dudley
3 0 1 17 Test
1 2 3 17 Guido Maritato
1 2 3 17 Ayako Hamada
2 0 3 16 Albert
1 1 2 12 Tiger Mask IV
1 1 2 12 Jun Akiyama
1 1 1 10 Cat
1 1 1 10 Al Snow
0 2 2 10 Suwa
1 0 2 9 Bull Buchanan
1 1 0 8 Steven Richards
1 1 0 8 Chyna
1 0 1 7 Rhino
1 0 1 7 Perry Saturn
1 0 1 7 Katsumi Usuda
0 1 2 7 Mike Awesome
0 1 2 7 Danny Doring
0 2 0 6 Mika Akino
0 2 0 6 Genki Horiguchi
0 0 3 6 David Flair
1 0 0 5 Trent Acid
1 0 0 5 Tomoaki Honma
1 0 0 5 Taiyo Kea
1 0 0 5 Shannon Moore
1 0 0 5 Onryo
1 0 0 5 Mari Apache
1 0 0 5 Kaoru
1 0 0 5 Goldberg
1 0 0 5 Chuck Palumbo
1 0 0 5 Chapparita Asari
1 0 0 5 Alex Wright
0 1 1 5 FM-Taro
0 1 1 5 C.J. Anderson
0 1 1 5 Billy Kidman
0 0 2 4 EZ Money
0 1 0 3 Tony Mamaluke
0 1 0 3 Tony DeVito
0 1 0 3 Takashi Sasaki
0 1 0 3 Takao Omori
0 1 0 3 Shane Helms
0 1 0 3 Ric Blade
0 1 0 3 Policeman
0 1 0 3 Kid Lightning
0 1 0 3 Christopher Daniels
0 1 0 3 Bradshaw
0 0 1 2 Yun Yang
0 0 1 2 Vader
0 0 1 2 Tazz
0 0 1 2 Rob Van Dam
0 0 1 2 Pete Rose
0 0 1 2 Mona
0 0 1 2 Matt Hardy
0 0 1 2 Kuishinbo Kamen
0 0 1 2 Justice Pain
0 0 1 2 Joey Abs
0 0 1 2 Jeff Hardy
0 0 1 2 Hulk Hogan
0 0 1 2 Gedo
0 0 1 2 Essa Rios
0 0 1 2 D'Lo Brown
0 0 1 2 Brian Adams
REJECTED
2 1 4 Edge & Christian
1 2 0 Hardy Boyz
0 1 0 Dudley Boyz
0 0 1 Duplicate votes
0 0 1 "Tie" votes
HIRO: Triple H easily wins. Rock is almost the same as Triple H, the Iron
Man match easily gave them the nod for this category. Angle also has
adapted well into the Pro-wrestling side.
DEAN RASMUSSEN: Ikuto Hidaka crawled out of the shadow of Minoru Tanaka
and became a really great worker this year. His matches against Tanaka and
Usuda were a new, better Hidaka. Hopefully, he gets the same opportunities
this year with the beloved but embattled BAT-BAT. Genki Horiguchi is
really polished now and seems to have been born polished to a certain
extent. FM-Taro went from also-ran Kageki Undercard shmoe to guy who can
hang with Takeshi motherfuckin Sasaki in the best little batch of matches
in all of Japan Indie World this year.
CHRIS BIRD: He may be a classless sumbitch who likes to call out us
internet folk, but nobody deserves this award more than C.W. Anderson, who
last year was a deserved nobody and this year is easily one of the most
solid and consistent wrestlers in the business. The fact that he's
main-eventing ECW these days may be taken as desperation of the comapny by
some. I consider it to be a damned good idea. The Rock - much as he can
annoy me - has improved greatly over the past year, working on his
conditioning, his selling, his psychology, and expanding his already
impressive offense to a eye-widening degree. Third place goes to Kid Kash,
he of the crazed spots, who invents ever yet more crazed spots.
JASON BOUGGER: Triple H carried the fed all year. He improved greatly
compared to 1998/1999. Also picked Buh Buh Ray Dudley for his in-ring
charisma & Shane-O-Mac for his improved interviews and ability to take
major bumps early in the year.
JASON: Kurt Angle just *started* wrestling pro last year. Look at him
now. I also think that the Rock has become much better after working with
Benoit. He's still not great, but way better than he was at this time
last year.
ROBERT STRUPP: One of the hardest categories to call, but the improvement
Hunter has shown since last year is really amazing. Triple H is a
different wrestler than Hunter Hearst Helmsley the Greenwich snob, or HHH
the Degenerate. Lance Storm has been entertaining all year, but really
began to show a different side on the mic and in the ring since his move
to WCW. I credit Chris Benoit with the Rock's improvement, almost as if
the Rock realized that the business might actually involve a stronger
moveset with the addition of the Radicalz, and not wanting to be left
behind. Especially since Hunter has a larger variation on his moveset now,
and a returning Austin has always had a stronger wrestling background from
his days as Stunning Steve.
BEN WEINER: Angle really has come a long way since Survivor Series 99.
Rock in an Iron Man match? Regal got off the bottle and a new start.
ALEX GIPSON: Triple H, for reasons which need no explanation. Kurt Angle,
for the best rookie year I can recall. The Rock, for being able to keep up
with just about ANYBODY these days.
CHRIS OSTER: Again, it's SO hard to believe how maligned Triple H was at
the start of the year when you look at him now. Easy pick for most
improved, as he's truly improved every facet of himself. Regal may be the
only one who's improved more, but, to be fair, he was only around for the
last couple of months, so he takes second. Kurt Angle and his meteoric
rise claim third spot...I mean, how much further down can you be than
never having been on TV or wrestled a high-profile match?
DANIEL HERMAN: Regal went from high and unmotivated to clean and
dangerous, he's back where he used to be, but it was far too long since he
was there last. GO REGAL
SCOTT W.: Hardcore Holly. He seems to get better and better every time I
see him. Too Bad about the broken arm. Rikishi really has turned things
around.
DONNIE VOMIT: From ECW dark matches to ECW main eventer in one year, C.W.
Anderson got farther this year than RVD did in his entire tenure. Elix
Skipper is a great young talent, undeserving of that retarded name.
Triple H, well, he's a lot better than last year.
PETE GOODRICH: Considering I used to truly hate Triple Honky, he's really
proved himself this year. I hated him as the CT blueblood, and as Shawns
DX buttbuddy, and as the Buffer wanna-be..but as heels go he rocks. And
he put over TAKA~!
JOHN C.: In the first five or six years of his career Hunter had very few
great matches. This year alone I could rattle off at least a half dozen
matches that were four stars or greater and for that he is a runaway
winner for this award. The same can be said for The Rock as he added more
moves to his repertoire, he had a better sense of ring psychology and he
became consistently good at just about everything. My third choice may be
a surprising one but I really felt that Scott Taylor (Scotty 2 Hotty of
"Too Cool) improved tremendously this year as he made us forget about the
horrendous Too Much tag team. His performance against Dean Malenko at
Backlash stands out for me. I can't give Angle any mention here because I
had not seen him before his WWF debut.
GREG NECASTRO: Undertaker may be at the end of his career, but this
repackaged image is fun to watch. He seems to be enjoying what he's doing
and not worring about how it may affect his legacy.
TONY LING: The Rock has really, REALLY gotten better both in moveset and
selling since last year. Angle really shouldn't be in here, but I voted
for him because he's improved since, uh, his Olympic days, I guess. Buh
Buh has gotten way better since his ECW days.
ANDY P. GOSS: How do you NOT vote for HHH? He's gone from being
completely knee-oriented to learning psychology, ring presence, and so
much more. Meanwhile, Sean O'Haire improves literally by the minute, and
is a breakout star in the future. And as for Hardcore Holly, well... this
time last year, he was beating up fat people. Nowadays, he could legit
win the I-C or World Title and people wouldn't mind. Popular opinion
matters.
STEPHEN TISZENKEL: There was a period of about two or three months during
2000 where Kurt Angle would come out every week and be noticeably more
entertaining, much as Scott Steiner and Triple H used to become noticeably
bigger.
JON WALTON: Triple H has taken himself from talentless slug, to competent,
to above average to top caliber worker in a span of three years. His
progress is not so much from bad to good as it is from dull to dynamic.
EZE4DA3747: HHH, your buddies at Wrestleline said he wouldn't make it as a
heel. Rikishi, who remembered his other gimmick, and of course you saw
Austin vs. Benoit on Raw last week. Where the hell did all that technical
wrestling come from. Also I want him to bust out the Million Dollar Dream
cause I got no idea what your talkin about.
COLIN MORTON: It's weird, but the WWF's top three guys for an extended
period all pulled their game up by huge amounts. Angle has earned every
major title in less than a year, and become (perhaps) the WWF's most
entertaining wrestler. Triple H was given the chance to be the man, and
became The Man. Even the Rock, working with Benoit, started busting out
moves he'd never shown before.
EDDIE BURKETT: The Rock has been quite impressive ever since his feud with
Benoit, pulling out Sharpshooters and leg whips and whatnot, which is much
improved from his usual repoitoire. Edge and Christian got the nod since
last Nov, they were like the Hardiez in that they were a silent tag team
that wrestled, and have since SO transcended that motiff. They TOTALLY
ROCK!, if only for their interview skillz, and sunglasses.
JAMES HOWARD: Think about the Rock, Scotty II Hotty and Lita one year ago.
Now think of the Rock, Scotty II Hotty and Lita today. It's like an
episode of Sliders or something. :)
JUST JEFF: Shane O'Mac gets high marks on my scorecard for being willing
to get his ass busted big time on PPV. Him, a pussy? I DON'T THINK SO!
GEORGE JOHNSON: It's amazing how much natural talent Angle has. He could
go on to be an all-time great.
JOE GAGNE: This category is the closest we have to a "Rookie of the Year"
award, so Kurt Angle gets it. From WWF newcomer to World Champion in less
than a year---amazing. Suwa and Cima are getting so good so fast it?s
scary.
BOB MORRIS: The jump from ECW to WCW proved to be a good move for Lance
Storm. Even though WCW was in chaos most of the year, Lance proved to be
one of the bright spots this year. He got himself over quite easily with
the WCW fanbase as a top heel, his wrestling was always sharp, and he
provided some of the better matches on Nitro over the summer. While it's
true the gimmick has been watered down because of Team Canada, I can't
penalize Lance for making an effort to become a better worker and
personality.
JEREMY SORIA: By jumping from WCW to the WWF, Chris Benoit's workrate went
up tremendously. He's always been a great wrestler, and with the work he's
done this year, it makes him even more deserving as most improved. I had
to like Chris Jericho's improvement in wrestling, especially after
removing the albatross known as Chyna from his side. Steve Blackman, with
the Al Snow gimmick, actually coaxed a few smiles and a few more wrestling
moves out of him. I'm glad to see him get better after these years. If
only Al Snow could have coaxed Ken Shamrock to come back to the WWF.
(Here's hoping Shamrock returns next year… he'd have some great matches
with the kind of talent now in the WWF.)
RICK SCAIA: It's incredible to conceive of a guy going from "developmental
talent" to WWF champ all within one voting year. That's exactly what Kurt
Angle did. He was obviously pretty well polished by the time he debuted
last November, but he's continued to improve his game. Especially notable
is how effective a speaker Angle has become after some early awkwardness.
It's hard to tell if I'm motivated to put Steve Corino down at #2 on this
list because Corino himself upped his game in 2000, or if ECW simply upped
the way they booked him; in any case, Corino went from comic relief jobber
to champ this year, and pulled it off plausibly. The Rock gets #3 from
me, in no small part because of a mini-feud against Chris Benoit and an
Iron Man match against Triple H that necessarily expanded his repretoire
of moves by a factor of 6 or 7; the Rock doesn't have to keep getting
better, but sure do appreciate the fact that he does.
TROY OLSON: I never thought I'd see the day when HHH would ever wrestle in
4 exteremly good PPV matches and pull out at least a decent match most
every time he wrestled. Rock also seemed to step up his workrate, as
compared to last year.
NATHAN LONEY: Hardcore Holly. Not because he's healthy, but because he's
gotten much better as the year has gone along. He looks sharper than he
did before. Milkman Val Venis has gotten better as well. And Kurt Angle
has polished his skills to the point he's at right now.
BILL LEHECKA: I've never seen such a meteoric rise like the one Kurt Angle
experienced this year. His charisma has really led him to the upper
eschelon quicker than anyone I can remember.
NATE PATRIN: In the case of Lita, I'd say going from Essa Rios' valet to
possibly the most popular female wrestler *and* Women's Champion- no
matter how sloppy her 'ranas can be- is a hell of an improvement.
MATT SPAULDING: With a combination of good chemistry and better
opposition, The Rock took his game to surprising heights this year,
improving his offense, his interviews, and (really!) his selling. Steve
Corino went from being just another mouthpiece to a guy who had two of
ECW's better matches this year (Tajiri at Hardcore Heaven, Lynn at Heat
Wave). Mike Sanders came from nowhere jobbing on Saturday Night to become
one of the few "over" young talents in WCW.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Again I find myself using this award as a substitute
for Rookie of the Year, as my top vote goes to Kurt Angle. He's just great
in every facet of the game, and a deserving World's Champion. Christian
gets second. Okay, he's always been good in the ring, but I guess I only
recently realized just *how* good. And he's certainly showing more
charisma than ever before. Rikishi gets third. I figure anyone that could
bounce back to the level he's at after working as the *Sultan* deserves a
vote.
KEVIN SMITH: Like him or not, the Rock is a much better wrestler than he
was a year or two ago. He did well in the Iron Man Match, too - it wasn't
all Triple H. (just mostly) :) Speaking of HHH, he has done from being
tag-along upper-midcarder to arguably the WWF's MVP 2000. Blackman has
gone from unwatchable to really entertaining.
ERIC STRAGAND: These guys were pretty much mid-carders or unknowns last
year. The past year saw these three guys garner alot of recognition, both
among the general public and "smarks".
OCTAVIAN: Triple H and Rock have both drastically improved their games
over the last year. Rock in particular should be commended for adding to
his moveset and trying new things in the ring.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Trip went above and beyond in 2000
TANVIR RAQUIB: Vince Russo gave Bill Demott the opportunity to go from a
big, underused laughing man into a big guy with a very silly name and
fatigues. General Rection singlehandedly won my respect with his work with
Lance Storm, his intense interviews and being the one exception of the
Russo era.
MIKE PLYLEY: From Headcheese to hardcore, the WWF has played on Steve
Blackman's lack of charisma to actually get him over (though some will
argue that). I don't care though, he's become a favorite of mine over the
year. Big Vito has big things in his future if he can get out of some of
the god-awful fueds he's had. And Steve Regal came out of nowhere to
become one of the WWF's freshest faces, and a great heel to boot. It's
great to see how a guy can turn his life around. (Scott Hall, are you
reading?)
TOM CRUZ: I had to toss in a vote for Trish Stratus. If she hasn't come a
long way baby, I don't know who has.
NICK RANGEL: Who knew Christian had it in him. From Gangrel's brooding
"friend" to popculture loving smart-ass, Christian came further faster
than anyone expected.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: I saw Kurt Angle in a dark match against Thrasher
before he debuted. I saw nothing special at all. The crowd sat on their
hands and laughed that it was the Patriot's music. Look at him now. Rock
has improved a ton since wrestling Benoit as noted above. Regal got clean
and what a difference that makes!
PHIL PRZYBYLO: Regal deserves this award. He's turned his career and life
around. He honored Pillman at the memorial show with a great match, too.
He's in great shape. He's knocked off all the ring rust. He's even
talking a great game. Christian also deserves a mention because who knew
he could be such a dick. He's got a major presence in the ring and on the
mic. A future singles megastar.
ROB "R2K" EVANS: Most Improved - HHH definitely elevated his game this
year.
C McMURTRY: Remember when the best thing other wrestlers would say about
Scott Taylor is that he is a "good hand"? Over the past year, with a
cheesy gimmick that got over much to my surprise, Taylor was able to show
that he can work. And all the time in the spotlight allowed him to work
with more top flight guys (Malenko, Hardys, etc.), and thus, broadened his
horizons and improved his work. The Rock has shown that he does have an
offence, and like Taylor, all the great workers he has had matches with
this year appear to have rubbed off on him. At the beginning of the year,
Kid Kash was a spot worker who showed good high fying abilities, but the
problem was, those fantastic spots weren't hit often enough. He's not
perfect, but in that area, it's like night and day.
JIMBO: Kurt Angle went from amateur wrestler to WWF Champ in a
year...Thats improvement! Steve Blackman finally learned that he can be
entertaining in a way thats comfortable to him. And the Rock, well, did
exactly that. He improved his wrestling.
JBELL55146: Everybody knows about number 1, so let's talk about number 2,
Kurt Angle. How this man went from his first match at Survivor Series, to
walking away with the world title in September is just amazing. He has
improved in his interviews, and his wrestling style has vastly improved.
And Hardcore Holly used to be a race car driver?! Hard to belive. A shame
he went and broke his arm cuz he was coming on strong before his injury.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most Overrated Wrestler
Award Description:
To be given to the wrestler who really has little talent, but has a large
place in the spotlight nonetheless. This is a measure of how undeserved a
wrestler's push is.
Previous Winners:
1990: Hulk Hogan
1991: Hulk Hogan
1992: Ultimate Warrior
1993: Hulk Hogan
1994: Hulk Hogan
1995: Hulk Hogan
1996: Hulk Hogan
1997: Hulk Hogan
1998: Hollywood Hogan
1999: Hulk Hogan
**2000*: Goldberg
561 first place votes
550 second place votes
541 third place votes
66 42 28 512 Goldberg
48 59 38 493 Kevin Nash
57 28 27 423 Hulk Hogan
51 36 24 411 Rock
29 40 48 361 Mr. Ass
40 33 23 345 Chyna
36 26 14 286 Rob Van Dam
22 26 25 238 X-Pac
19 22 27 215 Scott Steiner
18 18 16 176 Undertaker
12 20 18 156 Vampiro
10 18 22 148 Justin Credible
16 10 11 132 Chris Jericho
16 11 7 127 Booker T.
12 9 12 111 Jeff Jarrett
15 10 2 109 Triple H
10 14 4 100 Steve Austin
8 13 7 93 Shane Douglas
8 7 14 89 Kane
4 6 12 62 Rhino
4 8 8 60 Rikishi
2 9 9 55 Perry Saturn
3 5 10 50 Road Dogg
4 6 5 48 Lex Luger
4 4 7 46 Tazz
3 4 9 45 Billy Kidman
6 2 3 42 Chris Benoit
4 3 6 41 Diamond Dallas Page
4 3 5 39 Sting
2 6 5 38 Sid Vicious
1 3 9 32 Lita
4 1 4 31 Kurt Angle
2 2 5 26 Bull Buchanan
2 2 5 26 Big Show
1 4 4 25 Jushin Liger
1 3 4 22 Buff Bagwell
0 3 6 21 Goodfather
1 3 3 20 Jeff Hardy
1 0 6 17 Brian Adams
2 1 1 15 William Regal
1 1 3 14 Dean Malenko
0 2 4 14 Scott Hall
1 2 1 13 Eddie Guerrero
2 0 0 10 David Arquette
1 1 1 10 Ric Flair
0 2 2 10 Kid Kash
1 0 2 9 Sandman
0 1 3 9 Mike Awesome
0 2 1 8 Val Venis
1 0 1 7 Matt Hardy
1 0 1 7 General Rection
1 0 1 7 Big Boss Man
0 1 2 7 Raven
0 2 0 6 Edge
0 2 0 6 Buh Buh Ray Dudley
1 0 0 5 Steven Richards
1 0 0 5 Nova
1 0 0 5 Mick Foley
1 0 0 5 Michael Modest
0 0 2 4 Al Snow
0 1 0 3 Shinjiro Otani
0 1 0 3 Rey Mysterio Jr.
0 1 0 3 Minami Toyota
0 1 0 3 Mike Saunders
0 1 0 3 Manabu Nakanishi
0 1 0 3 Hardcore Holly
0 1 0 3 Grand Master Sexay
0 1 0 3 Essa Rios
0 1 0 3 Demon
0 1 0 3 Bret Hart
0 0 1 2 Tomoaki Honma
0 0 1 2 Tommy Dreamer
0 0 1 2 Tatsuhito Takaiwa
0 0 1 2 Steve Corino
0 0 1 2 Steve Blackman
0 0 1 2 Scotty 2 Hotty
0 0 1 2 Rick Steiner
0 0 1 2 New Jack
0 0 1 2 Mitsuharu Misawa
0 0 1 2 Mideon
0 0 1 2 Messiah
0 0 1 2 Lance Storm
0 0 1 2 Konnan
0 0 1 2 Kensuke Sasaki
0 0 1 2 Jerry Lawler
0 0 1 2 Cat
0 0 1 2 Brooklyn Brawler
REJECTED
0 2 5 Duplicate votes
0 1 1 Too Cool
0 1 1 "Tie" votes
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: Amazing that in my opinion that three former memebers of NWO are extremely overrated?
HIRO: Chyna shouldn't be allowed to wrestle men anymore. She would logically fare better in the women's ranks, but as we all know Western women's wrestling is crap at the moment. Her second and third Intercontinental win should not have happened at all. Kevin Nash is semi-retired, but somehow always gets himself into the main event picture. X-Pac is not the same X-pac that we used to know.
OTTO HEUER: Most Overrated Wrestler--This was another that was hard to narrow down to three, but I ended up with one guy from each fed, plus a bunch of runners-up: 1st: Tazz 2nd: Justin Credible 3rd: Shane Douglas 4th: Mr. Ass 5th: Kevin Nash 6th: Rhino 7th: Goodfather 8th: Hulk Hogan 9th: Rock 10th: Rikishi
DEAN RASMUSSEN: Rob Van Dam sucks. I saw him live this year! Fruity embellishments, crappy kicks and punches, longer minutes of posing between moves. YIKES! Jeff Jarrett has waaaay to many guys whose opinion a deeply respect fooled into thinking that he is some kind of topflight worker. Billy Kidman was SOOOO a Juventud creation.
CHRIS BIRD: Kevin Nash can barely walk. Kevin Nash can barely do any of his moves any more. Kevin Nash can barely do a BIG BOOT for crissake. Why is Kevin Nash so prominent in this year's booking in WCW? I DON'T KNOW! Chyna is a crappy wrestler. Chyna can't take major bumps. Chyna's voice grates on my ears like fiberglass being torn up by a phys-ed major. Chyna doesn't get consistent face heat. Why has Chyna spent most of the year feuding with Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero? I DON'T KNOW! Sandman takes two minutes to go to the ring, not because it's dramatic, but because he's out of shape. Sandman is the past. Why is Sandman main-eventing in ECW? I DON'T KNOW! (Honorary I DON'T KNOW for Billy Gunn, who luckily was injured most of the year and thus did not get that much chance to be pushed beyond his ability, which is not great to begin with. Next year, Billy G!)
BRUNO PULVER: Rikishi fucking sucks. I wonder, how many times a week he has to perform full cavity anal rimming on Vince McMahon to get a push
MICHAEL BANKER: It's not that I think that Jericho is BAD, but he's
nowhere near as good as everyone seems to think that he is. He might be
that good eventually, but right now his interviews are one-dimensional and
his ring work is often sloppy (see Survivor Series against Kane).
JASON BOUGGER: Booker T. This guy just isn't ready yet.
MARK POLISHUK: RVD calls himself the whole f'n show, but I propose that
his nickname be changed to Major League Baseball. For every minute of
action, there are ten minutes of stalling.
ADAM FROM TORONTO: Jericho is just plain sloppy. If I had a nickel for
every blown spot, I'd have enough money to buy him some WCW tapes (to show
him when he was actually funny.)
MATTHEW HEMING: The only question for worst anything is the specific
order of Nash, Hogan, and Luger.
LAGMONSTR: No Austin? He'd be my choice hands down.
ROBERT STRUPP: Billy Gunn has no talent, no charisma, and has no business
being in the top federation. Vampiro added nothing to WCW, and provided
nothing but horrible interviews and wrestling matches. I think one of the
reasons Sting gets such a bad rep right now, is that horrid feud he had
with Vampiro. Rob Van Dam may be the most over man in ECW, but there's a
reason that Tazz, the Dudleyz, Lance Storm and Mike Awesome got deals with
the Big Two, and he didn't.
BEN WEINER: I vote in the name of tradition.
DEVON: The real Ninth Wonder of the World is how Chyna still has a career
in wrestling. I picked Mike Awful second because so many people seem to
think he is this great monster heel, when he is really just a goofball
with horrible mic skills and a bad haircut who can't wrestle. Lance Storm
can wrestle and is decent on the mic, but he is just so damn annoying.
His "Canadian Hero" gimmick is terrible, and he can't seem to work up
enough emotion to make a second facial expression.
ALEX GIPSON: DDP drives me nuts; while I admire how hard he works in the
ring, he only occasionally seems to be able to deliver on his own without
the aid of a good partner (i.e. Benoit, etc.), and it unfortunately
exposes him for how mediocre he really is these days. Kind of sad,
unfortunately, for a guy who gave Bill Goldberg his best match ever two
years ago.
CHRIS OSTER: Easiest category so far to pick. Where would Chyna be
without Triple H or her plastic surgeon? She's been pushed so far down
our throats, it's making me gag. Billy Gunn runs a close second, while
everyone's favourite undeserving God-push recipient, Justin Credible, gets
third.
SCOTT W.: Rhino. This guy is horrible. His promos stink. His wrokrate
stinks. Hell, his crotch may even stink. This guy is the very definition
of overpushed form hell. Goldberg is another. When your entrance is
longer the your ring time. You have a problem. I put Hogan in just cause
he is Hogan. Luck for RVD that Hogan is still around, or else he would be
here.
CHANCE50JR: Okay, D-X is dead. But Jesse James, X- Pac and Billy Gunn are
too stupid and too stubborn to realize it- and the WWF is too -something-
to stop them.
DONNIE VOMIT: If Chyna doesn't win Most Overrated Wrestler, I'm going to
be giving a lot of homeless children Tazzmissions. Truth be known, Chyna
is completely talentless. She screws up the most basic of wrestling
manouvers. It's apparent she can't even breathe without thinking about
it. Her Nanny-like voice and hideous melting goat cheese facial
appearance make every viewing moment of her a kick in the balls. I mean,
Trish Stratus has surpassed her in ring skills! But has Trish Stratus won
the IC title, THREE TIMES?
MARCUS SPARKS: This one was easy. Rhino's getting the push from hell
despite not being overly impressive in the ring and saying the same thing
every week. The Rock's popularity still confuses me. His interviews are
like listening to mad-libs and his matches are boring. Rob Van Dam's
matches follow the same basic formula. Highspot, pose, highspot, pose,
highspot, pose, sell a bit, highspot, nap, highspot, pose...
JOHN C.: If Goldberg was as good as he said he was, he'd have had a few
good matches under his belt by now. However, all he has to his credit is a
decent match with DDP two years ago and a good brawl with Steiner from
this year but overall he's been an overrated wrestler in the same mold as
The Ultimate Warrior. Shane Douglas will always suck and the Road Dogg has
done nothing to impress me in the last year so they round out my list.
Hogan and Nash don't make the list because they were out of action for
most of the year which is definitely a good thing.
GREG NECASTRO: Hogan - forever and ever.
MICHAELA FISCHER: Benoit's matches are usually flat and kill the crowd; he
doesn't adapt to anyone else's style.
TONY LING: God DAMN I hate Jeff Jarrett.
JEB LUND: The Rock. Jesus. Ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag. I’ve
started to hear his one promo (what, you mean that they actually
differ?!?) in my dreams. And I can call the matches to the last detail.
Punch, punch, punch, spit, punch. Beat up by the other guy. Miracle
recovery. Punch, punch, punch, spinebuster.... If I didn’t keep up a
steady diet of scotch from minute one of Raw or Smackdown, I’d have to
start flipping through my rolodex in search of ex-girlfriends who’d be
willing to come over and kill me.
ANDY P. GOSS: Why, why, why do people like Vampiro? He kicks a lot. Big
deal. Same with RVD. Lita has a moonsault. That makes her a great
flyer, not a great wrestler.
DARREN MANTLE: Jarretts a great worker, but jeeze I wonder how he'll win
this match... KABONG
STEPHEN TISZENKEL: Too bad I don't like write-in votes -- a Road Dogg
nomination would've made this category an all-DX affair. (And no, I didn't
vote for the thoroughly deserving Triple H.)
JON WALTON: While Chris Jericho is a decent worker, the amount of
collective slobbing on his knob by the internet community is shameful,
considering his alternatingly sloppy and loose work. His formulating
interviews don't help his cause either.
SCOTT CRAWFORD: I can't really say there's many people that I've seen this
year who are allegedly great workers that didn't impress me, so I'm kind
of substituting "overrated" with "overpushed" in my mind when voting here.
EZE4DA3747: I like him a lot, he makes me laugh, but he can't wrestle for
shit. His matches are predictable : ass whuppin DDT! ass whuppin Samoan
Drop! ass whuppin no touch belly to belly! ass whuppin Spine Buster and
peoples elbow! and he does this in Handicap matches! Didn't bug me much
until the day he hit the spinebuster on the BIG SHOW on Raw the week
before Wrestlmania, I had five friends over and in unison we all went "
Bullshit! That is not physically possible!" He's Superman he must be. He
could get shot with a 12 gauge and still hit the Rock Bottom and win the
match. What's bad about it is that you know its coming before the match
starts. HHH says Rock vs. Dudleyz. Everyone is like (sarcastically) well
shit who
MARKUS: All 3 of these guys is useless, and everyone knows it but them.
DREW HUNT: I honestly cannot think of any wrestler who is massively
heralded in any way who is overrated besides the Undertaker. The Rock and
Austin, especially current-wrestling-Austin, actually deserve their fame,
and even the Undertaker kind of does, but not as much as he has.
DEWEY: "Overated" could be taken two ways. Either overated by on air
talent, in which case Goldberg would be an obvious number one, and
probably the Rock as well, or, the way I based my choices on, which is by
people online. I've never really seen why people think Booker T is all
that great, and Justin Credible was a pathetic excuse for a World
champion, IMHO.
EDDIE BURKETT: Austin STILL isn't back to the kick-ass bad ass ness of
old, and it questionable if he will ever be, and after being out for as
long as he has, he does not deserve to be contending for a top spot on the
card. Same goes for UT, but he got good for a while. Jericho, while
good, tends to get lazy and not pull out his good stuff.
JAMES HOWARD: Oh, goody, it's time for another Chyna
mat-*eeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuun* 'scuse me. ^_^;;
GEORGE JOHNSON: Hopefully we've seen the last of Hogan. Credible is just
lame.
C READ: Why is it that the standard belief of luchadores is that they must
be under 5'11, use high flying moves and be any good. Konnan is none of
them.
SCOTT ZUCKER: Two wrestlers who are truly overrated in my opinion are
Billy Kidman and Booker T. Without a doubt, both men are good, but they
are no where near as good as many people make them out to be. Kidman's
been carried by the cruisers of WCW, and this has been exposed as Kidman
has not had a good match in a long time, since he's left the cruiserweight
division. Booker T is good, yet he needs someone to carry him.
JEREMY SORIA: The Rock is so overrated right now. I've gotten so sick and
tired of his routine over the year. It has gotten stagnant - he's doing
the same things over and over again.
JEREMY DELINE: Chyna's not a wrestler, she's a poor man's nicole bass.
she's morphed into a lisping, fish-eyed, pseudo-acrobatic prima donna
silicone-lined freak who fits Billy Gunn and his heat-sucking capabilities
far better than she did Eddie Guererro. Goldberg forced Bret Hart to
retire, and behaves like a textbook example of roid rage, and Justin
Credible was more entertaining when he was wearing an orange jockstrap and
getting malt liqour poured down his throat courtesy of Jerry Lawler.
NATHAN LONEY: I said it last year, I'll say it this year with more tact:
Rob Van Dam IS NOT A WRESTLING GOD. He's got skill, but he's not near as
good as his fans believe he is. Goldberg is almost worthless in the ring,
now. Lots of factors contributed to it, but the simple fact of the matter
is: he's not as good as WCW, his fans, or Goldberg himself thinks that he
is. Justin Credible isn't as good as Paul Heyman thinks he is.
BILL LEHECKA: Goldberg's got two moves, and one's just a takedown. I
mean, it's nice to have a squash every once in a while, but please.
Plus, he's a danger to his opponent. Don't get me started on Chyna. I
can hit a better handspring elbow than her. And I'm uncoordinated.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: I don't care how over he is, Billy Gunn (or Mr. Ass, or
Billy G, or The One, or whatever the hell we're supposed to call him this
week) still sucks. A bit of charisma, negligible ring skills, and he's
being pushed through the roof. Again. Tazz, although he's an excellent
colour man, sucks rocks in the ring. And his gimmick irritates me 99% of
the time. Finally, seeing as the artist formerly known as Aldo Montoya has
now worn a World's title, I figure I can't help but honour him here.
THE TALBOTS: I still don't understand the pushes for Bull Buchanan. He was
completely undeserving of his singles run and has yet to improve in his
RTC tag team. I've never understood the hype behind Vampiro. And what's
left to be said about Chyna that hasn't been said before?
ERIC STRAGAND: (3)- Jeff Hardy? Skinny white guy who has a HORRIBLE
finishing manuever- his back barely touches the opponent! Doesn't even
look like it would hurt! Have you ever tried to splash someone with your
BACK?? It hurts your OWN back! Ridiculous..get rid of this guy and his
other filthy, scrawny brother, too.
OCTAVIAN: Chris Jericho has yet to live up to the hype and I don't think
the WWF is entirely to blame for that. The crowd pops for his enterance
and for his finishers but the time between is dead. The same is true for
his mic work.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: I hate X-Pac. You should notice the theme.
TANVIR RAQUIB: Rob Van Dam, while having all the athletic talent in the
world, is a HORRIBLE wrestler. In fact, all he is is a glorified gymnast.
MIKE PLYLEY: Dear lord, I hate Chyna. Despite her HORRID wrestling
skills, she gets the IC championship 3 times, clean wins over Chris
Jericho and Eddie Guerrero, and all because her plastic body gets in
Playboy. She is the most overrated flaming turd in wrestling history, and
I include Hulk Hogan in that list. For 2nd place, I think we should all
egg Paul Heyman's house for giving Justin Credible the ECW champioship and
soiling its legacy. And why the hell do people fawn over Lita so much?
She's going to kill someone with her hurricanrana very soon, but only If
she doesn't kill me first after I die from laughter watching her horrible,
horrible punches/forearms/elbows/what the hell are those things?
TOM CRUZ: I had to push RVD as most overrated. Why? The flippy floppy
nonsense has just gotten to be too much. I accept the fact that there is
some suspension of disbelief involved in watching wrestling, and I know
that many lucha spots are contrived to the point to being not much more
than flippy floppy nonsense, I really do. But RVD still bugs the hell out
of me. The Rock just bugs the hell out of me too. I don't know which is
more annoying: bad wrestling, or interviews where "llama piss" or "monkey
anus" is the punchline. Crowd: "OO! He said 'anus'! AHAHHAHAHA" Kevin Nash
also found his way on here. I don't think he's ever going to accept the
fact that he's a) not funny anymore b) not cool anymore and c) that he
could never wrestle.
NICK RANGEL: Ughh. Heaven forbid we should ever catch a three-way between
these. Goldberg has developed Bret Hart's sense of reality, Rhino is an
80s style, Hogan-fodder heel without Hogan to job him into deserved
obscurity, while Hogan himself still refuses to recognize that he is no
longer the star that he never really deserved to be.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: This one is the Terry Bollea Memorial Award right
here. Hogan has been absent so fellow former nWo member X-Pac takes his
spot for having a moveset of nothing but kicks, bronco-buster, X-Factor.
Mr. Ass comes in second for his big overpush. Godfather? Need I say more
about being overrated?
PHIL PRZYBYLO: Goldberg and RVD are the same. Both guys only work in
spurts and spots in matches. And many people believe they can carry their
respective companies to success when it's obvious that they aren't even
close to handling that. They're great role players, but not leaders or
champs. Chyna is overrated, also, but by the WWF. She weighs as much as
TAKA, has half the talent, and quadruple the push.
C McMURTRY: It continues to amaze me that Rob Van Dam has fooled people
into thinking he is the second coming off Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair,
and is some hybrid of the two. Athletically, he is excellent, but workrate
wise, he is as overrated as they come. Vampiro is a close second. His work
is sloppy and inconsistent, his promos have the personality of a piece of
wood, and he quits the business every other week. Shane Douglas because
fans seem to think his promos are so great when, in reality, they are more
of a parody of himself than anything.
JBELL55146: I too this day do not see what the big deal is about Vampiro.
The people on RSPW hype him up to be the next best thing and he has bad
match after bad match. Everybody makes excuses that 'oh, it was the
booking' or 'oh, look who he's wrestling against' I'm sorry, the buck has
to be passed to the man sometime. And to quote Scott Keith 'You can't
spell overrated without RVD'. And why Billy Gunn is being pushed, let
alone as intercontintal champion is beyond me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Wrestling Gimmick
Award Description:
To be given to the wrestler who had the best character gimmick in the past
year.
Previous Winners:
1991: The Undertaker
1992: The Undertaker
1993: The Undertaker
1994: Bob Backlund as the real WWF champ
1995: Goldust
1996: NWO
1997: Mick Foley's multiple personalities
1998: Lionheart Chris Jericho as a Paragon of Virtue
1999: Hardcore Holly as The Big Shot and a Superheavyweight
**2000**: Edge & Christian, for the benefit of those with flash photography
564 first place votes
545 second place votes
533 third place votes
146 85 45 1075 Edge & Christian as Teen Idols
114 98 43 950 Kurt Angle - American Hero
35 36 20 323 Triple H as "The Game"
22 34 42 296 Acolytes Protection Agency
21 29 33 258 Right to Censor
15 30 45 255 William Regal as British Goodwill Ambassador
43 1 2 222 Bokujin Ken
13 19 21 164 Mick Foley as WWF Commissioner
12 21 17 157 Al Snow representing different European countries as European Champion
10 14 32 156 Lance Storm as a Canadian Hero
15 9 16 134 Al Snow & Steve Blackman as "Head Cheese"
7 10 19 103 Too Cool & Rikishi Phatu dancing
10 5 10 85 "Positively" Kanyon
6 15 5 85 Eddie Guerrero's Latino Heat
5 8 15 79 Jeff Jarrett as Sting
8 8 5 74 Mikey Whipwreck and Yoshihiro Tajiri as minions of the Sinister Minister
5 8 10 69 Chris Benoit
4 7 14 69 Undertaker as "American Badass"
4 7 14 69 Curry Man
9 4 5 67 Big Poppa Pump Scott Steiner
6 3 14 67 Big Show as a big goof
5 4 10 57 Steve Corino, Old School Warrior
3 4 11 49 Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley - "Slut"
2 8 6 46 Onryo
3 6 6 45 Tazz
2 9 2 41 Cima/Suwa/Sumo Fuji as Crazy Max
3 3 7 38 Naked Mideon
2 5 3 31 Conquistadors
1 7 2 30 Dudley Boyz
4 1 3 29 Kane
2 3 3 25 Crash
0 4 5 22 3 Count
3 2 0 21 Steve Austin
1 4 0 17 Gran Hamada & Ayako Hamada as first father and daughter team to hold tag titles
2 1 1 15 Rock
2 1 1 15 Misfits in Action
2 0 2 14 McMahon-Helmsley Regime
1 1 3 14 Vampiro
1 2 1 13 Positively Kanyon
1 2 0 11 Hardcore Holly
2 0 0 10 Radicalz
1 1 1 10 Mike Awesome - Fat Chick Thriller
0 0 5 10 Team Canada
0 3 0 9 Steve Blackman
1 1 0 8 Screamin' Norman Smiley
1 1 0 8 Raven
1 1 0 8 Oz Academy
0 2 1 8 Survival Tobita testing limits of humans by fighting monsters
1 0 1 7 La Parka Overdubbed
0 1 2 7 Stoker Ichikawa
0 1 2 7 Chris Jericho
0 2 0 6 EZ Money
1 0 0 5 Tiger Ali Singh
1 0 0 5 Sandman
1 0 0 5 Hayabusa
1 0 0 5 Backseat Boyz (Johnny Kashmere & Trent Acid)
0 1 1 5 Mike Sanders
0 1 1 5 Cat as Commissioner
0 1 1 5 Ape Virgon
0 0 2 4 Tiger Mask IV
0 0 2 4 Natural Born Thrillers
0 0 2 4 Crowbar
0 1 0 3 Ric Flair
0 1 0 3 Perry Saturn as Revolution's goof
0 1 0 3 Miss Kitty
0 1 0 3 Julio Dinero & Chris Hammrick & EZ Money
0 1 0 3 Jinsei Shinzaki
0 1 0 3 Jaguar Yokota as "Hime Maru"
0 1 0 3 Hardy Boyz
0 1 0 3 Goldberg
0 1 0 3 Giant Killer Shane McMahon
0 1 0 3 Convenience Store Robber
0 1 0 3 Booker T.
0 0 1 2 Triple H & Stephanie McMahons's marriage
0 0 1 2 Tomoko Isozaki as "Ran Maru"
0 0 1 2 Tank Abbout as 3 Count's Manager
0 0 1 2 Sting
0 0 1 2 Roadkill as an Angry Amish Warrior
0 0 1 2 Mae Young
0 0 1 2 Los Fabulosos as Latin America's most desirable men
0 0 1 2 Little Spike Dudley
0 0 1 2 Lita's Visible Panty Line
0 0 1 2 Kuishinbo Kamen
0 0 1 2 Just Joe
0 0 1 2 Disqo's lame duck
0 0 1 2 D'Lo Brown as a pimp
0 0 1 2 Black Liger
0 0 1 2 Above Average Mike Sanders
0 0 1 2 "Prime Time" Elix Skipper
REJECTED
1 1 0 Triple H/Steph/Angle love Triangle (angle, not gimmick)
1 0 1 "Tie" votes
1 0 0 TLC match (not that kind of gimmick)
0 0 1 Yellow Dog (ineligible - time)
0 0 1 Who Am I (Huh?)
0 0 1 Triple H/rakishi hitand run (angle, not gimmick)
HIRO: Big Show's appearance as the Showster at Backlash was the best
gimmick ever! Angle's gimmick as the American Hero was also special as
well as Edge and Christian's act. Comedy rules. Honorable mentions include
Too Cool and Rikishi (which would have been in my list if not for the
staleness after 5 months or so), Eddy's Latino Heat gimmick (for the first
few months), Al Snow's Euro reign and Benoit's rabid wolverine act.
OTTO HEUER: Best Wrestling Gimmick--This wasn't hard to narrow down to a
handful, but then I didn't have any preference in the ordering, so I drew
straws among: "Positively" Kanyon, Yoshihiro Tajiri, 3 Count, "That '70s
Guy" Mike Awesome, Edge & Christian as Teen Idols, Jeff Jarrett as Sting
(becuase it so brought to the forefront how lame Sting has been since he
took the 18 months off), Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley's Slut Gimmick. The
first three won the drawing.
DEAN RASMUSSEN: The first time I saw Bokujin Ken I WEPT at the innate
GENIUS and sheer balls of Survival Tobita to say, "This is MY version of
pro wrestling! This is MY world! This is MY art! Everybody else can go
straight to HELL! KNOCK OUT ALL MONSTERS!" There is NOTHING on earth right
now more punk rock that SPWC. Take that to the motherfucking bank.
ADAM FROM TORONTO: Saturn's best days came with his rambling, nonsensical
monologues in WCW. Kinda like Austin's, but intentionally funny.
MATTHEW HEMING: Despite the heatless machines involved, the RTC is still
strongly over as heels.
J3R CR0WE: There is NO testing these guys... they totally reek of
awesomeness! What else can you say? Regal has really been makin' me fall
over laughing with his promos and commentary... I'm loving it!
ROBERT STRUPP: As much as I like the APA gimmick, Edge & Christian have
really put themselves into the top tier of wrestling personalities thanks
to this gimmick and the los Conquistidores gimmick. Jeff Jarrett as Sting
was well done in the beginning, though the wrestling match it ended up in
sucked horribly.
MICHAEL STAKELY: 1. The Power of the Card! They should have had him do a
Sprite commercial though...
CHRIS OSTER: In a time where gimmicks are much more uncommon among the top
guys, the good ones really stand out. Edge, Christian and Kurt Angle have
a couple of the best gimmicks I have EVER seen in fifteen years of
watching pro wrestling, and they play them to perfection. The Acolytes
squeeze in between them, just because I dig their act so much.
ANDREW BAYER: KEN~!
DUDICALY2K: BEST GIMMICK: Bokujin Ken, aka KEN THE BOX, is minimalism at
its best-- like Raymond Carver or Andy Kaufman as "The Foreign Guy." A man
wearing a bag over his head and a refrigerator box, decorated in leaves
sounds (and is) inherintly cheesey. But, it's what he represents-- he is
a tree defending his homeland against man due to man's encroachment.
Wrestling, as an artform, is a caricature and pardy of greater social
problems. No other gimmick in wrestling today best exemplifies that. I
also liked Lita's run as a feminist champion. She's an attractive girl
who got over by her "skill" (she's really bad, but she got masked really
well). She used her sexuality but didn't allow it to be exploited-- which
is a very post-modern take on feminism. It's okay to be beautiful and know
it-- just like its okay to do whatever you can in the ring. In this, the
age of wrestling scum, Lita was a shining beacon.
DANIEL HERMAN: VOTE KEN~! VOTE KEN~! VOTE KEN~!
SCOTT W.: Edge & Christian as Teen Idols was the best. Funny tv. Angle
as our American hero is second. 3rd is the UnHolly Alliance formed by
Mikey and Tajiri.
CHANCE50JR: Edge & Christian RULE!
MARCUS SPARKS: As proof that nobody can get a gimmick over like Al Snow, I
submit to you the Head Cheese expirement. It made Steve Blackman funny!
And Blackman's desperately seeking a charisma transplant. Kurt Angle took
the ball on the Olympic Hero and ran with it all the way to the WWF title.
The American Badass was a nice re-invention of the old Undertaker and made
an old man fresh for a little while longer.
PETE GOODRICH: At times Head Cheese was great stuff. The armchair booker
inside me sez they could have been decent champs if they'd gotten the
push. For like a month, mind you.
JOHN C.: No doubt about it, Edge & Christian had the best gimmick this
year. The way they transformed themselves from quiet members of the Brood
to cocky, arrogant heels was a pleasure to witness. Their way of making up
words, playing theme songs with a kazoo and their classic five-second pose
are things I will never forget. Kurt Angle had a great year too playing a
heel that in his own mind believes he is a hero. To me, that sort of stuff
needs to happen more often in wrestling and because it is original, it has
captivated audiences. Lance Storm rounds out the list as a cocky Canadian
who has tried his best to put wrestling on the map despite the lack of
talent that surrounds him.
GREG NECASTRO: Angle is using the same format that made the Rock a
superstar.
JOSEPH MICELI: APA just plain crack my shit up. Blackman is just a
badass. STEVE BLACKMAN IS THE TRUE AMERICAN BADASS!!
ANDY P. GOSS: Scott Steiner's "roid rage" esque gimmick is great. It's
tailor-made for him, and he's got Austin potential written all over him.
Hopefully, he'll enter someone's HOF soon enough. Meanwhile, Steve Corino
and William Regal are great heels because they know what the crowd doesn't
want -- in Corino's case, bland wrestling; in Regal's case, lecturing.
JONAH ROSCH: Edge and Christian just made this category their own this
past year. They went from two mysterious guys who came in through the
crowd to two gloryhounding goofballs laughing and smiling all the way.
They really made this gimmmick their own, and it was one of the most
inventive gimmicks I've ever seen. Anyway, if you make me laugh, I always
appreciate it.
PAULOMON McTAGGART: Head Cheese was the coolest gimmick ever because it
got a reaction for Blackman.
JAMES HOWARD: If WCW knows what's good for them at all, they will never,
ever, *ever* let Kanyon get away from them. I would have simply written
off WCW as a lost cause forever, as would have many other people, if it
weren't for that one move that now *literally* came out of nowhere. Kanyon
is a brilliant, brilliant man. :) Likewise, if the WWF knows what's good
for *them* at all, they'll never ever ever let Edge and Christian get away
from them. After all, their nuts are safe for consumption. :) And, I
swear, if you had asked me two months ago if I thought Mideon would ever
be the funniest part of a show... :)
GEORGE JOHNSON: Line of the year: "Cake is the party that rocks the body!"
DOUG CORTI: After Survival Tobita vanquished such foes as Bisexual
Nikoichi and Convenience Store Robber, SPWC as a whole was faced with a
problem. With Tobita defeating his opponents with ease, a true monster
heel monster was needed to keep SPWC interesting. What could be better
than a giant tree that was tearing up the countryside and attacking
innocent villagers? In doing so he created a monster heel, that, when he
eventually conquers the creature, will give a boost not only to the
profile of Survival Tobita as a wrestler, but all of us pathetic humans.
PETER HAZLETT: What scares me is I think that is the real Vampiro?!!
JOE GAGNE: Edge and Christian?s gimmick--an amalgam of "smart" language,
cheap heat, Gothic visuals, and Bill and Ted--works for a simple reason:
they?re very funny. An Olympic gold medallist that?s a heel? Angle makes
it work, and it just shows how much the industry has changed since the
80?s. Christophe r Daniels as Curry Man is so bizarre and brilliant I
can?t do it justice in words.
MAGNOOOS: Am I the only one who thought Mike Awesome's Fat Chick Thriller
shtick was great? Obviously it couldn't be a long-term gimmick but WCW
could have let it continue a few weeks longer. Please don't throw out my
ballot because of this comment.
SCOTT ZUCKER: "Positively" Kanyon had me laughing so hard this year, that
it hurt. It's disappointing that he's been off TV for quite some time now.
Al Snow's gimmick as European Champion was also amusing and well done.
JEREMY SORIA: I loved "Head Cheese." I'm surprised it didn't last longer.
I love Kurt Angle. I love Edge and Christian taking their five-second pose
for the folks taking flash pictures.
RICK SCAIA: Edge and Christian's "Bill and Ted" like goofiness not only
got them noticed amidst the WWF's most talented roster of tag teams ever,
but it's planted the seeds for long term future success and given both men
the sort of character and appeal that could eventually springboard one or
both to singles success. The second best gimmick of the year is the APA,
which puts Faarooq and Bradshaw in the versatile position of pretty much
being able to work anywhere, anytime, and against anybody (babyface or
heel); it was so good an idea that WCW's ripped it off TWICE already (with
the Harris Boys and Kronik). The RTC gets #3 because it makes me laugh to
see the WWF turn a bunch of self-important pricks (the real-life PTC) into
mid-card storyline fodder.
ViNNY: BOX BOX BOX
TROY OLSON: Honorable mention to La Parka's mysterious voice. It may have
been lame, but I always laughed when he said "two chair shots=97One for me
and one for my homies."
JEREMY DELINE: The Acolyte protection agency was one of the few good
things to crawl out of the stinking carcass of the corporate ministry
fiasco, and let Bradshaw and Simmons play up their full potential without
needing the belts to get heat. Kurt Angle developed a multi-faceted
character in a span of a few months, and the Whipwreck/Sinister Minister
duo, although it probably won't get many votes, was something I dug for
the sheer depravity it contained-the vignettes would fit right in with a
poor man's adaption of say, blue velvet, with Mikey sucking on an oxygen
mask and giggling while the Minister slaps Isabella Rossilini across the
face and demands that she call him daddy...any gimmick that I feel like i
need to take a shower after watching, to clean the dirt from my eyes is
good ol'fashioned fun.
NATHAN LONEY: Pairing the Sinister Minister with the wayward Mikey
Whipwreck was cool. Pairing the daredevil Whipwreck and the devil
Minister with Tajiri was awesome. This team has been very entertaining,
had great matches, and had several great moments in promos. "Positively"
Kanyon was the only reason to watch WCW a few months ago. Very funny.
I'm a fan of the APA. Wrestlers have taken protection money in the
past... what about a pair of wrestlers who do it because they need beer
money? I like it!
BILL LEHECKA: If Edge & Christian didn't have their gimmick, I don't know
where they would be. They're hard workers without the mike, but they're
more entertaining workers with the mike.
MATT SPAULDING: When the WWF took the tape off of E&C's mouths, two new
stars were born, and we never saw it coming. Too Cool and Rikishi had no
business being as over as they were with the dancing, but they made it
work and the fans loved it. As good as Angle's gimmick is, it only gets
third on my ballot. Honorable mention to the Acolytes Protection Agency,
which did, on a smaller scale, what the "Teen Idol Shooters" gimmick did
for E&C.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Edge and Christian just completely reek of awesomeness.
It would be an act of utter heinosity if they didn't win this--but since
there's so many other people deserving of it, I won't mind too much. E&C,
however, are just amazing, and quite possibly the two funniest men in the
business. Except possibly for Kurt Angle, American Hero. The
self-righteous, arrogant, obnoxious all-American hero is just such a great
gimmick in this day and age. William Regal gets third, just for the way he
can say unspeakably nasty things so politely. Honourable mention to
Benoit, the APA and RTC.
ERIC STRAGAND: Norman Smiley as the accidental hardcore wrestler/Screamin
Norman, made me laugh more than anything else, this year.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: It may be wearing thin now, but RTC was an outstanding
"F- You!" by Vince to the PTC.
TANVIR RAQUIB: Badass gimmicks that are not gimmicks rule. Chris Benoit
plays that role quite well. Survival Tobita RULES~!
COLIN MacKINNON: Crazy MAX rule. Well, both them and M2K. The reason I
like them is because they're so... well, dickish. :) From the opening
bell taunt to their movesets... Terrific stuff. I'm not saying that
these guys are wrestlers of the year, but they manage to have a ton of
great matches (especially the C-MAX vs. M2K series), and manage to be
entertaining. A winning combination in my book.
TOM CRUZ: How could anyone not vote for Rikishi and Too Cool? No matter
what happens, so long as they danced, everything was just gravy. Lose a
match? DANCE. Win a title? DANCE. Run in on the main event? Get the face
from the main event with you and DANCE. Sheer genius.
NICK RANGEL: The WWF, once synonymous with cheesy gimmicks, has finally
gotten it right. Edge and Christian's persona makeover has paid off
massive dividends. Tazz's transformation from no-jobbing bad-ass to
old-school heel would have never worked if Tazz hadn't proven so good at
being so bad. His obnoxious laugh is infectious and hilarious. And what
more can be said about Angle, whose persona would have been played for
cheers 11 years ago, but has now been transformed into the sort of heel
Hogan should have become(instead of the grating Hollywood that he did).
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Hey that Edge and Christian gimmick reeks of
awesomeness! I dig Kurt Angle as Olympic Hero as well. Regal has to have
the best facial expressions ever in wrestling so he is number 3.
C McMURTRY: Kurt Angle's Olympic Hero gimmick works so well because it
isn't hard to believe that is him. Many Olympians had the attitude his
character adopts, and Angle is able to pull it off well enough to make the
viewer suspend disbelief long enough to think Angle really is this
pompous, arrogant S.O.B.. Edge & Christian's gimmick also works because,
based on the "shoot" interviews they've done, it is an extention of their
own personalities, once again showing that reality is much more
successful, when presented properly, than gimmicks thought up by suits and
ties in towers. We saw how well a year of silence worked for E&C. And I
have, and will always be a mark for Regal. The best part of the gimmick is
how he really thinks he is the good guy in all this.
JBELL55146: As the t-shirt says 'Game Over? Damn right I'm over!'. And
Kurt Angle and Lance Storm as American and Candian heros respectively are
just pure good when looking for old school heel heat.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Wrestling Move
Award Description:
To be given to the move that is just the damn best thing you've seen this
past year. This should probably be a "finishing" move or something really
spectacular.
Previous Winners:
1990: Scott Steiner's Frankensteiner
1991: Scott Steiner's Frankensteiner
1992: Jushin Liger's moonsault off the second ropes to floor
1993: Big Van Vader's moonsault
1994: Vader's moonsault
1995: Hakushi's Space Flying Tiger Drop
1996: Wildman Marc Mero's Wild Thing shooting star press
1997: Bret Hart's figure four leglock around the ringpost
1998: Rock's People's Elbow elbowdrop
1999: Jeff Hardy's senton bomb
**2000**: Jeff Hardy's Swantonbomb senton
555 first place votes
546 second place votes
539 third place votes
68 55 45 595 Jeff Hardy's Swantonbomb
54 59 29 505 Chris Benoit's Crippler crossface
41 27 33 352 Dudley Boyz' Dudley Death Drop
40 30 23 336 Triple H's Pedigree double underhook piledriver
22 26 14 216 Chris Benoit's locomotion German suplex
19 22 19 199 Rob Van Dam's Van Terminator springboard dropkick
15 15 15 150 Yoshihiro Tajiri's Tarantula rope-assisted crab
15 12 18 147 Steve Austin's Stone Cold Stunner
18 11 11 145 Rikishi's splash from the top of the cage
12 14 21 144 Yoshihiro Tajiri's kicks
14 10 12 124 Dean Malenko's super implant DDT
11 8 16 111 Undertaker's Last Ride powerbomb
12 10 9 108 Chris Benoit's dragon suplex
14 9 4 105 Kid Kash's mid-air huracanrana
11 10 5 95 Dragon Kid's 450 huracanrana
8 12 9 94 Kurt Angle's Olympic Slam
9 6 6 75 Essa Rios' over the turnbuckle somersault plancha
5 10 10 75 Chris Benoit's diving headbutt
5 10 6 67 Christian's Tomokaze
10 4 2 66 Christopher Daniels' Angel's Wings spinning double underhook facebuster
6 8 6 66 Kenta Kobashi's Burning Hammer
4 8 9 62 Hardcore Holly's dropkick
6 7 5 61 Edge's spear
5 8 6 61 Lita's huracanrana
5 5 7 54 Reno's Roll of the Dice
5 5 7 54 Matt Hardy's Twist of Fate neckbreaker
7 0 6 47 Bokujin Ken's Swinging Branch Punch
2 6 9 46 Lita's moonsault
4 3 7 43 Lo Down's superplex/frog splash combo
3 6 5 43 Hardy Boyz' Poetry in Motion
3 3 7 38 Jeff Hardy's flying clothesline from a barricade run
4 2 5 36 Christopher Daniels' Last Rites
5 2 2 35 Jody Fleisch's springboard shooting star plancha
1 4 9 35 Jerry Lynn's cradle piledriver
3 2 6 33 Rock's Rock Bottom uranage
1 4 8 33 Mike Awesome's Awesomebomb powerbomb
3 4 2 31 Ricky Marvin's springboard corkscrew plancha
2 3 5 29 Lance Storm's Canadian Maple Leaf half crab
2 4 3 28 Chris Jericho's Walls of Jericho
3 2 3 27 Rey Mysterio Jr.'s 360 degree twirl between the middle and top rope
2 0 8 26 Chris Jericho's top rope huracanrana
5 0 0 25 Mariko Yoshida's Air Raid Crush/Crash
3 2 2 25 Kid Kash's Moneymaker
1 4 3 23 Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko's Total Elimination
4 0 1 22 Undertaker's tombstone piledriver
0 5 3 21 Mick Foley's piledriver of Triple H on the announcers table
2 2 2 20 Cima's Iconoclasm top rope sitdown slam
2 3 0 19 Chris Jericho's Lionsault quebrada
2 2 1 18 Masato Tanaka's Diamond Dust
1 3 2 18 Edge & Christian's Unprettier (Conchairto)
2 1 2 17 D'Lo Brown's 'Lo Down frog splash
2 0 3 16 Sean O'Haire's Seantonbomb
2 1 1 15 Scotty 2 Hotty's Worm chop
2 0 2 14 Mitsuharu Misawa's Emerald Fusion
0 3 2 13 Sting's Scorpion Death Drop
1 1 2 12 Jeff Hardy's Whisper in the Wind corkscrew
1 1 2 12 Goldberg's jackhammer
1 2 0 11 Toshiaki Kawada's powerbomb
1 0 3 11 Rock's People's Elbow elbowdrop
2 0 0 10 Dean Malenko's Texas Cloverleaf
1 1 1 10 Jushin Liger's Ligerbomb
1 1 1 10 Hayabusa's Stardust Press
1 1 1 10 Eddie Guerrero's frog splash
1 0 2 9 Tazz' Tazzmission kati hajime
1 0 2 9 Gangrel's Impaler jumping DDT
1 0 2 9 Ai Fujita's Firebird splash
0 3 0 9 People's Elbow
1 1 0 8 Mitsuharu Misawa's Tiger Driver
1 1 0 8 Faarooq's Dominator
1 1 0 8 Bret Hart's Sharpshooter
1 1 0 8 Alexander Otsuka's release dragon suplex
1 1 0 8 Albert's Albertbomb powerbomb
0 2 1 8 Magnum Tokyo's Viagra Driver gutwrench powerbomb
0 2 1 8 Chapparita Asari's Skytwister Press
1 0 1 7 Kurt Angle's overhead belly-to-belly suplex
1 0 1 7 Jun Akiyama's cradle tombstone
0 1 2 7 Hardcore Holly's Hollycaust falcon arrow
0 1 2 7 Essa Rios' multi-springboard armdrag
0 1 2 7 Elix Skipper's Play of the Week (Overdrive) rolling spinning legdrop
0 2 0 6 Rob Van Dam's Five Star frog splash
0 2 0 6 Rikishi's Rikishi Driver
0 2 0 6 Little Spike Dudley's Acid Drop
0 0 3 6 Cima's Mad Splash frog splash
1 0 0 5 Tony Nelson's Mountain Bomb from the apron to the floor
1 0 0 5 Matt Hardy's Swantonbomb (?)
1 0 0 5 Hayabusa's Phoenix Splash
1 0 0 5 Great Sasuke's Sasuke Special #2
1 0 0 5 Eddie Guerrero's huracanrana
1 0 0 5 Dangerous Backdrop
1 0 0 5 Crowbar's Eye of the Storm Dragon Sleeper into reverse DDT
1 0 0 5 Cima's cross-arm Iconoclasm
1 0 0 5 Chris Jericho's huracanrana
1 0 0 5 Carlito Montana's finisher (XPW)
1 0 0 5 Buh Buh Ray Dudley's Buh Buh Bomb
1 0 0 5 Blitzkrieg's Sky Twisting Moonsault
1 0 0 5 Billy Gunn's cobra clutch slam
0 1 1 5 Yoshihiro Tajiri's springboard back elbow
0 1 1 5 Rock's Sharpshooter
0 1 1 5 Raven's Evenflow DDT
0 1 1 5 Nova's 3rd Degree
0 1 1 5 Mikey Whipwreck's Spinning Overhead Pedigree
0 1 1 5 Jeff Jarrett's Stroke reverse Russian legsweep
0 1 1 5 Goldberg's spear
0 0 2 4 Tommy Dreamer's Tommyhawk
0 0 2 4 Steven Richards' Stevenkick superkick
0 0 2 4 Essa Rios' moonsault
0 0 2 4 Dean Malenko's top rope gutbuster
0 1 0 3 X-Pac's spinning heel kick
0 1 0 3 Tomoko Watanabe's Hell Smasher
0 1 0 3 Test & Albert's whip into a big boot
0 1 0 3 Simon Diamond's Problem Solver
0 1 0 3 Scott Steiner's Top Rope Samoan Drop
0 1 0 3 Rock's Butterfly DDT
0 1 0 3 Rikishi's stinkface
0 1 0 3 Rikishi's splash from the stage to the floor
0 1 0 3 Prince Albert's Albertbomb powerbomb
0 1 0 3 Mike Sanders' 3.0
0 1 0 3 Lioness Asuka's Towerhacker Bomb
0 1 0 3 Kane's chokeslam
0 1 0 3 Jody Fleisch's Phoenix 720 DDT
0 1 0 3 Jeff Hardy's springboard over the corner split legged moonsault
0 1 0 3 Jeff Hardy's 450 splash
0 1 0 3 Goldberg's gorilla press
0 1 0 3 Genki Horiguchi's Genki Driver
0 1 0 3 Faarooq's one-armed spinebuster slam
0 1 0 3 Emerald Frosion(?)
0 1 0 3 Edge's Edge-o-matic
0 1 0 3 Edge & Christian's ECRI (Edge and Christian Run In)
0 1 0 3 Eddie Guerrero's Gorry Special 2000
0 1 0 3 EZ Money's Pay Window back to back tombstone
0 1 0 3 Dudley Boyz' "Wazzzup" headbutt
0 1 0 3 D'Lo Brown's springboard moonsault
0 1 0 3 Chavo Guerrero Jr.'s tornado DDT
0 1 0 3 Cactus Jacks's fall through the Hell in the Cell roof
0 1 0 3 Bob Holly's groin kick
0 1 0 3 Bloody's top rope dragon suplex
0 1 0 3 Big Show's chokeslam
0 1 0 3 Bauxite Medium's Can Hand Attack
0 1 0 3 Asian Cougar's slingshot tope con hilo atomico onto the opponent buried in chairs
0 1 0 3 Albert's Big Spin
0 0 1 2 William Regal's Regal Stretch
0 0 1 2 Undertaker's top rope tightwalk axehandle
0 0 1 2 Triple H's hangman's neckbreaker
0 0 1 2 Tazz' head and arm Tazzplex
0 0 1 2 Super Crazy's escalating triple moonsault
0 0 1 2 Steve Blackman's Lethal kick
0 0 1 2 Shawn Michaels' Sweet Chin Music superkick
0 0 1 2 Rock's spinebuster
0 0 1 2 Rob Van Dam's Van Daminator spin kick
0 0 1 2 Roadkill's springboard double clothesline
0 0 1 2 Rhino's Gore spear
0 0 1 2 Nova's One-Armed Bandit
0 0 1 2 Minoru Tanaka's Minoru Special
0 0 1 2 Mick Foley's Double Arm DDT
0 0 1 2 Meng's Tongan Death Grip
0 0 1 2 Logan Caine's Split Legged uranage
0 0 1 2 Kyoko Inoue's Niagara Driver
0 0 1 2 Kwee-wee's tilt-a-round faceslam
0 0 1 2 Kuishinbo Kamen's Skytwister Press
0 0 1 2 Jushin Liger's Shotay
0 0 1 2 Jun Akiyama's Exploder wrist-suplex
0 0 1 2 Jerry Lynn's Ligerbomb
0 0 1 2 Goldberg's pumphandle throw
0 0 1 2 Edge's Downward Spiral
0 0 1 2 Chuck Palumbo's "double underhook sitdown Pedigree thing" (?)
0 0 1 2 Chris Jerichos' Lionsault quebrada
0 0 1 2 Cat's Feliner kick
0 0 1 2 Buff Bagwell's Buff Blockbuster
0 0 1 2 Bradshaw's Clothesline from Hell lariat
0 0 1 2 Ape Virgon's Top Rope Attack
REJECTED - no performer named (or no move named)
2 0 1 huracanrana
2 0 0 spear
1 0 2 Anything involving...
1 0 1 Exploder
1 0 0 hammerlock
1 0 0 Steve Austin's twenty foot drop from crane (ineligible time)
1 0 0 springboard shooting star press
1 0 0 snapmare
1 0 0 senton
1 0 0 SVT (?)
1 0 0 STF
1 0 0 handspring elbow
1 0 0 German suplex
1 0 0 Chris Benoit
0 1 1 Molly Holly's somersault Thesz press (ineligible time)
0 1 0 snap spinebuster
0 1 0 single arm DDT
0 1 0 powerbomb
0 1 0 frog splash
0 1 0 Frankensteiner
0 1 0 Death Valley Driver
0 0 1 T-Bone suplex
0 0 1 moonsault
0 0 1 Japanese Powerbomb
0 0 1 Caliente's Mexican Surfboard (ineligible time)
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: Undertaker possesses the ultimate wedgie
experience.....just ask Kurt Angle. Angle liked it so much he asked for
seconds.
HIRO: Like category 12, this one was a tough choice. Rikishi's splash from
the top of the cage was a classic (why wasn't he nominated for Best
Flyer?). Either one of Benoit's move could have taken the top spot, I just
picked the Dragon Suplex 'cos it's the hardest to execute properly and the
fact that no one in the WWF has yet to steal it. Jericho's tope rope rana
is another good one. Honorable mentions includes the locomotion German
suplex into Crippler crossface that Benoit did on Rock which sadly wasn't
in a match, Jeff Hardy's top ladder swanton onto Buh Buh laid out on a
table and Lo Down's superplex/frog splash combo which is creative in a way
but too hard to setup.
OTTO HEUER: Best Wrestling Move--Though it's always tyempting to give all
three to various Benoit moves, he has held my interest a bit less since
being "diluted" by the WWF. He's still one of my four faves to watch
(along with Tajiri, Kid Kash, and Kaz), but he uses the top rope headbutt
*too* often now, making it less "special". Both Kaz and Kash have matches
where I'm shaking my head wondering how they're still alive, but no
*particular* move stands out in my mind. On the other hanb, each of the
following three have signature moves that I anticipate and then mark out
for: 1st: Yoshihiro Tajiri's Tarantula rope-assisted crab (as well as his
whip into the ropes with a handspring in the middle, and also his stiff
kicks (even if he IS slapping his tights)) 2nd: Essa Rios' over the
turnbuckles somersault plancha 3rd: Chris Benoit's diving headbutt
DEAN RASMUSSEN: Mariko Yoshida's Air Raid Crash- sultry, sexy spider
outfit; vulnerable yet intense look in her eye- like a little girl with a
gun in her hand; Yoshida pulls the trigger and her opponents neck gets
compressed into a tiny block of bone and cartilage. What could be better
than that in this world of worlds?
JUSTIN McGROTTY: While not the most exciting move of the year, in the past
year, the places that Jeff Hardy has done the Swanton Bomb from earns him
the top vote in this category.
MARK POLISHUK: I know kicks aren't technically "moves," but when Tajiri
does them....my god. Stiffness rules.
J3R CR0WE: The Crossface is a deadly move when done correctly, and how
many other wrestlers have stolen the move? 3 or 4, if I'm correct.
Everyone wants to be like the Crippler! The Swanton is always something to
behold, and Lo Down's finisher is really good too.
ROBERT STRUPP: The best damn dropkick in wrestling! Benoit's dragon suplex
just looks so scary looking. Tajiri's Tarantula is just really cool
looking also.
MICHAEL STAKELY: I would have voted for one of the Hardy boy's moves but I
never can remember what is what due to dumbass names like a Lilting Breeze
of Literary Merit.
SCOTT W.: The Dudley Death Drop is awesome. It is the best double team
move I have seen. Tajirir's kicks are just insane and the cradle
PileDriver is just a cool modified version of a believable finisher. I
wonder if Jerry Lynn would go to the WWF with the insane rule that
piledrivers are illegal?
JOHN C.: Since this is the year of Triple H, I have to give credit to the
WWF for making his finisher into the most deadly move in wrestling. Who
could ever forget the Pedigree through the table that gave Kurt Angle a
concussion during Summerslam? I think the WWF did a great job in making
the crossface a credible finishing move even though Benoit never did force
a big name to tap out to it in a big PPV match. Still, they did more for
the move in eight months than WCW did in four years. I'll never forget the
Dean Malenko Super Implant DDT on Scott Taylor from Backlash earlier this
year. Even though I only saw it once, that made the list just ahead of
Jerry Lynn's cradle piledriver and Tajiri's Tarantula.
GREG NECASTRO: Lita throws her entire body into this move. No one does it
like her.
JOSEPH MICELI: No matter how many times i see these moves, i still get
pumped
MATTHEW HUBARTT: This is for sheer pop value - nothing pops the crowd
quite like a Stunner or a People's Elbow. Benoit's triple Suplex auf
Deutsch is damn impressive.
TONY LING: Gotta love the rolling suplexes. I voted for the Last Ride
because UT really makes that sucker look like it hurts like hell.
JEB LUND: Jericho’s top-rope is the prettiest I’ve seen. Instead of
immediately flinging himself back off the top rope, he goes high up
first... leaving you wondering for just another second which wrestler will
take control. It’s dramatic; it’s solid; it’s great. I wanted to vote for
Benoit’s Dragon Suplex, too, but had to go with the acrobats.
ANDY P. GOSS: The key to a move being great is that it's a move no one
else can pull off -- and each of these moves fit the bill. Chris Benoit
is about the only person who would dare use a dragon suplex. Dean
Malenko's DDT from Backlash is a legit finisher, and I'm surprised he
doesn't use it more often. Side note: Scott Taylor has cojones for
agreeing to sell that sucker. And as for the Sky Twister, well, the only
time I saw it was 1995, and it's still an impressive move, so I figured,
why not?
STEPHEN TISZENKEL: People don't even pay attention to this anymore, but
the Pedigree is still a great, great move. That move looks like it could
seriously do some permanent damage. It's a miracle somebody hasn't been
paralyzed.
JON WALTON: The first time I saw Dragon Kid's 450 Hurricarana I had my
mouth open for a solid minute. That alone is enough to gain him this
award.
JONAH ROSCH: This one was kindof easy for me. I saw Kid Kash's mid-air
huracanrana live in Philadelphia against EZ Money and had no idea what I
saw, cause what I thought I saw was impossible. The next week, I got to
see on television what actually happened, and what the move actually was.
I still was impressed. One of the most impressive moves I've ever seen,
not in terms of danger, but in terms of sheer timing and coordination. I
have no idea how he pulls that one off.
JAMES HOWARD: When I'm eighty years old, I won't remember my own name or
the names of those around me. But I *will* remember the look on Psicosis'
face just before Yoshihiro Tajiri caved his brains in. And that's all I
will need. :)
GEORGE JOHNSON: I really thought Malenko killed Scotty 2 Hotty with that
super DDT.
DAVE B: NOBODY AND I MEAN NOBODY GETS UP FROM THE PEDIGREE!!
JOE GAGNE: The Dudley Death Drop looks great and always gets the crowd
fired up. Ricky Marvin?s springboard corkscrew plancha was this year?s
"holy shit" move. I didn?t think Dragon Kid?s 450 ?Rana was feasible
until I saw him snap it off.
JEREMY SORIA: Can you tell I've gotten hard for Chris Benoit this year?
DOMINIC SEIBERT: Best Wrestling Move (con't.) -- Unfortunately, I haven't
seen all of these so my voting may be somewhat uninformed: 4th: Chris
Jericho's Top Rope Hurricanrana -- It's so good a move only a few
wrestlers can have it done to them. 5th: Dragon Kid's 450 hurricanrana --
Again, I've never seen this move, but I know what a hurricanrana is, and I
know what 450 is, and I can only imagine. I shiver just thinking about
it. Same reason as Bloody's move above. 6th: (write-in) Mike Awesome's
Awesomebomb from in the ring to the floor -- I can't even fathom being on
the other end of it and surviving. 7th: Jeff Hardy's Barricade Run -- It's
so good, the WWF changed their barricades to accommodate it. 8th:
Rikishi's splash from stage/top of cage -- Same reason as Awesome's above.
9th: Lita's hurricanrana -- Brought life back to the Women's division in
one move. 10th: Rob Van Dam's Van Daminator/Terminator -- Still looks like
he causes a concussion every time. Honorable Mentions: Undertaker's Last
Ride powerbomb/Jerry Lynn's cradle piledriver/Jun Akiyama's cradle
tombstone -- all deserve credit for new and interesting variations on old
moves.
NATHAN LONEY: Benoit's locomotion suplex is a thing of beauty. It doesn't
end a match, but when he can sling around somebody like The Rock with a
set of rolling german suplexes, it doesn't need to be a finisher.
Tajiri's kicks make me shudder. Brutal and yet beautiful in one fell
swoop, his stiff kicks get a response from the crowd every time. I've
seen Malenko's DDT from the top rope once (when he defended the LHW title
against Scotty), but goddammit, I wanna see it some more. Wicked, wicked
move.
BILL LEHECKA: It's a shame the main eventers don't sell Benoit's finisher
as well as they should. The Crossface should be a killer. Fans should
fear for its usage. I don't get that feeling with the fans on TV, but I
still like the move anyway.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Jeff Hardy's Swanton Bomb is the most breathtakingly
amazing sight I've ever seen. The mind just boggles at the thought that
the guy does it several hundred times a year! Chris Benoit's dragon suplex
was always one of my favourite moves, and, dammit, I've missed being able
to vote for it. The Hardyz' Poetry In Motion gets third. I've no idea why,
but I always seem to mark out for that move.
THE TALBOTS: Dean Malenko's DDT of death is still THE Holy Shit moment of
2000. It overtakes the cell bump by Cactus Jack simply because the move by
Malenko was completely unexpected. Everyone knew that Foley was going to
outdo himself in the Cell match somehow.
OCTAVIAN: Dean Malenko's super implant DDT was one of the most incredible
sights on PPV this year.
TANVIR RAQUIB: Chris Daniels makes the Pedrigee look third rate in
comparison to his Angel Wings. Dragon suplexes are things of beauty -
Benoit does those SO FUCKIN' WELL. Lo Down's appearances on low-level WWF
programming have been well worth it when they've actually won - their
finisher has to be SEEN TO BE BELIEVED.
RAVI MISRA: The double Rock Bottom was one of the most innovative ways to
destroy an announce table I've ever seen. It was a great spot in a great
match, and the fact that it hasn't been used since shows that certain
spots are like fine wines. When Farooq blew his Dominator on Hardy, I
seriously thought the Jeff was dead, and for the moment the "if you see it
on TV it's a work" rule was suspended b/c of how deadly it looked.
MIKE PLYLEY: The Tarantula is really like nothing I've ever seen before.
It's one of the only truly innovative moves to come into North American
wrestling in the last couple of years. And I just love Christian's
tomokaze, since it's a finisher that actually looks VERY inescapable and
painful.
TOM CRUZ: I laugh like a maniac every time Benoit hooks on the Crossface.
That is just one vicious looking move. Hopefully one day the Rock will
actually sell it. The Burning Hammer is just all kinds of awesome due to
it's amazingly high hurty factor. And none can withstand the power of the
Swinging Branch Punch. KEN THE BOX FOREVER
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: A great highspot, good ol' stiff kicks, and an
incredible tag team finisher.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Match
Award Description:
To be given to the best wrestling match you've seen this year, either live,
on TV, PPV, or in an arena, or on tape. If it took place in the past year,
it is eligible. In 1994, this award was split into three: North American,
Non-North American, and overall. In 1997, due to lack of participation on
both the NA and non-NA sides, it was recombined.
Previous Winners:
1990: 04/22/90: Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart vs. Marty Janetty & Shawn
Michaels (SNME)
1991: 03/21/91: Steiners vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Hiroshi Hase (Tokyo, aired
on taped PPV)
1992: 01/18/92: Royal Rumble (Royal Rumble)
1993: 10/24/93: Cactus Jack vs. Big Van Vader (Halloween Havoc)
1994: (overall/NA) 03/20/94: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (WrestleMania)
1994: (non-NA) 04/16/94: Chris Benoit vs. Great Sasuke (Super J Cup)
1995: (overall/NA) 08/27/95: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (SummerSlam)
1995: (non-NA) 11/20/94: Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota (AJW V*TOP Tourney)
1996: (overall/NA) 03/31/96: Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania)
1996: (non-NA) 03/17/96: Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Otani
1997: 10/05/97: Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker (Hell in the Cell cage)
1998: 06/28/98: Undertaker v. Mankind (Hell in the Cell cage)
1999: 10/17/99: Brood (Matt & Jeff Hardy) v. Edge & Christian (ladder)
**2000**: 08/27/00: Edge & Christian v. Hardy Boyz v. Dudley Boyz (tag TLC)
(SummerSlam)
543 first place votes
506 second place votes
499 third place votes
132 77 47 985 08/27/00 Edge & Christian v. Hardy Boyz v. Dudley Boyz (Tag TLC)
79 41 40 598 01/23/00 Triple H v. Cactus Jack (WWF Street Fight)
54 54 37 506 02/27/00 Triple H v. Cactus Jack (WWF Hell in the Cell)
45 51 47 472 05/21/00 Rock v. Triple H (WWF Iron Man)
40 52 31 418 04/02/00 Dudley Boyz v. Hardy Boyz v. Edge & Christian (tag ladder)
25 24 30 257 07/23/00 Triple H v. Chris Jericho (Last Man Standing)
20 24 27 226 02/07/00 Triple H & X-Pac & Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn v. Rock & Cactus Jack & Rikishi Phatu & Too Cool (RAW)
18 21 24 201 10/22/00 Triple H v. Chris Benoit
11 11 23 134 09/25/00 Hardy Boyz v. Edge & Christian (tag ladder Raw)
15 7 5 106 05/25/00 Steve Regal v. Chris Benoit (Pillman)
7 12 13 97 08/27/00 Chris Benoit v. Chris Jericho (2/3)
13 2 8 87 01/23/00 Hardy Boyz v. Dudley Boyz (table)
8 7 11 83 04/17/00 Triple H v. Chris Jericho (WWF RAW)
4 11 11 75 04/10/00 Triple H v. Taka Michinoku (WWF RAW)
5 5 13 66 04/30/00 Dean Malenko v. Scotty 2 Hotty (Lt. Hvy.)
5 8 7 63 12/31/99 Masato Tanaka v. Mike Awesome (ECW ECW on TNN)
7 4 4 55 03/17/00 Atlantis v. Villano III (mascara contra mascara)
1 12 7 55 12/24/99 Mike Awesome v. Masato Tanaka (ECW ECW on TNN)
5 4 6 49 08/26/00 Psicosis v. Yoshihiro Tajiri (ECW Hardcore TV)
2 5 12 49 05/21/00 Chris Benoit v. Chris Jericho (IC submission)
4 4 5 42 01/02/00 Ryuji Yamakawa v. Tomoaki Honma (Spike Nail & Barbed Wire Board Death Match)
2 6 5 38 07/23/00 Rock v. Chris Benoit (WWF)
2 7 1 33 02/27/00 Mitsuharu Misawa v. Jun Akiyama
3 2 4 29 04/02/00 Triple H v. Rock v. Big Show v. Mick Foley (WWF)
2 2 6 28 04/02/00 Kurt Angle v. Chris Benoit v. Chris Jericho (IC Euro 2 falls)
1 4 5 27 09/08/00 Yoshihiro Tajiri & Mikey Whipwreck v. Full Blooded Italians (tag)
2 5 0 25 05/14/00 Jerry Lynn v. Rob Van Dam
2 1 6 25 12/19/99 Chris Benoit v. Jeff Jarrett (US ladder)
3 3 0 24 12/11/99 Ayako Hamada & Akino v. Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita (Twinstar of ARSION Title Carnival ARSION '99)
1 3 5 24 06/12/00 Triple H v. Chris Jericho (WWF RAW)
2 0 2 14 07/09/00 Booker T. v. Jeff Jarrett (WCW)
0 2 4 14 04/30/00 Triple H v. Rock (WWF)
1 0 3 11 11/07/99 Mike Awesome v. Masato Tanaka (ECW)
0 1 4 11 10/22/00 Rock v. Kurt Angle (WWF no DQ)
2 0 0 10 07/09/00 Jeff Jarrett v. Hulk Hogan (WCW)
0 2 2 10 05/14/00 Yoshihiro Tajiri v. Steve Corino
0 2 2 10 05/14/00 Mayumi Ozaki v. Kaoru
1 0 2 9 02/27/00 EWF Battle Royal
1 0 2 9 02/13/00 Aja Kong v. Kaoru (AAAW)
0 1 3 9 01/21/00 Yoshihiro Tajiri v. Super Crazy (ECW on TNN Mexican Death Match)
1 1 0 8 04/30/00 Chris Benoit v. Chris Jericho (IC)
1 1 0 8 03/27/00 Mitsuharu Misawa v. Toshiaki Kawada
0 2 1 8 09/24/00 Kurt Angle v. Triple H
0 2 1 8 04/15/00 Kenta Kobashi v. Takao Omori (Carnival Final)
0 1 2 7 09/24/00 Edge & Christian v. Hardy Boyz (tag cage)
0 2 0 6 08/07/00 Booker T. v. Lance Storm (WCW Nitro)
0 2 0 6 06/25/00 Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhiko Takaiwa v. Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto (IWGP Jr. Hvywt. Tag)
0 2 0 6 01/04/00 Super Delfin v. Dick Togo
1 0 0 5 ??/??/?? Trent Acid v. Ric Blade & Nick Mondo (CZW Rules Were Made To Be Broken)
1 0 0 5 ??/??/?? EZ Money v. Kid Kash (ECW Hardcore TV... their first meeting)
1 0 0 5 12/08/99 Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa v. Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita (tag 2/3)
1 0 0 5 11/21/99 Bret Hart v. Chris Benoit (WCW final)
1 0 0 5 09/17/00 Scott Steiner v. Goldberg
1 0 0 5 09/15/00 Justin Credible v. Steve Corino (ECW)
1 0 0 5 09/15/00 Aja Kong & Dynamite Kansai v. Crush Gals
1 0 0 5 06/08/00 Matt Hardy v. Eddie Guerrero (KOR Qualifier SmackDown!)
1 0 0 5 04/11/00 Mitsuharu Misawa v. Kenta Kobashi (Carny)
1 0 0 5 04/03/00 Jushin Liger v. Tiger Mask
1 0 0 5 04/--/00 Blue Panther v. Hijo del Santo
1 0 0 5 03/27/00 H v. Kyoko Inoue
0 1 1 5 ??/??/00 Triple H v. Hardcore Holly (Heat)
0 1 1 5 03/27/00 Artist v. Mike Modest (nontitle Nitro)
0 0 2 4 05/14/00 Aja Kong v. Meiko Satomura
0 0 2 4 04/19/00 Kenta Kobashi v. Mitsuharu Misawa
0 1 0 3 ??/??/?? Xplosive Wrestling's Kingpin v. Hades
0 1 0 3 ??/??/?? Jushin Liger v. Great Sasuke
0 1 0 3 08/27/00 Shane McMahon v. Steve Blackman (HC)
0 1 0 3 07/16/00 Rob Van Dam v. Scotty Anton
0 1 0 3 05/05/00 Hayabusa v. Masato Tanaka
0 1 0 3 04/??/00 Mike Awesome v. Tazz (ECW)
0 1 0 3 03/25/00 Kazunari Murakami & Alexander Otsuka v. Naoki Sano & Yuki Ishikawa
0 1 0 3 01/09/00 Cima v. Minoru Fujita
0 1 0 3 01/03/00 Kevin Nash & Scott Steiner v. David Flair & Crowbar (Nitro tag final)
0 0 1 2 Akiyama wins NOAH crown (?)
0 0 1 2 ??/??/?? Lo Down v. Essa Rios & Funaki (Jakked?)
0 0 1 2 10/23/00 Crowbar v. Vampiro (Nitro)
0 0 1 2 10/01/00 Lincoln McIlravy v. Daniel Igali (Australia)
0 0 1 2 09/26/00 Hayabusa v. Kodo Fuyuki
0 0 1 2 08/13/00 Booker T. v. Jeff Jarrett (WCW)
0 0 1 2 08/05/00 Akira Taue & Mitsuharu Misawa v. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama
0 0 1 2 07/23/00 Val Venis v. Rikishi (IC cage)
0 0 1 2 06/25/00 Val Venis v. Eddie Guerrero (KOR Quarter)
0 0 1 2 06/12/00 Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley v. Lita (Women's RAW)
0 0 1 2 05/07/00 David Arquette v. Diamond Dallas Page v. Jeff Jarrett (WCW Ready to Rumble Cage^3)
0 0 1 2 04/30/00 Eddie Guerrero v. Essa Rios (Euro)
0 0 1 2 04/02/00 Terri v. Kat
0 0 1 2 04/02/00 Kane v. Pete Rose (iffy)
0 0 1 2 04/02/00 Edge and Christian v. Dudley Boyz v. Hardy Boyz (tag ladder)
0 0 1 2 03/12/00 Ikuto Hidaka v. Katsumi Usuda
0 0 1 2 01/30/00 Minoru Tanaka v. Naoki Sano
0 0 1 2 01/04/00 Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka v. Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murakami
REJECTED - not in time period
1 2 0 "Any match with..." votes
1 0 2 11/20/00 Steve Austin v. Chris Benoit (RAW)
0 1 2 "Tie" votes
1 0 0 11/19/00 Triple H v. Steve Austin (no DQ)
1 0 0 11/09/97 Bret Hart v. Shawn Michaels (WWF)
0 1 1 11/26/00 Booker T. v. Scott Steiner (WCW caged heat)
0 0 1 Triple H & King Kurt Angle (Raw is War) (not a match, or incomplete vote?)
0 0 1 Triple H v. Chris Benoit v. Rock (not a match?)
0 0 1 01/19/92 Thirty man Royal Rumble
HIRO: Another category that is hard to pick! Basically, this year we've
been deluged by a lot of quality matches in the WWF alone! Benoit and
Jericho's most recent match was the best among their numerous matchups
this year. Cactus Jack's farewell match was awesome and also showed some
quality blading by Triple H. The TLC match will hopefully be the end of
these tag team spotfests, as I'm personally getting tired of these type of
matches. Also, honorable mentions to the other Benoit vs. Jericho matches
(as well as their Wrestlemania triple threat with Kurt Angle), the other
Cactus Jack vs Triple H match, the Judgment Day Iron Man match, the WM
Main Event, Jericho vs Triple H, Benoit vs Triple H, Rock vs Benoit and
not forgetting the Pillman show match between Benoit and Regal.
DEAN RASMUSSEN: Steve Regal v. Chris Benoit was like Dick Murdock vs
Harley Race in 1978 but with bigger moves. Same psychology and same
selling and same level of true respect for the art of Professional
Wrestling. Ryuji Yamakawa v. Tomoaki Honma was the best deathmatch ever in
the history of garbage wrestling. Just a fucking harrowing wrestling
match. Beats anything I ever saw. Aja Kong v. Meiko Satomura was Aja
showing that she is the best wrestler in the world. She is now the Jumbo
Tsuruta of Joshi and Meiko is enough of a distaff young Misawa to make
this match work. Big time match and Aja pulls the trigger and delivers the
goods like the great ones do.
CHRIS BIRD: It wasn't as prominent as some of the other great matches this
year, but Chris Benoit vs. Triple H at No Mercy was just straightforward
WRESTLING and it kicked ass on many many levels, so I will give it my
number one vote because I liked it best. Second place goes to the brutal
Hell in the Cell match that ended Cactus Jack's career (in the good way)
at No Way Out and hopefully eclipses the crap KOTR Hell in the Cell of
1998. Third place goes to my sentimental favorite: the ten-man tag from
RAW, which was near-perfect, good and long, and best of all was on FREE
TELEVISION, a trend that should be encouraged.
J3R CR0WE: The Iron Man match was just something special. Never have I
been so captivated by a match that went over 25 minutes. It was really
great booking and even greater wrestling. The TLC match totally topped the
WM2K tag ladder match, but it wasn't as good as the ladder match from No
Mercy 1999.
ROBERT STRUPP: This was the hardest category to pick, and I'm interested
to see how the vote comes out. I picked the Rock-HHH Iron Man match,
because not many people expected it to be good, it was a gimmick match
that hadn't been done in almost 4 years, and was done to almost
perfection. Both the Rock and Hunter expanded their movesets, which nobody
thought they could or would do. Both guys also used the hour to build a
psychologically deep match. The Radicalz/HHH-Rock/Foley/2 Cool match was
amazing, and had the SUPER hot crowd behind it. Seeing the Radicalz work a
WWF Main Event as a team was fantastic also, and, workrate wise, the 10
man tag set up kept the rest holds and the lull points to a minimum. The
Tag Ladder match at Wrestlemania gets the nod for third, but only by the
narrowest of margins. HHH-Foley No Holds Barred, HHH-Foley Hell in the
Cell, Dudleyz/Hardyz/E&C TLC match, and the Jericho-Benoit submission
match also got consideration from me.
BEN WEINER: That part where Jeff does the swanton on Bubba and misses
still sticks out in my head.
DEVON: Ironically, my choice for match of the year never happened,
according to the storyline. There were a few matches that had better
wrestling than Jericho vs. Triple H, but none had the buildup of heat that
went into it, and none could match its excitement. The crowd hung on
every move and went nuts througout the match. They nearly blew the roof
off the place when Jericho "won" the WWF title. The ten-man tag and TLC
match were also standouts.
ALEX GIPSON: I absolutely loved HHH-Cactus from WWF Royal Rumble this
year. With a great storyline, extremely hot crowd, and the WWF Title on
the line, these two could have simply gone out under normal stipulations
and delivered a solid title match. With the Street Fight stipulation
added, however, this match proved a number of things. It re-established
Mick Foley as a great storyteller and re-ignited the Cactus Jack
character. It was, for me, the match where Triple H finally proved to the
world that he deserves the position he is in, utilitizing a terrific
storyline, a selfless opponent, and a tenacity for brawling that rivaled
that of his legendary opponent. To my recollection, it was the first time
in a very long time where a heel was able to win a high-profile title
match in a clean manner, while still being able to maintain the integrity
of him opponent. One of the loudest pops I've ever heard was after Cactus
kicked out of the first Pedigree, and I've yet to hear anything else this
year, not even the return of Steve Austin, that has been able to match it.
Finally, I think that the match restored integrity to the WWF World
Heavyweight Title itself, as the majority of the year 1999 saw several
hotshot title switches, and as the year came to a close, the title was put
on the backburner as the Big Show lingered against midcarders during the
early quarter hours of Smackdown every week. Within the span of a month,
the WWF Title went from perhaps its lowest point in modern years (Big Show
vs. Big Boss Man) to one of its most memorable reigns in modern memory.
(Triple H's third reign from January to April). This match solidified
Triple H as the real deal, and once again made the championship seem
important again, all while proving once again how selfless Mick Foley is.
No other match this year has been so important, and, to be honest, it has
to rank as one of the absolute best matches I have ever seen. My secondary
picks included Triple H vs. The Rock from Judgment Day, as this match
proved just how good both can be, and hopefully put a silencer on several
nay-sayers out there. Deserving an honorable mention is Benoit vs.
Jericho vs. Angle from Wrestlemania, as it not only ranks as an
outstanding match, but also should serve as a preview of what I hope will
be a rematch in the very near future, this time with the WWF Title at
stake.
CHRIS OSTER: It's a testament to the unbelievable match quality at the top
of the card in the WWF that this category was so difficult to call. I had
trouble narrowing this down to a dozen, much less three. HHH/Foley III in
Hell in the Cell wasn't quite as visually arresting as some of the tag
matches, but it told a story better than any match this year. (I didn't
see the Rumble match, so I can't comment on it.) The TLC match was one of
the most mind-blowing things I've ever seen. And the Ironman match
exceeded everyone's expectations - Triple H and the Rock did an amazing
job at selling an unsellable match in this day and age.
EDC: Best Match was the Royal Rumble Brawl at MSG, even with the rigged
barbwire. Just as violent as Jack got, Thumb tacks, Blood everwhere, HHH
getting stabbed in the leg with a broken piece of wood, 2 Peidgrees, one
resulting in Jack getting a Thumbtack in his eye, etc. Two greats really
going overboard in a PPV in which they werent even headlining. Awesome.
KATE MARTIN: Best matches comment: Yes, I am a lame mark. So sue me.
DUDICALY2K: BEST MATCH: The Rocky/HHH Iron Man match was an incredibly fun
match that resembled the classic Duke/Kentucky basketball game from 1991
than any other match I can think of. Two rivals going at it in an even
battle, complete with an air-horn. Thoroughly enjoyable from start to
59:30, or whenever the UT made his return.
GREGG MIXDORF: This was very difficult to chose. What was the best match
of the year? I'm not even really sure since it is all so close. There
are about 7 or 8 matches in the WWF alone this year that could be called
match of the year. So this year I just picked my favorites out of that
bunch. Unlike last year where there was a dearth of great matches in the
United States to chose from. Really only 3. The in ring product this
year has vastly improved from last year and as a fan I'm most
appreciative. Hopefully they can keep this great wrestling up.
DANIEL HERMAN: There is no question in my mind that the Benoit v. Regal
match was the best match of the year. It was also probably the best
US-style match in a long time. The art of wrestling is not dead as long as
these two are still allowed to work and reeducate the audience as they go.
This was a beautiful wrestling match, no SE needed. The Villano v.
Atlantis match was virtually non-stop Lucha mat-goodness with more drama
than anything but the HHH v. Foley feud and even that's questionable. The
EWF Battle Royal gets my #3, just because.
SCOTT W.: The best matches were the TLC Match, the Triangle Ladder match,
and the Hell in the Cell this year. Gee, all 3 were in the WWF. How does
that happen?
CHANCE50JR: The WWF really returned to wrestling, well, comparatively
speaking. My top 3 were HHH/Jericho-Last Man Standing, The 10-man tag
from RAW (2/7/00) and Malenko/Hotty from Backlash. I also thought
Rock/HHH from Backlash was great (hell, HHH v. the Brooklyn Brawler from
Smackdown was awesome). Even Steve Blackman v. Both Hardyz (individually)
for a TV match was great. I just think there were too many damn awesome
matches this year to pick only three. Oh- and I'm leaving out all the
damn ladder matches!
DONNIE VOMIT: The TLC match was just so damn amazing. Every minute, a
Dudley or Hardy Boy died. Every three, Edge and/or Christian spiked their
gonads on a foreign object. It was truly a thing of beauty, even though
the eventual Hardy Boyz title win wouldn't have been so anticlimactic had
they just won this match. Mick and HHH has the hottest fued emotion wise
in years, and this match was the apex of it all. Extreme violence, fat men
falling through cages... it was awesome, dood! And the RAW match between
the Radz, HHH, X-Pac, The Rock, Too Cool, Rikishi and Mick was the loudest
damn crowd I've heard outside of Canadian Stampede. I'd have to say that
was a fun match to watch, simply because of the heat (it was a good match
to boot).
MARCUS SPARKS: No contest here. The TLC match was simply the best match
to watch. Put Cactus Jack in his element against a person willing to work
that style and you're going to always have something amazing to see.
TAKA Michinoku got the best work of the year out of Triple H and put on a
hell of a match to boot.
JOHN C.: Choosing a winner for this category was very difficult because
there were several matches that stood out in my mind. In the end, my top
match was Triple H vs. Cactus Jack from the Royal Rumble in a magnificent
brawl that featured great heat, psychology and the kind of brutality that
makes you appreciate everything that wrestlers do for the fans. It was a
terrific start to what would be a memorable year of WWF PPV matches. The
TLC match at Summerslam was also memorable as six guys did everything they
could to put on a show for the fans and they delivered. At Judgment Day,
Triple H & The Rock proved to the world that they are the best overall
wrestlers in the business by busting their ass for sixty minutes in a
match that few people thought they could pull off. It was excellent even
though I am not a big fan of the Undertaker run-in finish deciding the
title. Other memorable matches included HHH/Jericho from Fully Loaded, the
ten man tag from Raw in February, Rock/Benoit from Fully Loaded and the
HIAC match from No Way Out that ended Mick Foley's career.
MATTHEW HUBARTT: #2 - Despite the non-finish - this was easily the best
match on free TV this year.
REISMARK: I'm going against convention - Iron Man over TLC! Seriously, you
gotta consider the scale of importance here. Yes, the TLC match had some
INSANE spots, but it only lasted twenty minutes. The Iron Man match was 1
HOUR of classic old-school wrestling and featured not only the Undertaker
returning but the Rock proving he could actually WRESTLE. Triple H is God.
TONY LING: The IronMan was great both because everything was perfect (even
the ending-c'mon, only the most hardened smark didn't at least mark out a
little when UT destroyed everyone) and because it defied so many
expectations from said smarks who thought it wouldn't be good. There were
a lot of better matches than Scotty vs Dean, but that one is one of my
personal favorites so I voted for it. Commenting is long and boring, so
I'll stop here.
AL RITCHIE: I haven't watched enough PPVs to render an honest judgement.
I know you're disappointed.
ANDY P. GOSS: The first two matches on my ballot -- Benoit/Jarrett from
Starrcade and Malenko/Taylor from Backlash -- were matches I was there
for. Both were incredible, and people were on their feet most of the time
during those matches. The ladder match wins out because of Taylor's worm
gaffe (hopping on the wrong, ie injured, leg). Meanwhile, the TNN Tag
match was spectacular on the part of all four men and features two of the
top five tag teams going.
DARREN MANTLE: HHH/Taka - I haven't marked out on a match that badly in
years
JON WALTON: While maybe not the technically best match, the
Radicalz/Triple H vs Cactus/Rikishi/Rock/2 Cool match was easily the best
combination of sharp ring work and extreme crowd heat in North America
this year. If wrestling was that good every week I don't think I'd ever
feel like I needed to miss it.
EZE4DA3747: Please watch this if you have it cause this is a great match
with one of the most deadliest moves I have ever seen, I swear to god
Scotty Too Hotty must've died and been reborn cause the top rope DDT he
recieves from Malenko just looked too real.
JONAH ROSCH: Toughest time I've had with this category in years. (mostly
cause I was only renting available PPVs). There were about ten matches
that easily would have been top matches in past years for me. 3rd place I
had to give it to Benoit vs Jarret - Ladder Match. Two wrestlers who I
never thought would work well together were superb, and for once Benoit
was allowed to really shine in a match. And I loved the Iron Man match
between Triple-H and The Rock, enough to give it 2nd place, but not enough
wow factor. I gave 1st place to the Masato Tanaka vs Mike Awesome match,
where Awesome regained the ECW World Title. A tremendous match with tons
of false finishes, teases, where every minute each wrestler would increase
the level of their moves even more. May be the last great ECW World Title
match we ever see.
DREW HUNT: In my mind, the best match has to take fully into account the
crowd (and my) reaction, which explains the HHH-Jericho match. But I
think HHH-Taka really was one of the best matches ever.
LOSIFER: The WWF main events from January to April were the some of the
best matches I've seen not just this year, but in my life. The HHH v.
Foley series were not only "technically" good, but also part of an
extremely emotionally involving storyline.
EDDIE BURKETT: Triple H is THE GAME!!! 'nuff said. Seriously, though.
There were a TON of good matches in the WWF this year. This was the
hardest category to pick. The Rock had some Rockin' matches too, and its
a shame I couldn't vote for them.
JAMES HOWARD: The Best Match of the Year. I didn't know what I was going
to pick, so I closed my eyes and let my brain come up with the answer. And
my brain instantly shot back to that night in April when, in the span of
thirty seconds, fourty thousand people in attendance and the entire world
watching on TV went from completely silent while watching the match in
front of them to jumping onto their feet and rallying behind TAKA
Michinoku's chance at the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Forget
everything else; *that* is what I think of when I think of the past year.
:)
JUST JEFF: How come the Lita vs Stephanie McMahon title match on RAW
wasn't included in the ballot? It may not have been all that spectacular
a match if you talk about wrestling, but from a storyline perspective +
crowd response they booked the match perfectly. The ratings certainly
justify it.
JUST JEFF: The tag ladder match on RAW makes my list, not just because of
the great workrate and chemistry the Hardys and the Maple Leaf Blondes
have in the ring, but also as a salute to them putting out another great
match on the night after that cage match they had on PPV. Edge's spear to
Jeff Hardy also gets HOLY SHIT honors from me for best spot on RAW.
GEORGE JOHNSON: The 10 man tag on the 2/7/00 RAW was one of the most
exciting TV matches I've ever seen.
JOE GAGNE: Gotta go with Atlantis/Villano III from the 3/17/00 CMLL show.
Nothing matched it for workrate, drama, and heat. The Triple H/Cactus
Jack match at No Way Out made the Hell in the Cell match special again,
and featured an absolutely heart-wrenching finale. The insanity and
effort that permeated the Summerslam TLC match easily made it the spotfest
of the year, and that?s saying something.
DAN HOWARD: Solely on the fact that it got rid of Hogan.
BOB MORRIS: I gave the nod to Triple H vs. Cactus Jack at the Royal Rumble
because it was what established HHH firmly as a top player in the WWF.
Just a fantastic brawl and well-paced match that kept you on the edge of
your seat. I probably would have given the nod to Benoit/Regal from the
Brian Pillman Memorial Show had I seen it, but becuase I didn't, the
HHH/Jack Rumble match gets my vote.
C READ: Could have included so many in my choices- the TLC match from
Summerslam, the HIAC from NWO, Rock/Benoit from Fully Loaded,
Benoit/Jericho from either Backlash/Summerslam but went with HHH/Foley
from the Rumble, Jericho/HHH from Fully Loaded and the 3 way ladder match
at WM 2000.
CHRISTOPHER SHEA: Tough decision here. The Judgment Day iron man match was
brilliantly booked, but the actual wrestling was nothing special. The
Cactus Jack/Triple H brawls were emotionally intense, but suffered badly
from Foley's deterioration; compare it to Triple H and Jericho's LMS match
to see what I mean. And the 10-man tag deserves credit because it was
kick-ass both in terms of excitement and workrate -- and because it was ON
FREE TV for a change.
JPM38: The 3-way insane Bump-fest at Summerslam gets my nod for match of
the year. The participants actually bettered their match at Wrestlemania,
which I didn't think was possible at the time. The HHH show continued in
the other slots, with the street fight going over the Iron Man match due
to the fact that it cemented Triple H as "The Game," and also because of
the wicked Pedigree that Cactus took on the tacks. The Iron Man would have
been higher if it had a non-screwy ending.
JEREMY SORIA: Gotta go with the flow here and get those six-man tag
matches on the list. The Benoit/Jericho match this summer was also a crowd
pleaser. Something that they could never do in WCW, and they did a nice
job with it.
RICK SCAIA: One week in May provided the wrestling year's two biggest
in-ring highlights, in my own damned opinion. The Rock vs. Triple H Iron
Man match on the WWF Judgment Day PPV was an incredible contest:
athletic, drama-laden, and with a great finish. It easily bests WM12's
Hart/Michaels match for "Best 60 Minute Match of the WWF's Modern Era."
Days later at the Brian Pillman Memorial show, Chris Benoit and Steven
(William) Regal put on an incredible match that signaled to the world that
Regal was back and ready for prime time; I was there in person, and have
got to say that this match has supplanted Benoit vs. Al Snow (ECW Arena,
Feb. '95) as the best technical match I've seen live. Third place in
Match of the Year voting goes to the mind-blowing spot-fest that was the
Hardy vs. Dudleys vs. Edge/Christian Tables/Ladders/Chairs match from
SummerSlam.
TROY OLSON: Honorable mention to the Mankind vs. Santa Clause match if for
no other reason than Teddy Long declaring the winner in a completely
monotone and unenthusiastic voice. "And your winner is=85Santa Clause."
Cmon Teddy, it's freaking Saint Nick, act like you care.
NATHAN LONEY: Triple H and Cactus Jack had a brutal, brutal match, with a
sick finish. When it was all said and done, the guy you wouldn't expect
to blade did, and the guy you thought had to win the match didn't.
Awesome match. Tajiri squashed Steve Corino... and I mean SQUASHED. It
was a brutal match, with Corino offering little resistance. He got some
token offense in, but the match ended up being a total blowoff. Malenko
and Scotty had a great match as well. Very good technical match, with
points deducted for Scotty doing the fricking worm ON HIS INJURED LEG!
BILL LEHECKA: I've never sat through a match with fear in my eyes like I
did with the TLC match at Summerslam. A spotfest, yes, but this was THE
ultimate spotfest. Edge & Christian and the Hardy Boyz had a great cage
match a month later, but it looked like dog shit compared to the TLC
match. I was fearing for many lives during this one.
MATT SPAULDING: Picking just three was impossible, but Dean and Scotty
get the nod for putting on a barnburner (and in the Light Heavyweight
division, of all places) with great wrestling and a finishing sequence
that rocked the house. Despite the ending, the Iron Man match was hotter
than hell and featured psychology not seen in America in years. Props to
the following: 07/23/00 Rock v. Chris Benoit (WWF) 05/21/00 Chris Benoit
v. Chris Jericho (IC submission) 08/27/00 Edge & Christian v. Hardy Boyz
v. Dudley Boyz (Tag TLC) 01/23/00 Triple H v. Cactus Jack (WWF Street
Fight) 02/07/00 Triple H & X-Pac & Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko & Perry
Saturn v. Rock & Cactus Jack & Rikishi Phatu & Too Cool (RAW). TV match of
the year, and reason enough to create a "Best TV Match" category. 05/25/00
Steve Regal v. Chris Benoit (Pillman). People I trust who were there said
this ruled Jupiter and nine of its moons. 08/27/00 Chris Benoit v. Chris
Jericho (two out of three falls)
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Well, the top matches of the year were clearly Triple H
vs. Cactus Jack (both of them), Triple H vs. Chris Jericho, and Triple H
vs. Chris Benoit. To be fair to all the others fine wrestlers in North
America though, I've decided to only vote for two of them. The matches
against Cactus are both slightly overrated, whereas the matches against
the two Chrises are slightly underrated, so Triple H/Jericho (last man
standing) and Triple H/Benoit get one and two. Sorry, Mick. And since I
want to reward E&C, the Hardyz and the Dudleys for some amazing work in
the WWF's tag division, number three goes to the TLC match at SummerSlam.
(I guess the fact that I was there live helps. :) Among the honourable
mentions are the other matches involving those three teams, the Triple
H/Rock matches, the Jericho/Benoit series, the Mike Awesome/Masato Tanaka
matches, and the FBI/Mikey and Tajiri. Lots of good stuff this year!
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Sure the TLC match was great and will probably win,
but these 3 matches worked the best for me. 3rd place: Those 4 guys worked
their asses off the night after they put themselves through hell and
deserve all kinds of credit. 2nd place: I was SURE Jeff was dead when he
did the Swantonbomb onto Buh-Buh off a ladder! 1st place: By far the most
shocking/amazing moment of the year. I was shouting at the top of my lungs
and pacing around because I couldn't believe that the WWF would do that.
Sure enough, they ruined it all 15 minutes later and then Y2J got shoved
back down the rankings.
RAVI MISRA: HHH/Cactus Jack (Hell in a cell) may be the greates match I
have ever seen. Not once did I think that HHH would win, let alone win
clean. The sendoff that Mick got and the stunned appreciation of those
watching the show represented the pinnacle of sports-entertainment. As
for my second place choice, the Tag TLC match, I am at a loss for
superlatives to describe the athleticism it takes to do what these guys
did.
ALEX CARNEVALE: Far and away the best match of the year was the Royal
Rumble streetfight. No match combines storyline, psychology, and
unbelievable brutality as did that match. Triple H cements his spot as
the WWF's top heel and Mick Foley turns out without a doubt his greatest
performance in the match of his career. *****, only because that's as
high as the scale goes. I chose what I thought was the best of the
Benoit-Jericho series, the 2/3 Falls at Summerslam, although I preferred
the match at Backlash until the disqualification finish. I did think this
feud produced better matches than the 1995 J-Cup match. Third place is a
crapshoot, because the three tag teams put up some good performances, and
I also loved the Benoit-HHH match at No Mercy. I gave the nod to the
spotfest just because no one will ever say Michaels-Ramon WM10 is the
greatest match in history after those exhibitions.
MIKE PLYLEY: I gave the ladder match at Wrestlemania the duke over the TLC
match at SummerSlam, just because the first one was the innovator, and one
of the most breathtaking matches I ever saw. I don't think anything those
teams do will ever top it. 2nd and 3rd I give to the two Triple H/Foley
matches that absolutely MADE one man's career, and ended another's in
style. Those two matches will definately be remembered for a long, long
time.
COLIN MacKINNON: Atlantis vs. Villano III from the 3/17 EMLL PPV was the
best match I've seen all year. You knew that this was going to be a huge
match, and both men didn't disappoint. This may be the last great match
of Villano III's career, but he (along with Atlantis) bust their asses off
right here. There's so much drama and emotion, from the opening bell to
the unmasking ceremony. And the match itself was so well worked. It
seemed that either man could win at any point in the match, which made
this so much fun to watch. A true classic.
TOM CRUZ: The Iron Man match ruled in all sorts of different ways. Triple
H was at the top of his game here, and the Rock finally proved to me that
he's capable of a good match when carried by the right guy. The stupid
ending wasn't enough to overshadow the 59 minutes of goodness that
preceeded it. Triple H vs Jericho in the Last Man Standing match was also
several different kinds of awesome. The finish for that match was just
incredible, and that's really the reason I voted for it. Triple H vs
Cactus Jack at the Royal Rumble was, in my mind, the match that announced
Triple H was here as a main eventer, and here to stay. Foley and Triple H
conspired to put together an epic match that is actually my most memorable
match of the year.
NICK RANGEL: Wow. They don't make matches like HHH V. Benoit anymore, and
maybe they should. Steve Corino claims to be the King of Old-School, but
he has nothing on Benoit. Benoit and HHH put on the sort of clinic not
seen in the WWF since Hart v. Hart.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: HHH sweeps here, thanks to his TREMENDOUS intense
brawl with Cactus, his ironman match with Rock that worked suprsingly
well, and a great match at No Mercy with Benoit. These matches brought
back psychology to WWF main events.
PHIL PRZYBYLO: HHH and Jack at the Rumble was one of the most brutal,
dramatic, and best matches I have ever seen. A main eventer like Foley
going down cleanly (but with a hell of a fight) made it legendary.
Jericho and HHH at Fully Loaded was the most dramatic match of the year,
but just a couple notches down on the content of the match. Rock and HHH
going an hour is a feat in itself. The fact that it contained plenty of
psychology and old school wrestling makes it third.
ROB "R2K" EVANS: Best Match - So many to choose from this year. Had to
give the nod to the trio of stellar PPV matches from the Hardyz, Duds, and
E&C (Table match, Ladder match, TLC match). Of course there was that
awesome Cage match too. And sprinkle in a couple of barbaric HHH v. Foley
matches, an Iron Man match, Last Man Standing match and several matches
between Jericho and Benoit. Can't wait to see those last two feuding over
the WWF Title in an Iron Man Match.
C McMURTRY: The Rumble street fight was so good because it was many fans
first real glimpse into the greatness that is HHH, and was also a tell
tale sign that Mick Foley still had a little bit of gas left in the tank.
Ohtani & Takaiwa vs. Kanemoto & Tanaka was, by far, the best match from a
technical stand point all year, and left me in awe by the end. Sure, the
New Japan junior division may not have the old Liger, Benoit, Guerrero or
Malenko anymore, but these four showed that the division is still the best
place to find great action in the world. Villano III-Atlantis had the best
drama of any match I have seen in a long, long, long time.
JBELL55146: Both of Foley's/HHH's wars in January and February were just
plain brutal. I'll go with the Royal Rumbles match first tho just for
sheer emotion and seeing Jack getting pedigreed into those thumbtacks were
just sick. And for 3rd place, I'm going with HHH/Xpac/Radicals vs
Foley/Rocky/Too Cool/Rikishi. For a free show, I almost have never seen a
hotter crowd then the crowd that night. >From the beginning swerve of the
Rads turning on Foley to the match, which is the best match Raw has put on
since the days of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, that was all around one of
the best matches of 2000
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Feud
Award Description:
To be given to the feud that gave us the most heated and best wrestling
match(es) of the year. In 1994, this award was split into two: North
American and Non-North American. In 1996, due to lack of participation on
the non-NA side, it was recombined.
Previous Winners:
1990: Doom: Ron Simmons & Butch Reed vs. Horsemen: Arn Anderson & Barry
Windham
1991: Doom: Ron Simmons & Butch Reed vs. Steiners
1992: Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage
1993: Big Van Vader vs. Cactus Jack
1994: (NA) Cactus Jack & partner vs. Nasty Boys
1994: (non-NA) All Japan Women vs. JWP (& other outside women)
1995: (NA) Dean Malenko vs. Eddy Guerrero
1995: (non-NA) Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota
1996: NWO vs. WCW
1997: Bret Hart / Hart Foundation vs. Steve Austin
1998: Mr. McMahon vs. Steve Austin
1999: Mankind vs. Rock
**2000**: Triple H v. Mankind / Cactus Jack
559 first place votes
538 second place votes
523 third place votes
189 77 48 1272 Triple H v. Mick Foley (Mankind / Cactus Jack)
129 76 54 981 Triple H v. Kurt Angle
60 132 103 902 Hardy Boyz v. Edge & Christian
68 55 55 615 Triple H v. Rock
35 59 66 484 Chris Benoit v. Chris Jericho
14 24 22 186 Triple H v. Chris Jericho
7 18 21 131 Mike Awesome v. Masato Tanaka
8 6 23 104 Yoshihiro Tajiri v. Super Crazy
3 12 22 95 Chris Benoit v. Rock
1 9 6 44 New Japan v. All Japan
5 2 2 35 Triple H v. Steve Austin
2 5 4 33 Hardy Boyz v. Dudley Boyz
0 5 8 31 Sting v. Vampiro
0 5 7 29 Triple H v. Chris Benoit
2 1 7 27 Chris Benoit v. Jeff Jarrett
2 2 5 26 Crazy Max v. M2K
3 2 1 23 Atlantis v. Villano III
2 3 2 23 Kenta Kobashi v. Jun Akiyama
4 0 1 22 SSU v. GAEA v. Nostradamus v. OZ Academy
2 1 3 19 Tomoaki Honma v. Ryuji Yamakawa
3 1 0 18 Bokujin Ken v. Survival Tobita
0 2 6 18 Shane McMahon v. Steve Blackman
0 3 2 13 Undertaker v. Kurt Angle
0 1 5 13 Tazz v. Jerry Lawler (& Jim Ross)
2 0 1 12 Yoshihiro Tajiri & Mikey Whipwreck v. Full Blooded Italians
1 1 2 12 ECW v. Network
1 2 0 11 Mayumi Ozaki v. Kaoru
1 1 1 10 Scott Steiner v. Booker T.
1 1 1 10 Right to Censor v. Dudley Boyz
0 2 2 10 Booker T. v. Jeff Jarrett
0 3 0 9 Steve Austin v. Rikishi
0 3 0 9 Lance Storm v. General Rection
1 1 0 8 New Blood v. Millionaires
0 2 1 8 Sugar Sato v. Kaoru
0 2 1 8 Sandman v. Rhino
1 0 1 7 Stoker Iichikawa v. Taro!
1 0 1 7 Jeff Jarrett v. Sting
1 0 1 7 Goldberg v. Scott Steiner
0 2 0 6 Yoshihio Tajiri & Mikey Whipwreck v. Full Blooded Italians
1 0 0 5 Vince Russo v. Ric Flair
1 0 0 5 Super Delfin's group v. Legion of Violence
1 0 0 5 Steve Corino v. Dusty Rhodes
1 0 0 5 Steve Austin v. Vince McMahon
1 0 0 5 Rock v. Steve Austin
1 0 0 5 Lita v. Trish Stratus
1 0 0 5 Hayabusa v. Kodo Fuyuki
1 0 0 5 Genchiro Tenryu v. Toshiaki Kawada
1 0 0 5 Backseat Boyz v. Ric Blade & Nick Mondo
0 1 1 5 Rock v. Rikishi
0 1 1 5 Kurt Angle v. Chris Jericho
0 1 1 5 Jerry Lynn v. Rob Van Dam
0 0 2 4 Dudley Boyz v. Hardy Boyz
0 0 2 4 Big Show v. Rock
0 1 0 3 Vince Russo v. WCW
0 1 0 3 Vince Russo v. Kevin Sullivan
0 1 0 3 Team Crush v. Himiko
0 1 0 3 T&A v. Hardy Boyz
0 1 0 3 Shinya Hashimoto v. Naoya Ogawa
0 1 0 3 Mike Awesome v. Spike Dudley
0 1 0 3 Joel Gertner v. Cyrus
0 1 0 3 Jeff Jarrett v. Booker T.
0 1 0 3 Goldberg v. Vince Russo
0 1 0 3 Edge & Christian v. Crash & Hardcore Holly
0 1 0 3 Cat v. Mike Sanders
0 1 0 3 Big Show v. Big Boss Man
0 0 1 2 Yoshihiro Tajiri v. Steve Corino
0 0 1 2 WWF v. USA Network
0 0 1 2 Vince Russo v. Hulk Hogan
0 0 1 2 Vince McMahon v. Parents' Television Council
0 0 1 2 Undertaker v. Angle
0 0 1 2 Toshiaki Kawada v. Genichiro Tenryu
0 0 1 2 Terri v. Kat
0 0 1 2 Steve Austin v. Mick Foley
0 0 1 2 Steve Austin v. Chris Benoit
0 0 1 2 Scott Steiner v. WCW Censors
0 0 1 2 Rock v. Kurt Angle
0 0 1 2 Rhino v. Rob Van Dam
0 0 1 2 Radicalz v. D-Generation X
0 0 1 2 Naked Mideon v. William Regal
0 0 1 2 Mike Awesome v. Little Spike Dudley
0 0 1 2 Jerry Lynn v. Justin Credible
0 0 1 2 Hogan v. Jeff Jarrett
0 0 1 2 Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki v. Mr. Gannosuke
0 0 1 2 Hades v. Murder Inc.
0 0 1 2 Gerald Brisco v. Pat Patterson
0 0 1 2 Dudley Boyz v. X-Pac & Road Dogg
0 0 1 2 Dudley Boyz v. WWF Women
0 0 1 2 Chris Benoit v. Revolution
0 0 1 2 Big Show v. Shane McMahon
REJECTED
0 1 2 "Tie" votes
1 0 0 Chris Hyatte v. Sean Shannon
0 1 0 Shawn Michaels v. Bret Hart (time)
0 0 1 Triple H and anybody
0 0 1 Latino Heat (?)
0 0 1 Fans v. WCW
0 0 1 Christopher Robin Zimmerman v. Rick Scaia
0 0 1 Chris Jericho v. WCW (time)
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: Please tell me HHH vs. Kurt is not done just yet!
HIRO: All of the above feuds had some of the best matches this year.
Triple H vs Mick Foley was a great way to end Foley's career as well as
elevating Triple H's own. Rock vs Benoit for the title was dream come
true, and the backstage drama which saw Benoit getting some help from
Triple H (the ambush at SmackDown!) brought in some continuity into the
storyline. Jericho vs Benoit? Although there was no actual storyline other
than both basically hating each other, the promo that Jericho cut during
SmackDown! was a classic, as well as the rebutt by Benoit during the same
show.
MARK POLISHUK: That Triple H-Kurt Angle feud sure was great...hope it ends
someday.
J3R CR0WE: Cactus and HHH had some amazing matches and cut some killer
promos. Edge and Christian vs. The Hardyz will never get old, and I could
watch Benoit and Jericho feud for years!
ROBERT STRUPP: This is another tough category, but for a different
reasons. Rock vs Hunter was really the only very good top level feud, and
Edge & Christian vs the Hardyz was easily the best mid/upper-mid card
feud. There were a bunch of good feuds, but nothing that will really be
remembered a few years from now. Rock vs HHH had the advantage of having a
good part of the groundwork laid over the past 3 years.
DEVON: No other feud had the animosity of Jericho vs. Triple H. The
Hardyz played the perfect foils for Edge and Christian. Chris Benoit was
Rock's best feud in two years.
CHRIS OSTER: A Triple H triple crown in this category. Can he get heat
with ANYONE? Sure looks like it.
SCOTT W.: Triple H and Mick Foley was the best feud. Nothing like it.
Too bad we can never have it again. *sigh*
MARCUS SPARKS: In a weak year for feuds in general, the bloody brutal feud
between HHH and Mick Foley wins it hands down. The Hardys/E&C didn't have
the emotional feel to it Hunter and Mick brought into their feud. The
"brothers in paint" feud had potential, but unfortunately it was in
WCW....
JOHN C.: The HHH/Cactus Jack feud was one for the ages as they did a
remarkable job in making us believe that Jack would come out on top in the
end. Their PPV matches had me on the edge of my seat as Jack did the
J.O.B. for The Game in order to make him the most credible WWF champion in
years. I had a hard time believing that the WWF could keep me interested
in a HHH/Rock feud again but they did it this year thanks in large part to
the involvement of Steve Austin, Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels and the
memorable Ironman match. Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz helped to
revitalize a stagnant WWF tag team division so they get my third vote.
While HHH vs. Kurt Angle had a lot of promise, the WWF dropped the ball
with it so I had to omit it from my list.
MICHAELA FISCHER: HHH/Rock could go on forever and be great.
ANDY P. GOSS: Triple H and Jericho get top honors because they had great
heat, they had a strong storyline, everyone played the part well, it built
slowly, and the payoff was unbelievable. Ditto Sting/Vampiro, although
that one should have ended with the match at Great American Bash -- I
mean, how do you top the outstanding visual of a man on fire falling to
what should likely be his death? Finally, the Tajiri/Crazy feud needed no
story. Simply put, each match built on the previous, and these guys can
feud until kingdom come for all I care.
CHRIS BURKE: Foley/HHH was the WWF’s best feud of the year, even better
than the long-simmering Rock/HHH feud. Foley brought out the best in HHH,
and elicited a mean streak in HHH’s matches that hadn’t really been
brought to the surface yet. Further, since Foley obviously knew he was on
the fast-track to retirement, he gave it his all in Cactus’ final series
of matches. The interview exchanges between the two were great: HHH
always seemed to mix hatred and fear when dealing with a maniac like
Cactus. His reaction when Foley suggested Hell in the Cell as the main
event for No Way Out combined both emotions perfectly. Overall, a
fantastic, though short, feud.
JONAH ROSCH: I'm such a mark. Really. To go with Triple H vs The Rock...
I'm ashamed of myself. Well, almost. But it was the best feud of 2000. It
really was. No other feud had the right amount of heat, the right amount
of talent, where both wrestlers were of the same caliber. These two
elevated the level expected in the WWF for world title competition. After
years of seeing Hogan vs Slaughter and Undertaker vs Vicious as world
title matches, to have these two raise the level of expectation was a
tremendous thing.
PAULOMON McTAGGART: Y2J v. HHH was by far the most intense feud which
makes it the best.
JPM38: Mankind v. HHH gets my top spot due to the fact that it continued
even after Mankind was "retired" at No Way Out when he became the new
Commish. Also, the AWESOME promo introducing the Hell in the Cell and
also the Radicalz hell turn was without a doubt the best segment on raw
this year. The Chrises get the nod in the 2 spot since they are both my
Canadian heroes, and they can also put on some stiff matches that make
workrate freaks like myself cream my pants. Rock/HHH got a little stale
half-way through, but the Iron Man match more than made up for it.
JEREMY SORIA: Triple H versus Kurt Angle. Played out beautifully
throughout the year. It brought back memories of old angles, but done a
lot better this go around.
RICK SCAIA: Triple H vs. the Rock is less a feud than it is a matter of
fact... these two have been foes, off and on, for something like 3 and a
half years now. But they continue to deliver the goods: quality matches,
good drama, and lots of entertainment. HHH is in my #2 Feud of the Year,
too, this time against Mick Foley: the two had a tremendous series of
matches that served as Mick's farewell to active in-ring competition.
Number three is the Hardys vs. Edge/Christian, which was also a
year-spanning feud, pretty much, and one that delivered some incredible
matches, as well as some great angles (I LOVED the return of the
Conquistadors, for instance).
NATHAN LONEY: The Helmsley-Foley feud was the best of the year. This was
a feud with a guy you wanted to see win, a regular guy who loved his job.
There was also a guy who you wanted to see get his comeuppance. It was
brutal, it had great story telling, and it MADE HHH into what he is right
now. He'd been vicious before, but this feud fueled his heartlessness.
Benoit and Jericho are two great young wrestlers. They know each other in
the ring very well, and that leads to some great matches. Same thing with
Tajiri and Super Crazy. Two guys who work very well together in the ring.
BILL LEHECKA: If there was a better payoff to the Angle-HHH feud, I
wouldn't question it as the best feud. I did vote for it being the best
feud of the year, however I have reservations about doing this because the
feud basically died. It's a shame, because it was the best feud since the
Austin-McMahon feud.
MATT SPAULDING: Who among us wasn't pulling for Mick during his farewell
run against Triple H? No two wrestlers working today have the overall
chemistry with each other that Rocky and HHH have developed, though Benoit
and Jericho are getting to that point with some equally memorable
encounters.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: As with the best matches, most of the year's best feuds
seem to involve Triple H. His feuds against Mick Foley, Kurt Angle and
Chris Jericho should be the top three votes here. It's odd, then, that my
top vote goes to Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz. This just had a
great storyline underlying it, produced great matches and had a, you know,
resolution. Unlike some of the above. The Triple H/Foley and Triple
H/Angle feuds round out the trio. The latter would probably have won if it
had anything remotely resembling some, you know, *closure*.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Pretty much all of the HHH feuds are worthy mentions.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Come on, Cactus/HHH gave me cold chills, HHH/Rock was
just a classic clash of the titans, and HHH v.s. Angle has that
ever-evolving and constant love triangle driving it.
PHIL PRZYBYLO: Triple H should dominate yet another category. His feud
with Foley was pure intensity. Their varied emotional promos, their great
matches, and the passing of the "wrestling" torch (Austin and Rock hold
the sports entertainment torch) capped off a feud that started back in
June of '97. Jericho's star never shown more brightly as the young gun
and underdog looking knock Triple H off his high horse. HHH-Jericho was a
classic feud. One more match would've made it damn near legendary.
Tazz, JR, and Lawler had a great mid-card feud that deserves a special
mention and got my write-in vote.
C McMURTRY: I think I will remember the HHH-Cactus Jack feud from the
beginning of the year for a long, long time. Not since Austin-McMahon and
Austin-Bret Hart had a WWF feud captivated me so much. It was also the war
that catapulted HHH to the sure fire top spot, quieting all his doubters,
and allowed Mick Foley to go out like he said he wanted: putting someone
over in great matches. Plus, we got those awesome Foley promos in the last
few weeks that will forever be tattooed on my brain.
JIMBO: Rock vs. HHH carried the WWF, it therefore deserves this spot.
E&C vs. The Hardyz brought some HILARIOUS moments into our TV sets. Los
conquistadores? The Critics of Hardy's Home movies? The Time Machine?
These were just hilarious moments. Finally, Chris J. vs. Chris B. brought
some great technical wrestling, and some great promos from Chris J.
JBELL55146: It says a lot of the guy when the top 3 feuds I voted for all
included him. Against Foley, Against Rocky and Against Angle, all 3 feuds
had killer interviews, and all 3 had killer matches. It truly was the year
of 'The Game'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worst Wrestler
Award Description:
To be given to the name athlete who was the worst overall wrestler in the
past year. Minimal technical ability, lousy interviews, non-existent
workrate, and the charisma of a rock should describe this person.
Previous Winners:
1990: Junkyard Dog
1991: Andre The Giant
1992: Nailz
1993: Giant Gonzalez
1994: Hulk Hogan
1995: Hulk Hogan
1996: Hulk Hogan
1997: Hulk Hogan
1998: Hollywood Hogan
1999: Hulk Hogan
**2000**: Hulk Hogan
553 first place votes
543 second place votes
536 third place votes
82 51 17 597 Hulk Hogan
53 51 39 496 Kevin Nash
67 27 15 446 David Arquette
39 26 26 325 Big Boss Man
37 27 20 306 Chyna
24 27 34 269 Lex Luger
22 22 32 240 Vince Russo
16 19 22 181 Sid Vicious
11 20 20 155 Viscera
15 15 16 152 Tank Abbott
20 7 15 151 Goldberg
12 9 19 125 Mideon
7 17 17 120 David Flair
6 19 14 115 Big Show
17 5 7 114 Rock
5 17 19 114 Oklahoma
6 13 11 91 Undertaker
4 13 16 91 Road Dogg
6 14 9 90 Goodfather
4 11 15 83 Sgt. A-Wall
8 6 10 78 Buff Bagwell
5 8 12 73 Scott Steiner
8 8 4 72 Mr. Ass
3 10 11 67 New Jack
9 1 6 60 Chuck Palumbo
6 6 6 60 Bull Buchanan
6 4 4 50 Rikishi
4 5 6 47 Sal E. Graziano
5 5 3 46 X-Pac
3 7 5 46 Cat
3 5 7 44 Stevie Ray
0 8 6 36 Perfectshawn Stasiak
3 4 3 33 Jim Duggan
4 0 5 30 Justin Credible
3 4 1 29 Hacksaw Jim Duggan
3 2 4 29 Kane
0 7 4 29 Mark Henry
3 1 4 26 Rob Van Dam
3 2 1 23 Steve Austin
0 5 3 21 Albert
2 1 3 19 Big Al
1 4 0 17 Vampiro
2 1 0 13 Perry Saturn
1 2 1 13 Shane Douglas
1 1 2 12 Brian Knobs
0 4 0 12 Triple H
1 2 0 11 Steve Blackman
1 1 1 10 Tommy Dreamer
1 1 1 10 Steven Richards
1 0 2 9 Rhino
1 0 2 9 Lita
1 1 0 8 Tiger Ali Singh
1 1 0 8 Chris Jericho
1 0 1 7 Tazz
1 0 1 7 Konnan
1 0 1 7 Big T
0 1 2 7 Mike Samples
0 0 3 6 D'Lo Brown
1 0 0 5 Tygress
1 0 0 5 Policeman
1 0 0 5 Mike Rapada
1 0 0 5 Kodo Fuyuki
1 0 0 5 Jerry Lawler
0 1 1 5 Heavy D (Don Harris)
0 1 1 5 Duplicate votes
0 0 2 4 Vince McMahon
0 0 2 4 Scott Hall
0 0 2 4 Ric Flair
0 0 2 4 Al Snow
0 1 0 3 Sting
0 1 0 3 Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley
0 1 0 3 Sandman
0 1 0 3 Ricky Fuji
0 1 0 3 Raven
0 1 0 3 Randy Savage
0 1 0 3 Madusa
0 1 0 3 Kidman
0 1 0 3 Gedoh
0 1 0 3 Gangrel
0 1 0 3 Dean Malenko
0 1 0 3 British Bulldog
0 1 0 3 Brian Adams
0 1 0 3 Booker T.
0 1 0 3 Big Ron (Ron Harris)
0 0 1 2 Val Venis
0 0 1 2 Torrie Wilson
0 0 1 2 Screamin' Norman Smiley
0 0 1 2 Pat Patterson
0 0 1 2 Meng
0 0 1 2 Mark Jindrak
0 0 1 2 General Rection
0 0 1 2 Funaki
0 0 1 2 Elix Skipper
0 0 1 2 Dusty Rhodes
0 0 1 2 Diamond Dallas Page
0 0 1 2 Chilly Willy
0 0 1 2 Bilvis Wesley
0 0 1 2 All-American Boy
REJECTED
1 1 2 "Tie" votes
1 0 0 Arnold Schwarzenegger
0 1 0 Eric Angle (ineligible, team)
0 0 1 Natural Born Thrillers
0 0 1 Kronik
0 0 1 Harris Brothers
PAUL ZOROVICH: Likewise, there are SO MANY really bad wrestlers out there
that I don't even miss Mongo McMichael.
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: The Death March on Hulkamania will just have to wait!
All hail the scum of the wrestling world, Russo and Arquette!
DON DEL GRANDE: I hesitated putting these three (Arquette, Russo,
Oklahoma) - after all, it says worst *wrestler*, not worst *wannabe*.
HIRO: The good thing about the wrestler's mentioned above is that all of
them are not wrestling on TV for the time being. Hopefully it stays that
way.
CHRIS BIRD: Kevin Nash can't wrestle any more. He should retire. Please.
Go host a late-night talk show or something, Kev. You'd be good at it.
Really, you would, I'm not kidding. So do that, and stop limping around
the ring pretending to be a world champion. Second place goes to the
Goodfather, who gets no heat worth mentioning except when he brings tits
to the ring with him and sucks both on the mike and in the squared circle.
Third place goes to Mideon. Because he's MIDEON dammit.
BRUNO PULVER: Could anyone please make Viscera, Mideon, Rikishi never
wrestle on TV again
ROBERT STRUPP: Now we get to the categories where WCW stars will excel.
The best part of Vince Russo in the wrestling ring was the concussion he
suffered in there that kept him away from writing a stupid product.
Viscera and Big Show had horrible years also. Big Show has gotten
incredibly lazy, and really is lucky that his Showster match got him a
third place vote instead of the second.
DEVON: Honestly, I don't see how anyone can vote for anyone other than
Chyna for worst wrestler. If she doesn't win, it will be because the
confusing ballot led people intending to vote for Chyna to cast their
votes for Bull Buchanan.
CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN: I know I shouldn't really put the same guy in all
three spots, but the talentless prick deserves it.
CHRIS OSTER: Say this about Vince McMahon, he isn't stupid - always hide
your worst upper-card wrestler amongst your best. Jericho, Too Cool and
the Radicals have all been able to mask, to some extent, just what a truly
awful wrestler Chyna is. With "The One No One Gives A Rat's Ass About"
Billy Gunn, she's been exposed. BIG TIME. I actually can't believe I
didn't vote for Dewey first in this category, 'cause I sure was going to
around May. Russo gets third.
ANDREW BAYER: Kevin Nash shows up a lot in my "worst" categories. I just
dislike him intensely, so don't worry about it.
SCOTT W.: Goldberg and Hogan are horrible. RVD is horrible as well. If I
see RVD pose for the camera one more time, I am shooting my TV set.
Jesus christ. Friggin wrestle RVD. IF you can do that. Damn lucky Hogan
is still around, or else you are on the overrated list.
MARCUS SPARKS: I refuse to put any of the NBTs here, because for the most
part they're too green to be counted. DAVID F-ing ARQUETTE had NO
BUSINESS being a world champion. Or even in the ring for that matter.
Big Poochie's done for... he's lazy, he's unmotivated, and just doesn't
care anymore. Tank Abbott looks more like Fat Abbott in the ring.
JOHN C.: Even though they spent a lot of time out of action I can't ignore
the fact that Hogan, Nash & Luger scraped the bowels of sucktitude yet
again to run away with this award yet again. People like Bull Buchanan and
The Goodfather can take solace in the fact that they are the worst in the
WWF so if you don't recognize WCW than you can consider them as my
"winners."
JOSEPH MICELI: The nice thing about the natural born thrillers is that
instead of racking my brain trying to pick one, i can just list them all
REISMARK: Big Poochie over the Hulkster. Both men stink an equal amount -
but we only got a little more than half a year out of the King of
Legdrops.
ANDY P. GOSS: Ideally, David Arquette would be here, as would Oklahoma, in
the top spot. But they're 2-3 because I absolutely HATE Chyna. And for
the record, I refuse to vote for Hogan here, simply because I know how
much the brainwashed smarks stuff the ballot for him.
STEPHEN TISZENKEL: I can't believe Road Dogg wasn't nominated. What a
waste of TV time.
EZE4DA3747: Lawler's got a punch and a drop kick and both Goldberg and
Rock don't sell moves. Actually Rock does, but not only does he have
second winds, he has third and fourth and fitfth and sixth, ect.
JONAH ROSCH: I really think life would be a lot easier if we called this
one the Hulk Hogan Memorial Worst Wrestler Award. I mean 6 years running,
and I'm sure there's going to be enough anti-Hogan sentiment to give it to
him again. I won't give it to him, because this year has been fairly Hogan
free. Whereas we've seen The Wall, Mideon, and The Goodfather waaaaaaay
too much.
COLIN MORTON: Remember Bull missing the turnbuckle while trying to climb
it? And crotching himself in the process?
DEWEY: I actually like the character of the Cat, but Ernest Miller should
stay the hell away from actually wrestling!
JAMES HOWARD: What can I say about David Arquette's wrestling career that
hasn't been said? Only this: You, David Arquette, are a lugan. ^_^
GEORGE JOHNSON: Of all of the Millionaires' Club, Luger is by far the
worst.
JEREMY SORIA: We all hate Kevin Nash. I'll be surprised if he doesn't
sweep all the "Worst" categories this year. And Scott Steiner has gotten
to the point where his yelling has just gotten annoying. You know, even as
a gay man, I have gotten slightly nauseated about him and his "hoochies"
whenever he talks about his escapades outside the ring.
TROY OLSON: How did Big T not get nominated? I decided not to take the
easy way out and vote for "non-wrestlers" like Russo, Oklahoma, etc.
Then again, I guess you could consider Nash, Hogan, and Chyna
"non-wrestlers."
NATHAN LONEY: Kevin Nash sucks. He's old, he can't wrestle, he can't take
bumps. He sucks. New Jack isn't a wrestler, he hits people with stuff
and jumps off of balconies. David Flair... hmm... isn't there another
wrestler with the last name Flair? Isn't he really good? Did the
wrestling gene pass over poor David, here?
BILL LEHECKA: OK, so Arquette is given the title so WCW might get some
mainstream press (which I never saw), then turn him heel, and then he just
withers away? What a slap in the face to people that actually deserved it
(eg. Lance Storm, Booker T, etc.) Anyway, it doesn't help that Arquette
is the most obnoxious idiot out there today.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: I think it's somewhat insulting referring to David
Arquette as a wrestler, but then, since he did win the WCW title, I have
little choice but to vote for him here. Big Sal and Viscera, conversely,
are both big fat pieces of shit with no more than a thimblefull of talent
between them... At least the Big Bossman can still work a decent brawl
every once in a while--just look at his Hardcore title match against Road
Dogg last year.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Leaving X-Pac off the list HAD to be a mistake..so I
figured I'd put him in his rightful place at the bottom.
TANVIR RAQUIB: I'm sorry, but the Internet's hailing of this man as the
next Ric Flair is absolutely ridiculous. Vince Russo IS NOT NOR EVER WILL
BE FLAIR. Lousy smart marks.
SCOTT HILLMAN: Worst Wrestler: I know it might not be counted but Arnold
Swaternager threw some punchs at HHH and thus qualifies him in my book.
Besides he has never Defended his World champion Movie Star Title to my
knowledge.
JOHN DONALDSON: Chuck Palumbo, there's really nothing worse than a Power
Plant flunky trying to jumpstart his career by mimicking a pea-brained
narcissistic posterboy for muscle enhancers such as is Lex Luger. No
there is something worse, pairing him up with a rosey cheeked pretty boy
who is perhaps one of the worst second generation wrestlers this side of
David Sammartino, Shawn Stasiak. The Big Show gets a vote in the third
slot because he's slow and unrefined in the ring, not as bad as Giant
Gonzalez but pretty close, Ohio Valley Wrestling hopefully will help the
big man out.
TOM CRUZ: Now we come to my favorite part of the ballot: where we get to
try and choose which lump of shit was the absolute worst lump of shit of
the year. It would be so much easier if everything done under the hand of
Vince Russo was all lumped together, wouldn't it? Speaking of Russo, his
"champion," David Arquette wins my vote. I'm really at a loss to try and
explain how incredibly bad this whole thing was. If I could vote for David
Arquette 3 times, I would. It was that bad. Kevin Nash and Buff Bagwell
share the dubious honor of being bad, but not quite as bad as David
Fucking Arquette.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN:Terry Bollea Memorial Award #2. However there were
several people even WORSE than Hogan this year such Oklahoma, Shawn "The
Recorder" Stasiak, and everyone's favorite NAKED dark match jobber Mideon.
JBELL55146: Oh why, Oh why is Ray Traylor still employed and who in the
hell decided to push him to the world title picture??? Ed Ferrera should
stick to leeching off of Vince Russo and stop trying to wrestle. And
watching Stevie Ray reminds you just who did carry Harlem Heat for all
those years.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worst Tag Team
Award Description:
To be given to the name tag team who were the worst overall wrestlers in the
past year. Minimal technical ability, lousy interviews, non-existent
workrate, the charisma of a rock, and lousy team moves should describe this
pair.
Previous Winners:
1990: Rhythm & Blues: Greg Valentine & Honky Tonk Man
1991: The Patriots: Todd Champion & Firebreaker Chip
1992: Bushwhackers: Luke Williams & Butch Miller
1993: The Colossal Kongs: Awesome Kong & King Kong
1994: Bushwhackers: Luke Williams & Butch Miller
1995: Tekno Team 2000: Travis & Troy
1996: Godwinns: Henry O. & Phineas I.
1997: Godwinns: Henry O. & Phineas I.
1998: Diamond Dallas Page & Jay Leno
1999: Ministry of Darkness: Mideon & Viscera
**2000**: Harris Brothers: Big Ron & Heavy D
541 first place votes
525 second place votes
516 third place votes
57 72 46 593 Harris Brothers (Boyz) - Big Ron & Heavy D (Ron & Don / Creative Control - Patrick & Gerald)
52 39 40 457 D-Generation X - Road Dogg & X-Pac
45 41 47 442 Big Boss Man & Bull Buchanan
55 33 32 438 Kronik - Brian Adams & Bryan Clark
44 33 33 385 Perfect Event - Perfectshawn Stasiak & Chuck Palumbo
37 38 35 369 Mideon & Viscera
42 23 22 323 Right to Censor - Steven Richards & Bull Buchanan & Goodfather & Val Venis
30 35 32 319 Harlem Heat - Stevie Ray & Big T & Cash
18 27 17 205 Big Boss Man & Prince Albert
16 15 22 169 Too Cool - Grand Master Sexay & Scotty 2 Hotty
13 11 15 128 Mean Street Posse - Rodney & Pete Gas
10 11 15 113 New Age Outlaws - Road Dogg & Mr. Ass
7 19 10 112 Lo Down - D'Lo Brown & Chaz
9 11 15 108 T&A - Test & Albert
10 9 7 91 Varsity Club - Mike Rotunda & Rick Steiner & Kevin Sullivan
9 7 7 80 Misfits in Action - General Rection & Major Stash & Lieutenant Loco & Sergeant A-Wall & Corporal Cajun
9 1 12 72 Mark Jindrak & Sean O'Haire
7 4 9 65 Baldies - Angel & DeVito & Grimes
2 7 10 51 Vampiro & Jerry Only
1 7 10 46 Vampiro & Oklahoma
5 6 1 45 Boogie Knights - Disqo & Alex Wright
2 6 6 40 Filthy Animals - Rey Mysterio Jr. & Juventud Guerrera & Konnan & Tygress (& Eddie Guerrero) (& Disqo) (& Billy Kidman)
2 5 6 37 Screamin' Norman Smiley & Demon
4 4 2 36 Dudley Boyz - Buh Buh Ray & D-Von
2 4 6 34 Outsiders - Scott Hall & Kevin Nash
6 1 0 33 Hardy Boyz - Matt & Jeff
4 3 1 31 Los Fabulosos - Silver King & El Dandy
3 2 2 25 3 Count - Evan Karagias & Shane Helms & Shannon Moore
3 1 3 24 2XS - Lane and Idol (Rave) (Team XS / Standards & Practices)
2 2 3 22 Acolytes - Faarooq & Bradshaw
2 1 3 19 PG-13 - JC Ice & Wolfie D
0 4 3 18 Tazz & Raven
1 2 3 17 Insane Clown Posse - Violent J & Shaggy 2 Dope
1 1 2 12 Masahiro Chono & Super J
1 1 2 12 Godfather & D'Lo Brown
2 0 0 10 Raven & Tommy Dreamer
1 1 1 10 Pat Patterson & Gerald Brisco
1 1 0 8 David Arquette & Diamond Dallas Page
0 2 1 8 Full Blooded Italians - Guido Maritato & Tony Mamaluke
1 0 1 7 Team Package - Total Package & Ric Flair
1 0 1 7 Mamalukes - Big Vito & Johnny the Bull
1 0 1 7 Eddie Guerrero & Chyna
1 0 0 5 Mae Young & Kat
1 0 0 5 Fabulous Moolah & Mae Young
1 0 0 5 Balls Mahoney & Chilly Willy
0 1 1 5 Shane Douglas & Buff Bagwell
0 1 1 5 Rock & Sock Connection - Rock & Mankind
0 1 1 5 Los Conquistadors - 1 & 2
0 1 0 3 West Side NGZ - Chronic & Big Rott & Dollaz
0 1 0 3 Steve Williams & Oklahoma
0 1 0 3 Shane Douglas & Torrie Wilson
0 1 0 3 Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko
0 1 0 3 Nova & Chris Chetti
0 1 0 3 New Dangerous Alliance - C.W. Anderson & Bill Wiles
0 1 0 3 Jung Dragons - Kaz & Yang & Jamie-san
0 1 0 3 Fabulous Moolah & Terri
0 1 0 3 D'Lo Brown & Godfather
0 1 0 3 Crusher Maedomari & Morimatsu
0 0 1 2 Undertaker & Kane
0 0 1 2 Team 2000 (?)
0 0 1 2 Shane Douglas & Wall
0 0 1 2 Road Dogg & Chyna
0 0 1 2 Network (?)
0 0 1 2 Mideon & Gangrel
0 0 1 2 Kane & Undertaker
0 0 1 2 Head Bangers - Mosh & Thrasher
0 0 1 2 Evan Karagias & Jaime Knoble
0 0 1 2 Edge & Christian
0 0 1 2 Disciples of Synn - Slash & Damien
0 0 1 2 Chyna & Chris Jericho
0 0 1 2 Chyna & Billy Gunn
0 0 1 2 Christian York & Joey Matthews
0 0 1 2 Al Snow & Steve Blackman
REJECTED
13 9 4 Road Dogg & K-Kwik (time)
4 8 2 "Any..." votes
2 3 5 InSiders - Kevin Nash & Diamond Dallas Page (time)
1 0 0 "Tie" votes
0 1 1 Duplicate votes
0 1 0 Jumping Bomb Angels (time)
0 0 1 Tony Schiavone & Mark Madden (not a tag team)
0 0 1 Al Gore & Joe Lieberman (not a tag team)
HIRO: Of the three picked, two are already gone. The other is still in.
There are a lot of reason why that fed is the worst this year, this was
one of them.
CHRIS BIRD: The WWF tag scene has no shortage of talented teams: the
Hardyz, Edge and Christian, the Dudley Boyz, Too Cool, Kaientai, Lo Down,
and even TnA and the Acolytes aren't that bad. So how come the Right To
Censor has never had so much as one good tag match? Maybe it's because
Bull Buchanan has two moves, both of which involve a legdrop. Maybe it's
because Goodfather is one of the sloppiest wrestlers in the business.
Maybe it's because Steven Richards can barely do his damn superkick. Maybe
it's because Val Venis, the only semi-decent wrestler of the bunch, can't
carry a bunch of worthless slugs in a shitty gimmick designed to salve
Vince McMahon's precious ego. Nearly as bad on the "let's put lots of guys
together in the hopes they'll be like the Freebirds" scale was Harlem Heat
2000, which put together Stevie Ray, the former Ahmed Johnson, and one of
that rap guy's old bodyguards and performed about as well as you'd expect.
Damn, you'd half expect Swoll to show up while they were at it. And let's
not forget the Perfect Event, the team that was neither! Comprised of Sean
"The Fake Mr. Perfect" Stasiak and Chuck "The Fake Lex Luger" Palumbo,
they drew fake heat, fake money, and fake interest, in keeping with their
clever theme.
BRUNO PULVER: Acolytes: Faarooq & Bradshaw- a perfect example of a lame
gimmick. Vince McFuck, please give these men a chance and repackage them
MICHAEL BANKER: The team of D'Lo/Godfather wasn't listed as a choice, but
they were just awful, so I had to put them down.
ADAM FROM TORONTO: Putting Road Dogg and X-Pac together and expecting fans
to dig them is like putting Schiavone and Madden together and expecting
people to not reach for the remote.
ROBERT STRUPP: Sweep by WCW teams. Palumbo and Stasiak are awful and have
shown no signs of improvement. Harlem Heat 2000 was awful. The Harris
brother suck no matter what their name is.
CHRIS OSTER: Road Dogg sucks. X-Pac sucks. Together, they REALLY suck.
Write-in vote for Tazz and Raven, and...WHOA! I totally forgot Mideon and
Viscera were a tag team...they get a vote just on principle.
SCOTT W.: All the WCW Tag Teams apply here. I hate them all. I would not
say they all suck, cause some don't, but when Kroni>|, and the Harris
Bros. are there, all are shitty. Outsiders are 3rd for pure hatred of
both members.
CHANCE50JR: They were my number 3, but I'm getting tired of Too Cool.
They're like a modern day Public Enemy- without the tables (my apologies
if I'm ripping that off from anyone).
PETE GOODRICH: Too Lame: they may be popular...but so were a lot of other
foolish things. Like the 1980s.
JOHN C.: I can't think of a good thing that Kronik has ever done. The team
of Bossman & Buchanan generated no heat, had no crowd interest and
inspired nobody so they are an easy choice. To me, the best day of the
year was when the New Age Outlaws split up because they were way past
their prime when they teamed up earlier this year.
ANDY P. GOSS: Mideon and Viscera probably didn't team up during the year,
but they stink that much. I groan when Big Ron and Heavy D are on, as I
did with Harlem Heat 2K. HH2K earns second based on sucking for the whole
year, while at least the Harrises were Creative Control, which was
moderately cool.
TATEWKIKNO: If you replaced this category with Worst Tag Team Of All
Time, I still would have voted for Harlem Heat 2000, the Harris Boys, and
Perfect Event. That's pretty sorry.
JONAH ROSCH: Uggghhhh... Almost hate to even remember The New Harlem Heat
2000. Only way to make it worse would be to give Clarence Mason (sorry I
don't remember his real name) a ventriloquist dummy named Blocko or
something. I mean it makes The Harris Brothers look good.
JUST JEFF: "Road Dogg" Jesse James and X-Pac get the worst tag team on my
ballot=2E I know these guys work hard despite their injuries, but they are
simply not convincing enough as an upper-card team given the fact that
their skills have deteriorated so much. It didn't help that they were
using the DX gimmick when it was already very dated. These two men should
have taken some time off after that dumpster match against the Dudleys on
PPV to recuperate and to repackage themselves.
GEORGE JOHNSON: People actually like the NAO?! What? They were once
voted tag-team of the year? Shoot me now.
PETER HAZLETT: Cut loose Albert and let Test and Trish become Double T,
please!!!
JOE GAGNE: Road Dogg and X-Pac still got a push despite being lazy and not
over. "One of the best teams in WWF history?" Gimme a break, J.R. The
Harrisses are also awful and not-over wrestlers, and they actually held
the tag titles a few times! Stasiak and Palumbo are two loads who have no
business being anywhere near any titles.
SCOTT ZUCKER: Ron and Don Harris do not deserve to be paid to wrestle.
They are horrible and unwatchable. How they've been able to keep their
jobs are beyond me. X-Pac and Road Dogg were very unmotivated as a tag
team, and it was very painful to watch them. RTC is also a weak tag team,
considering Goodfather and Buchanan are just horrible in the ring.
JEREMY SORIA: Misfits in Action, hands down, is the worst. Name changes
and all.
JEREMY DELINE: Big Bossman and Bull Buchanan were so dull they could put
anyone to sleep..'MY GOD! THEY BROKE KANE'S HAND! THE MONSTERS!' at least
now Bossman is a memory and Bull Buchanan is...damn, he's a tag team
champion, isn't he? out of the many poor WCW Tag Teams, Harlem Heat 2000
were one of the funniest things I've seen all year, and not in a good way
either: With Mr. Biggs(call him clarence mason and he'll sue you) in their
corner, they were unstoppable..THRILL to Stevie Ray's facial expressions
and lack of maneuverability!! CHILL to Cash's general uselessness!! BEHOLD
the giant swinging gut of 'Big T', the Gangsta who wears pink track
pants..the only way it could have been sadder is if 'Big T' had injured
himself or another wrestler. but the worst tag-team of the year would have
to be the god-awful duo of Raven and Tommy Dreamer. My god-watching their
two ruined carcasses shuffle around the ring attempting to wrestle was
embarassing. their off-again, on-again feud was nonsensical, and the
effort they put into their matches was a slap in the face of the viewer.
NATHAN LONEY: A year of suck... that's what these three had: Kronik,
Bossman and Buchanan, and Perfect Event. Three horrible teams, and there
were a lot of choices out there. Take a bow, guys!
BILL LEHECKA: Any team with the Big Bossman sucked ass. Major league ass.
MATT SPAULDING: Just go into WCW and pick almost any tag team... David
Flair and Crowbar (who weren't even nominated), PG-13 (whose idea was it
to bring THEM back?), Harlem Heat 2000 (whose idea was it to bring AHMED
JOHNSON back?), the Varsity Club (are you KIDDING me?)
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Did anyone like the team of Drug Dogg and X-Pox? Did
anyone care about them? Didn't think so. They admittedly wouldn't have
been anywhere near as irritating if the announcers hadn't kept putting
them over as the best tag team in the WWF despite them not being over,
having little or no workrate, and having accomplished jack shit together
as a team. But since they kept being put over as the best thing since
sliced bread, I think they've earned this award. Bossman/Buchanan and the
RTC simply suck in the conventional fashion (even if the latter are over).
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Come on, Meat?
TANVIR RAQUIB: Mike Rotundo is a Syracuse graduate. He's old. Rick Steiner
is a Michigan graduate. He's mean. Kevin Sullivan went to whatever college
that bitter bookers whose wives leave them for "hot young studs" go to.
All three sucked.
MIKE PLYLEY: Because why settle for one horrible fat black guy when you
can have THREE! Add J. Biggs, and you've got a sure formula for utter
crap in Harlem Heat 2000!
TOM CRUZ: What's even worse than bad singles wrestling? Bad tag team
wrestling. The Booker T-less version of Harlem Heast gets a vote, as do
Bull/Bossman, and Whatever Ron And Don Harris Are Calling Themselves Now.
Big piles of SUCK.
NICK RANGEL: Of all the folks to push, why Stasiak and Palumbo? Neither
can work, or talk, or even appear minutely competent. If squash matches
hadn't fallen so out of vogue with the advent of the Monday night shows, I
suspect that's where these two might have ended up.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: How green are Perfect Event? How bad were
Bossman/Bull? How bad was HARLEM HEAT with Big T and Stevie Ray? Ouch
PHIL PRZYBYLO: D-X and Kronik were my first two picks. T & A's only
saving grace is Trish, yet, everyone always puts them at the top of the
tag team list, no matter how many bad matches they put out.
THE CUBS FAN: "No, really, we'll have a three man team with Stevie Ray as
the best worker. I can't see how this could go wrong."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worst Heel
Award Description:
To be given to the person whose casting as a bad guy just didn't work well.
Maybe there was just no heel heat drawn or maybe the fans actually cheered
this person, but for whatever reason the heel image just didn't get over.
Previous Winners:
1990: Rick Martel
1991: The Mountie Jacques Rougeau
1992: Razor Ramon
1993: Giant Gonzalez
1994: Bastion Booger
1995: Zodiac (The Butcher/Brutus Beefcake)
1996: Hulk Hogan
1997: Ahmed Johnson
1998: Hollywood Hogan
1999: Sting
**2000**: Goldberg
543 first place votes
521 second place votes
499 third place votes
121 41 32 792 Goldberg
48 34 28 398 Vince Russo
37 38 32 363 Road Dogg
46 28 24 362 Kevin Nash
29 34 30 307 X-Pac
29 28 22 273 David Arquette
30 19 25 257 Big Boss Man
14 29 14 185 Sting
13 22 22 175 Oklahoma
18 20 7 164 Mark Madden
13 15 21 152 Rikishi
10 13 14 117 Demon
11 7 19 114 Artist (formerly known as Prince Iaukea)
8 14 12 106 Justin Credible
6 10 17 94 Big Show
5 15 11 92 Mike Tenay
4 12 9 74 Billy Kidman
6 6 9 66 Scotty Anton
6 7 7 65 Eric Bischoff
3 10 9 63 Scott Steiner
2 10 10 60 Wall
4 9 6 59 Lex Luger
5 6 7 57 Jeff Jarrett
4 8 5 54 Mideon
4 7 5 51 Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley
5 3 8 50 Chyna
2 8 8 50 Kane
5 2 1 33 Hacksaw Jim Duggan
4 1 4 31 Steven Richards
1 6 4 31 Vampiro
4 2 2 30 Hulk Hogan
2 3 5 29 Val Venis
2 4 2 26 Tazz
3 1 3 24 Vince McMahon
2 2 4 24 Sid Vicious
2 3 2 23 Rhino
2 2 3 22 Goodfather
3 0 2 19 Kurt Angle
3 0 2 19 Dean Malenko
3 0 1 17 Chris Benoit
2 1 2 17 Mr. Ass
3 0 0 15 Tiger Ali Singh
0 3 3 15 Steve Austin
2 0 2 14 Mike Sanders
1 2 1 13 Mick Foley
1 2 1 13 Carl Oulette
0 3 2 13 Viscera
0 3 2 13 Perry Saturn
1 1 2 12 Bull Buchanan
0 1 4 11 Franchise
1 1 1 10 Shane McMahon
1 0 2 9 William Regal
0 1 3 9 Rick Steiner
1 0 1 7 Tank Abbott
1 0 1 7 Chris Jericho
0 1 2 7 Steve Blackman
0 1 2 7 Francine
0 2 0 6 Perfectshawn Stasiak
0 2 0 6 Eddie Guerrero
1 0 0 5 Triple H
1 0 0 5 Evan Karagias
1 0 0 5 Disqo
1 0 0 5 Chuck Palumbo
1 0 0 5 Cat
0 1 1 5 Elix Skipper
0 1 1 5 David Flair
0 1 1 5 Bret Hart
0 0 2 4 Essa Rios
0 0 2 4 Cyrus
0 1 0 3 Trish Stratus
0 1 0 3 Toshiaka Kawada
0 1 0 3 Tori
0 1 0 3 Taka Michinoku
0 1 0 3 Scott Hall
0 1 0 3 Rock
0 1 0 3 Lance Storm
0 1 0 3 Edge
0 1 0 3 Derrick King
0 1 0 3 Buff Bagwell
0 1 0 3 Booker T.
0 1 0 3 Al Snow
0 0 1 2 Stevie Ray
0 0 1 2 Reno
0 0 1 2 Raven
0 0 1 2 Mike Awesome
0 0 1 2 Masahiro Chono
0 0 1 2 Mark Henry
0 0 1 2 Konnan
0 0 1 2 Kimberly Page
0 0 1 2 Jerry Lawler
0 0 1 2 British Bulldog
REJECTED
2 0 2 Right to Censor
1 1 0 "Tie" votes
1 0 0 Natural Born Thrillers
1 0 0 D-Generation X
0 1 1 Duplicate votes
0 1 0 New Age Outlaws
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: IF AND IF GOLDBERG GOES HEEL AGAIN, I will start
wishing for Jennifer Aniston to face Courtney Cox-Arquette in the squared
circle.
HIRO: What were they thinking when they decided to make Rikishi the
driver? I'm just not sold on Stephanie, and non-wrestlers should NEVER
participate in a wrestling match, much less being crowned World Champion.
BRUNO PULVER: Rikishi "worst piece of shit that ever wrestled" Phatu- is
it anyhow possible for him to perform his anal shenanigans backstage in
the shower or something.
MARK POLISHUK: "Oh you didn't know?" "You're supposed to be a heel!" "Oh,
I guess I didn't know." Honourable mention goes to Bill "Hero to Children
Everywhere" Goldberg and Mike "Women Suck!" Tenay
ADAM FROM TORONTO: Oklahoma: Look! I'm a heel 'cause I like football and
part of my face is paralyzed! Madden: Look! I'm a heel 'cause I'm fat and
wear zany shirts! Oulette: Look! I'm a heel 'cause I'm French and only
have one eye!
ROBERT STRUPP: WCW had no luck with top level heels. Kevin Nash will
always seem too cool to be bad. Goldberg's heart wasn't in it. Sting had
too many years as a top face, and Vince Russo writing his heel turn. Hard
to believe this was the same company that pulled off the Hogan heel turn
so well.
SCOTT W.: Vince Russo is the worst at everyting. That's why he is the
worst heel. Oklahoma wasn't even funny and WCW should pay me for seeing
him. Madden just sucks and still lives with his mother, so if you call
him a name, he will go cry to his mommy. What type of heel is that? ;-)
DONNIE VOMIT: Kevin Nash, F this guy.
MARCUS SPARKS: WCW learned you can't make someone a heel who isn't willing
to be one. The Road Dogg refused to drop his stupid spiel. Vince Russo
just sucked.
PETE GOODRICH:Rhino sucks a lot. I'd love for that little roided up
midget to try and make the jump to the WWF. Then Tiger Ali Singh will
finally have someone to look down on.
BEANS: My reasoning for Nash and Goldberg was that neither one of them
really tried to act like heels. They hurt the company for personal gain.
Rick Steiner OTOH just can't interview for $#!&.
JOHN C.: Goldberg is the runaway winner here because of his constant
bitching about being a heel. When you cut a promo saying "I don't want to
be a heel" it should automatically earn you this award. David Arquette
has no right to be near a wrestling ring and Oklahoma was just a fat
booker trying to put himself on TV. Absolutely pathetic.
JEB LUND: X-Pac. My God. Is this person supposed to be intimidating at
all? Any match with X-Pac is a blatant waste of talent, patience and
airtime. I find X-Pac about as intrinsically threatening as an angry
cocker spaniel: it means to frighten you; it’s unintentionally kind of
cute; but in the end you still want to pick up and punt the little bastard
across the room. And, given his size, I probably could.
ANDY P. GOSS: Ah, Goldberg, Road Dogg, and Big Sexy. Three heels that
never acted that way. You wonder why they're on my list?
STEPHEN TISZENKEL: Road Dogg needs to learn that an essential part of
being a heel is -- uh, well, being a heel. This is my third comment about
Road Dogg, by the way. See where I'm going with this?
JON WALTON: Last year I thought that bad heeldom should be dubbed
"Sting-dom" from that moment on. However Goldberg has now changed my name
for bad heeling to "Goldberging". You can't practice heeling that bad
folks.
JONAH ROSCH: I always have trouble with this category. You can either go
with a decent wrestler who just was not a successful heel, like a Billy
Kidman. Or you can go with a complete waste of space, that no one cared
about, had no heel heat, and everyone hated. I decided to go with the
later, and my utter disdain for David Arquette rang through. He might be
the single worst thing that happened in wrestling this year. I mean he
beat out the Demon and Oaklahoma, pretty impressive. Congratulations,
David, you putz.
JAMES HOWARD: "Oh no! Run, children! Run away! It's too late for me! I
have been trapped by the most feared, evil man of our generation!
GOLDBERG, THE EVIL JEWISH MAN WHO THE AUDIENCE CHANTS THE NAME OF! Surely,
my time is now... is now... *wait* a second."
GEORGE JOHNSON: Goldberg as a heel? Hey Russo, remember that Sting guy?
Idiot.
LCDRKODIAS: Notice none of these guys are wrestlers? Hmmmmm.
PETER HAZLETT: You can't be a heel when people always seem to like you.
Trying to make Sting or Goldberg heel was really dumb!!
JOE GAGNE: Goldberg as a heel was a dismal flop, mainly because no one
wants to boo the guy. And why should we hate the Artist (crappy ring
skills notwithstanding)? Because he acts like Prince? Scotty Anton turned
on Rob Van Dam and still no one gave a crap about him.
BOB MORRIS: Goldberg may have been a heel for just a few weeks, but there
can be no denying that his heel turn was a disaster...part of it may have
been the fact Goldberg wouldn't cooperate with the bookers, but the truth
is, the fans just loved the guy so much that they just couldn't boo him.
It was smart of WCW to kill the heel turn as quickly as they did.
C READ: Did Nash actually turn heel??
SCOTT ZUCKER: Both Sting and Goldberg were terrible heels over the past
year. Sting was unconvincing. Goldberg's heel turn was poorly executed, he
was never over as a heel. In addition, WCW never let him get over as a
heel, because he was turned back to being a face rather quickly.
RICK SCAIA: Sting gets Worst Heel honors, though honestly, it's probably
more accurate to say his heel run SHOULD be awarded the "Worst Idea for a
Heel Turn" award. Sting didn't help matters by being just about the least
enthusiastic villian of all time.
TROY OLSON: The Goldberg heel turn was probably worse than Sting's last
year. No one cares about the Wall. Tenay's heel turn only occurred when
he was doing an interview, so it never really worked. It was funny
though.
JEREMY DELINE: Goldberg put the least effort I've ever seen into his role
as a heel-and then talks about being a company man. what the hell? the
only time he looked happy was when he was making Jim Duggan's kidney
bleed..Vince Russo's New York Tough act was both laughable and
disgusting-the kind of naked contempt for the paying fan that mixed with
raw ego tripping to produce a stench of raw filth every time he opened his
mouth and sprayed spittle all over WCW's twitching carcass. Road Dogg
looked lost whenever he wasn't getting to rap..and listening to Jim Ross
pimp him as a dangerous competitor was one of those things that makes you
doubt the goodwill of your fellow man. Road Dogg needs to go back to what
he does best-getting hit in the head with heavy objects.
NATHAN LONEY: I don't hate Mark Madden, as much as WCW wants me to. That
makes him a bad heel. Kevin Nash can't play the heel, because he's too
cool for the room. Hear those boos, Mr. Russo? Those aren't heel boos...
those are "go the fuck back to Brooklyn and stay there" boos.
BILL LEHECKA: If Kevin Nash gave just a little bit of effort in his work,
then I wouldn't of even put him on my ballot. He just doesn't care
anymore. Neither do I.
MATT SPAULDING: Goldberg as a heel was just a bad, bad idea. Mike Tenay
just doesn't have enough personality to be a heel. Road Dogg does - he's
just not very good at it.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: What a great swerve it was turning beloved babyface WCW
champion David Arquette heel. What a completely unexpected masterpiece of
plotting. What a heartbreaker to all his loving fans. He should never have
been in the damn ring in the first place, so why would they stretch the
angle out so long as to actually *turn him heel*? Oklahoma was equally
unover, not to mention in bad taste. And X-Pac is hated, certainly, but
more because people are sick of him and his neverending push than because
he's at all effective as a heel.
KEVIN SMITH: Road Dogg just refused to heel. 'nuff said.
TANVIR RAQUIB: Big Bossman gets way too much of a face pop - his status as
"Worst Heel" can not and must not be denied.
MIKE PLYLEY: Is there any doubt that Goldberg will win this? Remember,
there was nothing that Vince McMahon could do about it! After a year and
a half, Road Dogg still couldn't figure out that if you're a HEEL, you
don't play up to the crowd. Must have been all the pot he smoked.
JOHN DONALDSON: The Phone Guy should stick to the silver screen, his wiry
frame isn't made for the wrestling ring. The U.S. Male Scotty Anton was
even worse in ECW than he was as Riggs in WCW, the guy has no flavor.
Oklahoma, what can I say, how can I hate someone who does such a
half-hearted Jim Ross impression.
NICK RANGEL: Tough call, but Hogan and the bookers made Kidman look like
Hogan's bitch. Hogan didn't even try to put Kidman over, one more reason
to despise him as the industry's greatest pariah.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Oklahoma had no business sticking around as more than
a one-time gag. PERIOD. Vince Russo WCW champ? I don't think so. So the
Powers that Were get the top two spots. Despite the fact that he drives
the Bluesmobile to funerals, Bossman still isn't cool.
PHIL PRZYBYLO: Jarrett gets my vote. His promos are weak, his main event
status is questionable, and his matches are one-dimensional. He was once
a love-to-hate guy. Now he's a love-to-change-the-channel-when-he's-on
guy. Road Dogg gets my third place vote because he defines this category
as he was the worst (re: non-existant) heel ever.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worst Babyface
Award Description:
To be given to the person whose casting as a good guy just didn't work well.
Maybe there was just no face heat drawn or maybe the fans actually booed
this person, but for whatever reason the face image just didn't get over.
Previous Winners:
1990: Dusty Rhodes
1991: P.N. News
1992: Sid Justice
1993: Lex Luger
1994: Hulk Hogan
1995: Hulk Hogan
1996: John Tenta
1997: Rocky Maivia
1998: Warrior
1999: Hulk Hogan
**2000**: Hulk Hogan
529 first place votes
506 second place votes
491 third place votes
77 46 29 581 Hulk Hogan
49 48 46 481 Mr. Ass
35 37 26 338 Sid Vicious
38 32 24 334 Kevin Nash
34 31 33 329 Road Dogg
31 25 27 284 Buff Bagwell
33 25 19 278 Chyna
22 19 20 207 Kwee-Wee
17 18 14 167 Big Show
17 13 16 156 General Rection
13 16 20 153 X-Pac
10 13 21 131 Konnan
16 10 9 128 Goldberg
8 13 19 117 Mideon
7 16 11 105 Scott Steiner
11 7 14 104 Vince McMahon
8 8 13 90 Godfather
4 13 14 87 Dean Malenko
7 8 10 79 Kane
6 8 12 78 Undertaker
7 8 9 77 Triple H
10 3 2 63 Rock
7 6 5 63 Booker T.
4 6 11 60 Eddie Guerrero
2 12 5 56 Steve Blackman
5 3 5 44 Chris Jericho
5 3 4 42 Nova
4 5 1 37 David Arquette
2 4 6 34 Al Snow
1 6 3 29 Steve Austin
2 5 1 27 Sting
2 4 2 26 Rikishi
3 1 3 24 Steve Corino
3 1 0 18 Cat
1 3 1 16 Mike Awesome
2 1 1 15 Lex Luger
1 2 0 11 Rick Steiner
2 0 0 10 Vince Russo
2 0 0 10 Tazz
2 0 0 10 Kurt Angle
2 0 0 10 Dusty Rhodes
1 1 1 10 Hardcore Holly
1 1 1 10 Crowbar
1 0 2 9 Rob Van Dam
0 2 1 8 David Flair
1 0 1 7 Sgt. A-Wall
1 0 1 7 Jerry Lawler
1 0 1 7 Crash
1 0 1 7 Chris Benoit
0 2 0 6 Jerry Lynn
0 2 0 6 Grand Master Sexay
1 0 0 5 Mike Rapada
1 0 0 5 Maestro
1 0 0 5 Jeff Hardy
1 0 0 5 Demon
1 0 0 5 Chris Chetti
0 1 1 5 Sandman
0 1 1 5 New Jack
0 1 1 5 Mick Foley
0 1 1 5 Diamond Dallas Page
0 1 1 5 Danny Doring
0 1 1 5 D'Lo Brown
0 0 2 4 Val Venis
0 1 0 3 Wall
0 1 0 3 Tommy Dreamer
0 1 0 3 Selina Majors
0 1 0 3 Scotty 2 Hotty
0 1 0 3 Roddy Piper
0 1 0 3 Perfectshawn Stasiak
0 1 0 3 Micheal Cole
0 1 0 3 Matt Hardy
0 1 0 3 Madusa
0 1 0 3 Linda McMahon
0 1 0 3 Disqo
0 0 1 2 Trailer Park Trash
0 0 1 2 Spike Dudley
0 0 1 2 Patti Pep
0 0 1 2 Meng
0 0 1 2 Lenny Lane
0 0 1 2 Lance Storm
0 0 1 2 K-Krush
0 0 1 2 Hacksaw Jim Duggan
0 0 1 2 Great Muta
0 0 1 2 Essa Rios
0 0 1 2 Dustin Rhodes
0 0 1 2 Bret Hart
REJECTED
2 1 1 Dudley Boyz
2 0 2 Too Cool
1 1 1 "Tie" votes
0 0 1 Hardy Boyz
0 0 1 Acolytes
HIRO: Basically, all of them can't decide to either be a babyface or a
heel. Chyna supposedly turned heel by DDT'ing Jericho to give Guerrero the
Euro belt, but she gets face pops instead? Same goes for the other two
guys.
MICHAEL BANKER: Why is Goldberg such a bad face? Because he won't sell
for any heel opponents, and therefore nobody seems to have a chance
against him, and therefore I just don't care about him. He wins all of
his matches in two seconds. Oh. Wow. Great. Really. (By the way, one
of the most hilarious aspects of your recaps is the way that you compare
Goldberg's entrance time with his actual match time. That is just too
funny!)
MARK POLISHUK: Hey, let's cheer for...Sid? Uh, nope.
ADAM FROM TORONTO: Gunn is right up there for worst gimmick(s)/music combo
in the history of the world.
ROBERT STRUPP: Eddy just has the natural charm of a heel, that having him
a face doesn't seem right. Kevin Nash may seem too cool to be a heel, but
he's too lazy to be a good face. Kane should always be portrayed as an ass
kicking heel, and his sympathetic side really could have ruined his
credibility overall. In fact, I'm not sure how it didn't.
SCOTT W.: Is Konnan a babyface? If he is, he sucks. Bagwell is pathetic
too.
DONNIE VOMIT: It pained me to see HHH, Eddie Guerrero and Hogan try to
play their own respective babyface roles. Triple H and Eddie are better
off as heels. Hogan is better off being sent to the glue factory.
MARCUS SPARKS: Nobody is ever going to buy Vince McMahon as a face again.
Konnan's act is old and tired as whatever salads he's been tossing. And
Billy Gunn's been rammed down the collective throats of the populace for
so long I'm just tired of him.
JOHN C.: Why would anybody in their right mind cheer Sid, Chyna or
Bagwell?
ANDY P. GOSS: I put Big Show first, Dean Malenko second, and Kane third.
Not because they necessarily flopped as babyfaces, but because their
personae and style of wrestling make them perfect heels. Well, Show and
Malenko anyway. I put Kane in the Worst Face category as an intelligent
joke. :)
JON WALTON: She has fake boobs, a big bazooka, a shitty handspring elbow,
zero ring talent and a World Champion boyfriend, why am I supposed to like
Chyna again?
JONAH ROSCH: It's sad when you're watching television and actually wishing
that Hollywood Hogan would return. I mean Hollywood is sad and pathetic,
but at least as a heel it actually makes more sense. As a face, Hulk Hogan
is just ridiculous in every way shape and form.
JAMES HOWARD: As I said earlier, fans do not like an Indestructable,
Invincible Babyface; they like faces who overcome tremendous odds and
severe asskickings to give it their all and triumph in the end. They don't
like faces who control the entire match, take very little if any
punishment during the match, and invariably win easily. Unless it's
Goldberg. So, hey, Billy Gunn, here's a message: YOU'RE NO GOLDBERG. ^_^:;
JUST JEFF: How come Steve Austin isn't included in the list? His
character was never repackaged to become a face; Stone Cold's always been
a heel at heart.
GEORGE JOHNSON: Rection's trying, but not even The Rock could rise above
his gimmick.
PETER HAZLETT: With a name like Vicious, how can you be a face?
SCOTT ZUCKER: It's difficult for me to see how fans can cheer Billy Gunn,
Buff Bagwell, and Chyna.
TROY OLSON: I actually think Gunn is a better face now, without the gay
hair, gay music, and gay name. He's pretty much less gay. X pac was born
to be a heel because no one likes to cheer for someone who's as greasy as
he is. General Rection has a lame name and will never be taken seriously
no matter how hard WCW pushes him.
NATHAN LONEY: Hulk Hogan. Yes, I would love to see him as the mentor to
Kurt Angle. No, I don't want to hear about the Hulkamaniacs, Hogan being
a superpowered entity, or "yapappi" strap matches. Chyna gets cheers
because she's a woman with a very muscular body. Not because of anything
she does in the ring. I'm just plain sick of Goldberg. You aren't
everything and the wrestling world doesn't revolve around you, you
overrated goof.
BILL LEHECKA: I'm supposed to LIKE Buff Bagwell? His happy-go-lucky shit
annoys me to no end. His work effort has seriously declined, and I don't
know if I'm supposed to like him or hate him. It's good to be loved.
It's good to be hated. It's not good to be apathetic.
NATE PATRIN: And just my luck, the WWF is starting to base a new stable
around them. RUN, K-KWICK! RUN WHILE YOU CAN! GIVE ROAD DOGG A CHAIRSHOT
AND DITCH HIS SORRY ASS!
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Undertaker is...the American Jackass!
TANVIR RAQUIB: Chris Jericho used to be really fucking cool. Then,
Bischoff buried him. Now, he's a corny, long haired white guy who is just
so...I hate to say it...RUN OF THE MILL. Worst face seems QUITE
respectable all things considered.
MIKE PLYLEY: Hulkamania is running wild again, brother! So is
Bolleamania! Cheer for him!
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Worst Babyface? How about Kevin Nash and his
ever-slowing moves. As documented, Billy Gunn has no business as an
upper-card guy. Yep, Godfather and his punching and kicking sucks too.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worst Worker
Award Description:
To be given to the name wrestler whose workrate is so low it's barely
measureable.
Previous Winners:
1990: Junkyard Dog
1991: Andre The Giant
1992: Nailz
1993: Giant Gonzalez
1994: Hulk Hogan
1995: Hulk Hogan
1996: Hulk Hogan
1997: Hulk Hogan
1998: Hollywood Hogan
1999: Hulk Hogan
**2000**: Kevin Nash
538 first place votes
520 second place votes
504 third place votes
137 76 44 1001 Kevin Nash
85 54 31 649 Hulk Hogan
21 44 47 331 Lex Luger
20 31 32 257 Sid Vicious
29 23 14 242 Chyna
24 19 21 219 Big Show
25 18 18 215 David Arquette
7 26 24 161 Viscera
16 19 11 159 Goldberg
17 15 12 154 Vince Russo
15 16 14 151 Undertaker
12 11 14 121 Hacksaw Jim Duggan
12 12 11 118 David Flair
8 9 10 87 Mr. Ass
8 9 7 81 Scott Steiner
8 7 10 81 Road Dogg
7 8 9 77 New Jack
7 8 7 73 X-Pac
8 6 7 72 Big Boss Man
3 11 11 70 Goodfather
7 5 6 62 Rock
6 4 10 62 Oklahoma
4 8 8 60 Sgt. A-Wall
4 3 8 45 Scott Hall
5 3 5 44 Mideon
2 4 10 42 Brian Knobs
2 7 5 41 Bull Buchanan
1 3 13 40 Sandman
3 2 7 35 Albert
2 3 8 35 Kane
4 4 1 34 Stevie Ray
1 7 4 34 Rikishi
3 2 6 33 Chuck Palumbo
2 4 2 26 Steve Austin
0 4 7 26 Buff Bagwell
3 0 5 25 Cat
2 3 1 21 Tank Abbott
2 3 1 21 Rob Van Dam
0 2 5 16 Perfectshawn Stasiak
2 0 2 14 Konnan
2 1 0 13 Rhino
2 1 0 13 Godfather
0 1 5 13 Tommy Dreamer
0 3 1 11 Sting
1 1 1 10 Justin Credible
1 1 0 8 Vampiro
0 2 1 8 Tazz
0 0 4 8 Raven
1 0 1 7 Crusher Maedomari
0 1 2 7 Mike Samples
0 1 2 7 Mark Henry
0 1 2 7 Franchise
0 2 0 6 Triple H
1 0 0 5 Steven Richards
1 0 0 5 Nova
1 0 0 5 Heavy D
1 0 0 5 D'Lo Brown
1 0 0 5 Chris Benoit
0 1 1 5 Evan Karagias
0 1 1 5 Chris Jericho
0 0 2 4 Vince McMahon
0 1 0 3 Tiger Ali Singh
0 1 0 3 Sal E. Graziano
0 1 0 3 Rick Steiner
0 1 0 3 Pat Patterson
0 1 0 3 Meng
0 1 0 3 Bryan Adams
0 1 0 3 British Bulldog
0 1 0 3 Big T
0 0 1 2 Thrasher
0 0 1 2 Scott Norton
0 0 1 2 Sakura Hirota
0 0 1 2 Mike Awesome
0 0 1 2 Gerry Brisco
0 0 1 2 General Rection
0 0 1 2 Gangrel
0 0 1 2 Dean Malenko
0 0 1 2 Cuddley Berr
0 0 1 2 Chaz
0 0 1 2 Brian Adams
REJECTED
1 2 1 "Tie" votes
1 0 0 Duplicate votes
0 0 1 Eminem
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: The Original NWO is reunited!
DON DEL GRANDE: The "wannabes" aren't expected to work, so I left them out
here.
HIRO: Undertaker is just too old and injured, plain and simple. Chyna,
like I said, would've faired better if she joined the women's ranks, but
nooo, she just had to fight with men instead. Big Show is in the same
league as UT, but I think he still has time on his side so maybe he'll
improve next year.
JUSTIN McGROTTY: Would like to add a reason why I chose Rob Van Dam as one
of the 3 worse workers of the year, since I know he will not be on a lot
of ballots in that position. Anytime that RVD is in the ring, he only
caters to the people who come to see him, with no care in his mind to help
carry a match. To achieve this, he will perform a move, then spend 30
seconds or so posing, pointing and all-around killing the flow of a match.
For this, the only time he can be involved in a good match is when someone
else carries him in it. His style makes him one of the worse wrestlers in
the ring today.
ROBERT STRUPP: Man, is Kevin Nash horrid or what? Russo isn't much better,
but at least he can claim to not being a "trained" wrestler. Sid looked
bad, even with Benoit across the ring from him. That says a lot as to how
bad he is.
MICHAEL STAKELY: It's likely that David Flair will easily carry this
category, I can't vote him though. He puts a whole helluva lot of effort
into his work (far more than several of the past few WCW champions who
names are not Jarrett or Booker) and actually seems to be enjoying doing
it, it's just too bad that he doesn't have enough experience. If he had
recieved more training before entering the business, he might actually
have had a future in wrestling, now it's too late for that.
SCOTT W.: WCW has the current Big 3 in worst workers. Hogan, Duggan, and
Goldberg. Maybe there should be a separate category for the WWF, so
Viscera and Midean get their share of the votes.
DONNIE VOMIT: I've said it once and I'll say it again: if Chyna doesn't
win this category by a frickin mile, I'll tip over some leg amputees.
She's got no timing, she punches like a girl, no workrate, her handspring
elbow sucks... I could go on. Undertaker's picked it up lately, but he
shouldn't be going over the likes of Jericho or losing Dustily to Kurt
Angle. He should be putting over the talent like Mick did at the end of
his run. And Tommy Dreamer is retired now (hopefully), but it doesn't
override the fact that he sucked this year.
MARCUS SPARKS: I repeat: DAVID F-ing ARQUETTE had NO BUSINESS being a
world champion. Nash may be a wrestler in name only. Tommy Dreamer's
injuries are seriously hampering him.
JOHN C.: Has The Cat ever had a watchable match? It's amazing how Lex
Luger and Hulk Hogan still have no idea on how to put on a good match
despite the past that they have been in this business for such a long
time.
ANDY P. GOSS: "Nash, yes! Hogan, no! Nash, yes! Hogan, no!"
Meanwhile, New Jack and Sandman know nothing about moveset, transitions,
workrate, or psychology, and thus ignore them in their matches in favor of
beating people up. That puts them here.
STEPHEN TISZENKEL: I just changed my no-write-in-votes policy. I dare
anybody to explain to me why any given wrestler is a worse worker than
Road Dogg.
JON WALTON: Kevin Nash and Sid are both so awful it's hard to pick a
winner. Tails said Sid Vicioius.
MARKUS: 4th place: Godfather
JAMES HOWARD: The WWF terminated the contracts of Vader and the Blue
Meanie because they claim that the two men were overweight and slow, and
thus were not worthwhile WWF material. But *Viscera*... *Viscera* they
keep. I am *sure* there is a logical explanation for this. ^_^
JUST JEFF: I would've included David Arquette in my list of nominees, but
he's not really a wrestler.
JOE GAGNE: Nash has gotten so lazy it?s embarassing. A gimmick change
can?t cover up that the Goodfather is a terrible wrestler. Lex Luger
remains an absolute load in the ring.
TROY OLSON: It's hard not to put Chyna on this list, but at least she
exerts effort in her matches and looks like she wants to be there=85
JEREMY DELINE: Watching Vince Russo No-Sell Ric Flair's figure four was
the single most obnoxious thing his character did in the ring. Kevin Nash
is the textbook example of a poor worker, and David Arquette's constant
(even while trying to feign unconciousness) goofy smile undermined any
sense of realism in his matches. his entire presence was one big joke..
NATHAN LONEY: Kevin Nash doesn't know a wristlock from a wristwatch. I
think he wasn't paying attention at wrestling school that day, because he
was combing his hair, and wondering how he can pass through with a minimum
amount of effort... kinda like his matches today. Sad. New Jack isn't a
wrestler. I only rated him second because he knows he isn't. Buff
Bagwell sucks. His attitude sucks backstage, and he sucks the pipe in the
ring.
BILL LEHECKA: Just because Chyna's a woman she's thrusted into the IC
title hunt because she might be able to take one or two bumps tops? I
know of numerous workers who deserved holding the belt rather than her.
NATE PATRIN: Nash beats Arquette solely because Arquette isn't *expected*
to be a competent wrestler.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: I think David Arquette being the worst "worker" (and I
use the term loosely) in wrestling this years should go without saying...
but I'll say it anyway. Sid Viscous and Big Slow both got pushed to their
federation's respective titles, and yet neither of them could wrestle his
way out of a wet paper bag, and neither's good for more than the odd pop.
OCTAVIAN: You don't have the WWF pay you millions of dollars and send you
to Ohio without being a pretty shitty worker, eh Big Show?
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Every move Chyna does sucks--and not in a good way!
TANVIR RAQUIB: Sadly, Big Bossman did not bust enough funny Japanese
submissions. Therefore, he is the Worst Worker of the year.
JOHN DONALDSON: All of my choices are just too lazy: Lex Luger is too in
love with his pectorals to focus on putting on a quality match anymore,
Sid's mind is on getting ready for the overweight second-rate pitching in
an Arkansas softball league, X-Pac could be one of the best wrestlers
pound for pound in the world if he just gave a damn.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: As with Worst Babyface, another traditional Hogan
award. However "Big Lazy", Brian "The ICON of suckage" Knobbs, and Lex
Luger win here.
ROB "R2K" EVANS: Worst Worker - "Big Lazy" Kevin Nash.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Least Favourite Wrestler
Award Description:
To be given to the wrestler you like the least, regardless of the reason.
Previous Winners:
1991: Hulk Hogan
1992: Hulk Hogan
1993: Hulk Hogan
1994: Hulk Hogan
1995: Hulk Hogan
1996: Hulk Hogan
1997: Hulk Hogan
1998: Hollywood Hogan
1999: Hulk Hogan
**2000**: Hulk Hogan
545 first place votes
533 second place votes
519 third place votes
95 40 28 651 Hulk Hogan
45 50 21 417 Kevin Nash
36 35 31 347 Big Boss Man
41 26 22 327 Chyna
36 25 33 321 X-Pac
22 39 30 287 Mr. Ass
17 30 26 227 Road Dogg
23 21 23 224 Vince Russo
23 19 17 206 Rock
23 16 18 199 Buff Bagwell
10 19 20 147 Sid Vicious
19 6 11 135 Goldberg
14 13 13 135 Scott Steiner
12 8 14 112 Justin Credible
9 13 10 104 Mideon
10 8 12 98 Undertaker
7 9 15 92 Lex Luger
6 10 10 80 Viscera
8 6 10 78 Oklahoma
3 14 9 75 David Flair
9 7 4 74 Steve Austin
6 6 12 72 Goodfather
1 11 11 60 Big Show
7 6 2 57 Triple H
4 4 8 48 Albert
5 4 5 47 Rob Van Dam
1 5 13 46 Perfectshawn Stasiak
3 5 7 44 Kane
4 4 3 38 Konnan
3 5 3 36 Chuck Palumbo
4 3 3 35 Rikishi
2 5 4 33 Jeff Jarrett
1 5 6 32 Franchise
4 2 2 30 David Arquette
0 4 7 26 Sandman
2 3 3 25 Booker T.
1 4 2 21 Tazz
2 3 0 19 Sgt. A-Wall
3 0 1 17 Bret Hart
1 2 1 13 Rhino
0 3 2 13 Hacksaw Jim Duggan
0 3 2 13 C.W. Anderson
2 0 1 12 Cat
1 1 2 12 Diamond Dallas Page
0 4 0 12 Gangrel
1 2 0 11 Perry Saturn
0 3 1 11 Bull Buchanan
2 0 0 10 Tank Abbott
2 0 0 10 Mark Henry
1 0 2 9 Val Venis
1 0 2 9 Sting
1 0 2 9 New Jack
1 1 0 8 Brian Adams
0 2 1 8 Kwee-Wee
1 0 1 7 Steven Richards
1 0 1 7 Raven
0 1 2 7 Scott Hall
0 1 2 7 Chris Jericho
0 2 0 6 Stevie Ray
0 2 0 6 Reno
1 0 0 5 Tommy Dreamer
1 0 0 5 Test
1 0 0 5 Screamin' Norman Smiley
1 0 0 5 Nova
1 0 0 5 Mike Samples
1 0 0 5 Gedoh
1 0 0 5 Brian Knobs
0 1 1 5 Scotty 2 Hotty
0 1 1 5 General Rection
0 0 2 4 Kensuke Sasaki
0 0 2 4 Dean Malenko
0 0 2 4 Corporal Cajun
0 1 0 3 Vampiro
0 1 0 3 Kidman
0 1 0 3 Godfather
0 1 0 3 Essa Rios
0 1 0 3 Eddie Guerrero
0 1 0 3 Bryan Clark
0 0 1 2 William Regal
0 0 1 2 Shinya Makabe
0 0 1 2 Shane McMahon
0 0 1 2 Scott Norton
0 0 1 2 Roddy Piper
0 0 1 2 Mark Madden
0 0 1 2 Hawk
0 0 1 2 Harvey Wippleman
0 0 1 2 D'Lo Brown
0 0 1 2 Crusher Maedomari
0 0 1 2 Chris Benoit
0 0 1 2 Buh Buh Ray Dudley
0 0 1 2 British Bulldog
0 0 1 2 Big Ron Harris
0 0 1 2 Al Snow
REJECTED
0 2 2 Duplicate votes
1 0 1 Right to Censor
1 0 1 "Tie" votes
0 2 0 Too Cool
0 1 0 Full Blooded Italians
0 0 1 Test & Albert
HIRO: Yes, I don't like Chyna and I will continue disliking her as long as
she fights men in the ring. Hogan continues to suck and Bossman is simply
way past his expiry date. Two of them are somehow no longer on TV, let's
hope Chyna joins them soon, or at least stop having matches against men. I
don't really like the Rock, but not as bad as these three.
OTTO HEUER: Least Favourite Wrestler--It seems this category is the
hardest to narrow down each year, as there are so many people in the biz
that fall into my "fast forward" list: 1st: Tazz 2nd: Justin Credible
3rd: Hacksaw Jim Duggan Others: Big Bossman, Big Show, Buff Bagwell, Chuck
Palumbo, Goodfather, Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Mideon, Mr. Ass, Perfectshawn
Stasiak, Prince Albert, Shane Douglas, Undertaker, Vince Russo. But on the
other hand, some people that were taken OFF my list this year (as they
seem to have stepped it up a notch): Rock, Angle, Sid, Scott Steiner, etc.
LAGMONSTR: I hate Bret Hart more than I hate Palm Beach Voters.
J3R CR0WE: I will always hate the Big Bossman. Mr. Ass was just the lamest
gimmick and the wrestler in general sucked the meat missle too.
ROBERT STRUPP: Is it just me, or has the Rock gotten stale? I do like him
better as a heel, so that might be it. Nash just flat out blows, and I'm
always convinced that Scott Steiner is going to kill somebody, whether
it's a wrestler or a fan. That's not a good thing.
MICHAEL STAKELY: 3. The man cannot even interfere in a match without
screaming when he hits a move. This makes the ref look like a complete
moron for not turning around.
SCOTT W.: Hogan just annoys me. Goldberg annoys me and Vince Russo makes
me turn the channel. Why wasn't Konnan a nominee?
DONNIE VOMIT: Chyna, you ARE ugly, you DO look like a man, and you SHOULD
die. The Rock and Booker T, well, yeah, I hate them a little, too.
MARCUS SPARKS: I hate the Rock. I dislike Chyna. Did we really need to
see Mideon's hindquarters and package on live television???
JOHN C.: For me, one of my best memories of the year was seeing Mr. Ass
out of action with a shoulder injury. He has to be the most annoying
wrestler of all time yet WWF management still pushes him for some unknown
reason. Chyna was pushed down our throats WAY too much this year so she
makes the list for that along with the fact that she is the most
undeserving IC champion ever. Buff Bagwell thinks he's so good yet he has
never done a thing to impress me.
STEVE SHIVES: I swear, if Chyna were shot, hit by a bus, and then blown up
by Islamic terrorists tonight, in my back yard, in front of me, I SWEAR
all I'd do is smile. And thank God.
ANDY P. GOSS: Now that's not just the lamest, that's not just the worst --
that my friends, is Justin Tolerable! Buff Bagwell is an annoying SOB who
strikes me as the kind of guy we want to punch in the mouth for existing.
And HHH is just plain ticking me off for always being there when I want
him to stick with one story.
CHRIS BURKE: Is it just me, or has Kane become terribly boring? He’s not
exactly Benoit in the ring, and is getting some mic time, but that’s only
helped to make his character less interesting. He hasn’t had an
interesting feud in a year…the X-Pac feud fell short, as did an aborted
run with the Undertaker, the Jericho feud made no sense, and he can’t seem
to get over as either a heel or a face. He keeps popping up in title
matches, but when was the last time he took home a strap of any kind?
He’s no threat to the world title…maybe they need to package him in some
kind of tag-team. Something needs to change.
MARKUS: Any time one of these 3 comes on TV, even if they're going against
one of my favs or something, I still feel like turning the channel.
JAMES HOWARD: The only way the man I chose as my Least Favorite Wrestler
can escape that spot is if he changes his name to Hol Horse Hemingway, so
that he would be what we all know he wants to be; Justin Other Triple H.
^^
TERRY ANDERTON: 3rd - Madden's in Least Favourite wrestler because he
fought Okerlund. He counts.
JOE GAGNE: Kevin Nash?s lousy matches and pathetic efforts to be "cool"
earn him the top slot. I despise Jeff Jarrett and his stupid "slap-insert
word" catchphrase. Justin Credible was harmless enough when he first went
to ECW, but his monster push has made him insufferable.
TROY OLSON: =85but I still hate her and the fact that she is taking the
spot of someone who might be able to put on a good match, or at least
execute a decent handspring elbow.
NATHAN LONEY: "BOOOOO-RING! BOOOOO-RING!" There's my new piped in chant
for Goldberg. I'd rather watch Bull Buchanan wrestle Mae Young in
pudding, I dislike him so much. Kevin Nash is a close second. He sucks,
his attitude sucks, and for some reason, the fans at the shows love him.
Mr. Ass can change his name as much as possible, but the end result is the
same... HE BLOWS!
BILL LEHECKA: I have no comment here.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Has Hulk Hogan ever *not* win this award? Well, there's
a reason for that... I love Tazz as a colour man, but he's still the same
old talentless no-selling piece of shit in the ring that he always was.
Finally, although I'll admit the Rock is a great interview, somewhat
underrated as a worker, always adding new moves to his repertoire and, of
course, massively over, I still hate him. I've nothing against Dwayne
Johnson, but the gimmick of the Rock irritates the hell out of me.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: These past few months have been great for the WWF.
X-Pac has been injured these past few months. Coincidence? i don't think
so.
TANVIR RAQUIB: Big Bossman's inability to use that shooting star press
that was so prominent during his AJPW tour cost him my love and devotion.
Maybe next year, Ray!
MIKE PLYLEY: I hate Chyna, I hate Road Dogg, and I hate Hogan. I hope
that I don't need to explain myself. If you disagree, I've got two words
for ya, Get Rowdy!"
NICK RANGEL: Hogan is a selfish, self-serving bastard. Any initial
promise that the New Blood v. Millionaire's club feud had ended when Hogan
destroyed Billy Kidman, and then used Kidman to help try and get his own
charisma-challenged nephew over.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: What kind of gimmick is a guy named "Mr. Ass"? And
he's a bad wrestler to boot! Mideon and Meat should be fired. Nope, no
Hogan votes here either.
C McMURTRY: What is there to like about Buff Bagwell? He is, by all
accounts, the most arrogant asshole in the business, thinking he is the
hottest thing to hit the business since Andre came over from France. All
that could be ignored if he was, you know, a good wrestler. Shawn Michaels
proved that. But he isn't, and most times, it doesn't seem like he even
wants to be in the ring. Do us all a favor Buff, and hang 'em up now. I
hate Billy Gunn because of the his monster push. Guess being jacked up and
blond gets him more breaks than even he can keep track of.
JBELL55146: Nothing says turn off the TV faster then Buff Bagwell
appearing on my screen. And how Lex Luger has kept the same nothing
gimmick all these years is beyond me. And the hatred for Konnan just goes
without mentioning J
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most Deteriorated Wrestler
Award Description:
To be given to the person whose skill has deteriorated the most over the
past year. This person should be a shadow of his/her former self.
Previous Winners:
1990: Dusty Rhodes
1991: Hulk Hogan
1992: Hulk Hogan
1993: Hulk Hogan
1994: Hulk Hogan
1995: Hulk Hogan
1996: Hulk Hogan
1997: Roddy Piper
1998: British Bulldog
1999: Hulk Hogan
**2000**: Undertaker
538 first place votes
522 second place votes
509 third place votes
69 51 46 590 Undertaker
69 50 40 575 British Bulldog
55 26 23 399 Hulk Hogan
46 41 23 399 Kevin Nash
26 26 32 272 X-Pac
23 23 24 232 Scott Steiner
23 26 19 231 Jake Roberts
28 17 16 223 Bret Hart
21 21 25 218 Great Muta
14 23 30 199 Tommy Dreamer
20 13 24 187 Scott Hall
17 19 18 178 Rey Mysterio Jr.
7 19 12 116 Sting
7 15 16 112 Franchise
8 12 15 106 Raven
7 12 17 105 Hacksaw Jim Duggan
10 10 8 96 Steve Austin
7 10 5 75 Ric Flair
9 5 4 68 Lex Luger
7 8 3 65 Chris Jericho
5 7 5 56 Big Show
5 3 3 40 Mick Foley
3 5 5 40 Juventud Guerrera
1 7 7 40 Kane
3 4 6 39 Perry Saturn
2 5 6 37 Sabu
5 0 5 35 Dusty Rhodes
2 2 9 34 Kidman
3 2 4 29 Goldberg
3 3 2 28 Road Dogg
2 3 3 25 Rock
2 4 1 24 Big Boss Man
2 4 0 22 Terry Funk
0 2 7 20 Jerry Lawler
1 4 1 19 Rikishi
2 2 1 18 Billy Kidman
1 3 2 18 Eddie Guerrero
1 3 1 16 Tazz
1 3 1 16 Stevie Ray
2 1 1 15 Alex Wright
2 0 2 14 Mr. Ass
1 3 0 14 Sandman
1 1 2 12 Buff Bagwell
0 3 1 11 Sid Vicious
2 0 0 10 Keiji Mutoh
2 0 0 10 Diamond Dallas Page
1 1 1 10 Dynamite Kansai
1 1 1 10 Chris Benoit
1 1 1 10 Al Snow
1 0 2 9 Test
0 2 1 8 Great Sasuke
0 2 1 8 Gran Hamada
1 0 1 7 Roddy Piper
1 0 1 7 Rick Steiner
1 0 1 7 Pat Patterson
0 1 2 7 Fit Finlay
0 1 2 7 D'Lo Brown
0 2 0 6 Randy Savage
0 2 0 6 Dustin Rhodes
1 0 0 5 Sgt. A-Wall
1 0 0 5 Paul Orndorff
1 0 0 5 Mitsuharu Misawa
1 0 0 5 George Steele
1 0 0 5 Brian Adams
0 1 1 5 Jushin Liger
0 1 1 5 Bam Bam Bigelow
0 1 0 3 Vampiro
0 1 0 3 Jeff Jarrett
0 1 0 3 Gerry Brisco
0 1 0 3 Funaki
0 1 0 3 D-Von Dudley
0 1 0 3 Buddy Landell
0 1 0 3 Bryan Clark
0 1 0 3 Big T
0 0 1 2 Yokozuna
0 0 1 2 Stan Hansen
0 0 1 2 Robert Fuller
0 0 1 2 Rob Van Dam
0 0 1 2 Mike Awesome
0 0 1 2 Mae Young
0 0 1 2 Hayabusa
0 0 1 2 Hardcore Holly
0 0 1 2 Goodfather
0 0 1 2 Gangrel
0 0 1 2 Faarooq
0 0 1 2 Buh Buh Ray Dudley
0 0 1 2 Atsushi Onita
REJECTED
1 0 1 Owen Hart
0 0 1 Mae Young & Fabulous Moolah
BRAD LYLE: Shouldn't this be called the "Hulk Hogan Memorial Award"
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: Juvi will not be forgiven anytime soon in my book.
Anyone who goes overseas to get high and make an ass of himself (whether
he remembers or not) has self-destructed.
HIRO: UT definitely needs to hang up his wrestling boots soon. I hear
Davey Boy Smith still has a contract with WWF, even with his problems and
all. This was the guy that was number one contender for the WWF
Championship one year ago. Lastly, Raven has somehow greatly deteriorated
ever since his return to TV.
CHRIS BIRD: Kevin Nash can't walk. Undertaker rightfully draws comparisons
to Kevin Nash regularly. British Bulldog has actually gotten worse. Man,
this is depressing...
JASON: It's almost hard to say that Nash has deteriorated. He never did
much in the first place.
MARK POLISHUK: Q: What happens to one's workrate when they spend a year
putting in time in ECW? A: Gets a snotrag taken to it.
ADAM FROM TORONTO: Roberts is a breathing example of the perils of crack.
Raving like a lunatic on your website isn't the best way to prove you're
clean, Jake-o.
MATTHEW HEMING: I don't know if he has really deteriorated (he never was
a workrate machine), but Nash has only wrestled once in the last couple of
months, and he was winded in less than a minute.
LAGMONSTR: No Austin? My mother, upon watching him hobble to his SS match
Sunday night, said that he looked like a Polio Victim, with the braces and
all.
J3R CR0WE: What happened to these three?! I can understand the Undertaker,
but what about the other two? Jesus...
ROBERT STRUPP: Kevin Nash again. Wow, the bottom half of this ballot just
screams his name out. Undertaker is a shadow of his former self, but in
his defense, I wouldn't want to be wrestling with a groin pull, much less
a tear. I bet Tommy Dreamer's spine looks like a pretzel twist.
BEN WEINER: A wise man noted that Hogan doesn't deteriorate because he
possibly couldn't get very worse.
MICHAEL STAKELY: I'm not really sure why I bothered, Hogan will win this
one along with every other negative category as always.
CHRIS OSTER: How does Raven still have a job at this point? He's gotten
obviously sloppy and lazy. Same with Big Show - best thing McMahon
could've done was send him to Ohio. Sting needs to hang 'em up if he's
getting injured so often.
SCOTT W.: Bulldog has really gone to shit. MAN!!! Hart and Muta have that
problem that other old people get. It's called "getting old."
MARCUS SPARKS: I hope neither Hulk Hogan or Kevin Nash win this award,
because they couldn't have detriorated that far down from nothing.
Goldberg's a shell of what he was for a while. He's back into
spear-jackhammer mode. No buildup, no nothing. Two moves and done. I
remember Muta when he first came over from Japan... I was amazed by what
he could do. Now he's just depressing to see. Tommy Dreamer's injuries
are really a problem... he seriously needs to consider a lengthy vacation.
PETE GOODRICH: Davey..he used to be cool. I blame the Warrior.
BEANS: I just want to comment on how sad it is that Rey Mysterio Jr.'s
injury has destroyed his workrate. There was a point when I thought of
him as my favorite wrestler, and I would go well out of my way to catch
him. Now he's a slightly above average cruiserweight.
JOHN C.: Scott Hall had so much potential to be the best wrestler in the
entire business but he ruined all that because of his behaviour behind the
scenes. The things that made Raven so good in the mid-90s disappeared
during his year with ECW although his career could be resurrected with a
fresh start in the WWF. Two years ago Billy Kidman had so much potential
but now he's just become a sloppy worker with absolutely no motivation.
DAVEN HOWARD: There are worse wrestlers than some of these guys, but how
can you be most deteriorated when you didn't have much to begin with?
STEVE SHIVES: Shitty workrate, shitty gimmick, shitty theme music, over on
the memory of how cool he used to be alone, his mere presence holding back
younger, more talented workers--the Undertaker should retire, like,
yesterday. Soon ain't soon enough as far as I'm concerned.
ANDY P. GOSS: Jake Roberts will win this category until the day he dies, I
fear, but he deserves it at least for this year. The film Beyond the Mat
exposed him as a complete washup, a shell of his former self. Note to
Tommy Dreamer in 2nd: get surgery and leave the list. I mean it. And as
for the King, he should stay behind the mic, where nothing has
deteriorated. Hint: when your SON is wrestling, it's time to call it a
career.
STEPHEN TISZENKEL: I admire the Hitman for knowing when to pack it in.
Some might say he stayed a little too long, but I can think of more than
one wrestler who'd still be around five years from now in Bret's
situation.
JON WALTON: Man I loved Great Muta in the late 80s and early 90s. But I
really hated that guy who looked like his father on WCW TV this year.
Wait...
LANE DENSON: My choices for 22 weren't there - Buff Bagwell and The Big
Show
JONAH ROSCH: I always hate when Hogan gets this award. You have to have
skills for them to deteriorate, folks! Anyway, this was a tough pick. The
Great Muta looked so pathetic earlier this year, a shell of his former
self that it was almost sad to see him, but I didn't go there. Everytime I
see Scott Steiner, I remember how good he once was and how ridiculous he
now is, but I didn't go there. I had to go to The Undertaker, who came
back to the WWF adding at least 30 pounds of fat to his stomach. I mean
the workrate of the Undertaker was never one to rave about, but he at
least remained thin enough to go with some of the faster guys. He's just
so out of shape, it's ridiculous.
EDDIE BURKETT: Watch any match from 97 or earlier with these guys in it,
and it will be amazing to see how far they have fallen. Even Mick at the
end of his career is a shadow of what he could do. Remember his botched
jump off the apron to a table at WM???
JUST JEFF: I didn't include him on my list, but I don't believe it's fair
to include Jerry Lawler in ths list of Most Deteriorated. He's still a
good worker for a man of his age, and he certainly has more moves than
Hulk Hogan, the Wall, or the Road Dogg. Besides, isn't he semi-retired?
GEORGE JOHNSON: Rey's still better than most, but man, it's sad to see
what injuries can do to a man. Either that , or he just doesn't care
anymore.
TERRY ANDERTON: 1st - Booya!
TERRY ANDERTON: 2nd - He needs a motorcycle to get down the ramp, for
fuck's sake!
PETER HAZLETT: I would have said Undertaker, but he seems to have refound
his skills lately. Did we not used to like Goldberg????
JOE GAGNE: Rey Mysterio Jr. used to be one of the best wrestlers in the
world, but injuries and a terrible gimmick change (what?s with the horns?)
have made him a chore to watch. It?s hard watching Tommy Dreamer nearly
pass out from pain anytime he was in the ring. Davey Boy Smith joins his
former partner as a sad casualty of the sport.
BOB MORRIS: Undertaker clearly showed the effects of old age when he made
his return to WWF TV. I can't fault the man for trying to give his best
effort, but he's not the same wrestler he was before. The groin injury
played in a big part in his condition deteriorating, and forced him to
take time off just a few months after he made his return. Undertaker would
probably be wise to give serious consideration to stepping out of the
wrestling ring, and contributing as an agent or booker for the WWF.
SCOTT ZUCKER: It's sad to see how knee injuries have held back Rey
Misterio Jr. It also hurts to see Davey Boy Smith's current condition,
considering what he did 8 years ago at Summerslam 92.
RICK SCAIA: The British Bulldog wrestled in some of the 80's and 90's best
matches... and while our sample size of his work in 2000 was very limited,
he never really showed that same spark this year. Obviously, injuries and
other outside factors are to blame, but it was hard not to notice that
this was a different Bulldog. How did it happen that Paul Wight went from
promising Giant (rumored to be working on a moonsault while training at
the Power Plant) to unmotivated Big Show (whose in-ring work is so lacking
he's currently wrestling in high school gyms on a developmental
assignment) in so short a time?
TROY OLSON: I used to like to watch all three guys, now I just turn the
channel when they are on. At least Undertaker has injuries as an excuse.
And at least he's still over.
JEREMY DELINE: Bret Hart being forced to retire is about as deteriorated
as it gets. the British Bulldog's WWF run was painful to watch for anyone
who had been following his career, as recently as his 97 WWF run... Sting
just doesn't care anymore and it shows in his work.
NATHAN LONEY: Scott Steiner makes me cry when I think back to how good he
was. Sad. Bret Hart is just a shadow of his former self, and I hope that
he enjoys his retirement, because he's earned it. Hacksaw Jim Duggan (and
I'm not talking about his battle with cancer) is also a shell of his
former self. Believe it or not, I think he actually did some wrestling
moves in the mid 80's.
BILL LEHECKA: Jake Roberts has taken a tumble, but I have to put Muta in
the number one category. I remember watching Muta in the late 80's early
90s, and he was awe inspiring. Now, he's this chunky guy who still busts
out the moonsault, but is a shadow of his former self.
MATT SPAULDING: Raven just doesn't look like he can go anymore. Dreamer
is Dreamer. But what's happened to Kidman? He's nowhere near as exciting
to watch as he was last year.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Sean Waltman is a shadow of what he was in 93-94.
Shame, really. He used to be *soooo* talented, and now look at him. He can
still pull out a good match, every once in a while, but most of the time
he doesn't even seem to be trying anymore. Davey Boy Smith has also
deteriorated greatly over the years, and in more than just ringwork. And
is it just me, or was Raven really quite good in mid-90s ECW? Well, he
isn't now.
ERIC STRAGAND: I hated to do this, but putting Rey on my list was
justified. I've been a big Rey fan since Nash "darted" him into the
trailer in 1996! However, ever since he lost his mask, his carreer has
been going downhill. Now, seeing him wearing ridiculous devl horns and
acting like a dork.. .well,it's very disappointing to me.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: UT: More tatoos than moves.
TANVIR RAQUIB: Undertaker got him injured a whole lot. I blame his
association to Kid Rock and the late, great Joe C. as reasons for his
deterioriation in mind, body and spirit. Whatever and ever amen.
RAVI MISRA: It really is a shame that Scott Hall is even wanted back in
WCW right now, but it's an even bigger surprise that Scott Hall is not in
the afterlife right now.
MIKE PLYLEY: Watching the Undertaker now is just plain sad. S L OWLY
walk, punch, walk some more, punch, walk some more, gasp for air, punch.
If that's not bad enough, he gets injured again after only a couple
months. 2nd place goes to Big T Tony Norris, who made me spit out my
beverage the first time I saw his huge, pregnant gut. THIS fat blob was
Ahmed Johnson? And The Great Muta seriously needs to retire, now.
JOHN DONALDSON: One of my favorite categories on the ballot: I had the
displeasure of seeing Dusty Rhodes getting whipped with a bullrope by
Steve Corino at Living Dangerously 2000, that guy needs to lay off the
ribs and invest in the George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine.
Hacksaw Duggan has taken the formation of a rotten pear for 20 years now.
British Bulldog gets a vote because the guy used to be an amazing physical
specimen, but the drug problem has had an effect on his massive frame.
NICK RANGEL: Isn't it odd that Malenko's push seems to almost grind to a
halt after his spectacular PPV match with Scott Taylor? Was McMahon
watching?
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Remember when Rey was lightning-like quick? Remember
when Bulldog was good? Remember when Muta was unreal? Those days are
gone...
PHIL PRZYBYLO: Mick Foley gets the nod for this one just for his last
match at WM 2000. I had no idea he was on his last legs until that match.
He left his heart at No Way Out. Sting was once an automatic two or three
star match wrestler. He's lucky if he can pull a postive rating these
days. Hogan gets an honorable mention out of tradition.
JBELL55146: It's a shame to see how far gone The Undertaker has gone. That
pectoral injury must of really messed him up cuz now he's having trouble
just getting around in the ring let alone doing half of the kick-ass moves
he did in the past. And considering Sting was my favorite wrestler for the
better part of 10 years, it pains me to see him wrestle now without almost
no enthusiasam at all.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most Underrated Wrestler
Award Description:
To be given to the person whose ability merits a far greater push than the
person receives. There may be many such people, but the winner of this award
should have the most ability with least push.
Previous Winners:
1990: Terry Taylor
1991: Cactus Jack
1992: Owen Hart
1993: Chris Benoit
1994: 1-2-3 Kid
1995: Barry Horowitz
1996: Owen Hart
1997: Chris Benoit
1998: Chris Benoit
1999: D'Lo Brown
**2000**: Al Snow
550 first place votes
535 second place votes
522 third place votes
48 26 28 374 Al Snow
42 29 28 353 D'Lo Brown
31 31 14 276 Crowbar
22 22 28 232 Hardcore Holly
19 24 20 207 Taka Michinoku
20 25 13 201 Chris Kanyon
23 17 16 198 Crash
25 18 7 193 Chris Jericho
19 18 22 193 Dean Malenko
15 21 25 188 William Regal
23 14 13 183 Lance Storm
20 15 17 179 Mike Awesome
16 16 13 154 Steve Blackman
15 14 18 153 Christian
12 18 15 144 Essa Rios
17 12 7 135 Chavo Guerrero Jr.
9 15 18 126 Perry Saturn
15 8 11 121 Matt Hardy
9 10 10 95 Yoshihiro Tajiri
10 9 8 93 Tazz
6 10 8 76 Kid Kash
6 8 11 76 Raven
9 4 2 61 Test
7 4 7 61 X-Pac
5 5 9 58 Kidman
5 5 8 56 Billy Kidman
2 12 4 54 Edge
3 8 6 51 Guido Maritato
4 4 7 46 Albert
2 7 7 45 Joey Abs
3 5 5 40 Steve Corino
2 4 8 38 Funaki
4 1 5 33 Chris Benoit
2 4 5 32 Scotty 2 Hotty
3 3 3 30 Kwee-Wee
4 1 3 29 Jerry Lynn
3 2 4 29 Eddie Guerrero
4 2 0 26 Elix Skipper
4 1 1 25 K-Krush
3 2 2 25 Val Venis
3 0 5 25 Just Joe
2 3 3 25 Kane
3 0 4 23 Mike Sanders
2 3 1 21 Yumi Fukawa
2 3 1 21 Jeff Hardy
1 4 2 21 Rock
0 5 2 19 Lenny Lane
1 2 3 17 Disqo
1 3 1 16 Onryo
3 0 0 15 Screamin' Norman Smiley
2 1 1 15 Chikayo Nagashima
1 2 2 15 Tiger Mask IV
1 2 2 15 Jaime Knoble
2 1 0 13 Shinjiro Otani
2 1 0 13 Shane McMahon
2 1 0 13 Booker T.
1 2 1 13 Cima
1 0 4 13 Bret Hart
1 1 2 12 EZ Money
1 2 0 11 Roadkill
1 0 3 11 Shane Helms
0 3 1 11 Suwa
0 3 1 11 D-Von Dudley
2 0 0 10 Takeshi Sasaki
2 0 0 10 Danny Doring
1 1 1 10 Vampiro
1 1 1 10 Super Crazy
1 1 1 10 Kaz Hayashi
1 1 1 10 Bam Bam Bigelow
1 0 2 9 Mr. Ass
1 0 2 9 Masaaki Mochizuki
1 0 2 9 Alex Wright
0 3 0 9 Jinsei Shinzaki
0 1 3 9 Jeff Jarrett
1 1 0 8 Shannon Moore
0 2 1 8 Steven Richards
1 0 1 7 Scott Steiner
1 0 1 7 Grandmaster Sexay
1 0 1 7 Chuck Palumbo
0 1 2 7 Toshie Uematsu
0 1 2 7 Steve Austin
0 1 2 7 General Rection
0 1 2 7 Big Vito
0 2 0 6 Bull Buchanan
1 0 0 5 Undertaker
1 0 0 5 Trent Acid
1 0 0 5 Sean O'Haire
1 0 0 5 Mr. Gannosuke
1 0 0 5 Mona
1 0 0 5 La Parka
1 0 0 5 Kurt Angle
1 0 0 5 Koji Kanemoto
1 0 0 5 Katsumi Usuda
1 0 0 5 Goldberg
1 0 0 5 Genki Horiguchi
1 0 0 5 Franchise
1 0 0 5 El Samurai
1 0 0 5 David Flair
1 0 0 5 Chris Hammrick
1 0 0 5 British Bulldog
0 1 1 5 Yuji Nagata
0 1 1 5 Rob Van Dam
0 1 1 5 Rikishi
0 0 2 4 Tiger Ali Singh
0 0 2 4 Prince Albert
0 0 2 4 Lodi
0 1 0 3 Trish Stratus
0 1 0 3 Toshiaki Kawada
0 1 0 3 Susumu Mochizuki
0 1 0 3 Silver King
0 1 0 3 Shane Douglas
0 1 0 3 Sandman
0 1 0 3 Rhino
0 1 0 3 Mick Foley
0 1 0 3 Meng
0 1 0 3 Men's Teioh
0 1 0 3 Kid Romeo
0 1 0 3 Kendo Ka Shin
0 1 0 3 Juventud Guerrera
0 1 0 3 Gangrel
0 1 0 3 Diamond Dallas Page
0 1 0 3 Curt Hennig
0 1 0 3 Christopher Daniels
0 1 0 3 C.W. Anderson
0 1 0 3 Buff Bagwell
0 0 1 2 Triple H
0 0 1 2 Stoker Ichikawa
0 0 1 2 Simon Diamond
0 0 1 2 Sgt. A-Wall
0 0 1 2 Perfectshawn Stasiak
0 0 1 2 Nova
0 0 1 2 Mikey Whipwreck
0 0 1 2 Masao Orihara
0 0 1 2 Lex Luger
0 0 1 2 Lash LeRoux
0 0 1 2 Kevin Nash
0 0 1 2 Jodie Fleisch
0 0 1 2 J.T. Money
0 0 1 2 Hayabusa
0 0 1 2 Faarooq
0 0 1 2 FM Taro
0 0 1 2 Chaz
REJECTED
0 3 1 11 "Tie" votes
0 1 1 5 Duplicate votes
0 0 2 4 Kai En Tai
0 1 0 3 T&A
0 0 1 2 Shane Helms & Shannon Moore
0 0 1 2 Mark Jindrak & Sean O'Haire
HIRO: Basically, all three are misused by WWF right now. I don't know if
the WWF intended that way as a sort of punishment or something (D'Lo Brown
comes to mind). TAKA is now 'resting' in Japan and D'Lo is still getting
no heat with Lo Down. Dean recently reformed the R4dicalz, hopefully he
has better luck than the other two.
DEAN RASMUSSEN: Takeshi Sasaki is the best wrestler you've never heard of.
He is the best wrestler in the indies ANYWHERE. Next year will be the year
when the world finds out about the KING of DDT. Suwa is underrated because
folks think that CIMA is a better wrestler. He's not. Chikayo Nagashima
might be the best pure worker in Joshi.
CHRIS BIRD: D-Lo Brown breaks the streak of "win this award, suddenly get
a push" that's been generally consistent over the years by being DEPUSHED
after the Droz accident. Regardless of whether or not it was D-Lo's fault
that Droz wasn't properly trained to escape a botched powerbomb, this has
been one amazingly bad year for D-Lo, going from being Junior Pimp In
Training under the Godfather to teaming with Perry Saturn and going
nowhere to teaming with Chaz and being involved in an angle that has them
not being recognized by security, which is as likely to get them over as
the famed "let's push Tazz as an asskicker by having the Big Bossman kick
his ass" idea. Chris Kanyon, arguably the single most talented wrestler
left in WCW, is doing nothing because high-ups think he's whiny. If you
had to work with Buff Bagwell, you'd be whiny too. And then there's
Yoshihiro Tajiri, consistently over with ECW's fanbase and consistently
shuffled off to the side in bad angles until put in a tag team with Mikey
Whipwreck for no other reason than laziness on the part of the bookers.
BRUNO PULVER: In a perfect world Scott Steiner would have Austin's spot
and fame
MICHAEL BANKER: The reason that I put X-Pac on this list is not because
he's too great and deserves more of a push than what he's getting (where
as Al Snow and Crowbar deserver MUCH MUCH MUCH more of a push than what
they're getting), but because everyone seems to just hate him. I don't
think that he should be hated, just slightly disliked.
SAMUEL SKLAROFF: PUSH KATIENTAI, DAMMIT!
JASON: Yes, 2 Cool is annoying, but Scott Taylor can actually wrestle
pretty well, in my opinion. Why do people think that Regal is boring? I
can't figure that out. Because he *wrestles?*
MARK POLISHUK: Why does everyone only call Edge the next breakout WWF
star? Christian is equally good on the mic, just as good a "look,"
judging from the screams of the 14-year old girls, and is a better worker.
J3R CR0WE: Christian has always been underrated, but now he's coming into
his own and getting over, so I think he would be out of this category by
next year. Taka never got much recognition in the WWF, and Jamie-San is
really good, but no one seems to notice.
ROBERT STRUPP: D'lo has pretty much gotten ZERO push this year, which is
sad considering how talented I think he is. Storm started off hot, but he
got heat on his own and stuff, so he had to get buried. He and Booker T
and Jeff Jarrett should lead WCW in 2001, though. William Regal needs a
character tweaking to be the great heel we all saw in WCW, but I guess we
should just be thankful that he's on TV, and not in jail, perpetual rehab,
or dead.
DEVON: Regardless of what Mick Foley says, His Holiness Al Snow truly is a
genius. His "Head Cheese" and "European Champion" angles proved this.
ALEX GIPSON: I believe it will be Matt Hardy, not brother Jeff, who will
be the breakout star of the group-Jeff takes decidedly higher risks, but
Matt takes less-risky chances and is still able to deliver a solid
groundwork in the singles matches I've seen him in. Saturn is a very solid
worker with a good moveset-I just wish the WWF could find something unique
to capitalize on his abilities. Maybe a possible reconciliation of the
Saturn-Raven team from mid-'99? Rikishi, when he's on his game, is alot of
fun to watch, and any big man who is willing to perform a Superfly Splash
from the top of a steel cage deserves a spot on this list, IMO.
CHRIS OSTER: By the definition of the category, Tazz is the obvious choice
here. He can still work, and his mic skills are good and getting
better...so why is he stuck where he is? Dean Malenko SO deserves to get
back on TV on a regular basis...good to see he may finally do it. And how
long do you need to punish D'Lo?
EDC: Sean Ohare. He will become a superstar if he keeps his head on
straight. Huge guy, with great moves and incredible agility and flying
skills. He is the Best NTB in the group, plus he looks like a evil
motherfucker, too. They should call him the Holy Terror of WCW, he looks
that scary.
SCOTT W.: I wish TAKA and Tajiri would get the respectful push they
deserve in their promotions. Tajiri should be maineventing ECW and TAKA
should at leat be a front runner in the WWF LightHeavyWeight div. Also,
him and Fuanki should be pushed as a legit tag team. The Hardys and Edge
and Christian could be what they need to get over. Mike Awesome deserves
better. If he was jumping ship, at least try the WWF. Oh yeah, WCW could
only compete with ECW. Gotta keep that distant #2 spot.
MARCUS SPARKS: Who in the hell nominated LEX LUGER for this one???? I
don't know who D'Lo pissed off to get stuck so far down into oblivion but
I wish he'd come back. WCW is sitting on a gold mine with Crowbar if they
could ever figure out what to do with him. Regal will never get the
credit for being the kind of wrestler he is because his style does not
really fit into the ultra high-spot oriented WWF fanbase.
BRAD FULLER: Crowbar busts his ass every night no matter what kind of
crappy gimic WCW gives him. He does some of the craziest spots this
side of Jeff Hardy, but doesn't even register on most wrestling fan's
radar. He probably won't get another vote but at least someone
recognizes this man.
JOHN C.: I still can't believe the WWF in unwilling to use Taka Michinoku.
His only brush with fame was a great match with Triple H on Raw but other
than that he was treated like a lowly jobber instead of the exciting
youngster that captivated us three years ago. I think Christian has more
potential than any young WWF wrestler so he makes my list here. He's still
being featured on WWF programming but he could do a lot more in the
future. Crowbar showed me a lot this year both in the ring and on the
microphone.
JOSEPH MICELI: imagine the matches tajiri could have in the wwf with
benoit, jericho, guerrero, etc. hell, pair him with kaientai and give
them the tag titles!
MATTHEW HUBARTT: Jericho is ready for a run as WWF Champion
AL RITCHIE: These guys may be more "underused" than "underrated."
ANDY P. GOSS: Chavo rocks the earth. His matches in the past have always
been smooth, and I hope he and Lash LeRoux win the tag belts soon. I feel
sorry for Matt Hardy, who appears to be stuck in his brother's shadow
until he (Matt or Jeff) dies. And hey, Disqo Inferno is a great guy in
the ring who can work serious or comedy, and who can provide people with
an automatic heat magnet.
STEPHEN TISZENKEL: One day, Edge and Christian will finally split. Edge
will become a huge heel. If he bulks up a little, he'll be WWF champ one
day, and he'll deserve it. Christian will feud with him for a couple of
months, become a mid-card babyface, job to everybody and end up working
indies or, worse yet, in WCW. Too bad -- Christian is at least as good as
his partner in every way, but for some reason, he just doesn't get the
credit.
EZE4DA3747: I watched Tazz in ECW when he was champion and I have never
seen so many suplexes. The man can wrestle, but he loses to Lawler and
Snow but he also killed Kurt Angle in his first match. X-Pac can flat out
wrestle which I can never understand cause he has like three moves.
JONAH ROSCH: This was close. But in the end, you just have to look at what
Dean Malenko can do in the ring, and see how the WWF is using him and just
shake your head. We were begging for a nice cruiserweight division in the
WWF. They finally get one, and do nothing with it. Dean Malenko is much
better than this.
LOSIFER: For the 2nd consecutive year, D'Lo Brown gets my pick for most
underrated wrestler. He's a potential main-eventer and deserves a push
already!
EDDIE BURKETT: Al Snow is perenially underrated. Bull Buchanan needs the
right gimmick, and he will be an awesome power wrestler. If he only
didn't botch that off the turnbuckle crossbody he does in his debut. Or
if he didn't go from being Bossman lackey #2 to RTC goon. I like the RTC,
but I'm in the minority... Matt Hardy is too undershadowed by Jeff Hardy
and his suicidal bumping.
JAMES HOWARD: You know, for a man who gave us the best gimmick of the year
and singlehandedly made the company he works for fun to watch, Chris
Kanyon sure doesn't get a lot of recognition, does he? The poor guy. ^_^;;
JUST JEFF: It's nice to see Blackman and Snow do non-hardcore matches. I
hope these guys can get another good push towards non-hardcore gold. And
can the WWF PLEASE get Rios out of the Jakked/Metal show and give him a
push back into Smackdown and RAW?
GEORGE JOHNSON: I'm not saying Chavo should be world champ or anything,
but at least give him a little more TV time (and I don't mean having him
sell Amway).
LCDRKODIAS: Damn, I miss the cruiserweight division of old.
JOE GAGNE: I still believe that deep down, Al Snow has the talent and
ability to be a big star someday. Positively Kanyon is (was?) a pretty
funny gimmick, but I think he?s capable of a lot more. From the few times
I?ve seen him, Just Joe has some talent, and doesn?t deserve to be
relegated to Shotgun.
JEREMY SORIA: Chris Jericho gets the nod here. He was stuck with Chyna
early in the year, and that knocked down his workrate for a while. Steve
Blackman also gets a nod here. He's been doing great work this year,
especially with his work with Al Snow. Mike Awesome is way underrated. The
man of the mullet has done nicely for himself in the United States. I only
hope he can improve next year.
RICK SCAIA: If voting for Yoshihiro Tajiri as my Worker of the Year didn't
make enough of an impact, let me underline how good I think the guy is by
also naming him as my Most Underrated Wrestler of 2000. William Regal is
#2 on the list; most current fans probably find Regal boring, or if they
do like him, are more appreciative of his humorous mic work than his
wrestling skills (they are missing the point!). And Steve Blackman rounds
out the top three; although he's found his niche in the hardcore division,
he's actually a much better all-around wrestler than most give him credit
for (if only he could cut a promo to save his life!).
NATHAN LONEY: Time will tell, but I believe that K-Kwik is the most
underrated wrestler in the WWF at the moment. He's got great skills, and
if he gets the basics down, he's going to be great. Joey Abs is extremely
talented. Thankfully, the WWF moved him away from the Mean Street Posse.
One question: I saw him use a Michinoku Driver just a week ago to finish
off Pete Gas... what's up with that? D'Lo gets no push, D'Lo gets no
respect, and those of us that can remember his flashes of brilliance are
disappointed. He's damn good.
BILL LEHECKA: I love Hardcore Holly. He can work, and his persona's
entertaining. It's too bad Angle broke Holly's arm, because I wouldn't be
surprised if Holly was able to move into the IC title picture.
KEVIN SMITH: What happened to Al Snow's push? And his totally way cool
handlebar moustache?!?!?
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Y2J is feuding against Kane..enough said. As for TAKA
and Essa, why is it that the crowds boo these guys when they come out at
shows? They both have amazing moves in their repetoire.
TANVIR RAQUIB: A few years ago, I became introduced to wCw's "the [Pro]",
which was then, their premiere syndicated show. One of the more hyped
wrestlers was Alex Wright, who I immediately liked. I think it was because
of Larry and Cruise's hyping. Anyhow, Alex turned heel on Ice Train, was
involved with pre-implant Debra, got an anuerysm, came back and became a
VERY DECENT WRESTLER, then forced to become a Nazi who couldn't wrestle,
and now, finally, is THE wrestler I've always dreamed up, as his work is
all full of armbars, kneedrops and double axe handles. HE'S THE MAN.
RAVI MISRA: Test. There's absolutely NO reason why Test should have been
shunted off once split with Stephanie occured. NONE.
MIKE PLYLEY: Why is it that everywhere I go on the Internet, I hear people
talk about how Matt Hardy sucks. It's just stupid. The guy has better
wrestling skills and in-ring work than his brother, plus a great amount of
high flying. But since he doesn't try to destroy his entire body in the
ring like Jeff does, people say he sucks. Get a life. In 2nd and 3rd, I
really hope Devon Storm and Chris Kanyon are just counting the days until
thier WCW release.
JOHN DONALDSON: I like Perry Saturn, he's good at mat wrestling, he's got
some aerial ability in his arsenal, he's a good submission wrestler like
his Radical buddies. He just needs the right gimmick to flourish in the
WWF. Tajiri has got one helluva kick in him and the Tarantula is
magnificent. D-Lo Brown, what can't I say about him, he's the total
package as far as wrestling goes, he just can't buy a push from the WWF,
he doesn't deserve to be blackballed by the bookers.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Whatever happened to Kidman's push? WHEN is Taka
getting a push? When is D'Lo getting a push?
PHIL PRZYBYLO: Tazz has way too much potential to pass up. He made a heel
turn but changed his already-over character 180 degrees and made the new
Tazz even more over. He had a complete make-over and managed to pull it
off with relative ease. The fact that he has loads of wrestling ability
doesn't hurt either. Sandman gets my write-in vote because this is the
most over face in ECW and can carry the company as well as a decent match
when motivated. Al Snow gets my third vote. He's so underrated that he
probably won't even make the list. Great poise in the ring and humor out
of the ring, it's a wonder why Vince has let him take a crack at the upper
mid-card.
ROB "R2K" EVANS: Most Underrated - When will somebody recognize that Al
Snow should be WWF Champ?!?
C McMURTRY: Everyone always thought Edge was the better of the E&C duo.
Now, most know better. His promos are better, and comparing the in-ring
work wouldn't even be fair. Chavo Guerrero Jr. because he will forever be
in the shadow of his Uncle Eddy, even though at this point I dare say he
is better than him. And Guido Maritado's mat offence is among the best in
the business, and with the comedy out of the way, he is finally able to
start showing it.
JIMBO: D-Lo Brown will forever be my favorite wrestler, despite how much
WWF seems to hate him, hes just so awesome. And by the way...HOW HARD IS
IT TO GET A FORMER ECW CHAMPION OVER?????????
JBELL55146: Comon WCW, you have nothing at all going for you, at least
push Lance Storm and Kanyon just for a while and see what sticks. What in
the heck do ya got to lose?! 80 Million dollars? Oh. Nevermind. And
HardCore Holly is deserving of something more then wrestling with his
"Cousin" in matches against T&A
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worst Wrestling Gimmick
Award Description:
To be given to the wrestler who had the worst character gimmick in the past
year.
Previous Winners:
1991: Mike Rotundo as Irwin R. Shyster
1992: Papa Shango's voodoo
1993: Doink the Clown
1994: Doink the Clown
1995: Dungeon of Doom
1996: The Leprechaun
1997: Glacier / Blood Runs Cold
1998: Warrior appears in "strange mist" / forms One Warrior Nation
1999: Beaver Cleavage (Chaz)
**2000**: That 70's Guy / Not a Mullet / Fat Chick Thriller / Career Killer Mike Awesome
536 first place votes
522 second place votes
509 third place votes
125 62 46 903 "That 70's Guy" Mike Awesome (Career Killer / Fat Chick Thriller / Not a Mullet)
62 47 30 511 Mae Young pregnant
31 49 29 360 G.I. Bro (Booker T.)
41 22 11 293 David Arquette as unwilling WCW champion
26 17 13 207 Al Green as The Dog
19 24 20 207 Naked Mideon
11 24 23 173 Sexual Chocolate Mark Henry as Mae Young's boyfriend
17 16 16 165 Chyna as a sex symbol
10 18 22 148 Oklahoma
13 11 18 134 Undertaker as "American Badass"
13 11 15 128 Misfits In Action/FUBAR
9 17 14 124 Kwee-Wee, the wardrobe guy
11 13 14 122 Powers that Be
13 7 11 108 Right to Censor
13 6 12 107 Vince Russo
9 5 11 82 Goldberg's new streak
2 14 12 76 Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iaukea
5 4 11 59 Eddie Guerrero as Latino Heat, with Cheech Marin accent
5 6 5 53 General Hugh G. Rection
3 9 5 52 Hacksaw Jim Duggan as a member of Team Canada
2 7 9 49 Chavo Guerrero Jr. becomes Amway salesman
4 6 5 48 Kane speaks
3 5 7 44 Berlyn (Alex Wright)
3 4 6 39 Nova as "the real innovator of offense"
2 8 2 38 Dean Malenko as James Bond
1 5 9 38 Insane Clown Posse
3 3 5 34 Too Cool
3 3 5 34 Terry Bollea (Stone Cold Hulk Hogan)
2 6 2 32 Natural Born Thrillers
3 2 4 29 Bilvis Wesley
2 3 5 29 Rey Mysterio Jr. with horns
1 4 6 29 Maestro (the 'stro)
2 4 1 24 Al Green as Al Green...in a mask
2 1 5 23 Rikishi
3 1 2 22 Creative Control - Patrick & Gerald
1 2 5 21 Kronik
0 3 6 21 Bull Buchanan as Big Boss Man's lackey
2 2 2 20 3 Count & Tank Abbott - Ultimate Boy Band
3 0 1 17 Big Show as various characters
3 0 1 17 "Positively" Kanyon
2 2 0 16 Big Boss Man
1 3 1 16 Mr. Ass
2 1 1 15 William Regal as an ambassador of goodwill
2 1 1 15 Lo Down
2 1 1 15 Goodfather
2 1 1 15 Big Sexy Kevin Nash
2 0 2 14 Demon
1 2 1 13 T&A
1 2 1 13 Road Dogg
1 2 1 13 Lex Luger as the guy who swerves *everybody*
0 2 3 12 Goldberg as a heel
1 0 3 11 Perfect Event - Perfectshawn Stasiak & "The Main Event" Chuck Palumbo
0 3 1 11 Sinister Minister
2 0 0 10 Tiger Ali Singh
2 0 0 10 Rock
0 1 3 9 New Blood
0 2 1 8 X-Pac
0 2 1 8 Sting
0 2 1 8 Ms. Hancock pregnant
0 2 1 8 ECW's "Network"
0 2 1 8 Crowbar, that 70's sidekick
1 0 1 7 Tazz
1 0 1 7 Raven
1 0 1 7 David Flair
0 1 2 7 Godfather
0 1 2 7 Brad Armstrong as Buzzkill
0 2 0 6 Triple H
0 2 0 6 "The Chosen One" Jeff Jarrett
0 0 3 6 Stuttering Buh Buh Ray Dudley
1 0 0 5 Test
1 0 0 5 Rhino
1 0 0 5 Pogo the Clown
1 0 0 5 Justin Credible
1 0 0 5 Full Blooded Italians
1 0 0 5 D'Lo Brown as pimp sidekick
1 0 0 5 Curry Man
1 0 0 5 Commissioner Mick Foley
1 0 0 5 Burn Victim
0 1 1 5 Steve Blackman as "greatest hardcore champion"
0 1 1 5 Steve Austin
0 1 1 5 Shane (Mr. Jones)
0 1 1 5 Disqo's Duck
0 1 1 5 Cat
0 0 2 4 Just Joe
0 0 2 4 Disqo as a Filthy Animal
0 0 2 4 Al Snow
0 1 0 3 Westside NGZ
0 1 0 3 Tank Abbot
0 1 0 3 Scott Steiner as the Big Bad Booty Daddy
0 1 0 3 Retard
0 1 0 3 R&B Security
0 1 0 3 Millionaire's Club
0 1 0 3 Little Spike Dudley, the Giant Killer
0 1 0 3 Lane & Idol as Standars & Practices
0 1 0 3 Hardcore Holly
0 1 0 3 Filthy Animals
0 1 0 3 Cyrus
0 1 0 3 Chyna & Kat (Master & Slave)
0 1 0 3 "New" Harlem Heat
0 0 1 2 Wall
0 0 1 2 Val Venis in white trunks
0 0 1 2 The Band is Back Together
0 0 1 2 Terri Runnels, the horny little she-devil
0 0 1 2 Psychotic Ric Flair
0 0 1 2 Musketeer
0 0 1 2 McMahon-Helmsley Regime/Faction/Era
0 0 1 2 Lt. Commissioner Debra
0 0 1 2 Lance Storm changes Cruiserweight belt to "100kg"
0 0 1 2 Fat Tammy Sytch
0 0 1 2 Elix Skipper's Grey Cup ring
0 0 1 2 Dudley Boyz - "Get The Tables"
0 0 1 2 Doink
0 0 1 2 Chris Benoit
0 0 1 2 Boogie Knights
0 0 1 2 Al Snow & Steve Blackman's rotating gimmicks
REJECTED - not in eligible timeframe
14 5 11 Road Dogg & K-Kwik gittin' rowdy
3 4 3 "The One" Billy Gunn
1 1 2 "Anything in..." votes
0 2 2 "Tie" votes
1 0 1 WCW in general (not a gimmick)
1 0 0 Gobbleygooker
0 1 1 Duplicated votes
0 1 0 TL Hopper
0 1 0 Battledome v. WCW
0 0 1 Pinata on a Pole Match
0 0 1 Dropping Triple H in the car at Survivor Series
DON DEL GRANDE: I voted for the "100kg title" because (a) that's not the
actual limit (what is the Cruiserweight limit - 205 pounds? 210?) and (b)
there used to be what was in effect a 100kg title - the old NWA World
Junior Heavyweight title (and the AWA one as well) had a 220-pound
(99.79kg) limit.
HIRO: Mike Awesome was stuck in gimmick limbo for a while and when the
dust settled, we get this? The Mark Henry gimmick with Mae Young really
left a bad taste. So did Naked Mideon, which thankfully was totally
censored out here. Chyna as a sex symbol almost made it to the list, as
did the American Bad Ass, Eddy Guerrero/Cheech Marin stuff and Dean
Malenko as James Bond. Some gimmicks at least were quickly dropped, like
the GI Bro bit.
CHRIS BIRD: Oklahoma and the Misfits in Actio were worse gimmicks, but I
have to admit, the chain of gimmicks given to Mike Awesome defies belief.
Career Killer was okay at best, but from there we go to the lover of fat
chicks, and followed by "That 70's Guy", which is possibly one of the
stupidest ideas in wrestling ever - other than Oklahoma. Oh, and the
Misfits gimmick is just lame-ass. At least "That 70's Guy" was creative,
in a kindergartner-playing-with-fingerpaint sort of way.
MICHAEL BANKER: Since Road Dogg and K-Kwick rapping did not appear on this
list, can I assume that it will appear next year? Please say that it
will, because that rapping shit is just a horrible, horrible gimmick.
JASON BOUGGER: This could easily have a 25-way tie. There were so many
bad gimmicks this year.
MARK POLISHUK: Boy, this category was a lot more fun this year. Thanks,
Russo!
ADAM FROM TORONTO: It's been said before, but Chyna as a natural sex
symbol is as believable as Triple H as a roid-free main eventer.
LAGMONSTR: The Underbiker is the WORST. Go back to being the silent reaper
of souls. No ministry crap, just dark and evil. And shut up, for God's
sakes. I'd vote for Dean Malenko as pimp in training if it was there.
J3R CR0WE: WCW sucks.
ROBERT STRUPP: Boy, did Awesome have some horrible gimmicks or what? Fat
Lady Thriller was just enough to squeak him by Al Green as Al Green in a
mask. Powers that Be??? Ugh, I had just forgotten that bit of WCW before
reading this ballot. Thanks CRZ!
MICHAEL STAKELY: There are just so damn many of them thanks to Vinny Ru.
CHRIS OSTER: I forget who it was that said it, but he was right on the
money when he asked how Mike Awesome was supposed to get over when, after
he finishes destroying someone, that cheesy 70s music fires up? I thought
what he did to ECW was despicable, but please...NO ONE deserves that
gimmick. The Dog was, hands down, the worst gimmick I've ever seen...but,
it was only around a couple of weeks and was stuck on a nobody, so it only
gets second. How Booker T got past GI Bro with his credibility intact,
I'll never know. Hats off to you, Booker...you don't get third, your
gimmick does.
SCOTT W.: There were so many bad gimmicks. Poor Mike Awesome and that
70's crap. That gimmmick may only draw only 70 people. Hey wait, that's
about 1/2 of the people who buy WCW tickets, so I guess it could draw.
GI Bro. C'mon.. Okalhoma was just horrible. Nothing funny, even if you
include destroying the Cruiserweight title. pathetic.
MARCUS SPARKS: It says it all when all three of these come out of WCW.
The Dog was just stupid. That 70's guy is such a stupid indy-ish gimmick
and a waste of Mike Awesome's talent. G.I. Bro was luckily killed off
before it did massive damage to Booker T's career.
JOHN C.: Tough category because there were so many bad things this year.
Mae Young being pregnant and giving birth to a hand had to be one of the
most pathetic things I've seen on a wrestling show. Goldberg's win streak
starting up again put the nail in the coffin of WCW as far as I'm
concerned because it was a sign that Vince Russo had given up with coming
up with anything creative. There's nothing worse than saddling a great
wrestler like Mike Awesome with two bad gimmicks (The "Fat Chick Thriller"
& "70's Guy") but Russo proved to us once again just how bad things can
be when he is in charge.
REISMARK: The G.I. Bro fiasco just happened to be the lowest point of the
year for WCW - thank god they gave its bearer a well-deserved title run a
month later.
ANDY P. GOSS: I have yet to see Billvis Wesley, but the name alone turns
me off to the gimmick. In addition, G.I. Bro was a terrible, terrible
idea, and it wouldn't surprise me to hear it was Bischoff's. Don't get me
started on the Dog.
STEPHEN TISZENKEL: Watching Misfits in Action makes me feel bad for Vince
Russo in exile. Sure, the gimmick was horrid to begin with, but to turn it
into circa-1986 flag waving garbage? That's a crime.
JON WALTON: Mae Young pregnant wins this award because it not only
revolted me, it actually had my non wrestling fan friends revolted.
SCOTT CRAWFORD: God damn, there was a lot to choose from in WCW this year.
Of course, this is the company that's produced everything from the
Shockmaster to the No Limit Soldiers, so it shouldn't surprise me. Mae
Young/Mark Henry was SO BAD that it beats out any individual affront to my
intelligence on WCW's part.
EZE4DA3747: The Showster was the funniest thing I have ever seen since
I've been a wrestling fan
JONAH ROSCH: Another close one. Naked Mideon makes me run from my
television screaming in horror, but I will watch a marathon of Naked
Mideon matches than to hear the name G.I. Bro ever again. On top of
everything else, to give such a lame nickname to a good wrestler is a
crime against wrestling. It was a dumb name, and was insulting, and was
racially disgusting. One of the worst attempts at a gimmick of all time.
JAMES HOWARD: Rey Mysterio Jr. as an Evil Horned Mexican is bad. Oklahoma
was bad, *and* offensive to my intelligence. And the two of *those* angles
*combined* weren't as bad or offensive to my intelligence as the idea of a
tag team created solely to be an insult aimed towards Pat Patterson and
Gerald Brisco. No, sir, I don't like it. ^_^;;
JUST JEFF: At first I was trying to figure out whether to give Mideon the
Naked Man or Mae Young being pregnant the top spot for Worst Gimmick.
But after thinking about it, I have to give it to the Undertaker's new
persona. Granted, it's based on reality and it reflects what Mark
Calloway is in real life (plus the entrance theme is simply kickass), but
they could have incorporated the biker/redneck elements into the Man from
the Dark Side persona. He doesn't have to talk like a dead man or a
cultist...I can accept it if he talks the way he is, but at least still
dresses up in a way which reminds people of the Undertaker of old. If he
did that, he could have an easier time hiding his injuries and limited
mobility with the no-sells and slow, methodical movements of his previous
persona. His current gimmick and appearance simply have no link to the
old Man from the Dark Side/Lord of Darkness/Reaper of Wayward Souls
schtick he used to do except for the name and the man playing them. On
the flipside, I don't understand why Right to Censor is even included in
the list of nominees; the gimmick is one of the great things the WWF has
introduced this year, and it certainly is much better than WCW's version
of it.
GEORGE JOHNSON: Chyna's "shoot" interview was by far the most insulting
and hypocritical thing I've ever witnessed. I was genuinely pissed off
after watching it.
LCDRKODIAS: Not only is Russo the worst gimmick, he helped pilot most of
the other bad ones as well.
PETER HAZLETT: Anything with Mae Young should be here....
JOE GAGNE: G.I. Bro, no matter who came up with it, was an insult to a
talented wrestler. I thought Mike Awesome was a can?t miss prospect, but
his Mullet/Fat Chick/70?s Guy gimmicks have totally killed the character.
Unreal. Poor Mark Henry. Did anyone ever believe being Mae Young?s
boyfriend would get him over? Kronik the angry potheads deserve a mention
too.
BOB MORRIS: I probably wouldn't have minded the RTC gimmick so much had
the WWF not decided to add so many cooks to stir the pot. Steven Richards
is effective in his heel role, but the rest of the players in the group
are looked upon by fans as nothing but a bunch of mid-carders. It didn't
help that this gimmick was created simply because Vince McMahon hates the
PTC so much. It would be best to pull the plug on this gimmick, but given
how much Vince dislikes the PTC, I don't see that happening.
OFFSPRUNG182: Damn you Vince Russo!
RICK SCAIA: Clean sweep for WCW in the "Worst Gimmick" category, with one
bad gimmick representing a different "booking era" from the company. The
transitionary booking team (featuring Kevin Sullivan) is responsible for
the flat-out worst gimmick of the year: the Dog (as portrayed by Al
Greene). The original Powers That Be gave us the dreadfully unfunny
"Oklahoma" (a parody of Jim Ross who, unfortunately, decided not only to
offend our sensibilities by doing commentary, but by also getting in the
ring as a wrestler). And the New Blood/Russo era gave us new names and
characters for the "Misfits in Action"; these were/are just plain bad, but
at least WCW saw fit to ditch the "GI Bro" idea and let "Booker T" return!
TROY OLSON: So many to choose from, so few spots.
NATHAN LONEY: I've seen the Black Scorpion, I've seen the fake Sting, I've
seen Royal Rumble 1994... and now I've seen a large black man loving an
OOOOOOLD white woman. And I never want to see it again. Damn you, Russo!
The gimmick of Oklahoma... hmmm... how do I say this? OKLAHOMA WAS A
FUCKING STUPID IDEA! Maybe that will get it through Russo's thick head.
Finally, the man, the myth, the shitty writer: Vince Russo. I voted for
that because it would be wrong to not call him on all the bullshit the
pushed, and because his own "gimmick" in WCW sucked donkey balls.
BILL LEHECKA: What was the WWF thinking pairing Mae Young and Mark Henry?
Ugh!! Every appearance by this "couple" made me think we should elect
Jack Kervorkian president. I need a lozenge right now to cleanse the
thought and taste of that idea....
NATE PATRIN: Yeah, the WCW belt was forever tarnished, but at least we
didn't have to see anyone give birth to a fucking HAND.
MATT SPAULDING: G.I. Bro could have killed Booker T's career had it not
been cut off so quickly. Mike Awesome's not going anywhere with the
extremely limiting "70's Guy" gimmick. And TAFKA Prince Iaukea fell flat
because nobody's cared about the REAL Prince for years, and nobody's EVER
cared about Iaukea.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Naked Mideon. Mae Young. Dog. Yuck, yuck, yuck. And
this is just the bottom of the usual huge barrel, too. Shame Road
Dogg/K-Kwik is too late to contend for this.
TANVIR RAQUIB: Take a 100 year old woman and use her to shock your
pre-pubescent audience with disgusting skits with a much younger 450 pound
black man who sings and writes poetry. Then, have her get pregnant. Now
where's the money drawing ability in THAT angle?
MIKE PLYLEY: GI Bro and all of Mike Awsome gimmicks in WCW were some of
the most idiotic things I've ever seen in my life. Do they realize that
gimmicks are for people who aren't able to get over otherwise? Booker was
at least able to regain his dignity and then some, but Mike Awesome will
never be the same. But both those gimmicks pale in comparison to The Dog,
the peak of Kevin Sullivan's drug induced booking. I mean, THE DOG!! A
guy who drinks from the toilet and thinks he's a dog! And gets paired up
with Fit Finley and "Hardcore" Brian Knobs! How could that be expected to
draw heat? Get over? Be anything but an absolute waste of my TV time?
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Mae Young's PREGANT? Someone needs to lay off the
crack in the WWF booking office. Misfits in Action was simply a HORRID
angle that only now is slightly being saved. Note to WCW: Parodies of
announcers in other feds shouldn't be Cruiserweight champs.
THE CUBS FAN: I'm sorry - did Mike Awesome make fun of Vince Russo's
booking or something?
KIM (BITCHFACTOR): 3 Count & Tank Abbott's teen-pop exploits could have
worked brilliantly (witness "Ain't Nuthin' But a Tank Thang"), but for the
most part, it came off as an afterthought and/or a timekiller; an
unwatchable mess and a truly heartbreaking shame. I weep for what could
have been.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worst Wrestling Move
Award Description:
To be given to the move that is the worst thing you've seen this year. This
shouldn't be given to a move that was flubbed by a wrestler - the move was
performed correctly, but was just too stupid for words. This move should
probably be a "finishing" move or something that was meant to be
spectacular.
Previous Winners:
1990: Hulk Hogan's leg drop
1991: Hulk Hogan's leg drop
1992: Crush's Compactor head-vise
1993: Crush's Compactor head-vise
1994: Hulk Hogan's leg drop
1995: Hulk Hogan's leg drop
1996: Hacksaw Jim Duggan's taped fist
1997: Hulk Hogan's leg drop
1998: Hollywood Hogan's legdrop
1999: Hulk Hogan's legdrop
**2000**: Scotty 2 Hotty's Worm chop
539 first place votes
519 second place votes
503 third place votes
100 49 33 713 Scotty 2 Hotty's Worm chop
58 59 28 523 Rock's People's Elbow elbowdrop
55 43 34 472 Chyna's handspring elbow
36 55 57 459 Rikishi's stinkface
61 30 26 447 Hulk Hogan's legdrop
24 31 38 289 Scott Steiner's Steiner Recliner camel clutch
24 24 20 232 Sid Vicious' crossface
17 24 20 197 X-Pac's broncobuster
9 14 14 115 Hacksaw Jim Duggan's Old Glory kneedrop
12 3 12 93 Franchise's Franchiser reverse jawbreaker
6 9 8 73 Artist's Last Note top rope jumping DDT
3 9 15 72 Oklahoma's bottom rope elbowdrop
4 11 8 69 Raven's snot rag
5 5 14 68 X-Pac's X Factor face slam
8 4 5 62 Chyna's DDT
5 9 5 62 Big Show's Worm
2 10 11 62 Kevin Nash's Jackknife powerbomb
8 4 3 58 Mr. Ass' Fame-asser
7 5 3 56 Rob Van Dam's Van Daminator kick
4 7 6 53 Lance Storm's Canadian Maple Leaf half crab
3 7 7 50 Road Dogg's left jabs, juke, jive, right and kneedrop
5 1 11 50 Rock's Layin' the Smack Down punch
6 3 5 49 Booker T.'s Book End uranage
4 7 3 47 Jeff Jarrett's Stroke reverse Russian legsweep
4 3 4 37 Kurt Angle's Olympic Slam
2 5 2 29 Justin Credible's That's Incredible piledriver
0 5 7 29 Bull Buchanan's axe kick
1 3 6 26 Lex Luger's Torture Rack
4 1 0 23 Kevin Nash's framed elbow
1 4 3 23 Rock's Rock Bottom uranage
0 5 4 23 Undertaker's Last Ride powerbomb
2 2 2 20 Steve Austin's Stone Cold Stunner
2 2 2 20 Goldberg's spear
1 2 4 19 Kidman's powerbomb reversal into face jam
3 1 0 18 Reno's Roll of the Dice
3 0 1 17 Goldberg's jackhammer
1 2 3 17 Goodfather's Death Valley Driver
2 0 3 16 Godfather's Ho Train running splash
2 0 3 16 Dudley Boyz' Wazzup headbutt
3 0 0 15 Chyna's forearm
2 1 1 15 Road Dogg's pumphandle slam
0 3 3 15 Bull Buchanan's top rope springboard clothesline
2 0 2 14 Steven Richards' Stevenkick superkick
1 2 1 13 Chris Jericho's Lionsault quebrada
1 1 2 12 Perfectshawn Stasiak's Perfect Plant neckbreaker from fireman's carry
1 2 0 11 Buff Bagwell's Buff Blockbuster
2 0 0 10 Chyna's sleeper neckbreaker
1 1 1 10 Tygress' broncobuster
1 1 1 10 Elix Skipper's Play of the Week
1 1 1 10 Edge's spear
0 2 2 10 Lita's moonsault
0 1 3 9 Jeff Hardy's Swantonbomb
1 1 0 8 Perry Saturn's Rings of Saturn
0 2 1 8 Triple H's Pedigree double underhook piledriver
0 2 1 8 Raven's Evenflow DDT
0 2 1 8 Grandmaster Sexay's Hip Hop Drop legdrop
1 0 1 7 William Regal's Regal Stretch
1 0 1 7 Tank Abbott's left
0 1 2 7 Sean O'Haire's Seantonbomb
0 1 2 7 Rock's Sharpshooter
0 2 0 6 Juventud Guerrera's Juvi elbow
0 2 0 6 Big Boss Man's Boss Man slam
1 0 0 5 Triple H's springboard(?)
1 0 0 5 Rock's dragon screw legwhip
1 0 0 5 Rob Van Dam's Van Terminator springboard dropkick
1 0 0 5 Rey Mysterio Jr.'s broncobuster
1 0 0 5 Oklahoma's spinning toe hold
1 0 0 5 Mae Young's broncobuster
1 0 0 5 Kronik's High Times double sidewalk slam
1 0 0 5 Konnan's somersault into a clothesline
1 0 0 5 Jerry Lawler's piledriver
1 0 0 5 Hulk Hogan's foot to the face
1 0 0 5 Elix Skipper's Grey Cup Ring punch
1 0 0 5 Chris Benoit's Crippler crossface
1 0 0 5 Big Show's Headbutt
1 0 0 5 Al Snow's Snow Plow
0 1 1 5 Tazz' Tazzmission kata hajime
0 1 1 5 Mankind's Mandible Claw/Socko
0 1 1 5 Lita's huracanrana
0 0 2 4 Viscera's spinning heel kick
0 0 2 4 Kurt Angle's moonsault
0 0 2 4 Big Show's chokeslam
0 1 0 3 Val Venis' Money Shot splash
0 1 0 3 Test's pumphandle slam
0 1 0 3 Rock's no touch belly to belly suplex
0 1 0 3 Rikishi's sitdown splash
0 1 0 3 Nova's Novacaine
0 1 0 3 New Jack's balcony dive
0 1 0 3 Meng's Tongan Death Grip nerve hold
0 1 0 3 Konnan's Tequila Sunrise
0 1 0 3 Kevin Nash's lumbering
0 1 0 3 Kane's flying clothesline
0 1 0 3 Jeff Jarrett's guitar
0 1 0 3 Harris Brothers' H-Bomb double sidewalk slam
0 1 0 3 Hardcore Holly's Hollycaust falcon arrow
0 1 0 3 Gangrel's inverted DDT
0 1 0 3 Edge's Downward Spiral
0 1 0 3 Chyna's uppercut to the groin
0 1 0 3 Bull Buchanan's punches
0 0 1 2 Yang's Rapid-Fire Punches
0 0 1 2 Vince McMahon's People's Elbow elbowdrop
0 0 1 2 Triple H's high knee
0 0 1 2 Sting's Stinger splash
0 0 1 2 Stevie Ray's chinlock
0 0 1 2 Stevie Ray's Slapjack double underhook piledriver
0 0 1 2 Steve Corino's Bionic elbow
0 0 1 2 Steve Blackman's Lethal kick
0 0 1 2 Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley's slap
0 0 1 2 Shane McMahon's spear
0 0 1 2 Rikishi's Rikishi Drop
0 0 1 2 Matt Hardy's second rope legdrop
0 0 1 2 Matt Hardy's Twist of Fate neckbreaker
0 0 1 2 Kane's chokeslam
0 0 1 2 Jushin Liger's Shotay palm strike
0 0 1 2 Hulk Hogan's Hulking up
0 0 1 2 Dean Malenko's Texas cloverleaf
0 0 1 2 Chris Jericho's double powerbomb
0 0 1 2 Chris Jericho's Walls of Jericho
0 0 1 2 Buff Bagwell's swinging neckbreaker
0 0 1 2 Bryan Clark's Meltdown pumphandle powerslam
REJECTED - mostly for no wrestler identified
3 1 4 broncobuster
2 0 2 chokeslam
2 0 2 "Tie" votes
1 3 0 "Anything by..." votes
0 4 1 legdrop
1 0 2 sleeper
1 0 1 Billy Gunn's cobra clutch slam (time)
1 0 0 top rope powerbomb
1 0 0 big boot
1 0 0 armbar
0 1 0 reverse chinlock
0 1 0 handspring elbow
0 1 0 Russian legsweep
0 1 0 chairshot
0 1 0 catapult
0 1 0 "Stuck inbetween the first and second rope" legdrop
0 0 1 flying headbutt
0 0 1 windmill punches
0 0 1 Not letting tazz do suplexes
0 0 1 Hot tag "super punches"
0 0 1 Boston crab
0 0 1 atomic legdrop
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: Scotty's just takes too damn long to execute one simple
chop to the head. Big Show's was a bad impression of a even worse move.
Laying the Smackdown Punch is just a waste of a name.
HIRO: Sadly, all of the moves stated above usually gets the loudest pop in
a match, even though they are not actually wrestling moves by definition.
MARK POLISHUK: The Swanton Bomb gets the bronze...has anyone ever really
SEEN this move? Jeff only connects with his head; sure, it looks cool,
but how is that supposed to hurt? Jeff, find some other finisher before
you break your neck.
ADAM FROM TORONTO: While having someone else's package driven into your
face can't be the best experience ever, it also can't be the heat machine
Waltman STILL believes it to be.
LAGMONSTR: No Road Dogg wiggly, jiggly go-on-and-hit-him-already punch?
That's it...I have to delurk on the newsgroup...
J3R CR0WE: Hulk Hogan's legdrop is eternally stupid. ETERNALLY! The
X-Factor is such a shitty move as is, but when done by a little beanpole
and used as a threatening finisher it just crosses the line.
ROBERT STRUPP: They should just rename this the "Hulk Hogan Legdrop of
Doom/Justice Memorial Award". Kevin Nash's Power Drop (it's not a bomb,
folks) ranks a close second. I also find it hard to believe that the Power
of the Rock's Spit is that much more forceful than his regular right hand.
BEN WEINER: Would've been impressive if TAFKAPI actually HIT THE MOVE.
ALEX GIPSON: Rikishi, alas, though fun to watch, needs a new finisher, and
I hate to think that he really was over all spring and summer simply
because of a large posterier. This category should probably be renamed in
honor of Hogan's leg drop, or perhaps its WWF Attitude equilvelant, the
People's Elbow. *Sigh* The elbow was cool for...maybe a few months,
but...oh well. I can't argue with its popularity though-that was one DAMN
loud pop at Wrestlemania.
SCOTT W.: Hogan's leg Drop is horrible. So midcard... Sid Vicious' cross
face, nuff said.
MARCUS SPARKS: Any move that takes too long to execute has no place in the
ring. Both The People's Elbow and the Worm Chop are ridiculous. The
Artist's move sneaks in because I don't think I ever saw him execute it
properly.
JOHN C.: Chyna's handspring elbow wins here because she rarely does it
properly. Even when she does, she does it so poorly that it exposes the
business so much that it does more harm than good. The first time I saw
the Worm & Stinkface I laughed but after that it just got tiresome.
MICHAELA FISCHER: No move exposes the business like the Crossface. A
chinlock with your arm between my legs? It doesn't look like it hurts
without some serious selling. If anyone actually hit the Flying Headbutt,
you'd have two dead wrestlers. It's never even close to hitting.
JOSEPH MICELI: Jericho's double powerbomb just doesn't look right,
especially since the powerbombee has to help jericho to lift them for the
second one
STEVE SHIVES: If Chyna'd had a third move on the nominations list, I'd've
voted for that one, too. Christ, talk about overstaying one's welcome.
AL RITCHIE: (Dudleys) Not the move itself - the fact they do that retarded
wazzup thing.
ANDY P. GOSS: The Rock's Layin' the Smack Down punch (aka Kiss That Right)
is completely oversold ad nauseam. Just once, I want someone to no-sell
it. It ranks right up there with a move that I'm upset wasn't nominated;
namely, Jushin Liger's palm blow (aka the Bitch Slap of Death). Sid
Vicious tries with the crossface, but the trick is to have a little guy on
the big guy's back for full effect. Sid makes it look like a resthold.
And a snot rag? That's a joke, right?
DARREN MANTLE: Viscious should have been shot for trying. So should have
the booker who suggested it.
MOSES GATES: Why does the framed elbow (w/crotch chop) never miss or get
broken up? People always dodge the last one of the Road Dogg's dancing
punches, Scotty II Hotty's worm gets broken up sometimes, people have even
been known to slide out of the way of the People's Elbow every once in a
while. Yet Stupid Kevin Nash ALWAYS gets to hit his framed elbow
(w/crotch chop), which is probably the dumbest "gimmick move" of them all.
I will personally send $10 to the first wrestler to dodge the framed
elbow, or better yet, to kick Nash in the balls right after he does the
crotch chop part.
EZE4DA3747: I swear Rock doesn't touch the person when he does it. Also if
a face can punch someone so hard that they fly when they get the hot tag,
why dont' they do it all the time?
LANE DENSON: Road Dogg's Shake Rattle and Kneedrop
EDDIE BURKETT: Didn't Sid retain his title a few times by using the
Crossface, and wasn't it horrible, from my recollection???
JAMES HOWARD: The worst wrestling moves are those done by people who are
pretending they're someone else. Booker T and his uranage pretend that
he's the Rock, but he at least has enough talent to get away with it. Bull
Buchanan and his springboard whatever-that-is pretend that he's Super
Calo, and he *doesn't* have enough talent to get away with it. But that
comes second to Sid Vicious and his Crossface pretending that he's Chris
Benoit, because for all we know he might actually believe that he *is*
Chris Benoit. ^_^
JUST JEFF: Why is Lita's moonsault included in the list of nominees?
Granted, she may miss the target sometimes, but at least it's not as
dangerous to her opponent's health as other moves.
GEORGE JOHNSON: Steiner's suplexes are among the most brutal in the
business, and his finisher is the damn camel clutch?
PETER HAZLETT: Rock proved this year that he can actually wrestle, but
does he have to use these moves all the time. He winds up with the punch
so long that the opponent should be able to run, get a beer, drink it, eat
chips, take a crap, sing the anthem, etc... before he actually gets hit.
The elbow drop reminds me too much of Hulks leg drop.. (damn, I was trying
not to use that name in a wrestling context ever again)
JOE GAGNE: Wow, no People?s Elbow this year. The Worm is terrible, since
the opponent has to lay on the mat while Scotty dances around and then
drops the dreaded forearm. Try explaining the Stinkface to a
non-wrestling fan sometime. Bull Buchanan?s springboard clothesline
wouldn?t be so bad if he didn?t blow it half the time.
SCOTT ZUCKER: The Artist's finishing move, the jumping middle rope DDT was
absolutely horrible. He rarely hit the move right, and it lacked
credibility due to the way it was executed. Same goes with Stasiak's
finisher. A few times, he's come very close to seriously injuring a
wrestler with it. Sid's crossface wasn't credible either.
CHRISTOPHER SHEA: There are women in WOW who do better side headlocks than
Chyna. You can't make a DDT look good unless you hold on. Buchanan's axe
kick is a cool-looking move -- when the cameraman is careful not to show
that he misses by a country mile. And the deficiencies of the Gymnastics
Elbow have been well-discussed elsewhere.
RICK SCAIA: Lance Storm's Canadian Maple Leaf is just about the industry's
least convincing finisher. Storm's so talented that it's frustrating to
have to put him down for the year's Worst Move... X-Pac's broncobuster is
-- to paraphrase the Rock -- "the most homoerotic move in sports
entertainment," and I just don't get what purpose it serves (does it hurt?
is it psychological warfare? what?). Number Three on the list goes to
Hulk Hogan's Leg Drop o' Doom, just for old times' sake.
DOMINIC SEIBERT: Worst Wrestling Move (con't.) 4th: Scott Steiner's
Recliner -- The greatest physical specimen in the sport has WHAT for a
finisher?!!?!??!?!?!?!??! 5th: Rock's People's Elbow -- Thankfully, he
sets it up now with a reasonable power move like a uranage or a
spinebuster. 6th: Chyna's Handspring Elbow -- SHE NEVER HITS THE GUY WITH
THE ELBOW!!! SHE JUST RUNS INTO HIM BACK FIRST!!! WHAT THE HELL?! 7th:
Edge's spear -- He's too small a guy to use that as a major move.
Thankfully, the WWF realized this and has him use it only against smaller
competitors. 8th: X-Pac's Broncobuster -- What does this accomplish?
However, it's down on the list because when they stick the foot up to
counter it, it looks REALLY good. 9th: X-Pac's X-Factor -- As a finisher?!
Huh?! It's a modified bulldog which isn't even a finisher anymore (NOTE:
Unlike Kidman's powerbomb reversal, the X-Factor has no whiplash effect
and is so overdramatized to compensate, it doesn't look realistic or
believable). 10th: Scotty 2 Hotty's Worm -- Down on the list since it's
not a finisher, just a spot the crowd likes. Honorable Mention: Rikishi's
Stinkface -- While gross and disgusting, it doesn't make the top 10,
because, in my opinion, anybody willing to be subjected to it is making
the ULTIMATE sacrifice for the company.
TROY OLSON: Sid's crossface was quite possibly the funniest thing I've
ever seen in wrestling. Nash's powerbomb is more like a powerdrop now.
I still can see the horrific image of Nash almost killing Page off of the
stage on Nitro. Poor DDP probably exerted more energy in executing the
move than Nash did, that lazy SOB.
JEREMY DELINE: Watching Chyna flip across the ring like a circus monkey is
unpleasant on three or four different levels. Scotty Too Hotty's worm is
the most business-exposing move there is. thank god it never got as
successful as the people's elbow. and Sid's 'variation' on the crossface
crippler made me laugh till my ears bled when I saw him 'apply'
it....let's take a moment and bow our heads in silent prayer for Sid's
skillz. Over ten years in the major federations, and he's still adding new
moves to his repertoire. God bless ya, Sid.
NATHAN LONEY: W! O! OH, OH, OH! Just a horrible wrestling move! Just
seeing it brings a tear to my eye. It takes a real piece of crap to knock
the Van Daminator out of the top spot... congrats, Scotty! Speak of the
devil, the Van Daminator is still a shitty move. Just hit him with the
fucking chair. And Chyna's handspring elbow makes little children cry
when they see it. Pathetic.
BILL LEHECKA: I almost wanted to put in here Chyna's stupid ass, crappy
forearms. I mean, what the hell is she trying to accomplish with a
flailing forearm? She makes it look so lame. Alas, I went with her
equally idiotic handspring elbow. She really strikes fear into her
opponents when she botches the handspring and elbows air.
MATT SPAULDING: Mr. Steiner? When people are SLIPPING OUT of a CAMEL
CLUTCH and you have to put them back in, you're doing something wrong.
At least make it look like it hurts. I don't detest Chyna as much as
others here do, but she just cannot make that elbow look convincing.
Stasiak's Perfect Plant is here just because it's a Stasiak move. I
didn't vote for Iaukea's jumping DDT because he's never hit it, and it'd
probably be a decent move if he ever could.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: The stinkface is just *disgusting*. I'm amazed how
so-called "civilized" people could pop for that move. And I certainly pity
anyone who has take it. :P Hogan's LDOD is always a good vote in this
category, and it gets second. Finally, there's the People's Elbow,
possibly the stupidest move in professional wrestling (which covers a lot
of ground!) It isn't even cool anymore, so I'm quite happy to vote for it.
The Worm is fourth -it's every bit as dumb as the Elbow, but at least no
one takes it seriously as a finisher.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Broncobuster? How does that hurt your opponent more
than your balls, X-Pac? Oh, you don't have any balls, I get it. The WWF
used their low-angle cameras waaaaay too much during Rikishi matches.
TANVIR RAQUIB: A parody of a 50 year scumbag businessman with one rolling
eye uses a spinning toe hold during a tag match against Vampiro. It's
horrible to watch Vamp sell it. WHY? WHY? WHY?
MIKE PLYLEY: Chyna's elbow is the worst thing I've ever seen in my life.
It's not even an elbow. She just does the handspring and slowly bumps the
guys chest with her back. Sure the Worm and the Stinkface are god-awful,
but at least they're played up as comedy moves.
JOHN DONALDSON: Probably the three moves that do or did the least damage
in the WWF, but get some of the biggest crowd pops. The Stinkface is just
gross, it has temporarily damaged the olfactory senses of most of the WWF
roster. The Elbow and The Worm are two moves that are so overrated, but
they allow their victims to get some much needed rest.
NICK RANGEL: Why does everyone continue to sell Hogan's legdrop? People
say the Stunner and the People's elbow expose the business, but neither of
those approach the sheer idiocy of the legdrop. Hell, the Radicals have
taken to dropping their knee off the ropes, a move that it looks like it
could really decapitate someone, and opponents never sell that as a closer
while Hogan's well padded leg, dropped from a relatively stable position
almost always gets a pin. Hell as far as I can recall, only two people
have ever no-sold that move and one of them, the Wall, was this year (in
the Nitro that occurred in the week prior to the Russo-Bischoff era that
has since been erased from wrestling's "worked" history).
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Chyna's handspring elbow is SO weak. X-Pac's bronco
buster was cool in... uh 1996. Rikishi's stink face was funny... once or
twice?
THE CUBS FAN: That move looked like a credible finisher (or something that
actually hurt someone) when Danny Doring used it. Then Shane got his
hands on it...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worst Match
Award Description:
To be given to the worst wrestling match you've seen this year, either live,
on TV, PPV, or in an arena, or on tape. If it took place in the past year,
it is eligible.
Previous Winners:
1990: 06/13/90: Ric Flair vs. Junkyard Dog (CoC XI)
1991: 05/19/91: El Gigante vs. Sid Vicious (SuperBrawl)
1992: 01/18/92: Beverly Brothers vs. Bushwhackers (Royal Rumble)
1993: 04/04/93: Hulk Hogan vs. Yokozuna (WrestleMania IX)
1994: 09/18/94: Jim Duggan vs. Steve Austin (Fall Brawl)
1995: 03/19/95: Hulk Hogan vs. Vader (Uncensored)
1996: 03/24/96: Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson &
Lex Luger & Kevin Sullivan & Meng & Barbarian & Ze Gangsta
& Ultimate Solution (Uncensored)
1997: 10/26/97: Hulk Hogan vs. Rowdy Roddy Piper (cage) (Halloween Havoc)
1998: 10/25/98: Hollywood Hogan vs. Warrior (Halloween Havoc)
1999: 09/26/99: Al Snow vs. Big Boss Man (Kennel from Hell) (Unforgiven)
**2000**: 06/25/00: Pat Patterson v. Gerald Brisco (hardcore evening gown)
(King of the Ring)
469 first place votes
440 second place votes
422 third place votes
104 44 42 736 06/25/00 Pat Patterson v. Gerald Brisco (hardcore evening gown)
14 28 22 198 01/16/00 Oklahoma v. Madusa (Cruiser)
19 19 18 188 04/26/00 Diamond Dallas Page & David Arquette v. Jeff Jarrett & Eric Bischoff (WCW Thunder)
23 14 12 181 02/20/00 Tank Abbott v. Big Al (skins)
14 19 27 181 08/16/00 Gene Okerlund v. Mark Madden (Thunder)
17 16 13 159 06/11/00 Sting v. Vampiro (human torch)
16 13 9 137 12/12/99 Big Show v. Big Boss Man (WWF)
17 12 3 127 11/15/99 Villano V v. El Dandy v. Psychosis v. Silver King v. Juventud Guerrera (pinata on a pole Nitro)
14 12 9 124 08/27/00 Kat v. Terri (thong stinkface)
7 18 11 111 05/01/00 Vampiro v. Sting (graveyard Nitro)
14 5 11 107 11/14/99 Debra & Tori & Mae Young & Fabulous Moolah v. Ivory & Jacqueline & Luna & Terri
6 14 16 104 02/27/00 Mark Henry v. Viscera
6 14 14 100 08/09/00 Buff Bagwell & Gene Okerlund v. "Positively" Kanyon & Mark Madden (Thunder)
10 9 7 91 05/07/00 David Arquette v. Diamond Dallas Page v. Jeff Jarrett (WCW Ready to Rumble Cage^3)
7 10 13 91 07/09/00 Demon v. Vampiro (graveyard)
8 5 11 77 10/22/00 William Regal v. Naked Mideon (Euro)
6 8 9 72 01/31/00 Kat v. Hervina (Women's RAW)
6 6 6 60 02/28/00 Sid Vicious v. Tank Abbott (WCW Nitro)
5 5 8 56 09/25/00 Booker T. v. Vince Russo (WCW caged heat Nitro)
5 5 8 56 03/30/00 Jacqueline v. Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley (Women's SmackDown!)
6 3 8 55 12/30/99 Hollys v. Fabulous Moolah & Mae Young (SmackDown!)
5 8 3 55 08/28/00 Paisley v. Major Gunns v. Tygress (Nitro)
6 4 4 50 02/03/00 Harvey Wippleman v. Jacqueline (Women's SmackDown!)
4 4 4 40 06/05/00 Ric Flair v. Vince Russo (Nitro cage)
2 4 7 36 11/29/99 Jerry Only v. Steve Williams (cage Nitro)
3 5 2 34 03/19/00 Hulk Hogan v. Ric Flair (strap)
2 4 6 34 05/31/00 David Flair & Vince Russo v. Ric Flair & Reid Fliehr (Thunder)
1 7 4 34 07/23/00 Undertaker v. Kurt Angle
3 5 1 32 04/02/00 D'Lo Brown & Godfather v. Big Boss Man & Bull Buchanan
4 3 1 31 04/02/00 Hardcore Battle Royal (HC)
3 4 2 31 12/06/99 Steve Williams & Oklahoma v. Vampiro & Jerry Only (Nitro)
3 4 2 31 11/22/99 Spice v. Tygress (Nitro)
2 2 7 30 11/29/99 Rhonda Singh v. Roddy Piper (mud Nitro)
3 4 0 27 11/21/99 Jimmy Hart v. Mancow
4 0 2 24 11/29/99 Jushin Liger v. Juventud Guerrera (IWGP Nitro)
3 2 1 23 11/25/99 Ivory v. Jacqueline (turkey bowl)
3 0 3 21 12/27/99 Mankind v. Rock (pink slip on a pole RAW)
2 3 1 21 11/15/99 Screamin' Norman Smiley v. Jimmy Hart (hardcore Nitro)
4 0 0 20 04/02/00 Triple H v. Rock v. Big Show v. Mick Foley (WWF)
1 3 3 20 03/01/00 Mickie Jay v. Mark Johnson (Thunder)
2 2 1 18 07/09/00 Jeff Jarrett v. Hulk Hogan (WCW)
1 3 2 18 04/02/00 T & A v. Al Snow & Steve Blackman
1 2 3 17 07/16/00 Justin Credible v. Tommy Dreamer (ECW Stairway to Hell)
3 0 0 15 11/15/99 Big Show v. British Bulldog (WWF RAW)
2 1 1 15 12/13/99 Kat v. Tori (Women's pudding RAW)
2 1 1 15 08/27/00 Val Venis & Trish Stratus v. Eddie Guerrero & Chyna (IC)
1 2 2 15 11/15/99 Asya v. Kimberly (Nitro)
1 2 2 15 01/17/00 Tank Abbott v. Maestro (shoot)
0 3 3 15 08/13/00 Sting v. Demon
1 3 0 14 12/06/99 Jerry Flynn v. Maestro (in the Block Nitro)
2 1 0 13 11/08/99 Chris Benoit v. Madusa (WCW Qtr Nitro)
2 1 0 13 05/21/00 Rock v. Triple H (WWF Iron Man)
1 2 1 13 11/15/99 Jerry Flynn v. Barbarian (in the Block Nitro)
0 3 2 13 04/02/00 Terri v. Kat
1 1 2 12 07/09/00 Daffney v. Miss Hancock (Wedding Gown)
0 4 0 12 08/27/00 Jerry Lawlwer v. Tazz
1 2 0 11 08/27/00 Undertaker v. Kane
2 0 0 10 09/04/00 Kevin Nash v. Sting v. Jeff Jarrett v. Scott Steiner v. Kronik v. Vince Russo v. Harris Brothers v. Booker T. v. Goldberg v. Cat v. Bret Hart (WCW Nitro War Games)
2 0 0 10 04/02/00 Big Boss Man & Bullchanan v. D'Lo Brown & Godfather
1 1 1 10 06/25/00 Crash v. Bull Buchanan (KOR Quarter)
0 2 2 10 10/22/00 Steve Austin v. Rikishi
1 0 2 9 01/23/00 New Age Outlaws v. Acolytes (tag)
1 0 2 9 01/23/00 Bikini contest (not really a match)
0 1 3 9 12/30/99 Big Show v. X-Pac (nontitle SmackDown!)
0 2 1 8 01/23/00 Thirty man Royal Rumble
0 2 1 8 07/05/00 Perfect Event v. Woody Kearce & Brian Adams
1 0 1 7 12/06/99 Screamin' Norman Smiley v. Rhonda Singh (HC Nitro)
1 0 1 7 06/25/00 Rock & Kane & Undertaker v. Mr. McMahon & Shane McMahon & Triple H (WWF)
1 0 1 7 01/26/00 Sid Vicious v. Kevin Nash & Big Ron Harris (WCW Thunder cage)
0 1 2 7 08/13/00 Kevin Nash v. Scott Steiner v. Goldberg
0 2 0 6 11/18/99 Jacqueline v. Ivory v. Luna (Women's hardcore SmackDown!)
0 2 0 6 05/21/00 Big Show v. Shane McMahon
0 2 0 6 05/01/00 David Arquette v. Tank Abbott (WCW Nitro)
0 2 0 6 02/27/00 Big Boss Man v. Tazz
0 0 3 6 12/06/99 Evan Karagias v. Madusa v. Mona (Nitro)
1 0 0 5 X-Pac & Road Dogg(?)
1 0 0 5 Kane v. Rikishi (which one?)
1 0 0 5 BB Jones & Tenryu v. Shinya Hashimoto & Naoya Ogawa (Rikidozian Memorial show)
1 0 0 5 ??/??/?? Just Joe v. Gangrel
1 0 0 5 12/12/99 Jacqueline v. B.B. v. Ivory v. Miss Kitty (Women's evening gown pool)
1 0 0 5 11/21/99 David Flair v. Kimberly
1 0 0 5 11/19/00 William Regal v. Hardcore Holly (Euro)
1 0 0 5 11/15/99 Vampiro & Misfits v. Berlyn & Wall (Nitro)
1 0 0 5 10/29/00 Jeff Jarrett & Sting & Sting & Sting & Sting & Sting v. Sting
1 0 0 5 10/29/00 Goldberg v. Kronik
1 0 0 5 10/29/00 David Flair v. Buff Bagwell (DNA)
1 0 0 5 10/16/00 Al Snow v. Willaim Regal (Euro RAW)
1 0 0 5 09/17/00 Sting v. Vampiro & Great Muta
1 0 0 5 08/13/00 Lance Storm v. Mike Awesome (Can)
1 0 0 5 07/23/00 Al Snow v. Tazz
1 0 0 5 06/12/00 Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley v. Lita (Women's RAW)
1 0 0 5 04/16/00 Sting v. Vampiro (US semi)
1 0 0 5 02?/?/00 Hulk Hogan v. Team Package (Thunder)
1 0 0 5 02/27/00 Triple H v. Cactus Jack (WWF Hell in a Cell)
1 0 0 5 02/20/00 Hulk Hogan v. Lex Luger
1 0 0 5 02/14/00 Chris Benoit v. Rock (RAW)
1 0 0 5 01/03/00 Jeff Jarrett v. Sid Vicious (US Nitro powerbomb)
0 0 2 4 12/13/99 Madusa v. Spice (Nitro)
0 0 2 4 05/07/00 Sting v. Vampiro
0 1 0 3 Kevin Nash v. Goldberg (which one?)
0 1 0 3 Kane v. Jericho (which one?)
0 1 0 3 ??/??/?? Yoji Anjoh v. Tarzan Goto (Rikidozian Memorial Show)
0 1 0 3 12/12/99 Triple H v. Vince McMahon
0 1 0 3 11/19/00 Rock v. Rikishi
0 1 0 3 10/29/00 Cat v. Mike Sanders (kickboxing)
0 1 0 3 10/22/00 Steven Richards & Val Venis v. Chyna & Billy Gunn
0 1 0 3 10/18/00 Kronik v. Perfect Event (Thunder)
0 1 0 3 10/09/00 Tygress v. Torrie Wilson (Down Underwear Nitro)
0 1 0 3 10/02/00 Jeff Jarrett v. Booker T (WCW 49'ers Nitro)
0 1 0 3 05/22/00 Scott Steiner v. Rick Steiner (Asylum Nitro)
0 1 0 3 04/30/00 Dean Malenko v. Scotty 2 Hotty (LtHvy)
0 1 0 3 03/29/87 Hulk Hogan v. Andre the Giant
0 1 0 3 02/27/00 Rock v. Big Show
0 1 0 3 02/21/00 Terry Funk & Dustin Rhodes v. Harris Brothers (Nitro)
0 1 0 3 01/24/00 Kevin Nash v. Sid Vicious (WCW Nitro)
0 1 0 3 01/16/00 Chris Benoit v. Sid Vicious (WCW)
0 0 1 2 Scott D'more v. Jamie Jackson
0 0 1 2 Goldberg v. Tank Abbott(?)
0 0 1 2 12/20/99 Al Snow v. Rock (Brahma bullrope)
0 0 1 2 12/19/99 Sid Vicious v. Kevin Nash
0 0 1 2 12/06/99 Hardcore Holly v. Rikishi Phatu (RAW)
0 0 1 2 11/14/99 Kurt Angle v. Shawn Stasiak
0 0 1 2 11/14/99 Big Show v. Big Boss Man & Prince Albert & Mideon & Viscera
0 0 1 2 10/30/00 Lex Luger v. Buff Bagwell (Nitro)
0 0 1 2 10/29/00 Franchise & Torrie Wilson v. Konnan & Tygress
0 0 1 2 09/24/00 Rock v. Chris Benoit v. Undertaker v. Kane (WWF)
0 0 1 2 09/11/00 Lita v. Ivory (RAW Women's)
0 0 1 2 08/27/00 Rock v. Triple H v. Kurt Angle (WWF no DQ no countout)
0 0 1 2 08/27/00 Edge & Christian v. Dudley Boys v. Hardy Boyz (tag TLC)
0 0 1 2 07/24/00 Godfather v. Bull Buchanan (RAW)
0 0 1 2 07/03/00 Rock v. Shane McMahon (WWF RAW)
0 0 1 2 06/25/00 Rikishi v. Val Venis (KOR Semi)
0 0 1 2 05/14/00 Justin Credible v. Lance Storm (ECW)
0 0 1 2 04/30/00 Bull Buchanan & Big Boss Man v. Acolytes
0 0 1 2 04/16/00 Mancow v. Jimmy Hart
0 0 1 2 04/03/00 Road Dogg & X-Pac v. T&A (RAW)
0 0 1 2 04/02/00 Rikishi Phatu & Kane v. X-Pac & Road Dogg
0 0 1 2 02/21/00 Total Package v. Hulk Hogan (cage Nitro)
0 0 1 2 01/09/00 New Jack v. Angel
REJECTED
26 22 17 "Any..." votes
2 1 0 11/27/00 Steve Blackman v. Tiger Ali Singh (HC RAW)
2 1 0 09/26/99 Al Snow v. Big Bossman (kennel from Hell)
2 0 0 11/27/00 Scott Steiner v. Stevie Ray (WCW Nitro)
0 2 1 11/19/00 Triple H v. Steve Austin (no DQ)
1 0 0 11/26/00 Booker T. v. Scott Steiner (WCW Caged Heat)
1 0 0 "Tie" votes
0 1 0 11/26/00 Perfect Event v. Kevin Nash & Diamond Dallas Page (tag)
0 1 0 11/26/00 Crowbar v. Reno v. Big Vito (HC)
0 0 1 Stephanie McMahon v. Linda McMahon in a slap in the face match (not a match)
0 0 1 Kevin Nash
0 0 1 Billy Gunn v. Ken Shamrock
0 0 1 11/19/00 Kurt Angle v. Undertaker (WWF)
0 0 1 11/06/00 Hardy Boyz v. Goodfather & Bull Buchanan (tag RAW)
0 0 1 10/25/98 Hulk Hogan v. Warrior
0 0 1 10/10/99 Jim Neidhart & King Kong Bundy v. Jake Roberts & Yokozuna
DON DEL GRANDE: Well, to be fair, the Sting vs. Vampiro match wasn't THAT
bad, but I have to include the "Vampiro vs. Some Stunt Man Wearing A Sting
Outfit match" that immediately followed it.
HIRO: What's more worse than a women's macth these days? A match against a
female non-wrestler! The last two matches are there because both were on
PPV, which shouldn't have been allowed to happen by the people who book
these things.
ROBERT STRUPP: This was the easiest category. Anything with David Arquette
winning the title is clearly Number 1. Any "match" involving Mark fucking
Madden get's 2nd and 3rd.
BEN WEINER: The Block: This is sportz entertainment for the kidz!
MICHAEL STAKELY: 1. This was just so wrong on so many levels. 3. It's not
enough to merely bury the cruiser division, they have to shoot it in the
back of the head as well.
ALEX GIPSON: Sting vs. Vampiro in a Human Torch Match....well, I guess it
had a creative finish, but not much else going for it. Patterson vs.
Brisco at King of the Ring was simply atrocious in both storyline and
stipulation, and Demon-Vampiro might have been slightly more interesting
had a light source been provided, I suppose.
KATE MARIN: Worst matches comment: I can't remember any other really bad
ones, nor do I wish to. That match sort of encapsulates the Russo era for
me, since it was offensive, stupid, AND pointless, all at the same time! I
was watching more out of a sense of inertia than anything else, and that
finally made me think, "WHY am I watching this racist piece of nonsense?"
and, in fact, turn the tv off and go do something else. Any WCW I've
watched since has been when I was avoiding ads during Raw.
GENE MOORE: David Arquette winning the title, although it insulted my
intelligence to the Nth degree, did not make me sick to my stomach.
Patterson and Brisco in an evening gown match made me sick to my stomach.
SCOTT W.: So many to choose from. That graveyard crap with Vampiro takes
the cake. Him vs Demon and Sting. That Human Torch Crap. Mean Gene and
Mark Madden definite vote.
MARCUS SPARKS: I repeat: DAVID F-ing ARQUETTE had NO BUSINESS being a
world champion. It says something when non-wrestlers are involved in
matches... it's known as CHANGE THE CHANNEL!
BEANS: Far too many to choose from.
JOHN C.: Patterson vs. Brisco at King of the Ring was one of the worst
matches I have ever seen anywhere. The Sting/Vampiro feud was a huge flop
capped off by the horrible human torch match that saw a stunt man take a
fall as a fake Sting. The fact that WCW hyped Sid vs. Abbott as a big
match is laughable as neither man has any talent and they never will.
REISMARK: It's funny how the Internet smarks cheer Vampiro's ability and
cry over his impending WCW departure, but he was a willing partcipant in
the year's two worst matches - the Graveyard match with the Demon and the
Human Torch match with Sting. This explains WHY he's leaving. And WWF,
never show me men in dresses again.
AL RITCHIE: I haven't watched enough PPVs to render an honest judgement.
I know you're disappointed.
ANDY P. GOSS: Criteria for Worst Match: two poor workers (DQing
Jarrett/Sting from Havoc or Sting/Vamp from GAB); a retarded gimmick helps
(eliminating most matches); and a pathetic ending that defied wrestling
logic. Tank Abbott v. Big Al had no business being in the ring, was an
affront to good taste, and featured foul language and threatened murder.
Patterson v. Brisco should have never been signed, and was primarily an
excuse for Brisco to get more training at the Terry Garvin School of
Self-Defense and for Patterson to live out a homoerotic fantasy. Jackie
v. Steph was the last match prior to WrestleMania, and had the winner of
the match perform zero moves. Pathetic.
STEPHEN TISZENKEL: Huh! That's funny. I didn't think I had anything
against the Kat, yet she was involved in all three of my worst matches of
the year.
JON WALTON: Big Al vs Tank Abbott was something that two obese, unathletic
and mentally challenged could have followed and topped. I've never seen a
person so physically angry about a leather jacket in my life and I hope I
never do again.
DREW HUNT: Five words about my #1 choice: "You're going to sleep, Sid!"
JAMES HOWARD: Quite frankly, I'm not even going to *try* to pick the worst
matches this year. Just throw three darts at the WCW Year in Review and
see where they land.
GEORGE JOHNSON: That hardcore evening gown match could have been 1 minute
long and it still would've been the worst match I'd ever seen.
LCDRKODIAS: Um, where's "Anything from WCW Thunder"?
PETER HAZLETT: Vince Russo should have never tried to wrestle... The 2nd
and 3rd choices can simply be explained by the names involved.
JOE GAGNE: The Patterson/Brisco hardcore evening gown match was a total
farce and something no one wanted to see. The Pi=F1ata on a pole match
from Nitro was one of the most insulting things I?ve ever seen in
wrestling, and as an added bonus, it resulted in several luchadores
getting injured. Okerlund/Madden from the 8/16/00 Thunder resulted in the
world seeing Madden?s pasty, flabby stomach--nuff said.
DAVE MARTHALER: The RR swimsuit competition may not have been an actual
match, but I don't care.
JEREMY SORIA: It's any permutation of Sting, Vampiro, and Demon.
RICK SCAIA: Tank Abbot vs. Big Al and Gene Okerlund vs. Mark Madden were
two very bad feuds over the past year. Neither advanced anyone's career
or really had any business existing at all. But they still only earn #2
and #3 on this list. Because #1 has to go to Big Show vs. Big Bossman, a
feud that was not only bad (featuring god-awful plot developments and
leading up to pretty weak matches), but was bad at the main event level.
At least WCW's terrible feuds in 2000 were relegated to the lower card....
TROY OLSON: Feb. 20th to Feb. 28th was a good period for WCW crap. Sid
and Tank has a special spot in my heart for the simple fact that Tank
tapped out to a crossface that wasn't even on him. And I thought the
match was a shoot. Also, the Luger v. Hogan match was great because Hogan
was so lazy, he wouldn't even duck under Lugar and Flair's arms for the
double clothesline.
NATHAN LONEY: Kat and Tori in a wrestling match in a pool of pudding.
Sheesh. I was a little easier on the thong stinkface match, because of
the fact that it was two non-wrestlers in that load of crap... but Tori
has talent, and she shouldn't be using it in pudding. Oklahoma vs. Madusa
for the WCW Cruiserweight title... one's a woman, the other's NOT A
FUCKING CRUISERWEIGHT?!? What in the FUCK was Russo thinking? Finally,
Patterson and Brisco in a hardcore evening gown match... gee, thanks
Vince, for this wonderful match. No, really. Fuck you.
BILL LEHECKA: OK, so the idea was to set your opponent on fire. OK,
sounds hokey, since we've been down that road before with the Undertaker
and Kane, but we'll see how this plays out. I honestly don't think the
idea here was to have someone other than Steve Borden dressed as Sting to
be lit on fire, then have this stuntman take a 30 foot dive off the
ceiling. That's just poor. I just find it funny that none other than
Shane McMahon put Borden to shame later with his own suicidal dive in his
match against Steve Blackman.
NATE PATRIN: What, no Lawler/Jericho vs. Tazz/Naked Mideon on Raw???
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Patterson/Brisco, Sting/Vampiro and Bossman/Big Slow.
All of these should have come with warnings that excessive viewings can
result in brain tissue degeneration.
MIKE PLYLEY: For the rest of my life, I will fail to see how ANYONE in the
WWF could have thought Patterson v Brisco was a good idea? In any other
year, I wouldn't be able to think any match could be worse the the dreaded
"Leather Jacket On A Pole" match (complete with a knife in the pocket)
between Tank Abbott and his supposed longtime nemesis Big Al. The WWF is
constantly finding new ways to surprise us, though. Sting and Vampiro in
the "Human Torch Match" was so cotrived and ridiculous that I couldn't
exclude it. so it gets 3rd.
NICK RANGEL: Billy Kidman had a bright future once, but his hopes for
ascending the mid-card were dashed while Hogan stroked his ego.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Pinata on a Pole anyone? Oklahoma v.s. Madusa was
beyond bad WWF having Terri v.s. Kat in a T&A match after getting Women's
wrestling legitmately over with Lita was a HORRIBLE move.
JBELL55146: The Vampiro/Sting human torch match was bad on so many levels
it's hard to count. From the bad pyro to the horrible stunt man, this
match was bad news from the start. And whoever came up with the Pat
Patterson/Gerald Brisco evening gown match needs to be fired. NOW. And
it's a shame to see the WCW Cruiserweight title, a title that once held so
much prestige it was being fought against the greatest cruiserweights in
the world, being fought with a old has been female fighter and a old,
bitter, booker.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worst Feud
Award Description:
To be given to the feud that nobody cared about at all this year. When they
were pushing the feud on TV, you'd go to the fridge for a snack.
Previous Winners:
1990: Hulk Hogan vs. Earthquake
1991: Hulk Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter
1992: Ultimate Warrior vs. Papa Shango
1993: The Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez
1994: Doink vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
1995: Hulk Hogan vs. Dungeon of Doom
1996: Big Bubba vs. John Tenta
1997: Nation of Domination vs. Disciples of Apocalypse vs. Los Boricuas
1998: Warrior vs. Hollywood Hogan
1999: No Limit Soldiers vs. West Texas Rednecks
**2000**: Big Show vs. Big Boss Man
506 first place votes
483 second place votes
464 third place votes
76 20 16 472 Big Show v. Big Boss Man
35 21 18 274 Millionaires Club v. New Blood
23 31 22 252 Pat Patterson v. Gerald Brisco
24 24 19 230 Jimmy Hart v. Mancow
21 26 10 203 David Arquette v. Diamond Dallas Page
20 18 24 202 Ric Flair v. Vince Russo
23 15 11 180 Sting v. Vampiro (& Dark Carnival)
20 17 14 179 Hulk Hogan v. Billy Kidman
19 12 23 177 Chris Jericho v. Kane
16 22 15 176 Goldberg v. Vince Russo
21 14 11 169 David Arquette v. Eric Bischoff
11 17 27 160 X-Pac v. Road Dogg
16 15 9 143 Fabulous Moolah & Mae Young v. Ivory
13 15 10 130 Tazz v. Jerry Lawler (& Jim Ross)
9 14 18 123 Vampiro v. Demon
13 8 14 117 ECW v. Network
8 12 13 102 Gene Okerlund v. Mark Madden
8 12 10 96 Chris Jericho v. X-Pac
9 8 11 91 Steve Austin v. Rikishi
9 8 10 89 Chyna v. Chris Jericho
4 10 17 84 Tank Abbott v. Big Al
6 7 12 75 Kronik v. Harris Brothers
5 7 12 70 Undertaker v. Kane
7 6 7 67 Vince Russo v. Hulk Hogan
5 7 3 52 Terri v. Kat
2 7 7 45 Dean Malenko v. Ivory & Jacqueline
2 8 3 40 Baldies v. New Jack
2 6 6 40 Buff Bagwell v. "Positively" Kanyon
2 4 8 38 Spice & Storm v. A.C. Jazz & Tygress & Skye & Fyre
3 6 2 37 Kurt Angle v. Triple H
3 1 8 34 Vince McMahon v. Rock
5 1 0 28 Big Show v. Shane McMahon
3 3 2 28 General Rection (Misfits in Action) v. Lance Storm (Team Canada)
4 2 0 26 Right to Censor v. WWF
2 4 2 26 Revolution v. Hacksaw Jim Duggan
3 2 2 25 Kane v. X-Pac
3 3 0 24 Chyna v. Eddie Guerrero
3 2 1 23 Kevin Nash v. Natural Born Thrillers
0 4 5 22 Ric Flair v. David Flair
2 3 1 21 Joel Gertner v. Cyrus
1 4 2 21 Undertaker v. Kurt Angle
1 3 3 20 Acolytes v. Kaientai
2 2 0 16 Buff Bagwell v. David Flair
2 1 1 15 Hulk Hogan v. Ric Flair
2 0 2 14 Rock v. Rikishi
2 1 0 13 Big Boss Man v. Crash
0 2 3 12 Sid Vicious v. Jeff Jarrett
1 2 0 11 David Arquette v. Jeff Jarrett
0 3 1 11 David Flair v. Buff Bagwell
1 0 2 9 Major Gunns v. Ms. Hancock
0 3 0 9 Big Boss Man v. Bull Buchanan
1 1 0 8 Vince McMahon v. Linda McMahon v. Shane McMahon v. Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley
1 1 0 8 Rock v. Triple H
1 1 0 8 Rock v. Big Show
1 1 0 8 Mike Awesome v. Vampiro
0 1 2 7 Tazz v. Raven
0 1 2 7 Mike Tenay v. Jeff Jarrett
0 2 0 6 T & A v. Dudley Boyz
0 2 0 6 Goldberg v. Tank Abbott
1 0 0 5 Viscera v. Mae Young and Mark Henry
1 0 0 5 Steve Austin v. Chris Benoit
1 0 0 5 Oklahoma v. Madusa & Spice
1 0 0 5 Natural Born Thrillers v. Paul Orndorff (& Power Plant)
1 0 0 5 NWO v. Sid Vicious
1 0 0 5 Mike Awesome v. ECW
1 0 0 5 McMahon-Helmsley Regime v. Rock
1 0 0 5 Mae Young v. Fabulous Moolah
1 0 0 5 Lo Down v. WWF Enterance Security
1 0 0 5 Kronik v. Goldberg
1 0 0 5 Kane v. Undertaker
1 0 0 5 Hulk Hogan v. Team Package
1 0 0 5 Horace v. Billy Kidman
1 0 0 5 Goldberg v. Sid Vicious
1 0 0 5 Goldberg v. Kevin Nash
1 0 0 5 Godfather v. D'Lo Brown
1 0 0 5 Eric Bischoff v. Diamond Dallas Page
1 0 0 5 Dean Malenko v. Essa Rios
1 0 0 5 David Flair v. Ms. Hancock
1 0 0 5 Billy Kidman v. Franchise
1 0 0 5 Big Boss Man v. Prince Albert
0 1 1 5 Reno v. Big Vito
0 1 1 5 Perry Saturn v. Al Snow
0 1 1 5 Hulk Hogan v. Lex Luger
0 1 1 5 Chris Benoit v. Chris Jericho
0 0 2 4 Mr. Ass v. Eddie Guerrero
0 0 2 4 Justin Credible v. Tommy Dreamer
0 1 0 3 X-Pac & Road Dogg v. Dudley Boyz
0 1 0 3 Too Cool & Rikishi Phatu v. Radicalz
0 1 0 3 Tazz v. Big Boss Man
0 1 0 3 Tank Abbott v. Rick Steiner
0 1 0 3 Steve Blackman v. Shane McMahon
0 1 0 3 Steve Austin v. Rock
0 1 0 3 Scott Steiner v. Sid Vicious
0 1 0 3 Scott Steiner v. Booker T.
0 1 0 3 Sandman v. Rhino
0 1 0 3 Rock v. Chris Benoit
0 1 0 3 Rock v. British Bulldog
0 1 0 3 Ric Flair v. Franchise
0 1 0 3 Radicalz v. D-Generation X
0 1 0 3 Kevin Nash v. Jeff Jarrett
0 1 0 3 Ivory v. Kat
0 1 0 3 Godfather v. Gangrel
0 1 0 3 Franchise v. Billy Kidman
0 1 0 3 Filthy Animals v. Disqo
0 1 0 3 Dustin Rhodes v. Terry Funk
0 1 0 3 Diamond Dallas Page v. Buff Bagwell
0 1 0 3 Curt Hennig v. Shawn Stasiak
0 1 0 3 Bret Hart v. Goldberg
0 1 0 3 Boogie Knights v. Filthy Animals
0 1 0 3 Big Boss Man v. Al Snow
0 0 1 2 Vince Russo v. Kevin Sullivan (iffy)
0 0 1 2 Vampiro v. Oklahoma
0 0 1 2 Undertaker v. Big Show
0 0 1 2 Steve Corino v. Dusty Rhodes
0 0 1 2 New Age Outlaws v. Dudley Boyz
0 0 1 2 Mr. Ass v. D-Generation X
0 0 1 2 Mike Sanders v. Cat
0 0 1 2 Mae Young v. Mark Henry
0 0 1 2 Mae Young v. Dudley Boyz
0 0 1 2 Mae Young & Fabulous Moolah v. Ivory
0 0 1 2 Kane v. Kurt Angle
0 0 1 2 Hardcore Holly v. Crash
0 0 1 2 Goldberg v. Scott Steiner v. Kevin Nash
0 0 1 2 Goldberg v. Lex Luger
0 0 1 2 Edge & Christian v. Hardy Boyz
0 0 1 2 Diamond Dallas Page v. "Positively" Kanyon
0 0 1 2 Chris Jericho v. Triple H
0 0 1 2 Booker T. v. Vince Russo
0 0 1 2 Booker T. v. Jeff Jarrett
0 0 1 2 Billy Kidman v. Hulk Hogan
0 0 1 2 Al Snow v. Rock
REJECTED - not a real feud, or ineligible (time)
7 2 7 "Anything..." votes
1 0 0 West Texas Rednecks v. Filthy Animals
1 0 0 WCW v. Battledome
0 1 0 Vince Russo v. Intelligent Booking
0 0 1 Vince Russo v. The Internet's Patience
0 0 1 Vince Russo v. Kayfabe
0 0 1 Scott Hall v. his demons
0 0 1 Jung Dragons v. 3 Count v. Knoble & Karagias
0 0 1 Brian Knobs v. Fit Finlay
0 0 1 Bob Holly v. Al Snow
0 0 1 "Tie" votes
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: Top spot feud did not even last a week. MC vs. NB was
a decent idea, but badly done. Russo vs. Flair was a waste of talent on
Flair's part.
HIRO: Of course there are far worst feuds than these, but the fact that
the WWF continued these feuds way past their sell-by date was atrocious. I
don't know if Chris Jericho vs Kane actually qualifies for this year's
awards, but if it continues way past Armageddon, then it certainly would
win next year.
SAMUEL SKLAROFF: Any feud that gets started over spilt coffee is a
candidate for "Worst Feud" in my book.
JASON BOUGGER: The ECW v. the Network fued practically ran the promotion
into the ground.
JASON: What can I say? I'm a Jerichoholic and I hate the way he's being
buried.
ADAM FROM TORONTO: Hmmn. A manager whose best days were with The Natural
Disasters fighting a regional DJ in a national promotion. Get out the
"Standing Room Only Signs".
J3R CR0WE: Anything involving David Arquette should be forgotten
completely and the people who came up with it should be shot. But, I hate
Bossman with such a passion that a feud anywhere near the top of the card
sickens me, so he gets number 1.
ROBERT STRUPP: Take your pick from the "Files of Vince Russo Desperately
Trying To Get Himself Over"... though, I guess the Flair feud was the most
depressing given how good Flair actually was.
DEVON: My first choice here needs no explanation. I picked Triple H vs.
Angle because the WWF killed the great Jericho vs. Triple feud to do it.
Also, the Triple H/Angle feud put Triple H into a face role, which he is
really not good in. Finally, I really couldn't have given a shit whom
Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley ended up with.
CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN: I put this simply because of Vince Russo's
blowjobbing of "worked-shoots"
GREGG MIXDORF: This was also a difficult category due to the fact that I
don't watch much WCW because of Mark Madden. These probably weren't the
worst feuds of the year since I'm sure those happened in WCW but since I
didn't actually witness those I had to give a feud with Chyna the nod
since she sucks.
SCOTT W.: That whole New Blood vs. Millionaires thing was terrible. What
ever happened to that anyways? Sting and Vampiro. Bleh. Gene and Mark
Madden. more Bleh.
DONNIE VOMIT: This fued from hell spawned something like 90% negative
stars matches, so I'll give the nod to Sting and Vamp. Tazz vs. Jerry
Lawler only served to elevate an semi retired wrestler over one of my
favorite wrestlers. And Goldberg vs. Vince Russo allowed Russo to both a)
win the world title, and b) get his face on TV.
MARCUS SPARKS: Actually, my first choice should really be WCW booking v.
LOGIC and SENSE. That lacking, I'll take the most blatant idiocy as a
prime example of such. Okerlund v. Madden... why? WHAT WAS THE POINT?
What was the objective? Same with the Tazz v. Lawler feud... what was the
point? It sure didn't help get Tazz over...
JOHN C.: I'm still crying over the fact that I actually witnessed the
Patterson vs. Brisco feud. Big Show vs. Big Bossman was horrendous and I'm
still trying to figure out why WCW even tried the Vampiro/Demon feud in
the first place.
AL RITCHIE: (Millionaires v. NB) A sensible feud, except that they cast
the wrong side as heels, and couldn't decide who should be on which side.
ANDY P. GOSS: No one cared about X-Pac v. Road Dogg, and its sole purpose
was to turn Dogg face. This could've easily been accomplished by having
him abandon X-Pac during a match. Tank Abbott and Big Al was a confusing
feud that had no place on a PPV, had zero buildup of one of the
characters, and ended in the Worst Match of the Year IMO. And the Big
Boss Man/Big Show feud is already in WrestleCrap. Nuff said.
STEVE GUM: Kane vs. anybody but UT equals a yawn
JAMES HOWARD: HWEN NITRO GIRLS
COLLIEDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111
GEORGE JOHNSON: Dean Malenko vs. a couple of chicks. Are you sure Russo
didn't write this?
LCDRKODIAS: That whole New Blood vs Millionaires was hosed from the start,
making the geezers the faces. The other 2 were top guys proving that they
could beat up midcarders.
PETER HAZLETT: Who cares? Who cares? and not again!!!
JOE GAGNE: I don?t even remember what Sting and Vampiro were fighting
about. I do remember that it led to awful Graveyard and Inferno matches.
What a waste of two good wrestlers. The ECW/Network feud was highly
repetitive and boring, and was a big reason why I stopped watching ECW
altogether. The X-Pac/Road Dogg feud was pointless and then quickly
forgotten.
BOB MORRIS: The Hogan/Kidman feud had potential to be good, but when it
got to the point where all it was was Kidman bumping around for Hogan, it
did Kidman no good at all. He isn't in a better position in WCW than he
was when the feud began, and wasn't the whole point of the feud to elevate
him? Sadly, WCW failed miserably to elevate Kidman with this terrible
feud.
TROY OLSON: Special mention to Beetlejuice vs. Jarrett. That little guy
was so cute, though.
JEREMY DELINE: The worst kind of Feud is one that stretches on and on, has
ludicrous situations, no drama or fan interest, buries worthy wrestlers
and causes recurring spasms whenever brought up in Conversation. Case in
Point: Vampiro and the Demon, which led to all kinds of silliness, had no
conclusion, ended with neither man being elevated, etc. The Terri-Kat feud
was a sign that the WWF was just as capable of churning asinine, boring
feuds out as WCW. the added bonus of course being that because neither
Terri or the Kat is actually a wrestler, every time they get in the ring,
the fans are guarenteed some truly horrible wrestling! But who cares,
right? I mean, you get to see women catfighting? booty-shaking in the
ring! Titty-Jiggling! woman-on-woman stinkfacing! Hey............where are
you going....? Come back!.......
NATHAN LONEY: Hogan/Kidman? Waste of time, waste of tv time, waste of
money. A feud based on a shoot, and like most other shoots, this one
sucked, too. Hogan still found a way to get himself over. Mancow/Jimmy
Hart fits right in there. I can't stand Mansuck, and Jimmy Hart isn't
going to change that. And Abbott/Big Al is notable for being the only
time you'll hear a competitor say, "I could fuckin' kill you right now."
Three votes, three examples of horrible feuds.
BILL LEHECKA: I just don't care enough to write about how much the Big
Boss Man sucks, so I won't give my opinion here.
NATE PATRIN: It's bad when commentators and second-rate radio show hosts
fight, but when possibly the best ECW Champion ever gets constantly jobbed
to... to... L...La... Law... I can't finish. Sorry.
MATT SPAULDING: Millionaires' Club vs. NeW blOod was a "smart" angle that
would have worked if Russo and Bischoff had actually done what the smarks
wanted and made the Millionaires the *heels*. Who was supposed to be the
face, Kidman or Douglas? And why Kanyon would want Buff Bagwell's mom as
his valet when WCW has hotties growing on trees still stumps me. Fourth
is Hogan/Kidman, which wasn't so much a feud as it was Kidman getting his
brains beaten in for two months.
KEVIN SMITH: Big Show/Bossman - could this feud have been any more
offensive to any wider group of people?
TANVIR RAQUIB: Watch a third rate promotion with fifth rate production
values plummet even more by stealing a money making idea from both the WWF
and wCw! Originality can kiss off, I tell ya.
MIKE PLYLEY: Tazz v Lawler could actually been worthwhile, only if they'd
had Tazz squash Lawler at SummerSlam and move on. By having Lawler (and
JR, for god's sake!) punk him out at every oppurtunity, they made Tazz
look like a complete joke (well, moreso than they already had.) And now
what's Tazz doing? Announcing Sunday Night Heat, he must be overjoyed.
Patterson and Brisco needs no explanation. Tank Abbott and Big Al was
utterly stupid. Who the hell was Big Al supposed to be, anyway? And why
was anyone supposed to care?
JOHN DONALDSON: What can I say, these two members of D-X had a friendly
rivalry, but it looks like they could care less about whether they won or
lost their feud, they just looked like they wanted to get paid and that
was all. Some of the New Blood were old guys and some of the Millionaires
Club was poor, this feud was lumped together and ill planned and made me
wonder why did these guys feud with one another. Part of the ECW vs The
Network War included a feud between two non-wrestlers, Joel Gertner and
Cyrus. There's nothing worse than Joel Gertner with a bare chest costumed
like Kamala, urggghh.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Once again WWF tops Russo with Mae Young & Moolah v.s.
Ivory. Russo stinkers like Tank v.s. Big Al and Vampiro v.s. THE KISS
DEMON.
THE CUBS FAN: You know, if we had to deal with the build up to the Nitro
Girls/Nitro Girls mud match, we should've at least got the mud match.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most Disappointing News item
Award Description:
To be given to the wrestling news item that most disappointed you when heard
of it. When you first learned of this news story, you couldn't believe that
it was true, and when you learned that it was, you were bummed out for a
while.
Previous Winners:
1991: Scott Steiner gets injured
1992: Legion of Doom: Hawk & Animal split up
1993: WWF brings Hulk Hogan back and gives him the title
1994: WCW signs Hulk Hogan and makes him World champion
1995: Death of Eddie Gilbert
1996: Scott Hall and/or Kevin Nash leave WWF and/or join WCW
1997: Death of Brian Pillman
1998: Death of Louie Spicolli
1999: Death of Owen Hart
**2000**: David Arquette wins WCW World Heavyweight championship
533 first place votes
515 second place votes
494 third place votes
104 40 30 700 David Arquette wins WCW World Heavyweight championship
72 39 25 527 Bret Hart suffers concussion, released, retires
45 49 21 414 Death of Yokozuna
36 26 13 284 Death of Gordon Solie
27 30 25 275 ECW taken off TNN
23 26 34 261 Vince Russo wins WCW World title
21 28 15 219 Mick Foley loses Hell in a Cell match with Triple H, ending career
17 20 9 163 Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff return to WCW
13 14 20 147 WCW workrate plummets through Russo booking and talent losses
7 10 27 119 X-Pac rarely jobs
2 19 16 99 Jushin Liger brought in to WCW to job IWGP title to tequila bottle
8 11 11 95 Mick Foley comes back at Wrestlemania after saying he retired for good
9 11 8 94 Steve Austin out most of the year with neck injury
8 9 11 89 Mike Awesome breaches ECW contract to jump to WCW
9 8 8 85 WWF programming moves to TNN
8 8 9 82 Scott Hall continues to battle personal demons
3 10 16 77 Bret Hart uses public forum to complain about the business
3 7 15 66 WCW Saturday Night becomes clip show...then gets cancelled
7 5 5 60 Death of Gary Albright
1 9 14 60 WWF unofficially bans piledrivers, citing potential injury to performers
3 8 8 55 D'Lo Brown doesn't get a push
2 7 11 53 WWF reveals Rikishi as driver that hit Austin
4 5 7 49 Arn Anderson cuts "like the match never happened" promo after Souled Out
5 7 1 48 WWF not to buy WCW
7 3 1 46 WCW to be sold / remains unsold
5 2 7 45 Hardcore Holly suffers broken arm
1 7 9 44 WWF wastes many good potential matchups at King of the Ring
3 6 5 43 WCW releases Radicalz
6 4 0 42 Death of Jumbo Tsuruta
6 4 0 42 All Japan splits, NOAH created
4 4 5 42 Triple H rarely jobs
5 2 4 39 WWF to buy WCW
3 3 7 38 Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley wins WWF Women's title
4 4 2 36 Death of Bobby Duncum Jr.
2 5 5 35 Lenny & Lodi return in new, non-controversial, un-over gimmicks
2 0 10 30 Vince Russo returns to WCW
1 4 3 23 Tommy Dreamer loses ECW World title only minutes after winning it
1 4 3 23 Juventud Guerrera goes nuts, gets fired
1 2 6 23 Chris Jericho has heat in WWF locker room
3 1 0 18 Big Show sent to OVW
0 6 0 18 New Japan sends Shinjiro Otani away
1 4 0 17 Sid Vicious not on WCW TV after he carried them through tough times
1 2 3 17 Taka Michinoku injured
1 1 4 16 Vince McMahon creates XFL
1 2 2 15 Vince Russo still not fired from WCW
1 1 2 12 Steve Austin returns
2 0 0 10 Mr. Ass ready to return to action
1 0 2 9 WWF makes Latino Heat gimmick too over the top
1 0 2 9 Kevin Sullivan takes over as head booker of WCW
1 0 2 9 Death of Tony Rumble
1 0 2 9 Bobby Heenan removed from Nitro/Thunder/PPV
1 1 0 8 XPW's "invasion" of ECW PPV
1 1 0 8 WCW releases luchadores
1 1 0 8 Eric Bischoff to buy WCW
0 2 1 8 Vince McMahon: Genetic Jackhammer
0 2 1 8 Lance Storm signs with WCW
1 0 1 7 WCW still in business
1 0 1 7 Goldberg turns heel
0 1 2 7 PTC launches anti-"SmackDown!" crusade
0 2 0 6 Vince Russo removed from power
0 0 3 6 Tazz jumps to WWF
1 0 0 5 Wrestling Boom Appears at End
1 0 0 5 WCW still sucks
1 0 0 5 WCW brings back Eric Bischoff
1 0 0 5 Vince McMahon spends all his time with XFL
1 0 0 5 Vader joins NOAH
1 0 0 5 Triple H wins at WrestleMania
1 0 0 5 Tony Nelson retires from professional wrestling temporarily
1 0 0 5 Stephanie McMahon tries to have baby
1 0 0 5 Russo wins title
1 0 0 5 Russo jumps to the WCW
1 0 0 5 Ric Flair's head shaved on national television
1 0 0 5 Norman Smiley's push stops for no reason
1 0 0 5 Lex Luger returns to WCW
1 0 0 5 Death of Leo Nomellini
1 0 0 5 David Flair wins tag team title
1 0 0 5 Chris Benoit leaves WCW after winning the World title
0 1 1 5 Undertaker's endless series of recoveries from injury which allow him to still wrestle
0 1 1 5 Taka Michinoku & Shoichi Funaki re-sign WWF contracts
0 1 1 5 Sabu leaves ECW
0 1 1 5 Rob Van Dam out of ECW
0 0 2 4 WWF/Hart family lawsuit
0 0 2 4 WCW brings back Vince Russo for a second time
0 1 0 3 Wrestling ignored by mainstream press
0 1 0 3 Vampiro quits WCW
0 1 0 3 Sid recovered from his injuries
0 1 0 3 Shawn Michaels not returning
0 1 0 3 NWO re-formed....again
0 1 0 3 NWA anniversary show in Nashville
0 1 0 3 Mark Madden gets permanent Nitro commentary slot
0 1 0 3 Magnum Tokyo's injury keeps him out of Super J Cup 2000
0 1 0 3 Lita's breasts are fake
0 1 0 3 Jerry Lawler supports George W. Bush
0 1 0 3 Jerry Lawler marries Kat
0 1 0 3 Hacksaw Duggan turns heel
0 1 0 3 Eric Bischoff disappears again from WCW
0 1 0 3 ECW still exists
0 1 0 3 ECW losing talent to competition
0 1 0 3 ECW & WCW suffer financial misfortune
0 1 0 3 Drug Abuse Continues Among Wrestlers
0 1 0 3 Death of Toru Tanaka
0 1 0 3 Continuing ratings tumble for WCW
0 1 0 3 Booker T.'s suffers cracked sternum at hands of Scott Steiner
0 1 0 3 Big Show added to main event at Wrestlemania
0 0 1 2 WWF goes public
0 0 1 2 WWF caves into PTC pressure and tones down
0 0 1 2 WWF announces 2001 WrestleMania in Houston
0 0 1 2 WCW remains on the air
0 0 1 2 WCW dies
0 0 1 2 WCW $80 million in debt
0 0 1 2 Trish Stratus has visa problems
0 0 1 2 Triple H fakes a snake bite
0 0 1 2 Tammy Sytch appears on WCW programming looking..."tired"
0 0 1 2 Stan Hansen announces retirement.
0 0 1 2 Ric Flair doesn't jump to WWF
0 0 1 2 One year anniversary of Owen Hart's death
0 0 1 2 No WWF monopoly yet
0 0 1 2 New Japan books juniors with heavyweights on big shows
0 0 1 2 Mick Foley returns as WWF commissioner
0 0 1 2 JR's BBQ sauce finally coming out
0 0 1 2 Hulk Hogan returns
0 0 1 2 Hulk Hogan refuses to job to Jeff Jarrett
0 0 1 2 Hulk Hogan may return
0 0 1 2 Goldberg returns to action
0 0 1 2 Four-way title match annouced as WrestleMania main event
0 0 1 2 Foley coming back after saying he retired for good
0 0 1 2 Eddie Guerrero dislocates elbow in first WWF match
0 0 1 2 Davey Boy Smith fails to get clean
REJECTED - ineligible, time or not industry-related
4 1 1 Death of Gorilla Monsoon
4 0 1 "Tie" votes
1 1 0 Death of Rick Rude
1 0 0 Droz paralyzed during a match
0 0 2 ECW's exploits Jim Mitchell's injury
0 1 0 Sean Shannon leaves Rantsylvania
0 0 1 ScoopThis.com folds
0 0 1 Jeff Jarrett signs with WCW
0 0 1 Death of Brian Hildebrand
HIRO: See category 18 for the answer to why David Arquette winning the WCW
World title was a bad idea. In some way, WCW releasing the Radicalz was
good news especially to WWF, so that won't make it the top disappointing
news item. Mick breaking his retirement plans was also bad, though again
didn't necessarily warrant it being the top news item. As always, the
deaths of wrestling personalities isn't the best of news, so RIP to all of
them.
CHRIS BIRD: Wrestling's death count was kinder than usual this year, with
one death by misadventure (Yokozuna) and a bunch of the old-school going
to their last match (Prof. Toru Tanaka, Leo Nominelli, Gordon Solie).
However, Gary Albright's death was needless and tragic, and so long as
wrestling fans continue to stick their heads in the goddamn sand and go
"LA LA LA no deaths LA LA LA", I'll keep voting for needless death in this
category. Wrestling needs a union. Deal with it. Speaking of unions,
incidentally, Bret Hart's retirement should serve as notice that wrestlers
need one - if you need an example of "career shat upon by promoters",
can't find a better one than Bret.
MICHAEL BANKER: Personally, I was very disappointed that both Bret Hart
and Mick Foley retired. However, it is what both men wanted to do, so I
am happy for them, and therefore I didn't put those two items on the list.
And how do I decide which death is more disappointing than another? For
that reason, I just left them off the list entirely. Besides, death might
not be such a bad thing, after all. I mean, who knows for sure what it's
like?
J3R CR0WE: WCW are such a bunch of screw-ups. How in GOD'S NAME could they
let David Arquette even enter a fucking ring let alone make him win the
title? God... so STUPID!
DEVON: I picked WWF's move to TNN because my local cable company, AT&T
broadband, does not carry TNN. I can no longer watch Raw. Thanks a lot,
WWF! I'm glad their ratings are down.
ALEX GIPSON: Odd how this year served as a turning point for a few people
who were, within the last five years, very close to the top of this
business. Yokozuna's tragic passing stirred alot of old memories I'd
forgotten from my early years in watching wrestling. Workrate and
wrestling ability aside, the big guy really did make a significant impact
in his run on the top-I remember him debuting in October of 1992, and, six
months later, he was the WWF Champion..well, for 128 seconds, of course,
but that little incident did eventually serve to him getting the honors of
officially turfing Hogan from the WWF, and I think he remained as perhaps
the one competitor whom Hogan never was able to get a return match with so
he could redeem himself. Yokozuna will be missed, and I'm disappointed in
those writers who have been watching this sport for longer than I, who
chided him for his weight and such while failing to remember what impact
he had on the sport. Davey Boy Smith's rapid deterioration is sad to see
as well, as a combination of injuries and personal problems have robbed
the business of one of its most underrated performers.
EDC: Most Disappointing News item : WCW. Period. you take a look at what
WCW put on in spring 99. and Spring 2000, you will see two very different
promotions. One is a very Old School based promotion, with very high
Workrate, and strong in ring charcters, and titles that mean something to
people. The other is a show of inside jokes, paper champions, and shell of
what had once been. And the worse thing is that, they did it to
themselves. RIP indeed....
DANIEL HERMAN: The fact that Vince Russo continues to exist and destroy
wrestling will always be the most disappointing news. However the real
losses this year are the retirements of two of the best figures in
wrestling ever. Bret Hart was always able to pull better than expected
matches out of dead weight and was a true storyteller in the ring,
although his career was sabotaged in the last year and we were witness to
his breakdown he should be remembered as nothing less than a legend.
Foley, while not the best wrestler, was probably the best at eliciting an
emotional response from the fans in, before, and after a match. I have not
felt the same sense of urgency in a match in the WWF since he left.
SCOTT W.: Vince Russo winning the title was worse than David Arquette for
the following reasons. I hate Vince Russo, and the first reason is just
as good as the next 1000. When the WWF jumped to TNN, that was bad. I
mean, I watched the WWF my whole life on the USA network basically. I felt
like my first love left me and went out with a redneck. I also am sick of
WE'VE GOT POP. USA wasn't bad with their slogans. Did they have one?
PETE GOODRICH: Billy Ass...if only RTC could have made it a loser leaves
town match.
JOHN C.: I think Bret Hart's retirement was the most disappointing because
he left with such little fanfare. Mick Foley's retirement was sad as well
although with his new role in the WWF as commissioner he still feels a
part of the action unlike Bret who has disappeared from the wrestling
scene all together. Finally, I'm going to miss watching ECW on TNN because
I rarely missed a show while it was on and I'm hoping it reaches the
Canadian airwaves once again.
REISMARK: I really think the Most Disappointment News Item of the year is
Bret Hart's retirement, but it's not on the list for some reason. I
thought it was in October...?
ANDY P. GOSS: For this category, I decided to focus on in-ring news.
Gary Albright's death occurred during a match, and that, like Owen Hart's
the previous year, made it newsworthy. Sid Vicious basically was WCW's
franchise during the Kevin Sullivan era, but Russo had no clue what to do
with him, and thus tossed him aside. As we speak, they're giving him the
main event spot in Starrcade, which I wholeheartedly endorse. And the
darkest moment in WCW, the final surrender in the Monday Night War, was
Arn Anderson's post-Souled Out speech. He basically wrote the Radz right
out of the company and allowed Sully to take over. Arn, you have more
dignity than that... right?
JON WALTON: The Dean of Announcers passing away just goes to show that the
few vestiges of classic wrestling are passing away. And that's
disappointing.
BRIAN SCALA: Although RVD is vastly overrated in my humble opinion, he is
a easily marketable wrestler. ECW needed marketable wrestlers all year.
Therefore, learning of their apparent desire to severe all ties with RVD
can only spell disaster for Paul Heyman and initial success for RVD should
he wrestle elsewhere. Sooner or later, RVD's lack of skills will be
exploited. In the end, as far as who gets the better end of the deal, it's
a wash.
GEORGE JOHNSON: I know he's a whiner, but Bret Hart loved wrestling more
than anyone I've ever seen, and it's heartbreaking to see his career come
to such a pathetic end.
JOE GAGNE: You could fill up this document with all the great moments that
occurred on WCW Saturday Night. The show then began to lose its
importance thanks to Nitro and Thunder, but was still entertaining as a
showcase for younger talent. Then it was reduced to a clip show and
eliminated altogether, killing off a bit of wrestling history. Truly a
shame.
BOB MORRIS: I only listed two items, but both were big...Gordon Solie was
one of the most influential personalities in wrestling and one of the best
announcers of all time. I don't think there's one wrestling announcer out
there who wasn't influenced by Gordon in some way. He will definitely be
missed. It was also sad to hear that Bret Hart will no longer be in the
wrestling ring...it looked like he might get that one last run at the top
when WCW finally made him the World champion, but then he had the
concussion, and things simply didn't get any better for him. I'll
definitely miss Bret for what he contributed to wrestling.
SCOTT ZUCKER: Kurt Angle and Edge & Christian are the best mic workers of
the year, in my opinion. All three were finally given a chance to talk,
and they are very entertaining. Nobody really knew Christian had something
in him. Angle's fantastic and Edge & Christian are a good second to him.
JEREMY SORIA: Though there were several wrestling deaths this year, it
wasn't as traumatic as last year's losses, so none of those deaths made it
to the top three this time. The most damaging news item was ECW losing its
TNN timeslot. I really think with no national outlet with no regular
timeslot, it is going to cripple ECW as far as national recognition is
concerned. They still are the highest-profile independent wrestling
organization in the country today. The other damaging news item is Steve
Austin's ten month absence from wrestling. Sure, the WWF has gone on
strongly without him, but it almost seemed that we missed him for a while.
It's so nice to see him back in action, especially with the recent return
to his wrestling roots. The last item is Triple H. Although he's a
fantastic heel, he has started to hog the spotlight. The thrill of having
millions of fans chant obscenities at you for weeks without end seems to
be getting to Triple H. He must love it so much.
DOMINIC SEIBERT: Most Disappointing News item (con't.) 4th: WCW releases
Bret Hart who then retires -- A sad way for one of the greatest of all
time to go out. He deserved better. 5th: X-Pac rarely jobs -- In honor of
the venerable CRZ, our Supreme Awards Dictator, for pointing this out to
me. Adds quite a humorous anecdote to my weekly viewing to watch out for
(wouldn't it be funny if he starts jobbing regularly to Tori when she
returns full-time?!).
TROY OLSON: I almost had to vote for this nomination: "Sid Vicious not on
WCW TV after he carried them through tough times." CRZ, did you put this
in the wrong category?
NATHAN LONEY: I can't do it this year... I can't vote for people's death
as "disappointing". So, instead I picked three other news items.
Unibrow from Brooklyn winning the WCW World Title killed any respect that
anybody had for him and for WCW. Stupid, stupid move by a man who is
nothing but a mark for himself and a mark for the belt. TAKA and Sho
re-signing made me happy at first, but nothing but bad things have
occurred to them since the re-signed. So much talent being wasted. Mike
Awesome using one of Paul Heyman's contracts for toilet paper was also
pretty disappointing. Nice to see that the talent repects the contract
they signed that much.
BILL LEHECKA: The WWF King of the Ring this year could've kicked 2,398
levels of ass. Why couldn't you give people the matches that would've
blown everyone out of the water? It really angers me.
NATE PATRIN: While I'm glad that the WWF has at least a few black workers
who aren't pimps, sex addicts or bad MCs (I bet Del the Funky Homosapien
wrestles better than K-Kwick raps), they're pretty damn short on
non-Cheech Hispanics. And don't get me started on Kaientai. Agh.
MATT SPAULDING: It boggles the mind how WCW can put David Arquette on TV
and yet not make a good faith effort to keep four of its best workers.
And Bret Hart, after spending most of the year bitching about the state of
the business and damaging his legacy in the process, finally did what was
good for him and got out of it.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: For once, I find myself voting for something other than
death in the top slot, as I don't think any news item the whole year
through the year affected me more than Mick Foley's retirement. A class
act, all the way. Sure, it's probably a good thing he stopped as an active
worker when he did, but that doesn't mean we can't be sad about it. We'll
miss you, Mick! The deaths of Gordon Solie and Yokozuna get my other
votes.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Mick deserves all the props he gets and more.
TANVIR RAQUIB: A wrestler dying during a wrestling match is enough to feel
pretty depressed about - for numerous reasons. A distant second, Tommy
Dreamer having his night taken from him by the overpushed Credible was a
bitter pill to swallow for ECW diehards, including Sean Shannon. And for
the bronze, the most promising tag team in wCw gets told to stop being gay
and thus, becoming indy workers less than 8 months later.
MIKE PLYLEY: I'm not going to put any wrestler deaths here since I really
don't feel people should choose whose death was the most important.
TOM CRUZ: Russo and Bischoff. How can anyone take a company with amazing
talent, an unlimited budget and the production resources that WCW had, and
manage to fuck it all up so badly? Mick Foley's retirement was a needed
thing, but I'll be damned if I wanted him to go out the way he did. WCWSN
being killed off was a real shame, as it was the last bastion of actual
honest to God wrestling from the big two.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: I don't get TNN here, so WWF moving there is a loss
for me. I was a little excited about Liger coming back to WCW but that's
before Russo screwed that up royally. Vinny Ru winning the WCW title was
one of the final straws for WCW.
ROB "R2K" EVANS: Most Disappointing News Item - Again too many deaths this
year, however my votes go to the retirements of Mick Foley and Bret Hart,
two of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Foley should have gone out on
top, and Bret should have gone out in the WWF.
JIMBO: Yokozunas death saddened us all....it was especially bad
considering WWF was considering bringing the big man back...well, now Owen
gets his tag partner back i guess...Hardcore Holly was on the verge of
breaking out and then he did just that. He broke. X-Pac has talent but
why, why WHY dont you do a job???
JBELL55146: For me, nothing was as disappointing as going pretty much the
whole year without seeing Steve Austin. The man who almost single handidly
created the wrestling boom that so many people thrived on this year wasn't
even around to see it really take off this year. I for one am thrilled to
see the ol' rattlesnake back. And anytime somebody is forced to retire
because of injuries and overall toll on the body it's a shame, but when 2
legends like Mickey Foley and Bret Hart retire, it really is sad to see.
They will both be missed tremendously.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most Obnoxious Personality
Award Description:
To be given to the person who just rubs you the wrong way. This could be
anybody involved in the wrestling biz.
Previous Winners:
1991: Dusty Rhodes
1992: Vince McMahon
1993: Vince McMahon
1994: Hulk Hogan
1995: Eric Bischoff
1996: Eric Bischoff
1997: Eric Bischoff
1998: Eric Bischoff
1999: Eric Bischoff
**2000**: Vince Russo
539 first place votes
520 second place votes
496 third place votes
131 81 52 1002 Vince Russo
112 73 40 859 Mark Madden
36 29 39 345 Tony Schiavone
35 32 34 339 Buff Bagwell
25 21 26 240 X-Pac
19 18 23 195 Bob Ryder
18 19 21 189 Kevin Nash
10 22 29 174 Road Dogg
10 19 18 143 Oklahoma
12 15 13 131 David Arquette
11 8 9 97 Steven Richards
9 12 8 97 Goldberg
7 11 13 94 Scott Steiner
8 9 7 81 Vince McMahon
2 11 16 75 DJ Skribble
4 7 10 61 Hulk Hogan
8 2 5 56 Rock
6 4 7 56 Kurt Angle
6 3 6 51 Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley
4 6 5 48 Michael Cole
0 10 9 48 Justin Credible
4 7 3 47 Joel Gertner
3 7 3 42 Eric Bischoff
2 8 3 40 Jim Ross
3 4 5 37 Mr. Ass
3 4 5 37 Chyna
4 2 5 36 Shane Douglas
3 2 5 31 Tazz
2 2 6 28 Lilian Garcia
2 3 1 21 Triple H
2 1 4 21 Steve Austin
1 5 0 20 Chris Jericho
2 2 1 18 Jimmy Hart
1 1 5 18 Cyrus
3 0 1 17 Jerry Lawler
1 2 3 17 Kevin Kelly
2 1 1 15 Ivory
1 3 0 14 Pat Patterson
1 1 3 14 Shane McMahon
1 2 1 13 Bret Hart
1 2 0 11 Lex Luger
1 2 0 11 Eddie Guerrero
0 3 1 11 Jeff Jarrett
0 1 4 11 Gerald Brisco
2 0 0 10 Edge
2 0 0 10 Big Boss Man
0 1 3 9 Joey Styles
1 1 0 8 William Regal
1 1 0 8 Undertaker
1 1 0 8 Rikishi
1 1 0 8 Bobby Heenan
1 1 0 8 Bill Alphonso
0 2 1 8 Konnan
0 2 1 8 Elix Skipper
0 1 2 7 Rebecca
0 1 2 7 Debra
0 2 0 6 Mike Sanders
0 2 0 6 Cat
1 0 0 5 Rob Van Dam
1 0 0 5 Right To Censor
1 0 0 5 Perfectshawn Stasiak
1 0 0 5 Elektra
1 0 0 5 Disqo
1 0 0 5 David McLane
1 0 0 5 Big Show
0 1 1 5 Paul Heyman
0 1 1 5 Mideon
0 0 2 4 Stevie Ray
0 0 2 4 Mike Tenay
0 1 0 3 Vampiro
0 1 0 3 Val Venis
0 1 0 3 Trish Stratus
0 1 0 3 Sting
0 1 0 3 Steve Blackman
0 1 0 3 Roddy Piper
0 1 0 3 Rhino
0 1 0 3 Paula Paulshock
0 1 0 3 Mae Young
0 1 0 3 Linda McMahon
0 1 0 3 L. Brent Bozell
0 1 0 3 General Rection
0 1 0 3 Diamond Dallas Page
0 1 0 3 Crash
0 1 0 3 Chuck Palumbo
0 0 1 2 Tiger Ali Singh
0 0 1 2 Terri
0 0 1 2 Rob Ryder
0 0 1 2 Rob Black
0 0 1 2 Randy Savage
0 0 1 2 Principal Pound
0 0 1 2 Pamela Paulshock
0 0 1 2 Mick Foley
0 0 1 2 Larry Zbyszko
0 0 1 2 Godfather
0 0 1 2 Booker T.
0 0 1 2 Albert
REJECTED - ineligible, not a single person or not involved with "wrestling"
3 3 8 Various indirectly involved online and/or print authors
0 5 5 Duplicate votes
3 0 0 "Tie" votes
1 0 0 Too Cool
0 1 1 Edge & Christian
0 0 2 Right to Censor
0 1 0 Natural Born Thrillers
0 0 1 Perfect Event
0 0 1 Nitro Announce Team
0 0 1 Hardy Boyz
BRAD LYLE: I know he [Big Boss Man] wasn't nominated, by my god, how god
awful obnoxious can you get?
CHRIS BIRD: Others will likely say bad things to say about Vince Russo, so
let me just say that Kevin Kelly deserves a slow death by rabid weasels,
and DJ Skribble deserves to be dunked in a vat of acid.
JASON BOUGGER: Bagwell (damn his annoying fake laugh) wins with a slight
edge over Madden (face full of stuff!!! face full of stuff!!!).
LAGMONSTR: Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. She makes my ears bleed. She can't
act and can't wrestle.
SCOTT W.: Russo, Madden, and Ryder. The real Triple Threat. Hey, I
wonder if Ryder will rig the RSPW Awards like he does the awards over at
1shill.com *cough* I mean 1wrestling.com.
DONNIE VOMIT: Given his comments in Australia, Kevin Nash has to be among
the most detremental wrestlers in a company chock full of them. Bob
Ryder's constant hypocracy and ever expanding, gelatinous stomach wins him
runner up. Goldberg's roid rage and abysmally lacking wit (Hunter Hearst
Son-of-a-bitch?) gets him the bronze.
MARCUS SPARKS: Madden works very hard at being a good heel commentator,
and often ends up being stupid. I don't know why Buff thinks as highly of
himself as he does. Vince Russo needs to stop living in the X-Files
world... there isn't a conspiracy, it's just you can't book.
JOHN C.: I never thought somebody would beat Buff Bagwell or Billy Gunn
for this award but Vince Russo somehow managed to do it. Congratulations
Vinny.
ANDY P. GOSS: I'm treating Most Obnoxious as a compliment. For me, it's
the Love to Hate award. Sort of a Favo(u)rite Heel thing. Shane Douglas
can make you boo him and fast. At Starrcade, he had the MCI Center in a
frenzy in mere seconds (remember, I was there). Steven Richards's
sore-throated preacher voice is wonderful, and it drives the crowd nuts.
And Kurt Angle, who I thought would be forced to turn face, has managed to
keep himself a heel quite easily.
MATT CUMMINGS: Not on the nominations list but Sean Shannon is included on
the list of most annoying personalities for personal reasons. Besides, if
Bob Ryder can be included, other shameless self promoters like Shannon
should be as well. Oh yeah, Sean if you get to see this, I notice your no
longer writing, bit off more than you could chew? From your incesent
whining about CRZ, to your chooseing to fued with the morons with ECW, you
have become the epitomy of crap writer. It is not necessary to justify
everything in print. You will not be missed here.
JON WALTON: I don't think any choice was easier than Madden was for this
one.
JONAH ROSCH: Only one thing to say about this question. Please, please,
please, take David Arquette off television. No one likes him. No one finds
him funny. He is the most obnoxious person in entertainment today. And
please never show him on WCW ever again. And let's really never talk about
him winning the world title ever again. Yeah, it got people talking,
didn't it, Vince.
JAMES HOWARD: I don't care what has to be done to get Joel Gertner to be
quiet. Just somebody, please, do it *now*.
JOE GAGNE: Oh man, how am I supposed to choose between Madden and Russo
for the top slot? I?ll have to go with Madden as #1, since he was on TV
every week. Perennial favorite Tony Schiavone takes third.
BOB MORRIS: Vince Russo got my top vote here not for anything he did on
TV, but for what he did off-screen. Every time he opened his mouth about
whatever it was the Internet fanbase or the critics had to say about him,
he only made himself look dumber. There's too many of his idiotic quotes
for me to list, but needless to say, he probably would have been better
off keeping his mouth shut about certain things.
OFFSPRUNG182: Good thing Kurt is supposed to be obnoxious, the other two
aren't (or are they?)
TROY OLSON: Buff moved up to number 2 (an approriate term) after his
assinine interview with Alex Marvez. Still, not enough to beat the king
of the idiots, Vince Russo.
JEREMY DELINE: Justin Credible would have won this category as most
obnoxious world champion who doesn't deserve to be champion hands-down if
it wasn't for the inclusion late in the race of 'New Yawk Tuff' Vince
Russo in this category. As Annoying as Credible's catchphrases and poses
are, at least he tries to please the fan. Watching Russo spray spittle and
thrust his hips, while on the microphone is awful. Watching Russo scream
abuse at women suggests he needs therapy. Watching Russo put himself over
Ric Flair and Booker T, and on equal footing with Goldberg was a
Nightmare. Watching him try to have the best of both worlds as a 'cool
heel' was gag-inducing. Damn you Russo..the one thing I enjoyed about
Russo? After picking it up in a CRZ report, I watched for his entrance
video showing off the mean streets of New York. My god, is that man ever
funny.
NATHAN LONEY: No, Mark, I don't hate you because I'm a mark. I hate you
because you're a blowhard who has no announcing talent at all. Bob Ryder
continues with his great showing as a total jackass. Finally, Steven
Richards makes me, and other fans, HATE the Right to Censor. He's that
good at being obnoxious. The sad thing is that I can tell that Stevie is
playing a character... what about the two above him?
BILL LEHECKA: I would say something about Mark Madden, but everyone else
has. I'm not about to make his heelish ego as big as his belly.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: I was amazed to find out just how much I hate Vince
Russo... X-Pac's amazingly irritating, particularly as he never, ever,
ever, under any circumstances whatsoever, *loses*. At least Triple H's has
earned that right through carrying the WWF on his back for the past twelve
months. What's Waltman's excuse? Finally, I mean it in the best possible
way when Kurt Angle gets my third vote. He's meant to be obnoxious, and
whoo boy does he accomplish it beautifully.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: I almost hate that Skribble jagoff as much as I hate
X-Punk.
MIKE PLYLEY: Chyna gets my vote here solely based on her nauseating
ten-minute spot on Raw. Yes, Chyna, you've fought so hard for women
everywhere. You've taught us all how destroying your body through
thousands of dollers of plastic surgery is good. You've gotten into
Playboy not through your freakish body, but through how good a person you
are. I hate you, you ugly mannequin.
TOM CRUZ: Russo obviously wins this one. The only way he'll ever get off
the shit list is if he went back to the WWF so the Undertaker could stab
him in the face. Mark Madden gets the #2 spot, appropriately. Trying to
decide who's worse between Madden and Russo is like trying to decide
between death by fire ants crawling up your ass, or death by having
someone cut your legs off one inch at a time. Either way, it's going to
suck, and you're just as dead.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Vince Russo was hilarious with all his excuses and
lame comments about how foreigners can't get over. Madden just annoys me.
"Super-Shill" Bob Ryder and his cheap shots and feuds is really lame. Does
ANYONE listen to WCW Live anymore?
JBELL55146: Will somebody please just shoot Mark Madden and put him out of
his misery. If I have to turn on nitro to see 'The Worlds Sexiest Big Man'
plastered on my screen, I am gonna take my TV and throw it out the window.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Second
Award Description:
To be given to the manager who outperformed their peers at ringside and behind
the microphone in interviews.
Previous Winners:
1990: Jim Cornette
1991: Bobby Heenan
1992: Mr. Perfect
1993: Jim Cornette
1994: Jim Cornette
1995: Jim Cornette
1996: Sunny
1997: Chyna
1998: Chyna
1999: Dawn Marie
**2000**: Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley
529 first place votes
494 second place votes
475 third place votes
146 74 65 1082 Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley
125 86 58 999 Lita
77 82 93 817 Trish Stratus
46 73 52 553 Steven Richards
35 49 46 414 Shane McMahon
31 28 28 295 Sinister Minister
11 20 26 167 Dawn Marie
10 8 13 100 Cyrus
5 11 18 94 Terri
6 11 8 79 Chyna
7 5 14 78 Francine
5 4 7 51 Disqo
4 8 3 50 Torrie Wilson
2 5 4 33 Bill Alfonso
5 1 2 32 Shane
1 4 4 25 Daffney
2 2 4 24 Ivory
3 0 2 19 Leia Meow
1 1 4 16 Elizabeth
1 2 1 13 Major Gunns
1 2 0 11 Ms. Hancock
1 1 1 10 Paisley
0 2 2 10 Midajah
1 1 0 8 Miss Elizabeth
0 2 1 8 Paul Bearer
0 1 2 7 Kat
0 2 0 6 Sal E. Graziano
1 0 0 5 Jack Victory
1 0 0 5 Howard Finkle (?)
1 0 0 5 Big Dick 296
1 0 0 5 Akiko
0 1 1 5 Vince Russo
0 1 1 5 Vince McMahon
0 1 1 5 Tygress
0 1 1 5 Papaya
0 1 1 5 Kevin Nash
0 1 0 3 Kimberly
0 1 0 3 Head
0 1 0 3 Edge & Christian
0 1 0 3 Debra
0 1 0 3 Al Snow's Blow-Up Dolls
0 0 1 2 Tori
0 0 1 2 Tony Marinara
0 0 1 2 Tank Abbott
0 0 1 2 Tammy Sytch
0 0 1 2 Ms. Jones
0 0 1 2 Mike Sanders
0 0 1 2 Linda McMahon
0 0 1 2 Jimmy Hart
0 0 1 2 Bob Backlund
REJECTED
0 0 2 4 Molly Holly (ineligible, time)
0 0 1 2 "Tie" votes
HIRO: Lita's copycat act when she was with Essa Rios was great. Lita with
the Hardy Boyz was even better, especially during the TLC (Oh My!) match,
it's like she was infected with Jeff Hardy's suicidal tendencies. Trish
Stratus wasn't like most pretty faces who ended up as managers, she
somehow takes this wrestling stuff seriously unlike others who wouldn't
even take bumps. I guess this is the perfect role for Steven Richards
since he's too injury-prone to wrestle properly.
MICHAEL BANKER: Cyrus was a close #4. Steven and Chyna got the nod over
him because they are more dangerous in the ring, and they bring that
advantage to the men that they accompany. I rated Steph above him because
she just generates so much heat.
SAMUEL SKLAROFF: It's amazing that a woman who looks like Trish Stratus
can get as much heel heat as she does.
MARK POLISHUK: You may as well rename this category "hottest chick,"
because those are the only ones I voted for...through any manager who
brings back the Mr. Fuji salt-in-the-eyes would automatically be number
one. HE'S BLINDED!
ADAM FROM TORONTO: Shane-O proves himself to be a real student of the game
whenever he puts on the sneaky, chickenshit persona and runs around the
ring like a madman. Reminds me of a juiced-up, 1980's Jimmy Hart.
MATTHEW HEMING: If Vince was willing to be a manager, we would have a
clean sweep for the first family of sports entertainment.
J3R CR0WE: Lita is so amazingly hot, and she can wrestle too... so she's
worth a lot. Steph may be very obnoxious, but she is a fairly good manager
and can provide nacassary distractions. Shane is like that too. Must be a
McMahon thing.
SCOTT W.: Sinister Minister is #1 cause of this reason. He is a male
manger that is pretty over. Never thought I would see that again. Dawn
Marie always gets my vote. She can get something else from me if she
wants me to vote for Simon Diamond more often. Trish is looking fine for
number 3.
DONNIE VOMIT: I was not sold on Trish right away, but she's a presence at
ringside, is decent on the mic, and actually isn't horrible in the ring
either. It's also hard to argue with such capital knockers. Lita is
runner up, because even though I like her more than Trish, she looks
really awkward in the ring. Cyrus, well, I dunno how the WWF missed with
this guy.
MARCUS SPARKS: I know some piece of T&A fluff is going to win this one.
The Minister, Richards, and Trish all do the duties a good second should:
work the mic, liberally interfere when needed, and not be afraid to look
like a fool from time to time.
JOHN C.: Stephanie & Shane did a great job this year in following their
father's footsteps while Steve Richards crawled his way out of jobber hell
into a spot as a character that generates a ton of heat.
JOSEPH MICELI: Lita's fun to watch and nice to look at, perfect combo
SCOTT CRAWFORD: Backlund was AWESOME as Angle's "mentor" earlier in the
year.
EZE4DA3747: mmmmmm Hancock is FINE!
JOE GAGNE: Being an effective manager is truly a lost art.
DOMINIC SEIBERT: Best Second (con't.) Honorable Mention: Trish Stratus --
Getting better all the time, has shown a willingness to learn, and my god,
forget the sheep, start cloning her!
NATHAN LONEY: Sinister Minister kicks all sorts of ass. He's a great
manager. Trish gets my second place vote because... um... well, I'm a big
mark for Trish. Same reason for giving Dawn Marie third place.
BILL LEHECKA: Granted her moveset scares me, but Lita is the best
"manager" out there. I just wish she'd work a little harder so to not put
the fear of God in me when she performs that hurracanrana...
MATT SPAULDING: Cyrus was the most over heel in ECW this year. 'Nuff
said.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Stephanie, of course. Love her or hate her, she's
certainly had the best year of any manager type person. She's incredibly
over as a heel, and was the catalyst for the greatest heel WWF champion
run in years, probably ever. Lita and Dawn Marie, currently my two
favourite ladies in wrestling, round out the votes.
ERIC STRAGAND: I realized that there arent' too many traiditonal managers,
anymore (like Heenan, Slick, etc.), as most are just "eye candy". Seconds
don't seem to talk for their men, anymore. Like Heenan would talk for
Hercules and Andre.. Slick for Warlord, Bossman and Akeen, etc. Using this
system, I ranked them according to "hottest babe", or "Women I'd like to
Have Sex With", if you've seen "Throw Momma From the Train". For Papaya, I
was referring to the brunette who was there for about one week.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Lovely Lita was best when she was mimicking Essa.
MIKE PLYLEY: Not nominating Daffney and Midajah borders on criminal.
JOHN DONALDSON: Trish Stratus, the number one reason why Test and Albert
gets more TV time and jobs less and less nowadays. She's beautiful and
smart, a double threat and she can make a difference in everyone of T &
A's matches. Steven Richards is a mediocre wrestler with an awesome
superkick, but he's great on the mic and he's an excellent second for the
RTC. Lita's a great fit for The Hardy Boyz and she can mix it up with the
guys and galz.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Steph has a combination of girl-next-door looks and
McMahon heat that would make any wrestler want to have her for the added
boost in overness. She played a HUGE role in getting HHH and Angle both
as over as they are. Steven Richards has finally found a serious gimmick
for him that works very well as the evil cult leader. I really like Super
Lucha Shane as a manager-type since he does a great job with it.
PHIL PRZYBYLO: Trish is number one. She draws attention to herself and
her team. She's not afraid to get down and dirty to help T & A out. And
she actually interacts with her team unlike most "divas" who look like
they got better things to do. Plus, she's hot, c'mon.
THE CUBS FAN: I think people figured, when the bWo was going strong, that
Richards would one day make it big in the WWF or WCW. But not like this.
Which makes it all the cooler.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Announcer
Award Description:
To be given to the commentator/announcer who makes the most insightful and
entertaining comments while pushing his product. "Ring announcers" don't
qualify here. As of 1992, the difference between this and colour commentator
will be enforced.
Previous Winners:
1990: Jesse Ventura
1991: Jesse Ventura
1992: Jim Ross
1993: Jim Ross
1994: Jim Ross
1995: Jim Ross
1996: Jim Ross
1997: Jim Ross
1998: Jim Ross
1999: Jim Ross
**2000**: Jim Ross
536 first place votes
471 second place votes
411 third place votes
393 72 18 2217 Jim Ross
63 170 77 979 Joey Styles
22 83 108 575 Scott Hudson
8 52 67 330 Michael Cole
11 25 41 212 Crowbar
5 26 48 199 Mike Tenay
1 4 8 33 Alfonso Morales
3 4 2 31 Tony Schiavone
0 3 7 23 Kevin Kelly
0 1 4 11 Jonathan Coachman
2 0 0 10 Akira Fukuzawa
1 1 0 8 Larry Rivera (XPW)
0 2 0 6 Carlos Cabrera
1 0 0 5 Tim Hudson
1 0 0 5 Sir Owen
1 0 0 5 Garoa TV announcer (?)
0 1 0 3 Tim Noel
0 0 1 2 Joey Maurala (Stampede)
0 0 1 2 Insane Clown Posse
0 0 1 2 Dave Brown
REJECTED - ineligible, colour or ring announcers
6 10 1 62 Jerry Lawler
9 1 1 50 Howard Finkel
1 7 1 28 Lilian Garcia
3 0 6 27 Tazz
0 1 7 17 David Penzer
1 1 4 16 Stevie Ray
0 3 3 15 Duplicate votes
1 0 1 7 Michael Buffer
1 0 0 5 Mark Madden
1 0 0 5 Cyrus
1 0 0 5 "Tie" votes
0 1 1 5 Gene Okerlund
0 1 0 3 Tony Chimel
0 1 0 3 Road Dogg
0 1 0 3 Edge & Christian
0 0 1 2 Pamela Paulshock
0 0 1 2 Juventud Guerrera
0 0 1 2 Joel Gertner
HIRO: IMO, there were no standout performances in this category so no
winners for me.
CHANCE BIDELMAN: My addition of Howard Finkle wasn't added, I know that
he's not mainstream anymore but he still does ppv's, He's always good.
Also I loved the crowbar impression of solie.great stuff
SCOTT W.: Jim Ross will always be number 1. Joey Styles is number 2, and
I don't know why everyone jumps on the bandwagon saying he is the best and
calls all the moves. If you people actually watched ECW Television, you
would see different. I like Joey though, and he will take #1 when JR
retires. Scott Hudson is SO misused. Poor Guy.
MARCUS SPARKS: Joey's the best, hands down. JR suffers from Schiavone
Hyperbole Syndrome at times, but is still solid. Crowbar, when doing his
Solie impression, brought back memories of the grand master himself.
JOHN C.: Jim Ross wins this one easily as he once again put over the
wrestlers in a way that nobody has done before him. He is the greatest
announcer ever. Joey Styles comes in second with Pamela Paulshock
rounding out my top three because she's hot.
JON WALTON: I picked Scott Hudson because he is the one of the few lights
in the tunnel of darkness that is WCW. He almost never insults the fans
in a company that makes a living out of doing just that.
DEWEY: The WWF may finally have found someone to take over for Jerry
Lawler if anything happens to him in Tazz, although I still think that
Bobby Heenan would do well in that role.
JAMES HOWARD: Jim Ross is one of the best announcers of all *time* and he
only gets third on my list this year. *That* is the power of Scott Hudson.
:)
PETER HAZLETT: I refuse to pick anyone else....
JEREMY SORIA: Folks, come on. Joey Styles peaked in the mid-1990s. The WWF
announce talent has gotten pretty good, if you'd give them a chance to
listen to them. Michael Cole and Jonathan Coachman have been doing a great
job announcing for the WWF.
RICK SCAIA: It's been the same story since 1995: Ross, Styles. Styles,
Ross. Pick one and give 'em the "Best Announcer" award. This year, I say
it's JR again. He doesn't call out the names of the moves as religiously
as he used to, calls out a wrong name every now and again, and
occassionally over-sells the wrong developments, but I also still think
he's the best at weaving a story and creating a big show atmosphere with
his call of a match. Joey Styles is #2 after another solid year of
relaying the latest ECW developments. Scott Hudson, WCW's best announcer,
gets #3.
TROY OLSON: Am I the only one who's sick of Good Ol' JR?
NATHAN LONEY: Well, it's happened... somebody has taken JR's spot at #1!
Yeah, he's the premier announcer in the game... he's also taken to making
a TON of mistakes while announcing. Therefore, I give the first place
vote to Scott Hudson. Second goes to Joey Styles, and JR drops to third,
in my view.
BILL LEHECKA: Hyperbole aside, Jim Ross is the perfect announcer. He
doesn't shill too hard, and he can still call a good match. I wish he'd
just stop screaming at me sometimes.
NATE PATRIN: Between Michael "NOW WHAT?" Cole, Jim "Stone Cold is Jesus"
Ross and Tony "Most Important Midcard Gimmick-On-a-Pole Match EVER!"
Schiavone, I don't think there's a scintillatin' announcer among 'em, and
I haven't really heard any of the rest.
MATT SPAULDING: JR's match-calling slipped in 2000, but he's still the
best in the business at getting angles and feuds over. Still, I gave
Styles the nod for overall consistency. Hudson is a distant third, as
being saddled with Schiavone and Madden really dragged him down.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Good Old JR gets it. (Again). He's nowhere near as good
as he was years ago, sure, but he's still the best in the business. Joey
Styles, is an easy second, though I still can't see him as being better
than Ross, and Scott Hudson is third pretty much by default. There really
aren't any great announcers left, though.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: J.R.'s got sauce!
TANVIR RAQUIB: First, A bald man drew much praise from the Net during a
small stint replacing the Brain. 2nd, sure, he's a scumbag, but his
dramatic tone during big-time matches gives him some props. 3rd, Joey
Styles is not annoying enough to hate yet.
RAVI MISRA: I had no first place vote in this category. While I think
that JR is clearly the best in the biz right now, he has most definitely
slipped a few notches.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: People are finally realizing now that there's more to
being a great announcer than calling moves. It's putting over both
wrestlers in the matches and the product in general. Nobody's even close
to Jim Ross, in those respects. Joey Styles is still good and Hudson does
an admirable job trying to keep Fat Tony and The Mark on track on Nitro.
PHIL PRZYBYLO: Just name it the Jim Ross award and get it over with.
He's been more off than on this year and he's still number one. Ross and
the King are probably the greatest one-two punch in wrestling history when
they're on... and maybe even when they're off.
JBELL55146: The fact that nobody can even hold a candle to JR in terms of
announcing is in both ways a credit to the man himself, and it shows that
there just isn't any good lead announcers out there anymore.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Colour Commentator
Award Description:
To be given to the colour commentator who provides the most insightful and
entertaining comments.
Previous Winners:
1991: Bobby Heenan
1992: Bobby Heenan
1993: Jesse Ventura
1994: Bobby Heenan
1995: Bobby Heenan
1996: Bobby Heenan
1997: Jerry Lawler
1998: Jerry Lawler
1999: Jerry Lawler
**2000**: Jerry Lawler
544 first place votes
514 second place votes
465 third place votes
346 71 30 2003 Jerry Lawler
34 116 85 688 Tazz
28 86 59 516 Edge & Christian
36 45 49 413 Bobby Heenan
19 42 40 301 Stevie Ray
21 39 34 290 Cyrus
17 38 42 283 Joel Gertner
6 15 40 155 William Regal
7 14 15 107 Mark Madden
5 11 10 78 Mike Tenay
3 10 13 71 Conquistadors
1 6 10 43 Konnan
1 4 11 39 Michael Hayes
1 4 4 25 Scott Hudson
1 0 2 9 Insane Clown Posse
0 1 2 7 Michael Cole
0 0 3 6 Kane
1 0 0 5 Tom Pritchard
1 0 0 5 Larry Zbyszko
1 0 0 5 Larry Rivera
0 1 1 5 Crowbar
0 0 2 4 Juventud Guerrera
0 1 0 3 Kevin Kelly
0 0 1 2 Kurt Angle
0 0 1 2 Jonathan Coachman
0 0 1 2 J Taro
0 0 1 2 Ivory
0 0 1 2 Dave Layne
0 0 1 2 Bad News Allen (Stampede)
REJECTED - did not do any colour commentary last year
12 7 4 Jim Ross
2 0 0 Joey Styles
0 1 2 "Tie" votes
0 2 1 Duplicate votes
1 0 0 Gorilla Monsoon (wasn't alive last year)
HIRO: Guest Colour Commentators rule! William Regal on the announce table
rocks! How could anyone forget what he said about Trish Stratus? "She's a
buxom wench isn't she? Nice Bristols too!" should be the quote of the
year! Sadly Tazz on the mic is the only thing that I can recall about
Tazz's performance this year. His mocking of Michael Cole is almost up
there with Regal ("That's a Northern Lights Suplex, Michael Cole. NORTHERN
LIGHTS SUPLEX!"). Finally Edge and Christian 'breaking kay fabe'
commentary was very well done. We should let these wrestlers take turns at
the announce table more often (Tazz already is).
CHRIS BIRD: In an era where the colour commentator seems to have
disappeared in the midst of Jerry Lawler's self-markism, we were treated
to a surprise renaissance from the most unlikely of sources - Tazz and
Stevie Ray. Both are enormously entertaining colour commentators, doing
what the colour commentator is supposed to be doing - tossing out jokes,
cheering the heels, and mocking the faces. When even Lawler is coming in
his pants for the Rock, you can rely on good ol' Tazz to grouse. And
Stevie Ray is just discombobulated fun, the way Dusty Rhodes was when
Dusty was at the top of his game (we're talking "DEZ A WIMMIN IN DA MEZ
WAZROOM!" levels). Continually excellent, as always, is the third-place
Joel Gertner.
ADAM FROM TORONTO: No matter how bad he gets, Heenan deserves a vote just
because of his untouchable past. As good as Lawler is now, he still
couldn't clean Heenan's neckbrace. Sean who?
J3R CR0WE: Edge and Christian are legandary on commentary. The "run-in"
segment was hilarious, as was the swerve one. Tazz is really good too, but
returning week after week kinda grates on me. Regal has the comedic yet
gentlemanly stylings that make me laugh.
CHANCE BIDELMAN: Heenan is definately missed on wcw main tv.why are they
hidding him on the dumb sat night clip show.
SCOTT W.: Lawler is the man. Tazz is second, cause he is cracking me up.
I'm sorry, Pete is second. He doesn't look like he is having fun out
there. Joel is 3rd for his intros and sexual innuendo.
MARCUS SPARKS: Tenay wins over Lawler for the sole reason of Lawler's
fixation on "puppies" is getting tired.
JOHN C.: Jerry Lawler wins yet again with Edge & Christian coming in
second thanks to their terrific brand of humour with Cyrus rounding out
the top three. It's a shame that WCW took Bobby Heenan off of Nitro &
Thunder because he's a legend in terms of wrestling broadcasters and is
still the best announcer they have.
STEVE SHIVES: Cyrus is the best, it's a shame he doesn't work for the WWF
anymore--I'd rather have Don Callis at ringside calling Raw with J.R. than
the King, whose act has gotten stale to say the least. I voted Tazz in
second place. Yes, he should be wrestling and not announcing, but there's
no denying that he's pretty good at it--in between those annoying oversell
laughs is some good, sometimes even insightful commentary. Which is not
to say I wouldn't prefer the WWF letting him go in the ring on Mondays and
Thursdays and suplex people on their heads on his way back to
upper-mid-card credibility.
MOSES GATES: It's a damn shame that Tazz has leapfrogged Hayes to become
the number two color guy. Michael Hayes is the most underrated
commentator today.
STEPHEN TISZENKEL: The fact that WCW lets Mark Madden get away with saying
some of the things he says proves how little they care anymore. Oh, well,
it's the viewers' gain, I guess!
BRIAN SCALA: Okay, I marked when Kane put on the headset. Sue me.
JAMES HOWARD: Stevie Ray is the most enjoyable colour commentator that WCW
has had in years, and Tazz is one of my favorite colour commentators of
all time... but as they say in Nicaragua, "Chihuahua! *Woof*!" :)
CHRISTOPHER SHEA: Tazz was fall-on-the-floor funny during his Smackdown
stints, but ever since being moved over to Heat he's been pretty
pedestrian. Lawler may not be as good, but he's more consistent.
RICK SCAIA: Sometimes Jerry Lawler can be annoying and one dimensional...
but for every time the King beats the proverbial dead horse, there are two
times when he'll latch onto a one-shot line and expand it into a
compelling, merchandise-selling, money-making catchphrase or character.
The announcers jobs are to get the talent over, and Lawler does a good job
of it. I put Cyrus second on the Best Color Commentator list for a
different reason: he's just about the only announcer whose "insider jokes"
actually strike me as funny, rather than self-serving or otherwise
stilted. Tazz's showing late in the year has been impressive; though a
face turn seems in the offing, it was great to see someone so effectively
bring back the standard heel commentator archetype (in the finest
tradition of Bobby Heenan, who is basically out of work now after years of
being the best pure heel behind the desk).
DOMINIC SEIBERT: Most Deteriorated Colour Commentators -- Bobby Heenan &
Larry Zbyszko-- Not their fault since their company sucked all the
enthusiasm out of them.
NATHAN LONEY: Jerry Lawler is still the best. Tazz gets my second place
vote for being hilarious in his role on Heat. Gertner gets third place,
because he plays off Styles so well.
BILL LEHECKA: Jerry Lawler's morphed from a heel commentator to a 'tweener
with hormones. I enjoy his shtick, and I would've enjoyed his feud with
Tazz more if there was a decisive conclusion to it.
MATT SPAULDING: The Judgment Day Iron Man Match was Lawler's best and most
serious work in years, and he's made a smooth transition from heel to
lech. Stevie Ray was a breath of fresh air to a tired Thunder announce
table.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Although I hate Tazz as an actual wrestler, and
although his gimmick irritates me, I think he may well be the best colour
man in the business. It may simply be the fact that after years of
listening to him, Jerry Lawler has simply worn a bit thin, but I really
swear to Benoit that Tazz is simply better. Just keep him out of the damn
ring! Lawler's an easy second, and Edge & Christian get third for all
those wickedly awesome smarkish comments they make. And cause they're
Canadian.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Nothing beats the high-pitched squeal Lawler gives us
on a weekly basis. Although E&C telling us they were going to do a
"run-in" was quite a fine jab at wcw.
TANVIR RAQUIB: One orange midget, 2 blonde Canadians and a huge black man
with gapped front teeth.
RAVI MISRA: Here's hoping for Jerry Lawler to be the XFL's sideline
reporter. Not that I think that the XFL is going to be great, but Jerry
Lawler would only make it better. Tazz was quite amazing as a commentator
as well, and I think almost everyone now knows what a Northern Lights
Suplex really is, except probably Tony Schiavone, who'd end up calling it
a sidewalk slam.
MIKE PLYLEY: Michael Hayes is seriously underrated as an announcer. He
may not be flashy, but he gets the job done, roots for the heels, and
doesn't make a complete ass of himself or look like an idiot.
JOHN DONALDSON: The only reason I watch Sunday Night Heat on MTV, Tazz.
Only he has the cojones to call Taka Michinoku a Puerto Rican from The
Bronx. Bobby Heenan is The Weasel and that's what makes him so great,
he's old school and he always will be with his corny humor and his one of
a kind trapped in a time warp quotations.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Tazz wins this one thanks to putting Michael Cole in
his place. Lawler is also good except for his "marking out" for women
which gets kinda old. Bobby "The Brain" is having a nice resurgence now
that he's doing a show with a taped studio format that he rules at
(Worldwide). This category is really turning into a lost art with these
"heels" all acting more neutral.
PHIL PRZYBYLO: Lawler's number one, no doubt. Tazz is a natural behind
the mic. Ten years from now, he'll probably be in the same position as
"LAW-LA".
C McMURTRY: Don Callis' mixture of humor and wrestling insight makes him,
far and away, the superior color commentator in North America. Stevie Ray
is simply awesome, providing more fodder for online fans than anyone in a
long time. Konnan is a close second in that regard. Too bad both have to
wrestle.
THE CUBS FAN: Michael Hayes is the best color guy no one ever hears.
JBELL55146: While sometimes immature, The King still throws out some good
one liners that can make me laugh. And you mean to tell me that Tazz
actually is funny?!?!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Interviewee
Award Description:
To be given to the person who gives the best interview in the biz. This could
be a wrestler or a manager.
Previous Winners:
1990: Ric Flair
1991: Ric Flair
1992: Ric Flair
1993: Ric Flair
1994: Ric Flair
1995: Shawn Michaels
1996: Stone Cold Steve Austin
1997: Stone Cold Steve Austin
1998: Mankind (Dude Love / Cactus Jack / Mick Foley)
1999: Mankind
**2000**: The Rock
544 first place votes
535 second place votes
523 third place votes
129 58 53 925 Rock
85 67 61 748 Edge & Christian
77 71 43 684 Mick Foley (Cactus Jack / Mankind)
54 94 64 680 Kurt Angle
61 72 65 651 Triple H
49 61 68 564 Chris Jericho
32 43 32 353 Ric Flair
7 13 21 116 Steve Austin
5 4 13 63 Scott Steiner
3 2 16 53 Corino
3 2 14 49 Steve Corino
2 4 4 30 Tazz
5 1 0 28 Gene Okerlund
0 4 8 28 Lance Storm
3 2 2 25 William Regal
3 2 2 25 Atsushi Onita
0 3 8 25 Chris Benoit
3 3 0 24 Michael Cole
3 0 4 23 Curry Man
2 3 2 23 Kevin Nash
3 0 2 19 Jonathan Coachman
2 0 4 18 Pamela Paulshock
1 1 5 18 New Jack
1 3 1 16 Cima
0 2 5 16 Jeff Jarrett
0 2 5 16 Eddie Guerrero
2 0 2 14 Vince McMahon
1 0 3 11 Cat
0 3 0 9 Lilian Garcia
0 1 3 9 Booker T.
1 0 1 7 Kintaro Kanemura
1 0 1 7 Franchise
0 1 2 7 Steven Richards (Right to Censor)
0 1 2 7 Kevin Kelly
1 0 0 5 Villano III
1 0 0 5 Steve Rizzono
1 0 0 5 Sasuke The Great
1 0 0 5 Raven
1 0 0 5 Meng
1 0 0 5 Jerry Lawler
1 0 0 5 Jacqueline
1 0 0 5 Hayabusa
0 1 1 5 Ricky Fuji
0 1 1 5 Mike Sanders
0 1 1 5 Danny Doring & Roadkill
0 0 2 4 Undertaker
0 0 2 4 Survival Tobita
0 1 0 3 Sinister Minister
0 1 0 3 Mike Tenay
0 1 0 3 Mike Awesome
0 1 0 3 Joey Styles
0 1 0 3 Diamond Dallas Page
0 1 0 3 Arn Anderson
0 1 0 3 Al Snow
0 0 1 2 Yoshihiro Tajiri
0 0 1 2 Shane McMahon
0 0 1 2 Roddy Piper
0 0 1 2 Kane
0 0 1 2 Jim Ross
0 0 1 2 Hardcore Holly
0 0 1 2 Elix Skipper
0 0 1 2 Buff Bagwell
0 0 1 2 Bret Hart
REJECTED
1 2 4 "Tie" votes
0 2 0 Duplicated votes
0 0 1 Chris Hyatte
(Everybody who voted for an interviewER needs glasses and/or a dictionary
- CRZ)
HIRO: This was a close call between Rock and Jericho. Even though some of
their acts are getting stale (reusing catchphrases too often), no one else
gave out better interviews than these too with the exception of Mick
Foley. Among the many improved interviewees this year includes Kurt Angle
and surprisingly Chris Benoit who gets better and better as the year
progresses.
MICHAEL BANKER: Again, Ric Flair, Mick Foley, and HHH were all very close.
It was very difficult to figure out who should be rated ahead of whom.
In fact, if you asked me again in two seconds, my answers would probably
change.
DEVON: No one was as entertaining on the mic as Edge, Christian and Kurt
Angle. I marked like crazy for their 5-second poses.
CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN: Whilst I LOATHE the Rock as a babyface, I admit that
he still does killer interviews- that's all he has left...
DAN LONEY: Amazed that the Rock has never won this award.
SCOTT W.: The Rock is the best interview. If he shit in the ring, it
would be so over. The guy talks great and is funny. I never get tired of
him and his routine isn't played out like some say. If this guy was on
your roster, would you let him talk? I thought so... Jericho is a good
interview and New Jack. Holy shit. When New Jack talks, I listen.. The
guy can cut a promo.
DONNIE VOMIT: Nobody had more original, funny and crowd inciting comments
than Edge, Christian, Kurt Angle and William Regal. It proves that you
can get crowds to react without completely relying on repetitive
catchphrases.
MARCUS SPARKS: Flair's still The Man on the stick. Foley's funny and good
at improvising when necessary. Jericho's hilarious when he's got a good
target to poke fun at.
JOHN C.: Before this year The Rock was a good talker who had a lot of
potential on the microphone. This year, he stepped up to the plate and
delivered solid promos on almost every show that remained fresh rather
than relying solely on his catchphrases like he did during Russo's WWF
tenure. From his debut at Survivor Series '99, Kurt Angle has impressed me
with his microphone work week after week. He needs to work on his serious
side a bit more but that'll improve as he becomes a more experienced
performer. Triple H, although improved over last year, comes in third
mainly because he tends to talk too much when he is out there while The
Rock and Angle get to the point a lot more succinctly with some humour
mixed in. Edge, Christian and Mick Foley just miss out on this category.
JOSEPH MICELI: By far Kurt Angle's interviews crack me up.
MARKUS: And to think, they didn't let Edge talk at first! Hah. These guys
are the funniest thing in years. They SO rule!
JAMES HOWARD: "We call this one...
'IfyouhaddahitthatfieldgoalyouwouldhavebeenthechampionsfinallywouldhavewononeinsteadoflosingfourinarowbutyouDIDN'TsoTOOBAAAAD'...
for FIVE! SECONDS! OWN-LAY!"
GEORGE JOHNSON: I laughed for days after Angle came out with that scooter.
JOE GAGNE: Edge and Christian are such naturals on the mic, it?s amazing
they weren?t given the chance to show their skills sooner. Mick Foley?s
commissioner role allowed him to have great interactions with nearly every
WWF star. Scott Steiner, strangely enough, made my best and worst list of
interviews, since his interviews are so mangled and bizarre they actually
end up being entertaining.
CHRISTOPHER SHEA: Jericho, despite the occasional amusing promo, hasn't
really found a good note as a face; the Rock, on the other hand, has
finally moved past his "Catchphrase Mad Libs" phase and regularly delivers
amusing work. But E &C, though, (insert your own "reek" line here).
TROY OLSON: I ranked Steiner 3rd as both the best and worst interviewee.
I guess his interviews are like a train wreck, because I just have to
watch.
NATHAN LONEY: Edge and Christian TOTALLY reek of AWESOMENESS! Yeah,
nobody else will send that in as a comment. :) They rock the mic and rock
the party that TOTALLY rocks the body! Kurt Angle is frickin' great on
the stick. See Steve. See Steve make Steph cry. See Steve threatening
Rikishi. Steve is great on the microphone, even after all these years.
BILL LEHECKA: Until recently, Triple H could cut a amazing promo without
using one catchphrase. Now that he uses the "I am the Game," and "I'm
that DAMN good," he still can put together an awesome promo.
NATE PATRIN: Rock would be higher if he'd just drop his addiction to
catchphrases and his somewhat unsettling references to animal genitalia.
(Chris Benoit giving a wolverine a rimjob is not a pleasant mental image.
THANKS, Dwayne.)
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Mick Foley's still the man. Cheap pops rule. When he's
not playing Mr. Lovable Goof Commish, he's as amazing on the mic as he's
ever been... And when he *is* playing it, he's still pretty damn good!
Kurt Angle's just great. It's true, it's true. And to think that just
before he debuted people were bemoaning his *lack* of charisma! Chris
Jericho rounds out the trio. Rock, Triple H and E&C are the runners up,
and any of them could easily have won in any other year.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: HHH gets angrier than anybody else on the stick.
TANVIR RAQUIB: Steiner is a loose cannon on the mic - dig that. Cactus
Jack cut some great promos down the stretch - dig that. Edge and Christian
actually speak nowadays.
RAVI MISRA: Whether it be the cheap pops he gets as WWF commissioner, or
the intensity he brought to the stick w/Catctus Jack, Mick Foley can work
a crowd. It's a shame you can't put two people at the top, because The
Rock is still at the top of his game in the mic department. Kurt Angle,
is also learning, but he is damn good. It's true, it's true.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: No one has the charisma that that Rock does. Cactus
Jack had UNREAL mic work during his feud with HHH at the beginning of the
year and Foley would easily be #1 if he was still wrestling. Scott
Steiner was about the only thing interesting in WCW last year.
PHIL PRZYBYLO: Edge and Christian get the top spot. Ever since the heel
turn, they haven't cracked or even sounded a little vulnerable.
Constantly funny. They also did the high school bully shtick well against
the Hardy's. Rock takes second for obvious reasons. Foley takes third
for emotional range in his interviews.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Angle
Award Description:
To be given to the best angle you've seen in the sport this year.
Previous Winners:
1990: Horsemen turn heel
1991: "Real World Champion" Ric Flair challenges Hulk Hogan
1992: Ric Flair "knew Elizabeth first"
1993: WWF brings in Sean Waltman as 1-2-3 Kid
1994: Shane Douglas forfeits NWA title moments after winning it
1995: Barry Horowitz finally wins on WWF television
1996: NWO forms and attempts takeover of WCW
1997: Bret Hart turns on USA, reforms Hart Foundation
1998: Mr. McMahon offers Steve Austin the easy way - or the hard way
1999: "Countdown to the Millennium" ends with Chris Jericho's WWF debut
**2000**: Triple H, Stephanie McMahon-Helsmley, Kurt Angle love triangle
533 first place votes
509 second place votes
490 third place votes
174 82 39 1194 Triple H / Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley / Kurt Angle love triangle
86 38 17 578 Triple H marries Stephanie McMahon, leading to McMahon-Helmsley Era/Faction/Regime
29 46 50 383 Edge & Christian, denied tag title shots, bring back the Conquistadors
43 34 31 379 Mick Foley brings back Cactus Jack to deal with Triple H
30 48 32 358 Who ran over Steve Austin?
25 36 45 323 Crash offers to defend Hardcore title 24/7
26 35 20 275 Cactus Jack puts his career on the line...and retires
24 28 29 262 Chris Jericho wins WWF title from Triple H on a fast count
19 30 29 243 Radicalz turn on Mick Foley to get WWF contracts from Triple H
18 15 30 195 Al Snow tries to help Steve Blackman find a personality
7 18 19 127 Right to Censor censor everything they don't like
4 15 19 103 Dudley Boyz put women through tables
2 8 16 66 Chris Kanyon rips off Diamond Dallas Page
5 8 8 65 Al Snow represents different European countries
5 7 8 62 All Japan v. New Japan
5 8 4 57 WCW's New Blood tries to push out the Millionaire's Club
1 4 16 49 Jeff Jarrett says Sting no longer has the heart for wrestling
3 7 6 48 ECW fights the Network
2 3 11 41 Lance Storm forms Team Canada
2 5 5 35 Sinister Minister makes Mikey Whipwreck go crazy
1 2 4 19 Chris Benoit dares WWF to prove him wrong
3 1 0 18 Chigusa tells everyone to pick a side at the end of show on 5/14/2000
1 3 2 18 Hulk Hogan kicked off TV
1 2 3 17 Miss Hancock forms Los Fabulosos to combat Lane & Idol
1 1 3 14 Undertaker returns: "His Judgment Day is Here"
0 2 4 14 Mick Foley named WWF commissioner
2 1 0 13 Booker T. wins WCW World Championship
0 1 2 7 Tazz and Jerry Lawler duel in ring, commentary
0 2 0 6 Vince Russo restarts Goldberg's streak, telling him he must win or be fired
0 2 0 6 Lita wins WWF Women's championship
0 2 0 6 Edge & Christian show early Hardyz footage
0 0 3 6 Strange orange glow culminates in Tazz' WWF debut
0 0 3 6 Chyna, Eddie Guerrero split
0 0 3 6 Cat named WCW Commissioner
1 0 0 5 William Regal teaches manners to American fans
1 0 0 5 Team no Respect disbands
1 0 0 5 Ricky Fuji is Kidnapped
1 0 0 5 Jun Akiyama turns on Kenta Kobashi
0 1 1 5 Tazz returns to ECW, wins world title
0 1 1 5 Sting and Hogan recruit Vampiro as a good guy top face partner in WCW
0 1 1 5 Big Show starts playing characters
0 1 1 5 Acolytes become APA
0 0 2 4 Chris Jericho mocks Chris Benoit with series of doctored photos
0 0 2 4 Big Show protests the Royal Rumble result
0 1 0 3 Test finally realizes he used to date Steph
0 1 0 3 Shawn Michaels returns to guest ref Iron Man match
0 1 0 3 Shawn Michaels reforms DX on RAW(?)
0 1 0 3 Mayumi Ozaki tries to recuit KAORU as her new lesbian lover
0 1 0 3 Masa Chono showing up on All Japan show
0 1 0 3 Chris Jericho calls Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley a "ho"
0 1 0 3 Billy Kidman attacks Hulk Hogan
0 0 1 2 Trish Stratus loses at strip poker
0 0 1 2 Triple H, Rock go at it again
0 0 1 2 Team No Fear reunite
0 0 1 2 Steve Blackman becomes fighting champion after winning Hardcore title
0 0 1 2 Scott Hall's contract put on the line in match
0 0 1 2 Ric Flair Retired
0 0 1 2 Rhino v. Sandman
0 0 1 2 Naked Mideon streaks through WWF programming
0 0 1 2 Kurt Angle resents fans' resentment of him as real American
0 0 1 2 Kevin Nash pimps the fired Scott Hall
0 0 1 2 Kenta Kobashi v. Jun Akiyama (angle?)
0 0 1 2 Kai En Tai, Acolytes become drinking buddies
0 0 1 2 Harley's Angels break Selina Majors' leg
0 0 1 2 Eddie Guerrero wins over Chyna with his Latino Heat
0 0 1 2 Each McMahon stands in a corner for WrestleMania main event
0 0 1 2 D-Generation X breaks up
0 0 1 2 Crazy Max (what about them?)
0 0 1 2 Chris Benoit gets surprise WCW World title win
0 0 1 2 Big Boss Man torments Big Show by making fun of his dying father
0 0 1 2 Al Snow hates the Rock
REJECTED
9 0 1 Kurt (ha ha)
0 2 0 Eric (ditto)
1 0 0 Steve Austin drops Triple H from a forklift (time)
0 1 0 Kurt and Eric
0 1 0 Kurt & Eric Angle's switch to beat Undertaker (time)
C. JOSEPH HOFFMAN: Catcus Jack coming in was totally unexpected!
DON DEL GRANDE: Not much choice...in fact, you could have stuffed the
"Best Angle" nominees into the "Worst Angle" category and I probably
wouldn't have noticed. (Has allowing votes of "no award this year" ever
been considered?)
MICHAEL BANKER: The love triangle was right in there, too. It was a very
close #4.
JASON BOUGGER: Nature Boy still rules this category (current lousy angle
put aside)
CHRIS WILCOX: A prediction. Several people will put down "Kurt" for this
category. All will think it's funny and original. All will be wrong.
ADAM FROM TORONTO: The Snow/Blackman vignettes were the apex of the WWF's
creative team in 2000. I don't give two blue damns about the
hardcore/European titles: neither guy has been as over since.
J3R CR0WE: Anything that involved the Radicalz entry to the WWF was good
in my books.
DEVON: The great thing about the Radicalz heel turn was that not only did
no one see it coming, but it actually made sense. These kinds of swerves
are rare these days. Head Cheese gets a mention because of its sheer
brilliance and all the laughs that came out of it.
ALEX GIPSON: The whole 24/7 thing never got old, IMO, and to me showed
that the WWF at least realizes that the Hardcore title is, these days, a
joke for the most part (Blackman's last few months aside, of course), and
was able to play it up with very entertaining results. The
McMahon-Helmsley period is one of the hottest "eras" I've ever seen.
SCOTT W.: Edge and Christian bringing back the Conquistadors was
fantastic. I was hoping for a Killer Beez coming back. Edge and Christian
need a z for their name. The love Triangle was great for what it was.
The Dudley boyz and the women through tables is 3rd. Hey, you women want
to be treated like men in the work place, well here you go.
CHANCE50JR: Coming in a close 4th was Albert puts on a shirt.
MARCUS SPARKS: The Snow/Blackman made for some of the best TV viewing of
this year. Crash's 24/7 rule did the same and practically re-invented the
hardcore division overnight. Jarrett dressing up as the old Sting was the
best thing seen on Nitro in ages, especially the credit card commercial.
JOHN C.: When Jericho "beat" Triple H for the WWF title on Raw earlier
this year it received a huge reaction from people at the arena and from me
in my living room. Even though the reign lasted for only five minutes it
was still the most memorable angle from the year. If you would have told
me that Triple H marrying Stephanie McMahon would carry WWF storylines for
most of the year I would have laughed in your face. I must give credit to
the WWF for starting the angle out right with the surprise wedding between
Hunter and his drugged bride. The Radicals turning on Foley during their
second week as part of the WWF was great to see as it gave them heat
immediately with the WWF crowds. It was a great surprise that also gave us
the best Raw match of the year with the ten man tag on the February 7th
edition of the show.
STEPHEN TISZENKEL: Vince Russo actually has admitted the McMahon-Helmsley
marriage angle is the only interesting, original thing the WWF has done
since he left. At least on the main event level, he's right.
CHRIS BURKE: Foley bringing back Cactus made for the best TV of the year.
He had a great rapport with HHH, and the interview he gave leading up to
his “retirement” match (despite being ultimately bogus) was one hell of an
interview. He is great as Mankind, and in his new role as commish, but
he’s at his best playing the crazed Cactus. To bring Cactus back to
“deal” with HHH was a great final touch on a fantastic career.
COLIN MORTON: I wanted to say "Kurt", followed by "Eric", but I resisted
the urge. As for the Regime: Who'd ha' thunk it?
JAMES HOWARD: Kanyon swiping Page's gimmick when he wasn't looking was
great. Edge and Christian resurrecting Los Conquistadores was *priceless*.
But Chris Jericho winning the WWF Title... there's no competing with Chris
Jericho winning the WWF Title. Maybe next time they'll let him keep it.
^_^ But when you think about it, Chris Jericho is anything but "used
wrong" like some people would have you believe; events like this, and much
later like Chris Jericho having the WWF Championship match against Kurt
Angle won before Kane ran in, give the impression that Jericho could on
any given night just go out and win the WWF Championship any time he feels
like it. And that all started with him winning the WWF Title from Triple H
on a fast count. Best angle of the year, damnit. :)
PETER HAZLETT: I hope the Triple H / Angle feud comes up again, they
finished it so poorly.
JOE GAGNE: The Triple H/Angle/Steph love triangle unfurled very casually
and provided lots of great bits. Sadly, it was dropped without much in
the way of resolution. Chris Jericho winning the World title and then
having it taken away may have been one of the best segments ever on RAW.
Smackdown?s best moment, however, was Mick Foley bringing back Cactus Jack
to face Triple H, in what was my favorite mark out moment of the past
year.
BOB MORRIS: My top two angles get recognition for different reasons. The
HHH/Stephanie marriage seemed like a bad idea to me at first, but once the
loose ends were tied up, it worked wonders for Triple H and helped propel
him to the top. As for the HHH/Angle/Steph love triangle, that was an
angle that proved that the simplest concepts make for the best angles.
Anyone could easily understand and relate to the angle, and that made it
one of the year's best. I give the edge to the marriage angle, though,
because that was the one that gave HHH the final push to make him a major
player in the WWF.
CHRISTOPHER SHEA: The Triple H/Kurt/Steph angle could have been first...if
they'd blown it off around September or October. As it is, it's tragically
crippled by the lack of resolution.
JPM38: The Triple H and Mankind show dominates this category as well. Even
though he came out of retirement for one last match, Mick caused one of
the only "retirement" matches in history where nobody knew who was gonna
win going into the match. The 1 and 2 spots are very close, since they
both originated in the same promo on the best raw segment of the year, and
also the best raw of the year (2/7/00). The last spot was ANOTHER awesome
promo from smackdown before the Rumble, when Mick busted out the Cactus
gear for one last run at the top.
WES SCHULZE: (3rd choice is just because of the one nitro where JJ dresses
as old school sting)
NATHAN LONEY: "You are the best in the business right now... and as you
said, well, Mankind in some ways is nothing more than a beaten up,
pathetic fool, but I think the WWF fans deserve a substitute in that
match... what I'm gonna do, Triple H, is I'm gonna name him right now, as
a matter of fact, I think you know the guy and I think you know him pretty
damn well - his name is CACTUS JACK! And his first official act, as part
of the WWF, is to kick your teeth all over the city of Chicago!" With
these words, Mick Foley started the angle that completely OWNED the
wrestling world this year. Al Snow tried to make Steve Blackman
entertaining... the end result? Hilarity! Edge and Christian bringing
back Los Conquistadores was a great touch, as well.
BILL LEHECKA: Maybe I should've ranked it lower because of the fizzled
ending, but the Triple H/ Stephanie / Kurt Angle feud was the best angle
this year. Bar none. Why? People actually gave a damn about it (take
note, WCW).
NATE PATRIN: Note, however, that all three of these angles resulted in HHH
coming out on top. Hrm.
MATT SPAULDING: The Stephanie's wedding swerve provided the catalyst for
the entire year of WWF angles. Crash's 24/7 gimmick got him over and
restored some unpredictability to the WWF's Hardcore division. Jericho
taking down the "unbeatable" Triple H was arguably the markout moment of
the year.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Chris Jericho "winning" the WWF title was the single
biggest markout moment of the year for me. Sure, nothing came of it (and
sure the WWF seems unwilling to properly push him despite his massive
popularity) but it was simply a great
holy-shit-I-don't-believe-they-did-that moment. Edge & Christian bringing
back Los Conquistadors just ruled it. Markout city for anyone who
remembers the originals, and they didn't drag the angle out beyond its
natural lifespan! Finally, there's the H/Steph/Angle triangle. Great
set-up, shame it just fizzled out like that...
KEVIN SMITH: Still have that Jericho/HHH match on tape - will never erase
it - the crowd went absolutely ape$hi+. HHH's reaction was an absolutely
CLASSIC moment.
ERIC STRAGAND: (3)- Foley's retirement really made the fans care about the
match. The fact that Foley would actually disappear from the rings made
the angle seem more significant. Even his return at Wrestlemania didn't
diffuse the emotion too much. Millionaires/New Blood was about the coolest
thing WCW could come up with, given their situation at the time. However,
they mishandled it, and it bottomed out in about six weeks. Yeah,
Sting/Vampiro was overdone to extremes, but the initial concept and
pairing was pretty cool. If nothing else, it gave Vampiro some much needed
recognition and pushed him toward the top of the card a bit. However, WCW
and Vampiro's own decisions made this all for naught.
LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Elroy deserves credit for making the hardcore division
fun in the WWF
TANVIR RAQUIB: An injury led to a botched finish. On RAW, the WWF made up
for it in the best way possible. And then, I knew, "everything's gonna be
alright, man."
COLIN MacKINNON: I don't know what genius decided to drag Los
Conquistadors out of the WWF vaults, but it worked. Any gimmick that
allows Chris Daniels to get some airtime is all right with me. It's too
bad that Edge and Christian, as expected, were revealed as Uno and Dos,
however. I mean, it might make for interesting TV if you had two sets of
Conquistadors running around... That is, if you could tell them apart.
Still, a nice original angle from the WWF there.
NICK RANGEL: Fantastic, hilarious, stupendous, and it was good too. Edge
and Christian bring the masked wrestler angle into the 90's. Yellow Dog
was never this much fun.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: The Angle/HHH/Steph love triangle had such a GREAT
slow build and involved many subplots that it was a true joy of Sports E.
The return of Cactus Jack was a real powerful and a big-time markout
moment, and at least a temporary end to the goofy Foley who we all didn't
like as much as C. Jack. Steph and HHH marrying really put HHH over
big-time.
PHIL PRZYBYLO: I hope the Steve Austin angle is up there. It's created a
born-again Steve Austin and a new main eventer in Rikishi. Only wrestling
for a month, Stone Cold still makes his mark on the wrestling world.
C McMURTRY: The All Japan-New Japan angle was an example of how real
interpromotional angles should be done. Here's hoping that if the WWF ever
does buy WCW, they look at the success of that particular instance of how
to do it themselves. Plus, we got Kawada-Sasaki. Ain't nuttin' wrong wit
dat. The HHH-Angle-Steph love triangle probably would have gotten the duke
from me had it not ended so poorly. Here you have something strung out
over months brillantly, with small references at first, and then the slow
burn leading towards the big money match, and one would think, the climax.
But that match was a bust, and the climax hasn't come yet. There were
probably better angles than Al Snow & Steve Blackman in terms of drawing
money and ratings, but it had too many funny moments (the retirement home
bit on Smackdown comes to mind) to omit.
JIMBO: Los Conquistadores brought laughter into our TV sets, they did
their job. Al Snow continued his hilarious antics with Steve Blackman and
Head Cheese. Finally, Crash brought some interesting spots into the
normal WWF lineup.
THE CUBS FAN: See, WCW accidently stumbles on to this GOLDEN gimmick -
Chris Kanyon making fun of DDP and being really funny at the same time by
Diamond Cuttering anyone he could find (but only on Thunder.) The
DDP/Kanyon feud would have probably approached something like a "money
feud" for WCW. The fans seemed to enjoy it (bye bye Jimmy Baron) and it
actually seemed like a wrestler was having fun in WCW. So they book
Kanyon into looking really stuipd and in a stuipd angle with the Bagwells,
he ends up with David Arquette in his corner, he loses the big match, and
he's never seen again. That's WCW in 2000.
JBELL55146: The whole Stephanie/Angle/HHH Love triangle was so great cuz
it was so true to life. In many instances during this angle I thought to
myself 'dam, I have been in that situation before' and there is not many
wrestling angles that I can say that about. And Foley becoming Cactus Jack
and the payoff matches afterwards were sheer classics. The Crash Holly
24/7 was the most underrated gimmicks of the year. It created many
different ways to have matches and was a lot of fun.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Organization
Award Description:
To be given to the organization/promotion that has the best product. This is
the organization whose TV and house shows you just can't miss.
Previous Winners:
1990: NWA
1991: WWF
1992: WCW
1993: SMW
1994: ECW
1995: WWF
1996: WWF
1997: WWF
1998: WWF
1999: WWF
**2000**: WWF
547 first place votes
458 second place votes
400 third place votes
478 19 11 2469 WWF
15 254 88 1013 ECW
5 64 122 462 WCW
8 23 29 167 AJPW
9 20 12 129 Toryumon
0 10 21 72 Michinoku Pro
4 7 10 61 NOAH
2 6 16 60 WOW
6 0 3 36 GAEA
2 4 7 36 EMLL
2 4 6 34 FMW
2 3 5 29 ARSION
3 3 1 26 Battlarts
0 6 3 24 NJPW
0 3 7 23 Big Japan
1 2 3 17 XPW
0 3 4 17 All Japan Women
1 1 2 12 NWA Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
1 2 0 11 SPCW (St. Paul Championship Wrestling)
1 2 0 11 Osaka Pro
0 1 4 11 WXO
0 1 3 9 NWA Florida
0 2 1 8 ECCW/NWA Pacific Northwest
0 0 4 8 OVW
0 0 4 8 Mid-South Wrestling
0 1 2 7 Ultimate Championship Wrestling
0 1 2 7 Memphis Championship Wrestling
0 0 3 6 Windy City Pro Wrestling
1 0 0 5 VCW
1 0 0 5 Juggalo Championshit Wrestling
1 0 0 5 CZW
0 1 1 5 Maryland Championship Wrestling
0 1 1 5 ECWA
0 1 1 5 APW
0 1 1 5 AAA / PAPSA
0 0 2 4 TWA (Texas Wrestling Alliance)
0 0 2 4 NWA Jersey
0 0 2 4 IWRG
0 1 0 3 WrestleAmerica 2000
0 1 0 3 Wrestle Yume Factory
0 1 0 3 Stampede
0 1 0 3 Satiyama Pro
0 1 0 3 NWA Worldwide
0 1 0 3 JWF (?)
0 1 0 3 FUW (?)
0 0 1 2 Seton Hall Wrestling Federation (?)
0 0 1 2 SWA
0 0 1 2 NECW (New England Championship Wrestling)
0 0 1 2 LIWF (?)
0 0 1 2 K-Town Smackdown (?)
0 0 1 2 IWA
0 0 1 2 Grand Prix Wrestling
0 0 1 2 EWA
0 0 1 2 DDT
0 0 1 2 CWO (?)
0 0 1 2 All-Star Wrestling
REJECTED - not wrestling organisations
0 3 2 Duplicate votes
2 0 0 Radicals
1 0 0 Team Xtreme
1 0 0 RTC
0 1 0 Right to Censor
0 1 0 New Blood
0 0 1 NWO
0 0 1 D-Generation X
0 0 1 Battlebots
0 0 1 BattleDome
HIRO: Basically WWF ran away with this one since they rarely put a foot
wrong and when they did, they always tried to rectify it.
JASON BOUGGER: The Conquistadors: It's rare that an angle based on nothing
but silliness could be THAT good. The WCW's New Blood tries to push out
the Millionaire's Club storyline, earns a vote for it's first few weeks.
JASON: I'm only able to see WWF, WCW, and WOW, so my rankings might seem
a bit odd.
ROBERT STRUPP: The WWF was hands down the premier organization this year,
both match wise and entertainment wise. There was no second place, as
everyone else was in a league below them.
BEN WEINER: Hey Chris, don't you mean worst "organisation"?
CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN: This is the local promotion I watch in England.
Whilst it's absolute shite by US standards, It wipes the floor with WCW in
my opinion. 47. CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN: I don't get WCW or ECW PPVs, so I
was stuck for choice in this subject. Apart from Heroes of Wrestling,
whereupon I think 97.4% of the Internet Smarks would agree with me.
ALEX GIPSON: WWF did so many things right this year that it was
unbelievable. Mind-blowingly good pay-per-views (for the most part), more
emphasis on the wrestling in a lot of cases, and a talent roster in which
hardly anyone isn't over in some way are just a few of the reasons why
Vinny Mac is still on top, with no signs of slowing down,
wrestling-boom-and-bust-cycle be damned!
SCOTT W.: WWF will always be my number 1 promotion. ECW is second and
Michinoku Pro gets the 3rd.
MARCUS SPARKS: Easy choice... WCW only gets 3rd because I've either never
heard of or never get to see any of the other nominees.
JOHN C.: The WWF is the no brainer choice here as they were clearly the
best company in the world. ECW gets my second vote mainly because there is
nobody else worthy of my vote (WCW who?).
MATTHEW HUBARTT: That's not a typo.. hell, even XPW is more watchable then
WCW has been.
JAMES HOWARD: Oh, *yeah*. *Heavy* competition for first place this year
with *this* award. ^_^;;
TERRY ANDERTON: What did you expect?
PETER HAZLETT: They do wrestling and entertainment better than anyone
else.
JOE GAGNE: The WWF had a real banner year, delivering great matches and
angles, and maybe having their best PPV stretch ever. Second goes to
Toryumon, which has maybe the best roster combined with everything I love
about wrestling. I wish I?d nominated Ohio Valley Wrestling, ?cause I
don?t know who #3 should be. I?ll say ECW, since I saw some great matches
there this year.
BILL LEHECKA: I'll be honest, I only follow three wrestling organizations,
so I put the WWF at top, and threw in two Japanese promotions to give them
some sort of rub. I know, I'm an idiot...
RAVI MISRA: WWF, by a mile. WWF, by ten miles. Yeah, I'm sure the
storylines in puro are good, but as of now, noone even can touch what the
WWF has done this past year.
COLIN MacKINNON: I covered all the bases in my selections. The WWF
provided the bulk of the top workers and matches this year, and also
managed to have some hot strings of PPV's, generally improving from where
they were last year. As for EMLL in Mexico, they entered the PPV market
in Mexico this year, and also had some great matches throughout the year -
that is, if you overlook Perro Aguayo being in a ton of main events. And
Giant Silva as well. And many other names. But they have a great future
as far as young undercard talent goes, and their 12/15 PPV coming up looks
like it could be a strong candidate for show of the year. And as for
Michinoku Pro... It's Michinoku Pro, come on. It was either this or
Toryumon, and even though I like C-MAX, you can still see them in Toryumon
sometimes... As well as a bunch of AAA and EMLL luchadors, joshi workers,
British prospects and the Nisemono bitches, especially AKIKO. :) But
seriously, M-PRO's had a good mix of talent this year, providing for
entertaining TV. Toryumon was also good this year, but... I don't know.
I just preferred M-PRO better. GAEA and ARSION also deserve honorable
mentions as well, in my opinion.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: WWF is awesome and ECW is good, 'nuff said.
C McMURTRY: No one could even come close to touching the WWF in this
category. They made more money than anyone, and kept, for the most part,
an entertaining product throughout the time. Can't argue with that
success. Unfortunately, the Japanese scene was very dry, and the stuff
that was supposedly good (DDT, Battlarts) I didn't see enough of. New
Japan wasn't that bad as much as it was dull, All Japan has had that
unpredictability factor working for them since Misawa and crew left, but
that doesn't overshadow the average content, NOAH is too new to tell, and
FMW is downright awful. So Toryumon sorta wins by default. Hopefully they
will run more cards in 2001. And I have a soft spot for ECW, what can I
say.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best TV Show
Award Description:
To be given to what is on average the best wrestling TV show. In 1994, TV
shows and major shows were given separate award categories.
Previous Winners:
1991: 03/21/91: WCW & New Japan Supershow (aired on tape)
1992: 01/18/92: WWF Royal Rumble
1993: WWF Monday Night RAW weekly TV
1994: WWF Monday Night RAW
1995: WWF Monday Night RAW
1996: WWF Monday Night RAW
1997: WWF Monday Night RAW (WWF RAW is War / WWF RAW / WWF War Zone)
1998: WWF RAW is WAR (RAW / War Zone)
1999: WWF RAW is WAR (RAW / War Zone)
**2000**: WWF RAW is WAR (RAW / War Zone)
540 first place votes
523 second place votes
476 third place votes
425 61 19 2346 WWF RAW is WAR
54 368 42 1458 WWF SmackDown!
9 18 95 289 ECW on TNN
4 11 111 275 WWF Sunday Night Heat
6 25 70 245 WCW Monday Nitro
6 7 52 155 ECW Hardcore TV
6 4 8 58 Toryumon TV on GAORA
4 3 13 55 WCW Saturday Night
6 2 8 52 AJPW 30
6 1 2 37 GAEA G-Panic
3 2 8 37 WCW Worldwide
2 1 7 27 WWF Metal / Jakked
0 1 12 27 Women of Wrestling weekly TV
1 2 6 23 WCW Thunder
1 3 3 20 Battlarts Battle Station
1 4 1 19 Michinoku Pro TV on GAORA
0 1 3 9 New Japan World Pro Wrestling
1 1 0 8 FMW on SkyPerfecTV
0 0 4 8 WWF Superstars
1 0 1 7 Galavision Lucha Libre
0 1 2 7 Oz Academy TV
1 0 0 5 WCW Classics
1 0 0 5 Battle Station Osaka Pro on Samurai TV
0 1 1 5 Big Japan Pro Wrestling Battle Station
0 1 0 3 XPW weekly TV
0 1 0 3 JWP TV
0 1 0 3 IWRG
0 1 0 3 Colosseo (?)
0 0 1 2 WWF LiveWire
0 0 1 2 Slick Mick's Bodyslam Revue (?)
0 0 1 2 JWF Jakks is Skkaj! (?)
0 0 1 2 Battle Station Jd' Beauty Athlete (Yoshimoto Pro)
REJECTED
2 3 2 5 Various non-wrestling shows
1 0 1 7 "Tie" votes
0 0 1 2 WWF Tuesday Night Titans
0 0 1 2 "Anything but..." votes
HIRO:WWF programming is tops once again. RAW is still the best Monday
night show, while SmackDown! keeps getting better and better, lots of
great TV matches happened on both RAW and SmackDown! Heat had a mixed
season, some great, some good while the rest was plain bad, but not as bad
as the worst shows.
MICHAEL BANKER: When I listed HeAT as #3, I was talking about HeAT BEFORE
MTV came along. HeAT on MTV is not so good.
JASON: I'm only able to see WWF, WCW, and WOW, so my rankings might seem
a bit odd.
SCOTT W.: Raw and SmackDown are the best tv shows today. Hardcore TV gets
in cause it is better than anything WCW puts on and that TNN show thay
once had.
JOHN C.: Raw beats Smackdown because Raw airs live every Monday night
which allows us to actually be surprised when something big happens (see
"Best Angle" for more of what I mean). ECW on TNN gets my third vote
because of a few good matches here or there that were better than anything
we got regularly from WCW.
MOSES GATES: All the people out there who keep complaining that there
isn't enough "wrestling" and too much "sports entertainment" should turn
off Raw and watch this show (at least the non-recap part of it).
JAMES HOWARD: RAW IS WAR'S A UNICORN PIE! Dun dun, duhduh dun dun, duhduh
dun dun, duhduh dun dun, dun dun! ^_^
JOE GAGNE: A clean sweep for the WWF. RAW and Smackdown provided the big
matches and angles, and Sunday Night Heat being the sleeper show,
showcasing the mid-lower card guys and often having the best matches.
BILL LEHECKA: RAW is WAR, within this list of nominees, is the best show
simply based on production values. Forget the in-ring aspect. The WWF
knows how to present a wrestling broadcast with a minimum of technical
snafus. Any show that can do that, and they have me as a loyal viewer.
MATT SPAULDING: SmackDown! snuck up on everybody to become the best
wrestling show on television. It wasn't always great, but it was often
quite good, and almost never bad.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: The WWF gets all three slots here, as RAW, the few
episodes of Smackdown! I've seen and Heat easily beat out Nitro, Thunder,
ECW on TNN and everything else. The WWF has better wrestling (ECW has some
great matches sure, but most of the other ones are crap), better
production values, better week-to-week storylines, and better everything
else than everyone else in the industry right now.
TANVIR RAQUIB: Worldwide gave us the chance to see wrestlers like Elix
Skipper, Mike Sanders and the Gay Thrillers a bit early. It also gave
their audience the chance to see a WONDERFUL match between Chris Candido
and Christopher Daniels. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS. Enough said.
RAVI MISRA: While I like the "edgier" content on RAW, I am a bigger fan
of SmackDown!'s excellent editing, flow, and timeslot. Working everyday,
it's nice to be able to do something after SmackDown! ends rather than
going straight to bed.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Smackdown had better wrestling and angles than Raw,
for the most part. ECW on TNN was a nice change of pace from the main
feds with longer matches.
ROB "R2K" EVANS: Best TV Show - Can anyone unseat RAW as the 7-time champ?
Not this year. But my vote would be for Smackdown to do it next year.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Major Show
Award Description:
To be given to the best major event. This could be a pay-per-view, a TV
special, or any big arena event. In 1994, TV shows and major shows were
given separate award categories.
Previous Winners:
1991: 03/21/91: WCW & New Japan Supershow (aired on tape)
1992: 01/18/92: WWF Royal Rumble
1993: WWF Monday Night RAW weekly TV
1994: 03/20/94: WWF WrestleMania X
1995: 08/27/95: WWF SummerSlam
1996: 03/31/96: WWF WrestleMania XII
1997: 04/14/97: ECW Barely Legal
1998: 03/24/98: WWF WrestleMania XIV
1999: 08/22/99: WWF SummerSlam
**2000**: 01/23/00: WWF Royal Rumble
483 first place votes
453 second place votes
439 third place votes
100 86 70 898 01/23/00 WWF Royal Rumble
90 72 55 776 08/27/00 WWF SummerSlam
70 53 57 623 04/02/00 WWF WrestleMania 2000
52 51 38 489 04/30/00 WWF Backlash
42 50 48 456 05/21/00 WWF Judgment Day
27 38 29 307 07/23/00 WWF Fully Loaded
26 31 34 291 02/27/00 WWF No Way Out
9 8 22 113 10/22/00 WWF No Mercy
6 7 6 63 11/07/99 ECW November to Remember
9 1 2 52 03/17/00 EMLL PPV
2 5 13 51 11/14/99 WWF Survivor Series
3 4 7 41 04/09/00 Michinoku Pro Super J Cup (finals)
5 2 3 37 12/12/99 WWF Armageddon
2 4 6 34 05/14/00 ECW Hardcore Heaven
4 2 3 32 05/14/00 GAEA 5th Anniversary Show
4 0 1 22 02/??/00 AJPW Excite Series
0 4 4 20 08/05/00 NOAH Debut show
1 2 3 17 07/09/00 WCW Bash at the Beach
0 2 5 16 06/25/00 WWF King of the Ring
2 1 0 13 09/15/00 GAEA Double Destiny
2 0 1 12 06/04/00 Toryumon
1 2 0 11 01/04/00 Osaka Pro
1 0 1 7 10/09/00 AJPW v. NJPW Tokyo Dome
1 0 1 7 07/16/00 ECW Heat Wave
1 0 1 7 04/16/00 WCW Spring Stampede
0 1 2 7 10/01/00 ECW Anarchy Rulz
0 2 0 6 01/23/00 AJPW New Year's Giant Series
1 0 0 5 08/25-26/00 ECW Hammerstein Ballroom
1 0 0 5 08/13/00 WCW New Blood Rising
1 0 0 5 05/05/00 FMW at Komozawa Gym
1 0 0 5 01/04/00 New Japan Annual Dome Show
0 1 1 5 09/24/00 WWF Unforgiven
0 1 1 5 04/??/00 Michinoku Pro Super J Cup (third round)
0 1 1 5 04/01/00 Michinoku Pro Super J Cup (first round)
0 0 2 4 01/09/00 ECW Guilty As Charged
0 1 0 3 ??/??/00 Triple Crown 2000 Tournament
0 1 0 3 08/15/00 NWA Florida Return to Tradition
0 1 0 3 07/28/00 FMW Korakuen Hall
0 1 0 3 07/05/00 AAA Triplemania
0 1 0 3 06/11/00 WCW Great American Bash
0 1 0 3 03/19/00 WCW Uncensored
0 1 0 3 02/27/00 EWF
0 1 0 3 02/02/00 Battle Station Osaka Puroresu
0 0 1 2 AJPW Champion Carnival
0 0 1 2 NJPW G1 Finals
0 0 1 2 King of the Death Match
0 0 1 2 06/29/00 Battlarts (P-Mix Grand Prix finals)
0 0 1 2 06/23/00 WWF Fully Loaded
0 0 1 2 05/21/00 WWF SummerSlam
0 0 1 2 05/07/00 WCW Slamboree
0 0 1 2 04/29/00 SPWC
0 0 1 2 01/16/00 WCW Souled Out
REJECTED - not between 11/02/99 and 11/01/00
18 14 14 Various television shows (ineligible)
1 1 0 8 11/19/00 WWF Survivor Series
1 0 0 5 ??/??/95 Super J Cup 95
0 1 0 3 06/28/98 WWF King of the Ring
0 0 1 2 War Games (?)
0 0 1 2 "Tie" votes
HIRO: This was another tough call. The WWF had at least 8 shows worthy of
being in the top three, eclipsing shows from other feds easily. SummerSlam
had two Match of the Year candidates which I really really like, so it
takes the top spot. The other WWF shows are awesome as well, but these
three are simply the best among the best.
JASON: No PPV's for me. Small town Canada sucks, man.
J3R CR0WE: Judgement Day was just amazing... the WWF had a great streak of
pay per views going before King of the Ring came along.
ROBERT STRUPP: The WWF had such a great run of Pay Per Views from Royal
Rumble through Judgement Day, that any one of them could have qualified,
and been a deserving winner. I picked Judgement Day, because the
expectations were a little lower with the Rock-HHH Iron Man Match.
DEVON: I picked Fully Loaded because the feuds leading up to it had great
heat behind them, and the matches at Fully Loaded were great. I also
liked how the WWF gave Jericho, Benoit and Angle chances to work feuds and
PPV matches against their main eventers.
ALEX GIPSON: WWF Backlash was, top to bottom, a terrific show that I don't
recall seeing one bad review about. With great matches (Malenko-Scotty,
Guerrero-Rios, Benoit-Jericho), entertainment (The Big Show as the
Showster), and the textbook "send-em-home happy" ending (Rocky finally
ends Triple H's reign, guest starring a still-injured Steve Austin),
Backlash was the crown jewel in a series of consitently outstanding WWF
pay-per-views this year.
EDC: Best Show I beleive was WWF's Royal Rumble. Taz's Debut, the Tables
match between the Hardyz and the Dudleys, and of course the MOTY
HHH/Cactus Jack match and the Royal Rumble itself. all this in New York as
well. Shows like that come once a decade, folks. I put Backlash there
because I was there! Austins Return, along with the incredible
Malenko/Scotty 2 Hottie match, HHH/Rock mixing it up again, and Benoit and
Jericho beating each other to a pulp. (Hi April!) The Crowd pop in the MCI
center when Austin came out though, was the POP of the year, Bar none.
EMLL's first PPV gets on here for have the Emotional Atlantis/Villano 3
Mask match. A Legit ***** Lucha match between two for the oldest and most
beloved wrestlers.
SCOTT W.: WWF put on a few good ppv this year. SummerSlam was my personal
fav, with BackLash and WM2000 coming in a close 2nd and third.
BEANS: I don't think I've watched enough PPVs (about 4 this year) to
comment on this.
JOHN C.: Probably the toughest category to pick of them all. I'd say that
at least eight of the WWF's PPVs this year alone were better than anything
last year so it was tough to choose just three. In the end I went with
Summerslam first basically because it was solid from top to bottom with a
terrific TLC match, a great submission match and a solid main event. Royal
Rumble gets my second spot for its magnificent main event and solid Royal
Rumble match. Finally, Judgment Day beat out Backlash for the final spot
because it was a wrestling heavy PPV that was capped off by the fabulous
HHH/Rock Ironman match.
REISMARK: Backlash & Judgment Day both featured excellent cards and
excellent wrestling. But Judgment Day was missing something: the
entertainment bit. In that department, I don't think anyone will ever top
the "Showster Promo" match at Backlash.
DAN: OF COURSE ROYAL RUMBLE WAS THE BEST SHOW. VLADIMIR WAS THERE!!
AL RITCHIE: I haven't watched enough PPVs to render an honest judgement.
I know you're disappointed.
CHRIS BURKE: Royal Rumble 2000 gave fans everything they could want…great
action between the Hardys and Dudleys, who both started the use tables in
truly imaginative fashion, an intriguing Royal Rumble with the “finish”
between the Big Show and Rock, and arguably the Match of the Year between
Foley and HHH. Great brawl. MSG didn’t hurt, either.
JAMES HOWARD: I don't watch Pay-Per-Views, personally. I mean, think of
all the Jolt you can buy with that money! :)
LCDRKODIAS: Don't get to see PPV's since I work on Sunday nights.
JOE GAGNE: The WWF put on a ton of great shows this year, but the 3/17/00
CMLL show was the best PPV I?ve seen all year, being entertaining from
start to finish. I?ve watched it ten times, and it never gets old. Lots
of WWF shows could make the cut, but Royal Rumble and Summerslam were the
two best outings.
RICK SCAIA: "Nobody does pay-per-view like the World Wrestling Federation"
has long been a tagline used by the WWF to promote their events.... but
it's never been more true than it was this year. For whatever reason,
only the WWF was able to consistantly merge the sizzle and spark of a
genuine big show atmosphere with top level efforts from their stars to
churn out top level events worth paying for on a near monthly basis. On
the strength of an hour long main event Match of the Year and a very good
supporting undercard, I'm giving Judgment Day my PPV of the Year honors.
January's Royal Rumble was a show that was just red hot and a lot of fun
(Tazz's debut, Miss Royal Rumble contest, and other amusing sidebars all
contributed), with the Hardys/Dudleys table match and Cactus/HHH brawl
also standing out as very good wrestling matches. Third place goes to
June's Fully Loaded, where the focus was back to a lot of flat-out great
wrestling (including back-to-back **** matches on the top of the show).
BILL LEHECKA: Summerslam had everything. Summerslam had interesting
matches, a couple of good matches, and one blowaway great match. You
cvan't ask for more out of your Summerslam than that.
MATT SPAULDING: Judgment Day had wrestling off the charts, and Backlash
had some surprisingly good matches and hot angles. But Fully Loaded was
just that - this show had it all. Find five bad matches among those three
shows. You can't. Royal Rumble gets an honorable mention.
BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: There's about ten different shows I could easily vote
for here (most of them from the WWF), so you'll have to forgive my choice
coming down to the fact that I was at SummerSlam live, and am thus voting
it into the top slot. The Royal Rumble gets second, as the start of the
WWF great PPV hot streak this year, and Backlash gets third for being a
great top-to-bottom card with absolutely no holes. More like these please!
KEVIN SMITH: The WWF had the testicular fortitude to let HHH keep the
title at Wrestlemania. *Now we won't necesarily know the winner of the
huge Wrestlemania XVII main event weeks before it happens!* What a
concept! Also - Judgement Day was big for Jericho, Benoit and Angle -
despite their being skunked.
COLIN MacKINNON: 3/17 EMLL PPV: Excellent from top to bottom. Besides the
aforementioned Atlantis/Villano III match, there was also a very good
Torneo Cibernetico elimination match, and a wicked Ricky Marvin/Sangre
Azteca match. The other two six-man tags weren't as bad as I thought they
would be, either. A strong PPV on the whole. Summerslam didn't really
have any classic matches, except the TLC match where everybody died. But
the crap was kept to a bare minimum, and there was enough to keep everyone
happy. And the GAEA 5/14 show had some crap, but as soon as you got into
the last four matches in the show, you were in for some fun. A fast-paced
tag match (Nagashima/Sato vs. Uematsu/Bloody), a fun hardcore match
(Ozaki/KAORU), a pretty brutal Kong/Satomura match, and the return of the
Crush Girls. Plus the production values on the show were amazing, as
well.
JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Hard to pick a favorite between 3-4 great WWF PPVs
this year.
ROB "R2K" EVANS: Best Major Show - Gotta be the Rumble. Something about
that MSG atmosphere and two stellar matches (Hardyz v. Duds and HHH v.
Foley), not to mention the Rumble itsself.
C McMURTRY: From top to bottom, Judgment Day was the best card I've seen
all year. The 60-minute Ironman match was much better than anyone thought
it could ever be, and probably better than it had any business being.
Benoit-Jericho was great, the six-man opener was hot hot hot, and even
though the crowd in Louisville couldn't have cared less about the
three-way between Eddy, Malenko, and Saturn, the work in the ring was real
good.
JBELL55146: I'll go as far to say that Royal Rumble 2000 was the best
wrestling card probably since Wrestlemania 14. Maybe even farther back
then that. From the Hardyz/Dudleyz table match