On Monday, December 29, 2008 at 6:58 AM EST
AS I SEE IT
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling: Between the Sheets
PWBTS.com
As 2008 moves into 2009, it's time for the 12th annual AS I SEE IT Year-End Review. As usual, I should note that my selections are based on what I've actually seen this year, either live, online, on TV, or via tape/DVD; which primarily means North American wrestling. 2008 PROMOTION OF THE YEAR:
Sadly, I have a feeling that with the firing of Gabe Sapolsky as booker on October 26 ...based on what I've seen thus far, and with word that there will be less Pro Wrestling NOAH talent brought in during 2009, this will be the last time I'll be giving this nod to Ring of Honor for some time.
2008 WRESTLER OF THE YEAR:
2008 WORST WRESTLER OF THE YEAR:
2008 TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR:
2008 ANGLE/FEUD OF THE YEAR WINNER
2008 WORST/MOST TASTELESS ANGLE OF THE YEAR
This storyline was particularly tasteless given the 1997 death of Brian Pillman in his hotel room on the eve of the Badd Blood PPV and the 2005 death of Eddie Guerrero on the morning of a SmackDown! taping at which Guerrero would have won the WWE "World" Heavyweight Title. WWE had no hesitancy to use these past deaths and the real-life drug issues of Hardy to attempt this tasteless and lame angle.
This story was embarrassing enough that a reporter from Armed Forces Radio asked John Cena about it on a conference call prior to the WWE visit to Iraq...and even the company's most loyal soldier not named McMahon couldn't defend it.
2008 MATCHES OF THE YEAR:
2008 CARD/PPV OF THE YEAR:
But this year's WrestleMania also had a lot more: the triple threat WWE Championship match with Randy Orton retaining against Triple H and John Cena, the spectacle of Floyd Mayweather, Jr.- The Big Show (in a match that I couldn't figure out beforehand how it would be brought off credibly...but was), as well as Undertaker-Edge. Even the Money in the Bank ladder match with CM Punk defeating Shelton Benjamin, Chris Jericho, Carlito, Montel Vontavious Porter, Mr. Kennedy, and John Morrison; led to what was the shocker moment of the year with CM Punk winning the WWE title later in the year.
2008 WORST CARD/PPV OF THE YEAR:
First, this PPV was the third worst PPV in terms of buys in WWE history with only 104,000 buys in North America (162,000 overall), behind only the disastrous WWECW 2006 December to Dismember and a 2006 In Your House PPV.
Second, while the main event was Chris Jericho defending his WWE World Title against Batista and Matt Hardy retained his ECW title against Evan Bourne, we had to watch the cluster$#@ of Honky Tonk Man-Santino Marella (plus Goldust and Roddy Piper) and pay for the privilege, watch the most mismatched idea for a match in recent memory pairing Rey Mysterio and Kane, the monthly installment of the "HHH beats the world" show killing off Jeff Hardy again.
Given that the PPV doesn't seem to draw interest (and didn't last year) it may be time to go back to a more conventional PPV format.
2008 BEST TV SHOW OF THE YEAR:
2008 WORST TV SHOW OF THE YEAR:
* A fake Sarah Palin (wasn't the real one bad enough?) who a heel stable doesn't realize is fake
* A heel Sting that doesn't act like a heel...worse...REFUSES to act like a heel but is part of the lead heel stable
* Wrestlecrap-worthy gimmicks including "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal, The Rock And Rave Infection, The Beautiful People (with Cute Kip), Karen Angle and ODB as "talk show hosts", Booker T as a fake Englishman, then a fake Jamaican (then again, WWE's Jamaican is actually from Ghana), Stone Cold Shark Boy as
* Turning Abyss, one of the best heel monster characters in wrestling, into a neurotic, naive boob who has never had sex or a beer
Hell, let me just leave it to Lance Storm who said it far better than I did:
"Am I the only one that noticed that TNA Impact this week had less than 18 minutes of actual wrestling on the program. Official match times totaled, I believe, 17 minutes and 55 second. ECW has had more wrestling minutes than that on their show and ECW is but half the length. If we break down the entire 120 minutes of the program we have 18 minutes of wrestling (I rounded up), 32 minutes of commercials, and 70 minutes of skits, promos, and general stupidity. Keep in mind the name of this company is Total Nonstop Action, yet only 15% of this show was action. This leaves 27% of the show for commercials, and 58% of the show skits, comedy, and talking...
...Why would any sane person book Jay Lethal vs. Alex Shelley and Christy Hemme vs. Sojourner Bolt on the same show and decide to give the latter match more than twice the time as the former? We had the opportunity to see Jay Lethal and Alex Shelly wrestling in TNA (Total Nonstop Action) and they were given less than 2 minutes for their match. What a wasted opportunity to entertain fans!...
...I know it's his gimmick but why the hell was James Storm allowed to come to the ring with a beer bottle in his hand, in a beer bottle on a pole match? Why bother climbing the $#@%ing pole, when he is allowed to bring a beer bottle to ring side with him? Have you ever seen a weapon on a pole match where one of the guys in the match just comes out with the weapon to start the match?"
Exactly.
Pennsylvania, Delaware, southern New Jersey on WGTW Channel 48
2008 TV ANNOUNCER OF THE YEAR:
2008 WORST TV ANNOUNCER OF THE YEAR:
Add one part commercial huckster to one part black helicopter paranoia and mix with some of the most nonsensical product put in TV since the end of WCW and you have Don West in 2008. His enthusiasm is remarkable, and before he got totally sucked in to the TNA corporate line, he actually attempted to ask questions about storylines that made no sense, until it was made clear that logical thought wasn't welcome. But he wasn't it for 2008 and bad announcing.
Then, there was Mike Adamle. He's the man who replaced Joey Styles on WWECW...removing the last link to the real promotion. Then, fans got word he was being groomed to replace Jim Ross. Adamle became the really bad punchline to a really bad joke. His inability to remember the most simple professional wrestling terms made him a weekly joke on every message board known to wrestling fans. Want to hear some of them? Try a You Tube search...that is, those WWE hasn't removed. One of those they haven't gotten to as of yet include his calling the former world champion "Gay Batista" on a live RAW. If you're on vacation from work, it might provide you some amusement.
Oh, and next time someone in wrestling falls back on the "what do you know about wrestling, you're just a mark' line ...tell them you have two words for them: Mike Adamle.
2008 WRESTLING NEWS STORIES OF THE YEAR
The ceremony, preceded by the Hall of Fame induction the night before, was more than we'll likely ever see for a WWE performer...or for any other wrestler in our lifetime.
But then again...there's only one Ric Flair.
It's been said many times that the process of filming movie scenes is much like watching sausages...no one should watch it happening. So in those days eaelier this year, as we DID watch it, all fans figured was that the filming of scenes with Mickey Rourke and Dylan "Necrobutcher" Summers was getting in the way of the wrestling show we were attending. Frankly, it was a pain in the ass.
But we were seeing only a small part of this movie. As time went on, and the full movie was reviewed, the buzz grew. Three Golden Globe Award nominations, a Screen Actors Guild award nomination, and an unknown number of Academy Award nominations later...we had a very tiny part in what may the most serious depiction of wrestling, its lifestyle (and the results of it) that has ever been done.
show business, PTC forced to surrender, NWA-TNA, Philadelphia independent wars
That's the AS I SEE IT year in review.
Until next time...
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