2009 WrestleView Mid-Year Awards (Presented by the WV Faculty)
Written By: Anthony J. Valvo
Mid-Year Awards Provided By: The WrestleView.com Faculty
The 2009 WV Faculty Mid-Year Awards (Part 4)
Well students, we are almost at an end to this mid-year column. For those that read the first three parts, give yourself a ?gold star? compliments of Mr. V. I hope the readers of WrestleView are enjoying this as much as The Faculty. I am surprised that we are very diverse with our selections. We almost had a unanimous selection for PPV Match of the Year, but missed it by one vote. Anyways, The Faculty (now TWELVE of us) worked overtime this week to provide you with the best (and) worst so far as we went past the middle of the year. The answers provided are by the respective columnists and were not influenced outside The Faculty of WrestleView. Also if you want to present us with your best (and worst) of 2009, you may do so at mistervwv@yahoo.com. I will provide a consensus at the end of the week along with my mid-year rankings so the fans want to vote on our selections. I will explain about the ranking later this week, but for now on with the awards ceremony.
Always, I will recap the categories that we went over on the previous days.
Monday (Part 1), we went over the following:
Best Newcomer
Best Weekly TV Wrestling Program
Best TV Match of 2009
Best Gimmick
Worst Gimmick
Tuesday (Part 2), we went over the following:
Most Underrated Wrestler of the Year
Most Overrated Wrestler of the Year
Best Finisher
Worst Match of the Year
Wednesday (Part 3), we went most recently discussed in our Faculty Forum:
Best Wrestler on the Mic
Best TV Announcer
Best PPV of 2009
Best PPV Match of 2009
Today, the following Professors of WrestleView provided their picks for the next four categories:
* Joe Baiamonte (Baiamonte’s Casa)
* David Stephens (That’s A Wrap! and ECW recapper)
* Josh Boutwell (Viva La Raza! TNA/ROH recapper)
* Jose Marrero (Wrestling Rumblings)
* Anthony Valvo (From the Desk of Mr. V)
* Matt O?Brien (Notes From the Nosebleeds)
* Phil Chroniger (On Second Thought?)
* Josh Piedra (The Shoot)
* Doug Lackey (Reality From Ringside)
* Chris Kelly (Ex-TNA Epics recapper and fill in columnist)
* Sean Hurley (The Sharpshooter)
* Mike Tedesco (WWE Superstars and Smackdown recapper)
As a bonus feature, WrestleView’s Dean Joe Baiamonte makes his debut as a voter for these awards. After our daily picks are revealed I will present Dean Baiamonte’s picks from the previous days. So relax, and enjoy this next helping.
Now, The Faculty presents?Part 4 of 5 in the 2009 Mid-Year Awards
Question #14:
Who is the Most Popular Wrestler?
Joe B. – JEFF HARDY (WWE) I’d say.
David S. – UNDERTAKER (WWE) – He can disappear for months on end and still come back to astounding ovations.
Josh B. – REY MYSTERIO JR. (WWE Smackdown). Rey Rey is loved by all, kids and adults and is still pound-for-pound one of the best wrestlers in the world.
Jose M. – JEFF HARDY (WWE).
Anthony V. – JEFF HARDY (WWE). I personally am not a 100% Jeff Hardy fan, but I will give credit where it is due. He has the whole WWE Universe in his hand right now.
Matt O. – JEFF HARDY (WWE).
Phil C. – JEFF HARDY (WWE).
Josh P. – It depends on the crowd for John Cena… one night he can get a major pop, the next night a mixed reaction, but despite that, there is one person who gets a constant major pop every time he seizure shakes his way out from the back… and that is the Enigmatic Glow Worm JEFF HARDY (WWE). While I personally dislike Jeff Hardy, I cannot ignore the fact that he is WWE’s most popular wrestler and no one, with the exception of Bryan Danielson during his “Final Countdown” entrance (I miss it sorely), can rival Hardy’s crowd interaction.
Doug L. – JEFF HARDY (WWE). The ?Manny Ramirez? of professional wrestling? no other performer has such a checkered past and yet can still be cheered and admired by legions of young fans. If he does not re-sign with WWE or fails to stay sober, will he still be considered a viable commodity?
Chris K. – YOSHI TATSU (WWE) is so over with the ECW fans after being on the show for 4 weeks, just crazy. JEFF HARDY (WWE) just so over with everyone.
Sean H. – JOHN CENA (WWE).
Mike T. – JOHN CENA (WWE). Triple H and Jeff Hardy would be next.
Question #15:
Who is the Most Hated Wrestler?
Joe B. – Jericho (WWE). Fans have been attacking him in the street for Christ sake.
David S. – SCOTT HALL (MOST RECENTLY JCW) – I’m pretty sure almost everyone seems to hate him, whether wrestler or disillusioned fan.
Josh B. – RANDY ORTON (WWE). Nobody likes Mr. RKO.
Jose M. – CHRIS JERICHO (WWE).
Anthony V. – CHRIS JERICHO (WWE). How many wrestlers have been attacked and those attacks were released to the media? I can only think of one in the major promotions, and this is Jericho.
Matt O. – RANDY ORTON (WWE).
Phil C. – CHRIS JERICHO (WWE).
Josh P. – Despite crowd reactions at live shows.. if you pay attention to the Internet Wrestling Community, the answer here is obvious… and that is JOHN CENA (WWE). There is a large group of people who cannot stand Cena and that they would rather see him gone than perform despite the fact that Cena is one of the few people in the wrestling business that “gets it”. In fact, the hatred toward Cena may have actually inched its way slightly past the hatred for HHH and his alleged backstage politics and boinking the boss’ daughter.
Doug L. – RANDY ORTON (WWE). With his tremendously personal feud with HHH leading to Wrestlemania 25 (and ?The Silver Buzzkill?) and his methodical demeanor in the ring (?punt to the head?, ‘systematic stomping of limbs), Orton is very-well despised.
Chris K. – Y2J (WWE). When fans want to attack you, you must be doing something right as a heel.
Sean H. – CHRIS JERICHO (WWE).
Mike T. – (TIE), RANDY ORTON, CHRIS JERICHO, AND EDGE (well at least he was before getting injured!) (ALL WWE)
Question #16:
Who is the Most Improved Wrestler?
Joe B. – Carlito’s begun to show some fire again. For the first time since the Summer of ’06. Maybe him. Yeah. CARLITO (WWE). Since Primo arrived he seems to have upped his game.
David S. – MARK HENRY – his time on ECW has brought about a complete revival for the character.
Josh B. – MATT MORGAN (TNA). Morgan is really making strides in the ring and on the microphone plus getting a rub from the Main Event Mafia to boot.
Jose M. – CM PUNK (WWE).
Anthony V. – KELLY KELLY (WWE). I am going to get blasted for this, but I think she has come a long way since last year. She went from horrible to above average. Whoever trained her should get a gold star.
Matt O. – MARYSE (WWE).
Phil C. – KOFI KINGSTON (WWE).
Josh P. – In my opinion, there is one person that has drastically improved this year, but it’s not from a wrestling standpoint… it’s an overall character standpoint and that honor goes to one “A DOUBLE? AUSTIN ARIES (ROH). He has re-invented the “The Austin Starr” gimmick in ROH and turned into something completely believable and has done a tremendous 180 in the character section. Aries has always had the wrestling skills and he has even cut back on the spotty stuff and started to slow down in the ring. The new pace and the new character make him the most improved for me.
Doug L. – THE MIZ (WWE). I?m not drinking the laced Kool-Aid on this one. After the draft, what was everyone’s prediction of the direction of Mizanin’s career? Did anyone imagine him making weekly appearances on ?Raw?? Did anyone predict him having a pay-per-view match (albeit a squash) against John Cena? Sometimes being an improved wrestler is not as much your talent when the bell rings, but also behind a microphone and grabbing the heat that engages the crowd. Dolph Ziggler came very close to winning this, but a match against Cena definitely beats out a match against The Great Khali.
Chris K. – KOFI KINGSTON (WWE). He has improved a lot over the last year and has started looking decent in the ring and Kofi winning the US champion shows the WWE has seen this.
Sean H. – DOLPH ZIGGLER (WWE).
Mike T. – Wow, so many. I’d say JOHN MORRISON (WWE), Dolph Ziggler, Evan Bourne, Jack Swagger, and Mark Henry in that order.
Question #17:
Which Feud do you think was the best so far in 2009?
Joe B. – Jericho/Rey (WWE). Nothing else comes close.
David S. – JERICHO V. REY REY (WWE)
Josh B. – CHRIS JERICHO VS. REY MYSTERIO JR. (WWE Smackdown). Easily, no other feud has come close to the promos and matches these two strung together. Classic match after classic match whether on Smackdown or PPV.
Jose M. – UNDERTAKER VS. SHAWN MICHAELS (WWE).
Anthony V. – CHRIS JERICHO VS. REY MYSTERIO (WWE). I almost went with HBK/Taker, but the Jericho/Rey feud went on longer and provided some great bouts this year)
Matt O. – N/A.
Phil C. – UNDERTAKER VS. SHAWN MICHAELS (WWE), didn’t get a lot of time, but was executed beautifully.
Josh P. – There have been a LOT of great feuds from the HHH/Orton (storyline wise) to Jericho/Legends, heck even Steenerico/American Wolves and Foley vs Jarrett vs MEM for power control, but I am going to have to go with CHRIS JERICHO VS. REY MISTERIO JR (WWE) for feud of the year so far. The whole teasing with the mask and the fact that it was centered around the Intercontinental Title accomplished many things. It made Jericho more of a Mega Heel, it gave some nice spotlight time to Rey Misterio, but the biggest thing is that it made the Intercontinental Championship feel important again.
Doug L. – RANDY ORTON-HHH (WWE). Historical references aplenty, vicious assaults on your opponent’s family members, domestic break-ins, and arrests by police from the kayfabe precinct? and the rivalry is still on-going after HHH took nearly 3 months off!
Chris K. – CM PUNK AND JEFF HARDY?S (WWE) feud has been awesome and by using real life events in the story the fans have got behind Hardy and turned Punk heel.
Sean H. – HBK/UNDERTAKER (WWE) leading to Wrestlemania 25.
Mike T. – CHRIS JERICHO VS. WWE LEGENDS (WWE).
**Bonus Feature**
As you know, Dean Baiamonte provided his pick a little later than all of us. So here are his picks on the question that were answered during the past few days.
Baia’s Picks
Best Newcomer – N/A
Best Weekly TV Show – FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN (WWE).
Best TV Match – I really liked the HHH/ORTON (WWE) Last Man Standing match.
Best Gimmick – MARK HENRY (WWE). It’s not even a gimmick. He’s just 400 pounds of awesome.
Worst Gimmick – SAMOA JOE (TNA) and his murderer gimmick that he had going on.
Most Underrated Wrestler – CHRISTIAN (WWE). Been consistent all year and never delivered anything less than solid matches… even with Dreamer who’s a major carry job at this point in his career. He’s had plaudits for sure this year… but not as many as other guys who haven’t been as consistent.
Most Overrated Wrestler – Anyone from the X Division (TNA) or the indie’s/ROH that the IWC jizzes over on a consistent basis. Take your pick.
Best Finisher – CM PUNK?S GO 2 SLEEP (WWE). Nothing’s more brutal than a straight knee to the dome.
Worst Match of the Year – That SHARMELL/JENNA (TNA) travesty from the last TNA PPV. I searched it out to see if it could possibly be as bad as people were saying it was. They didn’t do it’s shitness justice. I think I went blind watching it.
Best Wrestler on the Mic – Got to be JERICHO (WWE). Such a natural. Never see him deliver a bad promo. Although by year’s end… I think Punk could take this title. Especially after that promo at NoC. That was the promo of the year by far for me.
Best Wrestling Announcer – MICHAEL COLE (WWE). Yeah I said it. Only ?cause no one else has the balls to.
Best PPV of 2009 – I’m gonna err to BACKLASH (WWE) on this. ‘Mania was a monumental letdown.
Best PPV Match of 2009 – It’s a toss up between HBK/Taker from ‘Mania and Rey/Jericho from The Bash. Gonna go with HBK/TAKER (WWE).
That wraps up Part 4 of our Mid-Year Awards column. Once again if you thought there was someone that we should have put into consideration in our column or if you prefer to comment, e-mail me at mistervwv@yahoo.com. So, on behalf of The WrestleView Faculty I am Anthony J. Valvo (Your resident WrestleView teacher) saying have a good day. Until the final part (or another feature), you are officially…DISMISSED!
Once again, The Faculty thanks you for reading today, see you tomorrow for Part 5!
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