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 5)
Wow, where did this week go? Welcome to all of the students who are reading our final part of the 2009 WrestleView Mid-Year Awards!!
As most of you know, last week I sent a survey to the WrestleView Faculty to provide answers for the best (and worst) of 2009. Instead of providing all the answers at once, I provided them in groups of four or five questions. Today, 12 of our Faculty members decided to provide answers to the final five questions that I will post on this column. These answers were not influenced by anyone on the WrestleView staff, WWE, TNA, or ROH. If you want to present your best (and worst) so far in the year 2009, you may do so at mistervwv@yahoo.com.
This weekend, I will provide a consensus of the top three answers in which the WrestleView students (or fans) can vote for. If we have enough (perhaps even 15 or 20 students), then we can have a Student’s Choice Feature sometime in August. Also, I will provide the Rankings for WWE, TNA, and ROH based on wins, losses, appearances, and matches that I deemed ?excellent or good?.
Also this weekend, we created a ?Trade Deadline? Special Feature. What we did was got three WrestleView faculty members in a chatroom and made trades involving ROH, TNA, and WWE in a one hour time limit. The results are quite interesting. We had Dave Stephens, Chris Kelly, and Josh Piedra as General Managers for this feature. Jose Marrero will be our ?Insider?. He will provide feedback on each ?trade? accepted by the GMs. Since I pretty much did nothing on this, I will say it was creative, thought-provoking, and entertaining. A great show by all of them!! Look for that either Saturday or Sunday.
Before I present the remaining five questions, I will review the ones we went over the last four days.
Best Newcomer
Best Weekly TV Wrestling Program
Best TV Match of 2009
Best Gimmick
Worst Gimmick
Most Underrated Wrestler of the Year
Most Overrated Wrestler of the Year
Best Finisher
Worst Match of the Year
Best Wrestler on the Mic
Best TV Announcer
Best PPV of 2009
Best PPV Match of 2009
Most Popular Wrestler
Most Hated Wrestler
Most Improved Wrestler
Best Feud of the Year
Today, The Faculty members that provided answers to at least a couple of the questions below are:
* 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)
And now, the Final Part of the 2009 Mid-Year Awards!
Question #18:
What is your bold prediction for the second half of 2009? (Something that not a whole lot of fans would see coming)
Joe B. – Mark Henry will wear World Title gold.
David S. – The price of gold will double.
Josh B. – WWE: John Morrison and CM Punk take it to the next level with a big feud, TNA: AJ Styles regains the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound For Glory, ROH: Tyler Black finally wins the ROH Title, International: Mistico finally takes the mask of Averno!, Dragon Gate USA becomes a huge hit!
Jose M. – AJ Styles will win the TNA World Title at Bound for Glory
Anthony V. – WWE: John Morrison will main event on PPV before Survivor Series…..TNA: Kurt Angle will not lose the title until next year………..ROH: Tyler Black, though a good talent, will NOT win the ROH Title this year.
Matt O. – Chris Jericho will turn babyface and battle CM Punk.
Phil C. – MVP wins a world title by year’s end.
Josh P. – I’m not usually good at bold predictions, but if I were to say one would be (aside from Mark Briscoe injuring himself again.. but that’s not really bold, that’s just given) Ted Dibiase Jr. breaks away from Legacy and ends up (at the very minimum) U.S. Champion by the end of the year.
Doug L. – WWE: At least 6 noticeable talents will be released? not low-card talent, noticeable mid-card talent. TNA: All televised events including pay-per-view will be held in the Impact Zone due to budget constraints. ROH: Will have direct relations (possible merging) with a major Japanese federation leading to financial stability.
Chris K. – Ricky Ortiz to be released, Kurt Angle to WWE or Yoshi to have a title shot
Sean H. – A current WWE or TNA wrestler dies.
Mike T. – John Morrison will become World Heavyweight Champion.
Question #19:
Who is the Women’s Wrestler of the Year?
Joe B. – This year’s been pretty bad for women’s wrestling I think. Nothing stands out from anyone although Maryse has been great the past few months character development wise. I dunno… probably MARYSE (WWE). But only cos Beth Phoenix has taken a major back seat this year.
David S. – PORTIA PEREZ (SHIMMER) cause she made it into my Facebook profile picture with me.
Josh B. – ANGELINA LOVE (TNA). She has had a great year this year, both promos and matches wise as well as winning the Knockouts Title twice already this year beating Awesome Kong and Tara both for the belt.
Jose M. – MELINA (WWE).
Anthony V. – ANGELINA LOVE (TNA). I still think the WWE Divas need work and I have not seen much from the ROH front. TNA has the best women’s division around and Angelina has the talent and great mic skills. She is one of the few reasons to watch TNA.
Matt O. – (TIE) ANGELINA LOVE (TNA) AND MARYSE (WWE).
Phil C. – As much as this pains me to say…MARYSE (WWE).
Josh P. – This is a tough one for me because I don’t really watch women’s wrestling all that much, so this will probably be wrong in the eyes of many, but I will just state the one I’ve seen the most of recently and that’s GAIL KIM (WWE).
Doug L. – ANGELINA LOVE (TNA). With her in-ring performance improving after every match and on-camera charisma that makes WWE’s entire female roster look about as engaging as a beige room, Love grabs this honor.
Chris K. – MARYSE (WWE). She has been improving a lot and really making her annoying stuck up gimmick work well.
Sean H. – MARYSE (WWE).
Mike T. – BETH PHOENIX (WWE), who is insanely underutilized.
Question #20:
Who is the Most Outstanding Wrestler? (Pound for Pound)
Joe B. – Again (referring to #22)… got to go with REY MYSTERIO (WWE).
David S. – TYSON KIDD (WWE). He was phenomenal as a singles wrestler then as a member of The Hart Dynasty on ECW and is continuing his success on Smackdown. Pound-for-pound no one can top his kick strikes.
Josh B. – MISTICO (CMLL). I don’t think there’s another wrestler in the world that can drop jaws quite like the unbelievable Mistico can. Everytime he enters the ring, he amazes, and if he is able to wrestle the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title away from Tiger Mask in August Guerrero better look over his shoulder cause Mistico may ease towards that Wrestle of the Year at the end of the year.
Jose M. – KOFI KINGSTON (WWE).
Anthony V. – (TIE) BRYAN DANIELSON (ROH) AND JOHN MORRISON (WWE). These two have put on great matches in their respective promotions almost every time I have seen them.
Matt O. – KURT ANGLE (TNA).
Phil C. – MVP (TNA).
Josh P. – This one has to go to ROH’s NIGEL MCGUINNESS. No one has competed as hard as he had in the ring being injured the way he was. In 2008, his name was synonymous with Ring of Honor and in 2009, he proved that he WAS Ring of Honor, especially at the 7th Anniversary Show where he wrestled with 2 torn biceps and a shoulder injury and still pulled a four star match against KENTA. Despite partial healing, he is back in ROH competing once again. Nigel gets the nod big time.
Doug L. – JOHN MORRISON (WWE). While we have only been seeing him participate in the ring every other week almost, there is groundswell of enthusiasts who see him rising to the top. With jaw-dropping matches against Evan Bourne, Shelton Benjamin, and World Champion CM Punk, it is only inevitable.
Chris K. – CHRIS JERICHO (WWE). He has just been gold in the ring and has been working his gimmick well. His matches have been gold as well. 1 World Title Run, 2 intercontinental run and 1 Tag Team.
Sean H. – SHAWN MICHAELS (WWE).
Mike T. – CHRIS JERICHO (WWE).
Question #21:
Who is the Tag Team of the Year?
**The reason some of them are ?N/A? was because I forgot to add this question in the original ballot. My apologies to those who did not have time to answer**
Joe B. – N/A.
David S. – THE YOUNG BUCKS (ROH, PWG & others) This team first caught my attention as Paul London was talking them up leading into his return match to the Indy scene and honestly I thought they were overrated when I watched the match. Then I saw them in person at ROH and thought they were decent but unnecessarily flippy. Next I was watching Chikara’s King of Trios tournament on DVD and laughed my butt off when they played Hanson’s MmmBop for several minutes before appearing. This past weekend I saw them wrestle for DragonGate USA’s debut show and they stole the show bringing the entire arena, myself included, to our feet. The Young Bucks have come into their own, and their future is now.
Josh B. – BEER MONEY INC. (TNA). They have really come along as a team. Entertaining, great in the ring, and they’ve had several great feuds already with 3D, LAX, and the Brits.
Jose M. – BEER MONEY INC. (TNA).
Anthony V. – BEER MONEY INC. (TNA). They are, in my opinion, the most over tag team this year. I feel sometimes that they are the reason that some TNA fans show up to events.
Matt O. – BEER MONEY INC. (TNA).
Phil C. – Answer: BEER! MONEY! (TNA).
Josh P. – The honors would have to go to TNA’s BEER MONEY INC. They have made the most progression out of any tag team so far in 2009 and have continued to impress. They are, essentially, the backbone of TNA’s tag team division.
Doug L. – N/A.
Chris K. – BEER MONEY INC. (TNA).
Sean H. – MIZMO (WWE)! Beer Money is the worst name for a tag team I may have ever heard in my life, aside from Jumping Bomb Angels…wait, that’s an awesome name.
Mike T. – N/A.
Question #22:
WV Students want to know…Who is, right now, the Wrestler of The Year?
Joe B. – REY MYSTERIO (WWE). Great showing in the RAW Elimination Chamber at No Way Out. Brought the best out of Mike Knox. Phenomenal feud with Jericho and is now working well with Ziggler.
David S. – CM PUNK (WWE). In ring skills are up there with the best of them, and his recent heel turn has just ignited his mic skills even further.
Josh B. – ULTIMO GUERRERO (CMLL). I don’t think anyone anywhere can match the year that Guerrero has had. He’s defended the CMLL Heavyweight Title more times this year alone (4) than the man he beat (Dos Caras Jr.) for the belt did the whole 2 years he had the belt (3). Along with winning he first ever CMLL Universal Champion Tournament which is considered CMLL’s Champion of Champions Tournament that featured every Champion in the company. Also, he took the mask of the legendary Villano V back in March and has had memorable matches/feuds with the likers of Shocker, Mistico, Texano Jr., Blue Panther, Antlantis, and many others. Guerrero is cementing his spot alongside Mistico as the top two men in CMLL this year.
Jose M. – RANDY ORTON (WWE) -Whether you like it or not there has not been a more meaningful wrestling in the business this past half year then “The Legend Killer”.
Anthony V. – CM PUNK (WWE). He won the World and IC titles, with MITB to boot. Not a bad 6 months.
Matt O. – JEFF HARDY (WWE).
Phil C. – So far, gotta go with CM PUNK (WWE).
Josh P. – WWE’s CM PUNK gets the nod from me. His accomplishments speak for themselves and no one has “next main eventer” tattooed to their soul more than CM Punk does. The feuds awaiting him are limitless and even though this is only his second world title reign, I believe there will be many more in this young man’s shining future.
Doug L. – CM PUNK (WWE). Though I would question the entertainment-quality of his matches, I will not question his improving microphone skills or his accomplishments since January: Intercontinental, MITB, and ultimately the World Heavyweight Title
Chris K. – MARK HENRY (WWE). This guy has just been pure awesome this year in the ring and has just bloomed into a awesome worker. He works that big tough guy act well and currently looks like a threat to everyone on the roster.
Sean H. – CM PUNK (WWE).
Mike T. – It’s really tough to pick a Wrestler of the Year. There have been a lot of impressive performers this year. I’d go with Chris Jericho (WWE).
Well, that does it for the first ever 2009 Half-Year Awards by the WrestleView Faculty. Feedback is welcomed of course, at mistervwv@yahoo.com. This weekend, I will create a ballot for the WrestleView students to answer the following questions that we all worked on this week. Also, I will present ?Mr. V’s Wrestling Rankings? this weekend. So, on behalf of the WrestleView Faculty I am the Resident Teacher Anthony J. Valvo saying Thank You!! Thanks for reading our opinions and I hope you enjoyed this piece. Until this weekend, you are…DISMISSED!
Once again, The Faculty thanks you for reading today. The Faculty will see you all once again during our next Predictions from the Faculty.
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