2009 WrestleViewMid-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 1)
Greeting to all, WrestleView students! It is I once again, the WrestleView.com resident teacher Anthony J. Valvo and along with the Faculty, we have presented in our words who are the best (and sometimes worst) of 2009.
Before I continue, allow me to apologize for not providing this sooner. Let me explain why I did not bring this in sooner…
I worked on this piece for the past two weeks along with doing the Predictions article and my weekly column. After I completed this, I noticed one thing about my mid-year column. It stunk! It was terrible. It was 20+ pages of my rambling. Something was missing with this column. After a few days, I knew what was wrong. It was too one-sided. So I sent a 20 question survey to the WrestleView Faculty and I am blessed to have a few of the WrestleView professors provide me with their thoughts.
So, a few days this week and I give you our thoughts on 4 or 5 questions that The Faculty answered in the survey I handed out to them. After all questions are published, I will provide you with my rankings based on points (which is going to be highly debatable, but no worries). Please look over all of our answers and if you want to provide your choice, you can e-mail me at mistervwv@yahoo.com. I may post some of the students? answers in a later edition of the piece. Don?t be upset if I don?t post all of them on the website. The professors can be awfully busy at times on WrestleView.
So, please allow me to introduce Part 1…
The Faculty members that participated in Part 1 of this survey are:
* 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)
* Mike Tedesco (WWE Superstars and Smackdown recapper)
Question #1
Who is the best Newcomer of 2009?
**I think it was Josh B. that did this and I forgot to originally ask this question to the WV Faculty, My apologies to the Faculty on this one.**
Josh B. – THE HART DYNASTY (WWE).
Jose M. – JACK SWAGGER (WWE).
Anthony V. – TYSON KIDD (WWE). I am going with someone who made their debut in the WWE in 2009. Kidd to me is the one so far that stood out this year.
Matt O. – N/A.
Phil C. – TYSON KIDD (WWE).
Josh P. – N/A.
Doug L. – TYSON KIDD (WWE). There is potential with him but don?t chug the Kool-Aid? give him time. Not just in his talents, but in patience with the organization.
Chris K. – N/A.
Mike T. – N/A.
Question #2
Which Wrestling TV Show is the best so far in 2009?
Josh B. – TNA IMPACT (TNA).
Jose M. – FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN (WWE).
Anthony V. – FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN (WWE). Though they may have lost the main event talent during the WWE Draft, Smackdown was able to elevate some mid-card talent into the main event talent. Besides, in my weekly column the WV students and I have Smackdown as the #1 Overall Show in the ?Weekly TV Wars?.
Matt O. – FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN (WWE).
Phil C. – Gotta go with RAW (WWE), has been very consistent.
Josh P. – While ROH on HDNet is phenomenal for the niche fan that loves nothing but wrestling and while TNA iMPACT! is…….. anyway… the best program I would have to say, hands down, right now, is WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN (WWE)!. No offense to the flagship show of the ‘E, but there have been some great trades, some great matches, and the show has housed the 2009 1/2 Way Feud of the Year in my eyes… so Smackdown! gets the nod from me.
Doug L. – ECW (WWE). Packing three matches into an hour-long show and still have the strong flux of new talent that it has been producing, there is no question.
Chris K. – ECW/WWE SUPERSTARS (WWE).
Mike T. – FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN (WWE). That may just be my personal bias but probably not. It has been consistently solid all year.
Question #3
What match should be deemed the TV (non-PPV) Match of the Year?
Josh B. – KURT ANGLE VS. DANIELS when Daniels made his return (TNA).
Jose M. – The first JOHN MORRISON VS. CM PUNK match at Smackdown (WWE).
Anthony V. – LYNN VS. DANIELSON VS. ARIES VS. BLACK (ROH). The only thing that was wrong in this match was the fans that were unappreciated of the result of the contest, in which Jerry Lynn successfully defended it by pinning Bryan Danielson.
Matt O. – N/A.
Phil C. – CENA VS. BIG SHOW from Smackdown (WWE) (sometime in February).
Josh P. – Even though it aired about a week before this E-Mail was sent out to the WrestleView staff, I am going to have to say JERRY LYNN VS. TYLER BLACK VS. AUSTIN ARIES VS. BRYAN DANIELSON (ROH) that aired on ROH on HDNet. Two of ROH’s top aces, the (now former) world champion, and Tyler Black put on an incredible 4 way match that made me re-watch it more than any match so far in 2009.
Doug L. – JOHN MORRISON VS. EVAN BOURNE (ECW 4/14) (WWE). This was a post-draft contest and one that I definitely consider to be the best televised match so far this year, showcasing the outstanding talents of two young performers with an infinite amount of potential in the near future.
Chris K. – JOHN MORRISON VS. EVAN BOURNE (WWE) just after the WWE Draft.
Mike T. – REY MYSTERIO VS. CHRIS JERICHO for the Intercontinental Championship (Smackdown, July 3 (WWE)). Fantastic match! It was a pleasure to recap it and I gave it *** 3/4 out of a possible four.
Question #4
Who has the best gimmick of 2009?
Josh B. – SUICIDE (TNA).
Jose M. – THE MIZ (WWE).
Anthony V. – CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI (ROH) – There is something about this gimmick that I mark out since it reminds me of the good old days. I love the ?Very European? gimmick and he plays it off really well.
Matt O. – THE UNDERTAKER (WWE).
Phil C. – CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI (ROH)…it’s just awesome, and very European.
Josh P. – There are lots of great gimmicks.. ones that are entertaining, ones that are serious, but the one that stands out to me the most is one that I have voted for twice so far in this questioniare and that is “A Double” AUSTIN ARIES (ROH).
Doug L. – CM PUNK (WWE). His ?holier than thou? persona mixed in with a hint of sportsmanship hypocrisy make for a great character.
Chris K. – ummmm?damn. FACE JOHN MORRISON (WWE)
Mike T. – CHRIS JERICHO (WWE). What a character!
Question #5
Who has the worst gimmick of 2009?
Josh B. – CODY DEANER (TNA).
Jose M. – ERIC YOUNG (TNA).
Anthony V. – ERIC YOUNG (TNA) – Seriously…how many gimmick changes can one man have. Maybe his next one will actually pan out and I can pick Santina as the worst gimmick.
Matt O. – N/A
Phil C. – SHANE SEWELL (TNA)?the wrestling referee.
Josh P. – Grab a knife and stab a man! HAH!? HAH!? HAH!?… need I say more? SAMOA JOE (TNA).
Doug L. – ERIC YOUNG (TNA). I have no idea what he is doing, why he does it, or why he is actually considered a talent to need so many switches. I can only imagine the numerous hours of therapy he must need for personality switches he does. ?Hey, we need someone to think that God is in a jar of peanut butter and starts to attack faces or heels for no reason whatsoever?. Get Eric!?
Chris K. – PRETTY RICKY/ABRAHAM WASHINGTON (WWE)
Mike T. – R-TRUTH?S (WWE) Pretty Ricky is pretty horrible.
So, this concludes Part 1 of the Best (and worst) of 2009! On behalf of my WrestleView peers, I bit you good day (or night). Until tomorrow students, you are officially?DISMISSED!!
And as always, The Faculty thanks you for reading!
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