My 2007 Year End WWE Awards
Following in the footsteps of co-editor John Sefcik, here are my Year End Awards for the WWE:
Wrestler of the Year:
John Cena
Yeah, he missed the last few months due to injury, but to me Cena continues to carry this company, and as I have stated before maybe his injury could be a blessing in the long run since it will make people miss him and before you know it he'll be back. Once he's back, he'll be right back in the main event scene where he belongs. He's one guy that on the injury front has been missed more than the others that got hurt this past year.
Card of the Year:
WrestleMania 23
This had better be the card of the year each and every year, as if it's not, the company is in deep trouble. I thought the overall look of Ford Field was really well done, as was the booking except for one lumbering match with Khali and Kane. The main events had so much heat and emotion you couldn't help but love them. A great crowd, great card, and a great job by the company. Makes me wonder what the heck they will do in Orlando this March.
Tag Team of the Year:
MVP and Matt Hardy
A weak year in this department, and overall the choices were somewhat limited, with Deuce and Domonio, London and Kendrick, Yang and Moore, The Hardys and Cade and Murdoch. While the tag team feud of the year had to be the Hardys and Cade and Murdoch, no team really had a strong run like MVP and Hardy, even though you knew the eventual outcome. I think this year we'll see Hawkins and Ryder, along with Yang and Moore dominate this division.
Face of the Year:
Undertaker
He doesn't have to do much to draw a pop, other really than to show up and do his same routine over and over, but the fans love it. Should be much of the same in 2008, as he will be involved in the main event feud that should eventually lead him into another co-main event at Mania with Edge. Batista, DX, Cena and C.M. Punk should also get some nods in this department.
Heel of the Year:
Randy Orton
The "Legend Killer" took his character to a whole new level, and along with Edge these two really dominated this department. Orton also was rewarded with a World Title, and he deserved that as well with the injury to Cena being the key for him to get the belt. While the first part of the title reign with a program with Chris Jericho has been kinda flat, it has picked up with a solid program with Jeff Hardy.
Match of the Year:
Shawn Michaels vs John Cena on Raw in London
This was what the title and wrestling was all about. These two put forth a great show that lasted nearly an hour, and in the end was won by Michaels. It was a non-title match, so no belt change, but the impact was felt as it clearly was the best match of the year. The writers should consider doing longer, impact matches on TV like this more often, as it really kept the attention of viewers for the entire second half of the show.
Biggest Disappointment
Jericho's Return
For something that not only was talked about for so long, but leaked for so long, it came across as totally flat when it happened. The company dropped the ball totally on this one, as they waited WAY too long for him to finally show up on TV, and by then there was not many people who didn't know he was coming back. His initial promo with Randy Orton was also way off the mark from the one he did upon his debut years ago with the Rock.
Feud of the Year:
Michaels vs Cena
These two really did it all, from tag champs, to main eventing Mania, to a match of the year iron man type match at RAW, there wasn't much left for Michaels and Cena to do other than to wrap up the feud. That couldn't be done due to a knee injury for HBK, and we were robbed from Michaels vs Cena III at SummerSlam or another summer PPV. It was good while it lasted, and had two of the great matches of the year in their Mania battle and the one at RAW.
Diva of the Year:
Beth Phoenix
In the mold of Chyna, Phoenix came back from an injury and dominated the last quarter of the year with the WWE Womens Title. She also got better in the ring and showed that she should hang around the womens scene for sometime. This is a tough division right now with no real women wrestlers other than Phoenix, Mickie James and Candice Michelle, who also gets some consideration here.
Newcomer of the Year:
Cody Rhodes
You knew with his presence at the WWE Hall of Fame when he and Goldust introduced their Dad, that Cody would eventually make a splash. It started slow, as unlike some newcomers, he really took his bumps as well as his share of losses, but he rebounded in the second half of his first year with a solid tag team with Bob Holly and a tag title run that is still on-going.
Surprise of the Year:
The Shift of ECW
By surprise, I should clarify that with the shift of the show, I am still surprised a bit that it's even on the air. There were a few days when it looked as if the WWE's third brand would be bye-bye, as they announced that they would be showing the show on WWE.com. But then they regrouped, got a new deal with Sci-Fi, and are now shifting talent between ECW and SmackDown, which is what they should have done all along. Plus they finally did the right thing and gave a deserving C.M. Punk the title.
Wrestler of the Year:
John Cena
Yeah, he missed the last few months due to injury, but to me Cena continues to carry this company, and as I have stated before maybe his injury could be a blessing in the long run since it will make people miss him and before you know it he'll be back. Once he's back, he'll be right back in the main event scene where he belongs. He's one guy that on the injury front has been missed more than the others that got hurt this past year.
Card of the Year:
WrestleMania 23
This had better be the card of the year each and every year, as if it's not, the company is in deep trouble. I thought the overall look of Ford Field was really well done, as was the booking except for one lumbering match with Khali and Kane. The main events had so much heat and emotion you couldn't help but love them. A great crowd, great card, and a great job by the company. Makes me wonder what the heck they will do in Orlando this March.
Tag Team of the Year:
MVP and Matt Hardy
A weak year in this department, and overall the choices were somewhat limited, with Deuce and Domonio, London and Kendrick, Yang and Moore, The Hardys and Cade and Murdoch. While the tag team feud of the year had to be the Hardys and Cade and Murdoch, no team really had a strong run like MVP and Hardy, even though you knew the eventual outcome. I think this year we'll see Hawkins and Ryder, along with Yang and Moore dominate this division.
Face of the Year:
Undertaker
He doesn't have to do much to draw a pop, other really than to show up and do his same routine over and over, but the fans love it. Should be much of the same in 2008, as he will be involved in the main event feud that should eventually lead him into another co-main event at Mania with Edge. Batista, DX, Cena and C.M. Punk should also get some nods in this department.
Heel of the Year:
Randy Orton
The "Legend Killer" took his character to a whole new level, and along with Edge these two really dominated this department. Orton also was rewarded with a World Title, and he deserved that as well with the injury to Cena being the key for him to get the belt. While the first part of the title reign with a program with Chris Jericho has been kinda flat, it has picked up with a solid program with Jeff Hardy.
Match of the Year:
Shawn Michaels vs John Cena on Raw in London
This was what the title and wrestling was all about. These two put forth a great show that lasted nearly an hour, and in the end was won by Michaels. It was a non-title match, so no belt change, but the impact was felt as it clearly was the best match of the year. The writers should consider doing longer, impact matches on TV like this more often, as it really kept the attention of viewers for the entire second half of the show.
Biggest Disappointment
Jericho's Return
For something that not only was talked about for so long, but leaked for so long, it came across as totally flat when it happened. The company dropped the ball totally on this one, as they waited WAY too long for him to finally show up on TV, and by then there was not many people who didn't know he was coming back. His initial promo with Randy Orton was also way off the mark from the one he did upon his debut years ago with the Rock.
Feud of the Year:
Michaels vs Cena
These two really did it all, from tag champs, to main eventing Mania, to a match of the year iron man type match at RAW, there wasn't much left for Michaels and Cena to do other than to wrap up the feud. That couldn't be done due to a knee injury for HBK, and we were robbed from Michaels vs Cena III at SummerSlam or another summer PPV. It was good while it lasted, and had two of the great matches of the year in their Mania battle and the one at RAW.
Diva of the Year:
Beth Phoenix
In the mold of Chyna, Phoenix came back from an injury and dominated the last quarter of the year with the WWE Womens Title. She also got better in the ring and showed that she should hang around the womens scene for sometime. This is a tough division right now with no real women wrestlers other than Phoenix, Mickie James and Candice Michelle, who also gets some consideration here.
Newcomer of the Year:
Cody Rhodes
You knew with his presence at the WWE Hall of Fame when he and Goldust introduced their Dad, that Cody would eventually make a splash. It started slow, as unlike some newcomers, he really took his bumps as well as his share of losses, but he rebounded in the second half of his first year with a solid tag team with Bob Holly and a tag title run that is still on-going.
Surprise of the Year:
The Shift of ECW
By surprise, I should clarify that with the shift of the show, I am still surprised a bit that it's even on the air. There were a few days when it looked as if the WWE's third brand would be bye-bye, as they announced that they would be showing the show on WWE.com. But then they regrouped, got a new deal with Sci-Fi, and are now shifting talent between ECW and SmackDown, which is what they should have done all along. Plus they finally did the right thing and gave a deserving C.M. Punk the title.
Labels: john cena, shannon moore, shawn michaels, wrestlemania 23
