It's time to honor the excellence of 2009. I'll list a winner and a group of four honorable mentions (those listed in alphabetical order). No more intros, let's dive right into it:
Wrestler of the Year
For the wrestler who showed the best all-around aptitude and was most valuable to his company in the year 2009
The Winner: Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho is such a low-key candidate for Wrestler of the Year, especially in the face of what he did in 2008, with several World Title reigns, serious face time and a signature feud with Shawn Michaels which included a few MOTY candidates. Even though it didn't seem like Jericho did a whole lot this year, he meant more to the WWE than anyone else meant to any other company in terms of doing the gruntwork, getting people over and keeping people interested.
When they needed someone to work with the legends in conjunction with The Wrestler, they called on Jericho, and he made it work bigtime, punctuating it with a bloody beatdown of Ric Flair. When they needed someone to make the Intercontinental Championship seem important with a hot feud and teriffic matches, they called on Jericho and Rey Mysterio. They delivered bigtime, by the way. When they needed someone to carry the Unified Tag Team Championships, they called on Jericho, and when his partner got hurt, instead of stripping the titles off him, they angled him another partner. He was the best heel on either brand and worked both shows for a good part of the year. When something needed heat, they threw Jericho at it. That's confidence. That's MVP material.
Honorable Mentions: Austin Aries, CM Punk, John Cena, Kurt Angle
After the jump...Worker of the Year
For the wrestler who showed the best aptitude in the ring as relates to putting on quality matches with marks for psychology, storytelling, moveset and selling
The Winner: Christian
Christian came back to the WWE in February and wasted no time earning this award with his awesome series against Jack Swagger. He shone in Money in the Bank, had excellent matches with Swagger, Finlay, Tommy Dreamer, Zack Ryder, Yoshi Tatsu, William Regal, Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson on ECW, was one of the star players in the Team Kofi vs. Team Orton elimination match at Survivor Series and suffice to say didn't have a bad match all year. His consistency nets him this award, and hopefully, people see him like I do, as an elite worker in the world today.
Honorable Mentions: Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho, John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Jr.
Talker of the Year
For the wrestler who showed the best aptitude in getting himself, angles or other wrestlers over via spoken promos or in backstage skits and angles
The Winner: CM Punk
After starting the year as a milquetoast face who coasted on his indie rep, CM Punk showed that he belonged in the WWE after being unleashed post-heel turn. For the last seven months, Punk has blistered and taunted crowds with his wickedly awesome promos to the point where it doesn't matter if he's facing Jeff Hardy or R-Truth. Punk has arrived, and while he's a good wrestler in the ring, it's his out-of-ring character he has to thank for that.
Honorable Mentions: Austin Aries, Chris Jericho, The Miz, MVP
Woman of the Year
For the woman wrestler who showed the best all-around aptitude and was most valuable to her company in the year 2009
The Winner: Tara
With TNA adding more and more indie women who end up slopping up the joint, it was up to Tara to show them wimmens how it was done, and she did. She brought veteran presence to the ring and along with Awesome Kong and before she lost her visa, Angelina Love, kept the quality profile of the Knockouts higher than the men's side as it has been for awhile now.
Honorable Mentions:Awesome Kong, Beth Phoenix, Mickie James, Sara Del Rey
Indie Wrestler of the Year
For the wrestler not employed by either the WWE or TNA who showed the best all-around aptitude and was most valuable to the indie scene in the year 2009
The Winner: Austin Aries
Aries turned heel this year, and it was the best thing to happen to ROH. His cockier than all hell persona lit up crowds and lit up rings around ROH's territorial reach. While his time as Champion is growing to a close, he may be in the indies for the foreseeable future, unless the WWE decides they don't care about height anymore. Good news for ROH.
Honorable Mentions: Bryan Danielson, Chris Hero, Davey Richards, Mike Quackenbush
Tag Team of the Year
For the tag team who shone brightest in their company or companies in 2009
The Winner: JeriShow (Chris Jericho and the Big Show)
I almost gave this to the Young Bucks because they were everywhere on the indie circuit proving their worth as a money tag team rather than an "up and comer" act, but JeriShow performed better all-around on a much bigger stage albeit for a shorter amount of time. Many times, they were the only reason to tune into RAW.
Honorable Mentions: The American Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards), Beer Money, Inc. (James Storm and Robert Roode), The Colony (Fire Ant and Soldier Ant), The Young Bucks (Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson)
Stable of the Year
For the group of wrestlers who acted most like a team in matches and storylines to gain an end to their common goals
The Winner: Team FIST (Chuck Taylor, Gran Akuma and Icarus)
Stables don't mean what they used to mean in most wrestling promotions, but Chikara is different. That's why it's only fitting that a Chikara trio wins this award. FIST has been the most effective rudo trio in Chikara all year and has been entangled in a few really, really good feuds (vs. the Colony, Akuma vs. Jigsaw). Plus, they were an over King of Trios Champion.
Honorable Mentions: The Colony (Fire Ant, Green Ant and Soldier Ant), Legacy (Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton and Ted DiBiase, Jr.), The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple (Crossbones, Delirious and UltraMantis Black), World Elite (The British Invasion, Homicide, Eric Young, Kiyoshi and Shiek Abdul Bashir)
Breakout Wrestler of the Year
For the wrestler who previously toiled in obscurity but broke out and made a name for himself in the year 2009
The Winner: Sheamus O'Shaunessy
It's amazing what can happen when a wrestler is given a good faith push from jump and put on a stage early. Sheamus could have been a disaster, but aside from some initial roadbumps, he's worked out surprisingly well for the WWE as their flagship Champion.
Honorable Mentions: Frightmare, Kenny King, Yoshi Tatsu, Zack Ryder
Best Face
For the wrestler who exhibited the best babyface character and stayed true to the spirit of being a face
The Winner: Rey Mysterio, Jr.
This is almost no contest. In a world where faces really aren't faces anymore, just heels the fans like to cheer, Mysterio continues to be the best face on the planet just by going out there, amazing the crowd and playing the scrappy underdog so well.
Honorable Mentions: Christian, The Colony, Dasher Hatfield, MVP
Best Heel
For the wrestler who exhibited the best heel character and believably made the crowd hate him for more than just performing in a subpar manner
The Winner: CM Punk
In the same vein as faces being heels who're just popular, the art of heeldom has been watered down over the years to the point where being boring passes for being a "classic heel" (sorry Orton fans). CM Punk reminded everyone that no one likes a sanctimonious jerk and gave crowds everywhere reason to boo the shit out of him when he stepped into a ring, tapped on the mic and began speaking into it.
Honorable Mentions: Austin Aries, Chris Jericho, The Miz, The Osirian Portal
Funnyman of the Year
For the wrestler who had the best success making us laugh intentionally or unintentionally
The Winner: Santino Marella
Glamarella and SantinoMaster were two of the many pieces of evidence of Santino's worth for this award. He's one of the few guys in wrestling who has legitimately humorous charisma.
Honorable Mentions: Cody Deaner, Dasher Hatfield, Delirious, Scott Steiner
Import of the Year
For the wrestler who came over from a fed outside of the US or Canada and made an impact in a limited tour of duty
The Winner: Kota Ibushi
Ibushi was over here for only a handful of dates, but he made efficient use of his time. During King of Trios, there wasn't a wrestler who wowed the crowds with as much flash and brilliance as Ibushi did over all three nights.
Honorable Mentions: BxB Hulk, CIMA, KENTA, Mascarita Dorada
Cameo of the Year
For the retired wrestler who gave the most memorable appearance in a short return, be it in or out of the ring
The Winner: Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
Who knew that the Dragon had it left in him? Most of us were just happy to see him get his due and get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, but he had at least three really good matches left in him. It left our imaginations hungry for what a prime Steamboat vs. prime Jericho feud could have been.
Honorable Mentions: Arn Anderson, Irwin R. Schyster, Johnny Saint, Mae Young
Feud of the Year
For the feud that gave the fans the best combination of intensity, believabililty, quality interaction and wrestling
The Winner: CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy
The best feuds always straddle the line between real life and worked hatred. Punk preaching against Hardy's reckless, drug-fueled lifestyle could very well have been a shoot (especially in the wake of what happened to Hardy AFTER he left the company), which added an edge to the feud that wasn't replicated anywhere else in wrestling. IT also produced some pretty major moments, like Punk cashing in Money in the Bank on Hardy, Punk's scathing straight edge promo where he claimed that his eye medication was the only foreign substance he let into his body, and the kicker moment, which we'll be getting to in just a few awards...
Honorable Mentions: Chris Jericho vs. The Legends, Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio, Jr., The Colony vs. Team FIST, Goldust vs. Sheamus
Announcer of the Year
For the announcer who did the best to call the action, add his insight, put over what was going on and be a comforting, familiar voice over hte action in the ring
The Winner: Matt Striker
While most WWE announcers do the disservice of ignoring anything that didn't happen in any Titan-owned video vault, Striker truly embraces the concept of a "WWE Universe" by giving us wrestling nuggets from all around the world and all across the spectrum of wrestling history. He really adds so much to any broadcast he's calling, and I think he's the future of wrestling announcing.
Honorable Mentions: Bryce Remsburg, Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross, UltraMantis Black
RAW Guest Host of the Year
For the personality who did the best stint as guest host of the WWE's flagship television program
The Winner: Ted DiBiase, Sr.
This is more of a temporary category, but with the success of the guest host experiment, it's nice to honor the best of the bunch. I picked the Million Dollar Man because of his command of the microphone and because of his use throughout the show as the driving force of one of the main angles (his son's struggle for identity in Legacy). However, both Green and Shaq almost took this spot.
Honorable Mentions: Bob Barker, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Seth Green, Shaquille O'Neal
Moment of the Year
For the in-character moment that wowed, amazed, shocked or entertained the crowd the best
The Winner: Jeff Hardy delivering a Swanton Bomb to CM Punk off the ladder through the announce table at SummerSlam
In many ways, this was the perfect end to the perfect feud, Jeff Hardy going for it all, sacrificing his body to take out his hated rival, the man who preached against his lifestyle, only to ultimately have it cost him in the end, proving Punk right all along. Yeah, Hardy has made a career of jaw-dropping spots, but none were more a propos than this one.
Honorable Mentions: Batista telling Rey Mysterio, Jr. he was going to rip his head off at WWE Bragging Rights, The BDK's unveiling at Chikara's Three-Fisted Tales, the double Attitude Adjustment by John Cena on Edge and Big Show at WWE WrestleMania 25, Kofi Kingston destroying Randy Orton's stock car
Surprise of the Year
For the real life moment or booking decision that left the audience stunned
The Winner: Shane McMahon leaves the WWE
Of all the people you'd expect to leave the fold of the WWE, how many thought it'd be Papa McMahon's oldest boy? The signs were there in retrospect, but for Shane to walk away from the company he grew up in still makes people wonder what his family did drive him away. The only thing that might be able to top this would be if Shane showed up tonight on the special Impact and really went into competition with his dad.
Honorable Mentions: Angelina Love loses her visa, Bret Hart signs with the WWE, Hulk Hogan signs with TNA, Sheamus is booked to win the WWE Championship after only six months of being in the bigs
Angle of the Year
For the best quality wrestling storyline in any North American promotion in 2009
The Winner: The Eye of Tyr and the BDK in Chikara
This was a very clever, very subtle angle that ran all year in Chikara. This is the kind of angle you find in e-feds, an all-encompassing theme and yet it still didn't dominate the fed until the very last show. It makes people look back and ask questions about what they saw throughout the whole year. Well-executed and far from over, actually.
Honorable Mentions: The Austin Aries Lethal Lottery, Big Show as Smackdown's double agent at Bragging Rights, RAW goes commercial free, The Tommy Dreamer retirement tour
Brand/Promotion of the Year
For the best combination of match quality, storyline quality, production values, announcing and cohesion among North American wrestling promotions or WWE brand in 2009
The Winner: ECW
This was a very hard decision, actually. Do I give this award to Chikara, who had the most consistently entertaining live shows, but was operating at a far more sparse schedule, or do I give it to ECW, which delivered every week, but who had a lot of filler because of its status as the WWE's C show? It was difficult, but I went with ECW, mainly because they had to deliver for national television and because they had to go every week. There's way more pressure to perform, and when they weren't using the air time to recap what happened on RAW or show trailers for shitty WWE movies, the wrestling action was really, really good. The personalities that were given chances to shine generally shone with few exceptions. I really, really hope that the WWE reconsiders and lets ECW stay the way it is. It really is the best wrestling on television on a weekly basis, total package.
Honorable Mentions: Chikara Pro Wrestling, Dragon Gate USA, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, Smackdown
Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography
