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| A big portion of 2010's goodness Photo Credit: WWE.com |
It's December, so it's time to be making lists and reflecting upon the year that passed. If you remember, last year marked the beginning of a tradition fof TWB, The Year End BLOWOUT~!. This year will follow the same sort of format. Forecasts/reviews for feds, Sorting Bins, the match list and of course, the BLOGGIE Awards. This year, I'm going to do the awards a bit differently. I'm going to announce the nominees in the first official BLOWOUT post and reveal the winners in the last. So, without further ado...
TWB Presents
The Nominees for the 2010 BLOGGIE Awards
Wrestler of the Year
For the wrestler who showed the best all-around aptitude and was most valuable to his company in the year 2010
And the nominees are...
Daniel Bryan
John Cena
Kane
The Miz
Sheamus
No surprises here. Yeah, they're all WWE guys excepting Bryan, who was in both WWE and the indies this year, but at the same time, the highlight indie singles wrestler this year was Tyler Black, with whom I wasn't enamored at all. Also, TNA did a great job of running a wrestling company and really getting no one over.
2009 Winner: Chris Jericho
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
And the nominees are...
Daniel Bryan
CM Punk
Kaval
Chris Masters
Kevin Steen
This was probably the toughest list to cull. There were a lot of strong workers this year that didn't make it for various reasons. Pinkie Sanchez has been used as a fodder worker everywhere but in Chikara it seems, where he's been excellent. Mike Quackenbush was great but on too few cards (for good reason). Evan Bourne, Christian and Jigsaw were all hit with the injury bug at points. John Cena didn't have as many good free TV matches this year and his only real standout match that I can think of was against Batista at WrestleMania. Rey Mysterio was still great, but he felt stale this year. Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin both had a great run as a tag team, but they also had the misfortune of being in TNA for most of the year. I think my list was as good as I could get it. Bryan and Kaval need no explanation. Punk was hit with injuries too, but I think his high end stuff before he got hurt was some of the best wrestling in the last few years. Steen was the best wrestler in ROH by far, and he was doing things that other guys either couldn't or wouldn't do in terms of heel work, sadism or even just intangible stuff. Masters may seem like the black sheep pick, but if you watched Superstars like I did, well, you'd know the score on him. He just doesn't have a bad match anymore. Ever.
2009 Winner: Christian
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
And the nominees are...
Wade Barrett
Kane
The Miz
MVP
Sheamus
The art of the promo is declining, but I think the five guys listed here are good enough stand out from the pack. Miz, MVP and RED BELLY all are academic, but the other two are there for a reason. Kane was on fire with his promo work, especially after Undertaker went into a vegitative state (ugh). Sheamus went out and cut some great promos this year, especially in the summertime. Goofy accent aside, and you have a guy who can be a cornerstone for years to come.
2009 Winner: CM Punk
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
And the nominees are...
Sara del Rey
Madison Eagles
Daizee Haze
Natalya Neidhart
Madison Rayne
Four of the spots - Rayne, Haze, del Rey and Eagles - were academic for me. The last spot was what gave me trouble. There were a lot of deserving candidates. Tara, Mickie James, Angelina Love, Alison Danger, either one of the Canadian Ninjas, Serena, hell, even Beth Phoenix for getting an elimination in the Rumble. But I went with Nattie by a hair.
2009 Winner: Tara
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
And the nominees are...
Claudio Castagnoli
Chris Hero
Davey Richards
Kevin Steen
Roderick Strong
I know, I know, Tyler Black is missing but really, I think his impact on the indies is a bit overrated and he didn't impress me enough to want to put him on here on merit. DR approaches that overrated air, but I think he's had enough good matches and has done enough character work to make it. The other seem academic. I didn't put Danielson here because he was mostly a WWE wrestler this year. I don't think his indie sabbatical is enough to put him here.
2009 Winner: Austin Aries
Tag Team of the Year
For the tag team who shone brightest in their company or companies in 2009
And the nominees are...
Canadian Ninjas (Portia Perez, Nicole Matthews)
Kings of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Hero)
Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin)
¡Peligro Abejas! (El Generico, Paul London)
Young Bucks/Generation Me (Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson)
First thing you should mention? No WWE tag teams. It was and wasn't on purpose. It was a statement to show my dissatisfaction at the WWE's use of tags, but also, what tag team really stood out? ShowMiz was together too short, DX dissolved when HBK retired, the Harts were buried and Nexus was more a stable than a tag team working cohesively. Anyway, I almost put Beer Money on here over the Bucks, but the Bucks worked great in TNA and the indies in important feuds and matches all over the place. Beer Money has had a tendency to get lost in the shuffle in TNA. Also, that's not a misprint. The Canadian Ninjas are supposed to be there. Deal with it.
2009 Winners: JeriShow (Chris Jericho and the Big Show)
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
And the nominees are...
Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (Ares, Claudio Castagnoli, Tursas, Sara del Rey, Daizee Haze, Pinkie Sanchez, Tim Donst, Lince Dorado, Delirious, Dieter von Stiegerwalt, Derek Sabato, Jakob Hammermeir)
The Colony (Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, Green Ant)
Immortal (Hulk Hogan, Jeff Hardy, Eric Bischoff, Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Ric Flair, AJ Styles, James Storm, Robert Roode, Kazarian, other intermittent members)
Nexus (Wade Barrett, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, David Otunga, other intermittent members)
World-1 (BxB Hulk, Masato Yoshino, Homicide, PAC, other intermittent members)
Seemed like a big year for invader stables. The BDK and Nexus are the clear favorites here, but the other three were strong in all their own ways.
2009 Winners: Team FIST (Chuck Taylor, Gran Akuma, Icarus)
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 2010
And the nominees are...
Wade Barrett
Adam Cole
Alberto del Rio
Chris Dickinson
Percy Watson
There are two clear favorites in this category as well. One came from under the umbrella of NXT, while the other took of his mask after signing with WWE. NXT did provide a lot of potential breakout stars, but other than RED BELLY and guys like Bryan and Kaval who were already established elsewhere, Percy Watson may have had the most impact. Skip Sheffield might have been here had he not gotten hurt. Cole really took a step forward in the indies this year, and Dickinson made a big impact in EVOLVE and JAPW.
2009 Winner: Sheamus
Face of the Year
For the wrestler who exhibited the best babyface character and stayed true to the spirit of being a face
And the nominees are...
Daniel Bryan
John Cena
The Colony
El Generico
Rey Mysterio
I'm pretty sure this is the first category where the winner last year has a chance to repeat. Anyway, the face is a tricky proposition in this day and age because fans boo heelish behavior, but I thought these guys did the best of doing the things faces do.
2009 Winner: Rey Mysterio
Heel of the Year
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
And the nominees are...
Wade Barrett
RJ Brewer
Canadian Ninjas
Kane
Kevin Steen
Wow, a Lucha Libre USA sighting! Yeah, Brewer might have been cheap heat, but it was edgy enough for me to recognize it. Steen did some of the best heel work of the year, upping his game to levels of sadism that I think are among the best. Kane and Barrett were the WWE's best heels, and the Ninjas get credit for the way they harangued poor Allison Danger.
2009 Winner: CM Punk
Comedian of the Year
For the wrestler who had the best success making us laugh intentionally or unintentionally
And the nominees are...
Colt Cabana/Matt Classic
Vladimir Kozlov
LuFisto
Santino Marella
Joey Ryan
Humor in wrestling can be touchy, but it's difficult to do well. Notice Hornswoggle isn't nominated.
2009 Winner: Santino Marella
Guest of the Year
For the wrestler/personality who made an impact despite being on the American stage for a limited time, be it as a guest host, a cameo appearance or an import from other countries
And the nominees are...
Rowdy Roddy Piper
Daisuke Sekimoto
William Shatner
Sgt. Slaughter
Manami Toyota
I'm combining three categories this year, because really, do we need to document three different categories in the same spirit? I THINK NOT. It might be disingenuous to compare what Daisuke Sekimoto meant to his guest appearance to what William Shatner did to his, but hey, I never said these were perfect.
2009 Winner: Santino Marella
Feud of the Year
For the feud that gave the fans the best combination of intensity, believabililty, quality interaction and wrestling
And the nominees are...
BDK vs. Chikara
Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz/Michael Cole
John Cena vs. The Nexus
CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
El Generico and Colt Cabana vs. Kevin Steen and Steve Corino
There were some doozies of feuds in there. I mean, announcer feuds usually never work, but the Cole vs. Bryan aspect of the second feud listed was actually actualized really well and helped get both Bryan and Cole over better than they were before.
2009 Winner: CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy
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 the action in the ring
And the nominees are...
Michael Cole
Excalibur
Lenny Leonard
Bryce Remsburg
UltraMantis Black
If CM Punk were an announcer all year, he'd win this running away. However, I couldn't nominate him on one week of NXT and a month of RAW, so here we go with this crop. Don't laugh with Cole. He was actually really entertaining after he turned heel, even if he didn't get the product over as much as some might have liked.
2009 Winner: Matt Striker
Moment of the Year
For the in-character moment that wowed, amazed, shocked or entertained the crowd the best
And the nominees are...
The Colony Defeats the BDK on Night Two of King of Trios
Daniel Bryan Returns to WWE at SummerSlam
El Generico Is Unmasked against His Will
The Nexus Debuts on RAW
Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart Embrace, Burying the Hatchet after Years of Enmity
Some good moments in there, some with storyline implications, some for shock value and one just for the edginess to the reality and the good vibes it set forth.
2009 Winner: Jeff Hardy delivering the Swanton Bomb off the ladder to CM Punk
Promotion/Brand 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
And the nominees are...
Chikara Pro Wrestling
Friday Night Smackdown
Monday Night RAW
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
SHIMMER Women Athletes
Both WWE brands are represented here for different reasons. RAW delivered with storyline stuff on a regular enough basis, while Smackdown had some of the best free-TV wrestling all year. Chikara and PWG are self-explanatory, and SHIMMER rounds it out over ROH by a hair because their lanky, awkward-looking Champion did more for me than ROH's lanky, awkward-looking Champion.
2009 Winner: ECW
So, there you have it, your BLOGGIE Nominees for this year. The winners will be announced December 29th, the last day of posting for 2010, as I'm going on vacation for New Year's up to the Pocono Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Just putting it out there, I hope I give you guys enough advance notice on that radio silence (through January 2nd) that you don't go through withdrawal.
Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!
