The Best of 2006...sez me.
I'm not an Observer subscriber, but that doesn't mean I can't fill out my own ballot, by god! Please...add your own vote, or at least call me a brain dead douchebag based on my votes. After all, your taste in wrestling might not be as refined as mine, rendering you unable to see why I'm always right. Or something.
Lou Thesz/Ric Flair award for the top overall performer
1. John Cena
2. Bryan Danielson
3. Chris Hero
I'd like to place Danielson on top, but I just don't think you can legitimately not have Cena in that slot. Hero is the MVP of the entire indy scene. Where he goes (which is pretty much *everywhere*), good things follow.
Biggest Box Office Draw
Abstention, if only because I'm not including MMA here and I've not seen enough from Japan or Mexico to judge fairly.
Feud of the Year
1. John Cena v. Edge
2. Ring of Honor v. Combat Zone Wrestling
3. Samoa Joe v. Scott Steiner
I've gotta go with Cena/Edge here. In an era of quick, meaningless feuds that are forgotten a week later, they managed to have a heat (and hate) filled series of matches that I think shocked the Cena haters out there. Edge brings out the best in him (and I'm not sure that doesn't work both ways). ROH/CZW was almost an interpromotional feud done right (it was on ROH's part. CZW's? Not so much.). Again, full of hate and dickishness and violence. Everything I want out of wrestling. I've raved about Joe/Steiner before, so you know why I love that one…
Tag Team of the Year
1. Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli)
2. LAX (Homicide & Hernandez w/Konnan)
3. Brian Kendrick & Paul London
Really, the gap between KOW and number two is absolutely immense. Any other year, LAX wins this running away, but Hero/Claudio have been absolutely golden this year. Through multiple companies and regardless of who they work, you're almost guaranteed a great match. KOW is the best tag team in years.
Most Improved
1. Delirious
2. Jeff Hardy
3. Josh Abercrombie
Delirious went from being pretty much a comedy act to being an excellent wrestler capable of working any style with anyone. Hardy is more of a comeback kid, I guess, but comparing his lackluster TNA stuff to his current work is like night and day.
Best on Interviews
1. Samoa Joe
2. Eddie Kingston
3. Kevin Nash
Joe and King bring such a quiet intensity to their promos. They're not out there delivering Rock-worthy promos, but when Joe says he's going to kick some dude's ass, I believe it. And that's what wrestling is all about to me…belief. Kingston is absolutely the best in the entire world at bringing emotion to his character and the angles he works. Nash still brings the funny better than anyone in the business.
Most Charismatic
1. John Cena
2. Christian Cage
3. Delirious
Cena is head and shoulders above the rest. Love him or hate him, you can't deny his presence in the ring. Christian is the best of a sorry TNA lot. The Delirious character is amazing. It shouldn't work and wouldn't work for most people, but he absolutely nails it and has the crowd in the palm of his hand…
Best Technical Wrestler
1. Mike Quackenbush
2. Nigel McGuinness
3. Bryan Danielson
Quack deserves more hype. He's that good. From the intricate, hard nosed European influenced matwork to the slightly goofier Lucha matwork, he can really do it all and do it all well. I'm glad that Nigel finally broke out in 2006, because he's another guy who is just so good at what he does. I don't really need to blow any more smoke up Danielson's ass, so I won't say anything at all.
Bruiser Brody Memorial Award for Best Brawler
1. Necro Butcher
2. David "Fit" Finlay
3. Super Dragon
Necro is another no-brainer to me. He's willing to do pretty much anything in the ring. Not to get himself over, but to get the *match* over. And he does so with little that's more complicated than punching dudes in the face. Finlay's the smarter worker, certainly, but in a flat out brawl, Necro is the guy.
Best Flying Wrestler
1. Jack Evans
2. AJ Styles
3. Ricochet
Evans is just on another level. His foray to Dragon Gate has brought with it an added crispness to his offense that was all that ever really held him back from being the best highflyer of his generation. Styles is more high impact, but certainly incorporates the flippy stuff into his offense much more smoothly than Evans. The last word in this category is, "wrestler," after all. Ricochet is the breathtaking young guy that will either get 1000% better over the next few years, or land on his head after a double moonsault never to be heard from again. But his highspots are just awe inducing when he manages to actually hit them clean.
Most Overrated
1. Christian Cage
2. Austin Aries
3. Alex Shelley
Don't get me wrong…I love Christian more than most. But the idea that he was going to pop up in TNA and be a main even superstud that carried the company was ludicrous from the start. He's a talented upper midcard guy who gets by on humor. Nothing wrong with that, but he's not going to anchor the company now or ever. I've yet to see anything from Aries that screams superstar to me. Shelley is fun, but he gets hyped as "the next Chris Jericho," which he did nothing in 2006 to inherit. He had a good match versus Danielson at Arena Warfare, but it's the only notable match he had all year. The PCS skits are funny and frequently save Impact, but it's doing nothing for his career.
Most Underrated
1. Mike Quackenbush
2. Hallowicked
3. Jigsaw
It's a sweep. CHIKARA is absolutely the most underrated company in the world. So much good wrestling that next to no one is seeing. Seriously, I'm *begging* you to check out some CHIKARA shows. You really won't regret it.
Promotion of the Year
1. Ring of Honor
2. CHIKARA
3. WWE (Smackdown in particular)
It pains me to do so, but I have to go with ROH here. I'm not a huge fan, but I just can't deny the amount of quality wrestling they churned out last year. My thoughts on CHIKARA? Indy wrestling as of late has gotten to be more fun than good. ROH, on the other hand, is far more good than it is fun. The company (and it's fans) takes the product so damn seriously that it just ruins it for me. CHIKARA is the perfect balance between the two. Good to great wrestling with a sense of…whimsy, for lack of a better word, that other companies just aren't providing. They almost never take themselves seriously, but when they do (the Kingston/Sweeney feud, for example), it accents the product instead of hindering it.
Best Weekly TV show
1. Smackdown
2. Raw
3. Impact
Let's be honest. Smackdown is the only good wrestling show most of us are seeing right now. Everything else sucks. Raw just sucked a bit less than Impact or ECW, which is a backhanded compliment at best, as it still sucked plenty.
Worked match of the year
1. Bryan Danielson v. Nigel McGuinness (ROH - Unified - 8.12)
2. Mike Quackenbush v. Claudio Castagnoli (IWA:MS - Ted Petty Invitational, Night Two - 9.30)
3. Chris Hero, Necro Butcher & Super Dragon v. BJ Whitmer, Samoa Joe & Adam Pearce (ROH - 100th Show - 4.22)
It's been what, 4 months since I saw it, and Nigel's headbutts to the post are *still* making me wince. Certainly not what makes this the best match of 2006, but it's the brutal cherry on top. At any rate, these three matches exemplify everything I love about wrestling. Tight, hard nosed matwork mixed with a bit of brutality. And don't believe the hype…the six man from the 100th show is *far* better than the ROH Cage of Death match. That was an overbooked mess. This match, on the other hand, was just flat out the most intense brawl of the year.
Rookie of the year
1. Ted Dibiase Jr.
I've only seen one of his matches, but he's the only rookie I can think of, quite honestly, so he wins by defauly. I could include the ROH students, I guess, but none of them are very good...
Best Non-Wrestler
1. Prince Nana
2. Jim Fannin
3. Konnan
He wasn't around for the entire year, but Nana was just *amazing* as the head of the Embassy in ROH. The running thread with all three of these guys is that they're heels. Not cool heels. Not antiheroes that the crowd wants to cheer. They draw heat and the crowd wants to kill them. Wrestling needs more of this. A LOT more.
Best TV announcer
1. John Bradshaw Leyfield
2. Uh…Booker T?
3.
I honestly don't know who to list after JBL. I enjoy Tazz for the random non sequiturs that he'll drop that confuse even himself. That said, he's not the announcer he was on Smackdown. Not that the material doesn't play a role, I'm sure. Styles is okay-ish, but more annoying than anything. Jim Ross is a shell of his former self. Michael Cole has his moments but, at this point, if you can't play off of JBL you might as well just quit. At any rate, I abstain. No, wait…I think Booker T deserves a vote simply for being able to talk for so damn long without ever taking a breath. Sound bites, Booker. Sound bites. Heh.
Where's Tony Schiavone when you need him? No, really…
Worst TV announcer
1. Mike Tenay
2. Jerry Lawler
3. Don West
God, I can't tell you how much I hate the TNA commentary. It's sad, because Tenay was once so informative and understated in his role. Now he's a braying jackass shill who doesn't stop screaming for the entire duration of the show. His creepy child molester glances are unintentional comedic fodder, though. Lawler just doesn't seem to fit at this point. He's not a heel commentator. He's not a face commentator. He's not serious. He's certainly not funny at this point. He's just sorta…there. West brings the unintentional humor as well. Also, the overwhelming LOUDNESS. Screaming about something doesn't make it more important, brutha.
It hasn't debuted yet, but Kris Kloss of WSX will be the frontrunner for 2007. If you remember him from XPW, you'll remember how much of a fifth-rate Joey Styles wannabe he was. He had none of the knowledge, but with 200% more smarm.
Best major show
1. IWA-MS: 2006 Ted Petty Invitational; Night Two (9.30)
2. ROH: Glory By Honor V, Night Two (9.16)
3. PWG: Battle of Los Angeles, Night Two (9.2)
Uh…apparently September was the best month for wrestling in 2006. At any rate, TPI night 2 was just outstanding, with Low Ki killing anything the moved, Quack/Claudio, the crazy angle with the Bad Motherfuckers and Tough Crazy Bastards and the super duper stiff finals. Nothing matched it this year.
Category B Awards
Worst major show
ECW December to Dismember (12.3). Goddamn, was this ever awful. Even the decent Hardyz/MNM match couldn't begin to save this turd of a PPV.
Best move
Brandon Thomaselli - SAT Bomb (Powerbomb lift dropped into a Lungblower)
Most Disgusting Promotional tactic
The continued use of Eddy Guerrero as a storyline prop. Case closed. The end.
Worst TV show
It's a toss up between Impact and ECW. Ask me every day and I'll give you a different answer.
Worst match of the year
Great Khali v. Tommy Dreamer. Pick one. No, really…any of them will do.
Worst feud of the year
Great Khali v. Undertaker made my brain hurt.
Worst promotion of the year
CZW had quite the shitty year.
Best Booker
Who writes Smackdown these days? Michael Hayes, right? Otherwise, Mike Quackenbush and CHIKARA had a good, creative year.
Best Gimmick
Player Uno. How can you not love the "gamer" gimmick. Absolutely tremendous.
Worst Gimmick
Insane Kurt Angle? Wait…that's not a gimmick.
Best Book
Did Pain and Passion by Heath McCoy come out in '06? If so, that. If not, Eric Bischoff's book was interesting. You get the feeling that he absolutely believes that he's telling the truth in everything he says, distorted or not.
Best DVD
Heroes of World Class. It was a good year for WWE DVDs, but this trumped them all. When Kevin Von Erich toured the Sportatorium one last time before it was torn down, I'm not ashamed to say that I had tears in my eyes. What a fucked up family, yet heroes to so many through the early to mid 80s. Your humble author included. WWE is releasing it's own WCCW set in 2007, but it'll be hard pressed to emotionally live up to this one…
Lou Thesz/Ric Flair award for the top overall performer
1. John Cena
2. Bryan Danielson
3. Chris Hero
I'd like to place Danielson on top, but I just don't think you can legitimately not have Cena in that slot. Hero is the MVP of the entire indy scene. Where he goes (which is pretty much *everywhere*), good things follow.
Biggest Box Office Draw
Abstention, if only because I'm not including MMA here and I've not seen enough from Japan or Mexico to judge fairly.
Feud of the Year
1. John Cena v. Edge
2. Ring of Honor v. Combat Zone Wrestling
3. Samoa Joe v. Scott Steiner
I've gotta go with Cena/Edge here. In an era of quick, meaningless feuds that are forgotten a week later, they managed to have a heat (and hate) filled series of matches that I think shocked the Cena haters out there. Edge brings out the best in him (and I'm not sure that doesn't work both ways). ROH/CZW was almost an interpromotional feud done right (it was on ROH's part. CZW's? Not so much.). Again, full of hate and dickishness and violence. Everything I want out of wrestling. I've raved about Joe/Steiner before, so you know why I love that one…
Tag Team of the Year
1. Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli)
2. LAX (Homicide & Hernandez w/Konnan)
3. Brian Kendrick & Paul London
Really, the gap between KOW and number two is absolutely immense. Any other year, LAX wins this running away, but Hero/Claudio have been absolutely golden this year. Through multiple companies and regardless of who they work, you're almost guaranteed a great match. KOW is the best tag team in years.
Most Improved
1. Delirious
2. Jeff Hardy
3. Josh Abercrombie
Delirious went from being pretty much a comedy act to being an excellent wrestler capable of working any style with anyone. Hardy is more of a comeback kid, I guess, but comparing his lackluster TNA stuff to his current work is like night and day.
Best on Interviews
1. Samoa Joe
2. Eddie Kingston
3. Kevin Nash
Joe and King bring such a quiet intensity to their promos. They're not out there delivering Rock-worthy promos, but when Joe says he's going to kick some dude's ass, I believe it. And that's what wrestling is all about to me…belief. Kingston is absolutely the best in the entire world at bringing emotion to his character and the angles he works. Nash still brings the funny better than anyone in the business.
Most Charismatic
1. John Cena
2. Christian Cage
3. Delirious
Cena is head and shoulders above the rest. Love him or hate him, you can't deny his presence in the ring. Christian is the best of a sorry TNA lot. The Delirious character is amazing. It shouldn't work and wouldn't work for most people, but he absolutely nails it and has the crowd in the palm of his hand…
Best Technical Wrestler
1. Mike Quackenbush
2. Nigel McGuinness
3. Bryan Danielson
Quack deserves more hype. He's that good. From the intricate, hard nosed European influenced matwork to the slightly goofier Lucha matwork, he can really do it all and do it all well. I'm glad that Nigel finally broke out in 2006, because he's another guy who is just so good at what he does. I don't really need to blow any more smoke up Danielson's ass, so I won't say anything at all.
Bruiser Brody Memorial Award for Best Brawler
1. Necro Butcher
2. David "Fit" Finlay
3. Super Dragon
Necro is another no-brainer to me. He's willing to do pretty much anything in the ring. Not to get himself over, but to get the *match* over. And he does so with little that's more complicated than punching dudes in the face. Finlay's the smarter worker, certainly, but in a flat out brawl, Necro is the guy.
Best Flying Wrestler
1. Jack Evans
2. AJ Styles
3. Ricochet
Evans is just on another level. His foray to Dragon Gate has brought with it an added crispness to his offense that was all that ever really held him back from being the best highflyer of his generation. Styles is more high impact, but certainly incorporates the flippy stuff into his offense much more smoothly than Evans. The last word in this category is, "wrestler," after all. Ricochet is the breathtaking young guy that will either get 1000% better over the next few years, or land on his head after a double moonsault never to be heard from again. But his highspots are just awe inducing when he manages to actually hit them clean.
Most Overrated
1. Christian Cage
2. Austin Aries
3. Alex Shelley
Don't get me wrong…I love Christian more than most. But the idea that he was going to pop up in TNA and be a main even superstud that carried the company was ludicrous from the start. He's a talented upper midcard guy who gets by on humor. Nothing wrong with that, but he's not going to anchor the company now or ever. I've yet to see anything from Aries that screams superstar to me. Shelley is fun, but he gets hyped as "the next Chris Jericho," which he did nothing in 2006 to inherit. He had a good match versus Danielson at Arena Warfare, but it's the only notable match he had all year. The PCS skits are funny and frequently save Impact, but it's doing nothing for his career.
Most Underrated
1. Mike Quackenbush
2. Hallowicked
3. Jigsaw
It's a sweep. CHIKARA is absolutely the most underrated company in the world. So much good wrestling that next to no one is seeing. Seriously, I'm *begging* you to check out some CHIKARA shows. You really won't regret it.
Promotion of the Year
1. Ring of Honor
2. CHIKARA
3. WWE (Smackdown in particular)
It pains me to do so, but I have to go with ROH here. I'm not a huge fan, but I just can't deny the amount of quality wrestling they churned out last year. My thoughts on CHIKARA? Indy wrestling as of late has gotten to be more fun than good. ROH, on the other hand, is far more good than it is fun. The company (and it's fans) takes the product so damn seriously that it just ruins it for me. CHIKARA is the perfect balance between the two. Good to great wrestling with a sense of…whimsy, for lack of a better word, that other companies just aren't providing. They almost never take themselves seriously, but when they do (the Kingston/Sweeney feud, for example), it accents the product instead of hindering it.
Best Weekly TV show
1. Smackdown
2. Raw
3. Impact
Let's be honest. Smackdown is the only good wrestling show most of us are seeing right now. Everything else sucks. Raw just sucked a bit less than Impact or ECW, which is a backhanded compliment at best, as it still sucked plenty.
Worked match of the year
1. Bryan Danielson v. Nigel McGuinness (ROH - Unified - 8.12)
2. Mike Quackenbush v. Claudio Castagnoli (IWA:MS - Ted Petty Invitational, Night Two - 9.30)
3. Chris Hero, Necro Butcher & Super Dragon v. BJ Whitmer, Samoa Joe & Adam Pearce (ROH - 100th Show - 4.22)
It's been what, 4 months since I saw it, and Nigel's headbutts to the post are *still* making me wince. Certainly not what makes this the best match of 2006, but it's the brutal cherry on top. At any rate, these three matches exemplify everything I love about wrestling. Tight, hard nosed matwork mixed with a bit of brutality. And don't believe the hype…the six man from the 100th show is *far* better than the ROH Cage of Death match. That was an overbooked mess. This match, on the other hand, was just flat out the most intense brawl of the year.
Rookie of the year
1. Ted Dibiase Jr.
I've only seen one of his matches, but he's the only rookie I can think of, quite honestly, so he wins by defauly. I could include the ROH students, I guess, but none of them are very good...
Best Non-Wrestler
1. Prince Nana
2. Jim Fannin
3. Konnan
He wasn't around for the entire year, but Nana was just *amazing* as the head of the Embassy in ROH. The running thread with all three of these guys is that they're heels. Not cool heels. Not antiheroes that the crowd wants to cheer. They draw heat and the crowd wants to kill them. Wrestling needs more of this. A LOT more.
Best TV announcer
1. John Bradshaw Leyfield
2. Uh…Booker T?
3.
I honestly don't know who to list after JBL. I enjoy Tazz for the random non sequiturs that he'll drop that confuse even himself. That said, he's not the announcer he was on Smackdown. Not that the material doesn't play a role, I'm sure. Styles is okay-ish, but more annoying than anything. Jim Ross is a shell of his former self. Michael Cole has his moments but, at this point, if you can't play off of JBL you might as well just quit. At any rate, I abstain. No, wait…I think Booker T deserves a vote simply for being able to talk for so damn long without ever taking a breath. Sound bites, Booker. Sound bites. Heh.
Where's Tony Schiavone when you need him? No, really…
Worst TV announcer
1. Mike Tenay
2. Jerry Lawler
3. Don West
God, I can't tell you how much I hate the TNA commentary. It's sad, because Tenay was once so informative and understated in his role. Now he's a braying jackass shill who doesn't stop screaming for the entire duration of the show. His creepy child molester glances are unintentional comedic fodder, though. Lawler just doesn't seem to fit at this point. He's not a heel commentator. He's not a face commentator. He's not serious. He's certainly not funny at this point. He's just sorta…there. West brings the unintentional humor as well. Also, the overwhelming LOUDNESS. Screaming about something doesn't make it more important, brutha.
It hasn't debuted yet, but Kris Kloss of WSX will be the frontrunner for 2007. If you remember him from XPW, you'll remember how much of a fifth-rate Joey Styles wannabe he was. He had none of the knowledge, but with 200% more smarm.
Best major show
1. IWA-MS: 2006 Ted Petty Invitational; Night Two (9.30)
2. ROH: Glory By Honor V, Night Two (9.16)
3. PWG: Battle of Los Angeles, Night Two (9.2)
Uh…apparently September was the best month for wrestling in 2006. At any rate, TPI night 2 was just outstanding, with Low Ki killing anything the moved, Quack/Claudio, the crazy angle with the Bad Motherfuckers and Tough Crazy Bastards and the super duper stiff finals. Nothing matched it this year.
Category B Awards
Worst major show
ECW December to Dismember (12.3). Goddamn, was this ever awful. Even the decent Hardyz/MNM match couldn't begin to save this turd of a PPV.
Best move
Brandon Thomaselli - SAT Bomb (Powerbomb lift dropped into a Lungblower)
Most Disgusting Promotional tactic
The continued use of Eddy Guerrero as a storyline prop. Case closed. The end.
Worst TV show
It's a toss up between Impact and ECW. Ask me every day and I'll give you a different answer.
Worst match of the year
Great Khali v. Tommy Dreamer. Pick one. No, really…any of them will do.
Worst feud of the year
Great Khali v. Undertaker made my brain hurt.
Worst promotion of the year
CZW had quite the shitty year.
Best Booker
Who writes Smackdown these days? Michael Hayes, right? Otherwise, Mike Quackenbush and CHIKARA had a good, creative year.
Best Gimmick
Player Uno. How can you not love the "gamer" gimmick. Absolutely tremendous.
Worst Gimmick
Insane Kurt Angle? Wait…that's not a gimmick.
Best Book
Did Pain and Passion by Heath McCoy come out in '06? If so, that. If not, Eric Bischoff's book was interesting. You get the feeling that he absolutely believes that he's telling the truth in everything he says, distorted or not.
Best DVD
Heroes of World Class. It was a good year for WWE DVDs, but this trumped them all. When Kevin Von Erich toured the Sportatorium one last time before it was torn down, I'm not ashamed to say that I had tears in my eyes. What a fucked up family, yet heroes to so many through the early to mid 80s. Your humble author included. WWE is releasing it's own WCCW set in 2007, but it'll be hard pressed to emotionally live up to this one…
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