Best of 2007 - The Ballot!
It's a new year. Hooray, I guess! Allow me to offer up the ballot that I'd send to one Dave Meltzer if I were still an Observer subscriber. Because dwelling in the past is so much cooler than looking on to 2008...
As always, my personal biases are heavy, but I'll at least try to justify why my opinion is pretty much the only opinion worth having. Heh.
P.S. I watched a *lot* more stuff from Japan this year, which will actually be reflected in my picks.
P.P.S. I abstain from all shoot related questions. I only see what they air on television, so my voting would be really skewed and I'd look, perhaps, dumber than usual!
P.P.P.S. I use the Wrestling Observer categories, obviously, but I don't necessarily use Meltzer's criteria for the awards. I can name an indy as the promotion of the year because, essentially, I want to. Drawing power doesn't tie into my twisted little world view at all. Now then, on to the show...
Section A: Pick your TOP 3
1. Lou Thesz/Ric Flair Award(Wrestler of the Year)
a. John Cena
b. "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson
c. Hiroshi Tanahashi
As always, Meltzer's categories confuse me. I believe that this is the more general "MVP" sort of award, so that's how I'm voting. Like it or not, 2007 was Cena's year. He was just on fire in the ring, having good matches with just about everyone, even if they were complete sacks of crap. He's probably the most charismatic guy they've had since some dude named THE ROCK left for Hollywood. Danielson's return to ROH was great and he had amazing match after amazing match through the year. I think he may be one of the few guys out there that you might consider an "indy draw." Tanahashi was on top for the best 12 month period that New Japan has produced for a decade. He's got "it" in spades. Ten years from now, he might be the best worker on the planet. Hell...he might be top five right now.
2. Most Outstanding Wrestler
a. Bryan Danielson
b. Chris Hero
c. Matt Hardy
Again, Danielson in 2007 was money in the bank. Just stick him in the ring with whoever you want and you'll get an awesome match that people are clamoring to see. Hero has always been an amazing worker, but his run in ROH has given him a completely different dimension to lean on. Who knew that his heel shtick could ever be that effective? This was Hardy's breakout year. You just have to hope that WWE runs with the ball. He's a guy who could carry the company in the future. Not at an Austin/Rock level or anything because he just doesn't have the presence of those guys. But he can easily fill a Bret Hart sort of role as a more low key main eventer whose work in the ring provides the backbone that everything else is built around.
3. Best Box Office Draw
a. John Cena
b. N/A
c. N/A
Realistically, MMA guys belong here, but I don't feel comfortable in throwing names out there since I'm not really much more than a casual MMA fan. In terms of pro wrestling, it's Cena first and everyone else waaaaaaay down the list.
4. Feud Of The Year
a. Chris Hero vs. Eddie Kingston
b. Matt Hardy vs. MVP
c. Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer
There's a ton of honorable mentions here. It's been a good year of wrestling overall, since I can name probably 10 feuds that were actually hate filled and violent. Hero/King is on an entirely different level than anything else this year. It's the most obvious vote on the entire ballot for me.
5. Tag Team Of The Year
a. Jay & Mark Briscoe
b. Kevin Steen & El Generico
c. Motor City Machine Guns
It's pretty clearly been the Briscoe's year, as they just churned out good match after good match with a variety of opponents all over the world. Steen/Generico pushed them to a higher level, which in an era where tag wrestling is mostly dead is enough to get them the runner up slot. Sabin & Shelley are easily talented enough to win this award. Shame that they're stuck in TNA.
6. Most Improved
a. MVP
b. Tomko
c. Candice Michelle
When he started, I *hated* MVP. The gimmick was good from the start, but he was really bland in the ring. At this point, he's basically just exploded as a worker, to the point where he's one of the best in the company. Tomko was absolutely brutal to watch at times when he was in WWE. But going to Japan did him wonders. He's not great, but he's a really solid tag wrestler and he just continues to get better.
7. Best on Interviews
a. Eddie Kingston
b. Chuck Taylor
c. Christian Cage
King runs away with this. No one cuts a promo quite like he does. Amazing intensity/emotion and every word he says is absolutely believable. Chuck Taylor is more of a smartass, but he has that rare pro wrestling ability to actually be funny on purpose. Christian is pretty much literally the only reason to watch TNA. In a world of shit, everything he does smells like roses.
8. Most Charismatic
a. John Cena
b. Larry Sweeney
c. Christian Cage
This one pretty much speaks for itself. It's Cena by a mile. The other two are awesome, but really...it's just me filling out the spaces.
9. Best Technical Wrestler
a. Mike Quackenbush
b. Bryan Danielson
c. Claudio Castagnoli
This is a dead heat as far as I'm concerned. Just three amazing pro wrestlers. Every match they're involved in is sure to be awesome...
10. Bruiser Brody Memorial Award
a. Necro Butcher
b. Jimmy Jacobs
c. Togi Makabe
If you want to watch a great brawl, these are the guys that'll provide it. There's no one better than Necro out there right now in this respect. People who only see him as a deathmatch guy need to go out and actually watch some more of his work. He's BRILLIANT. Jacobs is like a pint sized killing machine. Seriously, a guy that small shouldn't be a top level brawler, but there he is. Makabe is the best heel in Japan. If you disagree. I'm sure he'll be happy to bludgeon you with his chain to prove the point.
11. Best Flying Wrestler
a. Pac
b. Jack Evans
c. Matt Sydal
Pac is just phenomenal. He hits pretty much everything and comes up with some ridiculous spots that simply boggle the mind. Evans is still great (he's improved a bunch over the past year, which goes far beyond being flippy), but I think this is the year that Pac passed him by. Sydal gets mentioned just because everything he does looks so smooth. He'd get the award for being the guy that makes everything he does look effortless.
12. Most Overrated
a. Kurt Angle
b. Austin Aries
c. Davey Richards
Has anyone fallen further than Kurt Angle over the past 3 years? God...there are times now when it doesn't even look like he should be in a ring. The other two are mostly just guys that I personally can't get into. Both of them seem to be IWC favorites, though, so they fit.
13. Most Underrated
a. Eddie Kingston
b. Hernandez
c. AJ Styles
Kingston should be the biggest star on the indies. That he's not even booked in ROH isn't a shame...it's a tragedy. Hernandez is just a BEAST (God knows I've said that enough over the past year). Easily the best power guy on the indy scene. Maybe in all of wrestling. As for Styles, everyone knows that he rules, but he's spent most of the year developing a personality and the IWC yokels seem to forgotten about him. I routinely see people crap on him these days because he's not pumping out great matches, ignoring that by building a persona, he's assuring himself a better position to...pump out great matches. Crazy! He certainly hasn't forgotten how to work, which seems to be the vibe you sometimes get from people. Of course, people are stupid.
14. Promotion Of The Year
a. WWE
b. CHIKARA
c. Ring of Honor
Been a really good year for WWE, wrestling-wise. Tons of quality matches and decent booking through the year. CHIKARA and ROH are the absolute cream of the indy crop.
15. Best Weekly TV Show
a. Smackdown
b. Raw
c. WSX
Yeah. Nothing else even rates here.
17. Worked Match of the Year
a. Chris Hero v. Eddie Kingston - Last Man Standing (IWA:MS - TPI '07, Night 2)
b. John Cena v. Umaga - Last Man Standing (Royal Rumble)
c. Hiroshi Tanahashi v. Hirooki Goto (NJPW - 11.11.07)
This was the year of the LMS match, apparently. Both of these were worked close to perfection. Hero/King just had a little more violence and a LOT more hate to put it over the top. The final choice is absolutely going to be seen as Tanahashi's coming out party someday. Great, great match.
19. Rookie Of The Year
a. Lince Dorado
b. Santino Marella
c. Tim Donst
I don't know..."rookie" is kind of a hazy term these days, since guys work shitty little indies that no one ever sees before getting a shot anywhere else. That said, I'm almost positive that Dorado & Donst are both true rookies. I know Santino has kicked around the developmentals, but yeah...we'll consider the new gimmick a reboot for him and count him. Not so much for his in ring work. He's just friggin' hilarious on the mic and some weeks he's the highlight of Raw for me.
20. Best Non-Wrestler Performer
a. Larry Sweeney (ROH)
b. William Regal
c. Coach
So, two of the names I chose are actually wrestlers who just aren't being used in the ring much, if at all right now. And I've been digging Coach for years. I can't even think of anyone else that I really like in a non-wrestling spot.
21. Best Television announcer
a. UltraMantis Black
b. Jim Ross
c. JBL
Sure, UMB technically isn't a television announcer, I guess. When I watch CHIKARA DVDs, though, they appear on my TV so he counts! I couldn't possibly go through an entire ballot without a mention of everyone's favorite vegan, insect menace! No one can set the stage and feed off of the emotion of a big match than JR. If he's announcing at 50%, he's still better than pretty much every announcer who's ever spoken into a mic, so there you go. Really...no explanation needed. I'll miss JBL on Smackdown. He really worked his character into the announce shtick and made it work better than anyone thought it could.
22. Worst Television Announcer
a. Mike Tenay
b. Mike Tenay
c. Mike Tenay
Egads! What the fuck happened to poor, creepy, child molester lookin' Mike Tenay? I'm voting for alien abduction, because there's just no way that this could possibly be the same Mike Tenay that actually, you know, knew stuff back in the day. He's turned into the world's worst post-1996 Tony Schiavone. People bitch about Don West, but at least he has an unintentional comedic quality. On another note, and this goes directly to TNA (who I'm sure are reading this!)...please keep Tenay off camera whenever possible. What a creepy old man he turned into.
23. Best Major Wrestling/MMA Show
a. IWA-MS: Ted Petty Invitational 2007
b. WWE: Wrestlemania 23
c. PWG: Giant-Size Annual #4
Lots of fun shows this year, but I think these are probably my favorites. TPI is two shows, of course, but I can add it because I'm cool like that. Haven't started watching the 2007 BoLA shows yet, or I'm sure that they'd be on here.
Catgeory B: Pick ONE for each of the following
1. Worst Major Show of the Year
Unforgiven was pretty bad. I can't really think of anything else specific off the top of my head.
2. Best Wrestling Maneuver
CHIKARA Special! Not only is it a nifty little move that doesn't take an hour to set up (or cause brain damage), but it ties into an entire year's worth of CHIKARA angles as well.
3. Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic
The (fake) Death of Vincent Kennedy McMahon. Or more so the mourning garbage afterwords, which was just incredibly tasteless, even for Vince McMahon.
4. Worst Television Show of the Year
iMPACT! By a mile. If you need more explanation, just watch the show. All will become apparent.
5. Worst Wrestling Match of the Year
I was going to ignore it because it was *meant* to be a total abortion of an angle, but yeah...when I thought about how much television time it was given, it's hard to not vote for the Rosie v. Trump "match" on Raw.
6. Worst Feud of the Year
Every feud Kurt Angle has had this year has been brutal to watch. I'll specificially narrow it to the feud with Samoa Joe, simply because that *should* have been awesome, but yeah...it was anything but.
7. Worst Promotion
I just can't think of anything from 2007 that disappointed me more than TNA. Technically, it's not bad (for the most part) once people are actually in the ring. But every other segment in every other show is horribly stupid, overbooked and just plain nonsensical.
8. Best Booker
ROH was pretty outstanding for the most part, but I'd actually say that their booking might be one of the weak points for me, so Gabe is out. I think I feel better about voting for Mike Quackenbush, actually. Or whoever it is that books CHIKARA, at any rate. The booking is far more subtle than you find elsewhere, but it all makes sense and they always have one overriding thread that weaves through every other angle during the course of a year.
9. Promoter Of The Year
This would be the one category where I'm comfortable in voting MMA, as Dana White (and UFC by proxy) really had one hell of a year.
10 Best Gimmick
The Age of the Fall. Said it before, but it started pretty cool with the message board stuff. Gabe made it friggin' retarded within 48 hours, but the sheer willpower of Jimmy Jacobs pulled it back from the brink. There's nothing "cooler" in pro wrestling right now and the debut is probably the top moment of the year for me.
11. Worst Gimmick
Black Reign has been pretty tremendously retarded and it seems to get dumber by the week. Poor Dustin.
12. Best Wrestling Book
As always, my personal biases are heavy, but I'll at least try to justify why my opinion is pretty much the only opinion worth having. Heh.
P.S. I watched a *lot* more stuff from Japan this year, which will actually be reflected in my picks.
P.P.S. I abstain from all shoot related questions. I only see what they air on television, so my voting would be really skewed and I'd look, perhaps, dumber than usual!
P.P.P.S. I use the Wrestling Observer categories, obviously, but I don't necessarily use Meltzer's criteria for the awards. I can name an indy as the promotion of the year because, essentially, I want to. Drawing power doesn't tie into my twisted little world view at all. Now then, on to the show...
Section A: Pick your TOP 3
1. Lou Thesz/Ric Flair Award(Wrestler of the Year)
a. John Cena
b. "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson
c. Hiroshi Tanahashi
As always, Meltzer's categories confuse me. I believe that this is the more general "MVP" sort of award, so that's how I'm voting. Like it or not, 2007 was Cena's year. He was just on fire in the ring, having good matches with just about everyone, even if they were complete sacks of crap. He's probably the most charismatic guy they've had since some dude named THE ROCK left for Hollywood. Danielson's return to ROH was great and he had amazing match after amazing match through the year. I think he may be one of the few guys out there that you might consider an "indy draw." Tanahashi was on top for the best 12 month period that New Japan has produced for a decade. He's got "it" in spades. Ten years from now, he might be the best worker on the planet. Hell...he might be top five right now.
2. Most Outstanding Wrestler
a. Bryan Danielson
b. Chris Hero
c. Matt Hardy
Again, Danielson in 2007 was money in the bank. Just stick him in the ring with whoever you want and you'll get an awesome match that people are clamoring to see. Hero has always been an amazing worker, but his run in ROH has given him a completely different dimension to lean on. Who knew that his heel shtick could ever be that effective? This was Hardy's breakout year. You just have to hope that WWE runs with the ball. He's a guy who could carry the company in the future. Not at an Austin/Rock level or anything because he just doesn't have the presence of those guys. But he can easily fill a Bret Hart sort of role as a more low key main eventer whose work in the ring provides the backbone that everything else is built around.
3. Best Box Office Draw
a. John Cena
b. N/A
c. N/A
Realistically, MMA guys belong here, but I don't feel comfortable in throwing names out there since I'm not really much more than a casual MMA fan. In terms of pro wrestling, it's Cena first and everyone else waaaaaaay down the list.
4. Feud Of The Year
a. Chris Hero vs. Eddie Kingston
b. Matt Hardy vs. MVP
c. Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer
There's a ton of honorable mentions here. It's been a good year of wrestling overall, since I can name probably 10 feuds that were actually hate filled and violent. Hero/King is on an entirely different level than anything else this year. It's the most obvious vote on the entire ballot for me.
5. Tag Team Of The Year
a. Jay & Mark Briscoe
b. Kevin Steen & El Generico
c. Motor City Machine Guns
It's pretty clearly been the Briscoe's year, as they just churned out good match after good match with a variety of opponents all over the world. Steen/Generico pushed them to a higher level, which in an era where tag wrestling is mostly dead is enough to get them the runner up slot. Sabin & Shelley are easily talented enough to win this award. Shame that they're stuck in TNA.
6. Most Improved
a. MVP
b. Tomko
c. Candice Michelle
When he started, I *hated* MVP. The gimmick was good from the start, but he was really bland in the ring. At this point, he's basically just exploded as a worker, to the point where he's one of the best in the company. Tomko was absolutely brutal to watch at times when he was in WWE. But going to Japan did him wonders. He's not great, but he's a really solid tag wrestler and he just continues to get better.
7. Best on Interviews
a. Eddie Kingston
b. Chuck Taylor
c. Christian Cage
King runs away with this. No one cuts a promo quite like he does. Amazing intensity/emotion and every word he says is absolutely believable. Chuck Taylor is more of a smartass, but he has that rare pro wrestling ability to actually be funny on purpose. Christian is pretty much literally the only reason to watch TNA. In a world of shit, everything he does smells like roses.
8. Most Charismatic
a. John Cena
b. Larry Sweeney
c. Christian Cage
This one pretty much speaks for itself. It's Cena by a mile. The other two are awesome, but really...it's just me filling out the spaces.
9. Best Technical Wrestler
a. Mike Quackenbush
b. Bryan Danielson
c. Claudio Castagnoli
This is a dead heat as far as I'm concerned. Just three amazing pro wrestlers. Every match they're involved in is sure to be awesome...
10. Bruiser Brody Memorial Award
a. Necro Butcher
b. Jimmy Jacobs
c. Togi Makabe
If you want to watch a great brawl, these are the guys that'll provide it. There's no one better than Necro out there right now in this respect. People who only see him as a deathmatch guy need to go out and actually watch some more of his work. He's BRILLIANT. Jacobs is like a pint sized killing machine. Seriously, a guy that small shouldn't be a top level brawler, but there he is. Makabe is the best heel in Japan. If you disagree. I'm sure he'll be happy to bludgeon you with his chain to prove the point.
11. Best Flying Wrestler
a. Pac
b. Jack Evans
c. Matt Sydal
Pac is just phenomenal. He hits pretty much everything and comes up with some ridiculous spots that simply boggle the mind. Evans is still great (he's improved a bunch over the past year, which goes far beyond being flippy), but I think this is the year that Pac passed him by. Sydal gets mentioned just because everything he does looks so smooth. He'd get the award for being the guy that makes everything he does look effortless.
12. Most Overrated
a. Kurt Angle
b. Austin Aries
c. Davey Richards
Has anyone fallen further than Kurt Angle over the past 3 years? God...there are times now when it doesn't even look like he should be in a ring. The other two are mostly just guys that I personally can't get into. Both of them seem to be IWC favorites, though, so they fit.
13. Most Underrated
a. Eddie Kingston
b. Hernandez
c. AJ Styles
Kingston should be the biggest star on the indies. That he's not even booked in ROH isn't a shame...it's a tragedy. Hernandez is just a BEAST (God knows I've said that enough over the past year). Easily the best power guy on the indy scene. Maybe in all of wrestling. As for Styles, everyone knows that he rules, but he's spent most of the year developing a personality and the IWC yokels seem to forgotten about him. I routinely see people crap on him these days because he's not pumping out great matches, ignoring that by building a persona, he's assuring himself a better position to...pump out great matches. Crazy! He certainly hasn't forgotten how to work, which seems to be the vibe you sometimes get from people. Of course, people are stupid.
14. Promotion Of The Year
a. WWE
b. CHIKARA
c. Ring of Honor
Been a really good year for WWE, wrestling-wise. Tons of quality matches and decent booking through the year. CHIKARA and ROH are the absolute cream of the indy crop.
15. Best Weekly TV Show
a. Smackdown
b. Raw
c. WSX
Yeah. Nothing else even rates here.
17. Worked Match of the Year
a. Chris Hero v. Eddie Kingston - Last Man Standing (IWA:MS - TPI '07, Night 2)
b. John Cena v. Umaga - Last Man Standing (Royal Rumble)
c. Hiroshi Tanahashi v. Hirooki Goto (NJPW - 11.11.07)
This was the year of the LMS match, apparently. Both of these were worked close to perfection. Hero/King just had a little more violence and a LOT more hate to put it over the top. The final choice is absolutely going to be seen as Tanahashi's coming out party someday. Great, great match.
19. Rookie Of The Year
a. Lince Dorado
b. Santino Marella
c. Tim Donst
I don't know..."rookie" is kind of a hazy term these days, since guys work shitty little indies that no one ever sees before getting a shot anywhere else. That said, I'm almost positive that Dorado & Donst are both true rookies. I know Santino has kicked around the developmentals, but yeah...we'll consider the new gimmick a reboot for him and count him. Not so much for his in ring work. He's just friggin' hilarious on the mic and some weeks he's the highlight of Raw for me.
20. Best Non-Wrestler Performer
a. Larry Sweeney (ROH)
b. William Regal
c. Coach
So, two of the names I chose are actually wrestlers who just aren't being used in the ring much, if at all right now. And I've been digging Coach for years. I can't even think of anyone else that I really like in a non-wrestling spot.
21. Best Television announcer
a. UltraMantis Black
b. Jim Ross
c. JBL
Sure, UMB technically isn't a television announcer, I guess. When I watch CHIKARA DVDs, though, they appear on my TV so he counts! I couldn't possibly go through an entire ballot without a mention of everyone's favorite vegan, insect menace! No one can set the stage and feed off of the emotion of a big match than JR. If he's announcing at 50%, he's still better than pretty much every announcer who's ever spoken into a mic, so there you go. Really...no explanation needed. I'll miss JBL on Smackdown. He really worked his character into the announce shtick and made it work better than anyone thought it could.
22. Worst Television Announcer
a. Mike Tenay
b. Mike Tenay
c. Mike Tenay
Egads! What the fuck happened to poor, creepy, child molester lookin' Mike Tenay? I'm voting for alien abduction, because there's just no way that this could possibly be the same Mike Tenay that actually, you know, knew stuff back in the day. He's turned into the world's worst post-1996 Tony Schiavone. People bitch about Don West, but at least he has an unintentional comedic quality. On another note, and this goes directly to TNA (who I'm sure are reading this!)...please keep Tenay off camera whenever possible. What a creepy old man he turned into.
23. Best Major Wrestling/MMA Show
a. IWA-MS: Ted Petty Invitational 2007
b. WWE: Wrestlemania 23
c. PWG: Giant-Size Annual #4
Lots of fun shows this year, but I think these are probably my favorites. TPI is two shows, of course, but I can add it because I'm cool like that. Haven't started watching the 2007 BoLA shows yet, or I'm sure that they'd be on here.
Catgeory B: Pick ONE for each of the following
1. Worst Major Show of the Year
Unforgiven was pretty bad. I can't really think of anything else specific off the top of my head.
2. Best Wrestling Maneuver
CHIKARA Special! Not only is it a nifty little move that doesn't take an hour to set up (or cause brain damage), but it ties into an entire year's worth of CHIKARA angles as well.
3. Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic
The (fake) Death of Vincent Kennedy McMahon. Or more so the mourning garbage afterwords, which was just incredibly tasteless, even for Vince McMahon.
4. Worst Television Show of the Year
iMPACT! By a mile. If you need more explanation, just watch the show. All will become apparent.
5. Worst Wrestling Match of the Year
I was going to ignore it because it was *meant* to be a total abortion of an angle, but yeah...when I thought about how much television time it was given, it's hard to not vote for the Rosie v. Trump "match" on Raw.
6. Worst Feud of the Year
Every feud Kurt Angle has had this year has been brutal to watch. I'll specificially narrow it to the feud with Samoa Joe, simply because that *should* have been awesome, but yeah...it was anything but.
7. Worst Promotion
I just can't think of anything from 2007 that disappointed me more than TNA. Technically, it's not bad (for the most part) once people are actually in the ring. But every other segment in every other show is horribly stupid, overbooked and just plain nonsensical.
8. Best Booker
ROH was pretty outstanding for the most part, but I'd actually say that their booking might be one of the weak points for me, so Gabe is out. I think I feel better about voting for Mike Quackenbush, actually. Or whoever it is that books CHIKARA, at any rate. The booking is far more subtle than you find elsewhere, but it all makes sense and they always have one overriding thread that weaves through every other angle during the course of a year.
9. Promoter Of The Year
This would be the one category where I'm comfortable in voting MMA, as Dana White (and UFC by proxy) really had one hell of a year.
10 Best Gimmick
The Age of the Fall. Said it before, but it started pretty cool with the message board stuff. Gabe made it friggin' retarded within 48 hours, but the sheer willpower of Jimmy Jacobs pulled it back from the brink. There's nothing "cooler" in pro wrestling right now and the debut is probably the top moment of the year for me.
11. Worst Gimmick
Black Reign has been pretty tremendously retarded and it seems to get dumber by the week. Poor Dustin.
12. Best Wrestling Book
A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex - Chris Jericho
Great book. I don't know if I'd rate it beside Foley's first two, but it's certainly right on the top tier of books written by pro wrestlers. His passion for the business and sense of humor truly come across on the page. He seems like he'd be awesome to just sit down and have a conversation with.
13. Best DVD
The Horsemen DVD was pretty spectacular, if that fits into the 2007 timeframe. I don't really recall. When I get around to watching it, the World Class DVD will probably take this, though.
Other people should follow up and post one of these as well. Or at least comment and tell me why every selection I've made is wrong (or more likely, brilliant beyond words).
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