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Wrestler of the Year:
CM Punk
As if there was any doubt. The Summer of Punk: Part 2 was just as good as the first. And though we have seemed to go back to the regular bland WWE story telling one cannot forget that for a few months there he mad the WWE very interesting.
Match of the Year:
Christopher Daniels v. Davey Richards (Pure Wrestling Rules Match, ROH Manhattan Mayhem IV)
An incredible match that most of you did not see. It wasn't on WWE or TNA or even on ROH iPPV but it was a great display of technical wrestling and Christopher Daniels was actually able to reign in Davey Richard's penchant for just being stiff and not telling a story. A fantastic match.
Feud of the Year:
Christian v. Randy Orton
If you just took all their matches alone and forgot about Christian's promos this would probably still be the feud of the year. Each time Christian and Randy Orton locked horns the put on an amazing match. You add on top of that Christian's slow turn of heel and his reviving the time tested gimmick of using lawyers to get heat, this was an entertaining feud that always kept us wanting ONE MORE MATCH.
Character of the Year:
Mark Henry
I was tempted to go with CM Punk for this one but I also figured that Mark Henry has done enough this year to warrant the award. Henry has been a joke for the majority of his career. When he won the ECW Championship in 2008 we all figured that was as high as he was going to go. This year Mark Henry put it all together. He was scary, intimadating, cut good promos and put on some very good matches. The idea of Mark Henry as a big scary monster holding the championship is something that would have been laughable before Mark Henry started placing people in his Hall of Pain.
Tag Team of the Year:
All Night Express
With the dissolution of Beer Money, The Motor City Machine Guns half injured and the Kings of Wrestling leaving the ROH picture for greener pastures this years was wide open to a dark horse. What we got was ANX a team that was formed in 2009 finally going from just a cheap gimmick team to real contenders for the ROH World Tag Team Championships. Rhett Titus and Kenny King have shown themselves to be the best young tag team in wrestling with their feud against The Briscoes that culminated in a great Ladder War. Enjoy this team now because sooner or later Rhett and Kenny will go on to singles competition and take that for storm.
Card of the Year:
ROH Best in the World 2011
El Generico wins the ROH Television Championship from Christopher Daniels. For of the best tag teams in the world wrestle four 40 minutes in a tag team elimination match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship. And Davey Richards wins the ROH World Championship Match in an epic match of the year candidate against Eddie Edwards. Need I say more? I need to? Kevin Steen makes his return to ROH only to begin his crusade to tear it all down. I know some of you don't like ROH and if you don't well... Tough I do and this card was amazing.
TV Show of the Year:
WWE Smackdown!
Alberto Del Rio's feud with Edge. Edge's retirement. Christian's feud with Del Rio. Christian's feud with Randy Orton. Rey Mysterio's feud with Cody Rhodes. Cody Rhodes maturation as a wrestler. The rise of Mark Henry. The Hall of Pain. The feud of Mark Henry and Randy Orton. The feud of Randy Orton and Mark Henry. The feud of Mark Henry and the Big Show which has turned into a triangle between those two and Daniel Bryan. The Randy Orton and Wade Barrett feud. That is just some of the reasons why Smackdown was the best wrestling show in world right now.
Rise of the Year:
Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes went from Dashing to Disfigured back to Dashing again. That may seem like a very simple story arch for the "Rise of the Year" but what you have to understand is that each step inhanced him as a wrestler. "Dashing" Cody Rhodes was what got Cody on the map after Legacy but what it really did was set the stage for him becoming disfigured and deranged and gave Cody an edge that most wrestlers search their whole career for. Then when he took the mask off he did the most incredible thing, he maintained the edge and combined that was the cocky arrogance and interest of "Dashing" Cody Rhodes. When Rhodes and DiBiase started as a tag team I knew Rhodes would be big some day and ever day after that he has done nothing but vindicate that.
Worst Wrestler of the Year:
Anarquia
Poor TNA, I'm a big defender of them but their first appearance in these awards is for something bad. Anarquia is not only not a good wrestler but the type of Mexican stereo-type he is makes me cringe and I'm not even slightly hispanic. He isn't an interesting character or and interesting in-ring competitor. Every time he is on screen I fast forward my DVR.
Worst Match of the Year:
Jake Roberts v. Sinn Bohdi (Jake Roberts Retirement Match, PWG Kurt Russellmania: The Reunioning)
Ugh...
Commentator of the Year:
Josh Matthews
This is kind of by default. Michael Cole is annoying and just putting himself over the whole time. Jerry Lawler is bland. Booker T is incoherent. Jim Ross didn't commentate enough to qualify. Mike Tenay is oddly angry. Taz is trying but he mispeaks so much it really takes away for the entertainment of the match. Josh Matthews, God bless him, he tries and lord knows its tough when he has Michael Cole brining up being undefeated at Wrestlemania ever other match and Booker T mentioning all 16 people on his fave five. In between all of that Josh actually tries to call a match tell a story. Hopefully they'll limit Cole to Raw, put Booker back in the ring permenantly and let Josh Matthews commentate with Matt Striker because that is your future of WWE broadcasting.
Moment of the Year:
Christian wins the World Heavyweight Championship
I'm a Christian mark, I've been so for 12 years, so indulge me when I give this award to him because when I saw that I felt a tremendous amount of pride in all that he has accomplished. He not only won the title but he won it in a great match that had a great build that had a great conclusion. To have Christian sitting a top a ladder holding the World Heavyweight Championship while Edge clapped on the outside was absolutely chilling. These two men that made their name in ladder matches just that image of him sitting atop the ladder was so fitting for who he was as a character and it was amazing. All indulging aside there was some great moments in 2011 but this one takes the cake.
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