wrestling / Columns
The Friday Supplement: 12.30.11: The Best and Worst of 2011 (Part One)
It’s Friday, and right now Friday is my day. Look at this guy pulling double duty two weeks in a row! I’m like the patron saint of 411! Seeing as this will be my absolute last column of the year, today is the perfect time to say goodbye to 2011 and tell everybody how I felt about the year that was.
Of course there’s just too much to say, so you’ll have to wait until JANUARY to see the rest!
I’m an evil genius! More hits for the website! Also…
No poetry!
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No haiku this time.
Too busy for poetry.
Okay, just this once.
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I know! I thought your wit was impenetrable!
It is, Fat Billy Kidman. I’m just tired.
I actually wrote one of my own! Do you want me to recite it for you?
Sure, Fat Billy Kidman. It is the holiday season after all.
Wow-wee! Okay, here we go… I love to help Ni—
SHUT UP FAT BILLY KIDMAN!
Okay.
Fat Billy Kidman’s interjection caused my introduction to end on a sour note, so we may as well continue on that note with the award for “Biggest Disappointment of the Year”.
First, some reader choices.
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PaulOrndorff, who knows plenty about being disappointed:
“Mania main-event, Mania should end with a clean finish, not with a “to be continued”-storyline.”
That is definitely a great pick. I mentioned it briefly on Wednesday — The Miz was only the second heel to ever leave WrestleMania with the WWE Title (the other being Triple-freakin’-H) and it was completely overshadowed by The Rock. The match itself was also pretty crappy and Cena looked like he was out of it, possibly concussed or something like that, for the first 5+ minutes of the match. I honestly would have preferred to see Cena pick up the victory and have Miz work toward getting the belt back rather than having him win to close WrestleMania in a forgettable main event.
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@ScottOTD is short and sweet:
“Heel Cole continues…”
Yeah. Very very bad. My wife still gets on my case about how he constantly derides Daniel Bryan. I told her that all of Bryan’s losses and Cole’s verbal attacks would lead to something good and then stop. It did eventually lead to D-Bryan beating Miz for the US Title but Cole never stopped bashing Bryan and just got continually worse and worse. I originally was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, assuming it would lead to something, but it never did. One especially disappointing part of this whole heel Cole schtick is that he never took the piledriver from King. If they really wanted to do the reversed decision to have Cole win, why not have King get that cathartic piledriver and then reverse the decision because the move is banned?
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midz selects another Cole-related disappointment:
“The Anon GM just dissapears. It had all this build and it just died off and it was actually rather important. HHH calls out Taker, leading to another overhyped and praised layfest at the next WM.”
A lot of people have complained about the dropping of the Anonymous GM angle — they could still bring it back since Laurinitis is titled Interim General Manager, but it likely won’t happen. It is disappointing that so much time and effort was spent on the Anonymous GM mystery and then there was no reveal or payoff, but it was so hyped up that I don’t think there was anybody that could have filled that role without being lacklustre.
Oh, and yeah, I’m glad other people agree with me. Holy shit I wanted to throw myself out a window while watching ‘Taker v. HHH at WM27. I haven’t been able to bring myself to watching it again, either. But my god what a stinkfest.
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LitasRevenge goes uber simple:
“Kevin Nash.”
Tough to be disappointing when nothing but garbage is expected of you.
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HeartBurnKid brings up something else that a lot of people talk about:
“Kharma going on maternity leave before even getting started.”
Definitely a shame. But hey, it’s possibly that Fat Billy Kidman wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for her leaving. If Kharma stuck around, Beth and Nattie would never have become the Divas of Destruction and I would never have hired #FatBK as an intern to write the awesome alphabetical alliterated list of nicknames for the team.
The collapse of the Divas Division.
Kharma’s early exit from action is definitely a part of why this occurred, but once she was out of the picture it left a spot open for the Pinup Strong movement to begin. Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres were the primary foes of the dastardly duo of Beth Phoenix and Natalya, and Kelly put on some shockingly good performances as Divas Champion. She gained a couple fluke victories defending her title against Beth and Eve also looked very good in action both teaming with Kelly and going one-on-one with Beth or Nattie. When Phoenix was finally able to wrestle the belt away from Kelly it looked like we were going to see a continuation of the story with something new, as losing the title seemed to turn Kelly into a completely different person. She got violent and went out of control for a few weeks, and then all of a sudden she’s back to happy-go-lucky blondie. She promptly loses a rematch for the title and Eve gets a shot and puts on a good show but can’t get a victory and the whole storyline hits a barricade. What the heck happened? And then, to make the whole thing worse… Alicia Fox gets a push. ALICIA FOX?!?!? Really? Maybe they went back and looked at the tape of her match against Melina and realized that she needs to be on TV.
Onto a more positive note, it’s the “Most Improved Wrestler of the Year” award. Let’s see what some of you have to say.
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PaulOrndorff: Mark Henry
Marsico: I actually have him winning a different category this year. As far as most improved, I can’t go that direction with Henry. He’s shown many times over the past few years that he has the ability to turn it on when he is motivated to do so. His run that started this past summer is similar to what he did a few years back as ECW Champion. Good, intense promos with a bit of a cocky side and impressive matches against opponents that knew how to work against a big man.
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@ScottOTD: Drew McIntyre
Marsico: You must watch Superstars. From what I saw when he showed up early in the year on RAW/SD, he looked good, but it was about the same as his stuff from the previous year — solid but unspectacular. I do need to check out some more stuff from Superstars, though. WWE.com’s list of the top 25 matches of 2011 had a Yoshi Tatsu match from Superstars on it. Is that worth checking out? Anybody else have suggestions of matches to check out from that show?
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midz: Cody Rhodes
Marsico: This is definitely a strong choice. The “Dashing” gimmick accidentally led to the face guard angle, and that is what gave Cody the chance to become a star. I wonder if he would have broken out if that had not occurred. Would he still be “Dashing”? Would he be hanging out in the parking lot before shows with the “Cody Roadies”?
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LitasRevenge: Zack Ryder, Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel
Marsico: Ryder is like the opposite of McIntyre. Drew spent 2010 on TV and Ryder spent it considering whether or not he should start a YouTube channel. It’s tough to gauge how much LIIZ has improved without seeing much of his in-ring stuff before the past few months. In terms of character and popularity, then without a doubt Ryder is on top.
I’m not sold on Barrett just yet. He’s definitely better now than he was in 2010, but not to the point where I expect a good match out of him every time. He might end up with this award at the end of 2012 depending on what he does in the coming year.
Justin Gabriel is in the Drew McIntyre boat. He was on TV a bunch in 2010 but once the Corre happened and then went away this year, it was off to Superstars. What I have seen on SmackDown has been average ring work, but the matches have been under 5 minutes long.
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HeartBurnKid: Dolph Ziggler
Marsico: The Zig Zag Man is actually my choice as well.
Your Future WWE Champion, The Zig Zag Man.
In a similar vein as what Jim Ross said about TZZM and Cody Rhodes, I refuse to call Zig Zag by his given wrestling name until he wins the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship and holds it for a legitimate reign. Seeing as I’m growing quite tired of calling him The Zig Zag Man, I am putting a good amount of stock in the man. I think he’s going to do some damn good things in 2012. His ring work absolutely soared in 2011 and his mic work was solid when he got a chance to really talk. TZZM has become a master at his gimmick/character and he has every single tool he needs to become a big time main event star. He was good in 2010, he stepped out big time in 2011 and I expect him to absolutely tear the roof off in 2012. I would LOVE an extended feud between him and Punk over the WWE Title. Book that shit! Now!
Here’s an interesting one. I’m not sure how many people will agree with my pick, but I’ll expain it below. First, here’s what you had to say in regard to the “Best Champion of the Year”.
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HeartBurnKid: CM Punk
@ScottOTD: CM Punk
LitasRevenge: CM Punk, Zack Ryder
Marsico: I understand the sentiment, but as I look at what Punk actually did as the champion, I cannot in good faith give him the nod. He didn’t even get into the hunt until the very end of June, and while that doesn’t necessarily make for a bad championship reign, it was what he did after he won it that doesn’t give him enough. He has great momentum leading into 2012, but in 2011 he didn’t do much at all with the belt. He won it at Money in the Bank and then disappeared for a couple weeks. He was a disputed champion until he beat Cena at SummerSlam but then lost the belt to Del Rio mere minutes later. He didn’t get the championship back until Survivor Series, and since then he’s only made 2 defenses. I think if they keep the belt on him for a while in 2012 he will be high in the running next year, but he’s not the best champion in the year 2011. The same goes for Ryder. He just barely won the belt.
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midz: Dolph Zigger
Marsico: This is a very, very close call, but he had too many matches in which the championship was just… there, as opposed to being a big prize. The Ryder chase was all about LIIZ — TZZM tried ot mostly ignore him, and when he was forced to acknowledge Ryder it wasn’t usually “I’m the US Champion and you can’t beat me for it!”, but rather “I’m the US Champ and you’re some dweeb, stop bugging me.” The title was more of a big beltbuckle and bragging right than it was an important championship. In Zig Zag’s case it was okay because he was getting over like gangbusters and having great matches, and as champion it gave Ryder something to chase. It wasn’t about Zig Zag keeping the title, it was about him not losing to Ryder. Henceforth, while he had a great year, he’s not the best champion of 2011.
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PaulOrndorff: Daniel Bryan
Marsico: Your reasoning is definitely an interesting argument. Based on my criteria as explained above, he would not be the champion of the year. He won it at the December PPV and won’t defend it in the year 2011. You stated, though, that he’s champ of the year “just because what his capturing the title represents”. Not a bad point of reason. The tiny pale dude with “no charisma” and no “it factor” and etcetera and so on and so forth is just an indy darling who will never amount to anything and won’t make it in the big time. Yet here he is, the Heavyweight Champion of the World. The reason I won’t bite, though, is because of how he won it. If he woud have gotten some big wins in the latter half of the year and then took the belt fair and square in the middle of the ring in a pre-arranged match, then yes, even if he won it at the crack ass of 2011 and had zero defenses, the symbolism might push him over the top. He didn’t do that, though. He picked some fights and then snuck in where it as way unexpected. Cunning? Yes. Worthy of Champion of the Year? Not this time.
Former World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry.
Here’s why I’ve got Henry. The build to him winning the belt was great. They didn’t just take him from being a joke to a champ. The storyline actually showed him getting mad and beginning to go to more extreme lengths to hurt people than he had in the past. This included taking out four huge guys, including ending two of their careers as far as most people are concerned. It got to the point where he had nobody left to fight and they ended up turning a hated heel into a face in order to give Henry somebody that could give him a fight. And then he went on to put on a pair of very strong matches against that man, Sheamus, which ended up getting Sheamus over as a face just as much as it got Henry over as a man to be feared. He got all sorts of build before being given the belt, and then they actually pulled the trigger on him at the right moment. That is a pretty rare case these days. After weeks and weeks of proclaiming it, Henry was right, and he won the title from the usually untouchable Randy Orton in his first title shot, and it happened clean in the middle of the ring. He then did the same thing the following month at the Hell in a Cell PPV. He put on some of the absolute, without a doubt best matches of his life from June thru November 2011 and held the championship damn well. Great booking leading up to and for the majority of his title reign as well as really good in-ring performances are what make Mark Henry my choice for Champion of the Year.
We had some mixed thoughts on reader picks for “Surprise of the Year”. Mine is pretty cut-and-dry and is still tough to believe. But first, you!
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HeartBurnKid: The Rock’s Return
Marsico: If he would have stuck around for more shows, then I could see this, but not the way it happened. Honestly, I would have to actually look back and search for when, where and how he actually returned to even have a clue about it. I really do not remember. What I do remember is that he bugged me a lot. His videos online annoyed me, his satellite interviews annoyed me (he’s been doing the satellite shit for years — guaranteed he could have taken the time to show his ass up once or twice when he just taped something instead).
I look at it like this. He was born and raised in his family home (the wrestling business). He grew up in it and it was where he belonged. But then he went off to college (The Mummy/Scorpion King). He really enjoyed that lifestyle, but after it was over he still had to spend time at home before he was able to move out on his own (late 2001/end of Invasion angle thru SummerSlam 2002). When he did move out (went back to movies full time), he promised he wouldn’t be a stranger and made good (Hogan rematch thru Rock ‘n Sock v. Evolution). But as time went on, he became more and more distant from the family except for the rare phone call (accepting awards/congratulating people via taped messages), and then he stopped answering the phone altogether. Out of the blue the family receives a phone call from him (via satellite!) and they fall all over themselves to welcome the return of the prodigal son. He finally gets home and they believe he means it when he says he’ll never leave again. And then he goes away as quickly as he appeared. He picks up the phone when called (Twitter/Facebook) and even calls the family on occasion (via satellite!), but his appearances are rare — only at family functions (WrestleMania 27, his birthday RAW and Survivor Series). The family ignores all the rest of its children (THE MIZ) when he comes around but nobody says anything because they’re just glad he’s back.
It rubs me the wrong way. It’s no surprise to me because he never was going to and never will come back for any period of time and he can’t find the time to contribute on a regular basis. I would take taped videos and live satellite interviews a couple times a month and maybe wrestling one or two more matches before retiring from the ring for good. Then just show up every once in a while live and do something taped or via satellite a little more often. And don’t talk bad about wrestling in interviews. Please. Anyway…
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LitasRevenge: Punk’s return to WWE after his ‘contract issues’ angle and his ‘Pipebomb’ a few weeks prior
Marsico: Definitely surprising. My choice would have been this, pretty much, if something else didn’t happen earlier in the year. I would have labeled the surprise as Punk actually becoming a bonified main event guy and being treated like he belongs, because I really didn’t expect that to happen. I figured he would be like Rey or Eddy — upper mid-card for life and given the ball and the title a couple times but never true stars. It looks like Punk really will eclipse that status. If it wasn’t for a retirement, that would have been it for me.
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@ScottOTD: Daniel Bryan winning the title
midz: DB actually wins MITB and then cashes it in successfully
Marsico: Surprising? Yes. Biggest surprise? No. His win was cheaper than cheap and he has been treated as barely more than a bum for a while. I do indeed have high hopes and some faith that he’ll get a fair shot now that he has the belt, but winning in the fashion he did without having time in 2011 to make his reign legitimate rules this one out as my winner. It was something of a surprise that he wasn’t the first guy to cash in unsuccessfully. I think that scenario occurring was the conensus of most people.
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PaulOrndorff: That picture of 7 champions, these are the wrestlers WWE chose to head into 2012 with – who would have thunk it…
Marsico: The picture gives me great pride as a wrestling fan and strong hopes for the year 2012 as a WWE fan.
Joyful!
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midz: Zack Ryder makes it
Marsico: YOU KNOW IT!
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Edge retires.
Shit, I did NOT see this one coming. I guess they found out after he retained the title at WrestleMania, but I’m glad they did. Some guys deserve a good win to end their career, especially if it has to be such an abrupt end like it was. He also gave both Christian and to a lesser extent, Del Rio, a good “rub”, as they say, going out, as he continued to be a part of their feud before he was fully gone. Edge is one of the last guys who really got a “full” career within WWE — he came in as a singles guy for a short span, found himself as part of a group and then he and one of the members of the group branched out and became a wildly popular tag team. They did that for a few years before breaking up and Edge was able to move on to become a successful mid-card singles star. He ended up staying popular as a singles guy but wasn’t able to really break out. He thrived, not surprisingly, in different tag teams during his singles run and finally began to become a true star when, out of nowhere, he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and became WWE Champion for the first time at the beginning of 2006, over 8 years after making his WWE debut. He would lose it in less than a month but it began the rivalry of his life with John Cena, a rivalry which led both himself and John Cena to true stardom.
My wife would also like to make a statement regarding Edge:
” 🙁 “
That’s it for part one. I’m all over the place here. Double duty AGAIN next week! You all love me!
Next time: World Heavyweight Championship in Retrospect on Wednesday, Best and Worst of 2011 on Friday.
– Nicholas A. Marsico
