The 2008 411 Year End Wrestling Awards (Part 5)

Welcome to Part 5 of the 411Mania.com 2008 Year End Wrestling Awards. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4!

REVIEW: Before we get to it, let’s take a look at the winners we’ve already announced to this point:

Announcer of the Year: Jim Ross – WWE (57 points)

Rookie of the Year: The Osirian Portal (Ophidian & Amasis) – CHIKARA (38)

Breakout of the Year: Tyler Black – ROH/FIP (38)

Comeback Wrestler of the Year: Chris Jericho – WWE RAW (86)

Disappointment of the Year: Hardy’s again suffers Wellness issues – WWE (50)

Best Indy Show of the Year: Supercard of Honor III – ROH (21)

Free TV Match of the Year: Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga – Steel Cage Match – WWE (42)

Worst Story/Surprise of the Year: Jeff Hardy not only violates Wellness, but then suffers even further setbacks by having things like his house burn down and his dog die – WWE (61)

Story/Surprise of the Year: Ric Flair’s retirement angle culminating in his retirement ceremony on the 04.01.08 edition of RAW – WWE (55)

Worst Feud of the Year: Black Machismo vs. Sonjay Dutt – TNA (64)

Feud of the Year: Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho – WWE (76)

Worst Storyline of the Year: Vince McMahon’s NO CHANCE! – WWE (39)

Storyline of the Year: Fallen: The Trials of HBK – WWE (49)

Worst Fed of the Year: TNA (49)

Worst Promo of the Year: Vince’s Million Dollar Mania – WWE (24)

Worst Pay-Per-View of the Year: TNA Sacrifice (55)

Worst Match of the Year: Black Reign vs. Kaz – RAT ON A POLE MATCH – TNA (58)

Worst Manager of the Year: Bam Neely – WWE (50)

Worst Tag Team of the Year: Black Reign & Rellik – TNA (44)

Worst Women’s Wrestler of the Year: Maria – WWE (28)

Worst Wrestler of the Year: Braden Walker – WWE (59)

Fed of the Year: WWE (73)

And now that we have that out of the way…

Honorable Mentions: Carlito vs. The Seagull (WWE WM Commercial – 3 points), Jimmy Jacobs – The Story of Eric (ROH – 6 points)

3rd Place: Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair – The “Old Yeller” Speech (RAW, 03.24.08) – 26 points

2nd Place: Edge and Mick Foley – “You need to get your Edge back” (SmackDown!, 08.15.08) – 32 points

And your winner is…:

Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho – “Go home and tell your children that their daddy will NEVER be HBK” (SummerSlam, 08.17.08) – 39 points

Ari Berenstein: It’s actually pretty amazing that a promo with Shawn Michaels became a selling point for a PPV show as huge as Summerslam. A promo, not a match. Although I doubt any fan truly knew how things would go down, most gathered a confrontation with Chris Jericho would be part of it. There was a definite upping of the tension when Shawn Michaels came down with his wife and Jericho interrupted. Still, I don’t think anyone knew that Jericho would deck Rebecca Michaels, drawing that almost mythical “nuclear heat” for doing something quite unforgivable. More than even the words HBK and Y2J exchanged, including the infamous utterance from Michaels that provoked Jericho, it was the wordless reaction from Michaels that struck me the most. Tending to his wife yet locked onto Jericho, wanting so desperately to go after him but knowing he had a responsibility as a husband that came first. One of the most powerful moments of the year, blindsiding many fans and carrying the feud the rest of the way.

Samuel Berman: Shawn Michaels’ epic feud with Chris Jericho was turned up to eleven when the two met face-to-face in the ring at Summerslam. Michaels was supposed to be announcing his retirement, but Jericho refused to let him walk away without admitting that the WWE’s alleged savior was the man who had put him out of the business. Michaels gave in… only to make sure to note for Jericho just who the better man really was. Jericho snapped and went to slug the Heartbreak Kid in the face… only to miss and accidentally wallop the Texan’s wife instead. Perhaps the best parts of the entire scene were the facial expressions (and lack of excessive posturing) that followed that moment. In a year with Ric Flair’s simple comments at Wrestlemania and his farewell the following night, as well as the requisite microphone work from the Independent scene’s best in Jimmy Jacobs, Bryan Danielson and Eddie Kingston, the Summerslam encounter between Michaels and Jericho reigns supreme.

Mathew Sforcina: Take a veteran performer, fresh from a somewhat long absence, who has come back to find himself in the groove of a lifetime with the best serious and believable bad guy role in modern wrestling history. Add in another veteran performer, one who knows just how to tug at the heartstrings and when to nail the emotion needed for any given moment. Toss in the wife of this second vet, one who has experience in the wrestling industry and while not known for being in any way shape or form a charismatic woman, one who looks sweet, innocent and vulnerable AND is willing to take one for the team. Give them the book for themselves. Let them add in a serious injury angle, one that is both modern and yet has shades of classic history. Let them do their thing on a PPV, with an emotional moment and perhaps the most important punch thrown on WWE PPV since Tyson laid out this second vet. Add in a crowd who reacts right on cue, great acting and above all, a total cop out afterwards by the guy throwing the punch, and you have one HELL of a Promo. Just brilliant.

Theo Fraser: Both HBK and Jericho have been money on the mic this year, particularly in their feud, and this was the pinnacle. It was intense, it brought about a lot of home truths for each man, and above all else, this is where things got really personal. As if it wasn’t enough for Jericho to attempt to take away Shawn’s eyesight, this is where he truly overstepped the line. The feud escalated to new heights at this very moment when Y2J punched Shawn’s wife Rebecca in the face. It was brilliantly enacted; they could have easily made Jericho a total bastard and have him outright punch Rebecca, but because it was accidental, it helped to make Jericho look like even more of a chickenshit heel, thus sucking the viewer even further in. He had an awesome look of regret on his face as well; not that he particularly regretted hitting her, but more to do with the fact that he knew there would be severe repercussions. As a fan, you desperately wanted to see him get his comeuppance, which appropriately took place at the very next PPV, Unforgiven, where HBK absolutely annihilated his opponent. Continuity, folks! And that’s exactly what’s needed to get viewers to buy consecutive pay-per-views. The incentive was there; the angle had been nicely set up at Summerslam, and was paid off in full the next month by giving the fans exactly what they wanted; to see Jericho left beaten and bruised on the canvas. The turning point of the feud basically came with this promo, meaning anything that came after it is centred around this very moment. As a pivotal role in one of the WWE’s greatest feuds of the decade, it is clearly a winning promo.

Honorable Mentions: TNA Victory Road (3 points), ROH New Horizons (6 points), WWE Royal Rumble (4 points)

3rd Place: TNA Turning Point () – 9 points

2nd Place: ROH Respect is Earned II (08.01.08) – 13 points

And your winner is…:

WWE WrestleMania 24 (03.30.08) – 77 points

Ari Berenstein: One interesting aspect of this year’s Pay Per View that hasn’t been talked about too much is the stunning visuals and picturesque moments it provided. Not only did you have different weather conditions (drizzle, fast rain and clear), you had matches filmed in different lighting conditions (under clouds, with a full sun, a setting sun, full darkness of night). It created a living breathing environment around which a wrestling show, an incredibly important one at that, was taking place. Ric Flair’s entrance and exit, the fireworks display and the long camera shots of his goodbye walk, should receive some kind of award…well, okay I guess we are awarding it now.

This was a hell of a Wrestlemania in the ring as well, with Money in the Bank being as crazy as it usually is, Flair and Michaels coming up with an emotional effort, Mayweather and Big Show being better than we could have ever hoped for (and a relatively clean finish as well), Orton retaining the title and then Edge and Taker living up to main event billing. It was show worthy of being called Wrestlemania, a show worthy of being known as the best show of the year, a show in every aspect of that word.

Larry Csonka: In the spirit of full disclosure I have to saw that WrestleMania 24 was NOT my PPV of the year. I personally felt that it was second best, behind ROH’s Respect is Earned II show, mainly because I felt as if WrestleMania 24 has too much “shit” on the card. ROH’s Respect is Earned II was just a great wrestling show. BUT, I cannot fault anyone for considering WrestleMania 24 the PPV of the year. Quite honestly there is a ton of evidence to support their case. First of all the MITB match was exactly what is was supposed to be. A fun, spot filled match that displays non-stop action. It did just that, and the surprise of Punk winning was cool. Next the WWE Title match between HHH, Orton and Cena was a good match. They worked hard and while most expected Cena to win, the surprise of Orton actually retaining was good. The “main event” of the show was great as Edge and Taker have been able to work together extremely well and they really put on a series of great matches. Some guys have chemistry, some don’t; but these guys were just great whenever they faced. And then there was the match and moment that people have been talking about constantly since that weekend. Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels in what was MY match of the year. I can hear all the babies coming to cry that I still say that, but the fact is a match is MORE THAN JUST MOVES. It is the moves, the story, the crowd reaction and the emotion conveyed. TO ME it all worked perfectly together for a CLASSIC. So in closing, WrestleMania 24 was a great fucking PPV, one that should be at the top of everyone’s PPV list for the year for sure.

Daniel Wilcox: WrestleMania always manages to deliver, some years more than others. WrestleMania 24 was one of the best all-round pay-per-views WWE has produced for a while, giving us a wide variety of quality matches, some memorable moments and the odd surprise thrown in along the way.

I see this pay-per-view as having four main events – the two world title matches, Mayweather/Show and Ric Flair’s last match – and I don’t think anyone will disagree with me in saying all of them delivered. Undertaker vs. Edge was a match people had been wanting to see for a long time, and the culmination of a near year-long quest on the part of Taker to get revenge on Edge. Thankfully, these two were given the main event spot and the match lived up to the hype as many considered it a Match of the Year Candidate. The Triple Threat featuring Randy Orton, John Cena and Triple H was as good as we’ve come to expect from these three. What most remember about this match, however, is the fact that Orton shocked everybody and actually won the damn thing, retaining the title in the process. It was a great moment to see Orton’s hard work vindicated by such a huge win. Celebrity involvement in wrestling doesn’t always work out, but WWE’s use of Floyd Mayweather was near perfect, and while his match with Big Show was hardly Savage/Steamboat, it was tremendously entertaining and if nothing else memorable. And then of course, there’s the match that everyone will remember the show by, Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels, a match I’ve talked enough about already, but one that will truly go down as a classic.

The undercard was pretty great too. JBL and Finlay kicked off the show with a pretty fun brawl that featured the awesomeness of JBL tossing a trash can and an innocent Hornswoggle and Finlay pulling off a suicide dive. Money in the Bank is guaranteed to deliver, this year being no exception as I feel it was the best one since the original. John Morrison and Shelton Benjamin in particular provided man breathtaking moments in this one, as well as the Matt Hardy run-in that got one of the biggest reactions off the night. Batista vs. Umaga disappointed, but Batista pulling off the Bomb on Umaga was damn impressive. The ECW title match upset a lot but if nothing else it was memorable, and we had the enjoyable BunnyMania match, which was actually pretty fun thanks to Snoop Dogg laying out Santino and the lights going out mid-way through the match, leaving the Divas to struggle on in the dark.

To summarize, when you have four top notch main events, a stellar undercard and all the puff and pageantry that comes annually with WrestleMania, and you have, by far, the pay-per-view of the year.

Randy Harrison: It’s generally the biggest Pay-Per-View of the year, but rarely is it the best. This year, the venue, the matches, and the spectacle all came together to make for a very entertaining show. This was only the second WrestleMania to be held outdoors and there were over 74,000 people in attendance, making it one of the best attended WrestleMania shows as well. If I had to guess why this show won, it would likely be on the strength of the Flair/Michaels match that anchored the middle of the show, but Money in the Bank and the inter-sport match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and The Big Show were both solid as well. The Undertaker kept his WrestleMania undefeated streak alive by beating Edge to win the World Heavyweight Championship and the show ended with The Deadman kneeling beneath an assortment of fireworks, but as I said before the real fireworks for the night came from Flair and Michaels. As long as most wrestling fans live, they’ll remember that match and that night. I don’t think that the entire show will hold up as well or be as important as some of the other best WrestleMania’s like WrestleMania 17 or WrestleMania III, but this year, WrestleMania 24 reigns supreme.

Honorable Mentions: Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black w/ Jimmy Jacobs (ROH New Horizons – 4 points), Punk cashes in the Money In The Bank (RAW – 1 point), World X Cup Elimination Match (TNA Victory Road – 3 points)

3rd Place: The Undertaker vs. Edge – Hell In A Cell (WWE SummerSlam, 08.17.08) – 10 points

2nd Place: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels – Ladder Match for the World Heavyweight Championship (WWE No Mercy, 10.05.08) – 35 points

And your winner is…:

Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels – Career Threatening Match (WWE WrestleMania 24, 03.30.08) – 65 points

Stephen Randle: Was this match a ***** workrate classic? No, it wasn’t. It was the best match you could possibly get between a 60-year old Ric Flair and an aging Shawn Michaels, two men who in their prime for noted for being able to get *** matches out of a broomstick, and that isn’t bad either. This match wasn’t the main event of a PPV, or for any major title, and it didn’t involve any match-related stipulations like ladders, steel cages, or even no DQ. This was simply a wrestling match…with one small twist that made all the difference.

What this match was is the culmination of one of the greatest careers in the history of professional wrestling, involving two of the most legendary wrestlers in the business. The fact that Shawn called Flair his mentor, his inspiration, and one of his very best friends on TV, and more importantly, the fact that this was true, added to the gravity of the event. Make no mistake, while this was not the main event of WrestleMania XXIV, there was no way that any match could follow it.

This match was a celebration of the career of Ric Flair, and it was everything that it needed to be. The sheer emotion and intensity of the match and its outcome overcame many fans, the announcers, and even the two men in the ring. And even though Ric Flair lost the match, he was still able to leave with his head held high, because on that night, in accordance with his plan, Ric Flair proved that he is, and will always be, The Man.

Samuel Berman: It takes a lot for a match to be greater than the sum of its parts. At Wrestlemania, with his career on the line, Ric Flair, arguably the greatest performer in wrestling history, pulled out the last in an unfathomably long line of classic matches. Shawn Michaels, long the heir apparent to Flair’s throne, went one-on-one with the legend on the grandest of stages, and what we got was a match, and further a moment, that will live in the minds and hearts of wrestling fans forever. Just as baseball fans remember where they were when Mark McGwire hit his 62nd home run, and just as filmgoers recall the first time they saw “Star Wars” or “The Godfather”, wrestling fans will always be attuned to the words “I’m sorry, I love you…” in a way that outsiders cannot understand. I have argued before that wrestling is a form of high art; this match was Shakespeare in the ring.

Daniel Wilcox: What is there to be said that hasn’t already been said?

By my reckoning, these are the two greatest professional wrestlers that ever lived. Neither were in their prime at Mania 24; one was about two decades past it and the other is surely only a few years away from retirement. But as I said, these are two of the best ever, and they can make magic happen on any given night with any given opponent. At WrestleMania 24, they knew the deal. They knew it’d be Ric’s last match and they had their work cut out for them. They had to deliver and they did just that. Putting aside the unforgettable ending to the match for a second, I want to give credit for the tremendous story these guys managed to tell in the ring, reflecting their magnificent promo work leading up to the bout. If you recall the “Old Yeller” comparison, they put that dog down not because he was old but because he was rabid, and that’s what they tried to convince us of here with Flair going all-out to save his career. There were so many little moments in this match that go forgotten simply because of the finish – the asai moonsault that should’ve done much more damage to Shawn than it did, the slaps in the early going, Michaels trying to win with his version of the Figure 4 – all made for a memorable encounter regardless of this being Flair’s last match. All that said, it is very difficult to be able to draw genuine emotion from a wrestling fan. Sure, we cheer when our favourite wins a title, but the conclusion of this match managed to strike a chord much deeper than that. Shawn Michaels’ words echoed the sentiments of wrestling fans around the world as the greatest of all time was finally done, but how fitting is it that he went out in a blaze of glory, in a match that I don’t think any of us will soon forget.

Jarrod Westerfeld: A match of the year is equivalent to a movie that defines the year for many movie goers; it takes a lot to earn such a distinction. A story that can touch the hearts of millions and inspire countless others all while being memorable for years to come, defining a generation’s taste in entertainment and this match, much like any quality film that could win an Oscar, is one of those matches.

What started out almost innocently back in November 26 of 2007, when Ric Flair made his return to Raw, this storyline evolved to one that could not be easily forgotten. It all began with the simple visit from Shawn to Ric’s locker room in the backstage area wishing him luck in his bout with Randy Orton later that night. It never really was played up beyond this, but it was the start of something that would later kick up after No Way Out, in which Flair would call out the best for a career highlight bout at Wrestlemania XXIV in Florida, the start of his wrestling career. A lot was played up to this story such as Michaels admiration and friendship with Flair, the talk of their career heights when many speculated what a bout between the two would be like, particularly when both were in their prime. Emotions flared and took a turn to leave Michaels looking like the heel. Everything spilled out and things were said to escalate the event, particularly Flair’s promo revealing the NWA World Heavyweight Title from his glory days. Moments like this placed this bout higher on the scheme of reasons to watch the event and many older fans were not willing to miss this encounter.

It also wasn’t just the match that did a tremendous job of selling the high emotions of this night but the production values and the camera direction. Certain things caught in the moment to further place emphasis upon the emotion and story of this match where highlighted rather than missed or discarded as unimportant, or even trivial, to the match these two men were performing. Working a rather old school style that resembles something out of the late 70’s or even the mid 80’s, Michaels and Flair worked carefully alongside one another placing heavy emphasis into every spot and move drawing in the crowd’s attention on their every movement. The two stuck to the basics for the most part and it worked out in their favor as fans rally behind it all and never lost steam or care for the match.

Much like a classic film, this match did what it had to do and accomplished all of its goals to entertain its crowd. Its specific audience will remember this fondly. While many fans look to the matches with the bigger spots or the flashier moves, sometimes the match that sticks to the old formula of capturing the fans attention just long enough to get them emotionally invested is the one that does the better job, and I could think of no other match that did that better (this year) than Michaels and Flair’s Mania encounter.

Honorable Mentions: Lacey (ROH – 1 point), Matt Striker (WWE ECW – 7 points), Raisha Saeed (TNA – 17 points)

3rd Place: Tony Atlas (WWE ECW) – 18 points

2nd Place: Vickie Guerrero (WWE SmackDown!) – 31 points

And your winner is…:

Larry Sweeney (ROH) – 58 points

Mathew Sforcina: One thing that we’re told time and again as we prepare to do these blurbs is to not bitch about the results. If we agree to do a blurb, and then our favourite doesn’t get in or worst, or least favourite one does, we have to be professional, and stick to the topic. But frankly, I feel confident in myself enough to flaunt this edict, in order to complain. Not about Larry, but about the lack of managers out there. What happened to managers? Did everyone under a certain height and weight just decide that they had to imitate Rey Mysterio? Does every woman have to want either SHIMMER or Playboy? Where are the damm managers? Don’t get me wrong, Larry would still win this even if the field was triple what it is, but I still want Larry to have to WORK to win, not just get this almost be default. True, there were some names that managed a bit of a showing, but Larry is just far, far ahead of everyone else in the field. And that’s good, in that we got Larry, but bad, in another sense. So, for being a tall poppy in a very small field, congrats Mr. Sweet n Sour. Hopefully next year you might not win. Wait, that didn’t come out right…

Michael Bauer: Larry Sweeney, the Master of Sweet N’ Sour Inc., the Agent to the stars… man, what this guy could do on television screens. Larry Sweeney is everything a cocky heel manager could and should be with Ring of Honor. He gets the easy cheap heat, he knows how to egg the crowd on, and he single handly broke up almost every stable Ring of Honor had in the first half of 2008. First, he bought out the Hangmen 3. While leader Adam Pearce and Hagadorn stayed on board, Whitmer disagreed and got driven out of the company, while Albright eventally went on his own, destroying Sweet N’ Sour. Then came the No Remose Corps. Unlike before, leader Roderick Strong turned down the offer, just for Davey Richards to stab him in the back and take the money. But Sweeney managed people do make it look pretty good. Davey had a successful run in Japan and brought some of that momentum stateside. Adam Pearce was able to bring the NWA Heavyweight Title to Ring of Honor before he took a back seat. Chris Hero actually has a new, better attitude and a decent gimmick for once. And he also worked with Go Shiozaki, bringing him indirectly to the FIP World Title. All in all, the people he acquires do turn up better off and that is what a great manager does.

Honorable Mentions: Cryme Tyme (WWE – 4 points), Motor City Machine Guns (TNA – 14 points), Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase (WWE – 6 points)

3rd Place: Kevin Steen & El Generico (Ring of Honor) – 22 points

2nd Place: Beer Money, Inc. (James Storm & Robert Roode) (Total Nonstop Action Wrestling) – 26 points

And your winner is…:

The Miz & JOHN MORRISON (World Wrestling Entertainment) – 70 points

Michael Bauer: What haven’t the Team of The Miz and John Morrison done this year? They currently are the World Tag Team Champions of RAW, had a great run as the WWE Tag Team Champions of Smackdown, are two time Slammy Award Winners, and simply have defined what a Tag Team is. The only thing they have more than accomplishments this year is nicknames, and they have a shit load of those. The thing to keep in mind is that we are in an era where Tag Team Wrestling takes a back seat to just about everything else. But a team like Miz and Morrison comes around and they might not put it back on the map by themselves, but they can sure as hell keep the entire concept from being buried. And on top of it all that they are entertaining as hell, and these two have a great chnace to be a great team for a long while.

Theo Fraser: The Miz and John Morrison, aka ‘The guys putting faith back into the WWE tag team division’. Upon first tagging with each other, they had the unenviable task of living in the shadow of the popular and highly talented MnM team (frequently being referred to by the IWC as MnM 2.0). MnM in its original incarnation was largely seen as being held together by Joey Mercury, who molded Johnny Nitro into the well-rounded athlete we see today. It was hoped that the newly re-gimmicked John Morrison would be able to do the same for rookie Mike Mizanin, and judging by their placement here, I’d suggest he did a fine job. When given the chance to show off their stuff in the ring, they haven’t disappointed, whether it be in hardcore grudge matches (vs Dreamer & Delaney on ECW, with Morrison’s awesome trashcan-assisted moonsault) or state-of-the-art tag team exhibitions (vs the Hardyz). Outside of the ring is where they have truly shone, however, where they have taken the concept of The Dirt Sheet and absolutely gone to town with it. Both men have settled into their characters perfectly, and you can see they are having a ton of fun with it, which in turn makes them a joy to watch. The Slammy Award winners for WWE Tag Team of the Year pick up this prestigious 411 award with no qualms.

James Craig: I must admit to being a huge fan of this team and that said, I feel that these two men seem to be able to do no wrong. While it is nothing new to be the cocky heel team, always lording their own coolness and success over other teams and others in general, it seems that these two just do it better than most. This also goes hand in hand with their in ring abilities, Morrison has always been very capable and Miz has grown in leaps and bounds this year. Reigning tag title champions, as well as two wins at the Slammy’s seem to have cemented a very, very good year for this team. The tag division may get overlooked on RAW, but these two have the talent that has kept them in the forefront of the division and promises to keep them there for as long as they are together.

Jeremy Thomas: It’s been, as has been the case for a while now, a sad year for tag teams. WWE and TNA in particular have shown us that they don’t care much for their teams as more often then not, it’s merely two guys thrown together for a short period of time who move on to other singles stuff. Despite this, there have been some shining points that continue to give hope to those of us who wish for the return of tag team glory. Of all the teams, I can’t think of one who’s more deserving then the best team that the ‘E’s seen in quite some time, Miz and Morrison. It’s actually rather funny, because when the team first formed at the end of last year, I was really rather skeptical. While I’ve always been a fan of Morrison all the way back to the Johnny Blaze-Spade-no-wait-it’s-Nitro days and was ecstatic when he got his major push in ECW, I’d never much liked the Miz. Thus, I always viewed them as a tandem that was just going to drag Morrison down. How wrong I was, as the association seemed to do Miz a lot of good and the two managed to click perfectly together. These two make a brilliant dick heel team that proceeded to dominate the SmackDown tag team scene for the first seven months of 2008. Along the way, they quietly piled up a series of wins over some big competitors, such as CM Punk and Kane and the Hardy Boys. After suffering a setback at the Great American Bash by losing their belts to Hawkins and Ryder, they bounced right back and started to appear on Raw. They would go on to become one of the most entertaining duos in the ‘E. Their week of promo work against D-Generation X was a highlight of the year and while they lost, they looked really damned good in doing so. They finished out the year by winning two Slammy Awards, including a deserved one for Best Tag Team, and then proceeded to end 2008 the way they began it—as champions by defeating CM Punk and Kofi Kingston at a house show. 2008 has undoubtedly become the year of MnM 2.0, and there’s none more deserving for Tag Team of the Year.

Honorable Mentions: Gail Kim (TNA – 8 points), Victoria (WWE – 9 points), Sara Del Rey (SHIMMER – 3 points)

3rd Place: MsChif (SHIMMER/Indys) – 13 points

2nd Place: Awesome Kong (TNA) – 51 points

And your winner is…:

Beth Phoenix (WWE RAW) – 66 points

Ryan Byers: In my last several years writing for this website, I have gained the reputation of being a big fan of SHIMMER. However, despite my love for independent women’s wrestling, even I had to cast my vote for Beth Phoenix as the Women’s Wrestler of the Year. Why? First of all, she was the WWE Champion of her division for the majority of the year, and that kind of exposure can never be completely taken out of the equation when voting for an award like this one. However, Phoenix has been doing more than just hanging around in the biggest promotion on the planet. No, she hasn’t had that many epic matches. In fact, she’s had some matches that have been outright awful. You sometimes have to look at what an individual is given to work with when evaluating his or her performance, though. On a regular basis, Phoenix is asked to hit the ring and work with individuals who have little to no formal training, and, even when she dos have an opportunity to wrestle against individuals who stack up to her in terms of in-ring ability, she’s limited to two or three minutes. She’s given some of the worst material in professional wrestling to work with, but she consistently takes absolute lemons and turns them in to lemonade. There have been numerous times throughout this year during which Phoenix has made a completely incompetent opponent look halfway decent and even more times that she has taken what would otherwise be a throwaway bout and turned it in to something that had at least one memorable spot. For doing the most entertaining work with the least support from her home promotion, wholeheartedly support giving Beth Phoenix the Women’s Wrestler of the Year crown for 2008.

Mathew Sforcina: It’s odd that a woman is pretty much going to win this based on her charisma, rather than her in-ring work. After all, 2008 was hardly a stellar year for Women’s Wrestling. SHIMMER did it’s usual good stuff, TNA managed to only stuff up the Knockouts a little and we got the Butterfly Belt on Smackdown, but there was no break out star, no massive shift, nothing major or noteworthy in the long term, at least nothing notable yet. In 10 years when the Nikki Bella/Noelle Foley HITC has become the first female match to headline a WWE PPV or something we might change our tune, but right now, women’s wrestling just… existed this year. And while Beth had some pretty good matches, and was a good champion, you kinda have to say that she wins this thanks in no small way to Glamarella. And you know what? Good! A wrestler is not strictly in-ring work, it’s everything about them, their talent, their charisma, their ability, the whole thing, and Beth showed us all that she is just as good as a straight woman as she is a brawler in the ring. So, congrats for the award, Beth. Here’s hoping next year you get to show a bit more of the skill.

Jeremy Thomas: There was a lot of good women’s wrestling in 2008. Not enough to think we might be reaching the heyday of Trish, Molly, Lita, Ivory, Jazz and Victoria, but it’s certainly back up from the painful era of Tori Wilson and Stacy Keibler, who were nice to look at until they locked up. While there’s been some great work done over in TNA’s Knockouts Division between Awesome Kong, Roxxi, Gail Kim, ODB, Raisha/Melissa and Taylor there’s little doubt in my mind that no woman has been more amazing in 2008 then Beth Phoenix. While Awesome Kong—her closest competition in my mind—certainly dominated in TNA, and the two held their respective titles in a remarkably similar manner throughout ’08 (234 days in 2 reigns for Kong vs. 236 in two reigns for Beth), Beth simply had more tools. She has the work rate in the ring to be dominating as well as the mike skills. Whereas Kong has to rely on Raisha to do the talking, Beth can hold her own on the mike—and even better, is part of one of the more entertaining duos in the business in Glamarella. When Beth started to go comic, I was actually worried for her, because I was concerned it would dilute her character. In fact, it hasn’t done that at all, and she’s played off Santino perfectly well and continued to hold her own in the Women’s Division on Raw. She was the sole survivor of the Women’s Survivor Series match and worked a great feud with Mickie James for the belt for most of the year. As 2008 draws to a close, one can only see bigger and better things on the road ahead for Phoenix, and hopefully for women’s wrestling as a whole.

Michael Bauer: The Divas of the WWE and the Knockouts of TNA are generally there for the looks they provide, instead of the skills in the ring. The exceptions to this would obviously be Amazing Kong and Beth Pheonix. Both are dominating, both have held their respective Women’s Titles twice in the year of 2008, and both are the opposite of a “normal” diva or knockout. What makes Beth Pheonix so much different than Amazing Kong? How about the fact that the WWE has better Women’s Wrestlers as a whole than TNA. How about the fact that while Kong has real allies and a trainer/manager, Beth Pheonix tends to be more of a lone gun. Either way you look it, Beth simply has had a better year as the WWE has, believe it or not, done a better job of making the Women’s Division matter than TNA. And you can go from the longer matches on television, to the believable challengers, to anything else you want, but the fact would still be the same. And when you have been the most dominant Diva in the better program, you should not only be WWE’s Women’s Wrestler of the Year, but 411Wrestling’s as well.

Honorable Mentions: AJ Styles (TNA – 3 points), Nigel McGuinness (ROH – 9 points), Ric Flair (WWE – 3 points)

3rd Place: Edge (WWE SmackDown!) – 16 points

2nd Place: Shawn Michaels (WWE RAW) – 50 points

And your winner is…:

Chris Jericho (WWE RAW) – 66 points

Ari Berenstein: So…um, yeah… how about that Chris Jericho? He had some sort of good year, right?

Sometimes a turn can turn around and save your career…this was one of those times. Jericho’s heel switch revitalized his character, his in ring presence, his purpose in storylines, his presence on the roster and his value to the company. When you can do all of that as well as regain the people’s interest in your character AND be involved in some of the best matches throughout the year, then you put the lock on wrestler of the year.

Michael Bauer: Chris Jericho… what a change he has made this year. When he came out of retirement at the end of 2007 and was quickly thrust into a title shot against Randy Orton, most of us either didn’t believe this would be good or the WWE would throw a huge swerve at us. They did both. They threw us the swerve of JBL returning to the ring to face Chris Jericho. A few months later, Chris Jericho would be right in the middle of the trials of Shawn Michaels, giving the fans of the WWE the seeds for one of the greatest feuds we have seen in years. Jericho’s heel turn would soon come and the change was complete. Since then, Jericho has re-established himself as one of the best the buisness has to offer, both in the ring and on the microphone. His matches with Shawn Michaels rank among the best not just of all of 2008, but the best of Chris Jericho’s entire career. And let’s not forget his World Heavyweight Title reign. To this day, I am still not a fan of how he won the title the first time, but he did a great job of backing up that title reign with great match after great match against Punk, Batista, and Shawn Michaels, including playing hot potato with the title until he lost to John Cena. This time last year, Chris Jericho’s return looked like it should have never happened. Now, we wonder what the WWE would have done without it.

Daniel Wilcox: Lots of wrestlers have had great years in 2008, from the likes of Edge to Kurt Angle to Nigel McGuiness to Jeff Hardy to Shawn Michaels, but the one man who stands head and shoulders above everyone else is Chris Jericho. His accomplishments this year range from a record-breaking eighth reign as Intercontinental Champion to two separate reigns as World Heavyweight Champion to being involved in the Feud of the Year and winning a Slammy for “Superstar of the Year.”

About a year ago, there were a hell of a lot of people who were predicting that Jericho’s campaign to “Save Us,” would end in failure and see him battling it out in the mid-card once again, held down by some glass ceiling and ultimately, be a failure. For a while, things seemed to be heading that way; Jericho was soon out of the main event and only had a place in the Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania. But soon after, he began a slow-burn heel turn, insinuating that Shawn Michaels was a cheat and a liar. Slowly, Jericho became more obnoxious, more confrontational and more enjoyable to watch. It was in June that Jericho invited Shawn Michaels onto the Highlight Reel only to throw him head-first through the obscenely expensive JeriTron. This would be the first of many incredible moments that Jericho’s rivalry with Michaels would throw our way.

Now heel, Jericho took on a new persona. He dropped the Y2J shtick and gave up trying to entertain the fans, the irony being he’d become the most entertaining he’s been in his entire career. I think what made Jericho’s new character so riveting was the fact that he justified in just about everything he said, particularly in regards to the actions of Michaels. As Shawn spent a lot of time off during this time due to injuries, Jericho carried a large proportion of the feud on his own and did so spectacularly through his promo work. When Shawn was around, the two had some fantastic matches at Great American Bash and Unforgiven in particular. Surprisingly but thankfully, Jericho’s hard work was rewarded at Unforgiven when he won the Championship Scramble to become World Heavyweight Champion, and the following month Michaels and Jericho would clash in a Ladder match for the gold, one of my personal favourite matches of the year.

Jericho’s new attitude and world title reigns have been the true highlight of Raw for the past several months, and watching his transformation has made for some of the best TV I’ve personally seen in a long, long time. We all knew Jericho was great in the ring and gold in the mic, but he has truly taken it to a whole other level this year.

James Craig: 2008 was a fantastic year for Chris Jericho. It didn’t seem that way at the beginning of the year however, as it seemed that all the fanfare he had with his comeback would be lost on a terrible feud with JBL. It seemed as if Jericho had found his way back to his old stomping ground son the card being and upper mid carder and occasionally getting his time in the light of the upper card, but only to be jobbed out. This, however, was not to be the case.

Jericho’s in ring accomplishments would be an impressive year for anyone;

1.Winning a record setting 8th Intercontinental championship.
2. 2 World heavyweight Championship title runs
3. 2008 Slammy for Superstar of the Year.

That right there would be enough for some to name him wrestler of the year, but what really clinches this is his evolution in terms of character as well as being involved in this year’s feud of the year with HBK. This is where Jericho really picked up his game and developed perhaps the best incarnation of himself as a heel that he could ever hope for. While always entertaining, Jericho seemed to lack the ability to portray himself as a serious threat either as a face or as a heel. He was always that funny guy but never the guy who could be seen as a viable threat to the upper card guys like Cena or HHH. Over the course of the summer, Jericho emerged as a ruthless and calculating heel, never short on self indulgence and thanks to his complete dismantling of HBK on more than one occasion, finally passed into the “threat” category. This is seems to finally be the time that Jericho’s resume can be taken seriously as he has finally found for himself a character that allows him to be taken seriously.

It will be hard to top the year he had in 2009, but with the ever changing landscape of RAW, with injuries and the like, it is not to much to imagine that the coming year could end up being just as big for Chris Jericho.

Be sure to check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4! Thank you for joining us for the 2008 411wrestling.com Year End Wrestling Awards!